RFH Student in Seventeen Magazine's Fiction Story Contest

Maris Krauss, a junior at , is in the running to win Seventeen Magazine’s 2012 Fiction Contest.

Seventeen Magazine's 2012 Fiction Contest challenged magazine readers to write a story in 500 words or less. The entries had to be submitted to Figment.com, an online writing community.

"I love to write because I love conveying a feeling through words. When I'm able to fit a story into a sentence, stanza, or verse, I feel a sense of accomplishment. It's a really great way to express emotion," said Maris.

The name of Maris's entry is "The Treehouse". "The story is about a girl who has just learned that her best friend's family is moving. Sitting in a treehouse, she wonders how she can survive without them. Her best friend's brother (to whom she's always been attracted) joins her, and the two of them share one beautiful moment together before their lives change forever," she explained.

Converying this story in 500 words was a challenge. “She spent hours trying to fit a story into the 500 word limit, and the product is definitely worth reading,” said Gary Krauss, the author’s father. “To move up in this contest, she needs to have her story ‘liked’ on the website.”

The 50 most "liked" entries will be considered for final judging, as well as 10 random wildcards chosen by the Seventeen judges.

They are asking for some community support. In order to vote for Maris’ story, you have to go to www.figment.com, create an account on this website (it’s free and will only take a minute or two) and press the “heart” button on her story.

The deadline to vote is January 30.

The winner will get her story published on Seventeen.com, a phone conversation with Maggie Stiefvater, author of the Wolves of Mercy Falls trilogy, and a $5,000 cash prize.

Click here to vote for Maris.

If you like her story, you may also like her music. In addition to short stories, Maris also is a singer-songwriter. Click here to see videos of Maris performing some of her very own songs.