Current Contest

📝May 1-May 31 📝

Circle C & Goldtown Fall Writing Contest (10/10 – 11/13)

Check out the winners here: FALL WINNERS > Check out all of the entries here: ENTRIES >

🖼️Fall Contest: Picture Prompts 🖼️

You may choose one of these picture prompts to jump start your imagination. Or, you may find a picture of your own to write about. Make sure the picture is historically accurate and relevant to Circle C or Goldtown. Click each image to enlarge it (and download if you want). Thank you, Anaya, Sara, and Emma for contributing to our Photo Prompts. 👏🏼

1. Why is Andi hiding in this tree?
2. Why is Jem in this flume?
3. Riley? Chad? What’s going on?
4. How did Justin get hurt?
5. Who is it? What is he up to?
6. Chad and his son Thomas
7. Fire!
8. A Broken Fence!
9. Young Carter Brothers
10. Andi in a mountain river
11. Andi at the Seashore?
12. Jem or another in a gold mine.
13. Runaways?
14. Who lives in this shack?
15. Palomino Tobiano from where?
16. Who? What? Where? Why?
17. Three Gold-hunting Boys
18. Melinda? Here? Why?

📝 Fall Contest: Word Prompts 📝

You may choose a word prompt to jump start your imagination. However, if you have your own Circle C or Goldtown idea, that’s fine too! Just make sure it’s historically accurate and relevant. You may also combine a picture with a word prompt! Whatever you want to do! Don’t forget to read the rules to see the word count and how to send your story. Read on to find three categories of writing prompts.

“What If?” Prompts

Write a new plot twist or different ending to one of these Circle C Adventures favorites.

  1. What if Andi cannot escape Jed Hatton, and he takes her to Mexico? How does she get home? (Dangerous Decision)
  2. What if Troy Swanson catches up with Andi and the kids and he snatches Betsy or Hannah and leaves. What happens next? (Family Secret)
  3. What if Ellie had obeyed and gone with Nathan back to Goldtown and Jem was left tied to the tree? How would he escape? (Badge of Honor)
  4. What if Andi, Jenny, and the little Chinese girls are not able to escape from the warehouse and end up being shanghaied to China? How do they get back to America? (San Francisco Smugglers)
  5. What if the mountain lion in Trouble with Treasure comes back the next day?
  6. What if Jack Goodwin does not have a change of heart and does not bring Taffy back in Price of Truth? Does Mr. Wilson sell Taffy? If so, how does Andi find her?
  7. What if Taffy does not die in The Last Ride?
  8. What if Riley does not find Andi and Lucy in time in Courageous Love, and they are taken to Mexico? How do they rescue baby Sammy and get home to their families?
  9. What if Jem was not able to rescue his sister, Ellie, from the River Duchess and she ended up in San Francisco lost and alone? (River of Peril)
  10. Find your own plot event from a Circle C (or Goldtown) book and write a new plot twist and/or ending.

“Point of View” Prompts

  • 11. Cory’s point of view when he heads down the mountain to get help and is grabbed by Deputy Hugh Baker. (Trouble with Treasure)
  • 12. The cowhand Toledo’s POV from any scene in Heartbreak Trail.
  • 13. Cory’s “story” after he and Andi part ways and he heads to the Hawaiian Islands and finally makes his way to Washington Territory. (“Auld Lang Syne” from Stranger in the Glade)
  • 14. Jenny’s POV from any scene in San Francisco Smugglers or Trouble with Treasure.
  • 15. Write from any character’s POV you choose from any Circle C or Goldtown book.

Other Random Story Prompts

  • 16. When Dakota ran into the ranch yard with no saddle and sweating like his hide was on fire, Andi knew something was wrong.
  • 17. The chestnut looked like she had seen cruelty her whole life. Her sides were scarred and bleeding and her head hung low, the only sign of life in her thin frame found in her deep, fiery eyes. The blond-haired girl looked from the mare to Andi. “You have to help me save her.”
  • 18. Andi and Riley (plus their children) go to the Circle C for Sunday evening supper to find everyone gone without a trace!
  • 19. The circus comes to town, and Andi Prescott is shocked to see Toledo (Heartbreak Trail) preforming with his horse, Sultan!
  • 20. Andi has found a new pet. What is it? And what adventure (or trouble) does this new pet bring?
  • 21. Come up with your own idea for a story, based on the Circle C or Goldtown stories.

