A Flash Fiction contest by Norah Colvin
Co Judges: Anne Goodwin and Robbie Cheadle
Do you love fairy tales? Chances are, unless you are a parent or grandparent of young children or an early childhood educator as I am, you may not have encountered a fairy tale for a while. Well, I am about to change that by asking you to fracture a fairy tale for the fourth Carrot Ranch rodeo contest. [READ MORE…]
For insights and tips from the contest creator, read Norahβs Post, βOnce Upon a Rodeo Time.β For word count, use Microsoft Word or wordcount.net. Be aware that punctuation and word-hyphens can change your word count so run it through one of those two counters.
Norah Colvin is an Australian educator, passionate about learning and early childhood education especially. She has many yearsβ experience in a variety of educational roles. She currently blogs about education and learning in general at NorahColvin.com and shares teaching ideas and resources more specific to early education and the first three years of school on her website readilearn.com.au.
Connect with Norah on social media
Twitter: @NorahColvin @readilearn
Facebook: Norah Colvin @readilearnteachingresources
Instagram: readilearnteachingresources
JUDGES (read full bios at SPONSORS)
Norahβs esteemed and talented judges are Anne Goodwin and Robbie Cheadle.
Anne Goodwinβs debut novel, Sugar and Snails, about a woman who has kept her past identity a secret for thirty years, was shortlisted for the 2016 Polari First Book Prize. Her second novel, Underneath, about a man who keeps a woman captive in his cellar, was published in May 2017. Anne is also a book blogger and author of over 80 published short stories. Her short story anthology, Becoming Someone, is due in November 2018. Catch up on her website or on Twitter @Annecdotist.
Robbie Cheadle has published five books so far in her Sir Chocolate series of picture books. Her books are unique with their wonderful fondant illustrations. She also recently co-wrote While the Bombs Fell with her mother Elsie Hancy Eaton, a memoir of her motherβs wartime experiences. Catch up with Robbie on her blogs Bake and Write and Robbieβs inspiration or connect with her onΒ Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Facebook @SirChocolateBooks and Twitter @bakeandwrite.
THE CONTEST
This contest exhibits a writerβs ability to entertain by taking a traditional story and adding a twist, a surprise, or a new point of view while maintaining its recognizability.
The prompt word is βfoodβ. Why? Because food features in many traditional fairy tales; including:
- Little Red Riding Hood β the basket of goodies for Grandma
- Snow White β the poisoned apple
- Hansel and Gretel β the breadcrumb trail and the witchβs edible house
- The Gingerbread Man βI need tell you?
- Stone Soup β ditto
- The Three Billy Goats Gruff βgreener pasture
- The Three Bears βporridge for breakfast
- Jack and the Beanstalk β βFee Fi Fo Fum. Iβll grind his bones to make my bread.β
- The Little Red Hen βbread
- The Three Little Pigs βthe wolfβs dinner, of course!
You do not need to start with a story that already features food, but your story must feature food in some way.
Since Anne and Robbie, as judges, are ineligible to enter the contest, I invited them to write a fractured fairy tale for this post and was delighted when they accepted the challenge.
A single bite by Anne Goodwin
βJust a bite,β she croons. βOne bite wonβt hurt.β
Wonβt it? Drenched in chocolate and sugar-icing, thereβll be five hundred calories a forkful, at least.
βSkin and bone, you are.β She cuffs my wrist between her little finger and thumb. βDonβt upset your brother. He spent hours crafting that cake.β
Where is the boy who preferred woods to kitchens? Where is the girl who ate without fear?
βStarving yourself wonβt bring back your parents. Please, Gretel, eat!β
The gingerbread house looks lovely, but smells like a trap. βLetβs not cut it, Grandma. Thereβs a cake competition at the church.β
###
The Elvin Hill by Robbie Cheadle
Throughout the feast the Goblin King watched the Elf Kingβs daughters. He and his two sons were to choose a wife from among them.
A delicious meal was served. He noticed that one daughter did not partake of the food. She only ate fruit and drank water. When she danced with her sisters to entertain the visitors, tiny flowers sprang up where she stepped. He could see that her magic was white and not the usual black of elves.
