Winner Announced! (Writing Contest) Rodeo #4: Wanted Alive.

If you remember, in October, we tightened our grips on the reins and we Rodeoed. Four weeks, four hosts, four contests, four winners, four prizes! Thanks to Charli and the Carrot Ranch, I was able to not only participate in those writing challenges, but also host one.

When I volunteered, I was not sure what to expect, but since I like trying new things, I just went for it. When the time arrived, I came up with a prompt (quote + masterpiece painting), crossed my finger, and hoped for the best.

If you would like to read more about the contest or maybe even write a story of your own (outside of the contest), take a look here -> (Writing Contest) Rodeo #4: “Wanted Alive”. (You should also check it out if you had missed my art.)

All I could think of was: “What if no one enters?” I wondered about all the pen names that I would have to make up and the stories I would have to write to submit as entries so as not to seem unpopular.

Thankfully, I did not have to do any of that. Entries started coming in and I breathed a sigh of relief. Admittedly, I was hoping for a few more entries from a few specific “regulars” of mine, but the timing just was not right. I understand.

Whenever I got an entry (or a couple), I would copy and paste it into a word document, leaving the author’s name out. Of course, I also checked the word count to make sure that the flash was precisely 99 words. Most of the time, I read the entries right there and then, judging them.

But I knew that the judging process was NOT up to me. I had to leave it to the professionals – Darlene Foster and Geoff Le Pard. Before I sent the document with all of the compiled entries to them, I read the entire collection one more time. This time, I took my time, and a couple of the pieces actually clicked with me for the first time. “That is quite interesting!” I thought to myself.

THANK YOU
TO EVERYONE
WHO DECIDED TO GIVE IT A GO
AND PARTICIPATE!

The judges were a mystery to me. I had absolutely no idea which entry they were going to choose. My whole point was to have unbiased judges, who would focus on the craft and not on the author. But I was nervous. After all, it was MY contest on MY website.

All of that stress was needless. Darlene and Geoff got back to me with the winner rather quickly. And I was pleased with their choice!

Today, I present to you the WINNER of the Rodeo#4 contest – “Wanted Alive.”

“Incriminating Evidence” by Shiloh Carozza

“Reach for the sky!”
“Teacher says the sky is the limit.”
“Shuttup. Gimme your paper.”
“But I drew this!”
“Gimme it. It’s better than mine.”
“But it looks like me, not you.”
“Here, you take mine. Trade pictures with me or I’ll shoot!”
“No!”
*SNAP*
…
“What happened to your eye, son?”
“A bully shot me with a rubber band, sir.”
“Why?”
“He wanted my homework. It was a self-portrait.”
“That’s awful mean. Did you tell your teacher?”
“Yes, Sheriff Brown, but I want him arrested.”
“Arrested? How do I know what he looks like?”
“He looks like this.”

The piece speaks for itself, but if you would like to know what the experts said – It was “best for the neat build-up, the believable dialogue and the punchline.” It was funny and it made great use of the word AND picture prompts.

Shiloh, Charli from the Carrot Ranch will reach out to you to discuss the delivery of the prize! $25 is on its way. Bragging right are all yours, too!

There were a couple of honorable mentions and you can check them out on the Ranch’s site. (If the site is not updated yet with my portion of the contest, it will be soon. Check back again later.)

Thank you, Charli, for granting me this hosting opportunity. It was all sorts of fun!

Thank you, Darlene and Geoff. You were great to work with!

Thank you, all of you who have entered! There would be no contest without you!

See you next time?!

Stay golden,

***

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