hello!! here's my writing for swc since november 2020. this is mostly meant as an easy way for me to track my improvement hehe

March 2022
03/05/2022 - Daily

November 2021
11/29/2021 - Weekly #4: SWC Fanfiction
04/30/2021 - Writing Competition Entry: Our Hearts Trust
11/20/2021 - Daily: National Absurdity Day
11/15/2021 - Weekly #2: Exploring Writing
11/12/2021 - Daily: Writing Prompts
11/10/2021 - Word War
11/07/2021 - Word War
11/06/2021 - Daily: Nacho Toppings
11/02/2021 - Daily: Dessert

July 2021
07/31/2021 - Weekly #4: Fanfiction
07/30/2021 - Daily: Host Conversation Fanfiction
07/29/2021 - Daily: Covid Hi-Fi
07/27/2021 - Daily: Song Title Prompt
07/26/2021 - Daily: Writing Prompts
07/24/2021 - Writing Competition Entry: Moon
07/24/2021 - Weekly #3: Choose Your Own Adventure
07/22/2021 - Daily: National Mango Day
07/21/2021 - Daily: Descriptive and Narrative Writing
07/19/2021 - Daily: Sentence Structure
07/17/2021 - Daily: Google Translate Song Lyrics
07/16/2021 - Weekly #2: SWC Fanfiction
07/16/2021 - Daily: Diction
07/14/2021 - Daily: Chopped
07/13/2021 - Daily: Dialogue
07/10/2021 - Weekly #1: Random Generator Story
07/09/2021 - Daily: Suspense through Dramatic Irony
07/08/2021 - Daily: Character Relationships
07/07/2021 - Dotu Cult Semi-Daily: Cacti
07/06/2021 - Daily: Punctuation Fanfiction

04/30/2021 - Leader App Excerpt

March 2021
03/30/2021 - Weekly #4: Short Story
03/27/2021 - Cabin Wars Writing: Overlords
03/27/2021 - Cabin Wars Writing: SWC Fanfic
03/25/2021 - Writing Competition Entry: Now
03/23/2021 - Daily: Editing
03/16/2021 - Weekly #2
03/09/2021 - Weekly #1: Genres
03/02/2021 - Daily: Oh No Semi-Colons

November 2020
11/22/2020 - Daily: Fighting a Dragon with a Desk Lamp
11/21/2020 - Writing Competition Entry: Turnip: An Among Us Fanfiction
11/21/2020 - Writing Competition Entry: Ocean
11/18/2020 - Daily: Fanfiction
11/08/2020 - Weekly #1: Perspectives

hewo honey! all three of your writings were great and descriptive and my only advice is when the person is thinking something you should use ‘___’ and then “you wonder”. i dont really know if you do that, but in my school I do but that is my only advice. other that that great job!

starrliqht- wrote:

hewo honey! all three of your writings were great and descriptive and my only advice is when the person is thinking something you should use ‘___’ and then “you wonder”. i dont really know if you do that, but in my school I do but that is my only advice. other that that great job!

Okay! I'll fix that. Thank you so much!

11/18 Daily Activity: Fan-fiction
537 words
Based on Among Us

Turnip kicked — or perhaps a more accurate description would be “tapped” — the body of a young astronaut named Marie towards the vent. She was standing as far away as she could since dead bodies disgusted her, but she had to hide the body before someone found her on the ship. She had been minding her own business, just trying to keep warm, when she had heard a voice echo around the ship. “The Skeld will take off in five minutes.” She had tried to run back to the door where she had entered, but it was like a maze and she hadn't been able to find it. Now they were leaving her home. She stood next to the upper engine and took fast, shallow breaths. No one knew where she was. She decided to explore. Turnip gave up on hiding the body and lowered herself into the vent. It would be best if the astronauts didn't see her.
She crawled through the ship's ventilation system, peeking out of the vents occasionally. When she finally found an empty room, Turnip climbed out. There was a machine that appeared to be for swiping cards. She looked around and found a sign by the enterance to the room. “Admin” it read. She walked back in and found a screen with a map showing the location of the crew. When she saw that someone was standing in the Admin room, she turned around. She wasn't alone! Then, Turnip realized it was herself she was seeing on the map. She had put on Marie's spacesuit to try to blend in, in case anyone saw her, so the tracker was still on her. She went back to looking at the map and noticed a room called Navigation where someone was standing. ‘Maybe they can help me!’ she thought. She looked out the door of the room and saw an astronaut wearing a green suit approaching, so she went back into the vent. Picturing the map in her mind, she tried to find Navigation. It took her a few tries and she reached a few dead ends, but eventually she arrived.

“Hello.” Turnip poked her head out of the vent and saw an astronaut wearing a pink suit.
He turned around in surprise and looked down towards the vent. “Marie! What are you doing here?” he asked. “You're supposed to be calibrating the reactor. Not” — he waved their hands around — “crawling through the vents?” He frowned in confusion.
Turnip climbed out of the vent. “I'm not Marie,” she said. “I'm—”
“Then where's Marie?” the astronaut interrupted.
Turnip realized she couldn't explain or they would kick her off of the ship for sure. “I'm Turnip,” she continued. “I live on Vamonine, the planet you just left.” She clenched and unclenched her fists anxiously. “Can you turn back so I can get home?”
The astronaut turned back to the controls. ‘Maybe he’s taking me back!' Turnip crossed her fingers. Then, he held down a bright red button.

“There is an impostor among us.” Turnip heard is voice all around the ship. “We must catch her at all costs or she will kill us all.”

Turnip jumped back into the vent in fear.


I'm going to add more to this later because I want to enter it in the writing competition

Ocean

Eva steps out of the car, shivering, and pulls her jacket around herself tighter. She is slightly nauseous from the long drive on windy roads to get to the beach. As she zips up her jacket, her dad and sister walk towards the edge of the bluff to look down at the ocean. She wants to scream, “Stand back, you might fall!” but she knows from experience that they'll just roll their eyes. “Just look away, Eva,” she can hear her sister's taunting in her mind and she clenches her teeth. They will be fine, she tells herself. They're not that close to the edge anyway. She takes a few steps closer to the edge of the cliff to see just how far they are, but as soon as she sees the sharp drop, she freezes.

She takes a deep, slow breath and steps back from the cliff. She looks around at the fog above her, the seagulls circling above the ocean, and the sparkles where the sun peers through the clouds and glints off the ocean. Her eyes sweep across her surroundings, and she notices her family walking down the rocky stairs to the beach. There is sand lying on the steps and Eva takes slow, careful steps with her arms out in front of her to catch herself if she falls. She can see Claire, her sister, is taking the steps two at a time and her entire body tenses as she imagines Claire tumbling down the steps. She stops, trying to push the image out of her mind.
“Eva, hurry up!” Claire yells from the bottom of the stairs.
Eva shakes her head no, a desperate look in her eyes. Claire made it to the beach safely, but what if I don't? she worries.
She finally makes it to the bottom. Claire and her dad have spread out a picnic blanket on the sand and she walks over to them. Claire kicks off her sandals and leaves them in the middle of the blanket. Then she runs away towards the ocean. Eva takes a deep breath and moves her sister's shoes to the side so she can lie down and read. She pulls a book out of her small backpack and turns to the page she had bookmarked the night before.

She can't focus on the words though. She keeps glancing up at the ocean. There are children much younger than her running in and out of the waves. Claire is among them. She worries that the waves will knock them over and pull them out to sea. The thought of Claire drowning brings tears to her eyes. She squeezes them shut. Claire will be okay. They will all be okay. She can't convince herself so she looks away.
When she looks again, she doesn't see Claire. She isn't sprinting away from the waves as they crash down on the beach. She isn't waiting for the sea foam to roll up the beach around her feet. She isn't dashing back to the blanket where Eva and her dad sit.
Eva stands up. She darts towards the water as fast as she can — which isn't very fast, she realizes — and looks for her sister. As annoying as she can be sometimes, Eva can't imagine losing her. The fog has cleared and the glare of the sun on the water obstructs her vision. She has to squint to see anything. There are still other kids playing in the waves but Claire is nowhere to be found. As Eva stands on the damp sand, she prepares herself for the worst.
She doesn't know what compels her, but as the waves roll up onto the beach, she dips one toe in. The icy water startles her and she pulls it out. The waves fall back towards the ocean, but as they come up onto the beach again, Eva walks into them. The waves move around her knees and as she walks further in, they come up to her waist. Her fear slips away to a small wooden chest in the back of her mind. She lets her feet fall out from under her and she sinks to the bottom. Her long hair swirls around her. The waves retreat and Eva is left lying on the sand.

