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”

  11. Mrs. M, if the winner lives outside of the US, would the prize go to the runner up?

    Reply

  18. Thank you for this wonderful opportunity for young writers! What a fantastic and safe community for children and young adults to be bold and submit written work. I hope you continue to offer these contests; it is much appreciated.

    Reply

  20. Just wondering…which contest was the one that ended up being “rigged” because one story got over 500 votes?

    Reply

  21. LOL! I’ll vote totally honest, though I’m not sure I’ll vote if my story gets in the top three….

    Reply

  22. Here are a few ideas for future contests(you don’t have to use them, Mrs. M., these are just suggestions.)

    1. Get some pics of Andi and\or Jem. We can write stories based on the pictures.
    2. Something to do with kidnappers, robbers, thieves, etc. Maybe you can have a choice of either bring old bad guys back or letting us come up with our own “bad guys”.
    3. Like Danielle N. said in an earlier comment, we write a story that is only mentioned in the books.
    4. What happens with Andi in the treasure map she finds after the events in ‘Andi to the Rescue’.
    Prizes? Any book\audio book of the winner’s choice.

    Reply

    2. Or maybe an adventure Andi has when Will ( govners son) visits the Circle C….sorry, there’s a lot of possible things we can write about!

      Reply

  23. Me already thinking of the next contest….which, you don’t have to do, Mrs. M., but just a few ideas

    Reply

  24. What does Aunt Rebecca do for a living (or does she live off the gold she found?)?

    Reply

    1. She was raised in wealth back east and inherited lots of money when her parents died. Read all about her in the behind the scenes tab… Characters…..

      Reply

      1. I meant that on the home page, there’s a search bar. You can type up what you want and it’ll come up

      2. Oh gotcha, yeah i did that! I found it though on ranch blog! Thanks for you help Brianna 🙂

  31. Any hint about what this next (July) contest will be about, Mrs. M.? I’m already excited, though the contest is almost 2 months away. I’m so glad you do these contests!

    Reply

      1. Well, oops! You’re right. They will be posted on May 12. You have through May 11th to vote. Sorry about that. I got my days mixed up.

  33. Will the runners up be the stories that made it into the top three, or will they be stories that almost got into the top three?

    Reply

      1. Cool mabey I can participate in that one without my story being deleted 😜

  35. Sorry Y’all, i totally forgot to vote for the 13 – 17 age group **Smack head**

    Reply

  36. Hahaha, the winners will be announced on my birthday!!😊 Maybe for the pictures, Mrs. M., you can use some ideas that didn’t work out as covers.

    Reply

  38. Can I have your permission to do the contest? I’m only 8 years old ?
    And I love writing.

    Reply

  40. When (if) you publish Trouble at the Line Shack, will you keep all the POVs, Mrs. M.?

    Reply

      1. my Andi calander says Daniel character quiz should be posted on the (thursday) 19th of this month.

        so yes this week!!!

      2. It was going to be Daniel but everyone wanted Mitch or Melinda, so I went along with it. I just checked and I moved it up to Tuesday.

      3. Yeah i would prefer Mitch or Melinda (more so Melinda lol but i dont care) rather then Daniel 🙂
        But i just really enjoy any character quiz 😉

  44. OOO! This week! That’ll be fun. For one of the character quizzes, could you do Riley? That’d be fun! (Btw, I don’t know if you already did him or something, so pls tell me!!!)

    Reply

    1. @Lexi W,
      Yes they did do a Riley character quiz but it was a while ago 😉 (October 31st 2021)

      Reply

  46. Maybe you could do like “Adventures on the fourth of July” type thing where you write about what the Carter family (Or any Family) did on the 4th of July and there adventures!?

    Reply

  47. Mrs. M, if you’re still interested in ideas for prizes, I wouldn’t mind if you could maybe win a horse. 👍🐴
    If you need some other maybe less-than-brilliant ideas, let me know 😉😂🐴

    Reply

  48. Idea for a prize, maybe give a Writing Journal as a prize with a cover of their choice. This could be for CQ or writing contests!

    Reply

  50. Maybe we can vote again like we did for the Cory quiz…that way eveyone gets a say in what quiz is next.

    Reply

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