Blog: The Writer’s Quill

Welcome back to the Writer's Quill! I am happy to announce that we have a winning story, "The Penguin and the Peddler"! Please join me in congratulating Daniel Gorell for his story, and stay tuned for the next prompt! The Penguin and the Peddler Daniel Gorrell (12th Grade) The winter sun smiled down upon a snow covered forest. Within this forest ran a trail upon which walked a man clad in bright,...

Welcome back to The Writer's Quill! I hope your writing muscles are ready and itching to write, because our writing contest for March starts today! Include this sentence somewhere in your story: “Excuse me, sir. I just wanted to tell you that there’s been a penguin following you for the past half hour.” The deadline is midnight Eastern Time on March 17, so make sure to submit your story...

Writer’s Quill Contest Hello there, all you authors! Sharpen your pencils, because we have a new prompt for February. Please include these four things in your story: An abnormally large footprint A shattered window A teacup A mossy log Please finish and submit your story by midnight Eastern Time on February 17. You can submit your story in the "Submit Your Idea" bar on the site. �...

Hi Students, We have a new Writer's Quill contest for you! Write your story and submit it here no later than January 22, at midnight Pacific time. Please write a story and include this prompt: Prompt: Slouching upon topmost shelf, the elf replied with a disgusted smirk on its face, “You two had better improve, or I’ll be the laughingstock of the toy factory.”   Good luck! ...

Hi Students, We have a new Writer's Quill contest for you! Write your story and submit it here no later than November 25th Midnight Pacific time. Please write a story and include this prompt: And then mother brought in the turkey and laid it in the center of the already overflowing table, causing the solid oak structure to groan under its increased burden....

Winning Story: We have a winner! Congratulations to MODG student Morgan Dye! Thanks to everyone who submitted a story for October’s prompt! Stay tuned for the upcoming November prompt! Here is Morgan's spooky story.   Donavan had just parked his car in the school parking lot. He unbuckled the seat belt and picked up his phone. He jumped out of the car and didn’t even both...

New Prompt for October! Please work this prompt into your story. Stories should be about 500 words or less. Deadline to turn in your finished story is Wednesday, October 28  at 9 pm Pacific Time. Upload your story to Submit Your Idea on MODG News.com   The hallway was dim, the cob-webs abundant, the dust thick, yet the two friends bravely pressed forward. Suddenly, they heard a noise like a...

New Prompt for September! Please work this prompt into your story. Stories should be about 500 words or less. Deadline to turn in your finished story is Monday, September 21 at 9 pm Pacific Time. Upload yoour story to Submit Your Idea on MODG News.com     Clutching the wheel for dear life, the windswept and soaked voyager cried out, “You who saved Noah from the father of all hurricanes, rescue me ...

The new Writer’s Quill prompt is out! Here is January's prompt: Maria looked around her apartment, realizing that this year Christmas would be different. This year, she had nobody to spend it with.  Make sure to include this prompt when writing your story. Upload your story in the “Submit Your Idea” bar.  Have fun writing! ...

Congratulations to 11th grader Monica Ladner! Thank you to everyone who submitted a story for November's prompt! Watch later this week for December's prompt.   Love Is Real by Monica Ladner Tears poured down her face as she ran, hair a mess, clothes ripped, and blood trickling from the cut on her smudged and dirty face. The moon raced through the blackness above her, shrouded every...

Here is the first Writer's Quill prompt for this school year! November prompt:  "It is real," Rachel said with determination; her red hair flying as she whirled around to face her adversary. "And I'll prove it!" Please write a short story (100 words to 500 words) and include this prompt in the story somewhere. Upload your story to MODG News: Submit Your Idea (in the drop-down menu) by November 15th. (Stories w...

Congratulations to tenth grader Daniel Gorrell! Scroll down to read Daniel's thought-provoking answer to the following prompt. Write a creative story based off of this line: When she woke, she was surrounded by the stars shining in the night sky. “How did I get here?” she asked herself. Be sure to include that line in your story!   The City Dweller’s Dream By Daniel Gorrell 10th...

Now that St. Valentine’s Day is close at hand, write a story that demonstrates the authentic meaning of true love. Mother Teresa says, “Love to be real, it must cost – it must hurt – it must empty us of self.”

