Melissa Johnston Miles

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

Tag: writing Page 1 of 2

Spring Fling Kidlit Contest ’24

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On April 3, 2024

In Uncategorized, Writing Contests, Writing prompts

via GIPHY

I’m participating in the Spring Fling Kidlit Contest again this year. If you’re new to Spring Fling, it’s a fabulous writing contest where you find (or create) a springtime GIF and then write a 150 (max) word story for kids inspired by the image.

For all the rules/details, click here. The community engagement for this contest is great. If you write a story, be sure to read other entries and comment on those as well. Meet new writing friends and make new social media connections. That’s the best part of the contest. Thanks to Kaitlyn Sanchez and Ciara O’Neil for putting this together!

Thanks for stopping by to read my entry this year!

Dandy’s Big A-Choo!!

147 words

One bright spring morning during allergy season,

Dandy stifled a sneeze before school.

On the sidewalk

Lilac, Iris, and Hyacinth stood together,

forming a circle of pink, white and purple.

Dandy hopped over to say hello.

They tightened their ring, whispering,

Weed.

Dandy sniffed.

Tulip and Azalea dazzled in a display of pink.

They linked leaves, muttering,

Weed.

Dandy snuffled.

At recess, Dandy jumped on a swing near Daffodil,

who stopped swinging and hissed, Weed.

Dandy’s stem straightened.

AH—AH—A—CHOOOOOO!!!

Kids ran to her, cheering…

allowing her fluffy white seeds

to carry their wishes away on the wind.

Dandy’s heart soared along with them.

A beautiful white Clover with four perfect leaves whispered,

Some flowers may call us weeds.

But we let children share the deepest

desires of their hearts—

to believe in magic.

What could be better?

Nothing, Dandy thought. I’m fine and dandy!

Kidlit Vibes 2023

By

On May 13, 2023

In writing, Writing Contests, Writing prompts

I decided to enter the #KidLitVibes Twitter contest this year. Thanks to the great folks who organize this contest.

The rules state you have to spin the wheel and write a story about the feeling you land on using just 125 words. My arrow stopped on Powerful. Sigh. I almost spun again. Sadly, I couldn’t really think of a time in my childhood I felt powerful.

But this idea of a little girl helping her scared puppy instead of letting fear overwhelm her popped into my head. So, here goes…

Photo by Vlad Panov on Unsplash

THE STORM

125 words

Rain falls. Pitter-pat. Pitter-pat.

Puddles form. Splat! Splat!

Rumble. Crack!

Lucy jumps.

POP. Power’s out.

The room plunges into darkness.

The puppy shivers. Lucy’s lip quivers.

Mommy shines a flashlight. She makes shadow bunnies dance on the wall.

Lucy laughs.

Until…

Crack! The windows rattle.

Her laugh sticks in her throat.

Each BOOM from outside

vibrates in her chest.

Lucy hugs her puppy.

His shivers have become shakes.

The poor little guy is scared to death.

“We’ll build a fort,” she tells him.

It’s cozy inside.

The lightning flashes dim.

The thunder claps quieten.

“There,” she says.

“It will be okay.”

His body stills.

The storm moves past.

“See, that wasn’t so bad.”

He licks her hand.

Tail wagging.

Crawling out,

she stands tall.

Powerful.

Update: I received an honorable mention for this entry. Thanks to the organizers!

Trapped

By

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.

The Tastiest Tea

By

On October 1, 2022

In 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.

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

Middle Grade Mystery

By

On August 4, 2020

In authors, Contests, Uncategorized, Writing Contests

Image

Book Mail from SourceBooks Kids

I recently won 3 mysteries written for kids in a Twitter chat with middle grade mystery writer, Lindsay Currie. Currie’s latest book Scritch, Scratch releases in September from Sourcebooks. In addition to Scritch, Scratch, I also received The Mystery of Black Hollow Lane by Julia Nobel and Coop Knows the Scoop by Taryn Sounders.

I enjoyed each of these titles immensely. They might have even motivated me to attempt a MG mystery novel of my own, but I really should revise all of the drafted manuscripts I have hanging around in my computer files first! If you’re a teacher, librarian or parent and know kids who would enjoy a mystery, I recommend these titles. Each book is quite different from the other two, so I’ll break them down a bit for you.

