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10th Place! 2025 NYC Midnight Rhyming Story Competition: Final Round
Although I was grateful and ecstatic to reach the final round of the rhyming competition, I was also terrified. I wasn't scared that I would get trounced; making it to the final round was already an accomplishment! Nor was I scared of receiving devastatingly critical feedback; it is valuable to know how others interpret and digest my writing. I was afraid for a much more mundane, stupid reason. Final rounds are "open genre." I know, I know. Terrifying. The people-pleasing sid
H.E. belle
Mar 123 min read


2025 NYC Midnight Rhyming Story Competition: Round 2
If you missed my post on the NYC Midnight Rhyming Competition is and round one details, take a look here ! The second round of the competition was a little more up my alley, and my story landed third place in my group. This time around, my prompts were to write a Fantasy/Fairy Tale story with a theme of "contrarianism" and featuring the emotion of "infuriated," all in 500 words. The first thing that came to mind was the idea of the "Chosen One" that is so prominent in fantasy
H.E. belle
Feb 224 min read


2025 NYC Midnight Rhyming Story Competition: Round 1 Entry
This past fall I entered the NYC Midnight Rhyming Story Competition , along with about 1500 other writers. I had entered two other NYC Midnight competitions before, but I never made it past the first round. The Rhyming Story competition stretches several writing muscles. Not only do the participants have to create a cohesive story that rhymes within a time limit, but they have to make it fit with certain prompts and word limit constraints. I had many, many tabs open for vario
H.E. belle
Feb 193 min read


My 2026 New Year's Resolution
Hello, all! I read a writing prompt recently that asked writers to consider resolutions and anti-resolutions. What happens when we go too far with goal-setting? What happens when we vow to fail, to be unproductive, to live in joy? Now, I've never been one for New Year's Resolutions, but this prompt got me thinking (as a good prompt should). Below are the resulting ramblings. What are your resolutions for the coming year? Decade? Lifetime? As the glittering ball drops, humanit
H.E. belle
Feb 114 min read


The Lifesaving Quota
This story was part of the 500-word Fear 2025 Writing Battle. My prompts were to follow the horror genre, have a character be a paramedic, and include a coin. The following was what I submitted. Cheers! Jackson’s leg bounces as he stares down the enormous clock on the wall. The analog face hovers above various trinkets to symbolize vitality and camaraderie. An award for bravery. An amusing calendar of scantily-clad employees posing with their emergency vehicles. A fold-out ta
H.E. belle
Jan 294 min read


The Irreplaceable Nature of Female Friendships
I have been feeling a very specific, aching loneliness lately that I have had the hardest time pinpointing. The natural response to this is something like, "Well, go and get yourself out there! Go out and meet people!" However, that's just it--I have been. I have reconnected with a former high-school classmate in the area. My partner and I have been hosting dinner parties and playing board games with local friends and colleagues. I have joined a book club. I go to coffee shop
H.E. belle
Oct 14, 20253 min read


Failing, Creatively
There are three little words that I have been longing to say for months, years, possibly my entire life. Simple, common, yet...
H.E. belle
Sep 19, 20256 min read
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