Slowly, she stands up and walks away from the ocean. She sees kids running away from the water. Claire is in the middle of the crowd and Eva breathes a sigh of relief.

hello honey! I really love the setting you chose for this story. Reading about how Eva is going to sacrifice her fear of setting a foot into the ocean to check up on her sister is one of my favorite parts in the story. i don’t have any advice right now, but great job!

-emxind wrote:

hello honey! I really love the setting you chose for this story. Reading about how Eva is going to sacrifice her fear of setting a foot into the ocean to check up on her sister is one of my favorite parts in the story. i don’t have any advice right now, but great job!

thank you!

Turnip: An Among Us Fan-Fiction

Turnip kicked — or perhaps a more accurate description would be “tapped” — the body of a young astronaut named Marie towards the vent. She was standing as far away as she could since dead bodies disgusted her, but she had to hide the body before someone found her on the ship. She had been minding her own business, just trying to keep warm, when she had heard a voice echo around the ship. “The Skeld will take off in five minutes.” She had tried to run back to the door where she had entered, but it was like a maze and she hadn't been able to find it. Now they were leaving her home. She stood next to an electrical panel and took fast, shallow breaths. No one knew where she was. She decided to explore. Turnip gave up on hiding the body and lowered herself into the vent. It would be best if the astronauts didn't see her, for now.

She crawled through the ship's ventilation system, peeking out of the vents occasionally. When she finally found an empty room, Turnip climbed out. There was a machine that appeared to be for swiping cards. She looked around and found a sign by the entrance to the room. “Admin” it read. She walked back in and found a screen with a map showing the location of the crew. Seeing that someone else was in the Admin room, Turnip turned around. She wasn't alone! Then, Turnip realized it was herself she was seeing on the map. She had put on Marie's spacesuit to try to blend in, in case anyone saw her, so the tracker was still on her. She sighed in relief. Then she went back to looking at the map and noticed a room called Navigation where someone was standing. Maybe they can help me! she thought. She looked out the door of the room and saw an astronaut wearing a green suit approaching, so she went back into the vent. Picturing the map in her mind, she tried to find Navigation. It took her a few tries and she reached a few dead ends, but eventually she arrived.

“Hello.” Turnip poked her head out of the vent and saw an astronaut wearing a pink suit.

He turned around in surprise and looked down towards the vent. “Marie! What are you doing here?” he asked. “You're supposed to be calibrating the reactor. Not” — he waved their hands around — “crawling through the vents?” He frowned in confusion.

Turnip climbed out of the vent. “I'm not Marie,” she said. “I'm—”

“Then where's Marie?” the astronaut interrupted.

Turnip realized she couldn't explain Marie's death or they would kick her off of the ship for sure. “I'm Turnip,” she continued. “I live on Vamonine, the planet you just left.” She clenched and unclenched her fists anxiously. “Can you turn back so I can get home?”

The astronaut turned back to the controls. Maybe he's taking me back! Turnip crossed her fingers. Then, he held down a bright red button and spoke into a microphone.

“There is an impostor among us.” Turnip heard his voice all around the ship. “We must catch her at all costs.”

Her eyes darted back and forth and she jumped back into the vent. She crawled around, trying to be quiet, and attempted to find her way back to the room where she had killed Marie, so she could hide the body. When she arrived, she recognized the shape from the map. It was Electrical. She stood up just enough that she could reach the body and started to pull it towards her. Then she heard one of the astronauts walk into the room wearing a blue suit. The steps sounded quiet enough that she thought she had time before they reached the vent, so she kept pulling the body into the vent. But the astronaut approached faster than she had expected and she didn't have enough time to go back into the vent. The astronaut spotted her and their eyes widened in fear.

Turnip didn't know what to do. She would be ejected from the ship, she was sure, if they reported her to the ship's captain. Taking a deep breath, she shot out her spiky tongue and killed the astronaut. The body fell limply on top of Marie. As quickly as the astronaut died, she realized what she had done. She sunk into the vent and buried her head in her knees. Tears rolled down her face silently. Would she have to keep killing until she could take control of the ship?

She ran out of tears to cry and sat there, watching the bodies above her through the slits in the vent. A shadow blocked out the light and she heard an astronaut wearing a red suit gasp and run out of the room. An alarm sounded a few minute later and red lights flashed from the ceiling. “All crewmates, please report to the cafeteria,” an electronic voice announced. Turnip quickly switched into the blue spacesuit so that the captain wouldn't recognize her and left Marie's orange suit in the vent. Then she climbed out and found her way to the cafeteria. She was the last one there. Eight astronauts stood around a table in the middle of the room. The one who had found the bodies — Turnip could now see her nametag said Faith — was speaking.

“I walked into Electrical,” she explained. “And Marie and Camryn's bodies were lying on the floor.”

Turnip glanced down at her stolen suit and saw that her nametag said Camryn. “What are you talking about?” she said in her best imitation of Camryn's soft voice. “I'm right here.”

The crew looked between her and Faith in confusion.

“Wha-” Faith frowned. “But your body was on the floor in Electrical.”

Thinking as fast as she could, Turnip said, “That's impossible, because I was calibrating the reactor.”

Faith stared at her but Turnip refused to meet her eyes. Then the astronaut in the pink suit, who Turnip assumed was the captain, intervened. “You must have been mistaken. But, Marie is dead?”

Faith nodded.

“We're in more danger than we thought,” the captain declared. “From now on, we'll stay in pairs for all tasks. Camryn and Kyle, Erick and Faith, Cora and Alicia, and Liam and Bryan. Sound good?” Without waiting for an answer, he departed from the table towards Navigation.

Turnip watched as everyone found the person they were paired with. Then she remembered she was Camryn. Looking around at all the nametags, she saw Kyle in a yellow spacesuit.

Kyle said, “I need to calibrate the distributor in Electrical. What tasks do you have left?”

She realized she didn't know what Camryn was supposed to be doing. “I think I need to…” She thought as fast as she could. “Fix the wires in electrical.”

“Great!” Kyle said. “We both have tasks in Electrical, how convenient!”

Turnip didn't know what to do. Both of the bodies were in Electrical, including Camryn's. If Kyle saw Camryn's body, he would realize that Turnip wasn't Camryn. She didn't want to, but Turnip realized that she might have to kill Kyle. But, if she killed Kyle, they would realize she wasn't one of the crewmates. She decided she would kill Kyle and then switch into his suit so they would think that he killed Camryn. But then they would figure out she wasn't actually Kyle and kill her anyway. They were passing a room labeled Security, so Turnip suggested that they step inside to look at the security cameras. She saw two people, one in a purple suit and the other in red, passing by admin. They stopped so one of them could fix the wires in storage, and then went out of the camera's view.

“We need to get to Electrical,” Kyle reminded her.

Turnip nodded and followed him around the corner. She walked slower and slower as they entered Electrical. When Kyle found the bodies, he gasped and turned to Turnip. Desperate not to be kicked off the ship, Turnip killed him. She would figure out the rest later.

Then, the astronauts she had seen in storage when she was watching the security cameras walked into Electrical. She could see their nametags now. They said Faith and Erick.

They looked at Turnip in surprise.

“Camryn—” Erick said.

“I knew I had seen that Camryn was dead!” Faith muttered to herself.

In a crazy attempt to keep her cover, Turnip said, “I just found Kyle's body here. He… rushed a bit ahead of me and got here first.”

They shook their heads, obviously not believing her. Turnip rushed to the cafeteria where the previous meeting had been and pressed a large, red button. Faith and Erick arrived first, because they had followed her to the cafeteria. The captain arrived next. Turnip started talking as fast as possible so she could lie before Faith and Erick said she had killed Kyle.

“Kyle was going a bit faster than me, so he got to Electrical first,” she explained. “He was going to calibrate the distributors. I was watching the security cameras for about thirty seconds, and then I followed him. I saw Erick and Faith pass by Admin. Erick stopped to fix the wires in storage but Faith kept going. When I got to Electrical, Kyle was dead, so I'm pretty sure Faith killed him.”

Faith tried to interrupt her, but Turnip continued speaking. “Erick and I arrived at about the same time.”

Erick added, “I did fix the wires in storage, but Faith was with me the entire time.”

“Are you sure?” Turnip asked. She was getting pretty far into the lie, so she had to keep going. “She could have slipped away while you were fixing them, and I'm completely sure I saw her leave.”

“Well—” Erick started.

The captain looked at Turnip and said, "Thank you, Camryn. I agree, she does seem pretty sus. Faith must have been killed, and now the impostor is wearing her suit.“ He escorted Faith to the exit to the ship.

