On Writing - The Competitions

For the first couple months of the global coronavirus pandemic, I had writer's block. Then out the blue, a few different prompts yanked Prison Break out of me and I thought I was on fire. I was and the flame sputtered out into oblivion as quickly as it had lit me up.

Fast-forward a few months, it occurred to me that I had to make some dough in a hurry, so I scouted out some paying writing gigs and contests.

The Masters Review Summer Short Story Contest
Cherry Italian Ices for Summer (competing)
BLURB: Mark's wife, Cerise, is a high risk pregnancy and she isn't too keen on his mother, who fawns all over her. Circumstances dictate they must get along. What will it take? A premature delivery where help is nowhere to be found except in each other.

Fragile-19 (competing)
BLURB: Carissa isn't the most approachable person in the world, but she has one favorite cousin, Lyle. When Lyle enlists in the US Army without telling her, she slips into a depression. Her family likes her better when she's "playing nice-nice", but it isn't who she is. When Covid-19 strikes her inner circle, she feels she's to blame for endangering their lives. She has to find redemption from the unbearable weight of guilt before the virus claims a victim.


Gestalt Media July Short Story Contest
Freedom 500 (won 🏆)
BLURB: Gloria Mooney wasn't expecting to rehabilitate anyone besides abused animals on her 500-acre farm, until six year-old Shevonne is ordered by the court for a pilot program in therapy. All hell breaks loose just as the child starts showing signs that the program may work.


Gestalt Media August Short Story Contest
Mrs. Larrimore's Lemonade (competing)
BLURB: Fifteen year-old Jake wants nothing more than sleek wheels to impress Lilla, and nothing to do with his old witch of a neighbor, Mrs. Larrimore. He has to choose whether to use his impressive savings for the car or to come to his parents' aid at a time of crisis.


International Oz Group 2020 Writing Contest (nonfiction category)
Lessons in Personality Integration from the Movies The Wizard of Oz and The Wiz (2nd place)
Essay exploring the two movies from a psychological perspective


Fractured Lit
Under the Mulberry Tree at the Center of the Universe (romantic prose about the anticipation of a kiss)
Shattered (a funny misunderstanding surrounding a marriage proposal)
The Model (an artist's model learns to see herself as a work of art)
(competing together as one submission)



TinyWords.com
Totem
Elemental Fire
Sacred and Profane
(competing together as one submission)
800 characters total, too short for blurbs


Kallisto Gaia Press
Sleeping Bear (competing)
BLURB: Ecuadoran immigrant Julio and his wife live in squalor in Miami. His luck and time are running out, when a rash decision freaks out a driver so much, she pulls over and starts a fight. Señora Johanna finds it in her heart to help him get to a significant job interview that will turn his life around. The rest is up to him.


The Texas Observer
Second Chance at Heaven (competing)
BLURB: Charlotte wakes up to a dream lover, but as soon as she steps outside the door of her hotel room, a white family makes it clear they don't want her or other Blacks on the property. They're not ready for desegregation. As tensions run high and the threat of a brawl escalates, the words come to Charlotte in an almost supernatural way. Was her dream lover trying to teach her something, or was he even real?


The New Yorker Magazine Flash Fiction
Silly Hobby (under consideration)
BLURB: Mom Justina plans an elaborate birthday party for her three-year old son, but Murphy's Law prevails. New neighbor, fashionable and alcohol-loving Lola, may become a lifelong friend, except for an offhand comment about Justina's passion.


I'm not going to go into any great length about the stories that got REJECTED, but I've been stung, believe me.

In the meantime, since money is tight and getting tighter, say a little prayer for me and my stories, please.


Have a magical day!
Mackenzie