(Well, okay, I admit that around here the chocolate thing is pretty much par for the course, not confined to anxiety over waiting for contest finalists to be posted... uncontrolled chocolate consumption is a good thing :))
Bad enough that I always make you wait the weekend to find out who the contest finalists are, but this time I made you wait a WHOLE EXTRA DAY! I'm so sorry!
Please.
Go take a shower and put on clean clothes.
We'll wait. . .
. . .
. . .
. . .
There now.
Isn't that better?
Because as always, we must begin with a few words from the people in charge around here.
First, I want to thank EVERYONE who found time in their busy holiday season schedule to write an entry for this contest - all 96 of you! The overall quality of the entries was amazing! There were no easy cuts. My assistant judges and I found something to like in every story and hated having to cut anyone!
Second, I want to thank EVERYONE who took the time to go around to as many of the 48 different blogs as you could, as well as the 48 entries posted in the comments here, and read and leave supportive comments for the writers who worked so hard on these stories. In this business where rejection is a common and unavoidable part of the process, it means a great deal to writers to know that their work was read and enjoyed, and to receive a few kind words about their writing. It is one of the best things about this community - that people are so generous and kind to each other.
Third, before I list the finalists, I want to say again how really difficult it was to choose. There were so many fabulous entries. The sheer volume meant that many great stories had to be cut. So if yours didn't make the final cut please don't feel bad. There was a huge amount of competition. Judging, no matter how hard we try to be objective, is always subjective at a certain point - we all have our own preferences for what makes a great story. And the fact that you didn't make the final cut DOES NOT mean you didn't write a great story. Everyone who plonked their butt in a chair and worked hard to write a story for this contest is a winner! You showed up. You did your best work. You practiced your craft. You wrote to specifications. You bravely shared your writing with the world. And you have a brand new story that is now yours to hone and tweak if you like and maybe submit at some point to a magazine or as a PB manuscript. So bravo to everyone who entered!
Finally, I'd like to be very clear about the voting process. Due to the large number of entries, there are 12 finalists listed below. I have deliberately listed them by title only, so as to help with objectivity. Please read through them and choose the one you feel is best and vote. You are MOST welcome to share a link to this post on FB, twitter, or wherever you like to hang out and encourage people to come read ALL the finalists and vote for the one they think is best. Please do that. The more people who read and enjoy these stories the better, and the more objective votes we get the better. HOWEVER (and I want to be very clear on this) please do not ask people to vote for a specific number or title, or for the story about Mrs. Claus dancing the makaraina with Rudolph or whatever. Trolling for votes or trying to influence the outcome is counter to the spirit of this competition which is supposed to be based on merit. I thank you in advance for respecting this.
Now, without further ado, here are your finalists. There is a mix of poetry and prose, funny, cute, and poignant - quite a spread!
Remember that the judging criteria were:
1. Kid-appeal! - These stories are intended for a young audience, so entries that were well-written but lacked child-friendliness or whose humor or content felt more appropriate for an older or adult audience did not make the cut.2. It (hopefully) goes without saying that you must follow the contest rules - there were very specific instructions about the opening line which almost all of you followed to the letter... but a couple of strong entries did not. I thought the instructions were clear because of the multiple examples given... but one entry in particular caused serious debate among the judges as to whether the rules had been followed or not - the opening line was clearly modeled on the song but did not follow the pattern spelled out. In the end, we did not add that entry to the finalist list because some people who weren't sure emailed for clarification and this author did not, and about 90 of the 96 entries followed the correct pattern flawlessly. So... executive decision... although we weren't entirely happy about it.3. Quality of story - the rules stated that entries were to tell a story, so if they appeared to be more of a description or mood piece, they didn't make the cut. We looked for a true story arc, and unfortunately there were quite a few lovely, well-written entries that failed to meet this criteria.4. Quality of writing - use of language, correctness of tense, spelling and grammar, quality of rhyme and meter for the poetry entries, and overall impression of writing were factored in.5. Originality and creativity - because that is often what sets one story above another.
We cut 84 entries to leave you with these 12. It was very hard! We did the best we could. There were a number of stories where the judges loved the concept, but the rhyme/meter needed too much work to make the finals. And there were some that modeled the song beautifully with perfect meter and rhyme that failed to tell a story. In any case, I
hope you'll all find at least one of your favorites on the list below.
#1 CITY CRITTER CHRISTMAS
Soaring over skaters at the Rockefeller Rink,
Pigeon spies a Christmas tree and stops to have a think.
Perched upon a frosty branch that twinkles red and blue,
he wishes that the holidays were meant for critters, too.
Dashing through the Christmas tree in front of 30 Rock,
Squirrel bumps into Pigeon and he stops to have a talk.
"Why so sad?" he asks the bird. "It's Christmas Eve, you know."
"Not for critters," Pigeon says. "Hey, look who's right below!"
Trudging home from Macy's (where he worked a double shift)...
it's Santa Claus! He slips, he slides, he winds up in a drift!
Squirrel and Pigeon watch him fall—it's not a jolly sight.
They scurry down the Christmas tree to see if he's all right.
Twisting on the sidewalk while the critters yank his boot,
Santa Claus begins to yell, "Lay off my Santa suit!"
"We'll help you up," the critters say. "We know you're in a rush!
You should be heading to your sleigh, not stuck here in the slush!"
Getting to his feet as shoppers shop and skaters twirl,
Santa grins at Pigeon, then he turns and grins at Squirrel.
"Thanks," he tells the critters, gently wringing out his hat.
"I'll give you both a Christmas gift!" They like the sound of that.
Sharing roasted chestnuts Santa purchased on the street,
Squirrel and Pigeon sit upon their Christmas tree and eat.
They look out at the city, filled with angels, while they chew,
agreeing that the holidays are meant for critters, too.
#2 Red Berries in the Snow
Hopping along the twisty trail in the quiet, wintry woods,
Rabbit spied red berries poking through the snow. “The Giver will be here
soon,” he squealed. Then a heavy branch dropped snow on his head. Rabbit’s
whiskers froze into tiny icicles.
He hopped to Mole’s house and thumped his foot on the cold
ground near the door. Thump, Thumpity-Thump, Thump. “I saw red berries in the
snow!” Rabbit hollered down the hole. “Please tell the Giver that I’d like a warm
scarf this year. I’m going home to thaw my whiskers.”
Mole was dizzy from Rabbit’s wild thumping, but he clawed
his way through his dark tunnel and popped out next to Mouse’s tidy nest. “Red
berries in the snow,” Mole announced. “Kindly tell the Giver that Rabbit would
like a scarf to keep his whiskers warm. And I would like a lamp for my tunnel. I’m
going to sit in my favorite chair until my aching head feels better.”
“Oh dear, oh dear,” stammered Mouse as she pulled on her boots.
“Rabbit and Mole are so impatient. Red Berries in the snow! Scarves and lamps!
I’ve no time to waste.” She scurried up an oak tree and teetered on a tiny
branch. “Good evening Owl,” she said. “It’s the sharing season and we must send
the Giver a message. Tell him that Rabbit would like a warm scarf and Mole would
like a bright lamp. Since I never seem to have enough time, I would like a
watch.”
Owl listened carefully, then he lifted his strong wings and
flew North until he saw the tallest evergreen in the woods. He circled it three
times and landed deep within its boughs.
In the warmth of the morning, Rabbit found his scarf. Mole
switched on his lamp and Mouse admired her watch. Beside each present lay a
note that read: Your greatest gift will be found just outside your door. “Hooray!”
said Rabbit, and he threw open his door. Mole and Mouse were staring back at
him, and he knew the Giver’s words were true.
#3 The Incident Fleeting through the crowded aisles
Of the mall - both hands held tight,
'Cause Mom and Dad are really mad
About "the incident" tonight.
It all started with a fun-filled trip
To sit on Santa's knee
So I could tell him all the things
I hoped he'd bring for me.
But when I saw the line of kids
Went far past Santa's sleigh,
I knew somewhere, someway, somehow,
I had to get away.
So I thought up an escape route,
'Cause I think it's so unfair,
For kids to wait instead of play
When toys are everywhere.
Quick - I bolted up the steps,
Down aisles, and through a store.
I figured it was better than
that long line - what a bore!
But the store was NOT a fun one.
It was filled with frilly things,
Stuff that grown-up ladies wear,
NO TOYS like Santa brings.
And then . . . my parents found me.
I knew it wasn't good.
So I hid inside a clothes rack
Like any smart kid would.
Then without so much as looking,
Mom reached in and grabbed my collar
While Dad stood with his lips pinched tight,
trying not to holler.
They yanked me from that clothes rack,
Past holiday displays,
Down the escalator,
And 'round people like a maze.