Scritch, Scratch is a mystery for sure, but it’s also a straight up ghost story! The main character Claire begins the story with familiar enough middle school angst–an annoying sibling, embarrassing parents, the new kid at school usurping her bestie, etc. However, things take a drastic turn when a ghost follows her home from assisting her father with one of his humiliating (to her, anyway) ghost tours. No spoilers, but this ghost is scary! Claire realizes that the only way to stop him from keeping her awake at night and terrified during the day is to figure out what he wants from her–and then do it. Even if she’s not sure she can. At heart, the story is about friendships and families, but has the added bonus of highlighting little known tragedies in Chicago history. I’ve visited Chicago a couple of times, but didn’t know any of these stories.

The Mystery of Black Hollow Lane is set in a boarding school in England, which piqued my interest immediately. I vividly remember reading the Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone for the first time (as an adult) and discovering the whole world of houses, headmasters, common rooms, dormitories, detentions, and “skiving off” assignments. Those regular mundane parts of British school life were new to me, and I found them almost as magical as the actual magic at Hogwarts. Wellsworth isn’t a magical school, but it has plenty to hold a reader’s interest. The main character Emmy, gets sent to this school after the fall term has already started. For someone who was “the new kid” at school a few times myself, I really felt for her. Emmy makes a couple of loyal friends who help her unravel cryptic clues about her father–who disappeared when she was 3. This book is the first in a series, but I was happy to see it wrapped up and didn’t leave readers hanging.

Coop Knows the Scoop doesn’t have ghosts or boarding schools. What it does have is a small Georgia town called Windy Bottom, which becomes a character of its own. Coop and his friends are as surprised as anyone when a long-buried body is excavated on the town’s playground. But Coop never imagines his own family will get caught up in the drama and small town gossip surrounding the mysterious discovery. The town’s quirky cast of characters all become potential suspects in the investigation, but Coop and his friends are out to prove the police’s main suspect wouldn’t hurt a fly.  They walk a fine line “helping” with the investigation, even after they’re forbidden to interfere again. Saunders drops enough clues to the killer’s identity for astute kids to figure it out before the end, but doesn’t make it too easy.

Kids have always enjoyed mysteries. As a kid, I loved Encyclopedia Brown, Boxcar Children, Nancy Drew, and other mysteries. It’s great to see new MG mysteries being published for a new generation of readers. Kudos to these authors! Happy reading.

Building a World for Kids

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On May 12, 2020

In disability, diversity, Family Life, parenting, Special Needs Camps, tracheostomy, Uncategorized

orange and yellow tentWe just got the official news that our summer camp for kids with trachs was cancelled this year. With all the closings due to COVID-19, it’s no surprise, but it’s absolutely gut wrenching for the campers and the volunteers who go each year. Especially for the campers. Last summer, as we packed up to leave, the little boy I drove up from Savannah asked me what day it was. I told him it was Friday. He promptly replied, “Then I want to come back Saturday.” He meant the very next day. Camp is a world of its own. It’s an escape from reality.

I’ve been reflecting a good bit this past week about camp. About what it means for kids with special needs, whose daily lives are filled with treatments, procedures and medications. Kids who are often singled out and maybe even bullied at school because of their differences.

This reflection led me to remember a hectic day last summer. We’d just gotten our group of campers into the cafeteria for lunch, when two of mine said they needed to use the restroom. One of them uttered those dreaded words, “I don’t know if I can hold it.” SO, we set off at top speed for the bathrooms. The two  campers in my care had just shimmied through a row of other campers seated at long tables, when a little guy I didn’t know from a different special needs camp jumped up and stood between me and my little guys.

Before I could say a word about needing to catch up to my charges, he said (in such a serious tone of voice it was almost alarming), “I’m in that house too.”

He stared at me. Expectant. Waiting. I had no clue what he was talking about for a good 10 seconds (as I’m hoping we won’t completely miss lunch because we have to walk back to our cabin and changes clothes before the next activity). Then it hit me. I was wearing a T shirt with a printed Gryffindor logo on it. Luckily, I recovered fairly quickly, considering. “Oh, yeah,” I said. “I’m a Gryffindor through and through.” His face. It just lit up completely. We’d connected. Not through that physical place, as magical as it is. But through a world built by J.K. Rowling.