Faith tried to push him away. ”But I was with Erick the entire time!“

Turnip watched him eject Faith into space. ”So we're safe now?“

The captain nodded. ”Continue with your tasks. There's no need to stay in pairs anymore."

Turnip went back to Electrical to hide Camryn's body. She jumped into the vent and pulled Camryn in. She didn't like the feeling of sitting next to a dead body, but she needed time to think so she stayed in the vent. There were six astronauts left. She had killed four people already. But if this was what she had to do to get home, she would do it. Turnip crawled through the vent to Admin so she could look at the map. Turnip noticed a room called Weapons. Maybe if I steal some weapons, I can threaten them instead of killing them! she thought.

She left Admin and walked through the cafeteria. When she came to weapons, it was empty, and she grabbed a spear. She realized she needed to plan a little more. If she were to threaten the entire crew, they might just eject her. She decided to go to Navigation where the captain would be.

When she arrived, she brandished the spear at the captain. “Take me back to Vamonine or else!”

“So Faith wasn't the impostor!” he exclaimed. “You tricked us into killing one of our own!”

“Yes,” Turnip said proudly, although she still felt quite guilty about the deaths she had caused. “And I can do it again.”

The captain made a move to leave the room but Turnip stood in his way. “I will kill you,” she threatened. It was an empty threat, as she did not want to kill another human, but when he tried to leave again, her tongue shot out of her mouth and cut through is neck. She backed away from the body, shaking her head at what she had done. It was only then that she noticed he had been holding down the button to speak over the intercoms in just a few of the rooms on the ship. The crew was approaching Navigation, she was sure, because they knew she had been the one killing them off. Turnip jumped into the vent and ran away. She could hear footsteps above her, all moving quickly towards Navigation.

She decided she should go back to the vent she had entered through so that she could listen in on their conversation. They were talking about how she was the impostor when she got back.

“But where could she have gone?” Cora, the astronaut wearing lime green, was saying.

“Let's go to Admin,” Liam, who was wearing white. “We can see where she's hiding on the map there.”

They all followed him out of the room, except for Erick. It seemed that he had been appointed to steer the ship before Turnip had decided to eavesdrop. Turnip saw her chance to take over the ship but she didn't know whether to take it. She took a deep breath, and then counted down.

“Three…”

She stood up.

“Two…”

She pushed up the vent's cover.

“One…”

She poked her head out.

“Zero!”

She jumped out of the vent, and was about to decapitate Erick in the same way that she had decapitated the captain. She hesitated, however, and he spotted her before she could kill.

“It's you!” he shouted.

He was about to hit the button to use the intercoms, but Turnip pushed him away. She recounted how she had told the captain that she needed to get back to Vamonine, but he hadn't listened. Erick listened patiently, and the fear in his eyes faded away.

“Of course you can take the ship back to Vamonine,” he said. He made an announcement to the crew that they didn't need to worry anymore and let Turnip take control of the ship.

The rest of the crew rushed back to Navigation.

“Are you sure this is a good idea?” Cora challenged him. “She could take the ship completely off course and leave us stranded in space.”

Bryan, an astronaut wearing a cyan suit, also was suspicious. “We only have so many supplies, Erick. We could run out if we turn back now.”

Erick shrugged. “You're all right, I guess. But how else is she going to get home?”

Cora stepped forward and addressed the other astronauts. “Erick is a traitor. He wants us to run out of supplies and get stranded in space.”

The others nodded.

An astronaut named Alicia declared, “Erick, you are no longer in control of the ship.”

She and Liam brought him to the cafeteria, where they told him to wait for them to arrive at their destination, a place that they called “Mira HQ”.

Turnip was left alone with Bryan and Cora. Cora was navigating the ship. Turnip had managed to turn it around a bit before the other astronauts had stopped her, but now it was back on track. Turnip pulled Bryan into the vent.

“Help!” he screamed. “Cora!”

It was no use though. He was stuck down there since he couldn't jump out of the vents in the same way that Turnip could.

Turnip returned to Navigation and shot her tongue through Cora's heart. She had been so close to getting home, and Cora had ruined it for her. She no longer felt remorse for such a heartless monster.

Then, she took control of the ship. She found a control panel where she could lock doors from and closed all the doors to the cafeteria where Alicia, Liam, and Erick were. She turned them around and started going back to Vamonine. At first, the ship moved shakily since she didn't know how to steer it, but eventually she figured it out.

It was only then, a few days into the trip back home, that she realized what she had done. Cora wasn't a monster. She just wanted the crew to survive their journey back home. It was Turnip's fault she was on the ship.

She opened the doors to the cafeteria and allowed the three astronauts left alive to come back to Navigation.

“I'm sorry,” she said as they arrived. “Turn the ship back to Mira HQ, or wherever you were going.” She walked towards the door that Faith had been ejected from. “I'll find my own way back to Vamonine.”

Erick shook his head. “No, we will get you home.”

Alicia and Liam both nodded. Turnip realized that Erick had convinced them that she needed to get home more than they needed to get back to Mira HQ in the past few days.

“No.” Turnip was about to open the door, but Erick locked it and steered the ship towards Vamonine. They still had a few days to go, but they would get there.

Turnip sat alone in the cafeteria for about a day, sulking in her own guilt. Then, she realized she could be useful. She started completing the tasks that had been left undone when she killed the other astronauts.

They finally arrived back at Turnip's home and she stepped off the ship. “Goodbye, Erick,” she said. “Good luck getting back to Mira HQ.”


(edited to fix formatting and spelling)

this was very rushed lol. it also had almost no planning. figuring out the names of the crew beforehand was the most planning i did. if there's anything that's in single quotes, that's where i forgot to switch it to italics, so just pretend it's in italics please. :)

oh also her name is turnip because whenever i'm trying to think of a name for a character, the first think i think of is turnip thanks to bakie :>

Daily 11/22: Fighting a Dragon with a Desk Lamp
423 words

I felt as if the dragon's roar had shattered my eardrums. I opened my backpack and grabbed the only thing in it: a pink desk lamp. If I could plug it in, part of it would heat up, but there was no electricity in this canyon. A hot lamp wouldn't do much against a dragon though, so it didn't really matter. I needed to get through the canyon, but if my only weapon was this lamp, I didn't know how I was going to do it. I improvised.

I held the end of the cord and swung the lamp around like a lasso. The dragon towered over me. I let go of the cord and the lamp spun through the air before hitting the dragon in the neck. It didn't hurt the dragon. Instead, it just looked down at me and let a stream of fire out of its mouth. I ran to my left. The dragon didn't see me due to its poor eyesight, so I was able to get out of the way in time. It flew up and circled above, periodically breathing fire down into the canyon. It lit a bush on fire, but there was no other vegetation near the bush so the fire went out quickly. I ran to pick up the lamp from where it had landed. As unsatisfactory a weapon as it was, it was my only shot at defeating the dragon.

I threw the lamp up as far as I could and watched the cord wrap around the dragon's neck. All it did was irritate the dragon and my only weapon was gone. Then, the lamp broke off of the cord and came tumbling down back into the canyon. Frayed wire stuck out of the end where it had been attached. Still not a great weapon, but I would try to work with it. I threw the lamp again. This time, the wire hit the dragon's eye. It blinked rapidly. The lamp fell down again and I tried to catch it but it was falling too fast. It hit the ground, but luckily it didn't break. The dragon was flying down to attack me, so I sprinted towards the lamp to get it before the dragon.

I grabbed it and ran towards the dragon, brandishing it in front of me. I don't know what I was thinking. Then, I stuck the lamp up one of the dragon's huge nostrils. He roared in anguish, but I was able to pass him and continue on my journey.

i never said the ending was original

Honey! This is amazingg!

honeybreeze wrote:

Turnip: An Among Us Fan-Fiction

Snip

Honey! This is amazing!!! I love it!

oh no semi-colons - main cabin daily 3/2
301 words

One day, Eli had an amazing idea: an SWC revolution. “Hey, what if we started a revolution in SWC?” she suggested.
A few people agreed to join this revolution against the tyrannical hosts of SWC, but it quickly died out; people just got bored of it.
Several months later, she tried to start another revolution. This time it gained more traction. Campers, leaders, and co-leaders from many cabins joined in the chaotic fun. They had a plan to revolt against the hosts. Unfortunately, Horror and Mystery refused to join. They had . . . other plans. A few of Mystery’s campers joined, however. Eli promoted Honey to General and Bakie, Birdi, Livvy, Lynn, and Kat to Colonel.
Then, Summer suggested that they add a page for the revolution to the SWC Memory Book. “We should have a page in the memory book!” she exclaimed.
Birdi, the leader of the Memory Book agreed. Honey promoted Summer to Colonel for her outstanding strategizing.
The revolution gained so much popularity that one of the untyrannical hosts, Icy, had to ask them to not spam the Main Cabin. Honey agreed because that made sense. Instead, they would put it on their own profiles to get more people to join.
Just as it was getting exciting, the SWC gHost, Sini, had joined the revolution! Eli had invited her. When Zura promoted her to Lieutenant, however, Eli removed her from the revolution and she refused to rejoin. In retaliation, Honey invited the hosts to join the revolution to see what would happen and cause chaos.
In the end, the SWC revolution did absolutely nothing besides mildly annoy Mystery and Horror’s campers and get a lot of people to misspell “colonel.” It brought some SWC participants a lot of joy though, which is why it is always worth starting pointless revolutions.