And as we fled past Santa,
I thought I saw him grin -
I guess I'll send a letter
About how good I've been.
#4 The Hanukkah Elf
Tapping on the window pane at the Klein family home was Max, Santa’s hungriest elf. He was waving a jar and a letter. It read:
Dear Santa,
Potato pancakes, jelly donuts, games and light. Please come to my house on Hanukkah.
Love, Joe
“Santa has to deliver presents tonight,” the elf stepped inside. “So he sent me, Max. And this oil. When do we eat?”
“After we light the menorah,” Joe said. “Bring the jar.”
Max filled each of the eight cups with Santa’s gift. The boy and the elf lit the wicks.
The menorah glowed bright, but Santa’s oil was gone.
Joe frowned. “We need more to make the latkes and sufganiyot.”
Max’s stomach growled. “Time for a little elf magic.”
Twinkle. Wiggle. Clap.
The jar refilled. “Okay, Joe. Let’s get cooking.”
Max flipped the potato pancakes. Joe fried the donuts.
The boy and the elf devoured their feast.
Bellies full, faces sticky with applesauce and jam, Max and Joe settled their stomachs with a game of dreidel.
“I think I’ll save my chocolate winnings for the ride home,” Max said.
Joe read the letters on the top. “Nun. Gimel. He. Shin. In Hebrew that stands for A Great Miracle Happened There. Thank you for the oil.”
“I came for the food and made friend,” Max smiled. “I hope we can celebrate Hanukkah together again. Santa will be flying by soon. I should get to the roof.”
But Max didn’t move.
“What’s wrong?” asked Joe.
“How will Santa know where to find me? This isn’t one of his usual stops.”
“Yes it is.” Joe grinned and pointed to the stockings on the mantle. “We celebrate Christmas too. Merry Christmas, Max!”
“Happy Everything, Joe!”
#5 The Christmas Seed
Circling round the planet Mars on their space craft RV-3,
the children begged and pleaded for a real live Christmas tree.
“There is no way,” cried Maw and Paw, “for that to come about.”
So Sue and Lou and Baby Boo would have to do without.
No Christmas tree? That cannot be…they vowed to find a way.
Sue climbed up high and searched the sky, but only saw a sleigh.
And Lou got tangled in the lights while looking in a drawer.
And Baby Boo picked up a seed as he crawled on the floor.
“Take that away,” cried Maw and Paw, “that’s not for Boo to eat”
But Boo skedaddled like a flash to the ejection seat.
Maw screamed! Lou tripped! Sue scrambled down! Paw reached to
save his kid.
They heard a BOOM! It shook the room! The spaceship blew its lid!
They watched as Boo flew through the air; it was a fearful sight.
This wasn’t quite the way they’d planned to spend this Christmas
night.
And Maw, she moaned, and Paw, he groaned, and Sue and Lou,
they cried.
But then they heard a HO! HO! HO! and Santa slid inside.
He opened up his big red sack – plucked out a doll for Sue,
a watch for Paw, a book for Maw, a bat and ball for Lou.
But Maw and Paw, their faces drooped, and Sue and Lou, they
frowned,
until they heard, deep in the sack, a most familiar sound.
Then Santa reached way down inside and pulled out Baby Boo.
“I saved the best for last,” he said. “This one’s for all of you!”
And scrambling up onto his sleigh, he pointed straight at Mars
The seed Boo found had grown into a Christmas tree with stars.
And Santa’s booming voice rang out as he rode out of sight,
“May peace and love and joy be yours on this and every night.”
So if you get a telescope, please aim the lens towards Mars,
and you might see Boo’s Christmas tree, adorned with twinkling
stars.
#6 Randolph, Not A Reindeer
“Packing up the presents at the North Pole workshop.” The elves and reindeer sang the traditional Christmas song. But Randolph couldn’t sing. Tears made the words stick in his throat.
Randolph was thinking about when Santa had told him that Randolph had not been chosen to pull the sleigh. “It’s not that you’re not fast enough, Randolph,” Santa had said, his eyes sad. “It’s…”
“Yes, I know, Santa,” Randolph had said, blinking back the tears. He had heard the rumours already. How all the children had cried, because Randolph had melted all the snow as he flew by.
Because Randolph was not a reindeer, but a raindeer, it rained wherever he went.
So instead of singing with the elves and reindeer, Randolph was doing what he did best: cleaning.
The elves started to chatter about the snowstorm that had taken place the night before in Canada.
“I’ve heard the snow is all the way to the rooftops,” said one elf.
“Santa is bringing extra food along,” said another.
The Christmas sleigh flew off , and everyone listened to the radio as it gave updates on Santa’s progress. All was well.
Then Santa hit Canada. The radio crackled, “Santa here, over. We’ve got an emergency, over. Send over everyone, over.”
Santa wanted everyone? Even Randolph?
Randolph flew high in the sky. Faster, faster, faster until he reached Santa and his sleigh.
Snow was not only up to the rooftops, but it was also covering the chimneys. That meant that Santa could not deliver the presents and food!
Elves were digging out the chimneys as fast as they could, but it was not fast enough. Randolph knew what he must do.
He flew over a house. The rain from the raindeer’s clouds melted the snow from the roof. Soon the chimney was exposed.
“Ho ho ho, well done, Randolph,” laughed Santa.
Santa went down the chimney, and then Randolph flew to the next house. And the next one.
“Packing up the presents at the North Pole workshop.” The elves and reindeer sang as they worked, and this time Randolph sang along.
#7 No Peeking! Sneakin’ around the present stash
At the bottom of the tree,
In stealth mode, got my ninja on,
Look how black-ops I can be!
I shouldn’t look, but too late now,
Hey, I think this one’s for me!
Later I might regret this choice,
But right now I’ve got to see.
Santa, please forgive me sir, it’s awfully hard to wait.
Voices saying, “It’s not Christmas – put that present down right now, Miss!”
Sneakin’ around the present stash
Is the most fun thing to do.
Parents are at their office bash,
If you were me, you’d peek too!
Here I go, I’m gonna open just one little gift.
Peel the tape slow, careful – don’t tear…
Jokes on me now, I got UNDERWEAR!
Wrap it back up, no time to waste
Hide this sneaky thing I did.
I’ll call St. Nick and plead my case,
“Please remember, I’m a kid!”
#8 The Gift Of The Magpie (And Friends)
Flitting around the birdfeeder at the tiny woodland house, birds of all kinds shared the feast that appeared like magic when winter arrived. Chickadee dipped and swooped while spreading his dee dee dee cheer. Goldfinch called po-ta-to-chip. Titmouse tap-tapped his seed. Magpie noticed Sparrow whose feathers slumped as she stared in the window.
“What’s wrong dear friend? In this season of chill, these people feed us from their goodwill. You should chirp, you should sing, you should eat your fill.”
“It’s the boy,” Sparrow cried.
The birds loved the boy. He watched them whenever he was home, and he spent his allowance on birdseed.
“His mom said there isn’t enough money to buy a Christmas tree this year.”
Magpie peered into the house. The boy was drawing birds, but Magpie saw him wipe his eyes.
“We’ll help him smile, I do decree. We’ll get our friend a Christmas tree.”
The closest trees to the house were maples and oaks whose leaves had fallen for the winter. Squirrel nibbled the stem of a young cedar tree so they could take it to the boy. But the whole flock of birds couldn’t lift one tree.
“Plan B is better, this I know. You’ll still need your muscles though,” Magpie enthused.
They practiced making tree-shaped pyramids, but the bottom birds got tired or hungry before the star-bird could settle on top. On their third attempt the neighbor’s cat almost got her own Christmas treat! Feathers flew; Cat missed, but Magpie got an idea!
“Who says we need an evergreen? Come all my friends, it’s time to preen!”
On the dawn-quiet of Christmas morning, the boy donned boots and a coat. He went to the closest maple by his window to hang birdseed ornaments for his friends. He gasped and smiled. From it’s naked branches hung colorful, delicate feathers gleaming with the new day’s light. He sang out loud as he added his ornaments. “Merry Christmas my woodland friends!” The morning air filled with bird song in reply.
#9 A New Classic?
Waiting in line for Santa’s knee
At the mall we always shop.
Suddenly, someone nudges me.
It’s an undercover cop!
You will not believe this crazy story when you hear…
He’s dressed like an elf, by golly!
In my shock, I drop my dolly.
The cop asks for my help, you see.
This is what he has to say:
“Three bullies have been on a spree.
For their stunts they now must pay!”
“They must be stopped,” I do agree
“What kind of help can I bring?”
He replies, “Teamwork is the key.
We will organize a sting.
“Those creeps are smashing candy canes swiped from little kids.
