- WINNERS: Round 2 -
Writing Down the Bones {CLOSED FOR JUDGING}Workshop 2:
Questions of Identity & Belongingness / Death & Rebirth
~ Winners ~
Congratulations to all the participants!! I really enjoyed reading and reviewing the stories you submitted for Round 2 of this contest. I hope you will all continue to hone your skills and become stronger and stronger in your writing! There were some amazingly talented and creative entries, and it was very difficult for me to decide on the winners but, after much deliberation, I have decided that the following were an inch above the rest:
Winner #1 - First Place:
“وجود” by Isadora_Quagmire
In addition to the beautiful, nearly flawless writing, this story's format (the play within a play) is as interesting as its content and characterization. The themes are sustained nicely, resisting the urge to fall into the trap of stereotypes or sentimentality; the characters are intriguing without baring everything to the audience pre-dissected (allowing us the opportunity to analyze for ourselves). This seems to be the author's indefinite power: to hover a spoonfull of meaning, character authenticity, and intellectual prowess above us without making us feel like it is a dish we have had many times before; she, with her words and clever ideas, can make us enjoy the taste of a meal we might not understand on our palate, simply by the intoxicating ingredients alone. My suggestion is to not only read this story, but to read everything that comes through with the author's stamp, because her power of storytelling is as mysterious as it is terribly compelling.
(read my review here)
Winner #2 - Second Place:
“once you taste bliss (you never forget)” by forevernever
This story stood out to me because of its sense of surrealism and tones of transcience illsutrated in themes of the natural and spiritutal worlds. The subject is brief and the story, even more, but there was something about its illusionary qualities that stuck with me well after finishing the final printed word. While the actual syntax and grammar need amending, there is a sort of honesty that lingers subversively through the text, as well as many striking images and symbols, I cannot understate how intriguing the themes of nature, time, and rebirth were in this short yet memorable short-story.
(read my review here)
Winner #3 - Third Place:
“Halycon” by ChiaKairi
Much like Glow.Electricity.Life, Halycon tackles extremely abstract themes by through short, seemingly stunted discourse and frenzied thought, which allows the reader to see a slice of life in a very personal and sympathetic way, all while retaining an air of poetic mystery. The characters are unknowable yet already known; they are endearing and ostracizing all at once, but the theme is timeless and this story does a good job at refraining from embellishing the conflict or overdramatizing things that are intrinsicly dramatic by nature. In short: a poignant and satisfying read.
(read my review here)
Congratulations!! I will be sending your karma prizes within the next 48 hours!
I look forward to seeing you all in future rounds!
(With the exception of the winners listed here, I will be cleaning up the first round entries to make way for the second. Please save your reviews if you wish to keep them.)
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