🎁Fall Contest: Pick Your Prizes🎁

One winner from each of the two age categories (ages 9-12 and ages 13-17). Each winner may pick one item from each of the categories (#1, #2, #3). If you choose a tumbler (#2), you may choose which series you want it to highlight. If you choose a audiobook (#3), you may choose the audiobook. It will be delivered to you as an instant download, unless you specifically ask for the audiobook to be loaded onto a USB drive. Note: These are the last two Terrible Secret books. Of course, you can always order a copy (with the new cover) from Lulu.com >

👀 Check These Rules Before Sending 👀

👉 Include all of these on your actual story submission (None of these count as part of your word count).

  1. Name and age
  2. Email
  3. An original title for your story
  4. The number of the picture and/or prompt you used (If you did not use a prompt, say so ).

👉 Keep your story under 3,000 words (no exceptions). Note this change in word count!

👉 Two age groups: 9-12 and 13-17, one winner from each age category. Contest ends Wednesday, November 13 @ 5pm Pacific Time. Winners announced Friday, November 22.

👉 You may enter ONE story as a Word Document, a Google Doc, or in the body of your email. NO PDF files.

👉 Send your story to CircleCAdventures@gmail.com (Only to this address. Please do not send to any of Mrs. M’s other email addresses. I would feel badly if you story got lost, which will happen if stories are scattered among my various emails.

👉 I accept international entries, but I ship physical prizes to US addresses only. If the winner is international, I’m sure we can work out a deal for digital prizes. 😊

1,257 thoughts on “Current Contest”

  7. Mrs. M, could I possibly base my story off a true story? I would change the time, characters, setting etc. to fit in with the Circle C stories, but keep the main storyline based off something that really happened

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  10. Hello Mrs. M! What horse would Andi have ridden when she was really young. (like a couple years before Chad gave her Taffy) Thanks ❤

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    1. Not quite sure what you are asking. There are over 1,000 comments here. I see them all. You might need to click on “older” comments to get them to keep coming up.

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  13. Hello Mrs. M!
    I have a few questions:

    1). What is Andi’s favorite breakfast?

    2). If Mitch and Liberty Flanders where would they live and what would Mitch be doing?

    3). I would like to do research on Liberty Flanders, what books does she appear in or mentioned?

    Thank you for your time!

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    2. 1. Waffles and hot chocolate
      2. I have no idea. You can make it up.
      3. In the short story Adios, Jeffrey Sullivan. I posted that story under a Peek Behind the Curtain post

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  34. Mrs. M, can I do a story about picture #5 from one of the girls POV, or does it have to be from a ranch characters POV?

    (Sorry if the answer is obvious, I have never done one of these before.)

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  35. If someone had too long of a word count for one story, could they continue it in another story as they’re second one? or do they have to be two separate stories?

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  39. Is there a recommended word minimum? What is your advice on a good length?
    I plan to actually finish and enter a story this time lol

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  41. I was wondering if my sister and I work together on one story and send it in, what age group do we send it in as? My sister is 12 and I am 14. Would we be able to send it in the 13-17 age group or will she and I have to write seperate stories? My sister is turning 13 on October 19.

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  50. Howdy Mrs. M, I was wondering if you could answer a few questions, to help me out in my story for the current writing contest……..
    How old was Riley when he moved to Fort Apache?
    What was his usual day like at fifteen years old? Like did he just do what he wanted with Midnight and the other horses, or did he have a lot of work to do each day? Also did he sleep in a bunkhouse type place, or did his family have their own house?
    Sorry for so many questions! I’m just a little stuck on my story as I realized I don’t actually know a lot about what happened to Riley in the years he was away from the Circle C!

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    1. It will probably be a lot like the day in his life at Ft. laramie, except no school.
      https://andicartersblog.com/category/rileys-ramblings/

      I have not gotten around to writing about the Fort Apache time. But I did throw together a timeline for when I finally got around to it. This might help from my notes: (his family has their own cabin) but i suppose he could sleep in the barracks occasionally if you wanted to make it so.
      Fort Apache ages 12-15 May 1879-1881
      • Midnight dies
      • Indian Attack
      • Takes over the horses—care and feed
      • Bear and Bull fights

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