As promised, today I announce the winner of the Chain Story Blogger Contest and Award! I would like to thank all of you for participating and I really loved all the responses and seeing the story develop over the last week.
My 17-year old son, Kevin, read over all the entries several times and debated them, trying to decide which one he liked the best. In the end, he had to pick only one, and that winner is…
Julie Catherine
Congratulations, Julie! *throws confetti in the air*
I asked my teen which post of Julie’s was the deciding point and why. He said the following was the one that he really liked the most:
“Green scales glimmered in the sunlight, flashing down the length of his sleek back and long, flickering tail. Darren’s emerald eyes rimmed with gold shone as he raised them towards the heavens and roared, belching crimson fire and tendrils of curled gold flame.”
He loved the description of the dragon and the atmosphere she created in this scene. Kevin went on to say that he enjoyed all of Julie’s entries the best for her choice of words and how she was able to get across the meaning intended in as few words as possible. She evoked a sense of mystery in her writing and kept him wanting to turn the page. He also thought she made the characters pop off the screen.
There you have it, straight from the mouth of a seventeen-year old avid reader. I liked this exercise, even for me, because I got to hear an unbiased view from a teenager about what he looks for when he reads: few words, tight scenes, mystery, description and characterization.
Julie Catherine, as the winner you get the Chain Story Blogger Award
and a free critique from moi of the first 10 pages of your manuscript. Please send your ten pages, double-spaced to me at kford2007@gmail.com. Please allow 2 weeks from the date I receive the pages to send back my comments (I do not foresee it taking this long but, just in case…) J. Also, please stress in your e-mail exactly what sort of feedback are you looking for in addition to the line-by-line edit and critique.
YA Chit Chat 