Wait ‘til you get to Santa’s chair.
Then get your cane, and I’ll be there.
“They’ll grab your treat and try to flee.
It will really make my day
To catch them in the act—all three—
And propel them on their way.”
Our plan works out just perfectly.
We make an unlikely team:
An elf cop and a little girl.
Sounds just like a wacky dream!
The mall’s now very safe, you’ll find;
So hop up on Santa’s lap.
Watch out if mischief’s on your mind,
For we’ll set another trap!
#10 Clucking Christmas Sneezing around the reindeer pen on the night before Christmas… AAAAACHOOOO! HOOONK! Santa blew his nose for the 50th time that Christmas Eve. “You’re done with your bath, Donner. Now you’re sparkling clean for our big… ACHOOO! HONK! …night.”
Mrs. Claus, with Agnes, her favorite backyard chicken, clucking behind her, said, “Santa dear, you’re allergic to those reindeer. There’s no way they can lead your sleigh tonight.”
A triple sneeze shot out of Santa and onto Donner. “Hogwash,” Santa muttered weakly.
Agnes scurried back to the henhouse. “Santa’s allergic to the reindeer. We have to help him!”
“Poor Santa! He’s a good egg,” Beaker moaned.
“Should we buy him allergy pills?” Lovey asked.
“This is our big chance!” Dixie flapped.
“Everyone in favor say ‘squawk,’ ” said Agnes.
“Squawk!” It was unanimous.
The chickens bustled outside and took a place in front of the sleigh.
Santa sighed. “I guess I have no choice. Reindeer, you get the night off.” He grabbed the reins. “On Agnes! On Bertha!”
The chickens weren’t listening. “Agnes! Why did he call your name first?!” Dixie clucked.
“Jiminy Christmas! You chickens don’t rule the roost,” Santa sputtered. “On Lovey! On Beaker!”
The chickens frantically flapped their wings. The sleigh crept forward, then moved faster and faster. It lifted a foot off the ground and Santa breathed a sigh of relief.
Bu
Deck the halls!
Light the menorah!
Fill the Kikombe cha Umoja!
It's time for...
The 5th Annual Holiday Contest!!!!
WA-HOOO!!!! :)
The Contest: Write a children's story (children here defined as approximately age 12 and under) beginning with any version of "Rocking around the Christmas tree at the Christmas party hop." You may use that actual opening, or you may change it to any similar version "[Verb of your choice]ing [any preposition you choose] the [any item you choose] [any preposition you choose] the [venue of your choice]." For example, "Surfing along the wind-whipped waves at the Yuletide barbeque," or "Wandering through the pine-sweet woods at the cut-your-own tree farm," or "Quarreling in the checkout line at the local Toys R Us," or "Waltzing among the candy canes at the Holiday Bazaar".... You get the idea, I'm sure :) But "Rocking around the Christmas tree at the Christmas party hop" is completely acceptable too - whatever works for you :) Your story may be poetry or prose, silly or serious or sweet, religious or not, based on Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa or whatever you celebrate, but is not to exceed 350 words (I know! So much freedom after the Halloweensie Contest :)) (It can be as short as you like (the judges will be grateful :)), but no more than 350!) The field is wide open! Have fun! The more creative the better! No illustration notes please. (And yes, if you feel compelled to submit more than one entry you may, just remember you're competing against yourself!)
Post: Your entry should be posted on your blog between right now this very second and Friday December 11 at 11:59 PM EST, and your post-specific link should be added to the link list below which will remain up through Sunday December 13 (no WYRI or PPBF during that week.) If you don't have a blog but would like to enter, please copy and paste your entry into the comments on my December 7th post. (If anyone has trouble commenting, which unfortunately happens, please email me and I'll post your entry for you! But please don't send attachments! Just copy and paste your story into the email.) And please be sure to include your byline!! We don't want to have to guess who wrote your entry!
The Judging: My lovely assistants and I will narrow down the entrants to 10-12 finalists (depending on the number of entries) which will be posted here on either Monday December 14 or Tuesday December 15 (depending on the number of entries :)) for you to vote on for a winner. The vote will be closed on Thursday December 17 at 5 PM EST and the winners will be announced on Friday December 18. Whoever gets the most votes will be first and so on down to tenth place. Judging criteria will be kid appeal/kid-friendliness, creativity, quality of story, quality of writing, and originality.
The Prizes!: Wow! We've got some truly great prizes! (items in color are links for more info!):
-
A Picture Book Manuscript read and critique (winner's choice of in-person, on the phone, or via email) by
Claire Dorsett, Editorial Assistant, Roaring Brook Press!!!
A bibliophile and outdoor enthusiast, Claire spent her childhood summers road-tripping across the United States, reading constantly on the long car rides between parks and museums. Her love of literature led her to pursue a BA in English from Cornell University, where she was involved with campus publications The Daily Sun and Rainy Day literary magazine. Claire then completed the six-week intensive Columbia Publishing Course before finding a home at Roaring Brook Press, an imprint of Macmillan Children's Publishing Group, assisting VP and Publisher Simon Boughton. She has worked on a range of projects during her time at Roaring Brook, including Lane Smith's middle-grade debut Return to Augie Hobble, Steve Sheinkin's National Book Award finalist Most Dangerous: Daniel Ellsberg and the Secret History of the Vietnam War, and picture books The Skunk, There is a Tribe of Kids, and Ned The Knitting Pirate. - a brand new
Picture Book Webinar Bundle including one webinar on Concept Books and the other on Rhyme, Verse and Lyricism in Picture Books, generously donated by
Emma Walton Hamilton, author, editor, writing coach, and teacher of the fabulous Just Write For Kids courses.
- a 2016 Membership to
Children's Book Insider, including their Children's Writing Knowledge Base, an absolutely fabulous resource for kid lit writers of all kinds, generously offered by
Jon Bard and
Laura Backes - A
Picture Book Manuscript Critique by talented author/illustrator
Iza Trapani, author of JINGLE BELLS, OLD KING COLE, ITSY BITSY SPIDER, and many, many more!
- A
Picture Book Manuscript Critique by the fabulous
Lori Degman, author of 1 ZANY ZOO and COCK-A-DOODLE OOPS!
- an
e-copy of the fantastic
How To Promote Your Children's Book generously donated by
Katie Davis!
- Enrollment in
Making Picture Book Magic (my online picture book writing class - in January or a later month to be mutually agreed upon by the winner and me)
- A 6-Month Membership to the new and fabulous
One Stop For Writers Site!
-
2016 Children's Writer's & Illustrator's Market and a $25 Amazon Gift Card.
- another
2016 Children's Writer's & Illustrator's Market and a $25 Amazon Gift Card.
- a pack of Susanna Leonard Hill's amazing
What's The Story Cards (hitherto un-introduced to the world!) - writing prompts for every occasion :)
- another pack of Susanna Leonard Hill's amazing
What's The Story CardsI can't thank these authors and other industry professionals enough for their incredible generosity! Please visit their sites, buy and recommend their books and services to your writer friends and/or friends with kids, write them nice reviews on Amazon, GoodReads etc if you've read and liked their books, and show your appreciation to them in any way you can!
The Contest Winner will have first choice of the prizes. 2nd place will have next choice of what's left and so on. (I'm doing it this way in the hopes that no one will get something they already have and also because I think all the prizes are fabulous and I wouldn't want to make anyone feel less valued by giving them as 6th place as opposed to 1st.)
So let's get this Holiday Party started! :)
I want to warn you in advance that this may actually be the worst story I've ever written - embarrassing for me, but very comforting for anyone who is worried about the quality of their story - I can say with complete confidence that ANYTHING you write will be better than this sample! :) Every time I do this I'm amazed by how fast I use up my 350 words!
Christmas Pie
350 words
Skimming across the sugar snow in a one-horse open sleigh, Rabbit headed for the Holiday Festival with his specialty Christmas Pie, fresh-baked, still warm, and smelling delicious!
He passed Mouse.
“May I have a ride?” asked Mouse.
“Sure!” said Rabbit. “Hop in. But careful of the pie!”
Mouse climbed up beside Rabbit and off they went.
Soon they passed Squirrel.
“May I have a ride?” asked Squirrel.
“Sure!” said Rabbit. “Hop in. But careful of the pie!”
Squirrel climbed up beside Rabbit and Mouse and off they went.
Soon they passed Possum.
“May I have a ride?” asked Possum.
“Sure!” said Rabbit. “Hop in. But careful of the pie!”
Before long they had passed the Turkey Twins, Raccoon, Badger, Fox, Bobcat, and Deer and his eight out-of-town cousins visiting from somewhere up North, and they ALL climbed in. The sleigh was very crowded indeed, but the pie sat safe beside Rabbit, fresh-baked, still warm, and smelling delicious!
