Weekly Flash Contest #10: Write down 5 ideas for some impossible characters – space frogs, singing clocks, walking cactuses – the more unlikely the better. Pick 2 of them. What would happen if they met? Write a story about it. The week commencing June 1st (Daily Creativity prompt #51) was our tenth week of flash contests, and our entrants rose to the double challenge of inventing some crazily impossible characters, and putting them together in bizarre situations. Well done everyone for your wildly creative stories and ideas! This was such a strange and fascinating group to choose from, that we found it just too hard to narrow down the number to share with you. So, this week we have 6 winners, whose work is published below, and 4 very honorable Honorable Mentions. Congratulations to them all! Winners Isabel Bashaw, 10, Enumclaw, WA Lucy Berberich, 11, Oxford, OH Federico Lynch Ferraris, 11, New York, NY Lila Laton, 10, New York, NY Tilly Marlow, 10, Bristol, United Kingdom Alice Xie, 12, West Windsor, NJ Honorable Mentions “Enchanted Woods” (story and drawing) by Amelia Barth, 10, Elgin, IL “The Mathematician and the Songstress (A Story Told from 2 Points of View)” by Anna Haakenson, 12, Beach Park, IL “Polka Dots” by Samantha Lee, 10, Thomaston, CT “The Eerie Cat-Man Thief and the Gucci Bunny” by Daniel Wei, 13, Weddington, NC Isabel Bashaw, 10Enumclaw, WA Zombie Unicorn vs. Tap-Dancing Carrot Cake Isabel Bashaw, 10 It was Independence Day in the magical land of Mystic Topia, and a parade celebrating the town’s freedom from Wicked Humans was underway in the town square. Horns blared and drums banged throughout the crowded streets. A variety of animals, things, and creatures stood packed together under the sun, straining to see Mayor Cactus, the leader of this year’s parade. The Mayor (a famous opera singer in her youth) belted out “God Bless Mystic Topia” as she shuffled unsteadily down the street, forcing the crowd to shift forward and back to avoid the movement of her spines. She was followed by the amazing Tap-Dancing Carrot Cakes. This tap-dancing trio rat-a-tap-tapped along to the bouncy beat of the drums in the marching band. After the marching band scurried a group of vampire, candy-throwing hamsters. Finally the parade ended in a finale of zombie unicorns performing acrobatic tricks for the crowd’s enjoyment. After the crowd had thinned and all the baby creatures slept in their parents’ arms, a lone zombie unicorn, hungry from her performance, snuffled along the streets in search of a bite to eat. She wasn’t having much luck because the street-sweeping cockroaches had already passed through. Just then, she heard a noise! One of the tap-dancing carrot cakes shimmied up the road, his headphones blaring music so loud that the unicorn (and probably the whole town) could hear it. The zombie unicorn lifted her head slightly and, flaring her enormous nostrils, sniffed the smell of her favorite food: CARROTS! Better yet, SUGARY CARROTS! Groaning loudly, the unicorn galloped over to the carrot cake. He had his eyes closed, humming and tapping along to the music, oblivious to his impending doom. The unicorn took a sizable bite of the carrot cake’s frosted arm as it waved around to the music’s beat. The tap-dancing carrot cake’s head shot up, its eyes staring directly into the eyes of the zombie unicorn, who was happily enjoying his gooey frosting. The carrot cake couldn’t feel the strike, but he knew that a piece of his body was not where it was supposed to be. His arm was being digested inside the belly of the undead! The carrot cake immediately spewed out cuss words like “buttermilk!” and “powdered-sugar!” Then, collecting himself, turned off his music and said in a low, threatening voice: “I. Will. Get. You. Zombie. Unicorn.” Now the zombie unicorn was quite confused. Weren’t carrots and sugar meant for eating? This little pastry was freaking her out with its angry, orange eyes and spiteful threats! “Woah, woah, woah!” she said. “Hold up! This is all just a big misunderstanding! I thought you were food! Can’t we just settle this in a peaceful manner??” The carrot cake kept on glaring, and tapped its feet angrily. “How about a dance fight?” asked the zombie unicorn. “If I win, you let this go. And if you win, I’ll give you free zombie unicorn rides for a week!” Still glaring, the carrot cake stopped his angry tapping and slowly nodded his head. Just then, a lone street-sweeping cockroach scuttled by, its jaws chomping on scavenged parade candy. “Hey!” said the zombie unicorn. “Will you be the judge of our awesome dance fight?” The cockroach, constantly glancing left to right, paused to nod its head up and down. “Alright, then, Tasty-Cakes, you’re up!” said the unicorn. The carrot cake tugged his headphones out of his device, scrolled through his music and started dancing to “I Like To Move It.” He crazily tapped across the road, only pausing every so often to catch his breath. He went on and on… and on, until finally the unicorn couldn’t stand watching anymore. “OK, OK. My turn,” she said, swiping his device with her hoof and clicking on her favorite jam. She swung her back legs and flipped onto her front two, doing a handstand, her horn touching the dirt. Then she clopped around and around, in a kind of shuffle dance move. Finally the carrot cake stopped her. “Let’s see the results,” he said with a smug look on his face. Both creatures turned to the cockroach. “What did you think?” the tap dancing carrot cake asked the insect. The insect shook its head and pointed to the unicorn. “I WON!!” shouted the zombie unicorn, prancing around gruesomely. The cockroach looked confused. They didn’t understand that he was pointing to the unicorn to tell her she had lost. Her dance was terrible! The carrot cake hung his frosted head, disappointed at having lost a piece of his arm and a week of free unicorn zombie rides.
flash contest
Daily Creativity #56 | Flash Contest: Draw a “Blind Contour” Self-Portrait
Make a “blind contour” self portrait. A blind contour is a drawing where you do not look at the paper while you are drawing, and once you have put your pencil or pen on the paper, you don’t lift it again. Get all your materials prepared, and position yourself in front of a mirror. Pick up your pen or pencil. Look at the paper and put the tip of your utensil into position. Now, look in the mirror and start drawing your portrait. You can go as slowly (or as quickly) as you like–just don’t look at the paper until you are finished!
