Pennwick
A Site For Writers
Welcome to Pennwick, v 2.0, Storybook. This is an interactive writing site run by Elizabeth for all Neopians to enjoy. We all know how it feels to suffer from writer's block, not have anyone appreciate our work, and experience rejection. Yet we still write. Why? Because we love it! This is a great place to submit work, enter competitions, and enjoy reading some great literature. You can win prestigious awards, enjoy recognition, and have others read your writing. The Neopian Times can be too difficult to be accepted into and too limiting in the subject matter they will allow. Well look out, NT! You're not the only paper in town anymore! Make way for the elegant, literate, grown-up writing site called Pennwick!
Past Competitions
Did I miss anyone?
Showcase
This is where all the pieces that are accepted at Pennwick go, except the runners-up of competitions. Competition winners as well as the best general submission pieces go under Featured Work, and other accepted general submissions go into Poetry or Prose. Accepted comics go under the Comics part of the page.
Featured Work
Competition winners automatically go here, as well as general submission pieces that I think are exemplary.
Casting eerie shadows
Along the bedroom walls
Creating silver wisps of light
The shadows of hope
As my beating heart calls
Above the clouds
So far away
A beacon of light for all to see
Beholding its magnificent perfection
If only forever like this it can stay
Glowing with incredible radiance
To its beauty none can compare
When the light shines from below as well
From its distorted reflection in the still waters
The light spreads out without a care
A giant circle among the stars
Stark against the blackened skies
The moon illuminates souls below
Livening spirits and soothing hearts
Satisfying crying eyes.
All Entries
Poetry
Misdeeds of a certain swamp witch go untold,
And none walk but those in the shadows.
We are the Haunted Woods, and this you would expect,
Of the darkness surviving the light.
Those fancy towns comprised of maidens fair,
Those hamlets filled with life.
But what have you yet to see?
We're the darkness surviving the light.
Darkness furls, reaches, stretches,
In this place of black reverence.
The cruel laughter, dark magic-all so commonplace,
It's the darkness surviving the light.
Skeletal bone's a crack,
We're the very essence of fear.
In this world we hang by a petty, old thread,
As the darkness surviving the light.
Uncertainty by Lola.
A feeling like falling through skies
tugging at your insides
catching your breath
squeezing your heart
A sensation like total submersion
into icy water
sending shivers up your spine
forcing your heart to stop
A desire to to fit in
more powerful than any other
searching for a way to belong
yet attempting to resist
This feeling of bewilderment
of utter isolation
of lonely abandonment
eats away to your core
Uncertainty.
Prose
Earthbound by Ginna.
This is a clean, simple, and light story. It is cute and very appropriate for young age groups, since it was written originally for the NT. It is still an entertaining read, though!
Vulzo heaved a sigh and gazed outdoors. Outside was a group of Neopets playing a rowdy game of tag. Their laughter reverberated off the Neohomes that lined the street, a joyful sound.
«What's wrong, Zo?» Ginna asked, drying her hands on a towel and putting a comforting hand on the little Faerie Eyrie's shoulder. «You bored? Want to do dishes with me? I'll wash, you dry.»
«No thanks,» Vulzo said quietly.
«Oh, does tag look like more fun?» Ginna teased. «You could go play with them, you know.»
«But it's flying tag! They all have wings!» Vulzo protested.
«You're a Faerie,» Ginna laughed. «You have wings, too.»
«Yeah, but I can't fly,» Vulzo said sadly. «They'd never want to play with me.»
«Can't fly yet,» Ginna corrected. «You'll grow into your wings, don't worry! And I'll bet if you asked them, they would let you play.»
«Do you think so?» Vulzo asked, eyes wide with hope. «Do you really think they would?»
«I do,» Ginna said, smiling. «Go on, go ask!»
Inspired, Vulzo hopped off the couch and skipped out the front door. The game slowed and stopped as she approached, and an Island Lenny glided over to her and asked, «Want to play?»
«Yeah!» Vulzo beamed. «I'd love to!»
«Come on,» the Lenny grinned, tapping her on the shoulder. «You're it!» The Lenny then turned and ran away from the little Faerie Eyrie. Vulzo laughed.
«I'm gonna get you!» she cried, running into the group of Neopets to play. Pet after pet darted away in front of her, until finally a Speckled Scorchio was right within her grasp.
