Monday's Minute Challenge: Writing prompt contest for teens & up!

A quick writing prompt challenge (and contest) for teens to get their creative juices flowing for the new week.

1. The entry must be between 150 - 300 words. (In order to see how many words your entry is, write it in Microsoft Word, or you can copy and paste it here.)
2. The deadline for the contest will be the Thursday after next. 
3. The winners will receive a badge for their blog, as well as extra points (see the point system below).
4. The winner will be chosen based on the judges's preferences, as well as the following questions: Does this entry capture my attention immediately? Does it make me want to continue reading? Is the writing clear? They will also take into consideration the writer's voice and style--not necessarily technical issues, such as grammar, punctuation, etc. 
5. This is only for fun and to stretch your writing muscles--not necessarily to be taken too seriously. =)

Since the point system has caused a bit of confusion recently, I have decided to take a different approach.
From now on, I will host a monthly giveaway, and one winner will be announced every four weeks.  Keep in mind that you are in charge of your points from now on. If you win a contest, the only way that you will receive your points is by clicking the entry below. 
Also, if you have already liked my Facebook page, followed me on Twitter, etc. then make sure to click those entries as well in order to receive your points. 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

There will be one randomly-selected winner chosen from the above raffle each month. They will have the choice of receiving one of the following prizes:

• A critique on of one of their MMC entries
• A blog critique
• A 300 - 600 word critique on your novel, short story, blog post, etc
• The opportunity to judge one of the contests
• A free ebook of PURPLE MOON
• A special surprise sent to your mailbox (snail mail, not email)

 

The judge panel chooses these winners based on a point system (not to be confused with the point system mentioned above!).

This week's entries were incredibly hard to judge! Everyone did a fantastic job with the prompts. Congratulations to all of you! =D

Keep in mind that the judges are not aware of which entry belongs to which participant until after the judging is complete.

The entries that the judges thought were the most intriguing (based on rule #4) are ... 

I woke up on something cold and damp that smelled terrible. The minute I opened my eyes, I knew where I was. A prison cell. Curling up into a shivering ball in the corner, I wrapped my arms around my legs as quiet sobs escaped me. 
I heard scuffling in the cell next to mine, and a male voice called. “Rosalynn?” 
I looked up. “Who are you?” 
“Stop messing around Rosalynn, its Jordan,” His voice lowered. “Did everything go as planned?” 
I shook my head, though he couldn’t see it. “I’m not messing around, I don’t remember anything. All I know is my name. I’m sorry.” 
I could hear him take a sharp breath. “You really don’t?” He must have taken my silence for an answer. “Well,” he spat, “then things really are messed up, aren’t they?” 
“Guess so.” I mumbled, though I doubted he could hear me, and laid my head back on my knees.
“How could you blow up something like that?!” He ranted. 
“Look, Jordan, or whoever you are,” I snapped, getting annoyed despite my fear. “It’s not like I meant to lose my memory.” 
I could hear his heavy sigh. “I know. But you were the last, the best, plan we had. Ah, Kora’s going to kill me for telling you all this.” 
I groaned. “I guess I failed, didn’t I?” It was quiet for a moment, until I tentatively asked. “… Who’s Kora?” 
“I am.” The owner of the chilling voice slowly walked towards us. 
I shuddered as I looked up into malice filled eyes. I could feel Jordan’s scorn for her when he spoke. 
“Rosalynn, meet your sister, Princess Kora Emeline.” 
The girl smiled icily and gave a mocking curtesy. “It’s a pleasure to meet you,” she purred, “let’s see how long you last.” 

Congratulations, Savannah P.! Click here for your badge, and don't forget to claim your points here. =) 

I woke up, half sprawled across the cold stone floor. My body felt like they had just thrown me in what seemed like your typical dank cell with no thought or care of how I landed or whether I’d survive the landing. They probably knocked me out before they put me in here.

Ben. The thought struck me like a lightning bolt. Where was he?

“Ben? Are you in here?”

“Where?”

I sighed. He was ok. At least we were both still alive.

