A tale about a girl who rides her horse through a forbidden forest and another about an elderly woman’s final dream were the winners of the Creative Writing Contest hosted by the Secaucus Public Library and Business Resource Center recently.
Eighth grader and Secaucus Middle School student Ariel Forbes won for her story titled “Black Woods” in the fourth through eighth grade category, and Secaucus High School student Breanne Miqueli won for her untitled entry in the ninth through 12th grade category.
“I’ve written stories for class and for fun.” – Breanne Miqueli
________
Writer conjures dark forest
In Forbes’ “Black Woods,” the main character, Gloria, parts ways with her friends and decides to ride her horse through a mysterious forest that the community has deemed off-limits. The story, which Forbes calls a Halloween tale, alludes to an unexplained “hanging” and an enigmatic figure who proclaims her innocence.
“I’ve entered the writing contest every year because my teacher submits some of our papers, but this is the first year I won,” said Forbes, 13, who said Language Arts is her favorite subject in school.
“I like to write in my spare time,” she added, “but I wouldn’t like to do it as a career because I only like to write if I have a good topic.”
Her mother, Stacy Forbes, said Ariel is currently planning a career as a make-up artist.
“She’s very creative and artistic, and she’s a great writer,” her mom said. “If she’s interested in something, she’ll read about it, write about it.”
For parents who have difficulty getting their children interested in reading, Stacy said she recommends having the kids read anything that holds their interest. “If Ariel is interested in a movie [that’s based on a book], I’ll encourage her to read the book, so she’ll have a deeper understanding of what it’s about…and we go to the library a lot.”
The younger Forbes said she looks forward to entering the contest again in the future.
Final dream
Miqueli’s untitled story also deals with a mystery, but hers deals with the mystery of life, memory, and death. In her tale, nursing home resident Romilda Somnio “relives” – through a dream – a day with her long-deceased husband, and sees a glimpse of heaven before passing away herself.
“I actually just wrote the story off the top of my head,” said Miqueli, who had never entered the writing contest before.
“My [Advanced Placement] teacher mentioned the contest to me and it seemed interesting, so I entered,” she added. “I’ve written stories for class and for fun, but nothing that I considered serious.”
A member of the high school band, Miqueli plays flute and bassoon and is currently learning to play the trombone. English, she said, is her favorite class in school, and she plans to teach the subject as a career.
“Reading has always been a really big part of my life. It’s something that has always interested me,” Miqueli said. “My favorite book is ‘A Light in August’ by William Faulkner. I kind of like reading the classics. But I also grew up reading the Harry Potter books, so I like reading them, too.”
A high school senior currently, Miqueli, 17, hopes to attend either Montclair State University or the College of New Jersey next year.
Biggest year
The submissions were judged by a small committee of library staff who read the entries and came to a consensus on which were the strongest stories in each grade category.
“This was our most successful year for submissions, and every year, the contest keeps getting bigger,” said Assistant Library Director Jennifer Breuer. The library, she said, received about 70 submissions.
The contest, she added, was advertised through local newspapers, fliers, and word of mouth. “And this year the teachers in the school system got really involved and helped spread the word and encouraged their students to submit stories, which we really appreciate,” Breuer said.
Although the annual contest is still relatively new, she said she expects it to continue to grow, and hopes it will eventually get big enough to support a literary journal of student writing.
“In Paramus, the local library hosts an annual poetry contest that has become a major event there,” she commented. “It would be great if our Creative Writing Contest could get to that point.”
E-mail E. Assata Wright at awright@hudsonreporter.com.