He selected her, and a new generation of good elves resulted from their union. It changed the course of history.
###
So, the ingredients your story must include (otherwise known as rules):
- Your entry must be 99 words, no more, no less. You can have a title outside that limit.
- It must involve a recognizable fairy tale, character or setting. Note: the term βfairy taleβ is used loosely for any traditional tale. You are wisest to choose a story with which the judges will be familiar.
- Your story must feature food.
- Your story must entertain or surprise us with a twist or a new point of view. Humour is good, but so is dark. Go where the prompt leads.
- You have a week to write, so edit your manuscript to ensure itβs free of typos, spelling, grammatical and punctuation errors.
- Use the form provided below to enter (open this post if you are reading it in an email). If you do not receive a confirmation email, notify wordsforpeople@gmail.com.
- Entries must be received by October 31, 2018 at 11:59 p.m. (EST). Contest winner, second and third place entries announced here December 7, 2018.
- You may post a βchallengeβ in the comments if you donβt want to enter the contest, but donβt use the form. Only contest entries will be published.
- Enjoy!
Thank you for entering! The contest is now closed. Winners announced December 7, 2018, at Carrot Ranch
Fear and Loathing in Las Ranchos
βYer lookinβ queasy, Kid.β
βFeelinβ a might Ken Kesey, Pal. Been on a long strange trip over the river and through the woods ta deliver corn ta olβ Ornery. The river was high but the pack mule swum it anβ I hung onta his tail ta git across.β
βA ferry tail.β
βI spread the corn out on the rocks ta dry but it popped. Gathered it up and went on through the woods. Met a strange little man who had the munchies. Traded the popcorn for a bag of magic seeds. Ornery said heβd turn them seeds inta gold.β
***
βThen what, Kid?β
βThen I was headed back when I saw a Colorado River toad in the woods.β
βDid ya kiss it?β
βRuther not say. Jist donβt believe everβthinβ ya read, Pal, Iβll say that much. After that I was trippinβ along when I saw a wolf.β
βWhat was it doinβ?β
βSmokinβ.β
βThatβs a bad wolf!β
βNot really Pal. This wolf had set up a smoker from some bricks she had and was smokinβ bacon over a fire made of sticks. Seems she had three little pigs ta cure.β
βThis is unbelievable, Kid.β
βLeast I got bacon after all.β
Ha, brilliant as ever. Look forward to reading your submission.
Thanks but if I manage to come up with anything it’ll be here as a challenge. I look forward to seeing all the entries later. You and Robbie set the bar, leading by example. Norah has done it again with a fine fun contest.
I love this take. So clever! I can’t wait to read your entry.
A happing ending after a strange and twisted tale (ferry tail was my favorite among the many clever twists).
Thanks Boss.
D’ruther not say how much is BOTS (for Kid). Great prompt, again. What a fine Rodeo ya have here.
Norah had a post recently about libraries. A certain writer once upon a time made the rounds of a rural neighborhood on her steel horse of the time, a ten speed Ross Compact, and exchanged books with an eclectic hill top neighborhood. Went home with The Women’s Room and the Electric Kool-aid Acid Test among other things not found on her parents’ shelves. Yee haw.
I liked the ferry tale too. I smiled all the way through the twists and turns.
Ditto here re ferry tale. My relatives in Lancashire would pronounce it furry.
Pal and Kid are on a roll – and bacon and egg roll. You’ve entwined so many stories. Love them!
I can’t count them all, but they include Hunter S. Thompson, Ken Kesey, The Simpsons, The Grateful Dead and a fairy tale or three. Phew.
(Ever licked a cane toad, Aussie? Don’t now until after the judging)
I have no intention of ever kissing a cane toad, thank you very much! π
And that should have been ‘a bacon and egg roll’.
Looking forward to helping judge this with Norah and Robbie. Fascinating that both Robbie and I wrote about food.
Hope you get lots of fairy tales with clever fractures and fine food, Anne. Thanks for judging!
I hope so too, Charli. I’m looking forward to being entertained.