I heard him strike something. Hard.

“You know, it would be much easier if you would just let go.”

I could hear him turn around on the other side of the wall. “What?”

“I said, you need to let go.”

His foot skidded along the floor. “Why?”

“Because holding on to it isn’t going to help.”

“Who?”

“What do you mean? It wouldn’t help anyone.”

“When?”

The taste of bile filled my mouth; something was really wrong. “Ben?”

“Where?” Now I could hear him scratching his head.

“Ben, what did they do to you?”

“What?”

I may be blind, but that doesn’t mean I was stupid. They had brainwashed him; made him forget everything. I didn’t know how far back they had erased, maybe even back to his childhood. But they had done it. His mind was no longer his own.

“Ben?” I spoke as sweetly as my nauseousness would allow. “How old are you?”

“Why?”

My body slumped against the wall between us in despair. Now I knew what hopelessness really was.

“I said, why do you want to know?”

Congratulations, Elisabeth! Click here for your badge, and don't forget to claim your points here. =)

Greg dug his palms into his eyes, and muttered to himself. Things like, "I should have known this was going to happen," and, "I can't believe what we just did." Completely useless things. Things that didn't make up for what he'd done. 

It was bad enough that they had already been gone months without their daughter knowing where they were. But now.... Now they would never get back. She would never know that they really were still alive, and.... That thought brought another to mind. They would never know if she was still alive.  

"Greg. Greg," Dina begged. "For the love of my own sanity, please, just stop. You can't make this any better. You're only making it worse." She heard a sharp intake of breath. 

"Dina. Oh, I'm sorry. I can't do anything right, I can't-" 

"Shh." 

"Dina, please understand that I tried to do what I thought was best-" 

"Shhhh." 

There was a certain tone in her voice that made him realize something else was going on. He lifted his hands from his eyes and moved to the bars, straining to see around the corner to her cell. Suddenly, her hand appeared, reaching through her bars, something in her grasp. She held it out to him as best she could. 

"Greg," she said, as if to get his attention. 

But as she said it, he took the crumpled paper that she had been holding. 

"Don't open it," she said, and her warning came in time. "Just look." 

It was a dollar bill. A very badly folded dollar bill. He could not see its relevance at first. Then he saw the message contained there. 

The kids are alright. 

"Where-" 

"I found it- in my pocket. Remember the guard who brought us down here? I think she slipped it inside. 

Congratulations, Maddie! Click here for your badge, and don't forget to claim your points here. =)

Honorable Recognitions: 

These winners will receive a badge, as well as 2 extra points:

1. Olivia
2. Natalie
3. Mary B.

Thanks so much to everyone who participated!

• Submit your response in the comments below, or post it on your blog via InLink (below -- you will receive 2 extra points!). 
• Your response should range between 150 - 300 words. 
• The deadline for the contest will be the Thursday after next. 
• If you'd rather not submit your post in the comments or on your blog, you may email it to me instead.

Choose at least one:

Note: You can always combine the prompts into one entry.

(Optional) Write a passage continuing your entry from last week week (or whichever week you'd prefer). If you can, try to continue it using one of the following prompts.

• Write a passage using these items: lantern, dragon, rose (submitted by Savannah P.)
• Write a passage based on this picture (submitted by Maddie)
• Write a passage either incorporating this phrase OR based on this phrase:  
  "Whatever you do, do not turn around." (submitted by Natalie)

*If your prompt was selected, be sure to claim your points here. 

Post your entry on your blog!:

If you're posting your entry on your blog (+2 points), please add your link below rather than in the comments. And don't forget to claim your points here!

Submit your prompt idea!:

The prompts that are used for Monday's Minute Challenge are submitted by the participants. Here's how this works:

• You will be able to submit 3 prompts each week in the same format as above: three objects, one picture, and a piece of dialogue or phrase.
• On Mondays, I will choose 3 prompts that have been submitted by 3 different people.
• If your prompt is selected, you will receive 2 points!
• You may submit in the comments below.