Our April Flash Contest was based on Prompt #198 (provided by intern Sim Ling Thee), which challenged participants to write a story in which the protagonist failed at everything and ultimately didn’t succeed in the end. Unsurprisingly, this subverting prompt led to some the most inspired writing we’ve seen yet! Submissions ranged from a violin recital from the perspective of a snooty child to an unreliable narrator’s laundry list of past failures to an old woman’s battle with growing tomatoes. In one story, the unlikeable protagonist even smeared butter on their nemesis’ lawn! 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 “Curses!” by Lui Lung, 12 (Danville, CA) “Beatrice” by Olivia Owens, 13 (Jacksonville, FL) “A Failing Success” by Emily Tang, 13 (Winterville, NC) “Cypress Woman” by Ellis Yang, 12 (Los Altos, CA) “You Win Some, You Lose Some” by Savarna Yang, 13 (Outram, New Zealand) Honorable Mentions “Dangly Necklaces” by Victoria Gong, 10 (Scarsdale, NY) “Learning to Fly” by Marin Hamory, 10 (Wellesley, MA) “The Last Leaf” by Kimberly Hu, 9 (Lake Oswego, OR) “The Performance” by Elizabeth Sabaev, 11 (Forest Hills, NY) “Gray” by Alex Zigoneanu, 11 (Portland, OR) Lui Lung, 12 (Danville, CA) Curses! Lui Lung, 12 “’When people heard his name, breathed reverently in hushed tones, it was fear that swiftly rooted in their veins.’ Curses! That doesn’t make sense. No, how about… ‘It was fear that blasted through their minds in a paralyzing rush!’” In the shadowed city that had long since fallen asleep, in a small apartment building tucked on the very outskirts, all but a single light remained aglow. Seemingly the only soul awake at such late hours gave an approving nod at his own writing, fingers gliding rapidly across the keyboard without a noticeable sign of halting. “’Their hearts stampeded in a cacophonous rhythm, their thoughts stumbling over one another like dominoes sent tumbling with a mere flick of his finger. This city was a ticking time bomb, and I’—or he, sorry—’would be the one to detonate it into a booming eruption.’ Here comes the big ending, Murphy, the crescendo to the grand conclusion of the symphony! ‘And within the thundering outburst and from the rubble that remains, I am’—no, he is—’the last one standing!’” The villain pumped his fists high into the air, a triumphant man high off a victory. He glanced at his trusty sidekick, Murphy, who languidly stretched on the tabletop. “Well, my friend? What do you think? Does that strike fear in your heart?” The heavyset, orange tabby simply yawned, his little pink mouth falling wide open. “Oh, no, you definitely need to cut down on the tuna,” sputtered the villain, fanning the air before him at the ghastliness of the cat’s breath. As if he understood, Murphy lunged forward and clamped his jaw down firmly upon his owner’s forearm. The villain frantically shook his arm to free himself from his companion’s vengeful grip. “Ow! Curse you, feline demon! I will—” “So, this is what the great terror of the city does in his free time,” a voice mused coolly. The villain would have known who that voice was without having to turn around, but he decided that slowly spinning around in his chair would provide the dramatic effect he needed to hide the shock. Unfortunately, he leaned too far in one direction while attempting to spin and the chair promptly tilted over, leaving him in an uncoordinated heap on the floor. “Curses! My back!” The sound of Murphy hissing his discontent and then slowly lumbering off followed. Why, that traitorous ingrate! He straightened at once, lifting his chin with as much dignity he had left to muster from where he sprawled below. “Hah! This is all part of my plan, you buffoon!” It was not. The hero smiled indulgently, like she was only playing along to soothe his wounded pride. “Right. I’m sure getting exposed and captured was all part of your plan.” “You silly heroes these days. There is no prison I cannot escape,” said the villain pompously, although the sweat trickling down the back of his neck suggested otherwise. “Well, how did you find me? I wanted you to find me, though. Obviously!” “Obviously,” the hero agreed, her gaze flickering to the computer screen where he’d been starting a rough draft of his next magnificent work. “Just as obvious as you were when you were trying to hide. Really, who else would write and publish pages and pages of nonsense praising this city’s most notorious villain that no one reads?” The villain’s face flushed in indignation. “Nonsense? Nay, my blog oozes evil brilliance! And I’m a super-villain, for your information.” He paused, thinking of a clever, new strategy to fool his heroic rival. “I mean, forget that. It’s actually not my blog, because I’m not the man you’re looking for!” The hero looked entirely unconvinced, which was peculiar. The villain knew he was a spectacular liar! In desperation, he called for the assistance of his fearsome cat. “Murphy, my honorable companion! I’m sorry I said you had bad breath, just help me now!” A disdainful meow sounded from somewhere in the mess of old pizza boxes and unwashed laundry. “I will have my revenge on you,” vowed the villain darkly. “And you, too, you weak hero! Evil will always prevail over good!” The hero’s expression was now one of pity more than anything, and she gave his arm a gentle pat before securing the handcuffs in place on his wrists. “Alright, buddy, I’m sure the police will love to hear all about your plans for vengeance.” “Ah, yes, my plans! You’ll never know the plans I have for this city! Take me alive or take me dead, that brilliant secret will—” “You mean the top-secret plans that you posted on your blog?” “Curses!” Olivia Owens, 13 (Jacksonville, FL) Beatrice Olivia Owens,
monthly flash contest
Weekly Creativity #198 | Flash Contest #42: Write a Story where the Character Fails at Everything
Write a story where the character fails at everything and ultimately doesn’t succeed at the end.
