Our December Flash Contest was based on Creativity Prompt #181 (provided by Molly Torinus, Stone Soup contributor), which challenged participants to write a creation story for a fictional world of their own imagination. For the third consecutive month we set a record for number of submissions, all of them worthy of recognition. Molly’s ingenious prompt led to a breadth of creativity, with creation stories for fully realized worlds containing mathematical sets with biblical influence to anthropomorphic clouds to the misadventures of a musical note. In the end, we selected our usual five winners and five honorable mentions. As always, thank you to all who submitted, and please submit again next month! In particular, we congratulate our Winners and our Honorable Mentions, whose work you can appreciate below. Winners “Darkness” by Kimberly Hu, 9 (Lake Oswego, OR) “Adventure to the Lost Kingdoms” by Tang Li, 9 (Palmetto Bay, FL) “The Beginning, the End, the Rebirth” by Lui Lung, 12 (Danville, CA) “The Fearful Cloud” by Julia Ma, 11 (Portland, OR) “The World of the Grand Staff” by Maya Mourshed, 10 (Silver Spring, MD) Honorable Mentions “One Dance” by Audrey Billington, 10 (Hillsboro, IL) “Math: The Origin” by Lucas Hinds, 13 (Lenoir City, TN) “The Creation of Warland” by Sophie Li, 11 (Palo Alto, CA) “Eternalia” by Brooke Negin, 11 (Kanata, ON, Canada) “The Fourth Dawn” by Divya Srinivasan, 12 (Sammamish, WA) Kimberly Hu, 9 (Lake Oswego, OR) Darkness Kimberly Hu, 9 Where am I? What am I? Why am I here? What even is this place? Is this even a place? What is happening? I glance around. Complete darkness. Complete darkness is everywhere. There is only one word to describe it. Darkness. That’s it. Silently, I repeat the questions over and over. Still, no answer. I don’t know what I’m expecting. Here, there is just darkness and no accompaniment. Just nothing. I am in the World Of Nothing Darkness. I wonder, are there really any other creatures out there? Am I the first? Am I the last? Am I really the only one? But deep down, I know it’s pointless asking. I am the first and last. I am the only one. But the first thing I need is— A name. A name. What even is a name? Something like Martha? No. I am lone. I am alone. I am the only one in the complete darkness, the nothing. The World Of Nothing Darkness. So yes, my name is Lone. Will I stay here for eternity, with no meaning of creation, but then, where do I even come from? How did I end up here? Those questions repeat in my mind over and over, and all the questions I have possibly asked, here in my mind. Those questions remain unanswered. I don’t know what to say. I don’t know what to think. Can I even speak? I search myself. I search my insides. I close myself, looking in the deeps of Lone. Of me. And I find something surprising. I find… the bit of creation that was used to create me. But why is it left in me? I find feelings. I can feel? What can I do? Do I truly have a meaning for existing? A spark of hope jolts through me. Do I? I dig deeper, willing myself. I find creation. More and more creation. I find… I can. I can! I, Lone, eagerly, willingly, opening my mind. I want to create a world. Not a nothingness world, a true world. Where peace can be found. What will the world contain? A mysterious whispering voice asks me. I feel more hopeful at the thought that another exists, but first I reply: A world full of creatures. Creatures that live in peace and harmony meaningfully, beings. I picture the creatures in my mind. I can imagine! Does my existence have a true reason now? Now, I create. I create more and more. Things I never imagined I could create. Plants—like flowers. Animals—like birds. More creatures—like kyones. Things that couldn’t be seen with the ordinary eye. I create Artara, the world of pure magic and wondrous creatures. I create Universe, the world of mortality and simplicity. I have created all. My name is not Lone. I don’t know what my true name is, just yet, but I will figure it out. I, the creator of the Two Worlds, have finally learned that no one’s life is meaningless. Mine included. Tang Li, 9 (Palmetto Bay, FL) Adventure to the Lost Kingdoms Tang Li, 9 Introducing the Kingdoms Plantasia: This kingdom was a clutch of forests and meadows. In this lush green territory lived all sorts of plants and animals as well as Plantasians. The Plantasians had the ability to create plants. Their enemy was the inhabitants of Virsca. Their king was Pothos and their queen was Lily. If humans didn’t protect nature, Plantasia would disappear. Virsca: A kingdom full of devils and monsters, along with fire-breathing dragons. All these creatures were banned from the other kingdoms and were given this piece of land. The land was rough and many parts were covered with lava. All the trees were dead. No outsider has ever been able to get out of there alive. The Virsacans had the power to destroy things. Their enemy was the Plantasians. The land had no laws and no rulers. Cloudpolis: In this kingdom made of clouds, everyone had flowing blue, pink, or white hair and their hair was as soft as silk. Their queen was Cloudia and their king was Cirrus. The cloud fairies collected children’s dreams and turned them into soft silky clouds. It was said that if the world below them ran out of dreams, Cloudpolis would disappear. Cloudpolisers was the name of its residents. Munchville: A piece of land that was made of food. The houses were made of gingerbread and the windows were made of pretzels. And the mountains were crackers and cookies. The snow was ice cream. The clouds were made of cotton candy.
