*MCL CONTEST -- WINNERS AND POST GAME TALK*

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jst5150

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First, I wanted to thank each of the 11 authors who entered the contest (one person provided two entries, which was allowed). I can't say this enough -- it takes tremendous courage to put your work on display. It is the same kind of courage a performer has getting on stage. For those that never entered, my wish is that you gained some new strength from this. For those who've entered contests before, my hope is this will help you continue discovering your talents.

Next, about the entries. I read each just hours ago and with the announcement done, I'm labeling each one and who owns it. When I dreamed up the idea for the contest, i had no idea that each of you would nail it. I mean, nail it, Bang. You gave me what I asked for and you gave it to me better than I could have possibly ever wanted it. Again, for that, you should be commended.

As for voting, well, the results surprised me, too. Forty-one (41) people decided to PM me with a say on who won and who didn't. That's 41. Based on my time on the AW Forum, I haven't seen a contest voted like that. So, the people surrounding you had an interest in your work.

Speaking of your work, again, I can't say enough about it. And some of the people did, too. Here are the comments:

--Really good entries!

--the entries as a group were quite well done. Certain common elements were foreseeable--that Brenda is hiding out for various reasons being the biggie, but also that a strong, capable cowboy would be approaching her with romantic caution--but everyone handled them differently and well.

--Wow....great stories!!

--These are fantastic entries! What a great contest idea.
Now, I read the entries tonight. It would be inappropriate for me to comment on each, since I ran the contest. However, some general and specific comments from me:

-- Each of you immersed yourself in the ranch setting in a different way, but all were penned well. Admittedly, I looked for a quirky "When the UFO's tractor beam pulled Brenda up, she wondered how quickly she'd reach her home planet" approach, but when I didn't find it, i wasn't disappointed. In fact, I can't tell you how excited I was by everyone's angle, a different facet on one diamond.

-- Your use of language gets an 'A' from me. While some passages were stilted and some stumbled, the majority of work really crystalized paragraph after paragraph. Some of you carved this out like mastercraftspeople. others gave it a pretty good whack. All of you made each entry worth reading.

-- I honestly expected no dialogue. Initially, I figured I'd be getting essay-like character sketches. A lot of prose. A lot of descriptors like leather skin from a sun's baking and nails gone from French-tipped to Montana cracked. You zigged when I expected a zag -- and that was great. And you folks served up hearty mouthfuls of great dialogue. All of this was a HUGE positive.​
All that said, the voters have spoken and here are the winners:

THIRD PLACE -- TIE

:D
nerdRus
WittyandorIronic

SECOND PLACE

:partyguy:
Teige Benson (Entry #12)

and, the overall winner ...

FIRST PLACE

:PartySmil c.e. lawson :PartySmil
So, congratulations to our winners and congratulations to each of our entrants. Prizes will be sent out Dec. 1. Entrants, if you have time, please make a post in this thread as a follow-up. I Would LOVE to hear:

-- How you got your idea.
-- Any other backstory on Brenda you'd like to share
-- Other comments on other entries. And more ...​

Finally, you're expecting some commments from some friends of mine in the writing business. Unfortunately, they were unable to get them to me in time for the announcement of winners. As soon as i have them, I'll add them here.

Again, thank you, keep entering AW contests and if i can help you in any way while you're here, please let me know.

Jason
 
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jst5150

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Bump! Congrats to all!
 

WittyandorIronic

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Congratulations C.E. Lawson, Teige Benson, and NerdsRUs. And Great job to everyone who entered. Voting was almost harder than writing, lol.
 

dolores haze

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Congratulations to all. It was a lot of fun reading all the entries, and very difficult to decide. My top pick was #3. I would NEVER have guessed that was C.E. Lawson - nary a Spartan in sight! You did a beautiful job with the challenge everbody.
 

nerds

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Congratulations C.E. Lawson, Teige Benson, and NerdsRUs. And Great job to everyone who entered. Voting was almost harder than writing, lol.


Ditto, and to you, Witty, who tied with me. Does that mean we are WittyIronicNerds now? lol.


