50Precious Words for 2024: Fairy Garden

This month began with another 50 Precious Words entry!

Cutting words is always a challenge for me. I have such a hard time letting go!

But narrowing down a story to only 50 words? Whew. Tough stuff.

Anyway, this year I’d been reading over one of my faves: A CHILD’S GARDEN OF VERSES and I kept seeing images of fairies and forests and hearing a bouncing rhythm in my head. I thought about writing in rhyme but that didn’t last long.

What I ended up with wound up also being inspired by my garden. Or… the weeds in my yard. Whatever. The pretty flowering things.

Here is my entry:

FAIRY GARDEN
by Rosemary Lynn
(49 words)

There were fairies in her garden.
They liked the roses and
the daffodils.
At least they did last Saturday,
but didn’t anymore.
She checked the wilted roses.
Between the drooping daffodils.
No fairies.
None.
She watered. Waited. Watched.
The sun returned and –
BUZZZZZ!
So many fairies in her garden.

Check out Vivian Kirkfield’s blog for more 2024 entries! And please share with me if you’ve entered as well.

Oh and don’t forget to follow me on Bluesky: @roamingrosie.bsky.social

Happy Reading

xo Rosemary

[photo: Purple Flowers in Bloom; Simon Berger; Pexels]

50PreciousWords 2023: To Catch a Falling Star

ay I posted my short story for #50PreciousWords. It’s such a great exercise for me – I’m terrible with wordiness. Cutting down words to the bare minimum is always a challenge. And, as it so often does, it ended up with me shifting to poetry.

The spaceship was there in my head. Perhaps because we just sailed out of Port Canaveral and I’ve been thinking about NASA? Either way, it demanded to be in my story.

So here it is – my entry to #50PreciousWords!

TO CATCH A FALLING STAR

My rocket ship
went very far.
The sky was very dark.

I tried to catch
the falling star.
It landed in the park.

It bounced so high,
I got so close,
But it was just my luck.

As I reached out
my falling star
was eaten by a duck.

The end. That’s 49 words and, hopefully, an entertaining story.

Happy writing!

xo Rosemary

Pumpkins Like Stars: #FallWritingFrenzy Story

Happy October!

Today I’m sharing a picture book story that I wrote for the #FallWritingFrenzy contest – which is such a fun way to start this spooky month.

October is one of my very favorite months, and I just couldn’t pass up the opportunity to write a quick tale about Halloween based on a photograph.

Enjoy!

My inspiration: “Halloween” by Selina Wing for Bing

PUMPKINS LIKE STARS

By Rosemary Lynn

We went to the farmer’s market today and returned with our baskets full.  I got right to work. 

First the potatoes, then a tomato, then a pepper and a few not-quite-ripe bananas.  It was hard to carve the jack-o-lantern faces all by myself, but I couldn’t give up!  The baskets were still nearly full. 

Next up: a squash.  Then a turnip, hard as a rock, and a whole pile of teeny tiny Brussels sprouts.  Halfway there!

I worked my way through a bushel of carrots, a whole head of broccoli, and enough onions to make me cry buckets. 

By the time the baskets were empty I was exhausted.  Jack-o-lanterns were everywhere, on every counter, shelf, table, and chair.

When my mom walked in she was so excited about my accomplishment that she was speechless! 

Then we went to the pumpkin patch and left with a trunkful.  Now the porch is decorated top to bottom with shining pumpkin jack-o-lanterns. 

So many jack-o-lanterns lighting the night it looks like stars!

The perfect backdrop for our many, many bowls of potato-pepper-squash-turnip-carrot-onion soup. 

The end.

Hope you enjoyed my Halloween tale!

xo Rosemary