Monthly Archives: October 2017

Flash Fiction Rodeo Contest #8

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I can’t believe it! We’ve arrived at the final contest in the Carrot Ranch Flash Fiction Rodeo. We’ve been writing two stories a week all through October. I think I’ll be suffering withdrawal symptoms next month!
But this last one will keep me going for a while. It’s TUFF! If you remember George Smilovici from the eighties, you’ll recognise the question, “How TUFF?”   Not too tuff for us! Let’s join in and give it a go.

Carrot Ranch Literary Community

TUFF: The Ultimate Flash Fiction

by Charli Mills

What if I told you that writing flash fiction will get you to where you want to be? Would you scoff, or consider the possibility? Would you think I’m handing you a magic elixir? Ah, an elixir. Let’s pause a moment and talk about the hero’s journey.

If you answered the call to participate in the Flash Fiction Rodeo this past month, you answered the same call every hero hears: the one the hero reluctantly answers. We think of heroes as Thor or Wonder Woman. Yet, the hero’s journey calls to us all. Winnie the Pooh and Frodo and Mary Tyler Moore are all heroes. It’s about the path:

  1. The call: the opening scene in which the hero is called out of the ordinary world.
  2. The test: the story develops conflict through tests, challenges, temptations, allies and enemies.
  3. The cave

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Teaching critical thinking in early childhood classrooms with The Very Hungry Caterpillar – Readilearn

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teaching critical thinking

Teaching critical thinking in early childhood classrooms is important. Discussions about The Very Hungry Caterpillar can help develop critical thinking

Continue reading: Teaching critical thinking in early childhood classrooms with The Very Hungry Caterpillar – Readilearn

Flash Fiction Rodeo Contest #7

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Got murder on your mind? Here’s a chance to work it out; in fiction anyway – contest #7 in the Carrot Ranch Flash Fiction Rodeo #FFRODEO.

Carrot Ranch Literary Community

Murderous Musings:

When Good Folk Turn Bad At The Rodeo

By Sherri Matthews

Saddle up, tighten your reins and pull on your riding boots. And while you’re about it, watch your back, because wicked wranglings are afoot at the Rodeo. Western or English? Doesn’t matter. Thrown off a few times? Never mind. Devious, deadly or just plain dangerous, it’s time for some murderous musings.

Long fascinated with the dark side of the human heart, I read a lot of True Crime. Not for the gory details, neither for the whodunit: I want to understand the why.

As a memoir writer, I need to explore the true motives driving the story. I wonder how many of us ask ourselves, if truly honest, what might we be capable of if pushed too far? What would be our not so perfect storm?

But it never occurred to me that I could explore this…

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Flash Fiction Rodeo #6

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Another contest in the Carrot Ranch Flash Fiction Rodeo. This time it’s a lot of bull. Are you in?

Carrot Ranch Literary Community

Bucking Bull Go-Round

By D. Avery

Luck of the Draw, Resilience of the Rider

Bull riders are “today’s gladiators,” willing to risk injury and death for their ride to fame. Can you imagine straddling an angry, snorting 1800-pound animal that wants nothing more than to shake you off and perhaps gore and trample you, too? What must it be like to prepare for that, to face down fear as you approach the chute and settle atop this beast that you will dance with in the arena? What are people’s motivations to confront such a challenge, to set upon it and not only hang on for dear life, but to ride it with as much grace and finesse as possible, showing courage and skill in equal measure? Carrot Ranch’s Bucking Bull Go-Round event is a flash fiction approximation of rodeo’s most dangerous event, bull riding.

At the Professional Bull Riders’ (PBR)…

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readilearn: Introducing Pamela S. Wight, author of Birds of Paradise – Readilearn

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In the author spotlight this month is Pamela S. Wight, a fellow blogger, writer, and teacher of creative writing. I enjoy the stories of life Pamela shares on her blog Rough Wighting, and also enjoyed reading her adult novels. But it was the story of how this picture book Birds of Paradise came to be, a picture book 35 years in the making, that really captivated me. I knew I wanted to share it with you. Before we start talking about the book, though, let me introduce you to Pamela.

yellow bird Pamela Wight

Pamela Wight has joined the ranks of authors who are, as she calls it humorously “bi-genre” or “ambi-writers.” Think of Ian Fleming, who yes, wrote the James Bond books, but also switched genres and wrote the children’s book Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. Before A.A. Milne wrote the Winnie-the-Pooh books, he penned a popular whodunit entitled The Red House Mystery.

Wight wrote two books of romantic suspense, The Right Wrong Man and Twin Desires, before fulfilling her lifelong dream of publishing her children’s story Birds of Paradise about two special sparrows.

About the story:

Birds of Paradise

Sweet sparrows Bessie and Bert grow up as differently as night and day. Bessie is fearful of the dangers inherent in being a bird. She’s scared to leave her cozy branch. But Bert relishes flying in the sky and

continue reading: readilearn: Introducing Pamela S. Wight, author of Birds of Paradise – Readilearn

Flash Fiction Rodeo Contest #5

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And now for something completely different!
Got some time to fritter away? Try Twitter Flash Fiction in the Carrot Ranch #FFRODEO

Carrot Ranch Literary Community

9X11 Twitterflash

By C. Jai Ferry

We’ve Passed the Halfway Mark!

