Hey all, happy Tuesday! Today we are going to find out who won the writing competition hosted in celebration of The Faithful Wanderer reaching 200+ subscribers!

If you don’t remember what this specific competition was about, then let me give you a refresher—the contestants wrote a short story using this image as the prompt:

And not only that, but they had to use the word or number ‘200/two hundred‘ in their story. This is actually one of my favorite competitions that we’ve done because your snippets were all so good! It was very different than previous ones, wasn’t it? I hope you guys enjoyed writing and submitting them, and I’m proud to announce that we have two winners today!

Our first winner wrote a mystical story about the beauty of the dawn. It kind of gave me Noah-and-the ark vibes because of people doubting the main character’s intuition and trust.

The first winner of this competition is our very own…..

Lola Mae!

Her snippet, Dreaming of Dawn was so beautiful and I got chills when reading it! Be sure to check outher blog, Lola Mae Writes and subscribe! I love Lola Mae’s blog, she has so many great faith thoughts, writing thoughts and everything in between.

Dreaming of Dawn

The boy had waited two hundred and thirty seven days for the sun to rise. 

Sitting at the edge of the sea, watercolor sketchbook in his lap, he’d painted darkness. The boy painted the dark indigo sky that stretched out before him, the stars weakly glimmering, the moon hiding behind the clouds, filling the pages with the view from the cliffs, dreaming of dawn. 

Never did he paint the sun, because he knew it had to come back—and painting it would make it seem like he didn’t need it anymore.

So he waited. His dog laying beside him or chasing butterflies in the fluttering grasses, the boy waited.

No one knew why the sun had disappeared. It had sunk below the ocean one day, never to rise again. At least, that’s what people said. They laughed when the boy said, “Maybe the sun will come back.”No one believed it would return. 

Except for the boy. He knew the sun would rise, someday. So he painted the night, watercolor pallet set on a rock next to him, sweet, salty wind whispering across his face.

Sometimes, he’d leave his art to run through the grasses with his dog. Sometimes, he’d creep into the market to buy meat and a loaf of bread. Sometimes, he’d set aside the sketchbook to lay on his back, his dog resting a breath away, tail wagging in her sleep, and gaze up into the dark sky, dreaming of morning. 

Dreaming of when the sun would rise again.

Every day he sat, painting and listening to waves crashing against the rocks far below him. Watching the horizon for even a glimmer of sunlight. 

But after months of not seeing the sun, the boy began to doubt. What if it never came back? What if his world was dark forever?

So the boy painted the sun. He didn’t care if the sun thought he didn’t need her anymore. He just wanted to see bright colors—he just wanted to see light. He called his loyal dog to him, and, murmuring, “Forgive me if the sun doesn’t rise,”into her warm, fluffy fur, he mixed new colors into his palette. No more blue, no more black, no more purple. Instead—pink, orange, yellow. 

The boy painted dawn. And as he stroked his brush over the paper one last time, light fell on his sun he’d painted. His dog barked—a sound full of joy. The boy stared in disbelief at the page before him. Light coming from above the sea. Could it be?

The boy looked up. And he saw the sun.

A thousand shades of pink and yellow painted the morning sky. It was just like his painting, only better. Brighter. Real. 

“It came back,” he whispered to his sweet, faithful dog. Then he rose to his feet, setting down his first painting of the dawn, and stood at the edge of the cliffs, laughing out over the sea. “The sun came back!”

The boy watched as the sun rose again. 

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Wasn’t that amazing? Dude, Lola’s writing is so good, I love it!

Alright, now our second winner wrote a creative snippet that had a twist I didn’t expect and I loved it! It was vivid imagery and I enjoyed the thoughts throughout the snippet.

The second winner is…

Serenity Helzerman!

Serenity’s snippet, The Windswept Sea, was creative and different and that made it stand out among the other submissions. Be sure to check out her blog, Serenity F. Helzerman, and subscribe! She’s got great content for writers and I highly recommend it!

The Windswept Sea

Alaric Fearthr’s lips moved, yet no audible words were formed as he bent over his drawing. His dark hair curled against his bronze skin was brushed back by the sea breeze. The smell of salt filled his nostrils as his gaze darted between the scene of the Gemlet Ocean before him, and the leather sketchbook in his lap. So concentrated was his attention that he did not notice the closeness of his hound till the animal sniffed his writing hand, coldness jerking the boy’s gaze to his companion. His forehead creased in concern as he glanced at his sketch, grateful the picture hadn’t been ruined. He gave his friend a scolding scowl, which the hound knew all too well and responded by lowering his head in his paws, eyes contritely seeking his master’s forgiveness. 

The boy’s face relaxed into a broad grin and he swiftly patted his dog’s matted fur. All is forgiven, Danger. His lips moved in words that could not be formed, but Danger seemed to understand what none else could. He gave a bark that the boy could not hear but nonetheless, it warmed his heart.

Danger settled at his legs, pressing his paws into his hands once more, content to be at the boy’s side. The boy once more gazed at the windswept sea. He could not hear the sounds of the wind rippling through the grass, or the roar of the ocean in the cliffs below him, but that did not matter, for he had never heard them. He could view, smell and taste the sea, and that was enough to satisfy his longing. 

His gaze studied intently the edges of the Revod Cliffs that continued in crooked, rocky outcroppings for two-hundred miles to the edge of their country, . Those cliffs had called to him almost as much as the sea did. There was a mystery there. Another idea sparked in the boy’s artistic mind and he began to draw fiercely, finishing the touches of the waves and the sea. Then he opened a new page and began to draw the cliffs first, then brought in the ocean once more. 

The wind picked up, sending his hair swirling. Pure delight spread across the lad’s face as he lifted his head to the sky, feeling the last touches of the sun’s rays peeking behind grey clouds. He opened his mouth to taste the salt on his tongue. Oh, what a beautiful creation You have made, Seeker. The moment of surreality passed and the lad returned his glowing brown eyes to his sketch. Biting his pencil softly, he stared at it for a moment before brushing the edges of his pencil across the top, naming the sketch with a satisfying nod: The Windswept Sea.  

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Alright you guys, I hope you enjoyed reading Lola Mae and Serenity’s snippets as much as I did! Be sure to check out their blogs—like, right now—because I guarantee you’ll love them!

Thanks for submitting and I wish you luck on the next one.

Thanks for reading, have a great day!
~Willow