Melissa Johnston Miles

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

Author: Melissa Johnston Miles Page 2 of 9

Trapped

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On January 26, 2023

In authors, Contests, ghost stories, Novels, Writing Contests, Writing prompts

I decided to throw my hat into the ring this year for the second annual Kids’ Choice Kidlit Writing Contest. I’d heard about it last year and it sounded like a ton of fun to have your 200 words judged by actual kids. Thanks to author Kailei Pew for putting this together, and special thanks to all the kids taking their time to read and judge the entries!

My entry is a scene from one of my YA manuscripts. I hope you enjoy it!

UPDATE** My entry made it to the finals, and ended up in second place overall for YA this year!

TRAPPED

200 Words

Nothing in life prepared me to attend my own funeral. Walking around knowing I’m dead is freakish enough. Walking through crowds of people talking about me in past tense is insane.

Over half the school is here—definitely most of the senior class. The drama queens are giving performances worthy of reality television. It’s equal parts irritating and hilarious watching them bawling like we’d been best friends.

If Raven dabs her eyes with that tissue one more time, I’ll—

Do what, exactly? Exactly nothing, that’s what.

Since nobody can see or hear me, I’m left just watching. It sucks.

I see Mom. Her face is so blotchy and swollen, I barely recognize her. She doesn’t even resemble the mom I hugged before school three days ago.

That night at the hospital, Mom begged me not to die. Begged me to stay here. For her.

Her screaming felt more agonizing than the broken ribs.

Somehow, I’d stayed.

Now I’m trapped—but desperate to escape.

Then I see Luca watching me from across the room.

His lips form my name.

Our eyes lock. Hope balloons in my chest.

If Luca can see me, maybe he’ll know how to help me cross over.

How the Elf Wrecked (then Saved!) Christmas

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On December 9, 2022

In Contests, Uncategorized

(250 words)

This is my submission for Susanna Leonard Hill’s Annual Holiday Writing Contest. Enjoy!

Quirky Elf twisted her wrench.

WHIZ. An egg zoomed past.

CRACK.  The shell split.

SPLAT. It hit the skillet.

SIZZLE. For 80 seconds.

FLIP. 20 seconds on that side…

WHOOSH. A perfect over-easy egg glided onto a plate.

She pictured herself offering a hearty breakfast to Santa before his long Christmas Eve journey. Until…

“Breaking rules again?”

Ugh. Head-Elf Zillow.

“It’s a breakfast machine. For Santa.”

Zillow checked her clipboard. “Out of bed, unauthorized use of workshop equipment, bringing food into the toy-making bay—”

Quirky fumed. Why bother explaining?

On naming day, Zillow handed out official elf names to the entire class. “Merry, Twinkle, Sparkle, Snowflake.” Then, Zillow’s tone changed. “Quirky.”

The other elves snickered. They’d always treated her differently.

It wasn’t fair! She only wanted to be herself.

I’ll show them all, Quirky thought. I’ll be the trouble-maker they expect.

At dawn, toys littered the workshop floor. Carefully packed bags were upended.

Panic-stricken elves cried, “We’ll never make our deadline!”

Guilt twisted inside Quirky’s stomach. Her sabotage would leave millions of children broken-hearted. Mischief and mayhem didn’t feel so good anymore.

Tears filled Quirky’s eyes.

Then, Santa’s booming voice filled the room. “Quirky Elf?”

Did he know?

Quirky stepped one pointy-toed shoe toward him. “Yes.”

“If anyone can save Christmas, it’s you. Do you have an invention to handle this mess?”

Her heart exploded with joy. “I do!”

With her swifty packer contraption repacking bags, Santa’s eyes twinkled.

“Quirky, you’re a genius! If only I had some breakfast…”

Children of the Bog

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On October 30, 2022

In Contests, Middle Grade Fiction, writing, Writing Contests

I’ve come to love holiday writing contests. This is my entry to Susanna Leonard Hill’s wonderful Halloweensie writing contest.

