CARRIE KARNES-FANNIN
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Fall Writing Frenzy 2022

10/1/2022

45 Comments

 
Picture
The 4th year of the Fall Writing Frenzy is up and running! From today through October 3rd, kidlit writers can submit their 200-words-or-fewer pieces inspired by one of fourteen photo prompts given by the contest creators, agent Kaitlyn Sanchez and author Lydia Lukidis. 

(To see the rules and all the gorgeous prompt images, check them out here.)  ​
About this poem: I grew up in southern USA, where twilight is sometimes called "dark thirty." It's a magical time of day, with the sun glowing below the  horizon, bats squeaking overhead, and fireflies dancing all around. When I saw this photo, I immediately thought of dark thirty and all the magic that exists for a kid during the twilight of their childhood.  I hope it comes through at least a little bit in this piece.
​
​Thank you for reading! Let me know what you think in the comments.



​DARK THIRTY
​
by
​Carrie Karnes-Fannin
​

When the light
becomes a trick of your imagination,
and time
 
      stops
 
on the knife edge
separating day
and night,
it is

dark thirty.
 
And as the frost moon rises,
this moment of possibility and magic

is your doorway.
 
Your jumbled thoughts make you pause…
 
Alice with her time-challenged rabbit, Lucy climbing into a dusty wardrobe, or Dorothy
in her ill-gotten heels
--
 
they could tell you about doors.
​About portals.

 
How the one who goes through
 
        is not
 
the one who returns.
 
As you shiver
in your hand-me-down jacket
and smooth your ordinary hair,
 
you think
becoming someone else
wouldn’t be
bad.
 
So…
 
you
stretch,
grasp, search
for the way through.
 
But the knife edge dulls,
and clouds swallow the moon.
The light is lost,
 
and dark thirty
is merely
 
dark.
 
But now,
old stories blaze for you
in a new way.
 
Little Red loves the damp
mystery of the ancient black woods.
 
Rapunzel knows
her way down from the tower.
 
Wendy doesn’t mind growing up.
She just wants adventure.
 
And you…
 
you don’t need moonlight,

magic, or even
a door.
 
You only need
to reach.


(186 words)
Picture
Image credit: Daniele Colucci for Unsplash // Image description: A narrow street or alley, paved with stone and lined with attached houses. It appears to be twilight with a few clouds in the sky. There is a single red-orange light attached to the outside of one of houses in the mid-ground, on the right hand side of the street.
45 Comments
Halsey, Kathy
10/1/2022 08:14:22 am

I so so love this. Mystery, a special magical moment, and the invitation to the reader to believe and reach out! Plus fairy tales!!

Reply
Carrie Karnes-Fannin
10/1/2022 08:57:36 am

Thank you, Kathy!

Reply
Gayle Krause link
10/1/2022 12:50:36 pm

Wonderful. The feeling is so vibrant and the references to other females changed by their fairytale circumstance is brilliant. Love it!

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Carrie S Karnes-Fannin
10/1/2022 04:25:15 pm

Thank you, Gayle! I've been reading a lot of fairy tales recently.

Molly Ippolito
10/1/2022 08:59:15 am

I love the mystery and wonder you capture in your entry! What a fun concept to tun into a full story one day!

Reply
Carrie S Karnes-Fannin
10/1/2022 10:41:50 am

I can see it turning into a full-length book... :-)

Reply
Shelley Jones Clark link
10/1/2022 09:34:53 am

Beautifully written with vivid language. I like how it is an instruction for writers about character arc. The one who goes through the door is not the same one that returns.

Reply
Carrie S Karnes-Fannin
10/1/2022 10:38:03 am

Wow, that is quite the compliment---thank you!

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Kaitlyn L Sanchez
10/1/2022 11:49:59 am

Chills. What a stunning ending and beautiful words. Thanks for sharing for the fall writing frenzy!

Reply
Carrie S Karnes-Fannin
10/1/2022 12:09:02 pm

Thank YOU for bringing us this fun contest every year!

Reply
Anne Lipton
10/1/2022 03:25:33 pm

Mood! A beautifully evocative story about the power of stories, including the most important of all—the story one weaves of oneself.

Reply
Carrie S Karnes-Fannin
10/1/2022 03:52:11 pm

Story is what binds us together, isn't it? Thank you for your kind comments.

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Charlotte Dixon
10/1/2022 03:46:03 pm

Carrie, I love the magic of possibilities in your lyrical poem. I loved "dark thirty" as a child and still do. My Mom had to chase me down at "dark thirty." I wanted to see beyond the end of the day. :) I'm still reaching!

Reply
Carrie S Karnes-Fannin
10/1/2022 03:51:11 pm

Charlotte--your comment makes me so happy! I'm glad that some of what I wanted to express in this poem seems to be coming through, especially to someone like you who had a similar experience in childhood.

