THEME: FAMILY

Wow - what a month! We have had more participants than ever before, and the quality of the stories have been incredibly high. Similar to last month, most stories were only a point away from the next, and to my relief, most judges gave almost identical scores to each story. And yes, that's right - we had two judges per each story. We took the average of the judge's scores. 

Speaking of judges, this contest simply wouldn't be a thing without them! So, a HUGE thank you goes to our wonderful judges: 

EmberShy - You are always such a joy to work with! Your judging is fair, your criticisms are kind but constructive, and you never back down from your word. Thank you so much for judging for us yet again! It's always such an honour to have you come back. 

EmpressAri - It was our first time having you judge for this contest, and boy, am I glad you did. You were so quick with your scores, and even though I made you re-judge due to the intricate criteria, you handled it like a champion and submitted scores well before time. Thank you so much! Your dedication means the world to me.

FawnIAtlas - I literally have no words to describe how tremendously grateful I am for you. Honestly. You currently hold the record of the most books judged for these awards, and considering the short turn-around time, that's no small feat. Not only that, but your feedback was so thorough that, well, I consider myself very lucky to have accepted you as a judge. Thank you so, so much.

GryffindorsLoneWolf - Oh, man, Lone Wolf. How many months have we gone through this together? I think this might just be your third continuous month judging for us. Thank you so much for that! I always get so excited when you submit that judge form, because I know the stories are in especially good hands. Despite the busy nature of this month for you, you still submitted scores way before the deadline with incredibly feedback. Thank you so much! You are an absolute angel.

IzzBizz747 - Thank you so much for judging for the contest! We know how busy life gets, so we truly do appreciate your dedication and hard work. It's also very exciting recruiting you as a reviewer, so I look forward to working with you for more months to come! 

And now, time for the results! 

I mentioned this before and I'll mention this again before it is incredibly important to note: most stories were only one or two or three points away from the top three. The quality was incredibly high, and the judges had a very tough time when it came to scoring these stories. You all have to be very proud of yourselves. 

Now, with that in mind, here are our shortlisted books! 

STORY: M.O.B.S

AUTHOR: neomanuisarang

FEEDBACK: 

You're going to have to bear with me, I'm kind of picky about fanfictions and I'm not a huge fan of ones about boy bands...but yours was cute! It totally fits the family perspective and I think it's interesting how they drop a sibling on the band. I do think it's a little cliché (nothing against you)! There were some grammar errors here and there, and I'm not really sure why you keep italicizing hyung or oppa or sunbae...they don't really need to, unless the characters are emphasizing it when they're saying it. It's a little hard to discern whose POV the paragraphs are in here and there. The other thing I had a problem with was descriptions...there aren't really many and, I get that this is a fanfiction, but even then, there needs to be descriptions, of the characters, their characteristics, things about their personalities...etc. If you're explaining words, it's better to create a chapter at the beginning and put them all there (the ones you think your readers may not know), instead of putting them at the beginning of every chapter.

STORY: Flares in the Dark 

AUTHOR: ThaisaKing

FEEDBACK: 

Ohhh man...I've been bullied and harrassed in the past by guys and believe me, I'd do anything to have the tables turn. I do like the originality of the story: generally speaking, women are the MCs of this story and considering your summary, I honestly thought it was going to switch between their POVs. It did feel however, that some of your sentences were missing commas or they were run-ons...either way, they were too long in some areas. There wasn't a lot of variety in the sentence length (from what I read). Some areas were repetitive and I suggest shortening them up. I do like your plot, you're going into depth about his past and what led him to become a bully and suddenly have it flipped onto himself. I do suggest cutting some areas, where it feels like stuff gets repeated over and over again. I like the cover, I think the words need to be a little smaller.

STORY: Tears Unnumbered 

AUTHOR: v3Olympus

FEEDBACK: 

You should be very proud of the work you have produced, and I hope you are eager to write more and create further stories in your writing journey. I did enjoy the book and it will hold a special place in my private library. Whereas improvement is concerned, just some reworking and a few kinks to be straightened out and I think you've got a very good idea for a novel here! Keep up the good work.

Note: You were only half a point from third place! You should be very proud of yourself. :) 

STORY: The HOPES Project

AUTHOR: avadel

FEEDBACK: 

This story will always be one of my favourites, I really want to read more from this book and see how the story further grows and progresses! Maybe try adding in some more scene descriptions? To give a feel of the places they go and what it's like through the eyes of different characters like Jason could see it as dingy whereas Rachel sees it as a clean bed and somewhere warm to sleep. Coming up with all those scenarios and characters is not an easy feat and you just executed it flawlessly so well done! 

STORY: Frosted

AUTHOR: MagicalReads

FEEDBACK: 

I think maybe re-watching the movies the characters are in will give you a better feel for how they interact and react to certain people and experiences. Apart from this I enjoyed reading along on their journey and rooted for them throughout the novel. I hope you keep writing as I see talent in your writing that shouldn't be left to waste.

