HOL

Plants play a massive role in literature. From deep forests to twisting hedge mazes, magical herbs to man-eating enemies, they can help you create vivid settings or exciting plot twists.

The prompt this time is very simple: we’d love you to create a story or scene (200 words or more) that’s focused on plants. Someone could be working in their greenhouse, looking for a very rare specimen in the wild or trying to escape a very dangerous carnivorous plant. Providing it’s HOL appropriate and involves a plant of some kind, it’s entirely up to you.

You’ll earn 20 beans for completing this prompt as well as it counting towards the chance to snag our shiny Quill and Ink award.

There is no deadline as such for these prompts but if you’d like it to count towards your chance of earning the award for a specific year, we’ll need it by the end of that school year. If you’re comfortable sharing, then post below. If not, email your story to us via hol.bookclub @ gmail.com (without the spaces). Oh and remember it’s a good idea to check through your piece carefully for spelling and grammatical errors as they make it harder for people to properly enjoy your work.

There is a rare flower that blooms only in the darkness of a dragon shrine, surrounded by ruby acorns and ghosts of the distant past. The flower is used in a potion that protects one from ailments or diseases for a lifetime. It is said that it can even reverse death but not without a cost. However, reaching the flower, a scarlet rose with azure blue leaves and an amethyst stem, is acutely dangerous. One must cross a raging river of screaming souls lost during the dragon wars. They must also battle the shrine's protectors, whose ancient magics surpass the high mages of the present day.

Yet, for the one who is determined and seeks out the rose with good intent and a sound mind, the river may part, and the guardians will listen steadfastly to the yearning of the individual's desire. Very few have triumphed in this task, and the ones who perish join the lost souls for eternity. The stories are countless. Adventurers seeking that which they should not as the pure of heart are rarely within reach. But for those who prevail, the rewards are innumerable. Their names endure through the ages and become whispers on the lips of those they save.