Vulzo opened her mouth to yell, «Tag, you're it!» and reached for the Scorchio, but right at the last minute it launched itself into the air. Vulzo crouched down and, sticking out her tongue in concentration, leapt into the air, beating her wings furiously. For a moment it seemed like it was working. Then she heard the sound of laughter and opened her squinted eyes to find that she was still on the ground, wings flapping uselessly on her back. The other Neopets were all laughing at her.
«What a loser,» a Purple Uni laughed derisively. «She can't even fly!»
Vulzo felt tears flood her eyes. Blinking against them, she turned and fled back to her house, the sound of their laughter following her.
Two days later, Vulzo was still sad.
«Zo, you haven't touched your Tea Waffles! Those are your favorite!» Ginna said, frowning.
«I'm not hungry,» Vulzo said quietly, poking the waffles with her fork.
«Okay, that's enough,» Ginna said finally, putting down her spoon decisively. «You're getting out of this house and doing something. I haven't seen you smile in days. I was pretty sure you were a Faerie Eyrie, not a Grey Eyrie…am I wrong?»
Vulzo smiled weakly. «No, I'm pretty sure you're right,» she sighed.
«Well, I have an errand for you. We got a Faerie Quest the other day while I was out shopping. I picked up this Starlight Potion for the Earth Faerie, would you please take it to her?»
Soon, Vulzo was headed out the door with a Starlight Potion in a basket over her arm. The sun was shining and it was a beautiful day, but even the sound of Weewoos chirping overhead didn't brighten her mood. «Don't chirp at me like that,» she scolded the little white birds. «At least you get to fly. Don't rub it in.»
Finally she arrived at the Earth Faerie's house. Vulzo waded through a thick but well-kept garden of wildflowers and knocked on the front door.
«Come in!» came a cheerful voice from within. Vulzo pushed open the door and saw the Earth Faerie sitting on a little couch woven of living vines. She was finishing putting a splint on the leg of a little Mimbi. «There you go, little one,» the Earth Faerie said with a warm smile. «Be more careful next time!» The petpet squirmed out of her arms and ran past Vulzo, out the open front door to have more adventures.
«Are you the Earth Faerie?» Vulzo asked nervously, although she was pretty sure the answer was yes.
«I am,» the faerie said kindly, and patted the couch beside her. «Come, sit with me. Do you have a quest item for me?» She pointed at the basket Vulzo held.
«Yes, I have a Starlight Potion!» she said, rushing over to set the basket on the Earth Faerie's lap. The beautiful Faerie pulled back the cloth that had protected the fragile glass bottle from breaking on the journey and took the Starlight Potion.
«This is just what I need,» she said cheerfully, tucking it away onto a shelf. «I'll deal with that later. So, what's your name?»
«Vulzo,» she said shyly, taking the proffered seat on the couch. «Pleased to meet you!»
«I feel quite the same way, I assure you,» the Earth Faerie replied, shaking Vulzo's paw gravely. «You seem troubled, little one. Why are you so sad?»
«It's kind of silly,» Vulzo admitted.
«Being sad is never silly,» the Earth Faerie assured her. «And sharing when you're sad can sometimes help.»
«I can't fly,» Vulzo burst out, feeling tears start to gather in the corners of her eyes. «I can't fly, even though I have wings, and everyone makes fun of me! My owner says I'll grow into them, but I think she's only trying to make me feel better. What if I never fly?»
For a moment the Earth Faerie looked at her, eyes narrowed speculatively.
«Why do you have to fly?» she finally asked.
Vulzo opened her beak to answer and then closed it, thinking. «Well…I'm a Faerie,» she said haltingly. «I'm…supposed to.»
«I'm a Faerie too, you know,» the Earth Faerie said after a moment.
«But you can fly!» Vulzo said desperately. «I'm a Faerie who can't fly! What's wrong with me?»
«You know, I was a late flyer, too,» the Earth Faerie told Vulzo. «All the other Faeries could fly, but I loved the earth so much that I was happy on the ground. So I didn't learn to fly until very late.»
«How did you learn?» Vulzo asked, eyes wide.
«One day,» the Faerie said slowly, «it was just time. And I flew.»
Vulzo sighed. «When is that day going to come for me?»