Weekly #1

Poem 112 words
this was really fun
she leans in close and whispers
softly in my ear,
“you'll have time tomorrow,”
but “time” is all i hear.

time is all we ever have,
but when will time run out?
how long will we stay inside
and drown in our own doubt?

a clock is buried underwater,
yet ticking on and on.
we hope that it will float,
but know it will soon be gone.

as i think about the clock,
that's slowly running down,
we hold each other close
and look out at the town.

someday this will be the home
of only dust and ghosts
but until that day is here
of our lives we'll make the most.

Classics 128 words
based on the attic
Suddenly, you hear footsteps behind you. Boots hit the wooden floor — or is it a ceiling? You are in an attic, after all — making a hollow clunking noise. You stuff the photograph back into the box. The footsteps are getting louder and you turn around quickly. What if one of the leaders has found you?
As they step into the warm yellow light, you see that it’s not Alba, Sini, or Li. Another camper is standing a few yards away from you. You breathe a sigh of relief. Then you peek towards the trapdoor. It’s been left a crack open. Was that you, or did the other camper not close it carefully enough? Making eye contact with them, you tiptoe across the attic to close it.

Adventure 190 words
i got bored of researching how long downclimbing takes
We approached the cliff. I looked down and my head spun. I couldn’t see the bottom of the canyon with only the moonlight, but it had to be thousands of feet deep. I had no idea how we were going to get down. It appeared everyone else was wondering the same thing. When I accidentally kicked a small rock over the edge, my breathing sped up. I stepped back and closed my eyes. I don’t know how we had expected to get down to the canyon floor. Malia had stepped back and was sitting next to me. Her brow was furrowed in thought.
Finally, she said, “I might have belay equipment at home.”
I glanced up at the sky, trying to guess how much time we had before it got light. It looked like we had quite a bit of time — at least five or six hours — so I asked, “How long do you think it will take you to get it?”
She thought for a moment and then said, “I can probably be back in twenty minutes.”
I nodded and she started jogging back towards the town.

Thriller 149 words
i think this is thriller?? anyway, no idea who “they” are
I sprint across the rooftop, until I come to the edge of a building. There’s a 20 story drop, but they’re catching up to me. I’ll have to jump to the next roof.
I back up to get a running start.
I jump.
And I don’t make it. I’m falling through the air, flailing my arms. I try to hold myself upright, but I can’t. Suddenly, I land on top of a truck, butt first. I can’t believe my luck. Yes, the fall was painful, but at least I didn’t get run over.
They’ve just reached the edge of the roof and are looking around for where I went. We’re stopped at a red light so I press myself to the top of the truck, hoping they won’t spot me. Unfortunately, my bright purple hair stands out against the plain street. Just as they spot me, the light changes.

Non-Fi 100 words
i was trying to figure out what i knew enough about that i could write 100 words about it off the top of my head
When the Brooklyn Bridge was being built, they had to dig through the sediment at the bottom of the river to make room for the suspension posts. Workers went down in caissons, which air was compressed into, so they could go that deep underwater. However, the pressure caused many workers to get sick with decompression sickness. At the time, it was called “caisson disease.” Washington Roebling, the son of John Augustus Roebling who designed the bridge, was paralyzed from it. He supervised the construction from his apartment while his wife Emily Roebling communicated passed messages between the workers and him.

Mystery 109 words
what is the character trying to solve please explain???
As I turned the corner, I saw a flash of bright purple out of the corner of my eye. I looked back, trying to spot it, but it was gone. I crept back around the corner, hoping to see someone running away. The street was completely empty. Then, I noticed there was a thin purple goo covering the sidewalk. I stepped onto it to make sure it wasn’t too slippery and then started running to find out where it was going. It was the same goo as at the crop circle. If I was able to catch up — well I would have figured out where it came from!

Horror 129 words
i tried
The town was silent as the sun rose higher and higher in the sky. Adults and children alike had fallen asleep in their beds expecting to wake up the next morning, but they never did. As I explored the town, it was almost as if everyone had died. But the beds were empty. Where they had disappeared to, I had no idea. I found the hotel I had made a reservation at. It was just as empty as the rest of the town. Suddenly, a white light flashed, blocking my vision. I shook my head. The lights that had been on in the hotel lobby just a moment before were off now. I was sucked backwards towards the door. I tried to run back, but it was too strong.

Sci-Fi 127 words
i didnt research space travel
The ship flew through the vacuum of space. We were passing Comic-87, the planet where the astronauts of the Glimmer mission had been stranded. I looked at it with sadness. My friend had been on that mission. Then, I noticed something strange. We were flying towards it. It was nowhere near the planet we were supposed to go to. As we got closer, I noticed a tall white tower. The pilot of the ship must have noticed nd decided to come check it out. I ran to the cockpit. The engineers on Earth were talking loudly.
“What are you doing?”
“Continue with the mission.”
“You cannot go to Comic-87.”
The pilot ignored them. I had the feeling she would have turned off the volume if she could.

Dystopian 175 words
based on my own stupidity :)
March only has one day. Slowly, after the Collapse of Time, the number of days in each month fluctuated until February had 40 days while other months only have 20 days. You’d think we could just go on with our lives, but when 31 days are squished into one you have a lot to get done in that 25 hours. That’s right, days are 25 hours long now. At least the lengths of the different months are easier to remember. A lot of people’s birthdays have just disappeared. This means that most people are stuck at whatever age they were when the Collapse of Time happened. We’re slowly running out of adults because not many babies have been born. Luckily, there’s no way to be born on a day that doesn’t exist since we have a pretty sold calendar now. But it’s always a worry that someday some days will disappear again. We also don’t know what we’ll do once the adults that are getting older die and there’s no one to raise the babies.

Real-Fi 139 words
i am especially proud of this one. go join #nonoses
Your phone starts to ring. You don’t recognize the number but you pick it up anyway because you’re bored and have too much time on your hands.
“Hello?” you say.
“This video — I mean call! was sponsored by—” a robotic voice begins.
“How does one sponsor a call?” you ask.
“If you would like to sponsor a call—”
“I wouldn’t.”
They start over. “This call was sponsored by the #NoNoses Movement.”
“No thanks,” you say. “I quite like my nose.”
“But they’re only against noses in emoticons! Do you really want to waste time typing a nose in an emoticon?” they explain. “You should join.”
“I’d really rather not,” you say as politely as you can muster.
Then, your phone vibrates against your ear. It seems that they’ve texted you a link to a coding website for kids.

Contemporary 209 words
weird pacing because i was doing the daily, also it's based on a writing prompt from self-publishingschool.com
I jogged out of the building, covering my nose and mouth to prevent smoke from getting in my lungs. All I could hear was a fire alarm and crackling. The orange flames licked the ceiling and cast shadows everywhere. As I pushed out into the cool air, I looked up at my house. The golden fire was strangely . . . beautiful. I didn’t even think about what was burning inside. I heard sirens approaching slowly. As the scarlet red truck turned the corner, I sat down on the lawn of my neighbors across the street and watched my house be slowly devoured.
I pulled my suitcase up the stairs. There wasn’t much, but it would be enough. I threw open the door. My new roommate was sitting on a small couch. I didn’t glance at her expression.
“Hiya!”
“Hey.”
“How are you doing?”
“Fine.”
I put down my suitcase and unzip it. There’s not much inside. Just a few outfits and a paint canvas.
“Do you want help unpacking?”
“I’m fine, thanks.”
I leave everything in the suitcase. There’s not much room in here, anyway. I sit down on the chair across from my roommate.
“I’m Emerald.”
“Mmm, I’m Marigold.”
“Nice to meet you,” I say right away.