Thanks for writing a piece for the post, Anne. (It was a good thing you both wrote about food – it was part of the challenge. :))
I’m pleased to have you and Robbie along as judges.
Ha, I probably knew that, and then forgot! Maybe I preferred to think we assistant judges were so perfectly attuned.
Sorry, Anne. I should have let it go at that. π
I loved your take, Anne. This is so much fun.
Yours too. I did worry about encroaching on your territory with the cake.
Anne and Robbie, you got everyone ready for a feast. Thanks for your deliciously fanciful stories.
Reblogged this on ShiftnShake and commented:
Norah Colvin is leading an enchanting rodeo event at Carrot Ranch. Try your hand at a fractured fairy tale. No entry fees, a chance at winning and guaranteed fun.
And she wrote happily ever after…
Thanks for sharing!
Thanks for sharing, D. π
All entered!!!
Good job, Ritu!
Thanks Charli!!
Thank you, Ritu. I have your entry and am looking forward to reading it when all entries are in. π
Thanks Norah ????
Woohoo, can’t wait, Ritu.
Eeks!!!
lol our judges set the bar high … hmm got to cook, I’m hungry!
They set the table for a feast! get cooking! π
yes boss lol but my mind is boggling with so many choices … may need to write a few π
Ha! You said ‘boss’
I don’t know whether to giggle or groan. Gonna go take a horse ride and ponder it! π
Write as many as you want, Kate. I have my reading boots (er, glasses) on – all the better to see you with, my child. What goodies do you have in your basket?
oh you creepy old granwolf … now I’m scared π
No need to be scared. My bark is worse than my bite. π
It is going to be so much fun reading all the entries.
lol for sure, even if we don’t win you should get some good giggles π
Here’s my ad (title is the link to my blog) for Norah:
Ranch Dressing with Bacon! CR Rodeo #4 Fractured Fairy Tale ad
Theyβre doing it again at Carrot Ranch. This time Norah is
leaving you carrot crumbs. (OK really just some simple rules
to follow…) for the Rodeo feature of Fractured Fairy Tales.
Let βem eat Gingerbread. Really any foodstuff bound by the
loose restraints of a recognizable story in the named theme,
in ninety nine little words.
Serve us up some Stone Soup with some magic beans at the
kitchen of Gingerbread House feeding all manner of Giants
and knaves. Mix the bears up with the Billy goats or piggies.
That might lead the lucky winner to some real bacon!
Β©JP/dh
That’s brilliant, Jules. Thank you so much. If anyone was short on ideas before, they won’t be now. You’ve given them enough ideas to brew up a storm.
Lovely Jules
Fabulous, Jules.
Go for the bacon! Great, Jules!
Hmm, that’s quite a challenge. I’ll try my best. π
Thanks, Debby. I look forward to receiving and reading your entry.
Already have the rough draft. I’ll be tweaking over the weekend. LOL So much fun!!! π
I’m pleased you’re enjoying it, Debby. I can’t wait to receive and read it. π
I’m looking forward to reading the entries from all challenges π
I agree. I think it will be fun to read them all. There is sure to be a great variety.
No doubt! π
Looking forward to reading yours, Debby. I took a tale and changed it to how I would have liked to see it end.
I liked your happy ending, Robbie. Fairy tale happy ever afters aren’t always.
I just completed a rough draft. I took a classic tale too and put my own spin on it, lol! π
Debby, it’s fun having you meet these challenges! π
Exciting! π
Happily?
He approached his princess warily despite her peace offering of fresh baked apple pie. He remained confused about their argument.
Heβd reminded her that heβd rescued her from a life of drudgery, keeping house for those dwarves. Then sheβd exploded.
βThose guys respected me! I wasnβt a kept woman, I earned my keep!β
He knew she hadnβt been happy. But perhaps baking this pie for him fulfilled her needs.
βWhat a lovely surprise. Where did you get the apples?β he inquired encouragingly, mouth full.
βSo glad you like the pie. I got the apples from my step mother.β
βOh.β
Very clever, D. Methinks he should have treated her better. But now I want to know – has he eaten enough? Is one mouth full sufficient?
