Alex Flinn has a way with fairy tales. She can take the most well-known fable, add some spice, and turn it into something surprising and fresh. In this case, the spice is Kendra, an immortal witch and a shameless meddler in mortal affairs who’s changing the traditional fairy-tale recipe. For instance, take one part Beauty and the Beast, add two parts Kendra, and BAM! You’ve got Beastly, in which Kendra, disguised as an ugly high school student, teaches an arrogant boy about the meaninglessness of external beauty. Add a sprinkle of Kendra to a boiling pot of Cinderella, and POOF! You’ve got Bewitching, in which Kendra, returning to high school, has juuuuust the thing to help innocent Emma get rid of her conniving stepsister . . . and it isn’t a pumpkin.
Inspired by Bewitching (which you can start reading on Figment), we have a string of flash fiction mini-contests for you!
Every day for the next five days (through Saturday, February 25), we’ll be updating this post with a new iconic fairytale item and a new tag (so create a new book for each prompt). Your challenge: write a short-short story that takes that item and puts it in a new context.
You’ll have 24 hours to write a story (of 100 words or fewer) that responds to the prompt. The Figment editorial staff will read all the entries and choose its favorite, based on creativity, originality, and execution. One winner per daily prompt will receive a copy of Bewitching.
And now, onto the prompts!
Wednesday, February 22: Write about a pumpkin.
Tag your story “BewitchingFlash” and “BewitchingPumpkin”
You have until 12:00 p.m. EST on February 23 to enter.
Closed–(Feb 21): Write about an enchanted mirror.
Tag your story “BewitchingFlash” and “BewitchingMirror”
You have until 12:00 p.m. EST on February 22 to enter.
Click here to read the full promotion guidelines.
Phew! You survived the entry period for the Pure contest. But will you survive the voting period? Help fellow Figs on their way to eternal glory by hearting their stories! Heart enough entries, and soon enough, everyone will be calling you “[Insert Name Here] the Fig-nanimous” or “Sir Heart-A-Lot.” Or even “Hearty Potter,” if you’re lucky .