Hi-Fi 104 words
no research here either oops. the idea sounded better in my head
“One nation,” the class recited.
“With liberty and justice-” I began to say, but the rest of the class said, “Under God.”
I shook my head. What? I wondered.
“Jade, we say ‘under God’ in the Pledge of Allegiance now,” my teacher said once we had finished reciting the pledge.
I frowned but didn’t press further.
It was the first day back at school after summer vacation. Last year, we had just said “One nation with liberty and justice for all.” What had changed over the summer? I didn’t believe that our nation was “under God” so why was I required to say it?

Fairytales 146 words
dash was lying next to me
Once upon a time, there were a prince and princess named Dash and Holly. They were cats and they lived in a magical land called Cattopia. One day, the prince of Kitty Island came to visit. His name was Firepaw, because he was named by an eight-year-old. He was an orange tabby. Almost immediately, Holly’s best friend Ginger fell in love with him. When he was visiting the castle, Ginger lingered behind him everywhere he went like a lovesick cat, because she was, in fact, a lovesick cat. The next day, Ginger climbed up a tree, hoping to get his attention. She was too scared to climb down though. Holly went to get someone to help her down and the first person she found was Firepaw.
“Firepaw!” she meowed. “Please come help, Ginger got stuck in a tree!”
He and Holly dashed back to the tree.

Fantasy 100 words
the only characters i will write about from now on are my cats
Princess Holly and Prince Dash also had magical powers. Dash could set things on fire and Holly could control water. One day, Dash had the zoomies! He raced around their very small kingdom and meowed very loudly. He also accidentally set a lot of things on fire. Holly was taking a nap. She woke up when she smelled smoke.
Oh, is someone burning candles? she wondered. I should go singe my whiskers on them.
Then, Dash came racing into her room.
“Holly, please help. I accidentally set everything on fire.”
She meowed, appalled. “How the heck did you do that?”

Myth 115 words
i love my cats
Holly and Dash looked at each other in surprise. They had been turned into . . . humans? There were lots of humans around them, training for something. They noticed weapons at their feet.
“Should we pick these up?” Holly tried to meow. It sounded more like Greek though. Luckily, Dash could understand Greek because he had been turned into a human as well.
Dash nodded. “That seems like a good idea.”
They picked them up, but they had no idea how to use opposable thumbs so they dropped them almost immediately.
“What if we went and opened the canned food ourselves instead?” Dash suggested. It seemed like the only appropriate thing to do with their opposable thumbs.

weekly #2 not finished but im posting the part that requires proof so i can submit it as soon as im done

part 1
Hiya,

I feel really comfortable talking to you. I guess it's nice that you don't really know who I am. I mean, you know my name, but you don't know who I actually am other than what I've told you. It's nice not to worry about that. I'm very curious who I've been writing to for the past month, but I assume you also want to be anonymous. Maybe someday we'll actually talk. What if we already know each other? It's so weird to think about.
I had to get a new notebook once we started using this one to write letters to each other, but I don't regret it at all. I would much rather talk to you than talk to anyone I eat lunch with. Although you could be one of them, I guess. I doubt it though. I would recognize your handwriting if you were. The first message I found here made me so sad. I remember that you had just gotten really annoyed at your friends. I had too. Actually, you were one of them. I guess I’ll just tear this up and write a new letter now that I’ve given up on pretending I don’t know who you are. I can just vent for now I guess. This is good, I need a break from pretending. It’s very nice to talk to you in here, actually. I enjoy it a lot. More than talking to you in person or texting. Would other forms of communication be more like this if I just told you I knew who you were? I don’t want to find out and risk retaliation. Now that I think about it, I guess I wasn’t being myself, even here. I honestly wish you were someone I actually don't know. Do you realize that it's me? Or do you think you're talking to a different Mara H.? Did you even notice my name on the inside cover of the notebook? I knew that it was you as soon as I read about the argument that first day. You were so annoyed at me. Honestly, I don't regret it at all. I'm not annoyed anymore, but I still think that you don't have the right to dictate what we can talk about at lunch. Honestly just thinking about it makes me mad though, so I am going to stop. Anyway, it kind of hurt to read what you wrote in here about me. I assume you just picked up the first notebook you came across, which happened to be mine in the lost and found. Seems like a strange choice to me - I mean, what were you going to do if they were mad about it? And why did you put it back instead of just taking the notebook? It was very weird to find the note in here. In a way, we've gotten to know each other better, and I'm glad about that. The circumstances were very, very strange, but I don't know how else we would have. I was so close to just leaving you and the rest of my friends and going to hang out with other people. Now I'm still hanging out with all of you, which I guess is good. I don't know who I would talk to otherwise. I've been writing this for an hour, even though I know I'm not going to send it at this point. I should just tear it out now and start on what I'm actually going to leave for you, but this feels really nice to write.
I hope you're not mad at me anymore. It surprised me how many people took your side in that argument. I mean, we were all really good friends, but how could they just agree that you were in charge like that? Whoops, went back to talking about that. It doesn't matter at this point. We are all still friends — you and I because of this notebook, and you and the rest of our friend group because you actually get along well, and the rest of our friend group and I because I still talk to you, even if you don't know it. Sometimes I worry that you don't actually want to talk to me in person. Imagine if we both know that we're talking to each other, but both pretend not to. What if we just talked like this in person? It would be so refreshing honestly, after all the arguments. To just talk like we do here. I feel like we used to do that, but maybe I'm misremembering. I miss Lena so much. I feel like when she moved, we all started to argue more. Like she kept the peace for all of us. I can't believe I didn't think to ask for her email or phone number or something, and now I have no way to contact her. I don't even know where she lives anymore. I wonder if anyone does… Probably not, but it would be worth it to ask around. It would be so awkward to talk to her though. We haven't seen each other in, what, five years? I don't know, but it has been a long time. We're in high school now. That's crazy to think about. We were all such good friends in elementary, and now it's so awkward to talk to any of you. I guess I need to write what I'm actually going to leave for you before lunch is over.


Part 2 307 words
Mara is a morning person. She also likes nights, but she is always asleep before 11 and usually gets up at 6:30 am when her alarm goes off. She knows she needs more sleep, so she is usually asleep around 10 pm, but sometimes schoolwork keeps her up later. She eats a bowl of cereal for breakfast. She always pours the cereal before the milk. Then she gets dressed quickly. She is still kind of tired at that point, so she does not put a ton of thought into it. She brushes her hair and braids it so it does not get in the way later. She puts on a headband with purple cat ears because cat ears are the best and everyone should wear them. Then she brushes her teeth very well. She does a decent amount of her homework in the morning because she has time and she does not usually get it all done the day before. It has only lead to her being late to school a couple of times, luckily. She packs her lunch quickly. It usually includes a cheese stick and an orange for at break and a thermos of soup for at lunch. She bikes to school and she always wears a helmet because safety is extremely important and putting on a helmet does not actually take that long. The bike ride takes her only about 10 minutes, so she does not have to leave to early to be on time. In fact, she is usually at school at least 10 minutes before it starts. She locks her bike to a bike rack — one of the ones that is shaped like an upside down letter U, not the kind that you put your front tire in. She just finds the U shaped kind easier to lock her bike to.

Daily 03/24: Editing

I am editing something I wrote in third grade. Here's a screenshot of it because it had lots of weird formatting that you can't do with bbcode on scratch.





commentary as i write because i am bored:
So uh very bad also i messed around with the margins on google docs a bunch and now it's a pain to edit.
I'm also changing the font size to not size 14 :>
i hate brook she sucks, please third grade honey give me a decent character to write about
also originally her name was birch but then i changed it i think
i have no idea where to start this plot idea is so bad
okay SO
things no one needs to know that are irrelevant to the story as far as i can tell:
- third grade
- dog
- favorite book
- writing (oh wait actually this is relevant. the part it's relevant to is dumb though)
- what the math problem was
i will leave all of those out
i'm surprised by the lack of punctuation in the dialogue for some reason
also these could be all in one chapter so that's what i'm doing
hey at least i didn't completely forget about the existence of parents like i did when i was twelve!
“the invisible force(???)” i love the (???) but it sucks. just use words to describe her confusion
“then, remembered about the invisible force” how can she remember something if she didn't forget
completely forgot the closing parenthesis after the math problem
i'm very confused about why she didn't just tell her mom her skin was glittery but it lead into a plot point so.
i'll change it anyway
HELP I FINISHED REWRITING THE FIRST TWO “CHAPTERS” AND THEN SHE JUST GETS SUCKED INTO A TORNADO WITH LITERALLY NO. EXPLANATION. HOW AM I EXPECTED TO EXPLAIN THIS??
okay finished!

