What I love so much about the kid-lit community is their enduring love of books, and the endless generosity of their writers. Whether it is sharing information, offering advice or support, or just lending an ear, the kid-lit community is like a close-knit family.
I am always impressed when a writer offers to host a writing contest on their blog, spend many, many hours reading all the submissions, and positively commenting on each and every entry. This week Vivian Kirkfield is challenging us to write a children’s story in 50 words or less…CRAZY…right? Wow what a challenge! I thought Susanna Leonard Hill’s writing challenges were hard at 100 words or less.
This month, we all know, is the birth month of the lovable and prolific Dr. Seuss, March 2nd to be exact. Dr. Seuss was not immune to writing challenges either, and was dared by Bennett Cerf, his editor at Random House, to write a story using no more than 50 unique words (not the word count). Enter: Green Eggs and Ham.
Our challenge will be to stay within a 50 word count. You can find my submission below.
Cat’s Revenge?
Cat’s finally done it!
Squirrels in his teeth.
A hostage to revenge the dog.
Payback to bequeath.
Cat purrs with satisfaction
Dog barks with delight
Angered squirrels protest
hurling acorn pegmatite’s.
Meow and Yelp cry cat and dog
distracted from their prey
ducking flying acorn shells
as squirrel gets away!
I also wrote this next one in honor of the wonderful, silly relationship between my son and his Grandma Silly (Yes they actually call her Grandma Silly!)
Fox Breaking News:
After being sentenced to a life of spinning for crimes committed against the animal kingdom, The Evil Dr. Gerbil managed to escape from his prison wheel today. The notorious Pack Rat Gang is believed to be involved. Police Chief Wallaby has summoned Wonder Weasel.
Story at 11…
Wonder Weasel
and The Evil Dr. Gerbil
THE NIGHTINGALE TALES 
Jean…how lovely to meet you! Your story for #50PreciousWords is INCREDIBLE!!!! The characters, the plot, the action, the language…woo-hoo! I truly was engaged with each of your 50 words! Thank you so much for joining in the fun. I hope you will be posting the story/stories or the link to your website into the comments on my blog so that everyone will be able to read what you’ve written. Let me know if you need help. 😉
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Thank you Vivian!! I just loved the 50 word challenge. I had to work this morning so I just posted the link to my website now.
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I’m glad Vivian drew my attention to your story. I love how the drama builds and squirrel’s friends come to the rescue.
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Thanks ManjuBeth for taking the time to read my story. Nothing like friends having your back!
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Your entry story is darling, but I have to confess… I really liked “Fox Breaking News”, too!
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Thank you so much Jen. My second story is near and dear to my heart, I love the two characters and can’t wait to see what happens next!
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Such great stories, and so versatile in style (there’s a rhyme to save for later). I loved both, but have to admit that evil Dr Gerbil was my favourite. I especially like that he has a little sword in the picture.
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Nadine I have to confess too, I love Evil Dr. Gerbil! I can’t wait to see what kind of trouble he’s going to cause now that he’s escaped. Thanks for stopping by!
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Hi Jean…I don’t have your email but I need to get in touch with you and I’ve left Twitter and Facebook messages. It’s time to choose your prize. 🙂 Please contact me: viviankirkfield@gmail.com.
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