FLEUR – 2020-01 (CLOSED)
“Crocus”
177 Entries
55 stories shortlisted

Shortlist and Winners

Countdown to entry deadline

Snow-covered crocus
Peeks out in the dead of night –
He dashes, smiling.

Snow-Covered Crocus

A new year, a new set of contests.  This year our “Fleur” flash fiction contests will present a new flower picture/haiku for each consecutive contest.  The haiku were all written by our talented members, and were selected for their beauty and inspiration.
 
For the first Fleur contest of the year, we present the “Snow-Covered Crocus” haiku by ZenGarden.club member Zantal Siah, along with an accompanying picture.  Zantal has been our most prolific creator of prompts, and is one of our long-term members.  Thank you, Zantal, for another lovely prompt!
 
Start the year with a new story!  We invite you to enter an original story – or two, or three – inspired by the picture and by Zantal’s prompt.  Let your imagination run wild.  What stories do you see in the lovely purple crocus peeking through the snow?    You may click on the picture to enlarge it. 

 

Two Ways to Win!

Some of you love public voting, and others enjoy getting feedback from a highly qualified judge. We now have something for everyone!

Our judge for this contest will be Dr. David A. Ross, Oxford scholar and Professor of Comparative Literature, who will select the Grand Prize Winner.

  • Public Voting will determine 1st, 2nd and 3rd place winners
  • ZenGarden.club Judge will select the Grand Prize Winner.

Remember that all stories selected for the shortlist will also be eligible to be included in our upcoming ZenGarden.club Kindle books.

Good luck to everyone, and Happy New Year!

Fleur Flash Fiction

We invite  you to create a short short story – 350 words or less – inspired by the featured picture and haiku.  What characters, background, stories and plots do you imagine? 

Study the current picture and haiku, then write your story.

Deadline: Wednesday, January 22, 2020  5 pm ET.  Please read the guidelines below before entering.

Let our great writers inspire you!  Each previous contest has links to the winning stories for that contest:
 
Photo Flora 2019-03 – Garden Magic

Photo Flora 2019-02 – Scary
Photo Flora 2019-01 – Blue-White Stairs
Nutshell Narratives 2019-04
Nutshell Narratives 2019-03
Nutshell Narratives 2019-02
Nutshell Narratives 2019-01

Guidelines for entering:

  • Write a short story about the current picture in 350 words or less. 
  • You must be a Member to enter – Membership is free and easy!  Free Registration
  • Write your story, then fill out the entry form in the link below.
  • You may enter as many times as you like with different stories, but each entry requires a separate entry form.
  • Multiple entries of the same story will be disqualified. Please do all your editing and make all your changes before you send it in!
  • Accepting entries until Wednesday January 22, 2020 5 pm ET
  • Check this page for contest updates.

Helpful Hints:

  • Title does not count toward total word count
  • Hyphenated words count as one word
  • Give your story a unique title that no one else is likely to use.

Prizes:

  • Grand Prize – $50.00 plus free life-time subscription to ZenGarden.club, permanent winners page, and permanent publication of the story on the site
  • First prize (Public Voting) – $25.00 plus free life-time subscription to ZenGarden.club, permanent winners page, and permanent publication of the story on the site
  • Second prize (Public Voting) – permanent winners page, permanent publication of the story on the site
  • Third prize (Public Voting) – permanent winners page, permanent publication of the story on the site
  • All shortlisted stories are eligible for inclusion in the Kindle ZenGarden.club books.

Contest Rounds and Public Voting:

  1. Round 1 – Pending (ZenGarden Staff)
         Pending items will either be disqualified or qualified.
         Entries will be disqualified if they:
    • Contain more than 350 words
    • Contain excessive spelling, grammar, or punctuation errors
    • Are not family-friendly
    • Do not contain any reference to flowers or gardens
    • Are repeat entries or corrections of stories already entered
  2. Round 2  – Qualified (ZenGarden Judges)
    • ZenGarden judges will review all the qualified stories and select a short list.
    • Only shortlisted stories will be eligible for our Kindle ZenGarden books.
    • Only shortlisted stories will be available for public reading and voting.
  3. Round 3 – Short List  (Public) published after entry deadline
    • All shortlisted items are published “blind” – Title, age group and story only.
    • The voting period will have a posted begin and end date.
    • Public votes by clicking the “like” button within the voting period.
    • Public can “like” as many stories as they wish.
    • The highest number of likes will determine the first, second and third place winners.
    • Our judge will select the Grand Prize Winner from the short list.
Double-check your story against the following check list, and make all corrections BEFORE you send!  Multiple entries of the same story will be disqualified.
  • Correct length (350 words or less)
  • Correct spelling and grammar
  • Family-friendly content
  • Includes at least one reference to gardens or flowers
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