Thank you to those who wrote in for this prompt! December's prompt was to write the Christmas story from the donkey’s perspective. Enjoy the winning story below! Congratulations Lindsay!   The Donkey’s Tale By Lindsay Newman  12th grade  I knew by the way that they were looking at me, I was involved in whatever scheme they were cooking up. Mary and Joseph had been talking about a trip to Be...

Travel back in time... Write a story about yourself side by side with your favorite saint during a crucial time in their journey to sainthood. Please send your story to [email protected] by November 10th.  

Thank you to everyone who submitted a story for the new prompt: It would have been better for her to have left the box unopened.  Congratulations to Reagan Sullivan, the winner! I hope you all enjoy her story! The Crows By Reagan Sullivan, Grade 11 “One for sorrow, Two for joy, Three for a girl, Four for a boy, Five for silver, Six for gold, Seven for a secret, Never...

Congratulations to Lindsay Newman, the winner of this week's prompt! I hope you enjoy her story! Caged by Lindsay Newman, Grade 11 “If you’re thinking about running again...” a warning voice said from behind her. She sighed heavily, sitting only feet from the fence. “I don’t like it,” she said fiercely. The voice sighed as though deflating greatly. “What is it you don’t like?�...

Hello, everyone! Here are a couple more wonderful story entries! Enjoy! Prompt: "A waiter at your restaurant spills water on your napkin, so he switches it out. When you open the napkin on your lap, there is a note in the middle. You open the note and read it: “Get out while you still can.” NASCAR Conversion by Tim Ellis I don’t care anymore. It was a life. I guess you could call it that. You w...

Happy Easter, everyone! The winner of our Fulton Sheen friendship quote prompt is Sam Herbison! Congratulations, Sam! I hope you enjoy his entry! Torn Asunder by Sam Herbison, Grade 9 Peter was bone-weary.  He had survived living in a clumsy landing-craft boat for three days, the invasion of Utah Beach, and three days in Normandy, France.  It seemed like the past week felt more like a y...

Welcome back to the Quill! The long awaited results are in! After much deliberation, Katherine Milliken is our winner with her story entitled "Red Rubber Ball"! Congratulations, Katherine! I hope you enjoy her wonderful story! Red Rubber Ball Katherine Milliken, Grade 8 Ellen and Evan Maynor had found that merely walking around one’s neighborhood could either be intensely boring or intensely...

Here are a few more amazing stories written by MODG students just like you! If you'd like to see your story on VOX, check out the Writer's Quill, lookout for our biweekly story prompts, and give it a shot! We love reading your creative stories! Prompt: The flame licked the corner of the paper. I never wanted to see it again. The words upon it in their elegant scrawl had once meant the world to me...

One prompt. Five entries. Only one winner. Once again we had several submissions for our prompt! It was really tough deciding the winner, but, alas, only one can win! Congratulations to Frances Bell! The Faerie Child By Frances Bell, 11th grade The boy was always the quiet, queer, sort. He played in the trickling brook, his brothers played near home. He climbed in wild trees apart, while chi...

Here are a couple more stories that weren't chosen as winners, but were close! I hope you enjoy! Prompt: Christmas writing competition “Dear Christmas Future" By Lindsay Newman, 11th Grade For the Romantic that inspired me, Bella Boyden. Merry Christmas! Wet. Cold. Shivering. Alone. That’s where I, Penny Blake, sit right now, five days before Christmas. Not exactly the holiday cheer you would expect, ...

Unfortunately when the judging team of The Writer's Quill receives submissions for a writing prompt, only one story can be selected to win. However, there are always some amazing stories that come in very close 2nd, so I'd like to share some of those stories with you! Here are a couple that didn't win, but were nevertheless wonderful and very enjoyable stories! I hope you enjoy them, too! Promp...

  We had some great submissions for our prompt, but alas, only one can win! After much deliberation, our winner is... To Elaine Mountvale, by Katherine Milliken Congratulations, Katherine! I hope you enjoy her story as much as we did! Also, keep an eye out for our next prompt! And comment below if you have any prompts you'd like to see on the Quill! To Elaine Mountvale... Katherine ...

Happy New Year! Our winning story from the prompt "Write a story about a character who is sarcastic, shy, and compassionate" was written by Tim Ellis! Enjoy! Jack Phillips By Tim Ellis Two Different Types of Holy Cow Lemme tell you. There’s two types of Holy cow. First: you walk into a classroom right on time, but while making the touchdown for the Detroit Lions with your books, and trying to...