Flash Contest #9: Mystery Stories. Our Winners and Their Work!
Weekly Flash Contest #9: Write a mystery story. Think about the arc of your story, and plan out the actions and motives of the characters. Does the reader know something the characters don’t, or is the reader in the dark until the end? Think about how the mystery might unfold for the different characters and for your readers. Anya Geist, 13Worcester, MA The week commencing May 25th (Daily Creativity prompt #46) was our ninth week of flash contests, with another record number of entries. It was also the second contest based on Stone Soup contributor and reader Anya Geist’s writing prompt, which meant that we got to work with her again to judge the contest. Anya’s prompt inspired a really terrific batch of entries, and all the judges were impressed with the diverse ways in which the entrants approached the idea of writing “a mystery”. Thank you, Anya, for wise judging and for setting a great writing challenge! We are delighted to announce this week’s 5 Winners, whose work is published below, and 5 Honorable Mentions. It was a real pleasure to read so much great work. Congratulations, everyone! Winners (work published on this page) Isabel Bashaw, 10, Enumclaw, WA Nick Buckley, 12, Needham, MA Liam Hancock, 12, Danville, CA Enni Harlan, 13, Los Angeles, CA Michelle Su, 13, Sudbury, MA Honorable Mention “The Stolen Emerald” by Amelia Barth, 10, Elgin, IL “Summer Sleuths” by Amelia Pozzo, 11, Arnold, MO “The Checkered Deerstalker” by Mihika Sakharpe, 11, Frisco, TX “The Missing Jewels” by Sophia Stravitsch, 10, Katy, TX “Rattlesnake” by Michela You, 11, Lexington, MA Isabel Bashaw, 10Enumclaw, WA The Mystery of the Missing Junk Food Isabel Bashaw, 10 RING-A-LING-LING!!!! It was chaotic as the kids rushed into school, the jocks shoving the nerds, and the nerds stumbling out of the way, trying to find all of their belongings. I was hiding behind a tree, hoping no one would see me. I mean, what kid wouldn’t try to ditch what was sure to be another boring day at Rocky Ledge Middle School? Unfortunately, Vice Principal Lakewood knew my tricks. She spied me from the school steps, marched over, grabbed me by my arm, and, not bothering to say a word, dragged me into the building. Minutes later, as my teacher droned on about decimals during math class, I passed a note to my friend Holly I heard our math teacher has not washed in a month. I mean, who would not know, she smells worse than an old pig that just ate a dead rat. Signed, Ralphie. P.S. Pass it on. Holly grinned in her mischievous way, and passed the note to Liam, who tried to stifle a snort as he passed it onto Mike, and then, to my horror, Tattle Tale Rachel snatched it mid-pass between Mike and Emily! She read the note and then leapt to her feet, a pouting look crossing her face as she quickly walked up to Mrs. White. Showing her the note, Rachel said snottily, ¨I caught it just as Emily was going to read it.¨ She looked at me smugly, as if she was going to win a medal for catching a trashy note. I saw Mrs. White´s eyes looking up from the note, and throwing it in the trash can by her desk, already overflowing with my notes, she glowered at me and walked slowly to my desk. ¨That’s it!¨ she exclaimed. ¨I have had enough of your rotten notes! Detention, Mr. Ralphie, for three hours after school. You will make this classroom sparkle! If you object, the whole school will sparkle and shine because you will clean all of it!¨ Before I knew it, she walked back to her desk and started to talk about mathie stuff again. I sat there, my eyes blank, probably looking stupid as I stared at the teacher. ¨Bad move, Ralphie,” I thought. Later in the cafeteria I chewed my bologna sandwich as kids watched me, whispering and giggling. “Sorry about detention,¨ Holly said sympathetically through a mouthful of snickerdoodle cookies (which her mother packs her for dessert every day!). I nodded as a thank you, and then continued eating, my thoughts filled with dread for the coming afternoon. My dread, like my note, was interrupted by Rachel. “Hey Holly! I’ll trade you my tofu sandwich for that snickerdoodle cookie!¨ shouted Rachel. Rachel was never going to get that cookie if she didn’t start packing better food to trade. But everyone knew that that would never happen. Her mother didn’t let her eat any junk food at all. I kinda felt bad for her, except for the fact that she got me into trouble and now I have detention. Okay, I didn’t feel that bad for her. After lunch, as I moved from class to class, my stomach churned with anxiety. Surprisingly, this was the first time I had ever gone to detention. I’m not afraid of what normal people would be afraid of, like having to come home to angry parents, or having to call my Mom on the phone from the principal’s office to explain why I’d miss soccer practice. No, I was worried about. . . Okay, I’ll admit it. I’ve always been terribly afraid of the dark. And since it’s November, it gets dark really fast. Our school is already a bit creepy in the daylight. RING-A-LING-LING!!! It was finally the end of the day, and normally I’d be running out of school as fast as I could. Before the bell stopped ringing, all the kids grabbed their backpacks and rushed out of school. I slowly started towards the janitor’s closet, right in the corner of the cafeteria. After checking in with Mr. Lucas, I grabbed the mop, dusting rags and disinfectant. I got right to work, cleaning the classroom while Mrs. White watched me from her desk silently, occasionally flipping the pages of a magazine. Finally I finished, and in record time! It looked like I’d get out of
