I Won the Writing Contest!

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Amazing, but true. I am the grand prize winner of The Accidental Novelist’s Writing Contest! My congratulations go out to the other winners who had participated in the three rounds. All entries were wonderful to read.

In case you missed this latest writing event in my life, I will give you a recap.

In Round 1, we were supposed to write 50 first lines, which I posted here. I picked my top 5 sentences to submit and this one was chosen by the judges to go through to Round 2:

Nobody wanted to claim the abandoned baby on the hill.

For Round 2, we had to write 5 first paragraphs and we could use our first lines. We had to submit our top three of the five, all of which I posted here. One of my paragraphs went through to Round 3:

Nobody wanted to claim the abandoned baby on the hill. Not a single hunter from the King’s clan and not one farmer from the Queen’s clan knelt in admission. That hill, with its concealed scorpion pits and live landmines, was supposed to keep the two clans divided as part of the War treaty. But the baby had all the markings, proof that the hill had been crossed. He had the silvery eyes of the Kings and the ruddy skin of the Queens. His secret will not last long. In time, the family birthmark will bloom. Announcing to which hunter and which farmer the baby truly belonged. And then the spooks will come after them.

Sidenote: I was told that my “Deadly and desirable” paragraph was a runner-up. Very cool…

Finally, for Round 3 we had to take ONE of the winning paragraphs and tell what the story is about. Beginning, middle, and end. Stakes and consequences. And we had to do it in 10 sentences or less.

So, I chose my paragraph to tell the following story:

Sarae, a sixteen-year-old girl of war-torn Queen’s clan, finds an abandoned baby that possesses the features of Sarae’s people and of the enemy, King’s clan. Someone illegally crossed the hill, an act so galling war threatens again.

The prayermasters learn that the baby is part of a long-forgotten prophecy which warns the Queen’s clan is destined to be wiped out forever, unless a Breaker can be found.  Sarae, a Breaker, is her clan’s only hope of survival but she’d have to destroy the King’s clan.

She is unwilling to destroy the enemy, for at one time they were all one region, friends and family. Sarae knows there is a chance to unweave the prophecy, but it means a treacherous journey being hunted by spooks and the risk of being stoned for treason.

In her quest of unweaving the prophecy she makes unlikely bonds who share her cause of bringing peace between the two clans. One of Sarae’s scouts brings her the devastating news that the abandoned baby’s birthmark has bloomed, revealing it as belonging to Sarae’s family.

Sarae soon discovers that her own family was responsible for the clan war from the very beginning. Sarae makes the choice to destroy her family so that she can bring peace back to the clans.

And I won! Yippee! There are actually PRIZES that go along with this, so that makes it even more fun-pendous. I get a copy of a print or ebook version of either Book One or Two of the Faerie Tales from the White Forest series, written by The Accidental Novelist herself, Danika Dinsmore! Plus, I get a special, secret prize. Aaand…not only was this a brilliant, helpful writing exercise but I actually created a storyline that I could turn into a STORY!

Wow, thanks, thanks, and more thanks to all involved including Danika and the judges (I only know them by first name): Tod, Jennifer, Natalie, and Yvette.

This is way too much excitement for me in one day, honestly. So, I need to end it here.

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54 thoughts on “I Won the Writing Contest!”

    • Hi Annie,

      Thanks! It was a really fun challenge because it helped me jump out of the box–a lot! Actually, yes, I am going to work on this and see what I can do with the storyline. I’m thinking novel length but I definitely need to bone up on this genre!

      Thanks for stopping by.

      Reply

  6. Congratulations! And that sounds like a fabulous start! I’m hoping that when you say “could turn into a story” that you actually mean “will turn into a story.” I want to read it!

    Reply

    • Hi Kathryn,

      haha, yes, 4am is a bountiful time to write. Weekends are enjoyable, although I don’t get to write as much as I’d like. But I spend a lot of time imagining :)

      Thanks for stopping by!

      Reply

  9. Your entries each time were amazing. I would read yours and others and think, “Yikes! I have to compete against THAT?” It was a super fun contest, and useful too–giving me lots of ideas to work on eventually. Congratulations on winning…and I look forward to someday seeing that baby idea made into a gripping story.

    Reply

    • Are you kidding me, Char? That’s what I thought when I was reading all the other entries. I expect that you will contnue to work on your ideas and see where you can take them, because you had some doozies! :)

      I’m excited to read Danika’s book, aren’t you? It’s perfect for me because I have a nine-year-old daughter who is in the 6th grade reading level. She might be even more excited about this than I am, if that’s possible.

      Reply

  11. Yay! Congratulations!

    Count me among those who would love to see the full story! I thought all five sounded intriguing, so you may have more than one book as a result of this contest. :)

    Celebrate this weekend!

    Reply

    • Thanks, JM.

      Aww, you’re sweet. I will say, this challenge helped get my juices working–and in a completely different direction than what I’m used to. And it is fun to know I have some ideas to pick from.

      I should celebrate. What to do, what to do…ahh, I know. Write! :)

      Reply

    • Hi Gabi,

      Mmm, I guess it is fairly complex. Of course, I have yet to figure out the stuff that goes in between all of what I do know could happen. But this is a start. Thanks for stopping by!

      Reply

    • Hi Kourtney,

      Yay, I’m honored that you love, love, loved it! :) The more and more I think about it, I get excited to sit down and sink my teeth into it.

      Thanks for stopping by!

      Reply

  24. Contest! Contest! It wasn’t even fair Kate. The minute you enter the competition, it immediately turned into class participation, because future bestselling author Kate Johnston (virtually) walked in as 4am Writer, the teacher, and just schooled everyone. Haha, just kidding, that wasn’t very sporting of me to say, but I enjoyed saying it. Congrats Kate………….Oh yeah.

    I hope I didn’t offend anyone, just puffin up Kate the BK way.

    Of course if I did offend anyone Kate would not post my reply.

    Reply

    • You always make me laugh, Brian. You are way too funny, way too complimentary! Hey, I notice you have your website up and running, so I’m headed over to say ‘hey’!

      Have a good one!

      Reply

    • Welcome, Anne! I’m so happy you stopped by. Thank you very much. Hopefully you won’t mind waiting a bit for the whole story. It’s still kind of percolating… :)

      Reply

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