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”

  16. Hi Mrs. M. For your next writing contest you could have the writers come up with a Memory Creek Ranch brand and then have them wright a story introducing the new brand!!

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  22. Hi Mrs. M. I was wondering if you would consider lengthening the word count to 3,000 words since we can only submit 1 story this time. If not, I totally understand! I just thought I would ask 😁

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  24. Thanks for this contest! I had so much fun writing my story! Will we be able to read people’s stories? I’m brand new to Circle C and have no idea what it is exactly!

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    1. Everyone will be able to read the winner’s story, of course. I haven’t decided about all of the entries. For one thing, an entrant must specially request they want their story put up on the site. I’ll say . . . POSSIBLY for now. I do not automatically post everyone’s story entries.

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  25. A few years ago I entered alone of these contest and lost. If I fix it up and take out some character, making it different, but with the same story line, could I enter it?

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  26. I just got my first draft finished today. I’m really excited to send it in! I’ll be in the younger group even though my main character is 15, right? Because I’m 13.

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  30. I finally sent in my story! My friend and I had so much fun writing this together! At first we were not sure if we would be able to make the word limit but thankfully, once we revised and proofread it we were able to cut it down enough 😋. Thank you so much for hosting this contest!! 

       -Sara.M.

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    1. No. Sorry. That would require me to do some judging on what I think are the funniest. That doesn’t seem right. Besides, the finalists have already been posted….

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  32. Hello! I just wanted to let you know that the “Other Contests” page is not letting me click on it. Just thought you’d want to know.😊

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  33. Mrs. Marlow, in the first bonus episode of the writing workshop, you showed how to make a drop cap in Microsoft Word. I have Microsoft Word 365. I don’t know if it’s what you had in the video, but I can’t make a drop cap! (Google doesn’t help either.) If you could help me, I would appreciate it a lot!

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    1. I have Word 365 too, and that is what I used to record the video

      You go to “insert” and then go across until you see the icon for Drop Cap.
      Then you can go to the settings and change the size cuz it’s usually too big for what I like…..

      I know of no other way to do this on Word 365.

      It’s one of the icons after you choose insert.

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  34. I can’t see it.😫😧

    Do you have Microsoft Word downloaded? Because I use it from my email. Do you think it might be different? It’s different from a video or two I watched to see how to make a drop cap.

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    1. No. Microsoft 365 is not a permanent resident of my computer like in the old days (Word 2010, 2016, etc.). I use it on my laptop and I can save it to my desktop, but it is pretty much cloud based. In other words, if I don’t pay my annual subscription, I can’t access it.

      I have no idea what “email” has to do with using Word. I can only demonstrate from an open Word 365 program based on a laptop or computer. I do not use Word from my phone. It’s very possible it might look different. If you email me, I will send you a screenshot of what the “ribbon” looks like at the top of the Word program and where the Drop Cap is in relation to it, although you have probably seen it on the Video.

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  38. Hi, Mrs. M do I have to use one of the photo or word prompts? And can I start writing my story now or do I have to wait for October 10? Also does Riley have a younger sister?

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  45. yay! So excited to enter! Mrs M, how come it says we can only enter one story when in other writing contests we could enter two? Just wondering 💭

    -Luca

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  47. Oh awesome! This sounds so fun! ✨
    Quick question! Do the stories have to be written off a picture or word prompt? Do they have to be about circle c or something that you’ve written?

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