Brook pushed her blonde hair behind her ear and opened her math book. As she began working on the first homework problem, she sighed. Her dog, Nancy, was lying next to her and Brook patted her on the head. When she looked back at the page, words were appearing. She rubbed her eyes. What? she thought. She closed the book. After a few seconds, she reopened it and found that the problem had been finished for her. She stood up to get a drink of water. Maybe she just had a headache and was imagining it. As she walked down the hallway to the kitchen, she spotted herself in the mirror. Her hair was bright pink — now purple! and now orange! — and her skin appeared to be covered in rainbow glitter. She screeched in surprise.
“Brook?” her mom called from the kitchen. “Is everything okay?”
She stepped into the kitchen. “My skin is—”
“Itchy? Bumpy? Dry?” her mom interrupted, looking at her with concern.
“Uhh no,” Brook answered. “Glittery?”
Had the glitter disappeared? Brook got a glass of water and then went to look in the mirror again. Her skin was still glittery. Could her mom not see it?
She got back to her desk and found that all of her math homework had been completed.
How convenient! she decided. Glad to be done with it, she opened her computer to work on her novel. She stared at the screen. Maybe I should go look at writing memes instead, she thought. That sounds productive!
Brook leaned back in her chair and let her vision blur. In the blink of an eye, she was being sucked into a rainbow tornado that seemed to have appeared out of nowhere. She took a look around her room before all she could see was rainbows.

She found herself lying on dry, hard dirt. Above her was the ceiling of a large granite cave. She sat up and examined her surroundings. A few purple and pink stones lay near the walls and water dripped from the ceiling. A drop landed next to her and she stood up.

now
my swc writing competition entry. it's already in a post here but i figure i'll put it in its own for the competition.
112 words

she leans in close and whispers
softly in my ear,
“you'll have time tomorrow,”
but “time” is all i hear.

time is all we ever have,
but when will time run out?
how long will we stay inside
and drown in our own doubt?

a clock is buried underwater,
yet ticking on and on.
we wish for it to float,
but know it will soon be gone.

as i think about the clock,
that's slowly running down,
we hold each other close
and look out at the town.

someday this will be the home
of only dust and ghosts
but until that day is here
of our lives we'll make the most.
⋆⋆⋆⋆

so I was working on something else, but i procrastinated until the last day to write it! and i realized it wasn't going to be as good as i wanted it to be if i just rushed through it, so i'm entering this instead :D
at least i can say i didn't enter something i wrote in one day!

Cabin Wars Writing from our first two wars
apologies to fantasy and real-fi
also i didn't get permission from any of the people mentioned so uhh
the characters are made up i just used their names
if you're in it and you don't want to be, sorry, just tell me and i'll remove this

You stop at the huge oak tree at the edge of camp and look up. You're standing on dry leaves and fallen acorns. Through the leaves, you can see the sky and fluffy white clouds. A ladder made of rope and wooden boards hangs down from the largest branch. You grab one rung with your right hand and climb up it. You squint to avoid any leaves scratching your eyes. When you reach the top, you put on foot on the cloud, half expecting to fall through. When it holds you up, you cautiously place your other foot upon it. The clouds tickle your feet through the holes in your sandals.
You approach the gate of the Sky Castle. You're surprised to find that your footsteps are completely silent. All you can hear is the chirping of birds in the oak tree. The scene is so serene, you feel the need to tiptoe. When you reach the gate, you hesitate. Should you knock? Above the gate made of clouds is a carving of the sun and moon. A swing hangs from one of the few branches that reach this high. It swings back and forth, despite the air being totally still. You're about to knock when the gates swing open to reveal a towering castle. The clouds are pink and gold. You marvel at the castle's beauty. A girl's voice comes from the front of the castle.
“Welcome to the Poem Sky Castle.” She's wearing a loose-fitting periwinkle shirt and has fuzzy white rabbit ears sprouting out of her dark brown hair. “I'm Starr,” she introduces herself.
Two other girls step out of the castle. One has short tawny brown hair and a green sprout on her head. She wears a light green shawl. The girl on Starr's left has brown hair in two braids and wears a purple cat ear headband. They introduce themselves as Wren and Honey.
“We're so excited to have you!” Honey exclaims.
Wren ushers you inside. “Come with us!”
The inside of the castle is even more exquisite. You sigh in disbelief. Is this really where you get to stay for the next month? Starr, Wren, and Honey lead you up a spiral staircase. It's surprisingly sturdy for something made of cloud. You suppose you should be getting used to it but it's just so different from the rest of camp!
You reach the top of the stairs and Starr holds out a bag that resembles a bag of Takis. “Want some Sci-Fis?”
You haven't heard of them, but you take it anyway and put it in your bag for later. “Thank you!” you say.
You follow Wren and Honey down the hallway. Honey pushes open a door. “Welcome to your room!”
It's huge, not like anything you were expecting.
“Woah,” you breathe.
In the corner is a queen-size bed with blue and green sheets. Beside it is a nightstand made of clouds, and at the edge of the room is a window that overlooks the edge of the cloud. Looking down, you see a casino flashing with red lights.
“Is that another cabin?” you inquire.
Wren says, “That's the Mystery Casino!”
“They're cool. We shouldn't backstab them,” Honey adds thoughtfully.
You're startled by her light tone of voice. You hadn't realized there would be betrayal at this camp, much less such casual talk of backstabbing.
“Honey–” Starr says.
“Yes, Starr?” she responds sweetly.
“We shouldn't backstab anyone.”
Honey nods. “Good idea.”
You're not sure whether to believe that she's not going to betray anyone though. Honey's evil grin expresses nothing but joy from imagining the blood and tears of her allies. You can practically hear her cackling.
Wren breaks the silence. “We'll show you around the rest of the Sky Castle!”
You nod faster than usual. Honey's evilness has got you on edge.
Honey skips out of the room. “Where to next?” she asks.
“How about to the sixty-seventh floor?” Wren suggests.
You open your mouth in awe. There are sixty-seven floors in the castle?
“Yeah!” Starr exclaims. “To the sixty-seventh floor!”
You realize that climbing that many staircases would make your legs ache for years and sigh. What have you gotten yourself into. Luckily, Wren leads the way to a cloud elevator. The three leaders step onto their own clouds floating hundreds of feet in the air, so you do the same.
Then, in unison, Starr, Honey, and Wren say, “To the sixty-seventh floor!”
The clouds shoot upwards so fast that you forget to breathe. Woosh! You hear the sound of air rushing past your ears. You stumble, nearly falling off your cloud, when they stop.
The view is amazing. You can see all of camp from the top of the Sky Castle. In the center of the large field is the Main Cabin, made of hundred-year-old redwood tree trunks. Its roof has exquisite carvings of writing — and of cabins fighting, with pencils for swords. That seems unwise, you think.
Seeming to read your mind, Honey says matter-of-factly, and slightly evilly, “Typewriters would make much better weapons than pencils.”
You look around at the other cabins. The Sci-Fi Colony, in its blue and silver glory, glares into the void. Dystopian seems to smile in the bright sunlight; strange because when you walked by earlier, the leaders seemed very tense. The Historical Fiction Cabin's beautiful pink garden is clearly visible even from the sky. You can see the leaders showing the campers who had arrived early around it. A dark red curtain outside the Contemporary Theatre stands out against the green field. The sanctuary of Horror Cabin is like a black pit at the edge of camp. The leaders of Mystery appear to be teaching their campers how to gamble. Isn't gambling bad? you wonder. I didn't know this camp encouraged such behavior! The Non-Fiction Cabin is a several-story tall concrete building with two stone lion statues out front. The leaders are setting up a giant chess game outside. A purple and gold castle sparkles to your right. Fantasy, you think. Their castle is almost as beautiful as Poem's. The Fairy Tales Cabin peeks out of the forest on the East side of the camp. Their leaders are waiting outside for the campers to arrive. Near the road that you arrive on, there are a few buildings that remind you of skyscrapers. Among them is the Realistic Fiction Cabin. A green and gold sign outside reads “REAL-FI FOR THE WIN!” You laugh. Obviously, Poem is going to win. In stark contrast to Realistic Fiction's shining city, the Mythology Cabin is a crumbling stone tower surrounded by crumbling arches and pillars.
Honey interrupts your thoughts with an evil laugh. “Mythology looks really fun to backstab.”
You can imagine yourself getting used to her casual plan-making.
The Thriller Cabin is a very modern-looking building covered in neon signs. In the middle of it is a huge ticking clock. Next to Thriller is Classics. Their old library matches the field around them wonderfully. And finally, there is the Adventure Cabin on the hill just outside of camp. Their cabin is less of a cabin and more of a well-maintained campsite.
Your leaders step off the cloud elevator contraption onto the sixty-seventh floor. It appears to be an art studio. There are ten canvases set up with a few tubes of paint under each easel.
“Ooh, I didn't know we would get to do art!” you exclaim. “I'm looking forward to this!”
“Yes, it'll be so much fun!” Wren agrees. “I can't wait!”
“When do we get to paint?” you ask.
Starr replies, “I'm not completely sure — but we will at some point this month!”
“We should go back down now,” Wren says. “Maybe we can visit one of the other cabins!”
You gasp. You didn't know you would get to hang out with campers in other cabins!
“Ooh!” Honey says. “How about Historical Fiction?”
“Yesss,” Starr agrees. “Let's go say hi to Bakie, Jaden, and Scarlet!”
You take the cloud elevators back down to the first floor of the castle. This time, you instruct them with the leaders. “To the first floor!”
You get off at the gate of the Sky Castle. Once again, you are amazed by its beauty. Wren is first to climb down the ladder to the ground; then Honey, Starr, and finally you.
When you're on the ground, Starr takes the lead. You walk across the field to the bright magenta flowers outside Historical Fiction.
“Hi Bakie!” Honey screeches.
“Honey! Starr! Wren!” Bakie greets you. “Welcome to our garden!” She eyes Honey suspiciously. “Are you going to backstab us?”
“Nooo,” Honey wails. “Why on Earth would I do that?”
Bakie thinks for a moment. “I can think of enough reasons to fill an entire flower pot.”
She seems to agree that Honey is quite evil and untrustworthy.
“Good to know; we'll think about it!” Honey responds with an evil grin.
Bakie introduces the leaders to her campers. “These are Starr, Wren, and Honey! They're from the Poem Sky Castle.”
“HI!” Honey screams in excitement and evilness.
Starr, like the responsible leader she is, introduces Historical Fiction's leaders to you. “This is Bakie, Jaden, and Scarlet.”
You wave to them. “Hi!!!” You love exclamation points so much.
The sweet scent of Historical Fiction's flowers soothes you. They remind you of the time you stayed up until 4 in the morning writing. It wasn't a good idea, but it was still fun.

