2024 Fall Writing Frenzy Contest
- Laura McIntosh
- Oct 2, 2024
- 3 min read
Fall is my favorite season. Beautiful colors, cooler temps, fuzzy sweaters, family campfires, cozy cuddles, I could go on. This fall I'm trying something new. This is my first-ever official entry to the #FallWritingFrenzy 2024 contest.
The #FallWritingFrenzy is a kidlit contest for unagented writers of board books through YA. The contest requires writers to pick from ten images and let the image inspire a piece that's appropriate for a kidlit audience. It's hosted by the amazing:
Kaitlyn: @kaitlynleann17, @kaitlynleann17.bsky.social, kaitlynleann17,
There are awesome prize donors donating their time and expertise to build up budding author and the kidlit community. Thank you from the bottom of my heart to Elizabeth Law, Milena Blue Spruce, Leyla Erkan, Ivan Taurisano, Thalia Leaf, Naomi Kirsten, Kristen Monh, Ann Rose, Mara Hollander, Kaitlyn Leann Sanchez, Marzieh Abbas, Tara J. Hannon, Aya Khalil, Shannon Stocker, Chris Baron, David McMullin,Graham Annable, Ebony Lynn Mudd, and Lydia Lukidis.
After receiving an Honorable Mention in the inaugural 2024 KidLit Chuckle Challenge, Honorable Mention honor in the 2024 SpringFling Kidlit contest, and a 2024 PB Rising Stars Runner Up, I felt encouraged to try again. I've come to learn these writing contests are so valuable for:
Improving my craft (practice practice practice)
Building community (the best encouragement and support)
Sparking creativity (new ideas galore)
Getting outside my head (on current WIPs)
Truth be told, for days I could not get inspired by any of the images. Nothing spoke to me. Until...
an object in one of the images caught my eye, captured my imagination, and simply would not let go. Because I'm working on a verse novel, I thought I'd try my hand at writing a YA prose poem. It flowed out of me in minutes, and I only bring that up because that never happens for me and may never again. It felt like a small miracle. I revised more times than I care to admit (thanks to CPs who gave me invaluable feedback), and now I'm proud to share my submission with contest hosts, judges, and readers.
Without further ado, here is my entry.
Image #4 - 198 words
Credit: Unsplash via Alex Geerts
It’s Mine Now
“I want my blanket back,” you say, and I reply, “It’s not with me,”
even though it is here, a wrinkled heap in the trunk of my Civic.
Distant cheers erupt from Wildcat football fans, and you sigh,
warming your forever-cold hands in blue jean pockets.
You know where the blanket is. That August afternoon,
you cleaned the clutter from my trunk to make space for it
after we picnicked under a maple tree with leaf tips blushing
crimson, and I ridiculed people who used the verb picnicked
with my mouth full of crackers and spreadable cheese.
Our plastic cups made no sound when we crashed them
into each other. While you toasted us, I tried not to scratch
my legs, though the wool made them itchy for hours
even after the blanket was back in the trunk.
I almost ask, “Do you remember the cheese?” but you’ve left me
for the crowd of Wildcats. I take out the blanket and drape it
over my shoulders, a suitable cape for a superhero of lost causes.
It feels heavy, holding in my vanishing heat and heartache.
All around me, withered leaves cover the ground,
already succumbed to the inevitable.
A story that brilliantly captures feelings and disappointment.