The rules require you to write a Halloween story with kid appeal with a max of 100 words–including some variation of the words treat, slither, and scare.

Children of the Bog

(100 words)

Halloween night,

adults of Reaper’s Bog

beseech their children

to stay close for trick-or-treating.

For every Hallows-Eve, a lone child

is swallowed up by the bog,

and the terrifying creatures within.

Do they slither, scamper, or snatch?

Growl, grimace, or gnaw?

No child’s ever returned to tell.

Betsy Braveheart isn’t scared.

Stuffing her princess costume

behind a tree, she pulls a slingshot

from her pocket,

creeps to swamp’s edge…

and waits.

At dawn, only her costume’s recovered.

She’s joined the bog children.

Sadly…

Betsy’s scribbled note,

roughly jammed into a gnarled tree’s hole,

goes unnoticed.

“They were human once too!”

The Tastiest Tea

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On October 1, 2022

In Contests, Uncategorized

Mooncake Festival- Credit: Tehcheesiong for Stock Free Images

I’m thrilled to throw my hat into the ring for the 2022 Fall Writing Frenzy contest.

Special thanks to Lydia Lukidis and Kaitlyn Sanchez for organizing the contest, and to all of the donors!

My entry is 189 words. Enjoy!

The Tastiest Tea

Ginger and Grey gallop off, gathering friends

to celebrate Mid-Autumn Festival—

leaving their mooncakes cooling…

and a huge pot of tasty tea

outside to steep.

As Oolong Otter pedals past,

a rusty screw flies from his busted-up bike.

Sploosh!

Now its rusty tasty tea.

As Matcha Mouse scampers past,

dust flies from her cleaning kit.

Sploosh!

Now its dusty rusty tasty tea.

As Boba Bogey drifts past,

an escaping ghost flies from its grasp.

Sploosh!

Now its ghosty dusty rusty tasty tea. 

As Pekoe Porcupine races past,

a lemon flies from her lunch basket.

Sploosh!

Now its zesty ghosty dusty rusty tasty tea. 

As Chai Chipmunk hurdles past,

some pie flies from their apron pocket.

Sploosh!

Now its crusty zesty ghosty dusty rusty tasty tea. 

As Darjeeling Donkey lumbers past,

a clump of glue flies off his carpenter’s belt.

Sploosh!

Now its pasty crusty zesty ghosty dusty rusty tasty tea. 

Everyone gathers to celebrate, nibble mooncakes, and taste the tea.

“It’s nutty!”

“Fruity!”

“Gritty?”

But, in the end—

the nutty fruity gritty pasty crusty zesty ghosty dusty rusty tasty tea….

is the best tea anyone’s ever tasted.

2022 Spring Fling Kidlit Contest Entry

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On April 1, 2022

In Contests, Uncategorized, writing, Writing Contests, Writing prompts

GIF from Giphy.com

I‘ve decided to join in and write a 150-word story for kids inspired by a GIF. To find out more about this contest and its generous creators and prize donors, click here. The above GIF inspired me to write about the Sakura, or cherry blossoms. When we visited Japan, we learned these blossoms are symbolic of beauty, mortality and renewal. Those themes inspired my story, which I hope embodies them all. Okay, without further ado, here is my 2022 entry which comes in at 147 words:

Sakura Snowfall

Last spring, our bench became a magic portal.

“Under this canopy of cherry blossoms, we could be anywhere in the world,” Grandma said. “Tokyo, Paris, Portland, or Washington, D.C.–“

“Can we visit Tokyo?” I blurted.

She laughed and plucked a pink blossom from my hair. “Squeeze my hand, and we’ll go together.”

I did.

“We’re in the East Gardens of the Imperial Palace. Straight ahead is Edo Castle, built over 500 years ago. Cherry blossoms, or Sakura, dot the water’s edge.”

As she’d painted pictures with her words, springtime Tokyo unfolded before my eyes.