I also wrote this for a cabin war yesterday and I like it enough that I'm putting it here (it mostly lacks contractions because word count)

The yellow flower wilts before my eyes. I am standing under a bridge to stay out of the rain. All the greenery around me shrivels up. Yet another thing The Overlords have taken away from us. I rain runs down the muddy slope to the valley I'm standing in. I sit down. I have basically given up on the world since the overlords arrived. At first, I had hope that they would leave by choice someday. It seemed unlikely that we could force them out, since we did not even know who they were. We still do not. Their voices bellow down from the sky, it seems. We have started calling them The Overlords because they are above us in the sky. They constantly change things, taking things away — like plants just now — and adding things. The most recent addition was wolves made of amber that roam the forests at night. A few of my friends have been taken captive by them. I miss them so badly. I can only hope they are being taken care of well.
The first thing that disappeared when The Overlords arrived was education. Schools and books all vanished. At first, we did not know what had happened. We went to the spots where our schools used to be for a few days, but then The Overlords made their first announcement. We all froze in our tracks when we heard their deep, booming voices.
“Salutations, inhabitants of Earth,” they had said in unison. “Education is now prohibited. Schools, books, and other educational materials have been removed from your planet for your convenience. Thank you for your cooperation.”
We were all shocked. Where were these voices coming from? And who or what did they belong to? We eventually became used to the new rules The Overlords imposed upon us. It was about a year later that the additions to our world started. The first was a blue gas that was released in some forests. It made it much easier to get lost. Some people went into the forests, thinking they would find The Overlords' secrets in them since The Overlords did not want us to be able to get through them. They never came out, and when others went in to get them, they disappeared too. I agree that The Overlords are probably hiding something in the forests, but you do not need to be a genius to realize it is a bad idea to go looking.
The mud is soaking through my too-small skirt. That is another thing The Overlords got rid of — clothing stores. If we want any new clothing, we have to make it ourselves and I have not had any time. I have been able to give my two younger sisters some of my old clothes, but it is not enough. A lot of it is ripped or dirty. I really need to learn to sew, but with education outlawed, I have no idea how. My friend Cora was going to teach me, but she was taken by the amber wolves. The rain is slowing, so I stand up and try to brush the mud off my skirt. It does not do much, unfortunately. I walk out into the rain. My hair and clothing are sticking to my body. My sisters and I are in desperate need of haircuts, but I can't find scissors anywhere. Cora might have some, I realize. I can go look in her house when I get back. I push my hair back from my face and walk up the hill. It is very muddy and I keep slipping down. A few times, I fall and land on my back. My hair is completely covered in mud when I finally reach the top. I grit my teeth. I will bathe when I get home. My sisters are probably wondering where I am. I wander along the edge of the forest. It is getting dark, so I have to get home soon before the amber wolves are out.
Just then, I hear soft footsteps. They come from an animal that moves on all fours. I freeze. Then, I hear what sounds like a dog barking. It's a very low bark. Is it just a dog? The barking turns to howling.
Amber wolves.
I sprint away from the forest. From what I've heard, they don't like to come too far from the trees, so I'll be safe if I can just get away. I shouldn't have waited under the bridge. In the puddles, I can see the reflections of their glowing yellow eyes.

March 2021 Weekly 4 ~ Short Story

Part 1
214 words

Before we get into any actual writing, let’s develop our setting. Follow the link to this website, which will give you a palette of Dulux paint colour names. https://perchance.org/paint-color
You will start with three options, but feel free to up that number to 5 or 6 if you’re feeling ambitious.
Use your results to build a setting.

They are on a cruise ship that is going to visit the Spritzig Islands. The Spritzig Islands are best known for their beautiful beaches with aqua water, which would make them crowded vacation destinations; however, they are extremely isolated and take a long time to get to, so they are not too popular. They are sailing across the Subpoena Sea, which is the largest ocean in the world. The ship is called the Lavendaire, after the captain’s grandmother. She was the captain of the crew that discovered the Spritzig Islands. There are two floors below the deck, the lower of which is full of crates. The crates contain many kinds of grains in case they run out of fresh food, as well as fabric and gold. It is a very dangerous cruise which is why they need extra supplies in case they run out. There are great white sharks who might steal some of their supplies because they are magic sharks who could jump onto the boat and use their magical powers to summon the supplies. The Subpoena Sea is full of these evil magic sharks; another reason why the Spritzig Islands are not a common destination. The sharks aren’t actually evil though. They just need the supplies to build their underwater shark empire!

Part 2

Now we’ve got our setting, we need at least two characters. Have a look through this scented candle website, and pick a candle to build your characters from. https://www.yankeecandle.co.uk/browse/scented-candles/jar-candles/_/N-7t9?view=Grid

1. “Exotic Acai Bowl”
120 words

The Exotic Acai Bowl Candle is magenta and features acai bowls with raspberries, blueberries, and blackberries on the label. This character is a shark named Jasmine, because one of the scents of the candle is jasmine. Jasmine loves all things pink. She also loves fresh fruit, and frequently steals it from ships crossing the Subpoena Sea. Her favorite fruit is mango, but she also enjoys cherries! Cherry is one of the candle’s scents. Jasmine has green eyes because one of the other fragrances is “fruity green.” She’s very much an optimist and she loves her friends and will do anything for them. She also loves singing. However, she’s not good at knowing when she’s gone too far with her jokes.

2. “A Calm & Quiet Place”
109 words
Amber is based on the “A Calm and Quiet Place” candle. She collects human shoes as a hobby — inspired by the scent “sandalwood” being listed in the fragrance notes. Amber prefers hanging out with small groups as opposed to spending time with a lot of people at once. Even though she is very quiet normally, Amber loves performing in plays. She and Jasmine are best friends. Amber enjoys dressing up in human clothes. Her body is periwinkle like the pillow on the candle’s label. She is also very patient. She doesn’t talk to many new people, which makes approaching her and starting a conversation awkward for others sometimes.

3. “Autumn Glow”
117 words

Teresa Campbell is a pirate who stole the Lavendaire. She is sailing it to the Spritzig Islands. She is the only person on board. She wears an epic purple coat like the one Daveed Diggs wears as Jefferson in Hamilton, because the candle she is based on, “Autumn Glow,” is purple. She has a matching pirate hat. Her hair is red, the same color as trees in autumn. She enjoys orange Fanta because one of the fragrances in her candle is “sparkling citrus.” She is very mysterious and often speaks with language that sounds kind of old. She thinks that there is gold buried on one of the Spritzig Islands, which is why she stole the ship.