POEM: Family

AUTHOR: Cast1elW1nchester

FEEDBACK: 

The poems were short but not un-enjoyable to read. They showed a fragile soul sharing a love for their family but overall the work submitted felt like a thought dump. Making the intent of the poems more clear could make the reasoning seem easier to comprehend.

STORY: Ember Chasers

AUTHOR: awesomeSTG

FEEDBACK: 

Overall the plot is very interesting and original which intrigued me and made me want to continue reading. The paragraphs tend to be a little long so maybe shortening them could ease the story along in the chapters. Also developing your characters further, maybe write character sheets and figure out their dislikes and likes to get a feel for who they are.

STORY: Patience

AUTHOR: Davrielle

FEEDBACK: 

Absolutely loved reading this! It felt like a real novel! The chapter length, the sentence construction, the character building, it was done really well! There were a few grammar errors, and I do think you can split the summary up just a wee bit (it looks very daunting at a glance). I think the cover is a little cluttered and try not to split up the word that is the name of the book! Millie's a lovely character, and while it is a bit cliché, I'm a sucker for maid love stories. Everything felt realistic, there wasn't crazy hot scenes right from the get go and she didn't meet her guy right off the bat. I look forward to reading more some day!

STORY: Blackout

AUTHOR: Inked_wings

FEEDBACK: 

This was a quick and interesting read. It's definitely a great read which I would recommend to others. It had moments where I really felt for Blayke, and found the two younger children (Angie and Charlie) quite sweet. It's a bit of an original book, as I've never read anything where someone accidently kills their father and then ends up having blackouts. The end was a little sad as he was paralysed, but I was happy this his blackouts finally stopped. I think that was a great ending to the story.

Congratulations to all shortlisted stories! You've all done a fantastic job. And, now, without further ado, our winners: 

IN THIRD PLACE:

STORY: Heir of Cinders

AUTHORS: VeryBigMess and Fiona_jessie

FEEDBACK: 

Your story has a lot of potential and with a little more love and some editing I know you can go great places and write even more amazing work. I hope you write with as much passion as I imagine and share your love and creativity with the world, who I'm sure love your work just as much as I have. Perseverance and effort are what will make you novel become a masterpiece.

I would've liked to see Jonathon develop a little more, mature through the experiences and maybe be a bit cheeky with his gran to add a hint of comedy. I loved the grandmother, the sarcasm and bluntness really appeals to me when reading these characters.

SCORE: 85.5/100

IN SECOND PLACE: 

STORY: Morendo 

AUTHOR: lionobsession

FEEDBACK: 

Thank you for submitting this book, I am so honoured to have read this book and happy that I had the chance to. I love your writing style, please keep it up and continue to write more books in the future. 

I love Moira. She's so quirky and fun, being a little whimsical I believe she's wonderful and caught myself nodding along to her actions saying that I would do the same. She develops well and shows how much the stories events have changed her as a person, to mature and so forth.

I like the conversations between Emmeline and Moira as you can really tell how Emmeline has a more distinguished way of speaking and doesn't abbreviate her words which shows a clear difference. I also like the interactions between Moira and Jay, they seem really in love being a newlywed couple ad all so that would have been an important relationship to focus on and you did so beautifully. 

SCORE: 87/100

IN FIRST PLACE: 

STORY: The Eye of Loss

AUTHOR: TheraLance

FEEDBACK: 

This is a very original piece of work and with time and effort it can become something beautiful, right now just some reworking on the flow and character interactions is where your focus should lie. I'd like to see you apply yourself and really put the effort in to make these editorial changes to your novel. I will continue to read your novel and hopefully see where the story leads as I am still intrigued, so don't keep me waiting long! 

The concept is very new to me, although the actual plot isn't very clear. Nevertheless, the original characters and places shine through and help the story progress. I really liked the interactions between Klamath and Yugi, the fondness is obvious and familiarity which I enjoyed when reading. I would have liked to see more emotive language to invoke empathy in the reader and use of literary devices such as foreshadowing or metaphors.

SCORE: 87.5/100 

And that's a wrap! Congratulations to everyone - the competition was incredibly tough this month, and I really appreciate the patience and commitment everyone - both judges and participants - has displayed. As you can see, even the scores between the three winners were incredibly close, and it's important to remember: writing is subjective. 

It was also so lovely to see old faces return! It's such a relief to know that you're not sick of me and the community yet. It's also wonderful seeing new faces, new stories, and new writing styles. I'm so happy that these awards are growing in size, and I would like to thank everyone to contributing to this. 

Winners: Feel free to come back next month with a new story, or, better yet, come back as a judge! We're always in desperate need of those. 

So, now that May is over, we welcome June. We've got a brand new theme, and I can't wait to see how everyone interprets it. 

See you next month!