Campaign Challenge: It's War!

It's time for Rachael Harrie's First Campaigner Challenge! So here it is, direct from Rachael's blog:

Write a short story/flash fiction story in 200 words or less, excluding the title. It can be in any format, including a poem. Begin the story with the words, “Shadows crept across the wall”. These five words will be included in the word count. 

If you want to give yourself an added challenge (optional), do one or more of these:

• end the story with the words: "everything faded." (also included in the word count)

• include the word "orange" in the story

• write in the same genre you normally write

• make your story 200 words exactly!

Feel free to use the picture to inspire you, or else see how whacky, creative, and original you can get :)

My genre, hmm? Well, my first book is an upper middle grade fantasy set on the first earth, a sentient planet. Earth One has a crystal-matrix mind and speaks in metered rhyme, the lowest speech form its inhabitants can understand, at least those with the talent for poetry. Admit it, poetry is easier than math, science, or music, right? So I wrote a prolog in metered rhyme.

Given that very few people understood the amount of time and effort it took to write my other rhyming campaign challenges, I don't expect to win any prizes. Just give me an E for effort. Excluding the title, my poem is exactly 200 words. I broke the meter intentionally at the end.

The Broken Heartland

Shadows crept across the wall,

 emboldened by the night’s fast fall.

Orange glowed in purple skies;

 clouds of sorrow heaved with sighs.

Awful was the scene that night

 when evil hordes swarmed in to fight.

Power mad and jealous folk

 attacked in veils of fire and smoke.

In defense the Earth Scouts rose

 to strengthen crystal power flows.

Panicked by the foe’s advances,

 cowards ran and took their chances.

Weapons fired and cannons boomed;

 crystals cracked, the city was doomed.

All night long shots buzzed like flies

 ‘til few could hear the warning cries.

Top to tip, the Heartland tore,

 a canyon-deep and bloody sore.

No Scout healed the ragged rift;

 those still alive had not the gift,

When the final trembling came,

 none had strength to shoulder the blame.

Earth One slept for many years,

 awakening at last, in fears,

Power waning, death was sure,

 yet one hope remained of a cure,

If the ancient blood ran true

 in younger sibling’s world of blue.

Might a crystal message find

 the crucial bond in human’s mind?

Landing on a hill, it flashed;

 a Boy Scout saw, and up he dashed.

Played the scene so long awaited,

Awesome toy! Everything faded.

If you liked my poem here, please give it a "like" vote here, under my entry, # 148, in the list.

Whether or not you "liked" my poem, you deserve a chance at some chocolate and books for reading it, so I'm temporarily moving my monthly chocolate and books contest here. You can come back next month and enter again through the tab at the top of my blog. I even made a blog button you can stick on your own blog to remind you. Don't let the +14 entries scare you. This contest has only two requirements, following my blog and leaving a comment, but you can share it however many times you want to enter more times and increase your chances. The next drawing is March 11th. Yes, you get to choose any paperbacks from my huge stock, and your choice of chocolate to go with the books. Yum!



a Rafflecopter giveaway

Now it's time to join this week's book giveaway blog hop presented by Kathy of Iamareadernotawriter.blogspot.com. If you're a campaigner who hasn't entered any of these book contests before, I can tell you it's fun to find out you won.

And for the linky list. Ready? Start hopping!