Part 4
1009 words

Using your new setting, new characters and first line, write a short story of at least 1000 words. The plot and style of this piece of writing is completely up to you, but we encourage you to go back to the workshops through this activity and look for ideas and inspiration there.

Teresa Campbell didn’t mean to steal the ship. Actually she definitely did. She was going to the Spritzig Islands, where she would search every last island until she found gold. And then she would be famous. And rich. Famous and rich! She cackled in delight. The only other sound was the ocean waves crashing against the ship. She walked around the deck and sang a song about how she would be famous and rich. If only she could be an actress on Broadway instead of a pirate. A seagull flying over the ship landed on the side and squawked along with her.
“You make a fantastic ensemble member,” she told the seagull. “What’s your name?”
The seagull squawked back.
“Oh, Jonathan? What a handsome name.”
The seagull lifted his head proudly.
“Jonathan!”
She continued her song. “And with Jonathan here beside me,” she belted. “I will find the treasure, and rich I . . . will . . . be!”
The high note at the end sent Jonathan flocking off across the ship.
“No, Jonathan, come back!” Teresa screamed. When he didn’t return, she started to sing again.
“But now, without Jonathan beside me—” she paused. What came next? She was making up the song on the spot. “A sadder pirate I will be.”
She sat down at the front of the ship. The wind blew against her face and through her long purple hair. She had a long way to go before she reached the Spritzig Islands. A song could make the journey seem shorter, but she didn’t have any more ideas for songs. She hummed to herself. A seagull circled overhead.
“Jonathan!” she called. “Is that you?”
The seagull ignored her.
“If you see Jonathan, please tell him I miss him,” she begged. “Jonathan . . . Jonathan . . . My beautiful Jonathan.”
The seagull continued to ignore her.
The wind died down and the boat slowed even more than it had before. Just a few more days, she thought. And then I can become rich and famous. But there was a nagging at the back of her mind. What if I don’t find gold? What if this whole journey was for nothing? She countered it. I’ll still have the ship. I can sell it for at least a few thousand dollars. I could be arrested for theft though, if anyone recognized it. There was no good outcome. It was either find gold, or die on the islands. She had to find treasure. There were six islands. How long would it take her to search them? She would go to the smallest first, she had decided earlier on the journey. After all, she wouldn’t want to search the largest just to find out it was on the smallest. If it was on the largest island, though, that would be a different story. At least she would have gotten to explore every island. She had chosen the one time when it seemed no one was traveling to the island, so she could search for the treasure uninterrupted. She would become rich and famous, if it was the last thing she did.

. . .

In the water below, Jasmine squealed to Amber. “Oh my gosh! Oh my gosh! She also sings! Should I become a pirate? Do all pirates sing?”
Amber squealed back. “Yes, yes, of course! and I’ll write a musical for you to perform in. It will be amazing!”
Jasmine stuck her head out of the water. “Think of me, think of me fondly!” she sang.
Teresa stopped pacing around the deck. She stood still and held her breath.
“When we’ve said goodbye,” Jasmine continued.
Now Teresa was sure that she had heard something. Her jeweled purple boots went clip-clop on the deck as she walked over to the edge of the ship. She peered down into the water and saw Jasmine.
She screamed. “A pink great white?!”
Amber poked her head out. “Hello there!”
“A talking great white?!”
“I’m Amber!”
Jasmine continued singing. “Remember me,” she belted.
“A singing great white?!”
“Yes!” Jasmine exclaimed. “Hi! I’m Jasmine! Do you have any mangoes?”
Teresa ran down the stairs to the lower deck of the ship. When she returned, she was carrying a huge plastic bag of mangoes. “Should I lower them down on a fishing line?”
Amber and Jasmine squealed.
“Oh my gosh!” Jasmine said. “This is a dream come true!”
Amber screeched. “Mangoes! From a pirate! Wearing a fancy purple jacket! With a fishing line!”
Teresa picked up a fishing line and stabbed one of the mangoes with the hook. “Let’s see if this works.”
She lowered the line into the water. Amber and Jasmine tried to unhook the mango by knocking their heads into it, but it was stuck on the hook too well.
“Oh right!” Teresa exclaimed. “You don’t have hands!”
“But we have flippers!” Amber declared. “Flippers are way better than hands.”
“Not for getting mangoes though,” Teresa pointed out. She reeled the line back in. “I’ll go inside and cut this up for you, since you don’t have knives.”
“You cut up mangoes?” Jasmine asked. “I normally just eat them whole.”
Teresa nodded. “You should try them without the skin!”
A few minutes later, she came back holding a bowl of mango. “I’m back,” she sang. “I’m still not sure how to get them down to you though.”
“Just dump them in the water,” Amber suggested.
“Are you sure?”
Jasmine nodded. “It will be fine! We have big mouths so we can collect them quickly.” She grinned, showing off her sharp teeth.
“Alright,” Teresa agreed. She held the bowl out and turned it upside down. The mango rained down into the water.
Jasmine and Amber jumped out of the water in delight. They finally had mangoes! It had been years since they had last seen any, because ships hardly crossed the Subpoena Sea, much less carrying mangoes.
They gobbled up the mangoes. Jasmine sang and Teresa joined in. “With our beautiful mangoes, we will sail across the sea!”
“And at the Spritzig Islands,” Teresa sang. “Jasmine and Amber will become rich and famous with me.”


Thank you Alba for the activity!

Our Hearts Trust
thank you zura for critiquing!!!

“How do you know I’m not a villain?” I say. “How do you know I’m not getting close to you, just to backstab you one day?”
She doesn't look me in the eye. “How do you know I’m not doing the same?”
Trust. I can never let the concept out of my mind. She has no reason to trust me. We’ve known each other for what, two weeks? Then again, she’s right that I have no reason to trust her either.
In fact, I shouldn't. At all. I was sent here to kill her. But I don’t know if I can. In the past two weeks, I’ve felt closer to her than I have to anyone else. I can’t just kill the one person I feel I can put my trust in. But the Directors have put their trust in me. Is it worth breaking it, just because I care about her so much?
My life would fall apart. The Organization is wrong, I’ve come to realize. Our government doesn’t keep us from trusting. No amount of fear could convince me not to trust her — although I know that I shouldn't. Every time I try to think logically, I know I'm being stupid. But all my instincts tell me, She's like you. She understands. Believe her and she'll believe you. The opposite of what the government — and the Organization — would have me believe. Just look at the trust she and I have developed in just two weeks. It’s the best thing I’ve felt in my entire life.
“I suppose I don’t,” I reply. “But I trust you not to, with all my heart.”
We gaze at each other for a few minutes, not saying a word.
Then, she says, “I trust you back.”
Trust. It’s worth my life and more, I realize now that I’ve built it with someone.
I can imagine what would happen if I carried through with my mission. I would climb the ranks of the Organization. I could become one of the Directors. But then I would be the one sending people on missions. Missions where they would build trust with strangers in just a few weeks, just to break it.
That’s not a job I want.
I tell her everything.
“I was sent here to kill you.”
She gasps and jumps back. She looks at my hands. I hold them up, showing that I don’t have a weapon. I step away from my backpack, which I’ve taken off and left sitting at my feet.
“I’m not going to.”
She doesn’t come anywhere near me. Her mouth is shut in a sharp line as she stares at me.
“The Organization says it’s your people and your government that keep us from loving.”
She is frozen in place.
“From trusting.”
We hold eye contact.
“But I trust you.”
She relaxes slightly.
“I love you.”
She becomes tense again.
“If you love me back.”
Tears are welling up in my eyes. I examine her expression, trying to figure out what she’s thinking. A million and one terrible possibilities rush through my brain.
She finally starts to speak. “I–”
Before she can say anything else, I walk towards the open door. I'm too scared of what her response could be. I step into the hallway and don't look back. I've turned two corners when I hear footsteps behind me. Her footsteps.
“I was supposed to kill you too.”
I freeze and wait for her to continue. When the silence draws on, I say, “Are you going to?”
She responds, “No.”
I smile and turn around. She reaches out her arms to hug me, and I wrap my arms around her. As we hug, I'm proud of what I've realized: that the Organization is wrong. I hear the sound of the zippers of my backpack opening. Probably just her hands brushing against them; they were never that secure. I barely think about it.
I feel the absence of the heat of her arm on my left shoulder. She's lifted her hand in the air. I'm too tired to question what she's doing.
When I finally come to my senses, it's too late. She's opened my backpack. Pulled out the knife I was meant to—
My last thought is she's a very convincing liar.