2014 Prose Competition - The Results

Originally posted by Suzianne
Yeah, I thought maybe that might have hurt your chances a little. I gave you points for bravery, though.

While plot machinations like the jumbled time order of the scenarios in Pulp Fiction didn't bother me too much (probably because there were only like 4 or 5 sections), Memento really messed me up while watching it, I thought it hurt the story because ...[text shortened]... t watching the film became more work than the film was worth in the first place (in my opinion).

I think it totally worked for Memento because it made me identify with the confusion the main character was feeling. It was also important to the plot because the spoilers were at the beginning of the timeline, and thus saved for the end of the film.

In mine, it served no purpose except to score cheap points with people who might like unconventional timelines. It was supposed to be the guy thinking backwards to how he got in this mess. The device might have worked if I had ever gotten him into a mess.

Originally posted by Suzianne
Yeah, the 750 word limit does leave a lot of plot on the editing table, but sometimes that is a good thing. Part of the skill is getting your point and any twists across without droning on and on about it. The limit forces one to rely on the readers for having just a bit of intelligence to make the leap you want them to make.

That was my other problem. The first draft put me off so much that I did not want to read it again, let alone edit it.

Originally posted by Silverstriker
Thanks everyone for your entries and votes in this years competition. Here are the results

12th - The Blue Whale (3 points)
11th - St Mortz (4 points)
10th - Little Bird (5 points)
9th (getting 2 sets of votes including a 1st place) - The Invasion (7 points)
8th (getting 3 sets of votes but no 1st places) - The Mostest Bestest Gift (7 points)
...[text shortened]... hing? by Silverstriker

Thank you everyone im very suprised with the winner this year!!!![/b]

Silverstriker, the 2014 Prose Competition Entries reflect considerable skill and insight on the part of each of the authors. One of the most successful competitions in recent memory in my opinion. Since I was unable to participate at the time, here's a token thank you gift to all who submitted and voted for the entries: several quotations on writing I hope you'll enjoy:

"I love deadlines. I love the whooshing noise they make as they go by.” -Douglas Adams

“There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you.” -Maya Angelou

“You have to write the book that wants to be written. And if the book will be too difficult for grown-ups, then you write it for children.” -Madeleine L'Engle

“There is nothing to writing. All you do is sit down at a typewriter and bleed.” -Ernest Hemingway

“What really knocks me out is a book that, when you're all done reading it, you wish the author that wrote it was a terrific friend of yours and you could call him up on the phone whenever you felt like it. That doesn't happen much, though.”
-J.D. Salinger

Originally posted by Ponderable
In fact 7-9 is a sharted 7th.

And I did vote for your piece which I found enjoyable indeed.

I know you did, in fact you gave me a 1st place vote and I thank you for that.