«When you're ready to fly,» the Earth Faerie told her. «When you're ready, you will fly. And…I'll bet you'll be the best flier around,» she added with a smile. Then she piled the cloth back into the basket and handed it to Vulzo. «Better take that back to your owner,» she said, standing up. «Very nice to meet you, Vulzo.»
«Nice to meet you, too,» Vulzo said, taking the basket and leaving the Faerie's house, still not feeling much better.
While she walked back towards home, Vulzo gazed at the sky, wondering what it would be like to be able to see the tops of the trees, and the roofs of the Neohomes. She was so distracted, she almost didn't notice when the cloth from the basket was caught by the wind and carried up towards the trees. «No!» Vulzo cried, lunging for the cloth as it was swept away. «Oh, no!» she wailed, watching the cloth get snagged in the branches of a tall tree.
The wind continued to blow strong, and leaves were whipped past Vulzo's head in a frenzy. It felt like a storm was coming. Then, as Vulzo started to walk again, sad that she had lost her owner's cloth, a tiny white Ukali flew past her head, squealing in fear, caught by the wind. Vulzo saw the look of terror in the thing's eyes as it beat its wings ineffectively against the strong wind.
Suddenly, all that mattered was that the little Ukali wasn't hurt. Vulzo reached up for the petpet, straining with her paws to reach it. Somehow, she managed to catch the Ukali in her paws. She brought it back to her chest and wrapped her arms around it protectively. «Don't worry,» she murmured to it, «Everything is going to be okay.» She felt it shaking in her arms, and was so worried about it that she when she glanced down and saw that she was far off the ground, she almost fell out of the sky in amazement.
Vulzo looked back at her wings and was awed to see them flapping on their own accord, holding her up in the air. She crowed with joy, forgetting her sadness and fear. «I'm flying!» she cried, lifting up the little Ukali and looking it in the eyes. «I'm flying, see?» she told it, delighted. «I'm flying!»
The winds died down almost as quickly as they had started, and the little Ukali wriggled out of Vulzo's grasp and flew off, chirruping cheerfully.
When she finally got home, the same group of Neopets was out in the street playing flying tag again. She landed just around the corner and walked towards them, proudly carrying the empty basket with the cloth nestled in it again.
«Hey, look!» the purple Uni from before said loudly, pointing to Vulzo. «It's the Faerie that can't fly!» The Uni flew past her and poked her shoulder on the way by, yelling «Tag, you're it!»
Vulzo took a few steps towards the group, setting down her basket and taking a deep breath. Then she crouched down, smiling confidently, and launched herself into the air. Faster than an arrow, she was soaring through the sky. Within seconds she had caught up to the purple Uni and poked her, laughing.
«Tag! You're it!» she crowed, doing loops in the air and reveling in her triumph. The purple Uni stared at her as though she'd just changed colors in front of their eyes.
«Will you stay and play with us?» a Buzz asked Vulzo. «You're a great flier!»
«No thanks,» Vulzo said, smiling and gliding back down to the street. «I'm gonna go help my owner do the dishes.» Then, picking up the basket, she ran into the house to tell Ginna her miraculous story.
The End
This is a clean, simple, and light story. It is cute and very appropriate for young age groups, since it was written originally for the NT. It is still an entertaining read, though!
Vulzo heaved a sigh and gazed outdoors. Outside was a group of Neopets playing a rowdy game of tag. Their laughter reverberated off the Neohomes that lined the street, a joyful sound.
«What's wrong, Zo?» Ginna asked, drying her hands on a towel and putting a comforting hand on the little Faerie Eyrie's shoulder. «You bored? Want to do dishes with me? I'll wash, you dry.»
«No thanks,» Vulzo said quietly.
«Oh, does tag look like more fun?» Ginna teased. «You could go play with them, you know.»
«But it's flying tag! They all have wings!» Vulzo protested.
«You're a Faerie,» Ginna laughed. «You have wings, too.»
«Yeah, but I can't fly,» Vulzo said sadly. «They'd never want to play with me.»
«Can't fly yet,» Ginna corrected. «You'll grow into your wings, don't worry! And I'll bet if you asked them, they would let you play.»
«Do you think so?» Vulzo asked, eyes wide with hope. «Do you really think they would?»
«I do,» Ginna said, smiling. «Go on, go ask!»
Inspired, Vulzo hopped off the couch and skipped out the front door. The game slowed and stopped as she approached, and an Island Lenny glided over to her and asked, «Want to play?»