From our bench, we visited ten cities before the last blossom had fallen.

Today, as I approach the empty bench, my heart explodes with memories of Grandma.

I snuggle my puppy Sakura who sneezes as a drifting blossom tickles her nose.

I laugh, and whisper in her tiny ear, “Where should we go first?”

March Word Prompt

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On March 9, 2022

In Writing prompts

The image for this month’s WordPress prompt

The way I look at it, much of life involves making decisions to cross (or not) some type of metaphorical bridge.

Each and every time we find ourselves facing a dilemma, there’s a choice to make. We cross the bridge (often times facing unknown and unforeseen circumstances) or we stay on our own side.

Throughout history, men and women have chosen to cross bridges. Even if staying on the familiar side of the bridge felt safer. Even when crossing the bridge led to arrests, beatings, ridicule, sometimes even death.

I’m grateful for the brave souls who’ve crossed bridges to bring about needed change in the world. As I gaze at the image of this bridge leading to the unknown, I’m challenging myself to cross a bridge today. Even if I ruffle feathers when I get to the other side. Will you join me?

#WordPrompt

Kidlit Writing Contests

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On March 9, 2022

In Uncategorized

*Updated 5/23

If you follow my blog, you’ve seen that most of my posts lately have been related to writing contests for creators of kidlit. I thought I’d take a few minutes to write an actual blog post about why I enter so many of these, and why you should consider them if you haven’t already.

  1. Hone your craft. All of these contests have a word limit. Some are as little as 50, and some go as high as 200. Regardless of the number of words allowed, it’s a challenge to create a story with a well-developed plot and a clear beginning, middle and end–in so few words. Also, writing from a prompt is a good skill to perfect, and many of these contests have prompts provided.
  2. Engage with the kidlit writing community. Writing is largely a solitary task, but many of these contests create a ton of engagement on Twitter. It’s fun to read other entries and to share your own. You’ll meet other people who love creating stories for kids and make writing friends–maybe even critique partners if you’re lucky. In fact, to increase engagement, my SCBWI region is hosting two “write-ins” this month to work on our entries for the upcoming Spring Fling Writing Contest.
  3. Get your work out there. One of the biggest hurdles for new writers is sharing your work. It can make you feel vulnerable, but feedback is incredibly useful in helping us become better writers. It’s incredibly satisfying to hear that your story connected with someone, making them laugh or cry. Sometimes in this tough business, it’s the encouragement we need to keep going!
  4. Learn what types of stories hook the judges. Some of the people judging entries are kidlit agents. Some are agented/published kidlit authors. Even if your entry doesn’t win a prize, you can still get something valuable out of the contest. By looking at the entries that were picked by the judges, you see what types of stories resonated. This can be useful when crafting manuscripts to query.
  5. Have Fun! For most of us, writing is a creative outlet. Something about the challenge and brevity of these stories has been just the tonic I’ve needed to get through some of my creative slump during the pandemic. You’ve got nothing to lose, and so much to gain. I hope you give it a try.
  6. Get inspired! I’ve been participating in these contests for several years now, and many of the followers I’ve gained from them are gaining representation and/or announcing books deals. I signed with an agent in January of this year and many of the people congratulating me on Twitter were the ones I’ve been entering contests with. It really does build community.

I’d love to answer any questions you might have about these contests. I’m including some of the ones I’ve entered below.

If you decide to enter, good luck and have fun! Happy Writing!

Here are a few of my entries that have won prizes:

The Accusation

Mac’s Stage Fright

Trapped

The Show Must Go On

Links to some wonderful contests:

Spring Fling Writing Contest

50 Precious Words

Fall Writing Frenzy

Halloweensie Writing Contest

Valentiny Writing Contest

Kids’ Choice Kidlit Writing Contest

The Show Must Go On

By

On March 5, 2022

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

I decided to enter Vivian Kirkfield’s 50 Precious Words contest this year. Read all the details here: https://viviankirkfield.com/2022/03/04/50preciouswords-2022-official-contest-post/#more-25735

Please find my story below, coming in at exactly 50 words! Hope you enjoy it.

