By CAMERON LUCADOU-WELLS
IT STARTS off on a note of violent whimsy.
“The last thing I expected to see was a vacuum cleaner down my grandfather’s throat” states the opening line of Elizabeth Le’s short story.
The Resurrection Primary School pupil’s absurdist story – of how her grandfather was saved from choking – was awarded third place in the Pilot Pen Creative Writing Scholarship 2013.
Thankfully, the tale is fictional.
It also has a moral, which is to chew before you swallow – something her grandfather apparently learned the hard way.
Elizabeth, 12, of Noble Park said she was hungry while she concocted the dramatic episode.
“I haven’t shown it to my grandfather yet,” she said.
“He might laugh… or he might not.”
She is a prolific writer of “weird stuff”, though her lost works may outnumber her kept ones.
“I draft a lot at home but not many make it to the final copy.
“I get bored after writing the drafts 10 times and scrunch them up or lose them.
“I’m quite clumsy.
“But the stories I have actually finished I’m quite happy with.”
For her efforts, Elizabeth won $250, a $50 Pilot pen pack and a signed Andy Griffiths book pack worth $100.
Her entry is on pilotpen.com.au.