«Yeah!» Vulzo beamed. «I'd love to!»
«Come on,» the Lenny grinned, tapping her on the shoulder. «You're it!» The Lenny then turned and ran away from the little Faerie Eyrie. Vulzo laughed.
«I'm gonna get you!» she cried, running into the group of Neopets to play. Pet after pet darted away in front of her, until finally a Speckled Scorchio was right within her grasp.
Vulzo opened her mouth to yell, «Tag, you're it!» and reached for the Scorchio, but right at the last minute it launched itself into the air. Vulzo crouched down and, sticking out her tongue in concentration, leapt into the air, beating her wings furiously. For a moment it seemed like it was working. Then she heard the sound of laughter and opened her squinted eyes to find that she was still on the ground, wings flapping uselessly on her back. The other Neopets were all laughing at her.
«What a loser,» a Purple Uni laughed derisively. «She can't even fly!»
Vulzo felt tears flood her eyes. Blinking against them, she turned and fled back to her house, the sound of their laughter following her.
Two days later, Vulzo was still sad.
«Zo, you haven't touched your Tea Waffles! Those are your favorite!» Ginna said, frowning.
«I'm not hungry,» Vulzo said quietly, poking the waffles with her fork.
«Okay, that's enough,» Ginna said finally, putting down her spoon decisively. «You're getting out of this house and doing something. I haven't seen you smile in days. I was pretty sure you were a Faerie Eyrie, not a Grey Eyrie…am I wrong?»
Vulzo smiled weakly. «No, I'm pretty sure you're right,» she sighed.
«Well, I have an errand for you. We got a Faerie Quest the other day while I was out shopping. I picked up this Starlight Potion for the Earth Faerie, would you please take it to her?»
Soon, Vulzo was headed out the door with a Starlight Potion in a basket over her arm. The sun was shining and it was a beautiful day, but even the sound of Weewoos chirping overhead didn't brighten her mood. «Don't chirp at me like that,» she scolded the little white birds. «At least you get to fly. Don't rub it in.»
Finally she arrived at the Earth Faerie's house. Vulzo waded through a thick but well-kept garden of wildflowers and knocked on the front door.
«Come in!» came a cheerful voice from within. Vulzo pushed open the door and saw the Earth Faerie sitting on a little couch woven of living vines. She was finishing putting a splint on the leg of a little Mimbi. «There you go, little one,» the Earth Faerie said with a warm smile. «Be more careful next time!» The petpet squirmed out of her arms and ran past Vulzo, out the open front door to have more adventures.
«Are you the Earth Faerie?» Vulzo asked nervously, although she was pretty sure the answer was yes.
«I am,» the faerie said kindly, and patted the couch beside her. «Come, sit with me. Do you have a quest item for me?» She pointed at the basket Vulzo held.
«Yes, I have a Starlight Potion!» she said, rushing over to set the basket on the Earth Faerie's lap. The beautiful Faerie pulled back the cloth that had protected the fragile glass bottle from breaking on the journey and took the Starlight Potion.
«This is just what I need,» she said cheerfully, tucking it away onto a shelf. «I'll deal with that later. So, what's your name?»
«Vulzo,» she said shyly, taking the proffered seat on the couch. «Pleased to meet you!»
«I feel quite the same way, I assure you,» the Earth Faerie replied, shaking Vulzo's paw gravely. «You seem troubled, little one. Why are you so sad?»
«It's kind of silly,» Vulzo admitted.
«Being sad is never silly,» the Earth Faerie assured her. «And sharing when you're sad can sometimes help.»
«I can't fly,» Vulzo burst out, feeling tears start to gather in the corners of her eyes. «I can't fly, even though I have wings, and everyone makes fun of me! My owner says I'll grow into them, but I think she's only trying to make me feel better. What if I never fly?»
For a moment the Earth Faerie looked at her, eyes narrowed speculatively.
«Why do you have to fly?» she finally asked.
Vulzo opened her beak to answer and then closed it, thinking. «Well…I'm a Faerie,» she said haltingly. «I'm…supposed to.»
«I'm a Faerie too, you know,» the Earth Faerie said after a moment.
«But you can fly!» Vulzo said desperately. «I'm a Faerie who can't fly! What's wrong with me?»
«You know, I was a late flyer, too,» the Earth Faerie told Vulzo. «All the other Faeries could fly, but I loved the earth so much that I was happy on the ground. So I didn't learn to fly until very late.»