“Got room for one more?” asked Bear as they drew up alongside him.
“Sure!” said Rabbit. “Hop in. But careful of the pie!”
Bear hopped in.
But the way had grown steep…
…and the sleigh was VERY full!
Pretty soon the horse stalled out and the sleigh wouldn’t budge another inch.
“We’ll help!” volunteered the passengers, and they all got out to push.
Up, up, up the hill they went until…
…YIKES!
The hill pitched steeply down the other side.
The sleigh took off at high speed and crashed into a snow bank at the bottom.
Animals tumbled helter-skelter.
The Christmas Pie sailed through the air…
…and landed high in the branches of the Holiday Festival Christmas Tree!
“My pie!” wailed Rabbit. “We’ll never get it down!”
“Yes, we will!” said Bear.
Squirrel, Possum, the Turkey Twins, Raccoon, Badger, Fox, Bobcat, and Deer and his eight cousins all climbed up on Bear. All the way to the top of that tippy-tippy tower climbed Mouse, who plucked the pie from the high branches and passed it down to Rabbit, fresh-baked, still warm, and smelling delicious!
“Hurray!” cheered Rabbit.
And they all ate Christmas Pie!
So now! Is everyone filled with confidence about their entries? I certainly hope so after that display! Never let it be said that I'm not willing to make a fool of myself for you guys :) It just proves how much I love you :)
I can't wait to read all of your (much better!) stories! I hope there will be a lot - the more the merrier! And there are still nearly 5 days to write, so you have time if you haven't written yet and want to join the fun. Feel free to spread the word to your writing friends as well. If you just want to enjoy reading, that's great too! We need all the readers we can get, so feel free to spread the word to parents and teachers! And what better way to entertain yourself and your kids while waiting for the holiday goodies to bake? Or get someone to read aloud while everyone else wraps presents :)
Remember to put your post-specific link (not your general blog link or people will find the wrong page if you post again before the contest is over) in the list below!
Rejoice! and let the festivities begin!!! :)
Don't miss the # fabulous entries in the comment section! Click on the names or titles to go to the story. Please note that it takes a minute to load. And please also note that clicking on these links will allow you to read the story and leave your own comment, but not see previous comments left on that story... I don't know why... so if you want to see all the comments left on the story, you'll have to scroll through the whole comment section.
As you all know, I do not normally post on Thursdays.
That is because Thursday is my day for lying on the couch eating bonbons.
I am making an exception today because I have something VERY important to discuss with you.
Something that I know has been weighing as heavily on your minds as it has on mine.
Something very crucial!
Something so earth-shatteringly important that it probably kept you up all night!
So let's just lay it out on the table, shall we?
What is the deal with nuts in dessert items?
I'm serious! Whose idea was that???
Obviously a dessert like pecan pie requires nuts. I'm okay with that.
But brownies, cookies, and ice cream were made to be fudgy, chewy, and creamy respectively. I'm sure you can see how adding hard, crunchy nuts is totally counter to the texture experience and therefore to the true enjoyment of said desserts! Such appalling effrontery!
I think it's high time we take a stand, don't you?
NO MORE NUTS! NO MORE NUTS!
What?
You think I'M nuts???
I won't lie. I'm a little hurt.
Sad face.
Sniffle-sniffle.
Were you expecting a discussion on another topic?
I'm not sure anything needs our attention as much as the ongoing nuts/no nuts debate...
...except maybe...
THE WINNERS OF
The 5th Annual HALLOWEENSIE CONTEST!!!!!
WA-HOOOOOOO!!!!!
(But wait! Before I announce, do you want to state your opinion on whether nuts belong in dessert items?
No? You're sure?
Alrighty then. Don't say I never gave you a chance to be heard :))
As you are all aware by now, we had a record turnout for the Halloweensie Contest - 145 entries! (Plus 2 that came in after the deadline!) Holy Halloweensie! Who'd-a-thunk it?
I was thrilled beyond measure to see so many wonderful stories and meet so many new writers!
But with large entry numbers come hard choices. My assistant judges and I worked hard to winnow the total down to a manageable number of finalists that we felt were truly all-around deserving of that distinction, and those were the ones we presented to you on Monday for your vote.
There were, however, many other entries that were outstanding in certain areas even though they might not have qualified all-around for one reason or another (one reason being that, at a certain point, we just had to stop adding finalists to the list! :))
So my assistant judges and I would like to award recognition and a small prize to the following authors for the following merits:
1. For
Honorable Mention In The Competition As A Whole:
Mishka Jaeger for
The Little Trick-or-Treater Vivian Kirkfield for
Halloween Fever Sandy Jones for
Frank-N-Stein's Store Gabi Snyder for
Jack's First Night (which could also have placed in Best Original POV for being told from a pumpkin's viewpoint!)
2. For
Best Entry For Teen Readers:
Lori Dubbin for
Indelible! (beautifully done!!!)
3. For
Great Kid Appeal: (not already in the finals)
Charlotte Dixon for
Arabella's Web Stacy Jensen for
Gilda's Zombie Fix Julie Rowan-Zoch for
Creeeaak.... Shaelyn Berg for
Scaredy House Saundra Jones for
Halloween Countdown (youngest readers)
4. For
Best Descriptive/Mood Piece:
Rosi Hollinbeck for
The Halloweensie Party Becky Shillington for
Monster Bash5. For
Best Use of Poetic Language:
Randi Sonenshine for
March Of The Gargoyles Suzy Levinson for
Trick For Treats6. For
Spookiest Entry: (not already in the finals)
Bradin Farnworth for
Buddy Amanda Sincavage for
The Haunted Dash7. For
Funniest Entry: (not already in the finals)
Stephanie Salkin for
Mummy Unveiled (which also had great poetic language!)
Mike Allegra for
Night Ninja 8. For being
Judge #3's Favorite Entry :)
Lynne Pisano for
Boo Who? 9. For
Best Written Original Point of View:
Johnell DeWitt for
Dark's Knight (POV of the dark!)
Marlaina Gray for
YIPE! (POV of a terrier :))
10. For
Originality/Creativity:
Carrie Burrows for
Sophie And The Teal Pumpkin (because we learned about the Teal Pumpkin for allergy-sensitive trick-or-treaters!)
11.
For Favorite Character:
Lisa Riddiough for
Mo, The Ghost Who Said MooCongratulations to all of you for fantastic elements of your stories! You may all email me at susanna[at]susannahill[dot]com to collect your prize, which is your choice of
one of the following: (the titles are all links so you can go see what they're about)
For Kindle:
Picture Books: The Write Way by Laura Salas and Lisa Bullard, OR
Rhyming Picture Books: The Write Way by Laura Salas and Lisa Bullard, OR
The Emotion Thesaurus: A Writer's Guide To Character Expression by Angela Ackerman & Becca Puglisi , OR
The Postitive Trait Thesaurus: A Writer's Guide To Character Attributes by Angela Ackerman & Becca Puglisi, OR
The Negative Trait Thesaurus: A Writer's Guide To Character Flaws by Angela Ackerman & Becca Puglisi, OR
In paperback:
Show & Tell In A Nutshell: Demonstrated Transitions From Telling To Showing by Jessica Bell, OR
Creating Extraordinary Characters by Angela Hunt, OR
Evoking Emotion by Angela Hunt, OR
Picture Books: The Write Way by Laura Salas and Lisa Bullard, OR
Rhyming Picture Books: The Write Way by Laura Salas and Lisa Bullard
Now then. A word about the prizes before I announce the winners.
We have 9 fabulous prizes, generously donated by authors and various professionals in the writing field. My policy is to let the first place winner have first pick of all the prizes, the second place winner have second choice, etc. That way hopefully nobody gets something they already have, and hopefully everyone gets something that's valuable to them. All prizes are listed at the bottom of this post for your convenience in perusing the goodies :)
Now.
Finally!
Onto the moment you've all been waiting for. . .
. . . the reason you got out of bed this morning. . .
. . . to tell the world once and for all how you feel about nuts in your dessert!
. . . THE WINNERS OF THE 2014 HALLOWEENSIE CONTEST as chosen by you, our esteemed voters!!!!!
In First Place, winner of the whole entire contest and top of the heap who gets first choice of all the prizes...
Shelley Kinder
for
A Meaty Trick-or-Treat
Congratulations, Shelley, on a delightful entry that was all around well done and clearly very popular!!!
In Second Place,
Sam Steinfels
for
Spooky Spies
Congratulations, Sam, on an exceptionally clever premise beautifully executed! You get first choice of the prizes that are left after Shelley chooses!
