Year Two Fiction in Five Winners

Scroll down to read the prompts for each of the Fiction in Five contests this year. Click on the ‘winners’ links to read the stories.

August, 2011 Winners

August Fiction in Five Prompt: Pick ONE and one only of the following theme prompts for your story. The prompt does not need to be included in the story exactly as written, but the story must reflect the theme/concept/idea represented in the prompt.

1. You are digging in your garden and find a fist-sized nugget of gold.
2. The detective saw his opportunity. He grabbed the waitress’s arm and said…
3. There are three children sitting on a log near a stream. One of them looks up at the sky and says…

Then, in the body of your story use all six of these words in any order:

1. Blackbird
2. Dragons
3. Talisman
4. Stapler
5. Billboard
6. Phone

October, 2011 Winners

Winners in the October Fiction in Five Contest have been chosen. They all followed the prompt listed below and the judges, after much debate and and deliberation, have chosen the top four stories. Click on the link October 2011 Winners link above to read the stories.

October, 2011 Fiction in Five Prompt:

Choose one and only one of the following prompts:

1. Write a Halloween story about why your main character stole the orange fluorescent Sharpie marker from the office supply store.
2. The white sheets with black eyes peering through holes of the costume gave no clue as to who the kid was…
3. As I carefully entered the haunted house, the door shut behind me and…

Now, use all six of the following words/phrases in your story:

1. poltergeist
2. creepy
3. brownie
4. cauldron
5. purple goo
6. caramel apple

December, 2011 Winners

Here is the prompt for the December Fiction in Five contest. Winners have been announced. Click the link above to read their stories.

December Prompts for the Fiction in Five Contest

Choose ONE and only ONE of the following prompts for your story. The story must follow the theme suggested in the prompt. You must also use the exact words as the beginning of the FIRST sentence in your story.

1. The snow is falling and I can’t see two feet in front of me….
2. Living in the desert at Christmas time is so….
3. The icicles hung dangerously from the old house….

Use all of the following six words/phrases in your story:

1. bells
2. candy canes
3. cranberry sauce
4. eggnog
5. fruitcake
6. mistletoe

February, 2012 Winners

February Fiction in Five Prompt: Pick ONE and one only of the following theme prompts for your story. The prompt does not need to be included in the story exactly as written, but the story must reflect the theme/concept/idea represented in the prompt.

1. The first prompt is a visual one. This is a photo taken by my sister-in-law. Write a story about the photo or something it prompts you to think about.

1. A rare spring-like day interrupts the dull, drab winter days. How do you spend it?
2. You find an anonymous Valentine card in with your stack of mail.

Then, in the body of your story use all six of these words in any order:

1. Glass
2. Red
3. Chocolate heart
4. Clouds
5. Lotion
6. Lace

April, 2012 Winners

Here is the prompt for the April contest:

The first April Fiction in Five prompt is meant to create a mood, stretch your creative writing muscles and take you out of the box a bit. Following is a poem by Robert Louis Stevenson: Spring Song.  Please read the poem and then use it in your story.  You can use all three stanzas or just one, but at least one must be repeated in total somewhere in your story and your story must be connected to the poem or stanza. In other words, don’t just stick it in there somewhere, make it part of the story. This is a different sort of challenge and the judges and I are looking forward to seeing how your stories form. Have fun, be creative, and Happy Writing!

 

Spring Song

by Robert Louis Stevenson

The air was full of sun and birds,
The fresh air sparkled clearly.
Remembrance wakened in my heart
And I knew I loved her dearly.

The fallows and the leafless trees
And all my spirit tingled.
My earliest thought of love, and Spring’s
First puff of perfume mingled.

In my still heart the thoughts awoke,
Came lone by lone together –
Say, birds and Sun and Spring, is Love
A mere affair of weather?

OR, you may choose one of the following two prompts:

1. Finish the following sentence somewhere in your story: “I was running barefoot through the sprinkler in the backyard when….”

2. Finish the following sentence and use it as the first sentence in your story: “My Nana was always right, that is until the day…”

If you use one of the two alternate prompts, you must also include in your story each of the following words:

1. Mud
2. Butterfly
3. Rainbow
4. Fertilizer
5. Oasis
6. Outlet

June, 2012 Winners

This is the prompt the contestants are using for the June, 2012 Fiction in Five Contest. When the winners are announced, you can click on June Contest above to read the winning entries.

1. Photo Prompt:

I took this photo in June, 2008. I’m not going to say anything more about it other than I was traveling in Europe when I took it. The prompt is this: Look at this photo and write a 700-1000 word story that involves this image in some way. It needs to be very apparent to the judges that this image is the inspiration for your story.

2. Write a story about coping with the summer heat before electric fans and air conditioners.

3. Write a story with this sentence as the FIRST sentence: “Knee high by the Fourth of July.”

But, that’s not all! No matter which of the three prompts you choose, your story must also contain the following six words:

1. fishing
2. corn
3. aspirin
4. licorice
5. village
6. lotion