«How did you learn?» Vulzo asked, eyes wide.
«One day,» the Faerie said slowly, «it was just time. And I flew.»
Vulzo sighed. «When is that day going to come for me?»
«When you're ready to fly,» the Earth Faerie told her. «When you're ready, you will fly. And…I'll bet you'll be the best flier around,» she added with a smile. Then she piled the cloth back into the basket and handed it to Vulzo. «Better take that back to your owner,» she said, standing up. «Very nice to meet you, Vulzo.»
«Nice to meet you, too,» Vulzo said, taking the basket and leaving the Faerie's house, still not feeling much better.
While she walked back towards home, Vulzo gazed at the sky, wondering what it would be like to be able to see the tops of the trees, and the roofs of the Neohomes. She was so distracted, she almost didn't notice when the cloth from the basket was caught by the wind and carried up towards the trees. «No!» Vulzo cried, lunging for the cloth as it was swept away. «Oh, no!» she wailed, watching the cloth get snagged in the branches of a tall tree.
The wind continued to blow strong, and leaves were whipped past Vulzo's head in a frenzy. It felt like a storm was coming. Then, as Vulzo started to walk again, sad that she had lost her owner's cloth, a tiny white Ukali flew past her head, squealing in fear, caught by the wind. Vulzo saw the look of terror in the thing's eyes as it beat its wings ineffectively against the strong wind.
Suddenly, all that mattered was that the little Ukali wasn't hurt. Vulzo reached up for the petpet, straining with her paws to reach it. Somehow, she managed to catch the Ukali in her paws. She brought it back to her chest and wrapped her arms around it protectively. «Don't worry,» she murmured to it, «Everything is going to be okay.» She felt it shaking in her arms, and was so worried about it that she when she glanced down and saw that she was far off the ground, she almost fell out of the sky in amazement.
Vulzo looked back at her wings and was awed to see them flapping on their own accord, holding her up in the air. She crowed with joy, forgetting her sadness and fear. «I'm flying!» she cried, lifting up the little Ukali and looking it in the eyes. «I'm flying, see?» she told it, delighted. «I'm flying!»
The winds died down almost as quickly as they had started, and the little Ukali wriggled out of Vulzo's grasp and flew off, chirruping cheerfully.
When she finally got home, the same group of Neopets was out in the street playing flying tag again. She landed just around the corner and walked towards them, proudly carrying the empty basket with the cloth nestled in it again.
«Hey, look!» the purple Uni from before said loudly, pointing to Vulzo. «It's the Faerie that can't fly!» The Uni flew past her and poked her shoulder on the way by, yelling «Tag, you're it!»
Vulzo took a few steps towards the group, setting down her basket and taking a deep breath. Then she crouched down, smiling confidently, and launched herself into the air. Faster than an arrow, she was soaring through the sky. Within seconds she had caught up to the purple Uni and poked her, laughing.
«Tag! You're it!» she crowed, doing loops in the air and reveling in her triumph. The purple Uni stared at her as though she'd just changed colors in front of their eyes.
«Will you stay and play with us?» a Buzz asked Vulzo. «You're a great flier!»
«No thanks,» Vulzo said, smiling and gliding back down to the street. «I'm gonna go help my owner do the dishes.» Then, picking up the basket, she ran into the house to tell Ginna her miraculous story.
The End
Current Competition
In honour of National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) which takes place in November, this month's competition will be about writing a novel. Don't worry, I'm not going to ask you to write a novel, or even a set amount of words. All you have to do is come up with an idea for a novel, and submit it here. You do not need to be planning to write it, or you can have already written it. It can be Neo related or not, and absolutely anything goes, as long as it is Neo-appropriate. Let's get those ideas percolating!All entries will be displayed here until they have been voted on and a new competition begins.
Entries are due before the 1st of December.
Competition Entries
Possible Novel Title Here by Author.
«It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us…»
- Charles Dickens, A Tale of Two Cities
Novel pitch here.
«It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us…»
- Charles Dickens, A Tale of Two Cities
Novel pitch here.
No stolen content! Everything you write must be 100% your own work! (You are welcome to collaborate with other writers, but they must be willing and each contributor must be credited!) 
Format your piece according to my formatting guidelines, before presenting it to me even for previewing. 