She wouldn’t have alluded had she not been confident in her pie. Give this piece a chance.
A chance to work? One piece is enough. π
A true bakers’ delight…mmm…
Some how it reminds me of that ‘Shake ‘n Bake’ commercial …
Where the little girl says; “And I halped” (Yup, must have been from a southern state).
(Chuckling an evil chortle…!) π
Ha! The Prince should have asked that question prior to taking a bite. Sheesh, didn’t he know about the apples?
Reblogged this on Norah Colvin and commented:
I’m excited. It’s now time for the fourth Carrot Ranch Rodeo Flash Fiction Contest, and it’s mine! Are you up for writing a fractured fairy tale? Head on over to the Ranch for contest details. I can’t wait to read your stories.
Thanks, Norah! You have served up a fun contest despite all the fractures.
It has been fun. Now the reading and judging begins!
This is such a great idea, Norah. I was thinking of a book of fractured fairly tales a few months ago and then you came up with this. Amazing! I loved Anne’s take too. I have written a post for it here: https://bakeandwrite.co.za/flashfiction-my-piece-for-rodeo-3/. It includes my pieces for #3 and #4 (ours) and a link to this post.
Youβve introduced me to a new fairytale, Robbie, and itβs good, especially in these times, to think of evolution progressing in a positive manner. I loved your memoir entry too. Such a pity it missed the deadline, but sometimes there are just too many balls to juggle.
PS Failed again to leave a comment on your blog ;-(
Hi Anne, I have to approve comments on Bake and Write. It attracts a lot of spam sadly. I do get them and they do become visible.
Thanks for the link, Robbie. I look forward to reading it.
Fractured fairy tales seem to capture the interest of writers and readers. It indeed feels playful to write and satisfying to read. You are one busy writer at the moment, Robbie! Thank you for taking time to judge. I hope you enjoy the entries you get to read.
As I’m not on WordPress, I canβt do a direct read blog, but have posted about it with this introduction:
Itβs rutting season out on the moors again. The first time I heard a bolving deer (no, thatβs not a mistype), I thought it was a motorbike. On Sunday, it made me think of the troll who hides under the bridge to scare the billy goats gruff. Or maybe not, if itβs the poor misunderstood creature in Norah Colvinβs fractured fairy tale. Now sheβs inviting you to write one too. But beware, you have only 99-words to play with and Iβll be helping Norah, along with childrenβs author Robbie Cheadle, to select the best.
Can you write a fractured fairy tale? https://annegoodwin.weebly.com/1/post/2018/10/can-you-write-a-fractured-fairy-tale.html
Thank you for sharing, Anne. What a wonderful introduction. While a few deer have been imported and have become feral here, I’m not familiar with their rutting or bolving (who made up that word?) so had to look it up. I can see (hear) what you mean about motorbike or troll. I think we’re going to have fun judging these stories. A few are in already but I’m saving reading until all are in.
Although Iβve heard the sound plenty of times, I hadnβt come across the word until the other weekend. Neither had my colleagues. I think it was being revived to boost tourism!
I wonder if the unusual word might be that powerful.
I wonder how many fairy tales were to explain sounds and sights in the natural world as well as warn of social missteps. I found an article that might interest you in comparing red stags to American elk: https://elknetwork.com/whats-the-difference-between-red-deer-and-elk/
If your red stag sounds like a troll, an elk sounds like the pied piper! Thank you for judging this contest. I hope you get a lot of fun fractured reads.
Gosh, yes, they look fairly similar but sound so different! I canβt imagine one of our deer squeaking like that!
When they begin to bugle, they actually start low, like bolving.
Didn’t catch that on the clip.
I’ve just entered mine. there’s a typo in the title, sorry it should read: Goldilocks Hates Chocolate.
Received!
Great title, Marje!
Thanks Charli. π
Have re-sent it as I’ve spelt her name wrong!
Thanks, Marjorie. I have received both. I wondered why you’d sent two. I’ll use the second one. π
Thank you Norah. π x
I am glad I am not the only blogger with spelling issues, Marje.