In Third Place, a tie!!! between
Marla Lesage Polly (sorry I don't know your last name!) for for
Pirate Prepares For Halloween Nothing To Wear
Congratulations, Marla and Polly, on entertaining, well written entries that we all loved! You get first choice of the prizes that are left after Shelley and Sam choose!
In Fifth Place, a three-way tie!!!
Buffy Silverman Cathy Mealy Jana Locke
for for for
Spider's Halloween Debut Goodnight Halloween The Unicorn Ate My Candy Corn:
A Halloween Tall Tale
Congratulations, Buffy, Cathy and Jana, on your wonderful entries! You get to pick your prizes after Shelley, Sam, Marla and Polly!
In Eighth Place,
Patricia Nozell
for
Leila's First Halloween
Congratulations, Patricia, on a standout entry that was markedly different from the others with its unique theme! You get to pick your prize after Shelley, Sam, Marla, Polly, Buffy, Cathy, and Jana!
In Ninth Place, Julie Abery for The Teensy-Weensy Witch! Congratulations, Julie! What a determined little witch! You get the idea of the prize picking by now I'm sure :)
And, I don't think I need to remind anyone that in addition to all these fabulous prizes, everyone mentioned on this page has bragging rights as having won or placed in the Pretty Much World Famous Halloweensie Contest! Not just anyone can say that :)
All the winners should email me at susanna[at]susannahill[dot]com with the subject heading Prize Winner so we can work out details for you to receive your prizes! Finalists who did not finish in the top 10 (Stephanie, Jacqueline, Jean, and Chrystal) may also contact me for their choice of the Kindle or paperback prizes listed above.
Congratulations again to all our winners - it was a stiff competition!! - and congratulations to EVERYONE who wrote and entered a story in the contest. You all deserve a huge round of applause, a confetti parade, and a large amount of chocolate cake :)
Thank you to everyone who helped make this contest SO MUCH FUN, whether by writing an entry, reading people's stories, leaving comments for the authors, and/or voting in the finals. It's because of all of you that this contest was such a success, so many, many thanks from the bottom of my heart!
And before we go, I will give you all advance warning so you can start planning a little time into your December schedule...
The 5th Annual Holiday Writing Contest will be coming up sometime in the neighborhood of December 7-11 so we can all fully enjoy it and still have time for last minute holiday things. I will do my best to post the rules well in advance so you all have time to work on your stories!
Have a terrific Thursday everyone, and thanks again for making the Halloweensie Contest such a wonderful time for all! :)
The Prizes: we've got some seriously amazing prizes! (words in color are links to more info)
-
a picture book manuscript critique by picture book author Diana Murray!
website
Please join me again in thanking these very generous authors and other writing professionals for contributing their books and writing expertise as prizes by visiting their websites and blogs, considering their books and services for holiday or other gift purchases, rating and/or reviewing their books on GoodReads, Amazon, B&N or anywhere else if you like them, or supporting them in any other way you can dream up :)
Happy Friday, Everyone!
Yes, yes! I know what day it is!
Normally, I would tease you for a while and pretend I didn't know what brought you to this neck of the woods or what you were after, but not today.
Nope.
Today I'm going to get straight to the point.
No beating around the bush.
Nosirree Bob!
I'm going to give you what you came for . . .
. . . just as soon as we come up with an answer to that eternal burning question: whose idea was tinsel anyway and does anyone actually use it?
Because seriously, that stuff is as bad as Easter grass! It gets everywhere!
In your hair! In the carpet! On the dogs...
And who has the patience to separate it out into single strands to drape artfully over the limbs of your Christmas tree? (And let's face it, it does not have the same effect if you just glob it on in clumps...!)
And we're not even going to TALK about if you have cats! By golly! That's just a disaster waiting to happen!
You're all writers! Let your imagination run amok with the idea of cats, tinsel, Christmas trees...
Yikes! Truly, I shudder to think!
So anyway, where was I?
Oh, yes!
I was not beating around the bush.
I wonder what bush it is that I'm not beating around?
Is it the same as the bush in "Here we go 'round the mulberry bush?"
Or maybe the bush that a bird in the hand is worth two birds in?
I'm guessing if there are two birds they are turtle doves, because that's how the song goes. You know, "On the second day of Christmas my true love gave to me two turtle doves..." Yeah. Like that.
Except not a partridge, because he was in a pear tree and we are certainly not beating around the pear tree!
Boy! All this not beating around things is making me a little dizzy!
So maybe I'll stop and just tell you about
The 4th Annual Holiday Contest!!!
:)
I was once again thrilled to see so many wonderful stories! Really! It is amazing and inspiring, not to mention VERY entertaining! There is just so much talent out there amongst you all!
But with large entry numbers, all of high quality, come hard choices. My assistant judges and I worked hard to winnow the total down to a manageable number of finalists that we felt were truly all-around deserving of that distinction, and those were the ones we presented to you on Tuesday for your vote.
There were, however, many other entries that were outstanding in certain areas even though they might not have qualified all-around for one reason or another.
So my assistant judges and I would like to award recognition and a small prize to the following authors for the following merits:
1. For
Honorable Mention In The Competition As A Whole:
Leslie Tribble for
The Perfect Christmas Tree Anne Bromley for
Christmas Eve At Gate 25 Lauri Meyers for
Jimmy Cantore Steals Christmas2. For
Fabulous Fun Kid-Friendly Stories (That Sadly Fell Short On The Weather Element But Were Too Good Not To Recognize!): Stacy Jensen for
How Do I Fix This? Bridget Magee for
Dear Santa Margaret Greanias for
A Little Christmas Wish Pam Vaughan for
My Snowman Is Sick Jim Jones for
Snowflake...A Christmas Tail3. For
We-Loved-It-But-Thought-The Humor-Was-A-Little-Too-Grown-Up :)
(and seriously, these were terrific entries, well written and funny!)
Mike Allegra for
Carbon Christmas Heather Preusser for
Dreaming Of A White Christmas Kristen Foote for
Polar Warming Hilary (Swann?) for
No Sweat Santa 4. For
Sweet Stories That Exemplified Christmas Spirit: Sharon Wilson for
A Little Christmas Miracle Patricia Corcoran for
The Christmas Miracle Sally Suehler for
Just Ice And Snow 5. For
Fantastic Word Play: Amy Ozay for
Rain, dear6. For
Best First Line:
James Lloyd for
Pablo's First Christmas 7. For
Best-Written Original Point Of View: Carol Lescinski for
The Best Christmas (excellent stuffed dog POV!)
Summer Hinderer for
The Snow Miracle (POV of gingerbread people in Gingerbreadville!)
and
8. The
Keep Up The Great Writing Award goes to:
Ms. Leach's First Grade for
Hopeful Christmas Eve And first graders, your special prize will be Happily Ever Madlibs and Once Upon A Madlibs, which we hope you will enjoy doing as a class on days when you can't go out for recess or something :) as well as 2 StoryWorld Create-A-Story Kits:
Quests And Adventures and
Fairy Magic which can be used in lots of fun ways to inspire writing and storytelling (and for even more fun you can pull cards from both decks to expand possibilities!) Thank you for writing another wonderful story for all of us to enjoy!
Congratulations to all of you for fantastic elements of your stories! You may all
email me at susanna[at]susannahill[dot]com to collect your prize, which is your choice of
one of the following: (the titles are all links so you can go see what they're about)
For Kindle:Picture Books: The Write Way by Laura Salas and Lisa Bullard OR
The Easy Way To Write Picture Books That Sell by Robyn Parnell OR
The Emotion Thesaurus: A Writer's Guide To Character Expression by Angela Ackerman & Becca Puglisi , OR
The Postitive Trait Thesaurus: A Writer's Guide To Character Attributes by Angela Ackerman & Becca Puglisi, OR
The Negative Trait Thesaurus: A Writer's Guide To Character Flaws by Angela Ackerman & Becca Puglisi, OR
The Ultimate Fiction Thesaurus by Sam Stone OR
In paperback:Show & Tell In A Nutshell: Demonstrated Transitions From Telling To Showing by Jessica Bell OR
The Six Senses In A Nutshell: Demonstrated Transitions From Bleak To Bold Narrative by Jessica Bell OR
Adverbs And Cliches In A Nutshell: Demonstrated Subversions Of Adverbs & Cliches Into Gourmet Imagery by Jessica Bell OR
Creating Extraordinary Characters by Angela Hunt, OR
And now...
...the moment you've all been waiting for...
The announcement of the WINNERS OF THE 2014 HOLIDAY CONTEST as voted on by you!!!
rat-a-tat-rat-a-tat-rat-a-tat-rat-a-tat-rat-a-tat
DDDRRRUUUMMM RRROOOLLLLLL!!!!!!!!!
