Presenting the Saga of Jack O. Lantern…Jack was anxiously awaiting Halloween. His hat was in place, a smile on his face! Now he has to listen to the words of the whispering wind!
Enjoy! Happy Fall!
Halloween – Credit: Danielle Rae
The Saga of Jack O. Lantern
Jack O. Lantern knew he was there, Although, he wasn’t quite certain exactly where. The whispering wind said to follow these steps If his Halloween wishes were to be met.
First, look for a stone rectangle on the ground. If you look down it’s sure to be found. Next, wait for a shadow it will appear, in the form of a triangle ever so near! Then, think of the sum of 1+1, you’ll spy the answer, your game’s almost won! Last, the one that has numbers is yours to claim. Two of the numbers are the same
Jack was ready. His hat was in place, a winsome smile upon his face. Triangular eyes looked far and near. The stone rectangle did appear. The triangle was a bit harder to spy. Using his stick, it caught his eye! He saw two mailboxes side by side! Two was the answer they would provide!
9-7-9 …three numbers on one box! Trembling, shaking, quaking, what if it was locked? He used his stick to catapult, the mailbox was so high Now, poor Jack O. Lantern remains somewhere in the sky!
It is that time of year once again to hone the craft of writing! Kaitlyn Sanchez and Lydia Lukidis are presenting #FallWritingFrenzy ! The guest judge this year is Ameerah Holliday! Get ready, get set…write!!! ✍
#FallWritingFrenzy 2021 Rules
Attention kidlit community-
After last year’s successful second edition, our Fall Writing Frenzy contest is back! Yahoo! This contest was created by agent / author Kaitlyn Sanchez, and I have the honor of co-hosting by her side again. This year, we’re offering a slew of awesome prizes from some very talented and experienced donors. The list will be up shortly. Plus, we have some exciting news- we have a new guest judge (and donor)! Please welcome Ameerah Holliday, junior agent from Serendipity Literary Agency.
And can we say- we are very, very excited!
Why Fall Writing Frenzy? It’s simple: to create connections! The goal is to help all you writers grow, by inspiring you and challenging you to write something different. Then, we’ll select the winners and connect them with established literary professionals. If you’re selected, one of these generous donors will critique a work of your choice. All kidlit levels are welcome: BB, PB, CB, MG, YA, GN. It’s a wonderful opportunity to sharpen your writing skills, make new friends, and connect with others who share the same passions. Our contest will also hopefully get everyone’s creative and spooktacular juices flowing for Susanna Hill’s Halloweensie contest at the end of October.
So, how does this all work?
DRUM ROLL PA-LEASE!!
First off, to receive all updates, please subscribe to Lydia’s blog in the upper right corner of this page as well as Kaitlyn’s blog: https://kaitlynleannsanchez.com/blog/.
And here’s how everything will go down:
1. Pick one of the images below and write about it. It can be a poem, a story, a mood piece, or whatever comes to mind. Happy, scary, beautiful, grotesque, whatever suits your fancy for any kidlit age, board book through young adult.
Maximum length: 200 words (not including the title).
2. You can write about the picture in a literal or metaphorical way, or focus on a memory or emotion it elicits. Just let the photo inspire you and have fun!
3. Entries for the contest can be submitted between October 1 and October 3, 2021 11:59 PM EST. Come back to this website and there will be a special blog post specifically for entries. You will enter your information to the form on the blog post, and you can include the link to your entry. If you don’t have a blog, no worries, you can post in the comments of the blog post. This is meant to create connections with others in the writing community so you visit (and maybe even subscribe to each other’s blogs).
One entry per person please.
5. Share, share, share! Please spread the word about the contest with your writing groups, on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook etc. When you do, we’d love it if you tag us so we can interact too! Kaitlyn is @kaitlynleann17 and Lydia is @LydiaLukidis. And once the event starts, comment on other entries with supportive, encouraging messages. Don’t forget to use out official hashtag: #FallWritingFrenzy.
6. The winners will be selected by Kaitlyn, Ameerah Holliday, myself, OR their prize donor. We’ll choose whatever speaks to us the most, could be sentimental, sweet, powerful, funny, lyrical, scary, inspiring, or something we haven’t thought of. We’re excited to be surprised!
7. We are aiming to announce the winners by October 31st but depending on how many wonderful entries there are, it may take longer, please be patient with us so we can give each entry the attention it deserves.
Also, we have a new badge for all you wonderful contestants!
Click HERE for the contestant badge. Simply right click and save them on your desktop. Feel free to post them on your bogs, websites and/or social media!
And please support all the donors by buying their books or their clients’ books. Most of all, GOOD LUCK and HAVE FUN!!
So, are you guys ready for the 2021 Fall Writing Frenzy images?? Here they are:
Halloween- Credit: Samantha Hurley / Burst
Fall- Credit: Vino Li / Unsplash
Día de los Muertos- Credit: Melinda Young Stuart / Bing
Halloween- Credit: Matthew Henry / Burst
Fall- Credit: Carol Hinz
Diwali- Credit: Partho Roy / Unsplash
Halloween- Credit: Danielle Rae
Mooncake Festival- Credit: Alex Ho / Creative Commons
Entering writing contests is always exciting! It helps to hone the craft of writing but it also provides you with encouraging and uplifting support from the kidlit community! Kaitlyn Leann Sanchez and Ciara O’Neal’s “Spring Fling Contest” is a wonderful opportunity to win incredible prizes from generous donors but also allows us to give those encouraging word of praise to each other as well! 🙂
The Gif that inspired my story and the entry are below! Enjoy!
Juni peeked out the bedroom window each morning to see if it arrived. Today was no different! Trees forgot to show their leaves, still dressed in gowns of white. No Robins were tut-tutting. Juni was beginning to think those white snowlike wisps would never arrive. She needed them to hurry. Time was running short. Mommy was finding it harder to move about and needed more naptime than Juni. She was desperately waiting for a sound, a bud and that magical flower to appear.
One morning Juni began her day as usual, searching for signs. She caught a glimpse of buds on the tree, delightful chattering filled the air, and as she tiptoed outside, she found it… wish time! Fingers trembling, Juni gently plucked the “wishes” and blew! The downy seed heads of dandelions fluttered through the air amazing as snowflakes themselves!
Juni whispered, “May I please have a baby brother?”
WELCOME TO ALL! Whether you have participated in previous years or you are just dipping your toes in for the first time – whether you are a pre-published author or you have multiple books out there already – I am so very glad you are here!
Study the guidelines (they are easy-peasy), scroll through the prizes (they are extraordinary), and share your #50PreciousWords story in the comment section (we are all here to support and encourage you on your writing journey).
A bit of the back story: In 2016, I had an idea for a contest that would exercise our writing muscles and force us to make every work count. Over the years, several entries have become books, many participants have signed with agents…but what I love the most is the enthusiasm and the positive energy that this contest generates.