We’ve made it to Challenge #5, and we’re still alive and writing, so for this challenge, let’s see how you do with some rather unnatural constraints.

Carrot Ranch writers are used to the challenges inherent in writing a 99-word story. Flash fiction requires a delicate balance between brevity of words and richness of story. Becky Tuch at The Review Review offers the following perspective on flash fiction:

Part poetry, part narrative, flash fiction—also known as sudden fiction, micro fiction, short short stories, and quick fiction—is a genre that is deceptively complex. […] Distilling experience into a few pages or, in some cases a few paragraphs, forces writers to pay close attention to every loaded conversation, every cruel action, every tender gesture, and every last syllable in every single word.

[The link above also offers some great insights from experts…

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Flash Fiction Rodeo Contest #4

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Have you got any scars you wish to share? Maybe others you’d rather hide?
Irene Waters has thrown down the challenge for the fourth of the contests in the Carrot Ranch Flash Fiction Rodeo. #FFRODEO
We’re halfway through the challenges. Can you believe that!
I’m having a difficult time judging all the wonderful entries for my contest. Thank you to all who entered.
Have you entered any of the contests yet? There’s a $25 prize for the winner of each one!

Carrot Ranch Literary Community

Scars

By Irene Waters

Welcome to Contest #4 of the Carrot Ranch Flash Fiction Rodeo. This competition is free to enter and carries a cash prize of $25 for first place. Winning submissions will automatically be forwarded to the All-Around Rodeo Winner which carries an additional cash prize of $50. Naturally you can’t have a competition without rules and as each competition leader has devised their own rules I suggest that you read those for this competition prior to submitting your piece. The rules follow the competition topic.

The Topic

As a memoir writer and reader I am very aware that it is the situations in life that have a massive impact on the memoirist, those events which leave scars, whether physical or emotional, that are the chosen part of the life to be relayed. As a flash fiction writer delving into fiction, a genre with which I have…

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STEM in early childhood classrooms – readilearn

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Making space for STEM in early childhood classrooms is easy; or should be.

Children are naturally curious about the world. They want to know:

  • Why is it so?
  • How does it work?
  • What will happen if?
  • How can I?

It is important to harness their curiosity, explore their questions, engage their interests and inspire their imaginations.

Provide them with opportunities to investigate objects and phenomena in the world around them. Don’t always be in a rush to provide answers to their questions. Help them explore ways of finding the answer for themselves, if possible, or conduct the research with them.

A story reported by Michael Rosen in his book Good Ideas: How to Be Your Child’s (and Your Own) Best Teacher inspires me. The story explains that, as a child, David Attenborough took an interest in bones. If he was out walking and found some bones, he would take them home and ask his father about them.

His father, who was a GP and would have known, didn’t just tell him. Wanting his son to be curious and interested in finding things out for himself, he responded, for example: “I wonder if we can work it out . . .” They would then look through books about zoology and anatomy and try to identify the bone’s origin.

However, the answers don’t always have to be found in a book or on the internet. Some answers can be discovered through explorations and experimentation. Experts can also be consulted.

In a stimulating early childhood classroom where children have access to a range of resources and opportunities

Continue reading: STEM in early childhood classrooms – readilearn

Flash Fiction Rodeo Contest #3

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And the third of the contests has begun!
How’s your poetry? Ever written a septolet? I haven’t. Know what one is? I didn’t.
But I’m about to change both those answers. Are you?
Contests are free to enter and the winner receives a $25 prize!

Carrot Ranch Literary Community

Septolet in Motion

By JulesPaige

Words are cast like magic spells. Some may debate the text in which such lessons exist. Religious works could be a type of Grimoire since often as children we are taught rote prayers that will lead us away from temptation. Other schools of thought may define Grimoire as a book devoted to just the teaching and instruction of magic and those amulets and talisman that would be endowed with gifting the owners with better fortunes. I quote this next line from the Wikipedia entry on the subject, “In many cases, the books themselves are believed to be imbued with magical powers, though in many cultures, other sacred texts that are not Grimoires (such as the Bible) have been believed to have supernatural properties intrinsically.

I would beg to argue that any book that transfers us to another world or jolts our imagination could be a Grimoire…

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Flash Fiction Rodeo Contest #2

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My Contest #1 in the Carrot Ranch #FFRODEO is now closed. Thank you to everyone who entered. I’ll be able to start reading tomorrow. Yippee!
Today the second of the contests kicks off. You are required to make the judges laugh in 300 words! And you have only until Friday (13th) to do it! I hope you enter. Get those laughing pens ready! Good luck!

Carrot Ranch Literary Community

Little and Laugh

By Geoff Le Pard

My father was a man of many aphorisms, epithets, old saws and clichés. A know-all, really.

But one quote he shared with us that not only stuck but resonated was from an American poet, Ella Wheeler Wilcox

Laugh and the world laughs with you

Weep and you weep alone.

Laughter, in all its forms has taken centre stage in nearly every phase of my life, from irony to farce, pratfalls to priceless, life-enhancing fits of giggles. Whether it was as a defensive mechanism or merely because I enjoyed it, I don’t now remember but I’ve always wanted to make people laugh. Over the years I’ve tailored my delivery, become sensitive to my audience and played everything and anything for a laugh. I’m one of those people who you can always trust with a secret…unless it’s genuinely too funny not to be shared. In…

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