Short Stories

Stories are being sought for the Write On! Wetlands Challenge 2011. Open to writers in grades sixth through ninth grade. Students are asked to write a story that tells about the different types of wetlands all over the world. Stories must be typed and single-spaced on 8 1/2-by-11 inch paper. For a list of full contest guidelines, as well as helpful tips and a checklist, go to www.wetland.org/education_writeon.htm . To submit stories to Environmental Concern by mail, write to: Attention: Write On!

MARTINSBURG, W.Va. - Michael Austin teaches English at Shepherd University, so when he had a few free minutes Saturday, he chose to drop by the Martinsburg-Berkeley County Public Library with his two children. What he encountered was the latest activity of The Big Read, a nationwide push to get adults to do more reading through a program initiated by the National Endowment for the Arts. "We just discovered this by chance," Austin said. His daughter, Clarissa, 6, worked long and hard creating a Chinese paper dragon, while her older brother, Porter, 9, was content to watch.

MARTINSBURG, W.Va. - Michael Austin teaches English at Shepherd University, so when he had a few free minutes Saturday, he chose to drop by the Martinsburg-Berkeley County Public Library with his two children. What he encountered was the latest activity of The Big Read, a nationwide push to get adults to do more reading through a program initiated by the National Endowment for the Arts. "We just discovered this by chance," Austin said. His daughter, Clarissa, 6, worked long and hard creating a Chinese paper dragon, while her older brother, Porter, 9, was content to watch.

Hancock Senior Site 126-128 High St. Hancock 301-678-7163 Needlework - Tuesday, Oct. 18, 10 a.m. Short stories, "Skipping Christmas" - Wednesday, Oct. 19, conclusion. Weight workout - Wednesday, Oct. 26, 9:30 a.m. Exercise - Thursday, Oct. 27, 9:30 a.m. Bingo - every Thursday and Tuesdays, Oct. 18 and 25, noon to 1 p.m. Tole painting with Rhonda - every Thursday, 12:30 p.m. Hymns on piano with Shirley Divelbliss - every Friday, 9:30 a.m. Breast cancer awareness with Helen House - Today, 10 a.m. Pokeno - Mondays, Oct. 17, 24 and 31, 9:30 a.m. Red Hat Society dinner - Monday, Oct. 17, 4:30 p.m. Breast Cancer Program with Julie and Holly Luther - Wednesday, Oct. 19, 10 a.m. "Witches' Warts" with Helen House - Thursday, Oct. 20, 10 a.m. "What Your Dentist Would Like You to Know" with Ita Kavanagh - Tuesday, Oct. 25, 10 a.m. Uno - Wednesday, Oct. 26, 9 a.m.

This June, Hagerstown Community College's Continuing Education and Community Services division will offer its first online fiction writing workshop. The eight-week non-credit course will provide aspiring writers with step-by-step guidance in creating short stories, as well as offer tips on getting published. The course is designed to be accessible to writers of all levels and skill sets. "Anybody who's into writing stories can benefit from this workshop whether they've already been published or they just want to see if it's their cup of tea," said HCC instructor Julie Castillo.

pepperb@herald-mail.com Dylan Barger says there's one major difference between playing school and going to it. "I don't like school, but I like to play it," said Dylan, 8. The Pangborn Elementary School student said he's spent most of his summer vacation swimming and teaching his sister in their playtime classroom. Dylan, who will enter third grade in the fall, said he wants to teach first grade when he grows up. Swimming still ranks as a big summer favorite among some Washington County Public Schools students interviewed at Valley Mall and Potterfield Pool on Sunday, but many talked about camps and places they either plan to go to or already have visited this summer.

Mark Appenzellar wants to offer solutions to people who see no hope in life. So he wrote a book, "The Year of Losing Things," to tell the story on a young woman struggling to find things of value in herself. The book has an inspirational message, but Appenzellar, a worship leader at his Smithsburg church, tried to avoid writing a stereotypical Christian novel. "A lot of Christian fiction is preachy," he said. "I do present a Christian message, but I don't ram it home. " Another of Appenzellar's pet peeves: oversimplified storytelling.

"This book is being published because I want it to be published," wrote Herbert W. Gestl on the first page of "Love, A Fantasy," a collection of poetry, short stories and short plays the Sharpsburg resident has written over many years. Some of the poems were written while the Allentown, Pa., native was in high school and college. He said he even strung a few of them together, and his cousin, a composer in Vienna, Austria, recorded them with background music by J.S. Bach. The plays, "The Four-Thirty Whistle," "The Last Frontier" and "The Devil's Helping Hand," were written and take place during the sexual revolution in this country and reflect attitudes and thoughts during that time period, Gestl wrote.