It amused me when I realised I’d spelt her name Goldidocks – has a certain ring to it maybe I should have kept it!
Writers misspell, editors, clean up the spilled letters!
Norah,
Methinks, you are going to be bombarded with entries π
Good luck everyone. I can’t wait to read all the entries.
~Jules
The entries have started to come in, Jules. I’m looking forward to reading them.
I’ve another…. but I’ll wait until tomorrow…
Good night, or Good morning π
It’s getting close to midday here. Sleep well. Sweet dreams.
OK I got ’em… in.
Awesome!
I think you’re right Jules — this is a popular topic!
Food…of course! What a great prompt, Norah, and you’ve educated me on the prevalence of food in fairy tales, I took it for granted and hadn’t realised! I am going to have to go away and have a good think about this one. Love Anne and Robbie’s flashes, great examples. You’ll get a fantastic response to this one, Norah…here goes! π
I look forward to your response, Sherri. Don’t let it eat away at you too much. π
Haha…thanks, nice one, Norah! π I need to get baking!
Sure had! π
π I did it…cooked it up, packed it off, yay!!!!! π
Food is a great connector, isn’t it? I hadn’t thought about how food features in fairy tales, but I always learn from Norah. Hope you cooked up something as smashing as your carved, home-grown pumpkins! π
It is always good to get together with friends and share some food.
Reblogged this on A View From My Summerhouse and commented:
Halloween is almost here, so what better time to rustle up those fun treats and cook up a twisted fairy tale, or two? Hello again, dear friends, it’s week four at the Rodeo and time for Norah Colvin’s contest: Fractured Fairy Tales. Food, naturally, is the prompt. As before all details below, all entries are free with a $25 prize for the winner. The contest runs until 11:59pm EST October 31. So you’ve got plenty of time to don your aprons and mix a fine brew for Norah and her esteemed judges. Just watch out for the big bad wolf, especially if he’s called Fred.
And a huge thank you, dear readers, for keeping the Summerhouse ticking over while I write up a storm on my memoir. I’ve got a date with an editor in just over two weeks…It’s really happening this time…yikes!
See you back here next week with the last, but not the least of the Rodeo contests. Good luck all!
Thanks for sharing, Sherri.
Delighted to, Norah π
Thank you for sharing, Sherri!
My pleasure, always, Charli! <3
Hi Norah,
My entry is in!
Thank you, and thanks also to Anne and Robbie for the great examples.
Also found the “How to fracture fairy tales” by Tara Lazar very useful for ideas on how to re-imagine the stories.
And thanks to the writers who’ve posted their FF here– gave me food for thought, and I’m still grinning after reading the stories & comments!
Looking forward to reading the entries!
Saifun
Thanks for entering the contest, Saifun. Your entry is received. π
I pleased you found Tara Lazar’s hints useful.
I’m looking forward to reading, too, Saifun!
All righty, then. Have submitted my response & hope it fits! π
Happy writing, all—this opportunity has so many rich possibilities for fun and beauty.
Hi Liz, I’ve received your entry. Thank you. I won’t be checking if it fits until after the contest closes. π I’m sure it will be a tasty bite.
Fingers crossed that I’ve understood! π
Time will tell. π
So many rich possibilities, especially for a writer seasoned in the TUFFest Ride!
(And #5’s makin’ me long for liniment…) π
Iβm so excited that youβre doing the judging, Norah. Congratulations!
Thanks, Jennie. I’m excited too. Will you enter?
The good news is a very hopeful maybe. ????
That would be great, Jennie!
I did try, really. ?? Please know I entered in spirit.
It got you thinking and that’s an important step! π
Writing just one fracture fairy tale is like trying to eat a single potato chip (crisp) – nearly impossible…
Good luck to everyone. Cheers, Jules
For you, it is, Jules. π
Ha! Jules, I think you opened a bag of chips on this one!
I had a lot of fun with this one! After submitting, I realized that it’s better if the moral I wrote for it is clearly known, but I’d rather wait and see what happens!
Your entry is in. I look forward to reading it. Thank you.
