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Stories

Fall Writing Frenzy Competition 2021

26/9/2021

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They're back! Kaitlyn Sanchez and Lydia Lukidis are back with another Fall Writing Frenzy competition for 2021. To enter, you need to go to Lydia's Wordpress site, choose an image, write your 200 word story to go with your chosen image, and follow the instructions to submit between October 1 and October 3, 2021 11:59 EST. It's loads of fun and a great way to hone your writing skills and make every word count. 
Here's my story for this year. Don't forget to support each other by reading and liking as many of the entries as you can. Good luck everyone! 

THE FEARLESS FIVE: HALLOWEEN SUPERHEROES 
 
Green Devil, Pumpkin Bat, Skeleton Jack, and Buzz got dressed in their new outfits before heading out the door for trick or treat. ‘These are great! No-one will ever recognize us. Super sewing Buzz!’ announced Skeleton Jack. Buzz grinned. They all nodded in agreement. ‘Those evil, candy stealing witches won’t know a thing,’ he said, as the four heroes admired themselves in the mirror. Green Devil’s sister, Little Red, rolled her eyes as she motioned for them to hurry up. They quickly closed the door and started going from house to house yelling ‘Trick or treat!’, watching as they did so, for anything or anyone suspicious. On their way to the last house, someone screamed excitedly, ‘Ooo look! It’s the Fearless Five!’ Little Red wasn’t fooled, but the other four turned quickly and posed as the camera flash went off. ‘Mwha haha. Thanks boys,’ cackled a sneaky witch, as she quickly scooped up their baskets full of candy and zoomed away. ‘Drats!’ mumbled the four in unison, blinking away the bright light and kicking the pavement. ‘You guys never learn,’ sighed Little Red. ‘Guess we’ll have to share mine again. C’mon. Let’s go home.’ 
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Halloween. Credit: Bing

The Fearless Five: Halloween Superheroes © Kerry Gittins 2021. All Rights Reserved.

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Aniko Press Winter flash Fiction

11/8/2021

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Photo by Griffin Wooldridge from Pexels. Accessed Aug. 11, 2021
100 words on the theme of SCARE. Not as easy as it sounds! Every word has to earn it's place. Here are mine. 

THE MAPLE TREE. 
Sitting on the branch of the ancient maple tree, Remy began that singsong chant I despised. ‘I spy with my little eye. . .’ She stopped. Her face filled with disbelief as the ground cracked open revealing a deep, black abyss. The voices returned. My nostrils filled with the stench of their breath as they hissed, ‘Do it!’
She barely noticed as I slid my arm around her back. A gentle push. Down she fell. I grinned at the terror in her eyes and cries for help as I watched her vanish into the swirling depths.

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2022 NWF Joanne burns microlit awards

25/7/2021

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The Red Bridge
I know you’re here. I caught a glimpse of you before I looked down to check my step, making sure I didn’t trip on the time worn cobblestones beneath the entrance arch. Those eyes that always held a hint of mischief. That open, knowing smile. Every year in the month of ghosts, we’d journey to the Jade Mountain Temple at the end of the red bridge to celebrate your beloved grandparents, to make sure their spirits wouldn’t feel alone.
Now it’s just me who comes, to make sure you don’t feel alone.
I cross the gently curving bridge and enter the temple. The loss I feel is still raw, but lessens as I place my incense beside the other glowing red shards in the brass bowl, that sits atop legs shaped like dragons. I feel cocooned and peaceful, surrounded by the familiar low hum of others chanting and giving thanks to ancestors. As I kneel I feel your breath on my neck, hear your voice as it gently whispers, ‘It’s time now.’ I see your smile again and know you will be with me, always.

The Red Bridge © Kerry Gittins 2021. All Rights Reserved.

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#SpringFlingKidlit competition is on!

3/4/2021

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It's Spring again in the northern hemisphere which means #SpringFlingKidLit competition is on! It was loads of fun using a Gif for inspiration. I hope you enjoy my entry below. Huge thanks to Ciara ONeal and Kaitlynn Sanchez for hosting. 

The Dragon In Henry's Cupboard.
‘There’s a baby dragon in my cupboard!’ yelled my brother Henry as he burst into my room waving his arms about excitedly.
‘There can’t be a dragon in your cupboard because dragons don’t exist,’ I said and continued reading my book Science Made Easy.
‘Oh yeh?’ He took the book, threw it on the bed, grabbed my ankles and started dragging me out across the hallway.
‘Okay, okay let me go!’ I cried. ‘I’ll come look!’
As we entered his room, I saw the cupboard door was slightly open. A small, green creature with two enormous yellow eyes peered out at us from under a pile of t-shirts and underpants.
My jaw dropped. ‘Told you,’ Henry grinned, and to prove he was right, the dragon hiccupped, and a small flame shot out of its mouth. I never doubted my brother again!
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Come and see the dragon in my cupboard!
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#50Preciouswords competition entry

7/3/2021

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Very excited to take part for the first time in this year's #50PreciousWords competition hosted by author Vivian Kirkfield. It is definitely a challenge to keep a story to 50 words but also a really good way to make every single word count. So - here is TIDY UP.
There are Brolgas in bathtubs, Llamas in the loo. Oh no the toys have made such a mess! What should I do? I know - tidy up! 
TIDY UP! 

Brolgas in the bathtub. Badgers in beds.
Kiwis in the kitchen eating jam and bread.
Tigers having tea. Llamas in the loo.
Everywhere is such a mess! What should I do?
Tidy up! One by one in the box you go.
Clean as a whistle. Shhh! Mum will never know.


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Art by Vicky Fang

Tidy Up! © Kerry Gittins 2021. All Rights Reserved.

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Fall writing frenzy: Flipped challenge!

20/10/2020

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One of our #FallWritingFrenzy creators Kaitlyn Sanchez has challenged us to take our original Fall Writing Frenzy piece and flip it by putting it in another setting or switching the MC to his/her/their antagonist, then share, tag and retweet! My original story has now taken on a distinctly sinister feel and the ending is VERY different! This was SO. MUCH. FUN! 

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Image #5
​Sasha Flipped aka Annika's Story
​I spy with my little eye. . .
I hated that game but Sasha loved it – because I always lost and she always won.
Sasha won at everything.
One chilly fall day, I had climbed the maple tree in our backyard and was sitting on my favourite branch midway up the tall broad trunk, when Sasha clambered up beside me.
‘I spy with my little eye something beginning with . . .’ she began, but I wasn’t listening. Something was stirring at the bottom of the tree.
Leaves began to jump in the middle of what could only be a faerie circle - mushrooms with white stalks and conical tops, growing at the base of the tree.
‘A faerie ring!’ I breathed.
Inside the ring, a dark hole was forming, the leaves caught, spiraling downward as it grew wider and deeper.
With Sasha transfixed by the hole, I gave a quick, gentle push, and down she fell.
I watched as she was pulled deeper into the abyss, arms stretched upwards, her look of terror and cries for help fading away. Then came a tiny rumble and ziipp! and the hole was gone.

SashaFlipped © Kerry Gittins 2020. All Rights Reserved.

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