Weekly Flash Contest #8: Write about what super-heroes and super-villains do in their spare time or on their days off. Feel free to make it funny: maybe Voldemort enjoys yoga, or Wonder Woman writes a blog. Molly Torinus, 11 Middleton, WI The week commencing May 18th (Daily Creativity prompt #41) was our eighth week of flash contests, with another record number of entries. It was also the second contest based on Stone Soup contributor and reader Molly Torinus’s writing prompt, which meant that we got to work with her again to judge the contest. Thank you Molly, for your great idea that inspired such a range of entries, and for your wise decisions and enthusiasm in the judging process! This week, we are announcing our 5 Winners, whose work is published below, plus 5 Honorable Mentions. We also unexpectedly received a few art entries responding to the writing prompt, and we have chosen one of those as a special Honorable Mention for art, too. Congratulations, everyone! Winners (work published on this page) Enni Harlan, 13, Los Angeles, CA Julianna Muzyczyszyn, 13, Warsaw, Poland Lucy Berberich, 11, Oxford, OH Samuel McMullin, 10, Portland, ME Sophie Yu, 12, Houston, TX Honorable Mention (writing) “Captain America’s ‘Normal’ Day” by Alice Xie, 12, West Windsor, NJ “A Day With Voldemort” by Yutia Li, 11, Houston, TX “A smell of burning” by Daniel Shorten, 9, Mallow, Ireland “Batgirl’s Day Off” by Isabel Bashaw, 10, Enumclaw, WA “Super Hero Hobbies” by Em Jay, 10, Austin, TX Honorable Mention (art) “Super Zoom!” by Chloe Mancini, 9, Glenside, PA Remember, we are running the Flash Contest every week during the COVID-19-related school closures and shelter-in-place arrangements. It is always based on the first Daily Creativity prompt of the week. The prompt is posted on Monday, entries are due by Friday, and the winners are chosen and announced the following week. Enni Harlan, 13Los Angeles, CA A Villain’s Consolation Enni Harlan, 13 The following records contain corresponding letters between myself and Lady Catherine de Bourgh who, in my opinion, is the super villain of Jane Austen’s classic Pride and Prejudice. In such letters, I have acted to be an intimate friend of hers so that I may have access to her innermost thoughts and daily activities. My Dear Lady Catherine de Bourgh, It was with great pleasure that I met with your daughter, Miss Anne de Bourgh, on occasion yesterday. As it so happened, I was on a shopping errand for some new fabric for Mama when I happened to have the joyful coincidence of seeing your daughter. At long last, we were reunited as the most intimate of acquaintances. Indeed, Anne and I have been ever the best of friends for so terribly long that I have been away far too long. Ever since my visit with Miss Georgiana Darcy at Pemberley Estate, I felt the urge to call upon you and Anne. As I have no future occupying activities at the moment, simply name the time and I shall be most obliged to call. I apologize for the recent delay; my brother has been busy remodeling our garden of late. My lady, your nephew Mr. Darcy has expressed his apologies for not being near you as recently as you may have liked. He also wishes to let you know that he will not marry your daughter as you liked, but that is another affair that I shall not get meddled in. On quite another note, I would like to inquire after yourself. How have you been these past weeks? Dear Anne tells me that you have been most terribly vexed over this entire Mr. Darcy affair. She says that you do not wish him to marry this young lady you have mentioned in the past. What was her name– ah, yes, Elizabeth Bennet. I hear that she most definitely is lacking wealth and fortune. I shall not give you my opinion on this matter, but simply shall ask your own. How have you been able to cope with such tiring issues? Do you have activities that ease your aching mind at the moment? I most dearly hope so. As for my own family, we are quite fine. My eldest brother, as I explained previously, is busy with remodeling. Mama is busy making a new dress for Susan, and Papa is occupied in purchasing yet another estate. I fill my time with music, and practice daily at the pianoforte. I hope to one day be so skilled as your own daughter at music, but until then I am afraid I must continue to practice. But enough of that. I apologize that I feel the need to cut off this terribly short letter so horribly soon. Please let me know how you are, my dear lady, and