KazG

I thought this very well written and certainly not slow. However, as the opening to a novel, in view of what you tell us is going to happen, I feel it needs a hook. Perhaps a short chapter before this one, whetting the readers appetite.
Just my opinion, as always, so ignore at will.

Didn’t feel slow at all.

Only bit that jumped out at me was the initial explanation about Bert early on – it felt quite tell-y and a bit out of place where it was. I was caught up in the conversation and Bethany’s dilemma, and it pulled me out of the dialogue.

I wonder if that info would be better moved to when Bethany mentions him later on…[Read more]

PS I particularly enjoyed the telephone conversation betwenn the two of them.

It didn’t seem slow to me at all @bellam. Lots of great stuff. An unhappy heroine with a tricky relationship with her annoying mother who clearly has secrets in her past. And now she’s going to have to go on some ghastly coach trip with her. I’d read on. Particularly as she’s got an old and much loved cat. Only one comment – maybe the back story…[Read more]

For the sake of balance/context/perspective, this story has been rejected by three magazines. Just shows how totally subjective this game is!

This is fab, Raine. Not surprised though. About time you won some recognition. Well done.

There’s little I like more than seeing fabulous writers recognised. Great stuff Raine, enjoy it

CONGRATULATIONS,!!

Oh, Raine, that’s just fantastic. You deserve recognition.

Absolutely brilliant!! 😁😁

Brilliant success Raine – one out of a thousand! – Wow indeed.

Sorry, final thought – I personally like the competitive aspect, and I think the peer judging takes the subjectivity out of it somewhat, but how does everyone feel about Squidge’s suggestion of just making it a prompt/challenge? Could/should we make it non-competitive every so often?

The peer judging might be nice, so it’s only a case of totting up the votes. They do it this way on the Fantasy Faction monthly competitions and that seems to work OK. And then I suppose people can offer whatever feedback they like on any of the entries. A PM to the setter should do it.

OK then, the balance of opinion seems to be to go for two…[Read more]

Every couple of months sounds good. I think it’s good not to have critique on the comps – if you post and you’re not looking for crit, then getting someone’s comments (however well intentioned) can be bruising if you’re not used to it.

Failing that, do we want/need it to always be a comp? There are other writing sites that post a topic/prompt and…[Read more]

I’m still hosting https://predictionfiction.blogspot.com/ every
week, which is 2 x 100 words of two serials plus a standalone if inspiration/prompts permit. Also it’s me who judges the winner. So I don’t have much spare time with competitions as well, unless they strike an immediate chord.
I do think Raine’s idea of only commenting the winner…[Read more]

Every two months seems like a good thing to try. As long as we remind ourselves from time to time on the main wall, I think there’s more chance of us remembering to enter. I must admit, while the comp entries are definitely fewer here than on the cloud, it does make judging less onerous!!

I do like the random prompts things as they make me write…[Read more]

Liking your thinking, Daeds, as I’d like to partake, but commitments have stopped me of late. Bi-monthly and an occasional easy challenge sounds good. Perhaps an ‘over to you’ now and then (when the winner is struggling to set the theme) or indeed, an excerpt from a WIP. I also like the sound of not having to do all the judging if you win, which…[Read more]