The Stories Are Off to the Judges!

Posted bySusan K. MarlowPosted inContests and Giveaways

Whoosh! Why everybody waits until the last few hours of the last day of a contest is a mystery to me! I’ve spent my day (a good portion of it, anyway) reading, reading, and reading. I tell you, I’ve had a tearful moment (good) and broke into chuckles (good) and have enjoyed reading your stories. Here’s the lowdown. Ages 9-13: 30 entries. That. Is. A. Lot. Ages 14-18: 28 entries. That. Is. Also. A. Lot.

It appears that I chose wisely when I did the age divisions this time. It’s pretty even as far as number of entries goes. I feel really sorry for the judges (I even got a second one with fresh eyes to help out). I have no idea how they are ever going to pick any finalists!

I gave the judges instructions. Since this is an “open genre” contest, they must judge the stories based on creativeness, smooth plot, characters, etc., even if one of the stories is a genre they don’t usually read. For instance, I love science fiction, so if I were judging in somebody’s contest, I would have to keep myself from immediately latching on to that kind of story (unless of course it was a stellar story in writing, flow, etc.) and making sure I treat every story with the same neutral consideration. It’s not perfect, of course, but we do what we can to be as fair as we can.

I haven’t decided yet if it will be Reader’s Choice or Judge’s Choice. Stay tuned. Thank you for your voting.

Note: With the exception of Circle C related entries (which can always be requested to be posted on Fan Fiction Fridays over the next couple of months), I will not be posting any extra entries–except for the voting (if I go that route), or the winners and runners up. It would be a monumental task and take me forever to fix all those entries well enough to be readable on the blog. I fix the formatting enough so the stories are a smooth read for the judges, but I have to do a lot more if they go up on the blog.

I hope to post either the voting (or winners) on Saturday, March 30. Of course, if the judges return their choices before then, I will post sooner.

Published by Susan K. Marlow

I'm the author of the Circle C and Goldtown Adventures series. I blog as "Andi Carter," the main character in the Circle C series. She lives on a huge cattle ranch in 1880s California. These are her adventures.

21 thoughts on “The Stories Are Off to the Judges!”

  1. Great! Could you post my story on the blog? I hope this is the right place to ask😏. It’s a fan-fiction story.

    Abigail Hadley!

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      1. Yay!! I can’t wait!!!!

        Thank you so much for hosting this writing contest!! My family has had so much fun participating.

        All the younger kids are eagerly awaiting the time when they will be old enough to enter your contests too😊. 

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  8. Excited to see the winners!! I didn’t enter this time (been WAY too busy) but I’m looking forward to reading the winning stories!!

    ~ Abby B

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