Write On! Online – November Challenge Winners

Thanks to everyone who entered the Write On! Online November Challenge – Write Your Turkey! Here are the winners:

1st Place:
Lisa Marks
(Prize: A medium-length (or 21,000 word) one-reader iScript; the 1st Place story is posted below)

2nd Place:
Susie McEldowney
(Prize: Save the Cat!® Strikes Back by Blake Snyder)

3rd Place:
David King
(Prize: The Pocket Screenwriting Guide by Mario Moreno and Anthony Grieco, compliments of The Writers Store)

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THE NOVEMBER CHALLENGE: WRITE YOUR TURKEY!

1st Place Winner – Lisa Marks, “Little Bag of Sugar”

A woman is watching television in her tiny, cluttered apartment. During commercial break, she goes to the kitchen to make a drink. As the kettle boils on the stove she finds her favorite cup and a jar of instant coffee, and reaches for the sugar. The sugar tin is empty.

She turns off the television, puts on her jacket, and walks three blocks to to the 7-Eleven. She pays for a bag of sugar and walking home, pauses in front of Goodwill. She studies the clothes in the window and something catches her eye. It is a baby blue Onesie.

She goes into the store, removes the Onesie from the display, and takes it to the checkout. It costs 50c. The old lady behind the counter asks her who she is buying it for. Smiling widely, she tells her it’s for a recent addition to the family. The woman hands her the Onesie and gushes about the wonder of newborns. The woman smiles and leaves.

In the street, she passes a dumpster, where a battered stroller catches her eye. It’s old but handsome. She smiles to herself, then places the bag of sugar inside the Onesie and lays it in the stroller as if it were a real baby. She fusses over the ‘bag of sugar baby,’ making sure it’s comfortable.

Another mom, pushing her real baby, passes by. She stops and looks quizzically at the ‘bag of sugar baby’ but acts as if this was the most natural thing in the world. They talk about diapers, breast feeding, and the joys of motherhood. Mid-conversation, the woman picks up her ‘bag of sugar baby’ and cradles it as if it was crying. The second mom makes coo-ing noises.

It’s getting dark, so they go their separate ways. At her front door, the woman gently picks up the ‘bag of sugar baby,’ leaving the stroller near the trash. She lets herself into her apartment, boils the kettle again, takes the ‘bag o sugar baby’ out of the Onesie, opens the packet and adds two generous spoonfuls of sugar to her coffee.

Settling in front of the television, the doorbell rings. The police are standing there. She invites them in for a hot, sweet drink.

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Thanks again to all who entered. Remember, the deadline for The Write On! Online – December Challenge: Holiday Traditions is December 31st. Also check Write On! Online on January 1st for information on The January Challenge!