As part of our programme of online activities while the building is closed, we've been running a series of weekly competitions on Facebook. The competitions are a great excuse to get everyone in the household involved in creative activities during lockdown as well as a chance to win some fantastic prizes.
For the ‘Short Story’ competition we asked people to write a story in 50 words or less. The prizes include a £20 Eden Court voucher and the opportunity to record and edit the winning short stories in one of the Eden Court studios when the building re-opens.
Eden Court was delighted to have Moniack Mhor Creative Writing Centre on board to judge the competition.
It was our pleasure to read all the entries in both age groups – well done to all who took part, and many congratulations to the winners.
The winners are:
Under 16 – joint winners:
I’ve Lost My Cone by Archie Smillie (7) from Munlochy
A winning combination of words and pictures.
It was really really fun. I wanted to write a journey story. I love drawing. I love drawing food and I've drawn a lot of ice creams. I am now doing a draw along challenge for my family every week. It was really hard because there was a lot to my story so I decided to do pictures to break down the words onto smaller chunks.
The Hunt by Ali Taylor (13) from Avoch
Wrapping his shawl around his shoulders, his breath condensed in mountain air. Day Five. He was close to giving in. The seemingly endless weight of the rifle on his shoulder. He was broken, but money was thin. A flash of white and he focused his gaze through the scope.
Has a real sense of atmosphere and tension.
I have been visiting Eden Court for years for lots of different activities and I was very excited to enter this competition. This was a difficult story to write as I had to manage within the very small word count. I enjoyed writing the story, I’m very happy with what I ended up with and I am even more delighted to be one of the winners in this competition.
Over 16
She’s a Vegetarian by Amy Cameron from Inverness
Thanksgiving dinner with his family. I’m new. I’m a vegetarian. Bad combination. She carves the turkey. They mock me until they see the macaroni. Envy. I am happy to share. They compliment it and she says secret ingredient. They beg to know. Finally, she relents. Campbell’s chicken soup.
Amy manages to squeeze a complete vignette into just 48 words. She presents a first-person viewpoint in a culturally specific context with additional characters, action, attitudes and reported speech... The humorous reveal at the end makes us wonder what happened next!
Being a busy mum to a one year-old, I loved the 50 word limit to this competition and how it forced me to get to the point. Using artistic license, there’s an element of a true story in this piece so I’ll have to hope she finds the funny side!
Stay tuned to social media for more competitions and great virtual shows.