As I sit on a couch swing in the backyard, I listen to the birds singing. They always sound a little more cheerful during this time of year. Looking around me, I see nothing but flecks of color amidst a forest of green. The gentle breeze blows, and I know I have found the perfect place to do what I like to do best—read.

The stories written by the 21 finalists have been amazing. There were a couple with which I could relate; there were some that amazed me of the strength and fortitude of my fellow man; there were some that after reading I had to stop, take a breath and offer up a prayer for those who have faced such difficulties and sorrows. Precious stories, every last one, told by those who lived them, experienced them, and found the courage to write them to inspire us all. It always takes courage to share personal experiences, to show those we’ve never even met a part of our hearts, experiences, lives.

I truly hope that each of you have enjoyed the stories as much as I have. Thank you for taking time to read, to comment, to absorb, and maybe even to open your heart and let your life begin to change through the experiences of others. “No man is an island” and through these stories, perhaps new bridges have been built, new friendships made, and new encouragement given to those who have struggled with the telling of their tales.

We would like to give honorable mention to a few stories. By the comments from others, we know these stories were great! Continue Reading

Scinti…

I always loved to hear the stories.

The finalists were posted…

I was so sure that day was going to be one of my best; I would remember it forever.

Reading through each story…

The trip felt like years. I was dumbstruck. Sometimes life shows you the spectrum of a possibility; experiences will be kept. Persons who have families and loved ones. Persons who have dreams and hopes and fears.

I asked myself…

What kind of person do you want to be? Why should it even be important?

I answered to myself…

There is only time that flies by and precious moments that turn into warm memories. It was silent, but so loud. We all have problems, it is a condition of being human.

I speak to myself…

You rain your tears in silence. You stop reading, wipe your eyes, refusing to acknowledge tears. How should such a soul be judged?

It allowed me to realize that everything I experienced to that point made me prepared for that moment…

It is all of us together.

Never stay quiet.

Nobody will ever forget.

Love is all we can take with us to the grave.

Without further ado, we present to you our September 2010 Scinti writing contest winners! (All quotes in italics were taken from the 21 finalists.) Continue Reading

Life has met story once more, and we are happy to have played a part! These stories truly have given inspiration, wonder, enlightenment and joy, and we know you will think so too!

Thank you, from the bottom of our hearts, for your contributions and posts; it has been a wonderful experience reading each one of them. We have now narrowed it down to 21 finalists from 200+ submissions for the September 2010 writing contest and we are happy to present them to you now!

We would be happy to hear from you, by your comments and reactions to the stories, and you can place your vote by “liking” the story on Facebook. The winner will be determined by the number of “likes” on Facebook. If there is a tie, then we will look at comments and are happy to hear which stories have touched your heart, brought a smile to your face, or even tears to your eyes. For more details on the voting process, please go here.

The voting for this present contest will be from Monday, November 1st to Sunday, November 14th at 10PM eastern time so please enjoy the stories and let us know what you think!

Presenting the 21 finalists! Continue Reading

Hooray! We have made it through one more Scinti writing contest, for July 2010. And what an amazing event it has been! Thank you for taking this journey with us. We have experienced, along with the authors, lives changing, lives beginning, lives moving on, lives finding their place in the world, lives searching, and lives finding that for which they have been searching.

If we were able, we would applaud and highlight each story. Here we wish to express our gratitude to you who wrote in and submitted your stories. Whether or not your submission made its way to the list of “finalists” or further, each story was extraordinary in its own right, because every life is unique and each person has something special to share.

We are pleased to now announce the winners: chosen by you!

Thank you, each of you, for reading the stories, laughing and crying with us, liking some, commenting on others, and letting Scinti be a part of your lives through this writing contest.

An honorable mention is due a few stories and we cannot let them pass without saying a few words on their behalf… Continue Reading

Hello again!

We are happy to announce the 21 finalists, this time out of over 200 submissions! Congratulations!—to each story that has been chosen as one of the finalists. It was not easy to choose and we want to thank each one of you who submitted a story. We wish that we could publish them all, as each one is special; we know they were written from the heart.

We hope that you will enjoy reading these stories as much as we have. Please feel free to comment, “like”, and let everyone know what you think about the stories that you read. It is up to you who the winners will be…

Winners will be chosen based on Facebook “likes” on our fan page. Simply go to our Facebook fan page, “like” Scinti, scroll down to view the stories of our finalists, and start “liking” stories. For more details on the voting process, please go here.

Unless the winners go to tie, comments do not count as votes, but please do comment on the stories, as it is important. We are sure the authors of the stories would like to know how you felt about them, and everyone else enjoys reading them as well!

You can vote at any time from Monday, August 9^th until Sunday, August 22^nd (10PM eastern time).

The twenty-one finalists are: Continue Reading

And now, the moment for which we have all been waiting, and anticipating!—The outcome of Scinti’s June 2010 writing contest. It has been a wonderful experience to read through each story: laugh with some, cry with others, and experience life through the eyes of each one who wrote.

The 21 finalists, and in fact, every person who shared with us their stories, are winners, and we just wanted to say thank you. Thank you for taking the time, and sometimes the courage to submit your story.

A big thank you also to everyone who read the stories, “liked” them, and remarked on them—some of you shared your thoughtful comments across several stories—it does make a difference. Thank you Suneetha Bala, Deanna Klingel, Holly McDorman, Gaye Johnson, Bonita Jewel and all others who shared your thoughts with us.

We would like to highlight the following stories, giving them honorable mention for standing out in some special way: Continue Reading

Congratulations to our contest finalists! We received over a hundred submissions from many talented writers making our decision difficult but rewarding. In the end, we narrowed down the pool to twenty-one finalists!

We will select first, second, and third place winners based on the number of tweets on the website and Facebook likes the stories receive on our fan page. There is no limit to the number of stories you can support, in fact, we hope you love them all! Simply go to our Facebook fan page, “like” Scinti, scroll down to view the stories of our finalists, and start “liking” stories.

Please note comments will not count unless there is a tie in likes/tweets.  However, we do encourage you to comment on the stories as writers would certainly appreciate your feedback.

For more details on the voting process, please go here.

This portion of the contest will run from Thursday, July 8th to 10pm EST on Sunday, July 18th.

The finalists are: Continue Reading