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#50PreciousWords

Grandma’s Flute #50PreciousWords

#50PreciousWords is my all-time favorite kidlit writing contest. It’s run by Vivian Kirkfield, and it was the first writing contest I ever entered. I love the challenge to write small and two of my previous entries, Dig: an archaeological lift-the-flap and A Handful of History, have been selected as finalists. I’m excited to share my entry for 2024 below.

Grandma’s Flute

(c) Katie McEnaney, 2024
Word count: 50

When Grandma’s flute trills, my heart sings. 

My turn:
Pucker, blow…
Squeal! 
Screech!

Hugs. Encouragement. Try again.
Squeals become notes.
Screeches transform into melodies.

Nana cheers my recitals.
Graduation.
Until I have only her flute.

Silent.

Finally, my daughter—ready to learn.
Her great-grandma’s flute trills, and both our hearts sing.

The image of the flute used in the Canva version of my story come from Marco Verch on Flickr and is used with attribution under the Creative Commons license 2.0.

A Handful of History #50PreciousWords

It’s time again for Vivian Kirkfield’s #50PreciousWords contest! I was delighted to be a finalist last year with my short story, DIG, which you can read here.

This year’s story, A Handful of History, was inspired by Paleolithic cave paintings. In a recent study, archaeologists recreated these blown-paint hand outlines and determined that many of them were likely made by children. You can read the full study here or the Atlas Obscura article here. (The background image is from The Panel of the Hands at El Castillo cave in Spain.)

If you enjoyed the story, please leave a comment here on the #50PreciousWords blog post. Thanks!

A Handful of History

Shadows flickered against the cave wall.
“Here?”
“No—here!”
Proudly the boy raised his hand, fingers spread.

Fwomp!
His mother blew into the hollow reed, scattering paint.
He giggled; it tickled. 

Together, they admired their artwork. 
Then, a new creation— 
Now, 40,000 years old.

How will you leave your mark?

(c) Katie McEnaney 2023

Dig #50PreciousWords

Dig: an archaeological lift-the-flap book

Dig down.
What’ll be found?

A broken pot,
All we’ve got.

Tough to fit
Pottery bits.

Trowel clicks.
What’s this?

Sheen? Green!
Coins gleam.

Dump, lift.
Trays sift.

Small seed?
No, a bead!

Search the past.
Artifacts last.

Stories found
In the ground.

Work slow,
Uncover.

What will you
Discover?

(c) Katie McEnaney 2022

You can leave a comment on the official #50PreciousWords post.

#50PreciousWords

August Afternoon (50 words)

Another tremor. Nothing fell over this time. Liviana continued weaving.

Marcus burst in, pointing out the window. “The mountain! It’s growing!” Rather than low clouds, the mountain had tripled, shooting up a column of gray. As the ash began raining down, they grabbed hands and ran.

Behind them, Vesuvius exploded.

(c) Katie McEnaney 2021

The #50PreciousWords challenge runs the first week of March. You can read the details and enter here.