Creative Corner

@Tacodoodle

Hello! I'm new to the whole forums thing, and I think your form is very interesting, is there anyway I could join?

@StarSeeker255

Yeah, just read the instructions I posted on the last page for this prompt! Make sure to ping me, set your timer for ten minutes, write, and as soon as everyone gets their stories in I'll judge and another round will begin :) Have fun!

@Tacodoodle
Prompt: There's something glowing in the woods

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The dark forest surrounded them, as if the trees were a pack of hungry wolves waiting to kill their prey at the right moment.The shortest of the group whimpered and grabbed on the the person beside her, and dug her face in to her arm.
"Peggy," the boy sighed pulling her in front of him so they were eye to eye, " we've been in this forest many times, it really isn't scary."
"It's more scarier in the night time Joe!" she hissed pulling away from him and brushing off her coat. she knew that the woods wasn't scary, but the things that were in the woods frightened her. She had heard of the creatures and how they had lurked in the woods waiting for children, but Joe said they weren't real. Her thoughts were interrupted by a owl, who hooted at them before vanishing into the night sky.
Joe kicked a branch on the ground and spoke, "Come on, we should probably head back before someone notices we're missing." Peggy nodded her head and trotted after him as they abandoned the clearing. They walked in silence for a few minutes, but they could tell that they were both scared. A branch snapped behind them, and they screamed running in opposite directions as fast as they could.
Peggy ran so fast she lost her footing, and was sent across the leafy floor of the forest. As she slowed down to avoid a tree, she dragged herself to clump of bushes, and curled up into a ball to calm herself.
"Get yourself together Peggy, that was-" her voice failed as she heard a scream shake the forest. She sat bolt right up, clasping her hand on her mouth so she wouldn't make a noise. That was Joe's scream, only he could make such a terrifying wail, she thought.
" Okay Peggy, Joe is probably just playing with you, go and find him, and then you can kill him" she whispered. She slowly rose out of the bushes and jogged into the forest path that lead to the clearing. She knew he would have ran there, he could of hidden in the little bush bunker they made weeks ago to spy on people who were passing by.
She entered the clearing and gasped, there, lying in the dead center of the clearing, was Joe. Peggy slowly approached the body, silently praying that he wasn't dead. She then knelt beside him and whispered, "Joe, are you, dead?"
The only response was the sigh of the trees, and she started to cry, for the loss of her best friend. Suddenly, his hand shot up and grasped her forearm, and his eyes opened to reveal that they had turned milky white.
As if he had no breath left he gasped, " light.. run", and he slumped to the ground with a thump. Peggy froze, with no idea what to do, or if she would live. She felt like the world had froze, and she was the only one who could move, and she did. Slowly, she turned her head to see a glowing
figure standing right behind her, reaching for her. And then she screamed.

@Tacodoodle

Our grandmother lives in the cottage in the middle of the woods. "Like a hippie," my dad says. He doesn't say it like he's joking. "Like a witch," my mom corrects. She doesn't say it like she's joking.

We have to drive up a long, twisted, unpaved road to get to her house. My dad complains the entire way, talking about how hazardous it must be. My mom says nothing.

Nonetheless, we visit every summer. And, sometimes, we go camping.



There's something glowing in the woods. It flashes and twinkles. As if it moves among the tree trunks so that they block out its light momentarily.

My dad says that it's just fireflies. My grandmother says it's fairies. My mom says nothing.

I'm not allowed to go investigate.


One year, I invite some friends.

It's a nice place, after all. A little stream gurgles close to a clearing that we use as a camping site. We roast marshmallows and tell scary stories.

"What's that?" Tassie asks. She's squinting. "There's something glowing in the woods."

I shrug. "My dad says it's just fireflies."

"Fireflies aren't that big and bright."

"My grandmother says it's fairies." I offer, for lack of anything else to say.

"Fairies!" Tassie repeats, her eyes growing wide. She's delighted. "Let's go find out!" She stands up and tugs my arm. Cassidy stands up too, to follow her.

I hesitate for a moment. Then I stand up. I was curious too, after all.

The light was neither far away nor separated by any difficult-to-surmount barriers, so we reached it quickly. It was a ring of mushrooms. They were small and brown, nothing special. The single light bobbed up and down, flying in circles above the mushrooms.

"A fairy ring," I say out loud.

"A fairy ring?" Cassidy repeats, confused.

"My grandmother says as much," I say, lamely. I don't know what else to say.

"What is that?" Cassidy asks, changing the subject. She leans towards the light. Its shine was too bright to make out what was giving off the brilliance.

"Let's catch it," Tassie says. She's determined. And delighted.



We didn't mean to step into the ring. Or, I didn't mean to step into the ring. But we did. And here we are. Cursed to dance for all of eternity. My grandmother warned me. "Step into a fairy ring, and you'll never step out. You'll dance and dance," she had said. My dad said that it was hogwash. My mother said nothing.

@Tacodoodle

Prompt: There's something glowing in the woods

They always said that these woods were strange. Always. The words have been handed down generation to generation, for however long I never knew. Don't go into the woods. They're... strange.

In hindsight, perhaps I should have listened.