Saturday Newsletter: March 19, 2022
Chaos (watercolor) By Ashley Jun, 13 (Short Hills, NJ), published in Stone Soup March 2022 A note from Laura First, a small bit of business. The fabulous Naomi Kinsman, founding director of the Society of Young Inklings, a brilliant writing program for young authors, is leading her Design a Novel workshop next weekend, Saturday March 26th and Sunday March 27th from 10-1 Pacific/ 1-4 Eastern! The workshop costs $200. However, if you cannot afford the class, then please write to Tayleigh@stonesoup.com. We want any student interested in starting a novel to be able to attend this workshop. This week I’d like to draw your attention to the beautiful and honest personal narrative, Bar Harbor, by Lila Carpenter. I am drawn to this story for its rich detail, imagery and exacting language that captures the emotion of the moment so precisely. I am also drawn to it because I have two children, about the same age apart as Lila and her sister appear to be—my heart wrenched while reading and imagining my son and daughter in the weight of this moment. When the piece opens, the author, while in the company of her mother and sister, is alone in her angst and frustration. Forcing her attention away from her feelings, she agrees to explore, with her family, the place that will be her new sister’s home. On their walk together, the author’s attention is drawn to the ocean and the rhythm of waves against rocks. “Lost in the rhythmic roaring and bubbling of the ocean” she begins to accept the complex tangle of her own feelings, and in doing so, their intensity dissipates allowing the strength of her connection with her sister to surface and take precedence. For your weekend project, I invite you to follow Lila’s lead and observe something in nature until the details of your daily world dissipate into a meditative state. See where it takes you. Then capture that space, state of mind, realization, or observation in whatever medium you chose. If your work captures something you’d like to share, please do so and submit it to us via Submittable! Until next time, Congratulations to our most recent Flash Contest winners! Our March Flash Contest was based on Prompt #194 (provided by contributor Molly Torinus), which challenged participants to craft a frame narrative—like a story within a story—for their submissions. This delightful prompt readily invited experimentation with form, and we weren’t disappointed—one story went “Behind the Scenes” to show the editing processes and inner workings of the story itself! Others ranged from riffs on creation myths to campground misadventures to conferences wherein time travelers presented on their unique eras. As always, thank you to all who submitted, and please submit again next month! Congratulations to our Winners and Honorable Mentions, listed below. You can read the winning entries for this contest (and previous ones) at the Stone Soup website. Winners “The Element” by Kimberly Hu, 9 (Lake Oswego, OR) “Speakers of the Past” by Sophie Li, 11 (Palo Alto, CA) “A Way Out” by Lui Lung, 12 (Danville, CA) “The Last Chapter” by Savarna Yang, 13 (Outram, New Zealand) “Nightbear” by Melody You, 11 (Lake Oswego, OR) Honorable Mentions “Useless Sidekick” by Dalia Figatner, 11 (Mercer Island, WA) “Hope and Amelia” by Noelle Kolmin, 10 (New York, NY) “How the Skunk Got Her Stripe and the Kangaroo Her Pouch” by Nova Macknik-Conde, 10 (Brooklyn, NY) “Behind the Scenes” by Emily Tang, 12 (Winterville, NC) “Earthquake in a Book” by Karuna Yang, 11 (Outram, New Zealand) Highlights from the past week online Don’t miss the latest content from our Book Reviewers and Young Bloggers at Stonesoup.com! Young Blogger BlueJay wrote a beautiful poem, “Wild,” and supplied it with accompanying original photos. From the Stone Soup Blog March 2022 Bar Harbor By Lila Carpenter, 11 (Weston, MA) All the boxes were in the apartment, and we got a good look at it for the first time. It was small but cute, with its baby-blue wallpaper and overstuffed crimson armchair. Alex cast delighted glances around the room, barely able to stand still. “Oh my god, Mom, it’s so cute!” She ran across the small apartment and hugged her. No one seemed to notice I was there, or that I glared at both of them. Shrouded in frustration, I sank heavily into the armchair. Why is my own sister, who I won’t be seeing for at least a couple months, refusing to acknowledge my existence?! I didn’t notice my sister and mom leaving the room as I sat in a stew of misery. They were just meeting with the landlord, but I didn’t know that. I pulled out my iPhone and tried to busy myself, but even Tiny Wings couldn’t distract me from my pit of loneliness. My thoughts were wandering as I halfheartedly glanced at the bright flashing screen in my hand. Why does feeling sad feel so wrong? Every person has the right to be sad. My thoughts lodged themselves in a memory from the summer. Alex and I were poring over poems, inhaling the smell of books and dusty summer air. A slant of golden sunlight poured onto the poem we were reading, “When I Am Among the Trees.” I had to read that poem and explain it to Alex, who was pretending to be a younger child who didn’t know anything about it. “I’m bored. Can we do something else?” she asked, playing her part. I had given her a sharp flick on the shoulder for this, but it had only made me care for her more. She had giggled and patted me on the back. And now that can’t ever happen again, I thought in misery, sinking deeper into the armchair. …/MORE Stone Soup is published by Children’s Art Foundation-Stone Soup Inc., a 501(c)(3) educational nonprofit organization registered in the United States of America, EIN: 23-7317498. Stone Soup’s advisors: Abby Austin, Mike Axelrod, Annabelle Baird, Jem Burch, Evelyn Chen, Juliet Fraser, Zoe Hall, Montanna Harling, Alicia & Joe Havilland, Lara Katz, Rebecca Kilroy, Christine Leishman, Julie Minnis, Jessica Opolko, Tara Prakash, Denise Prata, Logan Roberts,
