And the winners are:
1st Place winner: Bob Hostetler - The White Card
2nd Place winner: Kandy Witte - The Time of Their Lives
3rd Place winne:Robin Crawford - Iron Man
And the winners are:
1st Place winner is REFLECTIONS - by Bill Roxbury
2nd Place winner is RICK AND HIS DAD - by Kathy Coogan
3rd Place winner is CHANCE ENCOUNTERS - by Dorothy Binder
And the winners are:
1st Place and winner of $400 is Judith G. Finkel of Houston, TX, for The Shaytl Lady
2nd Place and winner of $150 is Sandra M. Hart of Harrison, OH for Coffee Rings
3rd Place and winner of $50 is June Venable of Georgetown, TX, for The Intruders
Honorable Mention goes to:
Lois Loehr Rini of Evansville, IN, for To Love and to be LovedOnce again we would like to thank everyone who entered the contest. The entries this year were varied in subject matter and most were well written.
The problem the judges found most common was adherence to format and guidelines. Some stories that were interesting, and could have scored higher, were counted down because of small typeface (please save our eyes), double spacing between paragraphs, no indentation between paragraphs, and lack of a proper margin.
We found many stories didn’t have a point, had no conflict, or just didn’t make sense. Those that won were not only well written but had meaning and left a good, lasting impression on the judges.
For those who requested a critique of their stories, the judges will be meeting again after the holiday to go over the entries again and render our opinions.
Again, thanks for entering the contest and we hope to read your entries again next year.
Honorable Mention goes to:
Marilyn Durr, Lore City, OH, for “Keeper of Toy Soldiers”We want to thank every one who entered the contest this year. The judges had a difficult time deciding the winners.
Overall, this years entries were well written and had an emotional heart tug. Some, however, lacked a strong ending. They said that some endings were abrupt and needed more closure.
The judges urge writers to follow guidelines, fact check when writing about historic events, keep dialog real to the character, and watch changing points of view in the middle of the story. Watch for correct word usage, correct spelling, and use suggested typeface and font size.
These errors caused some stories to miss being marked as a winner by one point.
1st Place - Lori Krause, Elgin, NE - The Forgiving Years
2nd Place - June Venable, Georgetown, TX - Me and Junior
3rd Place - Carol McConkie, Seabastopol, CA - The Rag
Honorable Mention goes to:
Maria B. Murad, Apple Valley, MN - The Last Dance
Susan Roberts, Lapel, IN - Hodge
Caroline Cooper, Dayton, OH - Say Goodnight Sophia
Alicia Stankay, Ambridge, PA - Murder by Surprise
Lois Loehr Rini, Evansville, IN - Dove and the Flood
Kimn Swenson Gollnick, Marion, IA - Lost Yesterday
Susan Roberts, Lapel, IN - Before Cold Weather Sets In
The judges want to congratulate all who entered the contest this year. The judging was really close with only two points separating first and second place. They selected seven Honorable Mentions because the scoring was so high.
The judges offered these comments:
- Many stories lacked conflict.
- Some weren't clear, lacking sufficient description and sense of place and time.
- Some stories had weak endings and weren't clear.
- Use active verbs.
- Many stories had awkward sentence structure, poor grammar, sloppy punctuation, and missing quote marks.
- It isn't necessary to double space between paragraphs.
- It's important to follow the guidelines.
1st Place - Daniel R. Cole
Plainfield, IN - Fish Breath
2nd Place - Pat Agar
Brandon, Canada - The Cow and Miss Creasy
3rd Place - Eugene D. Alvin
Collinwood, TN - Anasazi Moon
Honorable Mention
Gregory A. Hartman - Lilac
Dorothy Carey - The Water Boy
David M Dekelaita - Kathy's Nightmare
George A. Thomas - A Junior Officer
David Bishop - Lunch with Sean Murphy
Judith G. Finkel - Shaytl Lady
Barbara Phillips Stuart - The Silent Scream
Helen Nardecchia - Duchess and Friends
Rachael Purta - Pockets
Darlene A. Buechel - The Return of the Real Granny
The contest committee would like to thank all the contestants who entered our writing contest. The judges said they enjoyed reading the wide variety of entries displaying different levels of writing ability.
We encourage writers to become involved with a writing group to help polish their writing skills, attend writing conferences, and subscribe to magazines that focus on the craft of writing.
Judges comments on the overall entries will appears on our website within the next week, and watch our web site www.hamiltonwritersguild.org for our next contest in 2008.
First Place Dawn Goldsmith; Oviedo, FL; wins $100 for The Vigil
Second Place Patricia Crandall; Petersburgh, NY; wins $50 for Not Suitable Viewing For children
Third Place Lynda Diessner; Primrose, NE; wins $25 for The Old Yellow Chair
Honorable Mention:
Linda Hudson Hoagland; North Tazewell, VA; I Froze...
Martha Crotty; Cincinnati, OH; Carnival
Helen Cunningham; Florence, KY; Saying Good Bye
Emmette Boone; College Corner, OH; Unearned Vacation
Susan L. Comer; Brentwood, TN; Barbies Dream House
Judith Hoy; Black Mountain, NC; Dinner With The Spider
Natalie Chandler; Hixson, TN; Dog Gone, Again
The contest committee would like to thank all the contestants who entered our Writers Guilds first Fiction Contest. The judges enjoyed reading the wide variety of entries and levels of writing ability. Unfortunately, many good entries didn't follow the industry standards for proper formatting, and others were disqualified because they failed to follow the Contest guidelines.
The judges encourage writers to become involved with a writing group in their area to help polish their writing skills, and attend writing conferences and subscribe to magazines that focus on the craft of writing.