In First Place...
Winner of the whole shebang...
who gets first choice of all the prizes...
Randy Sonenshine
for The Rumbledy Jumbledy Holiday Feast!!!
Congratulations, Randy, on a fabulous and fun entry that was clearly very popular!!! :)
In Second Place...
Elaine Kiely Kearns
for 'Twas The Stormy Night Before Christmas
Congratulations, Elaine!! You get first choice of the prizes that are left after Randy makes her choice.
In Third Place...
Katey Howes
for Snow Swirls
Congratulations, Katey! You get first choice of the prizes that are left after Randy and Elaine choose theirs.
In Fourth Place...
Julie Abery
for Santa's Satnav
Congratulations, Julie! You get to pick after Randy, Elaine and Katey.
In Fifth Place...
Anika Denise
for Little Christmas, BIG SNOW
Congratulations, Anika! You get to pick after Randy, Elaine, Katey, and Julie.
In Sixth Place...
Bronwyn Deaver
for Jack Quits
Congratulations, Bronwyn! I'm sure you get the idea of how the prize picking goes by now :)
In Seventh Place...
Sylvia Liu
for Polar Woes
Congratulations, Sylvia! You get to pick next :)
In Eighth Place...
Amelia Shearer
for The Night The Sun Stayed Up
Congratulations, Amelia! You get to pick a prize after Sylvia!
In Ninth Place, we have a tie! between
Johnell DeWitt and Teresa Robeson
for A Djiboutian Christmas Sandstorm Santa
Congratulations, Johnell and Teresa! You get to pick next!
In Eleventh Place...
Kirsten Bock
for Hurricane Coal
And in Twelfth Place, rounding out the top dozen of these amazing finalists and the 100 Holiday Contest Entries for 2014...
Carol Ann Martin
for Wish You'd Been Here
All the winners should email me at susanna[at]susannahill[dot]com with the subject heading Prize Winner so we can work out details for you to receive your prizes! And for your convenience, the whole prize list is included at the bottom of this post.
Congratulations again to all our winners - it was a stiff competition!! - and congratulations to EVERYONE who wrote and entered a story in the contest. You all deserve a huge round of applause, a tinsel parade (clumpy or stringy, however you like it :)), and a large amount of Figgy Pudding (which truthfully I don't know what that is, but apparently it's something we all want some of :))
Thank you to everyone who helped make this contest SO MUCH FUN, whether by writing an entry, reading people's stories, leaving comments for the authors, and/or voting in the finals. It's because of all of you that this contest was such a success, so many, many thanks from the bottom of my heart!
As I... hmm... maybe didn't mention...?, I'm taking a little blogging break so I can spend time with my family - I've got cookies to bake, Christmas presents to shop for and wrap, and my sister and her family are arriving form Georgia on Monday! :) - so I will see you all in a couple weeks - most probably Wednesday January 7th for Would You Read It unless I have something really important to impart on Monday the 5th... but I'm not really foreseeing that :)
So now, I want to wish you all a happy and healthy holiday filled with love, laughter, joy, and family, and a happy, healthy and successful new year! It is a pleasure and a privilege to get to spend time with you all, and I'm happy and grateful to know each and every one of you!
Looking forward to all the things we'll do in 2015!
Happy Holidays, and all best wishes for a wonderful New Year!!!
Love,
The Prizes!!!
- A picture book manuscript read and critique by Shari Dash Greenspan, Editor of the multi-award winning
Flashlight Press! I encourage you to sign up for their newsletter
HERE!
- A website or blog design or redesign by
Arturo Alviar.
Arturo will design (or redesign if you already have one that needs updating or a new look) a website or blog for the winner of this prize. The site will be built on Wordpress so that after he is done designing it, the winner can manage it themselves with ease. Arturo will include a Home/Welcome page, an About Me/Bio page, a Works/Books/Gallery section, and a Contact section (4 pages total), as well as a blog section if the winner would like to have that integrated with the new site. Different organizations can also be made, for example if the winner would like a "Services" section with separate "School Visits" and "Critiques" pages, or a "Works" section divided into "Black and White" and "Color" illustration galleries. The winner can choose any of the Wordpress themes (if they choose one that isn't free, the cost of the theme will be covered by them), or have Arturo choose a theme based on their vision, and Arturo will modify it based on their color and layout preferences (some themes will have more constraints than others). Arturo can also design a personalized banner or header image to customize the website. If you already have a website and/or blog and prefer a redesign to update, refresh, or just redecorate, Arturo is willing to work with Blogger, Wix, Drupal, and Wordpress. - Enrollment in
Making Picture Book Magic (my online picture book writing class - in March or a later month to be mutually agreed upon by the winner and me)
- A picture book manuscript critique by fabulous author
Amy Dixon, author of MARATHON MOUSE and the forthcoming SOPHIE'S ANIMAL PARADE.
- A picture book manuscript critique from
Katy Duffield, author of more than 20 books for children including
Farmer McPeepers And His Missing Milk Cows (Cooper Square Publishing 2003) and upcoming titles
Loud Lula (Two Lions) illustrated by Mike Boldt and Aliens Get the Sniffles, Too (Candlewick) illustrated by K.G. Campbell. - A picture book manuscript critique (rhyme or prose) from Penny Parker Klostermann who, after extensive experience critiquing for writing partners, members of various kid lit groups, and clients of Erin Murphy Literary Agency, is opening her own critique service!!!
Penny Parker Klostermann writes picture books and poetry. Her debut book, THERE WAS AN OLD DRAGON WHO SWALLOWED A KNIGHT, is coming from Random House Children’s, August 2015. Penny is represented by Tricia Lawrence of Erin Murphy Literary Agency. Click HERE to learn more about her critique service.
Good Monday, All!
So nice of you to pop by!
Remember on Friday I told you I had exciting news to share?
I'm guessing that's why you're here.
Because of the exciting news I promised.
I said, "Come on over as soon as you wake up!"
And look! Here you are!
You're so wonderful :)
Okay!
Exciting news!
Guess what I did?
No, really! Guess!
Never mind. I'll tell you.
I made up a song!
Yep!
It's true!
Want to hear it?
Well, not actually hear it - I didn't have time to make a video or a recording - but hear it in the sense that I can tell you the tune and the words and you can imagine me singing it to you...
Yes? Are you ready?
Okay. The tune is "The Bear Went Over The Mountain" (because I live on a mountain, as you may recall, and I saw a bear a little over a week ago, which you may also recall.)
Ready?
OH. . . !!!!!!!
The dog went over the mountain
The dog went over the mountain
The dog went over the mounTAIN....
Because she saw a bear!
WOOF!
There!
What do you think?
Are you amazed?
I'm pretty amazed with myself, I have to tell you. It's not every day someone writes a song like that! (Hey! Did someone say, "Thank goodness!"? I heard that! Keep it nice, people. We can't all be as musically gifted as I am, but that's no reason to unleash the green-eyed monster!)
So I can now add "Songwriter" to my resume!
Happy sigh :)
Alrighty. See you on Wednesday for Would You Read It.
Unless you've got nothing to do right now. . .
. . . and you're feeling reluctant to leave because you enjoyed my song so much that you want to hear it again. . .
. . . and you're also thinking that maybe... just MAYBE... you'd like to hear about. . .
(Oh, golly! That was fun while it lasted! Hehehe!). . .
The 4th Annual Holiday Contest!!!!
 |
| Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow! |
Oh the weather outside is frightful
But the fire is so delightful
And since we've no place to go
Let it snow! Let it snow! Let it snow!
The Contest: Write a children's story (children here defined as approximately age 12 and under) in which wild weather impacts the holidays! Your story may be poetry or prose, silly or serious or sweet, religious or not, based on Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa or whatever you celebrate, but is not to exceed 350 words (I know! So much freedom after the Halloweensie Contest :)) (It can be as short as you like, but no more than 350!) Any kind of weather will do: sun, rain, sleet, heatwave, blizzard, tsunami, monsoon, hurricane, hail, tornado, etc! Weather may be atypical for your setting (rain in Maine, frost in Florida), it may be extreme (blizzard instead of regular snow, drought instead of lush greenery), or it may be unheard of (spring flowers in Antarctica, snow in the Sahara, bathing suit weather at the North Pole), but whatever you choose, make us feel the impact on the holidays! The wild weather may be a hindrance, a wish-come-true, a threat, a pleasant surprise, etc. The field is wide open! Have fun! The wilder and wackier the better! No illustration notes please. (And yes, if you feel compelled to submit more than one entry you may, just remember you're competing against yourself!)
