𝕺𝖈𝖙𝖔𝖇𝖊𝖗 𝕮𝖆𝖒𝖕𝖋𝖎𝖗𝖊 𝕾𝖙𝖔𝖗𝖎𝖊𝖘 𝖀𝖓𝖔𝖋𝖋𝖎𝖈𝖎𝖆𝖑 𝕮𝖍𝖆𝖑𝖑𝖊𝖓𝖌𝖊

Calling all storytellers!

For October, I am hosting another Unofficial Writing Challenge. This time, we are cozying up around a crackling campfire on a brisk Autumn evening, so break out your coats and scarves, skewer some marshmallows for s’mores, and prepare to share your best Campfire Stories.

When I was younger, we gathered around the campfire and passed around a small token we called the “Sacred Totem”. The bearer of the totem offered the next tale.

The “Sacred Totem” has been passed to you. Tell us your tale. Delight us, scare us, or make us laugh. The stage is yours.

The Challenge is to write a Campfire Story

You may choose any genre and any format for this Unofficial Challenge.

Some Interesting ideas could include:

• A Spooky Ghost Story. These are the campfire stories October is known for, and the ones that keep us awake at night (and returning to the campfire)!

• Folklore and Urban Legends. A story based on folklore or legend adds a spooky element and lends it some historical credibility.

• A Crime Story. A killer-on-the-loose story is always jolting!

• A Children’s Fright. Who doesn’t recall sitting around a campfire as a kid getting the bejeebers scared out of you?

• A Funny Campfire Tale. I love a story with a good humorous twist. A well-timed laugh-out-loud surprise can feel like a jump scare in many ways.

• A Twisted Fable. Fables are meant to offer some moral lesson, but they can also offer an ominous warning. Tales feature legendary heroes, wise ancestors, and trickster figures to impart cleverness, resilience, and ethics.

Of course, you are not limited to these ideas. Feel free to build on one of the ideas above or to come up with something entirely different.

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The Rules:

• The Challenge is open for the entire month of October. Entries must be submitted by Halloween (October 31) at the Witching Hour of Midnight.

• Submit your Entry by posting a LINK in the Comment Section below.

• One Submission per person. You can write more (and I promise to read and comment on them), but only one will be considered for the prizes, so designate which is your Official Entry if you write multiple stories.

• Your Entry may be a Short Story, a Poem, a collection of songs, or whatever other format you can dream up, but the maximum word limit is 2,500 words. (There is no minimum Word Count.)

• Your Submission may be in any format and in any genre. Be as creative as you wish with the theme. Whether you come up with a Horror Spine-Chiller, a Sci-Fi Suspense, a Crime Thriller, Psychological Fiction, a poem, a spooky and fun children’s tale, or anything else is entirely up to you. Have fun!

• Prizes: $10 for First Place; $5 for Second Place; $3 for Third Place; and $2 for Fourth and Fifth Places, all given as Tips.

• I will act as the Judge and summon whatever spirits are up to the task to assist me. (If you do not like the results, blame them!)

So grab a hot cocoa or pumpkin spice latte, toast s’mores, snuggle up to the campfire, and tell us your story!

The “Sacred Totem” has been passed to you!