Flash Contest
Flash Contest #37, November 2021: Write about a character who has everything you’ve always wanted, but still isn’t happy—our winners and their work
Our November Flash Contest was based on Creativity Prompt #176 (provided by Sage Millen, former Stone Soup intern), which asked participants to create a character that had everything they’d always wanted, yet still wasn’t happy. Again, we received a massive influx of submissions, all of them worthy of recognition. Interestingly, this prompt also gave rise to more poetry submissions—a welcome sight. The work we read ranged from complex narratives involving time travel to an existential search for ice cream to inspiring poetry surrounding the nature of perfection. In the end, we decided there was too much good work to limit our Honorable Mentions to just five writers, and so highlighted a sixth! As always, thank you to all who submitted, and please submit again next month! In particular, we congratulate our Winners and our Honorable Mentions, whose work you can appreciate below. Winners “Natalie’s Wish” by Josephine Alpert, 13 (Cambridge, MA) “Allison!” by Quinn Brenner, 11 (New York, NY) “Perfection by Sierra E., 11 (Mountain View, CA) “Gone” by Scarlet He, 10 (Scarsdale, NY) “Hole of Debt” by Emily Tang, 12 (Winterville, NC) Honorable Mentions “Realization” by Kimberly Hu, 9 (Lake Oswego, OR) “The Bird and a Boy” by Jeremy Lim, 9 (Portland, OR) “Dare to Dream” by Lui Lung, 12 (Danville, CA) “Pride” by Nova Macknik-Conde, 10 (Brooklyn, NY) “Boredom” by Liyue Sally Wang, 10 (Newton, MA) “A Month of Awakening” by Eliya Wee, 11 (Menlo Park, CA) Josephine Alpert, 13 (Cambridge, MA) Natalie’s Wish Josephine Alpert, 13 Every child of Lisren city was allowed one wish from the Wish Maker. No matter how impossible or crazy, they were guaranteed their wish to come true. Many kids wanted to use their wish right away and regretted it as they grew up. Things like an infinite supply of the “best best best chocolate in the whole wide world!” as Natalie’s little cousin had wished. Some wished for powers, like the ability of flight or time traveling. It only made their world more chaotic and confusing, but it was within the rules of the Wish Maker. Her mother had already made a wish for infinite money and so there wasn’t anything Natalie could think of that she really wanted. She chose to be teleported to the future. She could see what their planet would become. Would there be flying cars? Houses on Mars? Gravity boots? Something she had thought of as a kid of course. In her wild imagination an idea existed that was impossible. What if in the future there existed boots where you could reverse your own gravity. “You could bounce around like you were on the moon!” She had told her mother. Now she was going to see it all. Standing there, the Wish Maker in front of her. “I want to see a glimpse of the future. An hour of it preferably.” “Your wish will be made,” said the Wish Maker, and suddenly, swirls of colors began to surround her. She felt like she was being lifted off the ground, and, in curiosity, reached out to touch the colors. They felt like cotton candy, like she imagined how the clouds felt in fairytales. She was soaring through a portal of colors that her eyes could not comprehend. She never saw them before and it was so hard to take in after she came down to the ground with a THUD. The portal of colors closed behind her and Natalie was afraid to look up. For what would be in front of her would be the future of her planet. She was in a torn up building; in the distance, rubble had caved in and light poured from the crumpled ceiling. The ground was a dusted white. If it wasn’t for the light from the ceiling she would be in total darkness. Why was there no power? Wasn’t this the very advanced future? She stood up and walked around the space. It seemed to be an office, but the chairs and desks were strewn about laying on their sides. Pencils and papers littered the floor. What had happened here? Certainly this was just a small accident and the amazing world was just outside. If she could only find the door. Minutes later, after searching and searching, she came across a stairwell. The stairs were not ordinary. Not some escalator, but a small platform the size of a dining table was there. It wasn’t an elevator, certainly, but the flashing blue button made her want to try it out. She stepped on the platform and pressed the button and a rush of wind came up. The platform was plummeting down at an amazing speed. Was she going to die? Fall to her death? She screamed but it ended as quick as it started, and she floated above what looked like a large fan. She could tell she was on the bottom floor because of the light from outside passing through the huge glass doors. Her feet dangled above as she flailed to get back to the ground. Her feet touched the ground and she ran to the doors. This was it. She noticed the glass of the door was broken when she opened it. Outside, buildings were collapsed and the streets barren. Fire crackled in the distance and she was speechless. A man limped by and caught a glimpse of her. The man attempted to run away but he only slowly limped. “This . . . this can’t be possible.” She walked along the streets. The longer she walked the more her shoulders slumped and her high hopes plummeted. Was this really the future? It couldn’t be. A small girl about 10 was sitting on the ground holding her knees to her chest. “Are you okay?” Natalie asked. “A-another p-person?” The girl stuttered. “What happened?” “What do you mean? There’s a w-war.” “Where are your parents?” “I-I-don’t . . . know” “Can I—can I help you find them?” Natalie asked. “Maybe . . .” The girl stood up.