I shall call on you someday soon. Oh, and my dear Mama wishes to invite you for tea. She says you are welcome any day of the week, anytime. We shall expect you whenever you like. My father sends his respects to your ladyship as well, and wishes to know if you are well. It has been a while since we all met with you, but please know that you are always in our minds. As always, I remain to be Your most humble friend, Enni Harlan * * * My dear friend, I thank you for inquiring after me. My daughter Anne has informed me of her meeting with you, and we wish for you to come to tea this Saturday. As for my coming to call on you, I must remind you firmly that I do not call on anyone of late. I may reconsider, however, in a fortnight or so. As for the topic of my nephew and this young lady, I am indeed most thoroughly vexed of such news. I cannot believe that my own nephew would share his fortune with a lady of such low rank. I believe he is most definitely out of his mind, and am continuously trying to talk sense into him through my countless letters. Alas, he is still ignoring me, but I am trying, I assure you. My nephew has a mind of his own, and so
Stone Soup Magazine for young readers, writers, and artists
Weekly Writing Workshop #9, Friday May 29, 2020: Reading Aloud!
For the ninth workshop in our first ever season of Stone Soup Writing Workshops, we decided to devote the whole session to readings by our participants. Everyone chose their favourite pieces written during the workshops held over the past 2 months. We had a wonderful session, hearing the authors’ work in their own voices, and remembering the different themes and writing challenges we had faced together over the previous weeks. Thank you to all our great writers–and talented readers aloud! We have loved creating these workshops, meeting with you every Friday, and hearing and reading the incredible work you make, and can’t wait for the summer season to start so we can keep on doing it. From next week, the time of the Workshop will change, so that young people in Europe will be able to join it as well. It will start at 09:00 PST, and all the details will be included in the Daily Creativity emails. And remember, some of the work produced in the workshops is published on our website. You can read it for yourselves–and we highly recommend that you do–by reading the posts reporting on each Workshop. Just type “writing workshop” in the search box, of click on the tag at the bottom of this post, and all of them will come up.
Book Club Report: Out of My Mind, by Sharon M. Draper (cont.)
An update from our seventh Stone Soup Book Club meeting! This week, during our 7th meeting of the Stone Soup Book Club, we were very lucky to have Adam Gidwitz, the author of The Inquisitor’s Tale come and join our discussion for a little while! We had the exciting opportunity to ask Mr. Gidwitz questions about his book, and about writing overall. We listened as he explained how he came up with the characters of Jeanne, William, and Jacob, as well as how all of the events of the story came together. We found out how Mr. Gidwitz settled on his unique style of narration in his book, what inspired him to tackle all of the subjects that he did, and we learned about the perseverance that all authors have. Our conversation was very thoughtful and meaningful, and it was a great experience all around! We did not have much time left after our discussion with Mr. Gidwitz, but we used our remaining time to talk about the ending of Out of My Mind, by Sharon M. Draper, the book that we had been reading over the past week. In a similar fashion to Gidwitz’s The Inquisitor’s Tale, Out of My Mind talks about differences in people and about overcoming adversity in your path. It was very cool to see what connections people drew between the two stories! Finally, we chose our next book, and the book that we will read after that one! Participants: Anya, Djin, Georgia, Lena, Chloe, Joanna, Katie, Enni, Lucy, Abhi, Isabel, Chloe C., Rachel, Madeline, Kaya, Allegra, Penelope, Sophia, Ariana Our Next Book (6/3, 6/10): Lord of the Flies, by William Golding Our Second-Next Book (6/17, 6/24): The List, by Patricia Forde The Stone Soup Book Club is open to all Stone Soup contributors and subscribers, age 9-13, during the COVID-19-related school closures and shelter-in-place arrangements. We meet every Wednesday for one hour via Zoom to discuss our chosen book, and always welcome new members! Join us!
