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 >

🖞ïļFall Contest: Picture Prompts 🖞ïļ

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”

  2. Thank you! Yes! i love writing stories (one of my fav. past times!), and hope to finish my story for this spring contest. Is your name pronounced Emily? (I used the name Emily on one of my past stories for a contest)

    Reply

  5. Yeah, that’s how you pronounce my name! But it’s spelled a little differently, ’cause my mom used to like the name Emma and my dad wanted my name to have ‘Lee’ in part of it, so my name turned out to be: Emalee! (It’s got a background!) I like your name too!

    Reply

  6. Yeah, that’s how you pronounce my name! But it’s spelled a little differently, ’cause my mom used to like the name Emma and my dad wanted my name to have ‘Lee’ in part of it, so my name turned out to be: Emalee! (It’s got a background!) I like your name too!

    Reply

  10. Nice! I looked my name up online and it means noble, high, and exalted. I also have a poster with my name on it with the verse Psalm 27:14 on it. The poster also says courage on it…so that’s what my name means. how many contests did enter? I participated in 2 writing contests and one giveaway. 😋

    Reply

  15. That is so cool! My name means Protector/Defender. I also love both of your names! I’ll be also watching you for the top three!

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  16. Thank you! I will be watching for your name as well! And nice name! Is it short form for your name?

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    1. Thank you, and yes, it is. My real name is Alexis, but I don’t use that as often. I also hate the meaning because it means something different! It mean Protector/Defender *of men*. Not the best meaning when your 11 years old LOL! 😀

      Reply

      2. nk! my sister-in-law is named Alexis.
        Super pretty name 🙂 😀

  19. Thank you Alexis, Brianna, and Lexi! I’ll be watching your names too! I’m sure your names WILL be on the top!

    Reply

    1. I’m 11 and will be turning 12 on August 22!!! We have out birthday’s in the same month!!!!! LOL! :DD

      Reply

  21. Who’s your favorite character in the Andi Carter books? Mine’s Melinda! I wonder what it means! I’m going to look it up…….

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    1. I didnt read the milestones so i cant say anyone from there. I like Andi and Mitch and Jennys nice

      Reply

  22. This is what it said: Melinda as a girl’s name is of Latin origin meaning “sweet”. It is a modern name coined in the 18th century from the word “melitus”.

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  23. So your name, Alexis, is similar to the name Chad which means: In English Baby Names the meaning of the name Chad is: Protector; defender. English form of a Welsh name meaning battle or warring. Sorry, doing too much research!

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    1. Yes, Chad is the name of my oldest son. It means warring or warlike. His middle name is Aaron (like the CC Chad) which means Bringer of light.

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  24. ( By the way, Alexis, I LOVE your name! I’m sure going to name one of my kids that if I have any!)

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  28. Whats your guys favorite CC books? It’s hard, but I like Dangerous Decision and Price of Truth😀

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    1. Hi Brianna! 🙂
      Not sure if you are asking everyone but mine are Dangerous Decision and maybe The Last Ride. -Sara

      Reply

    1. It’s in print, yes. However, because one of the stories I rewrote and updated from a story from Andrea Carter’s Tales from the Circle C Ranch, my publisher did not give me permission to sell the book. I use it as a contest giveaway during the holidays. So sorry! But if you want to read the stories, I have put them up under the STORIES tab. You can look around for them.

      Reply

    1. You are not the only one . . . If I can think of a better story to replace the Andi’s White Christmas then I could print it and sell it. 🙂

      Reply

  35. Excuse me, but I would like to know if you can choose their own personality. I doubt that this will get to you in time, so’m just gonna make up some personalities.

    Sincerely,

    Freddie Chesswas
    ]

    Reply

    1. It got to me just fine and in time. You still have another week for the contest. 🙂 I’m not really sure what you are asking. The main characters from the Circle C stories should be true to their personalities, but you can make up whatever you want for the other characters you invent for the story. Does that answer your question?

      Reply

  36. Or maybe you could think of a few stories to replace Andi’s White Christmas, post them on the blog and we’ll vote for the best story 😁

    Reply

  38. So I did some more research, (That again LOL!!!), and I found out the meaning of my whole name. My whole name is Alexis Lynn Wiebusch. Alexis = Defender/Protector of men. Lynn = Any water name, for example, Pond, Stream, Creek, Lake, River. It can also mean Pretty. Wiebusch = Willow by the Creek. So my whole name I like to think of as: Protector of the Willow by the Creek. Isn’t that cool??!!

    Reply

    1. My middle name (Natalie) means “Birthday of the Lord”. It can also mean “Christmas”. Wow, never knew that! LOL!😄

      Reply

  40. Sorry! I didn’t see this right away! the reason i asked is because i wrote a story for the current contest, but didn’t see until after i had finished it that i had to write about a mystery horse! I was just wondering if there are any contests that you don’t have to write about a cirtain thing!

    Reply

    1. You can go to this link and see all of the past contests and how they are presented. The annual contest had you write whatever you wanted, but it did have to revolve around either the Circle C or Goldtown. You can read all of those stories at the other link.
      Past short contests: https://andicartersblog.com/seasonal-contests/
      Annual contest: https://andicartersblog.com/annual-contest/

      Maybe this will help answer your question better. Did it?

      Reply

  41. Will the winning stories find their way into a book? Like, the ones shown in the annual contest page?

    Reply

    1. No. But the winning stories are posted on the blog. And those who entered (if they ask me personally) their stories can be posted on the Fan Fiction site. I reserve the Annual Contest for the cool book. I’m THINKING of maybe starting the annual contest up again this fall. It’s a TON of work for me, but so many like it.

      Reply

  44. Aww, I can’t find a way to make my story shorter. AND I have to get it done by tonight. This is not looking good.

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  45. Lexi Yeah its cool! Mine is spelled Lynne :D. Same! I know what I’m doing but I’m worried that I won’t finish it in time!

    Reply

  46. Hey Mrs. M it says that you can do 2 story’s and I was wondering if you could write the same story but use both. If not, that’s fine.

    Reply

  47. I am not gonna enter this contest.. 🙁 I was going to and i started a story but i dont have time to finish it bc we have been really, really busy! But when i do finish it ill submit it and fan fiction!

    Reply

      1. Yeah same! 🙂 Thats okay. We’ll get the next one 😉

  48. I’m meaning, say you had one big story, could you put it as part one and part two? Because the rules say that you can enter two storys.

    Reply

    1. No, you may not submit two stories if they are both part of one longer story.

      You may submit two separate stories, each staying under the word count. 😉

      Reply

      1. Awwww. That’s sad. Well, I guess I’m not submitting my story. Think when I’m done with it I can send it into you for the Fan Fiction? Thanks!

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