Flash Contest #36, October 2021: Write about someone writing a story—our winners and their work
Our October Flash Contest was based on Creativity Prompt #172 (provided by Molly Torinus, Stone Soup contributor), which asked participants to perform the meta task of writing about somebody writing a story. The result was a wave of submissions unlike we have ever seen, making the selection process this month even more difficult. We read stories that anthropomorphized bananas, that projected protagonists’ lives far into the future, that literally wrote out entire stories within stories, and much, much more. In the end, we wound up with five winners and five honorable mentions whose fantastic and distinct work gives shape to a bright and promising future! As always, thank you to all who submitted, and please submit again next month! In particular, we congratulate our Winners and our Honorable Mentions, whose work you can appreciate below. Winners “With Great Power…” by Jack Liu, 13 (Livingston, NJ) “Words” by Lui Lung, 12 (Danville, CA) “Myrtle and Sage” by Pranjoli Sadhukha, 11 (Newark, OH) “Rejection Miracle” by Alexandra Steyn, 12 (Greenwich, CT) “Coffee Mates” by Emily Tang, 12 (Winterville, NC) Honorable Mentions “Crumpled Papers” by Anushka Dhar, 12 (Hillsborough, NJ) “Charlotte’s Unusual Story” by Hannah Francis, 11 (Stanford, CA) “Writer’s Block” by Nova Macknik-Conde, 10 (Brooklyn, NY) “It Should Bother You” by Violet Solana Perez, 13 (Scarsborough, ON, Canada) “Behind the Counter” by Eliya Wee, 11 (Menlo Park, CA) Jack Liu, 13 (Livingston, NJ) With Great Power… Jack Liu, 13 George slammed his fist onto the table, staring at his screen. He stared down into his lap, feeling the immense pressure that he was in. He sighed as he spun around in his old chair that was on the verge of breaking and took a bite of his sandwich that was on the damaged fold up table. It tasted the same as always: the sad taste of bologna and lettuce. Ever since his family hit hard times 3 months ago, he’d only been eating sandwiches with various processed meats. He got up to check on his family and found that they were all sleeping soundly on the floor on the ancient air mattress behind him. He heard the breathing of his mother, father and younger sister and was entranced for a bit, reflecting on better days. He snapped out of it once his stomach rumbled again, shook it off, and stared into the bright computer screen. He stared at the text that was written and started writing. “Lucas sat in his chair, staring up into the ceiling on his warm comfy bed…” Suddenly, out of nowhere there was a loud thud. George turned around; his whole family was sleeping on a giant bed instead of an air mattress and there was enough room for George to sleep there as well! George froze in shock; there was no possible way that this was real. All he did was write in his story. He shook his head in utter disbelief, spun back in his chair, and started typing “Lucas got some steak.” Again, just like the last time, a loud thud, and a plate was in front of him, with the most scrumptious looking steak he had seen in a long, long time. There were also utensils for him to eat with. George snatched them up and started cutting and devouring his steak so fast that within 5 minutes he was all done. He licked his lips as he felt the taste of the steak leave his tongue. Now, with his newfound power George contemplated all of the possibilities: he could be rich, famous, he could bring his family out of poverty. Everything he ever dreamed of could become reality. What would he do with all this power? George slipped into his spot in the bed and closed his eyes. The next morning he woke up, groggy, as his parents and younger sister gawked at the presence of their new bed. “Where did this come from?” They all asked in unison, looking at George with deep interest. “Last night I discovered that I can summon things if I write it in my story,” George said, scratching his head. “Then all our problems are solved! We can go back to life the way it was before! Before all of the hardships and pain.” His father had that glowing look in his eyes that George had seen before in happier days. George thought long and hard about what his father said. There was no way that such a wonderful gift could come without its consequences. Soon he would learn that there would be dire consequences for using this power too often. Lui Lung, 12 (Danville, CA) Words Lui Lung, 12 To be educated was to be a threat. It was dangerous for us to read, to write, to learn what no one else would tell us but ourselves. It was wrong. We were not born free, we did not live free, and we did not die free. This was what they told me, and I believed them. When I was young, I thought that my mother was dangerous, for she knew the forbidden ways. Someone had taught her. And when night fell, she taught me, too. With the speckled silver of the stars above us and the verdant green of the leaves by our side, she gave me the most valuable gift I had ever known. Words. Words were my sanctuary. Traced against the black canvas of the sky with my mother’s long, deft fingers. Spelled out in the earth with a branch. Spoken aloud in tales passed down for generations. Words became a place I could retreat to each night when I was so often warned to keep my mouth shut. I treasured every letter my mother offered me, held it near so it wouldn’t abandon me until I was sure I knew it well. I whispered my words to the stars, and the stars listened when no one else would. But come morning light, the stars would leave me and so would my words. The hazy
