Wednesday, October 30, 2013

Hallowe'en Fun: The Scary Spell

Just for fun, I've decided to enter author Susanna Leonard Hill's Halloweensie writing contest.

In case you haven't checked out Susanna's blog yet, I recommend it! It's a great place to hang out if you write picture books (or if you write any kind of children's books). She has really useful features like Would You Read It on Wednesdays, where writers can get reactions and critiques of their short pitches and Perfect Picture Book Fridays, where you can learn about great picture books. And she even has yummy treats!

For the Halloweensie Contest, here's challenge:

Write a 100 word Halloween story appropriate for children (title not included in the 100 words), using the words spookyblack cat, and cackle.   Your story can be scary, funny or anything in between, poetry or prose, but it will only count for the contest if it includes those 3 words (you can count black cat as one word) and is 100 words (you can go under, but not over!)  Get it?  Halloweensie - because it's not very long and it's for little people :)  [Note: of you choose to use cackle as a verb, any form is acceptable - cackles, cackled, cackling...]

Post your story on your blog between now and Thursday October 31st by 11:59 PM EDT and add your post-specific link to the list on Susanna's blog.

One hundred words is not easy people! But here's what I came up with:


The Scary Spell

 
“Harrison!” cackled Leona. “Time to get scary for the witches’ ball.”

Harrison flicked his pointy ears. Oh no. Leona’s wand broke after the wart-away spell.

She waved it over him. “Abracadarey, big and scary!”

What? Now he was a boring, black cow.

“Mooo!” said Harrison, wishing he still had claws.

Leona waved again. “Abracaglarey, mean and hairy!”

Stamping tiny goat hooves, Harrison growled. “Naaa!”

Leona tried one more time. “Abracadat, spooky black cat!”

Sparks flew. Harrison’s fur crackled. He bared his teeth.

“You’re scarier than me!” Leona said. “You’d better stay home.”

Perfect. He could have a monstrous cat nap.

 




46 comments:

  1. Hee, hee, hee, I love this, Andrea! Just like a cat. :0)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks! I'm not even a "cat person", I'm more of a "dog person." Hmm...I think I'm getting an idea for another story!

      Delete
  2. Adorable!!!! Love-"the wart-away spell."
    Andrea, This is so much fun! Very creative :-)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Ha! It's almost begging me to create more spells about these two! Glad you enjoyed it!

      Delete
  3. Replies
    1. I'm not even that fond of cats! But it's fun to take another creature's perspective once in a while.

      Delete
  4. Abracaglarey, mean and hairy, all these spells make me scaredy!

    Love all the different approaches to this competition!

    ReplyDelete
  5. One of the best things about Susanna's contests are that we get to connect with new faces.:) It is lovely to meet you, Andrea!
    Great story...super ending. The spells are purrfect!!!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Ha! I could've included that word at the end! It's nice to connect with you, too.

      Delete
  6. Love this! I could so see this as a fun picture book. Great job, Andrea!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Hahaha! I love this Andrea! Very entertaining and imaginative! O love that he growls out goat sounds :) And I think my favorite line is when Leona thinks he's scarier than her :) Thanks so much for joining in the Halloweensie fun! :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It IS fun! Your contests are so great for getting those creative juices flowing!

      I just realized I forgot to include the word "spooky" but I've fixed that now.

      Delete
  8. Hilarious. I loved this. Thanks for sharing.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Replies
    1. Thanks, Pam. I decided to take a break from my MG revising and have a little fun!

      Delete
  10. I felt full of worry with the thought of a semi-broken wand in use! Great story.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. There are so many possibilities for that broken wand, aren't there? Thanks for dropping by.

      Delete
  11. Very cute! I'd love to see the illustrations with this one:)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I often wish I could illustrate too! Thanks for stopping by!

      Delete
  12. This was such great fun! Laughed out loud at the ending! Glad to meet you.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'm glad you liked it. It's nice to meet you too!

      Delete
  13. This was so cute! My cats would rather stay home and sleep, too :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks! Glad I captured some real "cat" personality!

      Delete
  14. That was great! Though I was hopin' Harrison would end up as a goat. I do so like goats. :)

    ReplyDelete
  15. Cute! I could use a monstrous catnap right about now. ;)

    ReplyDelete
  16. Fun! I liked 'abracaglarey' and 'abracadat' - very creative.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you. I came up with that to try to fit the word count! These challenges do make you think!

      Delete
  17. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  18. Hahaha, loved reading/giggling with this. You are one creative lady!

    ReplyDelete
  19. Hahha! Purrrfect ending! :-)

    ReplyDelete
  20. Replies
    1. I feel like taking a cat nap after all the excitement etc. of Halloween!

      Delete
  21. Your rhyming magic spells were so much fun. I like your cat's attitude.

    ReplyDelete

I love to hear your responses and thoughts! Your comments will appear after moderation (I’ve decided to enable moderation due to excessive spam).