Reply
Jill Purtee link
10/1/2022 05:12:45 pm

Fantastic! Thank you.

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Cindy Johnson link
10/1/2022 05:38:14 pm

This gave me goosebumps! And then, I reached the end and got more goosebumps for different reasons! I love the evocative language and the message. Nicely done!

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Cynthia Helen Mackey link
10/1/2022 05:44:58 pm

Carrie, that is so vivid and beautiful with references to so many classic tales!

Reply
Carrie S Karnes-Fannin
10/1/2022 07:42:19 pm

Thank you!

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Christina Shawn link
10/1/2022 05:44:59 pm

CHILLS! I love this so much!

Reply
Carrie S Karnes-Fannin
10/1/2022 07:42:47 pm

I'm so glad you liked it, Christina.

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Donna L Martin link
10/1/2022 10:09:03 pm

Lovely. Well written.

Donna L Martin

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Carrie S Karnes-Fannin link
10/2/2022 06:50:10 pm

Thanks, Donna.

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Beth Stilborn link
10/2/2022 02:34:55 am

Oh WOW, Carrie! That was powerful, evocative, and empowering. Thank you for taking us to dark thirty, and through dark thirty.

Reply
Carrie S Karnes-Fannin link
10/2/2022 06:49:45 pm

I'm so glad you like it, Beth! And thank you for being such an amazing & supportive writer in our kidlit community.

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Wendy Greenley
10/2/2022 11:46:46 am

Beautiful language, Carrie! (and you're right about Wendy's thirst for adventure ;))

Reply
Carrie S Karnes-Fannin link
10/2/2022 06:48:38 pm

Yes! And I guess you would know. ;-)

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Katie McEnaney link
10/2/2022 03:25:08 pm

This is so evocative and inspiring! Makes me wanna go become a kick-butt fairytale heroine.

Reply
Carrie S Karnes-Fannin
10/2/2022 06:48:04 pm

I'll get my cape and meet you at the corner. (We've all got a heroine waiting to break out.) :-)

Thank you for reading and your kind words, Katie.

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Sarah Meade link
10/2/2022 07:23:51 pm

This is so excellent, Carrie! I love how it's spooky, magical, wistful, and wise. Nicely done!

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Susan Elizabeth Schipper link
10/2/2022 11:48:29 pm

Carrie this is so well written! :)

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Karyn Curtis
10/3/2022 11:16:23 am

Wow, I love this empowered re-telling of old stories! Well done!

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Amanda Sherlock link
10/3/2022 03:45:25 pm

It could only be me but I pictured a writer, at dawn (or dusk) jumbled thoughts in her head, trying to put words on paper =-) I love the cascading words in your phrases. It's visual a well as emotive. Beautifully done!

Reply
Carrie S Karnes-Fannin
10/3/2022 03:56:43 pm

Yes!! You get it. This comment is making me smile.

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Maryna Doughty
10/3/2022 09:48:25 pm

I love these lines:
"on the knife edge
separating day
and night,"

What a beautiful piece, Carrie! You're so talented!

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Carrie S Karnes-Fannin link
10/4/2022 01:23:33 pm

Thank you for reading and your kind words.

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Jeannie
10/4/2022 12:34:22 am

Outstanding!

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Carrie S Karnes-Fannin
10/7/2022 08:17:18 am

Thank you, Jeannie! I appreciate you stopping by and reading.

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Judith Zeilenga
10/4/2022 06:43:18 am

Amazing references to characters who have been trasnformed. Love this! ❤️

Reply
Carrie S Karnes-Fannin
10/7/2022 08:16:47 am

Thank you, Judith!

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Steve Jankousky
10/4/2022 12:40:32 pm

OMG! I love SO much of the imagery in this! The mildly sardonic tone of some of the lines, the way the rhythm propels the reader forward. It's extraordinary!

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Carrie S Karnes-Fannin link
10/4/2022 01:22:21 pm

Thank you so much!

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Melisa Wrex
10/4/2022 01:32:11 pm

I couldn't decide whether this was dusk or dawn either when I chose this photo as my inspiration. In the end, it wasn't pivotal in my story, but it's funny how certain things stand out.

You made some beautiful connections between childlike wonder and grown-up reality here. The word choices were fabulous. 10 out of 10 stars!

@mowrex (Twitter)

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Ann Finkelstein link
10/4/2022 07:41:23 pm

This is lovely.

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Ryann Jones
10/6/2022 08:42:08 pm

Mind blown! So good. :) Love how this turned out!

Reply
Carrie S Karnes-Fannin
10/7/2022 08:15:16 am

Thank you! I appreciated your critique help along the way.

Reply



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