:D
 

WittyandorIronic

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My favorite part about stories is that one line that sets the entire scene in motion for me and gets me absorbed. Since I started writing (or whenever I refocus on writing, more accurately) that sentence has more of a tendency to jump out at me. I thought I would share my favorites:
Entry #2 -- Snow Ghosts by orchDork
- She liked to think the simple device was all they needed to guide them in life. (Speaks well to her frame of mind)
Entry #3 by c.e. lawson
- “He tried.” She drew in a shaky breath. “I…told him I knew it. And I did. But when this happened, I…” (There were many lines I liked, but this simple statement took me deep into her frustration and helplessness)
Entry #4 by C.bronco
- Three years later, the novelty of physical labor at the 99ers ranch was wearing off, despite the eye candy she found on the job every season. (This gave me a very clear picture of the characters personality)
Entry #5 by nessam
- He seemed to saunter in and out of trouble on a daily basis. (This brought to mind many impish nephews)
Entry #6 by Maryn
- Freed once dinner was over, the girls would slam two doors in rapid succession, Mallory racing out the back door to the barn and Fancy, while Lauren holed up in her room, not to reappear until morning. (Another vivid image that told so much in so few words.)
Entry #7 by nerdsRus
- "That's a mighty modern sound in a time-stopped place..." ("time-stopped" is a perfect descriptor)
Entry #8 by Limey Dawg
- ...she gave so little of herself that a man could starve on the difference between what he knew of her and nothing. (Very evocative and poetic)
Entry #9 by Teige Benson
- After three seasons of employment at the 99ers Ranch, the woman still concerned herself with her damn nails. The fact that she kept them long and painted irritated him. (Speaks perfectly to his opinion of her)
Entry #10 by qdsb
- And now she had extravagantly fulfilled her role as the black sheep in Vivian’s family drama. (Perfect balance of cynicism towards herself and her MIL)
Entry #11 by reigningcatsanddogs
- “I’m sure as hell not gonna call him… you know… why the hell couldn’t you give him a real name? Brutus or Max or something?” (HA! Made me laugh, especially as I read historical romances and all the horses are named something greek and/or masculine)
Entry #12 by Teige Benson
- He watched her now as she shoved another large mouthful of mashed potatoes into her mouth. (What an image! lol)

Really great writing. And YAY for all the votes! I was certain that you would say something along the lines of "There were 12 contestants, and 13 votes." lol. I'm thrilled so many weighed in.
 

WittyandorIronic

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Ditto, and to you, Witty, who tied with me. Does that mean we are WittyIronicNerds now? lol.


:D


Yep! Or we can be WittyandorNerdy. IronicRUs?

We will also need an XXXXL T-Shirt to stretch from DC to where ever you reside. lol.
 

jst5150

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I'll be coming to you for addresses and shirt sizes soon. :)
 

Teige Benson

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Congrats to all! And special congrats to C.E. Lawson - a job well done.
 

nerds

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Yep! Or we can be WittyandorNerdy. IronicRUs?

We will also need an XXXXL T-Shirt to stretch from DC to where ever you reside. lol.


rofl. WitsRus, NerdyIronic, Ironic Nerds. THERE'S a band name, Ironic Nerds.

:D

hey, uh-oh, don't let the Username Etiquette thread get wind of this.

:D

I R Happy.
 

c.e.lawson

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OK, I'm a little in shock. And I'm not sure of the proper etiquette, since I've never won anything before. There were many wonderful entries and I really enjoyed reading all of them. This was such a fun idea and a great break from my Spartan warriors. Thank you to everyone who voted. It's not easy to take the time to read twelve entries and make that decision, especially when most of you are busy with your own WIPs, so I'm extremely grateful.

My daughter is having a sleep over right now, so it's a little crazy here, and I'm going to leave some comments about other pieces later tonight.

Before I go I do, however, want to thank jst5150 for all of his enthusiasm and hard work. I had talked on a thread about entering, then the week got busy and I almost decided not to try it. But JST's energy and enthusiasm got me going again and I changed my mind. He did a bang up job with this, and kudos to him.

jst asked for comments about our own thought process when writing our pieces. I guess my main focus was to try to give a vivid picture of the type of woman Brenda is, not really to concentrate too much on backstory. When I think of character building, I think of particular personality traits and behaviors first, and backstory comes later in my head - it's mostly important as to how it affects who that character is and why she behaves as she does. So yes, I threw in a few things about having the accident and losing so much that night (which insinuated her husband/the father of her kids), but the emphasis was not really on details about her previous life, more of who she is today and why. The main thing is that I wanted the reader to connect with her emotionally. And of course that scenario came out of my experiences with the kind of work that I do.

So, thanks again! I'll be back later with comments on other pieces.

c.e.
 

WittyandorIronic

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Before I go I do, however, want to thank jst5150 for all of his enthusiasm and hard work. I had talked on a thread about entering, then the week got busy and I almost decided not to try it. But JST's energy and enthusiasm got me going again and I changed my mind. He did a bang up job with this, and kudos to him.

Diddo!! I wavered as well, until I received a nice rep point asking for my entry re: a question I had asked about the contest. I know that organizing, formatting, and rustling up involvement is a lot of work, especially during the holidays, and I really appreciate it!
 

c.e.lawson

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A few comments on the other entries:

#9 by Teige Benson - I loved the ending here. It's extremely intriguing and makes me want to read further to see how the ranch will be her salvation. The panic attack was written very well and brought on by looking at the picture of her kids - I really felt tug on my heart when she reached for the frame.

#12 by Teige Benson - What really stood out for me in this one, besides the vivid description (excellent) was how Teige was not afraid to emphasize aspects of her MC that we don't usually see. Brenda had gained sixty pounds, "shoved" mashed potatoes into her mouth, had a piece of beef stuck in her teeth - all in full view of the man who is attracted to her. I love that!

#7 by nerdsRus - This was my favorite. I loved Tommy's voice. The way he spoke and the comments he made brought flavor to the piece. And I loved his intuitiveness. The entire piece had a nice flow - very smooth and relaxed. Nice work!