Post: Your entry should be posted on your blog between Monday December 8 and Friday December 12 at 11:59 PM EST, and your post-specific link should be added to the link list on the official holiday contest post which will go up on my blog on Monday December 8 and remain up through Sunday December 14 (no WYRI or PPBF during that week.) If you don't have a blog but would like to enter, please copy and paste your entry into the comments on my December 8th post. (If anyone has trouble commenting, which unfortunately happens, please email me and I'll post your entry for you!)
The Judging: My lovely assistant(s) and I will narrow down the entrants to 10-12 finalists (depending on the number of entries) which will be posted here on either Monday December 15 or Tuesday December 16 (depending on the number of entries :)) for you to vote on for a winner. The vote will be closed on Thursday December 18 at 5 PM EST and the winners will be announced on Friday December 19. Whoever gets the most votes will be first and so on down to tenth place. Judging criteria will be kid appeal/kid-friendliness, creativity of weather use in plot, quality of story, quality of writing, and originality.
The Prizes!: Well, I hope these prizes are going to knock your socks off!!! In the spirit of the holidays, winners will be named for 1st - 10th place. In addition to the incredible fame of being able to say you won (or placed in) the Pretty Much World Famous 4th Annual Holiday Contest, the following AMAZING prizes will be awarded: (items in color are links for more info!)
- A picture book manuscript read and critique by Shari Dash Greenspan, Editor of the multi-award winning
Flashlight Press! I encourage you to sign up for their newsletter
HERE!
- A picture book manuscript read and critique by Jennifer Mattson, Agent at
Andrea Brown Literary Agency!
- Enrollment in
Renee LaTulippe's highly praised and recommended
Lyrical Language Lab Course (in a month to be mutually agreed upon by the winner and Renee) ($249 value!)
- Enrollment in Jon Bard and Laura Backes's fantastic
Kindle Kids Mastery Course ($197 value!)
- Enrollment in
Making Picture Book Magic (my online picture book writing class - in March or a later month to be mutually agreed upon by the winner and me)
- A picture book manuscript critique by fabulous author
Amy Dixon, author of MARATHON MOUSE and the forthcoming SOPHIE'S ANIMAL PARADE.
- (Hopefully) 2 or 3
PB MS Critiques from other fabulous authors - TBA
-
2015 Children's Writer's & Illustrator's Market, a signed copy of
Boy And Poi Poi Puppy by Linda Boyden, and a $25 Amazon Gift Card.
I can't thank these editors, agents, authors, and other industry professionals enough for their incredible generosity! Please visit their sites, spread the word of their classes, buy and recommend their books to your friends with kids, and show your appreciation to them in any way you can!
And now! Sharpen those pencils! Top off those coffee mugs! Get those derrieres in your chairs! And start writing those prize-winning entries!!!
I can't wait for the festivities to begin! :)
Happy Thursday, Folks!
It was so nice of y'all to come visit me on a non-posting day!
Really, the fact that you would come all the way over here just to see me makes me feel all warm and fuzzy :) You are all so sweet!
Can I offer you some refreshments? Forgive me for being a little unprepared - I wasn't expecting company today - but please, help yourselves to coffee and donuts!
Everybody got something? Good! Let's get comfy and settle in for a nice chat!
I have a scintillating story to tell you about the smell in our bathroom wall.
No! Not
that kind of smell!
What happened was this:
On Saturday, we lit a fire in the fireplace for the first time this fall. No sooner did the chimney heat up then a dreadful odor began to pervade the house! We traced it to the upstairs bathroom wall which, oddly enough, does not touch the chimney.
You would really think that in order for a smell to be coaxed out of the wall it would have to be quite near the heat source, but apparently this is not the case, because the bathroom wall is not anywhere near the chimney, but there was no doubt about the smell.
Ah, the mysteries of architecture!
But wait. Where was I?
Oh, yeah. The dreadful odor...
So there we were, enjoying our first cozy fire of the season, when this ghastly smell nearly knocked us flat. Obviously it was imperative that we discover the cause...
What?
You don't care about the dreadful odor in my bathroom wall?
I think you should at least
pretend, seeing as how you're my guests and I gave you donuts!
You're only here for the donuts and the what?
You want results?
What kind of results?
And who's to say I have them? I may have been incapacitated by the decomposing bat (yes, that's what was causing the dreadful odor, since clearly I'm not going to get to finish telling my story...!)
But really, a decomposing bat is a pretty appropriate item to have found right before announcing. . .
THE WINNERS OF
The 4th Annual HALLOWEENSIE CONTEST!!!!!
WA-HOOOOOOO!!!!!
(But wait! Before I announce, do you want to see pictures of the decomposing bat?
No? You're sure?
Alrighty then. Don't say I never offered you anything :))
As you are all aware by now, we had a record turnout for the Halloweensie Contest - 132 entries! Holy Halloweensie! Who'd-a-thunk it?
I was thrilled beyond measure to see so many wonderful stories and meet so many new writers!
But with large entry numbers come hard choices. My assistant judges and I worked hard to winnow the total down to a manageable number of finalists that we felt were truly all-around deserving of that distinction, and those were the ones we presented to you on Monday for your vote.
There were, however, many other entries that were outstanding in certain areas even though they might not have qualified all-around for one reason or another (one reason being that, at a certain point, we just had to stop adding finalists to the list! :))
So my assistant judges and I would like to award recognition and a small prize to the following authors for the following merits:
1. For
Honorable Mention In The Competition As A Whole:
Susan Halko for
The Contest Mishka Jaeger for
The Poag's Revenge Julie Abery for
Orinda Owl's First Halloween 2. For
Great Kid Appeal: (not already in the finals)
Marla Lesage for
At Grandma's House Last Halloween (which was also delightfully spooky!)
Marty McCormick for
Winnie's Spell Christie Allred for
Petie Pumpkin And The Stinky Halloween Teresa M.I. Schaefer for
The Best Pumpkin Marlaina Gray for
Lolly Is Scary Tracie Percival for
The Misspelled Witch Vivian Kirkfield for
A Night Of Friendship For Miss Witch3. For
Best Descriptive/Mood Piece:
Carol (whose last name I'm sorry I don't know!) for
Halloween Night Mandy Yates for
On This Night4. For
Best Use of Poetic Language:
Penny Klostermann for
HG (Haunted and Ghostly) TV Ex-Scream Makeover Ghost Edition5. For
Spookiest Entry: (not already in the finals)
Eric Hammond for
The Scarecrow Michelle Valencia for
The Halloween Sneer Jean James for
Trick Or Treat? Alistair Lane for
The Raven And The Pumpkin 6. For
Sweetest/Cutest Entry: (not already in the finals)
Anne Bromley for
The Pumpkin Patch Scarecrow (sweet)
Jennifer Wesselink for
Five Silly Monsters (cute)
Ellen Leventhal for
Emma's Evening Ride (cute)
7. For
Saddest Ending:
Nancy Hatch for
It's Time To Fly8. For
Best Written Original Point of View:
Victoria Aranda for
Creaks (written from the POV of a haunted house)
9. For
Excellence In Depicting Sibling Relationships:
Carrie Charley Brown for
Prankenstein Kimberly Cowger for
First Flight of Halloween Joanne Sher for
Dumb Jack-'O-Lanterns10. For
Originality/Creativity:
Jen Garrett for
How To Carve A Pumpkin11.
For Favorite Character:
Pat Tilton for her "gutsy witch" who "slammed the ghost with her sack of candy" in
Little Ghost :)
12. For
Best Group Entry:
Susanne Leach and her First Grade Class for
Sweetsie's Jack-O-Lantern*Congratulations to all of you for fantastic elements of your stories! You may all email me at susanna[at]susannahill[dot]com to collect your prize, which is your choice of
one of the following: (the titles are all links so you can go see what they're about)
For Kindle:
Picture Books: The Write Way by Laura Salas and Lisa Bullard OR
The Emotion Thesaurus: A Writer's Guide To Character Expression by Angela Ackerman & Becca Puglisi , OR
The Postitive Trait Thesaurus: A Writer's Guide To Character Attributes by Angela Ackerman & Becca Puglisi, OR
The Negative Trait Thesaurus: A Writer's Guide To Character Flaws by Angela Ackerman & Becca Puglisi, OR
In paperback:
Show & Tell In A Nutshell: Demonstrated Transitions From Telling To Showing by Jessica Bell, OR
Creating Extraordinary Characters by Angela Hunt, OR
Evoking Emotion by Angela Hunt
* The exception is Susanne Leach and her First Grade Class. I wasn't sure they'd have much use for the aforementioned writing guides, so instead a group of lovely authors and I would like to present them with a gift pack of signed picture books for their classroom, including NINJA RED RIDING HOOD by Corey Rosen Schwartz, FARMER MCPEEPERS by Katy Duffield, COCK-A-DOODLE OOPS by Lori Degman, MARATHON MOUSE by Amy Dixon, and PUNXSUTAWNEY PHYLLIS by yours truly.
