“People shrieked and cried as shots tore through fabric around the mall. In the chaos, no one stopped to question why the mannequins were bleeding too…”

The spooky sentences above won the scariest sentences category in the Skyline Writing Center’s two-sentence horror story contest in October 2023.

This month, the Writing Center is hosting a new contest for November 2023; it is almost over. The new contest allows students and adults at Skyline to submit a poem about giving gratitude during the Thanksgiving season. “[The whole contest is] mainly like sharing thankfulness for fall, thankfulness for Thanksgiving break and you can write it in a sweet heartfelt way,” says contest creator Levi Odgen (‘26).

The contest closes November 16 to allow time for the judges to vote on which poem best fits the two categories: most heart-felt and silliest. “The one that makes me go ‘oh my god’ and probably tear up at would win [most heartfelt],” says Odgen, “and the silliest one is basically, a non-serious one that’s like fun and just no guidelines just don’t write anything inappropriate.”

The Writing Center posted a form where you can submit your poems. The Writing Center has also set up a ballot box in their room for in-person submissions. The winner of each category will receive a full-sized candy bar, so get writing!