Tag Archives: writing contest

Folk Tale or Fable Carrot Ranch Rodeo 2020 Contest #1

AND The 2020 Carrot Ranch Writing Rodeo’s first event Winner is:

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And the results of the first Carrot Ranch Rodeo Contest are posted!
Pop over to contest leader Kerry. E. B. Black’s blog for the results, and to the Carrot Ranch to read the winning story and the three honorable mentions (including mine!!!!) https://carrotranch.com/rodeo-contests/2020-rodeo/

Allusionary Assembly

Today, with distinct pleasure, I announce the winners of the Carrot Ranch’s 20202 Writing Rodeo Event #1 which I had the honor of organizing. Eighteen brave souls saddled up, lassoed 99 words, and created brand new folk lore type stories for Carrot Ranch. There were comedic pieces and two works of horror, a romance, myths, legends, and a fairy tale. There were researched pieces, too, for the historians. Each and every one of the contestants should feel proud. They flexed their writing muscles and, woo wee, they did not make it easy for the judges to pick the winner!

Everyone who participated is welcomed to display this badge on their website. You earned it!

Now, for our Writing Rodeo 2020 honorable mentions:

“Sky Rider’s Happily Ever After” written by Liz Husebye Hartmann

“Snow White and the Seven Gunslingers” written by Nora Colvin

“Flem and the Rattlesnake” written by Mike Vreeland

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Carrot Ranch TUFF flash fiction contest week 4

TUFF Flash Fiction Contest Part Four

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Coming ready or not!
Here’s the fourth and final part of the Carrot Ranch 2020 Rodeo TUFF contest. How are you going with your story? There’s still time to complete all stages if you’re not done yet.
Good luck, writers!

Carrot Ranch Literary Community

Did you stay in the saddle for the full ride? Or are you here to slide under the fence, last minute? Either way, Rodeo Writers, you’ve TUFFed it out and we have arrived at our final challenge.

TUFF (The Ultimate Flash Fiction) is a progressive form that takes you from draft to revision through several word reductions — 99, 59, 9, 99. Each step has had a twist along the way as the TUFF contest has unfolded:

The final twist in the contest involves an additional trope. The first draft included the tropes for western and romance. Tropes are elements that define a genre or theme. In this contest, we have used tropes as themes. Now, we will add a final trope as a prop.

PART FOUR TWIST

A prop can be gold in…

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Git Along an’ Start Writin’

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This is the third of the Carrot Ranch 2020 rodeo weekly contest, and what a wonderful contest it is, designed by the lovely Marsha Ingrao. I am honoured to be one of her judges and look forward to reading your stories.
If you’re not sure about how to write a three act story, the video by Kurt Vonnegut that Marsha has included in her post could not make it any more clear.
Good luck, writers!

Marsha Ingrao - Always Write

Carrot Ranch Rodeo Contest 2020

Rodeo #3: Three-ActStory

We live for stories, and as writers, we craft them in the written word. A story is about Something (plot) that happens to Someone (characters), Somewhere (setting). Even if it is only 99 words long.

Crafting the Story

Act I, the beginning, the story rises. If a story is about someone, we have to feel something for that character. When we care what happens next for or to this Someone, we come to the middle.

Act II shifts to fear, according to the Greeks. We can interpret this as the emotion that drives the writer and reader to worry about what happens next. Or be curious about what comes next. The driving emotion doesn’t have to be fear, but the middle holds an important shift or build-up of tension or expectation. The story is in motion.

Act III is when that motion…

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rodeo #1 Dialog

Rodeo #1: Dialog

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And so the rodeo begins. Geoff le Pard has introduced the first contest: Dialog. You won’t believe who are conversing. Will you join in?

Carrot Ranch Literary Community

By Geoff Le Pard, Rodeo Leader

Writers are notorious people watchers. It’s a small miracle we don’t get done for stalking more often. Part of that idea — thieving we do involves listening to what people say — phrases, the modes of speech, dialect, etc. People convey ideas and feelings with words. [READ MORE…]

So, those pesky rules:

  1. Every entry must be 99 words, no more, no less. You can have a title outside that limit.
  2. It’s dialogue only. Everything inside speech marks, please. (American and British styles both accepted.)
  3. Any genre, time, place, just let us know via words. If you can world build a fantasy, hats off! (Oh, by the way, I bloody loathe the overuse of the exclamation mark. Be very sparing or my prejudices may show through.
  4. It’s a conversation so you need two characters at least. But can you have a conversation with yourself? With…

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All You Need to Know to Rodeo

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Are you saddled up ready to write in the Carrot Ranch Flash Fiction Rodeo 2018? The contests get underway this week and continue throughout October with plenty of opportunities to join in and the chance of winning a prize.
Who will be among the TUFF 5 writers? Did you enter? Could one be you.? Or maybe me? Charli reveals all on 1 October. Not long to wait!

Carrot Ranch Literary Community

Weekly Flash Fiction Challenges are on hiatus until November 1. Just like hands on a ranch, we’re going to take a break from our regular chores to challenge and show off our skills. We’re going to have us a rodeo! A flash fiction rodeo.

THE TUFFEST RIDE

Judging for TUFF began after the final September Free-Write. These writers were in it to win it. A free-write is a scary contest to enter because it makes a writer feel vulnerable, but vulnerability is exactly what a writer has to push past to write deep, to meet the muse, to follow gut instinct. Drafting is all about trusting the spark of creativity.

We will post a video on October 1 (right here in the blog feed) to announce the five writers who will advance to compete every Monday. They will write a new story to a fresh prompt, then each week revise…

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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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