Great job, first graders! You knocked our socks off! :)
Now then. A word about the prizes before I announce the winners.
We have 10 fabulous prizes, generously donated by authors and various professionals in the writing field. Since some of the winners may already have taken a class, or own a book, or have only rhyming mss or only non-rhyming mss for critique, etc, my policy is to let the first place winner have first pick of all the prizes, the second place winner have second choice, etc. That way nobody gets something they already have, and hopefully everyone gets something that's valuable to them. All prizes are listed at the bottom of this post for your convenience in perusing the goodies :)
Now.
Finally!
Onto the moment you've all been waiting for. . .
. . . the reason you got out of bed this morning. . .
. . . to see a picture of my decomposing bat!
. . . THE WINNERS OF THE 2014 HALLOWEENSIE CONTEST as chosen by you, our esteemed voters!!!!!
In First Place, winner of the whole entire contest and top of the heap who gets first choice of all the prizes...
Jodi McKay
for
Halloween Hide-and-Go-Seek
Congratulations, Jodi, on a delightful entry that was all around well done and clearly very popular!!!
In Second Place,
Nick Rowe
for
Halloween SMS (Short Messaging Scariness)
Congratulations, Nick, on a wonderfully spooky entry with very creative and original formatting! Well done! You get first choice of the prizes that are left after Jodi chooses!
In Third Place,
Lauri Meyers
for
Sulky Spider's Spooky Webs
Congratulations, Lauri, on a well written, clever, and funny entry that we all loved! You get first choice of the prizes that are left after Jodi and Nick choose!
In Fourth Place,
Nancy Tandon
for
Snip, Snap, Crack
Congratulations, Nancy, on a deliciously creepy entry! You get to pick your prize after Jodi, Nick, and Lauri!
In Fifth Place,
Joanna Marple
for
Devious Dads And Halloween
Congratulations, Joanna, on a very clever and creatively formatted entry! You get to pick your prize after Jodi, Nick, Lauri, and Nancy!
In Sixth Place,
Gina Silvester
for
Halloween Chase
Congratulations, Gina, on an entry that was tons of spooky fun! You get to pick your prize after Jodi, Nick, Lauri, Nancy, and Joanna!
In Seventh Place, Carrie Finison for The Shadow! Congratulations, Carrie! Your rhyme was outstanding, and we loved your little cat :) You get to pick next :)
In Eighth Place, Linda Schueler for Creaky Cackle! Congratulations, Linda! Your entry may have been the funniest one in the pack! You get to pick after Carrie!
In Ninth Place, Michelle Barnes for This Year's Halloween Mascot! Congratulations, Michelle! Boy, do you know how to write believable kid behavior :) You get the idea of the prize picking by now I'm sure :)
and in Tenth Place, Amelia West for Full Moon Rising! Congratulations, Amelia! Nicely done! You get the remaining prize! :)
And, I don't think I need to remind anyone that in addition to all these fabulous prizes, everyone mentioned on this page has bragging rights as having won or placed in the Pretty Much World Famous Halloweensie Contest! Not just anyone can say that :)
All the winners should email me at susanna[at]susannahill[dot]com with the subject heading Prize Winner so we can work out details for you to receive your prizes! Finalists who did not finish in the top 10 (Michael, Mike, and Debbie) may also contact me for their choice of the Kindle or paperback prizes listed above.
Congratulations again to all our winners - it was a stiff competition!! - and congratulations to EVERYONE who wrote and entered a story in the contest. You all deserve a huge round of applause, a confetti parade, and a large amount of chocolate cake :)
Thank you to everyone who helped make this contest SO MUCH FUN, whether by writing an entry, reading people's stories, leaving comments for the authors, and/or voting in the finals. It's because of all of you that this contest was such a success, so many, many thanks from the bottom of my heart!
And before we go, I will give you all advance warning so you can start planning a little time into your December schedule...
The 4th Annual Holiday Writing Contest will be coming up sometime in the neighborhood of December 8-12. I'm running it a little bit earlier this year so we can all fully enjoy it and still have time for last minute holiday things. And to whet your appetites and get your thinking caps on, I will tell you that first prize is something AWESOME! A picture book manuscript read and critique by an actual editor at an actual highly regarded publishing house!!! But that is all I'm saying for now :) You will just have to stay tuned for more details as the Holiday Contest approaches. And I will do my best to post the rules well in advance so you all have time to work on your stories!
Have a terrific Thursday everyone, and thanks again for making the Halloweensie Contest such a wonderful time for all! :)
The Prizes: we've got some seriously amazing prizes! (words in color are links to more info)
-
Julie Hedlund's fantastic new course
How To Make Money As An Author, interesting, educational and suitable for writers at any stage of their career
- a 2015 membership to
Children's Book Insider, an absolutely fabulous resource for kid lit writers of all kinds, generously offered by
Jon Bard and
Laura Backes - a picture book manuscript critique from the renowned
Alayne Christian (prose only, 800 words or less)
Alayne Kay Christian is an award winning author of BUTTERFLY KISSES FOR GRANDMA AND GRANDPA. She is represented by Erzsi Deak of Hen&Ink Literary Studio. To read more about Alayne, her critique service, and her books visit her websites and blog.
- a picture book manuscript critique (rhyme or prose) from
Penny Parker Klostermann who, after extensive experience critiquing for writing partners, members of various kid lit groups, and clients of Erin Murphy Literary Agency, is opening her own critique service!!!
Penny Parker Klostermann writes picture books and poetry. Her debut book, THERE WAS AN OLD DRAGON WHO SWALLOWED A KNIGHT, is coming from Random House Children’s, August 2015. Penny is represented by Tricia Lawrence of Erin Murphy Literary Agency. Click HERE to learn more about her critique service.
- a picture book manuscript critique by Tracey M. Cox! Tracey offers a full critique on a fiction PB, 800 words or less, which will include overall impression and line-by-line on a prose only pb ms. She will also include thoughts and marketing ideas that she thinks about and if she can think of references, she'll add them also. Tracey M. Cox has been writing professionally since 2000 and is an author of 6 picture books. She is an active member in the children's literature community and explores how to self-market on little to no budget.
Website: www.traceymcox.com
Blog: www.traceymcox.wordpress.com
- an e-pub or PDF copy (winner's choice) of
Linda Ashman's
Nuts And Bolts Guide To Writing Picture Books - a personalized signed copy of
I WANNA GO HOME by Karen Kaufman Orloff, the latest in the brilliant PB series that began with I WANNA IGUANA. (Reviewed
HERE for PPBF)
- a personalized signed copy of
I AM COW HEAR ME MOO by Jill Esbaum (reviewed for Perfect Picture Books
HERE and
HERE - yep, it's so popular it got reviewed for PPBF twice :))
- a personalized signed copy of
NINJA RED RIDING HOOD by Corey Rosen Schwartz, the riveting follow-up to THE THREE NINJA PIGS. (Reviewed
HERE for PPBF)
- a PDF copy of Ryan Sias's
A Spooky-Doodle E-Book,
"doodle pages, drawing lessons and writing prompts inspire kids to invent their own stories, characters and artwork."
Please join me again in thanking these very generous authors and other writing professionals for contributing their books and writing expertise as prizes by visiting their websites and blogs, considering their books and services for holiday or other gift purchases, rating and/or reviewing their books on GoodReads, Amazon, B&N or anywhere else if you like them, or supporting them in any other way you can dream up :)
You will all be glad to know that I'm starting the week with one of my shortest posts ever!
Woo-hoo! More time for you guys to go do other fun things!
I had great intentions for a proper post, but, well... stuff happens... long story...
So all I have to share today is THE PRIZE for the March Madness Writing Contest. (If you missed the guidelines, read all about it HERE! - scroll down below the perfect picture book)
Are you ready?
Are you holding onto your socks (which are in danger of being blown off)? :)
The winner of the March Madness Writing Contest will get...
...drum roll please...!
...to have one of their picture book manuscripts read by the one and only Karen Grencik, renowned agent at Red Fox Literary!!! And Karen will give helpful feedback!!! And who knows - if you send a good enough story, she might love you and ask to see more!!!
I hope that lights the fire under you and you are now all racing for your pencils/pens/laptops/writing tools of choice!
And due to my exceptionally brief post (some might call it a masterpiece of brevity - that would be fine with me :)), you have extra writing time, so hop right to it! Let me know how it goes!
May the muse be with you!
Have a marvelous Monday, everyone :)
