Melissa Johnston Miles

Mom, author, nurse, teacher . . . reading the world around me

Month: October 2020

Impossible Assignment?

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On October 29, 2020

In Contests, Writing Contests, Writing prompts

I decided to write two completely different stories for Susanna Leonard Hill’s tenth annual Halloweensie Writing Contest this year. So, here’s the second one. It’s kind of an inside joke for all of us who first looked at the contest rules and thought we couldn’t do it! I hope you enjoy it!

Photo by August de Richelieu on Pexels.com

The Impossible Assignment

97 words

“What’s wrong?” Henry’s sister Rachel asked.

“This assignment’s impossible. It’s bad enough having school on Halloween.”

She scanned his computer. “It’s definitely possible.”

“I can’t write a story in only 100 words using these three exact words.”

“Sure you can!”

“But how?” he wailed. Henry couldn’t trick-or-treat until he finished.

“Hmmm,” Rachel said. “I’ll be right back.”

At the sound of footsteps, Henry looked up.

“Why are you wearing my creepy skeleton mask?”

“There’s your story!” she said. “Write it down, and keep it short!”

“You’re the best!” Henry said with a grin as he started typing.

Sammy Skeleton’s Sticky Situation

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On October 29, 2020

In Contests, Writing Contests, Writing prompts

I wrote this little story for Susanna Leonard Hill’s tenth annual Halloweensie Writing Contest. It’s a fun and challenging task to write a Halloween story in only 100 words. To make it even more challenging, some form of these words has to be included in the story: Skeleton, creep and mask. I hope you enjoy it!

Image used with permission by its creator, DazzlinggirlDIYShop

Sammy Skeleton’s Sticky Situation

99 words

Halloween was Sammy Skeleton’s favorite!
But, before he’d gotten far…
Squish.
“What creep threw gum on the sidewalk?”
His metatarsals were icky.
His cuboid bone was sticky.
“I’m a mess!”
Tears filled his Sugar Skull mask.
Before Sammy’s candy bucket was half-full, grass and leaves clung to his foot.
Gretchen Ghoul laughed.
Tommy Troll pointed with his club.
But, Wendy Witch said, “Let me brew some Go-away Goo.”
Clank. Clatter. His foot plunged into her cauldron.
Sizzle. Frizzle. Then…
“The gum’s gone!” Sammy shouted. “Thanks!”
“Let’s finish trick-or-treating,” said Wendy.
“Great,” agreed Sammy. “But, first I’ll get my shoes!”

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Thanks for reading! And if you love the gorgeous mask in the picture as much as I do, purchase link is in the caption. 🙂

The First Step

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On October 24, 2020

In Contests, writing, Writing Contests, Writing prompts

Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com

So, The Fall Writing Frenzy challenges keep coming! Kaitlyn Sanchez, one of the contest organizers, posted this challenge: take a line from your original story and create a whole new story from that line. As before, we’d love for you to share with our community by posting to your blog and sharing using the #FallWritingFrenzy hashtag!

So, here’s my effort, coming in at just under 200 words. I kept the same character from my original, but aged her up to 18 and created a new story for her. The line from the original is in bold type. I hope you enjoy!

The First Step

I unpacked my shadow box, placing it gently on the desk.
“What’s the deal with the leaf?”
I looked over my shoulder, taking in my roommate’s smirk.
“Just something I’ve had since I was a kid.”
“Whatever,” she said, with a wave. “I’m walking to dinner.”
I blinked back tears. She belonged here on this campus filled with traditions and old money—the Ivy League and all that. From the minute Dad dropped me off, I’d known I would never belong here. An imposter. Had it really only been a few hours ago?
The essay that clinched my scholarship had been about that leaf—a tangible keepsake of Mom’s last wish. In the interviews, the selection committee told me how moved they’d been by my story, and my strength in sharing it with them.
“I do belong here.”
I said the words out loud, to steel my resolve. The committee had picked me. Me.
This would be my first step on a long journey. To become a doctor. To devote myself to researching cancer—and ways to stop it’s growth.
Placing my hand on the box, I said, “This is for you, Mom. I’ve got this.”
And I did.

The Antagonist’s Turn

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On October 14, 2020

In Contests, Family Life, Middle Grade Fiction, Uncategorized, writing, Writing Contests, Writing prompts

Photo Courtesy of Unsplash

My last post was my entry to the Fall Writing Frenzy contest. The protagonist of my little story was a young girl helping her mother see the leaves change color “one last time” after her mom’s cancer came back.

So, today I saw this Twitter post by Kaitlyn Sanchez, one of the sponsors of the contest:

I need a good writing challenge, so I decided to come up with a story from the antagonist’s POV. In the case of my original Fall Writing Frenzy story, the antagonist isn’t a person. It’s a disease. Cancer. Yikes.

Challenge accepted! Here’s my story, which I also kept to the word limit of the original contest.

The Day I was Beaten

People hate me. Wait, that’s not a strong enough word. People despise me. I get called “the C word”—as if my name is too evil to speak. There are T-shirts and bumper stickers proclaiming “Cancer Sucks”—and worse, believe me. But, I have to keep this clean for kids.

Not that I normally watch out for kids. I mean, I grow uncontrollably fast in their tiny bodies just as easily as I grow in adults—another reason I’m so despised.

One recent autumn day, I felt ‘death ray level’ loathing directed at me by a little girl riding in a convertible with her parents. The family was saying goodbye. Making memories to cherish once my work in her mother’s body was done.

But they don’t know what I know.

Exactly 24 years later, that little girl—all grown up—will receive the Nobel Prize in Medicine for curing cancer. She’ll dedicate that award to her mother, and hold up a small shadow box containing a leaf. Her father will lead a standing ovation at the ceremony, with a lone tear rolling down his cheek.

That’s what I know. That autumn day was the beginning of the end for me.

Fall Writing Frenzy 2020

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On October 1, 2020

In Contests, Family Life, Middle Grade Fiction, Uncategorized, writing, Writing Contests

Photo Courtesy of Unsplash

I decided to throw my hat into the ring for the wonderful Fall Writing Frenzy Contest again this year. For those who don’t know, you pick an image and write a story for kids in 200 words or less. Mine is sad, but it’s the one that poured out of my beleaguered 2020 soul.

I hope it speaks to you in some way. Thanks for stopping by, and thanks to the amazing Kaitlyn Sanchez and Lydia Lukidis for sponsoring this contest. And a huge thanks to all the donors!

Image 10
Mom’s Last Wish
2020 Fall Writing Frenzy
199 Words

“I want to see the leaves change color one last time,” Mom said in July when we heard her cancer was back—and worse than ever.

I swallowed hard, but couldn’t form words.

Dad walked over and took Mom’s hand. “We’ll make it happen. I promise.”

So we took Mom home, and kept her room filled with flowers, music, art—and as much laughter as we could manage. For me, laughter was the hardest part.

One early morning in October, Dad gently shook me awake. “Let’s give Mom her wish.”

A red convertible glowed against the sunrise.

I gawked, and Mom smiled. Dad said, “I figure we should do this right.”

As the morning fog burned off the highway, Mom looked between us. “It’s beautiful. This will go in our favorite memories album. Whenever we feel sad, we can flip to this day.”

I closed my eyes, memorizing the wind on my face, and the smell of damp air. But what if I can’t remember everything?

At the slightest touch against my arm, I opened my eyes.

A lone leaf—swirled yellow and orange, had dropped from above.

A tangible keepsake of Mom’s last wish.

Now, I’ll never forget.

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