Coming from a writer, the description of what goes on inside a writer's head can get pretty complicated. If you were to remove the skullcap of an author like Harpers Ferry, W.Va.-born John Cummings, you might see rolling out a mash of John Updike, 15 years worth of writing, and some Springsteen lyrics. Cummings' first published novel, "The Night I Freed John Brown," (see review at left) was released at the end of May, but the Pulse team had the opportunity to grab a word with the author prior to the release date just to see what kinds of things he rolls around upstairs.

WILLIAMSPORT erinc@herald-mail.com Jack Myers wanted his children to know about his life. Instead of sitting down and telling his story, shortly before his 80th birthday, Myers wrote them a book. He wrote 65 short stories by hand about growing up in Williamsport during the Depression, battles during World War II, friends and family. His sons helped him type and eventually publish the 98-page book, "Memories to Cherish," which was released in April, Myers said.

Washington County Free Library has announced its annual Poetry and Short Story Writing Contest is under way. The contest includes five age divisions: children in grades two and three; grades four and five; grades six to eight; grades nine to 12; and adult. Entrants must be a resident of Washington County, or have a valid Washington County Free Library Card. Writers may enter up to two poems and one short story. Short stories can be up to five pages long. All entries must be original work and can be on any topic.

A malevolent, talking clock. A witch's soul locked in an old book. A prisoner locked in poisoned chains. A young man with a frightening body-double. These chilling characters haunted The Herald-Mail during the 2011 Scary Story Contest. Who will star in this year's contest? The Herald-Mail Lifestyle section invites readers to write original short stories for the 2012 Scary Story Contest. Entries will be accepted in one of three age categories — adults (ages 19 and older), teens (13 to 18)

The story of how @katie met @katieshow starts with fewer than 140 characters. Twitter, a social media platform known for short messages, connected Mercersburg's Katie LaRue with Katie Couric, who has a new daytime talk show on ABC. When establishing an Internet presence for “Katie,” show staff found @katie was taken by Katie LaRue. Then, they realized LaRue had a story that could be told on the show and emailed her. “I thought it was a joke,” LaRue said, saying she thought the email was a well-written scam.

Washington County Free Library announces the winning and honorable mention entries in its annual poetry and short story contest. The contest was open to writers from second grade through adult. Residents of Washington County or people with a valid Washington County Library Card were eligible to enter. Winners were declared in five age divisions - grades two and three; grades four and five; grades six to eight; grades nine to 12; and adult. Two winners were chosen for each category and in most cases an honorable mention was also included.

Mark Appenzellar wants to offer solutions to people who see no hope in life. So he wrote a book, "The Year of Losing Things," to tell the story on a young woman struggling to find things of value in herself. The book has an inspirational message, but Appenzellar, a worship leader at his Smithsburg church, tried to avoid writing a stereotypical Christian novel. "A lot of Christian fiction is preachy," he said. "I do present a Christian message, but I don't ram it home. " Another of Appenzellar's pet peeves: oversimplified storytelling.

Stories are being sought for the Write On! Wetlands Challenge 2011. Open to writers in grades sixth through ninth grade. Students are asked to write a story that tells about the different types of wetlands all over the world. Stories must be typed and single-spaced on 8 1/2-by-11 inch paper. For a list of full contest guidelines, as well as helpful tips and a checklist, go to www.wetland.org/education_writeon.htm . To submit stories to Environmental Concern by mail, write to: Attention: Write On!

This June, Hagerstown Community College's Continuing Education and Community Services division will offer its first online fiction writing workshop. The eight-week non-credit course will provide aspiring writers with step-by-step guidance in creating short stories, as well as offer tips on getting published. The course is designed to be accessible to writers of all levels and skill sets. "Anybody who's into writing stories can benefit from this workshop whether they've already been published or they just want to see if it's their cup of tea," said HCC instructor Julie Castillo.

Coming from a writer, the description of what goes on inside a writer's head can get pretty complicated. If you were to remove the skullcap of an author like Harpers Ferry, W.Va.-born John Cummings, you might see rolling out a mash of John Updike, 15 years worth of writing, and some Springsteen lyrics. Cummings' first published novel, "The Night I Freed John Brown," (see review at left) was released at the end of May, but the Pulse team had the opportunity to grab a word with the author prior to the release date just to see what kinds of things he rolls around upstairs.