But I was a small girl in a town of people who were content to live a monotonous life ruled by routine. I was stifled, boxed up, left to rot. I couldn't be happy with getting up every morning at dawn and feeding the cows. I wasn't thrilled to tend to chickens and pigs. My family promised me that I could marry whoever I wanted, but that was small comfort. Why would I marry a man just as boring as them?

So I ran.

I got up before dawn, before anyone else was awake, and I ran. Oh, I was so foolish and young. No plans. No ideas. I simply got up, took two loaves of bread from the cupboard, and ran. I had nowhere to run to except the woods. And so I did.

It was early, very early, and the sun had not yet begun to peep through the cover of the leaves above. In fact, I glanced upwards to see that the trees grew so thickly together that it would be almost impossible for the sunlight to be able to reach the floor. I nearly despaired, for I had no torch to carry.

Except it was bright.

I could see where I was going, I could see everything. I could see the moss on the roots of the trees and the lizard as it crawled away from me... I should not have been able to see! It should have been dark, darker than night, blacker than the fallen swan's wings, blacker than my hair.

But it was bright.

And there was music.

I kept running, ignoring the branches that whipped in my way and dodging the trunks of trees. I could hear a sweet melody calling to me, thrumming through my body and enticing me towards the source of the sound. Doubtless, I was curious. I wanted to know where this sweet music came from.

It was then that I stumbled into a clearing, and the light was so bright! My vision flashed white, and I stood stock still, waiting for my eyes to adjust. It was then that I saw the source of the light.

A lily.

But not any lily, a lily with petals that looked like silk and glowed like the sun. The petals were arched and beautiful, and it did not rustle at all in the sudden wind that blew through the clearing. It shone, and I swore that in the center of the flower I saw gemstones.

In that moment, I wanted nothing more than to touch the flower. The same strains of music hummed in my ears and made my body feel light. In fact, in my entire life, I had never wanted to do anything more than I wanted to touch that flower.

*deep breath*

@Kapara
I really liked the concept of the "beasts" invading the main character's homeland- the plot is meaningful and heavy, making for a great story.

@coyearth
I loved the ending- taking responsibility is a heavy thing, so I'm inferring that something bad is about to happen. Amazing description, too!

@favvn
Ahh, fantastic! The ending was dark(yay dark, I love dark!), and the motif of the mother and father saying/not saying things was unsettling and meaningful.

@hoothootx3
About English not being your first language- that's ok, you write like a native speaker! The dialogue is very flowing and natural in your story, and really completed it for me.

@Moonwater
I absolutely loved yours! Your story was fantastical and conveyed a sense of wonder, and your description of the lily was awesome.

@StarSeeker255
The cliffhanger was to die for. What the heck is that thing? What's happened to Joe? What's happened to Peggy? Questions like this on a cliffhanger are perfect.
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While all of your stories are great, I'm going to go with Moonwater as the winner. Fabulous work, everyone! :D Moonwater is the next judge!

Great job, everyone! I loved reading all of your stories! :3

@Tacodoodle @Kapara @coyearth @favvn @hoothootx3 @StarSeeker255

A big thank you to Tacodoodle for nominating me as the winner!

Recap of the rules: you have 10 minutes to write a story based on the prompt that the judge gives. When you're finished, please post and ping the judge. At this point, you may read everyone else's stories. I will judge the stories once everyone turns theirs in (unless otherwise notified), so please send them in soon! The winner will them become the next judge.

Ready for your prompt?

Prompt: Take me to the galaxy.

Good luck and have fun!

I'll sit out of this one, but I find it funny how many of the stories had boy/girl pairs

@Moonwater
Prompt: Take me to the galaxy
~~~~~~~
The man with stars in his eyes began visiting me every night in the white room. He'd gently take all of the needles pumping fluids into me out of my arms, and carry my now-strong body to the Galaxy. Take me to the Galaxy, I'd whisper gently. And he would look sorrowful, true (he could not frown, for he had no mouth), but would whisk me there silently. He'd set me down at the Galaxy, and I would play among the curved stones jutting from the ground. Others were there too, sitting on the stones with the stars in their eyes. I'd catch the wisps of butterflies that flitted there and play hopscotch and tag with the children with nebulas and planets in their eyes, and the man would take me back to my white, white room after the starry-eyed people would retreat into the ground in front of their stones when the sun came up.
I, too, began to see a galaxy in my eyes. I think the people without stars noticed- they began to frantically stuff me with tubes and watch me overnight. A lone woman would sit by my bed and cry. Don't worry, I thought, but unable to extend a comforting arm to her. It's only stars. The galaxy began to enlarge, and more of the white would leave. Milky blue planets and purple comets decorated the skies like ornaments, and I delighted in the stars twinkling like diamonds in the distance.
One day, the galaxy was so big and large I laughed at the size of it, ignoring the new droning of the white machine around me. The people dressed in white were evidently disappointed that I saw the galaxy, and one began to cry. I was so confused. That night, the man with stars in his eyes cried too, cried as I took his hand, and cried as he led me to the starry-eyed children in the Galaxy. I'd share one of their stones until I got my own.