October's online contest has come and gone. You can read the entries we received and, because CCF's online writing contest is ongoing, you can check for this month's first line and participate.

 

There is no fee to enter the contest and the prize is seeing your entry post to the CCF site. The contest is open to kids of all ages and the rules are simple: Write a short story of 200 words or less using the first line we give you and send it in.

 

"It was a dark and stormy night..." was the first line to use in in October. Without doing an Internet search, do you know where this first line came from? Who was the first one to use it? What does NASA have to do with it? Is it related to Halloween? Take our survey and read more about this well known first line. 

 

We think of the contest as a fun flash-fiction writing exercise that folks can use to spark ideas for other writing projects. We've heard from authors who built on their entries and are working on short stories and even children books off of the idea they used to write their 200 word story for CCF. Past winning entries are posted at the CCF Contest Entries page and they include several using this month's first line.

 

We change the "first line" you need to use in your story every month. Write your story and send it in using our online submission form! Then forward this note to others who might be interested in participating. The contest is open to both published and yet-to-be-published writers. Close your eyes...repeat the words in the current first line and start writing! You never know where your imagination will take you.

All for now,

Olgy Gary
Children Come First