Uh oh, the sleep over girls need me. Will be back with more, I promise!

c.e.
 

c.e.lawson

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#1 – WittyandorIronic – This one could be taken right out of a romance novel. Nice UST. Great description of the male lead. I absolutely loved the phrase “arrogant with cause”. This scene was hawt, with his intense stare and the heat of his hand through her flannel, and ‘stroking a hand up her back’ towards the end. And then of course the sigh worthy “I’ll help protect you if you let me.” Nice.


#8 – LimeyDawg – I really loved the figurative language in this one. The entire piece was poetic, and the voice was very male. I’m envious of how LimeyDawg strings his words together – very beautiful phrases and images throughout. A few of my favorites:

Here, where the ground had generously given up its trove, she gave so little of herself that a man could starve on the difference between what he knew of her and nothing.

Pieces of herself were all she gave, crumbs to the curious, but never enough to satisfy the hunger of curiosity.

She was nitroglycerin in her unpredictability, and the whispers around the 99er was that she blew when the questions cut too close, when the scrape of a comment chased away the veneer of her exile and exposed the skin of her past.

Beautifully done, LimeyDawg.

I'm heading to bed now. More to come tomorrow.

c.e.



 

qdsb

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Congratulations to the winners!!!!

All the entries were impressive, and I appreciate all of Jason's work running the contest!
 

Teige Benson

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I enjoyed reading all of the entries - especially how everyone could take one little blurb and spin it into something of their very own. A few really stood out to me:

#3 - c.e. lawson - I really enjoyed the conversation here between Brenda and Sean. The view into Brenda's personality, and who she was/is, really stood out. The dialogue really works.

#7 - nerdsRus - Again, it is the dialogue that really worked for me. Through it, I could really get a sense of who Brenda is. Good job.

#1 - WittyandorIronic - I guess it's safe to say that I am a dialogue junkie. In this piece though, it's Brenda's inner dialogue (and litanies) that I especially enjoyed. This was another one that really got to the heart of who Brenda is.

#5 - nessam - I liked how the physical description of Brenda was worked in. Seeing Brenda as a mother really worked here. My favorite line: "He was the Karma of all her sins wrapped into one small eight year old body."

#8 - Limey Dawg - In this piece, we see Brenda through another's eyes and it totally works. The descriptive way it is told (poetic, really), sucks you in and leaves you wanting more.

I'd also like to give my thanks to jst5150 for holding such a great contest. Your hard work, and time put into it, is really appreciated.

I'd say something about how I approached this character, but since I'm the knoblet who entered twice, I'm not sure which one I'd be talking about. The reason behind writing two was mainly to try and attack the character "blurb" from two different angles.

Again, congrats to all the entrants - its not always easy putting your work out there.
 

c.e.lawson

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I'd say something about how I approached this character, but since I'm the knoblet who entered twice, I'm not sure which one I'd be talking about. The reason behind writing two was mainly to try and attack the character "blurb" from two different angles.

Do please tell us about the larger Brenda with beef stuck in her teeth and her hair chopped off. I'd really like to hear more about how you came at that character. I think many times we're afraid to give our characters 'uncomfortable' flaws. I mean, there's the "he's a perfectionist, so he's hard on himself and others" type of flaw, and then there's the chunk of beef in her teeth and extra rolls around the midriff in a scene where a man is sexually attracted to a character. I found that fascinating.

c.e.
 

nerds

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#6, written by Maryn: got my top vote for a number of reasons. The use of 9/11 as the pivot point for change in Brenda's life was very realistic and interesting to me, and my clear picture of her was formed via the well-sketched family, not an easy thing to bring off.

#4, by C. bronco: I thought this stood well on its own as a mini-story and would make a cool short mystery tale. It certainly started with a bang, pun intended.

#2, by orchDork: good suspense and really creepy ending, quite jarring out in the peaceful snowy back forty.

#5, by nessam: while I didn't come away with a physical picture of Brenda I did feel her single-mom stress and worries quite strongly.

#8, by LimeyDawg: "Here, where the ground had generously given up its trove, she gave so little of herself that a man could starve on the difference between what he knew of her and nothing." Marvelous line. " . . . crumbs to the curious . . ." Good stuff.

#10, by qdsb: this was another whose end-point I liked, Brenda's past possibly coming back to bite her. You can run but you can't hide.


I'll add my dittoes of appreciation here to Jason for running and promoting this contest, especially during holiday time when everyone is busy. Good voter turnout, too. Many thanks to all who took the time to write, read, and vote!

:)
 

WittyandorIronic

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Do please tell us about the larger Brenda with beef stuck in her teeth and her hair chopped off. I'd really like to hear more about how you came at that character. I think many times we're afraid to give our characters 'uncomfortable' flaws. I mean, there's the "he's a perfectionist, so he's hard on himself and others" type of flaw, and then there's the chunk of beef in her teeth and extra rolls around the midriff in a scene where a man is sexually attracted to a character. I found that fascinating.

c.e.

I second this, and I will admit that this is one I voted for. The fact that it could MAKE me feel uncomfortable was what prompted me to vote for it. lol. I didn't feel I went too far out of the box, but I loved how far you stretched the contest's boundaries, and how impactful (is that a word?) that was.
 
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