  Congratulations to Maria Simmons on winning this week's Writer's Quill contest! We thoroughly enjoyed her entry, Lost!    LOST by Maria Sammons 11th Grade Alfred Stanford was exceptionally good at getting himself lost. Alf look at his first sentence and laughed. It was a good start to his paper. Mrs. Felix, his old English teacher, had always told him that to start a story, he s...

Happy New Year! I hope everyone had a blessed and joyous Christmas season and a very happy New Year! We received some beautiful submissions for this year's Christmas Writing Competition! In fact, it was very tough for our judges to decide! The winner of this year's competition is Maria Simmons with her submission, "Missing From Christmas"! And the 2nd place winner is Reagan Sullivan with "A...

Once again we had some amazing entries for this week's writing prompt! Thank you to everyone who entered a story! Congratulations to Lindsay Newman whose story "The Delivery Service of God" won! I hope you enjoy it as much as the judges did! Don't forget to keep an eye out for our next prompt!   The Delivery Service of God by Lindsay Newman 11th Grade Many say darkness is an enemy. They say it...

Thank you to everyone who submitted stories for this prompt! The judging team greatly enjoyed all of them! This week we actually have two winners! Congratulations to Maura Martin and Katherine Milliken on their winning stories!   A “Fowl” Sensation Maura Martin, Grade 10             The day began normally, as always.  I woke up, had coffee, and went to work.  It seemed...

  Thank you to those who submitted stories for the first prompt! Great job! The judges have deliberated and decided, and the winning story is.... *drum roll please* "The Mask" by Lindsay Newman! Congrats, Lindsay!    The Mask by Lindsay Newman, 11th grade   Marianne shook her head rapidly, her black waves shaking around her face. “No, Michael, you know why I can’t...

Welcome back to The Writer's Quill everyone, hope you had a fantastic Easter Break! We would like to thank everyone that submitted, it was extremely close. Please check out the new prompt for all of your creative writing needs. Now, without further ado, this week's winner is *drum-roll* Forever Love by Lindsay Newman! Congratulations Lindsay! Lindsay Newman 10th grade Forever Love A little todd...

Congratulations to Gregory Baer for winning this week's contest! The Ultimate Sacrifice Gregory Baer Grade 9 The ground was shaking beneath the repeated explosions, and the rumble of the armored vehicles adding to that vibration. Heat from burning buildings poured around the troopers, and the occasional flash of laser fire would illuminate their faces. These were hard, almost as if carved...

Welcome back to The Writer's Quill! Thank you to all submissions. This week's winner is Lindsay Newman! Congratulations Lindsay! Please see the new prompt. To Save a Kitten By: Lindsay Newman Grade 10 The days were feeling like years. Slumber felt so short that the years became an eternity of staying awake. It started with the hunger. It wasn’t so bad, since I still had water. ...

This week's winning story is Persuasive Fire by Gregory Baer! Thank you to all the entrants, this was a tough one for our judges! Gregory Baer Grade 9 Persuasive Fire The Dragon: Smoke boiled from houses, swirling through the streets. People coughed as they ran, holding whatever they could take with them. Fire swept out from windows and doorways, throwing columns of flame into the night. The...

Here is the second part of John Milliken's story! The Science Geek Triumphant: Part Two By John Milliken The sky was still dark when Stephen was awakened by the jailer pounding on his door.  The time of year wherever he was seemed to roughly correspond to the seasons in Maine, and the cool, fresh, October air chilled him.  The door swung open and the jailer walked in holding a torch, accompanie...

Here we have a new story written by John Milliken, News Production student. Since it was rather long, it has been broken up into three parts. Check back later for part two! The Science Geek Triumphant: Part One By John Milliken Stephen was a professional science geek.  Of course, he did give the bare minimum expected of him to his community, family, and church, but his job, interests, and fre...

Thank you to all the entrants of this week's competition. It was a close call! This week's winning story is . . . The Field of the Fallen by Gregory Baer! Great job, Gregory! Gregory Baer Grade 9 The Field of the Fallen   Rain clouds scudded up from a forbidding horizon, and rain began to fall. Fat drops spattered in the trampled earth, and set to work rusting all the broken weapons and arm...

