Cathedral Catholic High School English teacher Miss Sara DeSantis recently placed third in the Edgar Allan Poe Scary Story Contest, an annual event held by San Diego Writer’s Ink with her story “A Rose for Me.”

The contest required the participants to incorporate elements of Poe’s writing style into their story. They also were required to include many elements, such as someone locking a door from the inside, the breaking of a bottle, and the line “let me caution you that this is an affair demanding the greatest secrecy.” In addition to these requirements, writers were limited to 750 words.

“I recently started writing again, but I often get sidetracked by teaching and other things,” Miss DeSantis said. “I thought joining the contest would give me a deadline to work towards. Having a prompt was also helpful to focus my writing.”

Contests such as the Edgar Allen Poe Scary Story contest encourage writers to share their work more confidently and improve their techniques by challenging themselves to write in different styles, Miss DeSantis said.

Students have opportunities to improve their writing through El Sol, the CCHS art and literary magazine, as well as contests held by other local writing communities like San Diego’s Writer’s Ink and Poets & Writers magazine.