Waterhouse – Yearning for Wonderland

Once Upon a Time Writing Contest: Theme!

If you are here, you are wondering about the #tweetofdoom, also known as Once Upon a Time Flash Fiction Writing Contest (tag #ouatwriting on Twitter). That, or you stumbled onto my blog due to the surplus of John William Waterhouse paintings.

There are only two general types of people who visit Yearning for Wonderland: writers/those who love good writing and art thieves. For those who are the latter, please help yourself to the lovely Waterhouse sketch below (only kidding, totally ganked this from the Wikipedia page). I do encourage you art thieves to stay and read on a bit, however. Especially if you also write.

A Female Study, John William Waterhouse

So today’s post (not to completely digress) regards the super secret extra exciting announcement of the wondrous theme of the Once Upon a Time Writing Contest. *cue bombastic music with lots of cymbals clashing and soaring horns*

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Oh, you wanted to know the theme! The theme for the Once Upon a Time Writing Contest is:

UNEXPECTED FAIRY TALES

Take that as you will. Perhaps it is a fairy tale set in an unexpected place, like a gas station. Perhaps it is a fractured fairytale, a fairy tale turned on its head, a fairy tale that isn’t one till the end. There are fairy tales all around us, should we only care to look.

Given the awesome breadth of the Fairy Ring Contest, I have every confidence that our unexpected fairy tales will be equal parts lovely, charming, terrifying, inspiring, and daunting. Plus, this contest is now international and co-sponsored by the lovely British flash fiction writer, Susi Holliday (@SJIHolliday on Twitter), so you know there will be twists even I cannot foresee.


copyright Ulrika Kestere

The photos are by the talented Ulrika Kestere, described as: “a woman whose drying laundry is taken by a sudden storm, and as she travels the countryside discovers her clothing has taken an unexpected form.” You can see her work here.

More details to come, be sure to add #ouatwriting on Twitter. Ask me, if you don’t know how to do a tag search and be sure to use it when sharing about the contest.

As the theme is unexpected fairy tales, please try to honor that. You do not have to use the words “Once Upon a Time” in your story. The title is not included in the word count. If you have other questions, feel free to comment, tweet or email me. Please no erotica or slasher fiction.

So go forth, my fictionlings, and ponder this unexpected magic. I expect great things from you!

5 Sentence Fiction – Yearning

I am so excited because I got to choose this week’s Five Sentence Fiction inspiration word at Lillie McFerrin Writes.

So I picked Yearning. If you weren’t aware, it’s one of my very favorite words and the constant inspiration for this blog. Of course I had to enter!

Despite the fact that I am short on sleep, I scribbled my entry on a tiny square of paper at work, folded it up and smuggled it home to share with you. Be sure to go read the other ‘Yearning’ entries and maybe enter yourself!

Yearning

He bounded up the wide stone steps two at a time, his heart slamming frantically against the birdcage of his ribs, and flung open her tower chamber door, “Princess!”

The room was strangely still — even the dove loose in the rafters was hushed — and white muslin curtains flapped loose in the breeze. A thick rope was knotted tight round the carved mahogany bedpost; his eye traced it across the floor and over the edge of the window sill.

Her pillow, plumped up on her neatly made bed, had a note pinned to the satin coverlet: ‘I couldn’t wait any more.’

Far below, he heard departing hoof beats and watched as she rode his horse away.

“Fair Rosamund” (detail) by John William Waterhouse

The Fairy Ring Writing Contest Submission – Anna Meade

In the interests of being fair, I offer up to you my own submission to The Fairy Ring Writing Contest. I can’t win, of course, but I wanted to share my humble effort as I believe all writers are in this together. I hope you enjoy.

Violets by Anna Meade

“I want a man who’ll twine violets in my hair.”

I wrote this sentence and then doodled violets in the journal margin. My whimsy would be the death of me. My days were spent on the outskirts of the woods behind my parents’ home, sprawled under a tree on a faded blue-check blanket, barefoot and hair-tumbled and romantic poetry-addled.

I rolled onto my back, staring at the late summer sky. My too-long skirt tangled round my legs, so I sat up to extricate myself. The shadow fell over me then.

I squinted up at him in the sun, “Hello.”

He smiled and put a finger to his lips. His step barely stirred the grass. He took me by the hand to his bower, where we supped on honeysuckle and blackberries.

“Every day I am with you feels like a year,” said I, idly leaning against his shoulder.

He smiled, so tenderly, and wound flowers through my curls.

His hands were gentle and his kisses were poignant. I stayed awake as long as I could, but my traitor eyelids fell. I slept so heavy, filled with ambrosia and dreams, and when I woke all the forest was in the chill grip of autumn.

I shivered and hurried back towards the edge of the woods, back to my parents’ home. I ran to the door and pounded, “Mother! Father! I’m back!”

The door opened and a startled wrinkle-raisined face peered back at me. “Are you looking for someone, child?”

I stumbled backwards and ran towards the forest, heedless of my way. I found my tree and beneath it, mostly buried in the dirt, I unearthed the smallest fragment of paper. It was weather-faded and nearly illegible, but I knew what it said:

“I want a man who’ll twine violets in my hair.”

Painting by John William Waterhouse; Photography by Andrew Kuykendall