Today on Stories by the Staff we have a wonderful poem written by Mary Lang, the Features Editor and News Production student. Frodo’s Trial   There is a way beyond the sea Where sun and moon both fade Where the air is more, and clear And Elvish laughter plays. Where starry nights are dewy morns And joy is full of tears   They laughed, and cried, and wept,    he sai...

Welcome back everyone! Hope you all had a wonderful break! Here's the winning story for the "That's Christmas to Me" prompt. Thanks to all those who entered and congrats to Elizabeth! Elizabeth Mott 7th Grade Emmie's Christmas Emmie woke with a start. It's Christmas! she thought. She hurried down the stairs to the Christmas tree. The warm yellow lights glowed brightly on all the presents....

Thank you to everyone who submitted and our wonderful panel of judges! We are pleased to announce that the winner of this week's contest is Kelli Smarsh! Kelli Smarsh Grade Eleven The Warm Winter What happens when you are about to spend your entire winter in an old little cabin in the Colorado Rockies? Oh and you haven’t been there – or in any mountains for that matter – since you were a ra...

Welcome back to Stories by the Staff! Today’s story was written by Mary Lang, Features Editor and News Production Student. The Night Paintings         “I have another one for your father.” The old man across the counter set down the flat, wrapped package one edge at a time and stood waiting for his money. Aaron counted out the bills carefully, set them down in front of the old ...

I'd like to thank my wonderful judges who, after much deliberation and sweat, decided on this delightful tale as this week's winner! Presenting *drumroll* The Candle Rabbit by Katherine Milliken! The Candle Rabbit Katherine Milliken (Grade 7)   Jane Maurice smiled her slow, contented smile as she pedaled along the quiet road. She had never been alone anywhere before, and now she needn’...

Welcome back everyone!  We're so glad you could join us today.  This prompt was kept up for an extra week and it was worth it! Thanks to all who submitted. Now without further ado...(drumroll) the winning story! THE DRAGON’S EYE by George Paul Tulipana IV, Grade 6 edited by Audra M. Tulipana, Grade 10 “Come on guys, there’s nothin’ here.” The leader of the spelunker team said to all the team. Their mi...

Thank you to all the people who entered! All your stories were fantastic! This was a tough decision for out judges. The winner of this week's contest is Audra Tulipana! Congratulations! Author: Audra M. Tulipana Grade: 10 Title: The Sun Is Rising   Queen Agrona sat on her dark throne surrounded by blackness save a deep green, sickly light that came from the phosphorescent stones...

Welcome back to The Writer's Quill everyone! Thank you to everyone who submitted stories, they were all great! The votes have been counted and the results are in! The winning story is (drum-roll please) A Religious Mission by Angela Gibilisco, grade 10! Congratulations Angela! Angela Theresa Marianne Gibilisco 10th Grade A Religious Mission I still wasn't sure why I was doing this. Gran...

Here we have the first Story by the Staff! We hope you enjoy this new feature of VOX.  This was written by Mya Riley, Editor of The Writer’s Quill and a News Production student. Defenders of the Light By Mya Riley (Grade 12) Jillian stood before the large double doors, heart in her mouth. This was it. This was her moment. She would finally rise to the next level. She would no longer be ...

Congratulations to Katherine Milliken for winning last week’s contest! Your new mission as writing operatives is to write a story with this sentence included somewhere: Write a story with the above sentence in it to [email protected] with the subject “Writing Prompt Contest Entry” by midnight (EST) on Sunday, October 2nd. Before you submit your story, please make sure you are aware of...

It’s time to announce the winner of last week’s prompt, Over the Rainbow. Congratulations to Katherine Milliken, grade 7, for her story!   Over the Rainbow Katherine Milliken (Grade 7)   Swiftfoot wrinkled his nose and stared somberly at the sky, full of gray clouds and rain. Then he shook the droplets off his nose and backed into the hole. “Exactly,” General Longc...

The Writer’s Quill is back! Let’s warm up those fingers for some great writing! (or typing!) This week’s prompt is inspired by the words made famous by Judy Garland in The Wizard of Oz. So get to your paper and tell us what is over that rainbow! Write a story based on the picture above to [email protected] with the subject “Writing Prompt Contest Entry” by midnight (EST) on Sa...