An interesting thought! But there are always possibilities and you can follow up on them in flash.
I’m in! Just sent via the form! π
Thanks, Debby. It is in. I can’t wait to read it. (I”ll have to though – at least until the contest closes.)
Oooh, lol, can’t wait! <3
I know. I know!
May I submit more than one? For one thing, I just realized my entry didn’t actually mention food -at least, not something most humans consider edible.
I’ve sent in more than one. I’m pretty sure you can submit as many as you like. π
Yay! Guess I’ll beg forgiveness if it’s not the case.
Sometimes you get an idea and just have to run with it… There are just so many great directions that can be played out with this Rodeo prompt. I bet that Charli might have enough entries to make a booklet just from the entries and challenge pieces.
When I was a child my Dad used to tell us his ‘fractured’ versions. I wish he would have written them down. There was a cartoon called ‘Bullwinkle and Rocky – the flying squirrel’ and they had a cartoon segment devoted to fractured fairy tales every week.
You can Google Bullwinkle and Rocky Fracture Fairy Tale list – the sight isn’t secure or I would post the link.
Hey, I remember the Rocky and Bullwinkle tales! π Good idea; and yes, I think a collection would be fun to read!
Yep! Submit away! I’m looking forward to a feast of fairy tales.
Me thinks you will be on the receiving end of a full cornucopia of copious creatively crafted concoctions π
Brilliant! Methinks ye speaketh truthfully. π
I might… just… be done… maybe…
There’s still some time left…
The Muse is a fickle one π
You may enter as many times as you like, Chelsea. I’m pleased the prompt has tickled a few stories out of you.
I think Jules’ point that fractured fairy tales are like chips applies!
Very moreish! π
Done and entered! I think we should publish a book of all the entries!!
Thanks Lori. Received. π
Last year I thought the same thing, Lori, but we had higher word counts and more contests which led to an overwhelming number of words — far more than the average novel! This year we cut back and stuck to 99 words and I’ll post each collection on a page under the Rodeo tab. In the future, maybe we can publish Rodeo collections. The entries are fun to read!
Reblogged this on Chelsea Ann Owens and commented:
One of the most fun contests I’ve entered! Write a 99-word Fractured Fairy Tale and submit it before Tuesday night.
Hi Chelsea. Thanks for sharing. Thanks also for correcting the contest closing time to Wednesday night on your blog. π
It was a tiring morning. π
I hope you have recovered now.
Correct time is the bane of my existence! π
Just sent in an entry. Four for four. I’m proud of myself.
I’ve been deprived of reading other people’s entries. Can’t wait.
Hi Sam, I’ve received your entry. Thank you. I haven’t read any yet, either. Can’t wait!
That’s great, Goldie! I hope you enter the Bonus Old Time Radio Rodeo contest, too!
You never know…
I just submitted, Norah. I made a comment this afternoon and I don’t see it hear. Let me know if you got my submission. Thank you!
Received, Miriam. Thank you! π
Great, Norah! π
That’s strange, this one comment shows. I might have not hit the comment button earlier. I was saying Norah’s instruction was clear. I read your PDF file last week. Anne and Robbie have excellent examples of the fractured fairy tales! Thank you!
Thank you, Miriam. I’m pleased you found the instructions clear and that you enjoyed the tales written by Anne and Robbie. I’m looking forward to reading your stories, and all the others, once the contest has closed. There is still some time left to enter.
That’s great. I have written a first version then rewrote it, but that’s all for now. π
I enjoyed Anne and Robbie’s examples, too!
Yes, they did excellent jobs!
Hi Norah! I’m in…just by the hairs on my chinny, chin chin! π
Trick o’ treating, eh? π
Busted! π
Thank you, Sherri. I have it! Glad I didn’t have to blow your house down to get it. π
Ha, ha! No huffing and puffing, now! π
Never! π
Haha…me too, Norah…good job it’s built of more than sticks π
Indeed! π
π
Haha! No big, bad wolves here, Charli…just sweet, hapless Fred! π
Thanks, Norah! π
Fred always makes a hairy appearance! π