This is why I’m passionate about writing books for kids. They can’t always escape physically to a place where their problems feel miles away. But, hopefully they can always pick up a book and escape to a world built by an author. In these days of isolation, we need this more than ever! We need to build connections with people we might not get a chance to see in person like we used to. We need to see someone across a crowded room, and stop them to say, “I’m in that house too.”

Living History

By

On October 23, 2019

In authors, Mentors, Uncategorized, World War 2

After my dad passed away last year, Mom decided to move into an assisted living facility near my home. She wanted to be as independent as possible, and not be “right on top of us” in my house. It’s been a tough transition for all of us, in some ways. But I’ve also had the opportunity to grow my extended family through the fascinating friends Mom has made in her new home.

One of those new friends is Betty. Betty is 96 (turning 97 later this year) and still volunteers at the Mighty 8th Air Force museum in Savannah on a regular basis. She shared the story of her younger years with me recently, and we decided to make her story into a children’s nonfiction book. Here are some highlights:

Betty in Uniform

Betty in her Navy uniform during the World War II.

She was a part of a top secret project (Ultra) during World War II.

I wasn’t even aware that Americans were a part of this code-breaking effort. Like many other Americans, I watched the movie about Alan Turing a few years ago, and learned that researchers at Bletchley Park in England cracked the German Enigma code. It turns out, that was only part of the story. Betty was a part of the “rest of the story”. She worked with other Navy WAVES (Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service) in Dayton, Ohio to build machines that we used to break the German Navy Enigma codes. Apparently, the German Navy added extra rotors to make the codes more difficult to break, and the British needed our help. Betty’s work on the project was so secretive, even she didn’t know the importance of the work she’d done until 1995 when she received an award from the National Security Agency (NSA). You can see the one remaining machine built by Betty and other WAVES at NSA’s cryptologic museum at Ft. Meade.

Betty and Waves in Classroom

Betty (top row, second from left) with other WAVES during a training class in Washington, DC 1943. Photo from Betty’s personal collection.

Betty was a National Swim Champion. Betty swam competitively during her teen, college and even Navy years. She won several National swim titles, but never realized her dream of competing in the Olympics as both the 1940 and 1944 Olympics were cancelled due to the war.

Betty on diving board

Another photo from her personal collection: Betty poses on the diving board of the National Cash Register’s Sugar Camp pool in Dayton, Ohio during the war years.

She met famous people. Betty swam with future movie star, Esther Williams when they were both teenagers. Ms. Williams’ Olympic dreams were also thwarted by the war. In addition, Betty had the chance to meet Orville Wright, of the famous Wright Brothers. Mr. Wright asked for permission to meet Betty after reading an article about the young Navy WAVE defending her swim title. One of the world’s greatest visionaries chatted with young Betty about her own dreams. She also remembers drenching Mr. Wright’s shirt when he gave her a hug, as she’d just climbed out of the pool. It’s a meeting she’s never forgotten. Interestingly, that newspaper article almost got Betty in major trouble. Her swim coach didn’t go through the proper channels to secure permission for her to compete, and since she was in the Navy, her commander wasn’t happy! When the next championship rolled around, her swim coach knew exactly how to secure permission the right way.

WAVES poster

One of the recruiting posters advertising the WAVES.

When the Navy began recruiting women into active duty, Betty wanted to do her part. She was raised to hunt, fish, swim and even solder wires with her father. It wasn’t in her nature to sit back and let the men go to war.

I recently interviewed Betty about her experiences during the war and looked through photo albums with her. It was such an honor to have her share her story with me. It felt like I was interviewing living history. I’m polishing up the manuscript of her story, and hoping to get it into the hands of a publisher! I’d love to see kids inspired by her story too.

Betty and Melissa

 

Jeremiah Justice Update

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On September 25, 2018

In diversity, Family Life, Superhero, tracheostomy, Uncategorized

With the help of Kickstarter and some amazing collaborators, I was able to raise the funds I needed to bring Jeremiah Justice Saves the Day into the world. Local Savannah artist Rashad Doucet agreed to illustrate the book, and his work is amazing! Every page has movement and action. I think kids are truly going to love this book.

I wanted to take the chance to share some of Rashad’s illustrations. Enjoy! More news will be coming soon regarding the date the book will be available to purchase. Thanks to everyone who has helped make this dream come true. I hope we can break some barriers and show that special needs kids can most definitely be superheroes.

 

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