The Show Must Go On

Two minutes till showtime.

I peek through the curtain. Again.

Still…

Her empty seat glares back at me.

Rows full of faces.

Moms, dads, aunts…so many others.

Just not my person.

Lights dim.

Mom hurries in. Dressed in her work scrubs.

The crescendo of the orchestra perfectly matches my heart.

Other Halloweensie Contenders

By

On November 4, 2021

In Contests, Uncategorized, writing, Writing Contests, Writing prompts

I’ve already posted my entry for Susanna Hill’s annual Halloweensie kid lit contest this year. But, I had so much fun writing stories of 100 words or less using the words goodies, glow-in-the-dark, and goosebumps that I thought I’d create a post for the runner ups that I wrote. I could have entered multiple times, but I decided to just pick my favorite–which you can read here.

Below are the 2 other stories I wrote using the contest guidelines. Both of these come in at exactly 100 words. I hope you enjoy them!

Truth or Scare

On Johnson’s Farm, Jack-O-Lanterns flickered, dimmed, and finally darkened.

Goody wrappers littered fields.

Dried leaves became tumbleweeds.

Inside the barn, Gary Goose, Sam Sheep and Penelope Pig huddled in an empty stall for their annual “Scaredown”—repeating gossip overheard from humans.

“Junior wants a glow-in-the-dark wool hoodie,” whispered Penelope.

Sam shuddered, imagining the buzzing sheers.

“Grandma wants a new down pillow,” she added.

Gary shivered, remembering those awful goosebumps after plucking.

“What’ve you two got?” asked Penelope.

Gary and Sam gulped, and exchanged glances.

“You win.”

They simply couldn’t tell her about the weekend’s breakfast menu…

Sausage biscuits with gravy.

The Best Costume Ever

“Is my costume ready?” Lilly called.

Her mom made the best costumes. Last year Lilly was a glow-in-the-dark robot from outer space. The year before she was a ghastly ghoul that gave everyone some serious goosebumps!

This year, Mom had a new baby—and a whole lot less time.

Lilly tried to understand. Mom was tired and busy. But sometimes Lilly missed having her to herself.

“Ready!” call Mom.

When they set out for trick-or-treating, Mom’s hands were free for taking pictures, and holding collected goodies.

Lilly’s costume was the best ever.

A kangaroo…with her baby brother in her pouch.

And that’s a wrap for Halloweensie 2021! Thanks for stopping by and reading.

Halloweensie 2021

By

On October 29, 2021

In Contests, Uncategorized, writing, Writing Contests, Writing prompts

I won a prize in the fabulous Fall Writing Frenzy Contest earlier this month, so I decided to enter the amazing annual kid lit contest Halloweensie again this year. It’s hosted by author and blogger Susanna Hill. The rules are to write a 100-word Halloween story, using the words goodies, glow-in-the-dark, and goosebumps.

Thanks for stopping by! Here is my entry:

Title: Home for Halloween

Author: Melissa Miles

Word Count: 99

Sis and I decide to decorate our home for Halloween.

We cover the door with some Spanish Moss littering the curb. Spooky.

Someone’s discarded glow-in-the-dark stickers beautify our windows. Creepy.

Our woven plastic bag welcome mat is colorful. Cozy.

“There,” we say. “Not bad.”

We know the costumes we’ve created from clothes in our shared suitcase won’t give anyone goosebumps, but hopefully they’ll score us some goodies.

“I’m proud of you girls,” Mom says. “I promise it’s not forever.”

We set off hand-in-hand, leaving behind the parking lot’s glaring lights.

Hoping next year, our home won’t be the car.

*****UPDATE! I received an honorable mention for this story. Thanks to Susanna, and all the others who helped make this contest possible.

The Badge I received along with a gift card. Very nice surprise!

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