Chen Posted March 4, 2011 Posted March 4, 2011 Hi all!Once again we had a cracking amount of entries for the Writing Challenge last round - please spread the word around your crew and twist arms/bribe people to take part this time! Let's see if we can go for a record number of entries!Joining us on the judging panel for this round is Ensign Saveron, who has decided on the following topic for this round:"Out of the Mouths of Babes"Once again we have a nice, open topic that allows you a degree of freedom, and the potential for a hidden meaning. How will you work this into your story?Guidelines: To participate, create a new thread. The subject of the thread must be the title of your story. If it is a Work In Progress, denote that at the top of the post itself (in the body text, not in the thread title). As with last round it will be the final draft posted in your topic that will be read and taken into consideration. Any unfinished entries marked as Work In Progress will not be considered for judging and will be moved to the "Character Cafe" forum at the end of the contest. Your work must be entirely your own. No co-authoring. You are welcome to create any character you so desire, but they must be from the Star Trek universe. No "canon" characters allowed. (i.e.- No one who has been on a show.)Length: No more than 3000 words accepted.Beginning Date: Friday, March 4thEnding Date: Saturday, April 30thSee Also: the Writing Challenge WebsiteChallenge: “Out of the Mouths of Babes”Break a leg!
Chen Posted May 1, 2011 Author Posted May 1, 2011 The deadline for this round has passed, and the judging will now begin! We hope to announce the winners as soon as possible, so watch this space!
Chen Posted May 3, 2011 Author Posted May 3, 2011 Before the official unveiling of the reviews and winner of this round of the writing challenge, I'd like to take a moment to welcome two new permanent judges to our official panel, Lieutenant Commanders Karynn Brice and Jesse Lawn! Many thanks to both of them, as well as our long-standing permanent member Captain Toni Turner and the previous round's winner, Lieutenant (j.g.) Saveron, for preparing their reviews and votes So, without further ado, here are the reviews, in no particular order..."Who is Your Father?" by Lieutenant Commander Thomas GregoryReviewed by Lieutenant Commander Karynn BriceI found this to be a very interesting story and a take on the topic that I hadn't expected. Throughout the story I felt like I was able to progressively get to know Braden Melborne, something I found to be a good thing, even though I liked his character less and less. Although I can't say that we got to really know him well, we did get a hint of his background that affects who he is, and it left me wanting more in a good way. His development, although minimal and probably constrained by the length requirements of the contest, reminded me of some of the great Star Trek Villains I've grown to love/hate through the years. I thought you did a really good job of this.I do have two small complaints. The first is that, even with a second reading, I don't quite understand the relevance of the infant from the house to the rest of the story. It just didn't seem to fit, at least in my brain. I almost would have rather seen something else in its place, although I'm not entirely sure what. My other tiny complaint is that I did notice a few typos in the story that, for me, were distracting. Overall, though, these were minimal and you were free of any noticeable grammatical errors.With those few exceptions, I really enjoyed your story. While the ending certainly didn't leave me with a happy feeling, it did leave me with a lot to think about and that is something that I appreciate. I enjoy stories that challenge me and I certainly found this challenging. I saw that you hadn't planned on entering, but I have to say that I'm very glad you did. Overall you did a very nice job.
Chen Posted May 3, 2011 Author Posted May 3, 2011 "Fate or Serendipity" by Commander Tal Tel-arReviewed by Commander Tallis RhulWhenever I read an entry from Commander Tel-ar for the writing challenge, I always expect to see a creative approach to descriptive writing, and this piece certainly delivered on that front. Describing scenes and characters is often something that is difficult to successfully achieve, as too much description can prevent a reader from imagining events in their mind's eye as they read, and too little can leave a passage lifeless. In this case, I think the level of attention to detail that you employed was absolutely right, particularly through use of simile, and it certainly helped me to visualise the story as I read it.However, there was one obstacle to the flow of the story, and that was the layout. Most paragraphs tended to consist of one or two short sentences before a break, which resulted in a disjointed piece. Combining some of those shorter paragraphs into longer ones would serve to preserve the momentum of sections such as the chase, or the sequence of events that led to the warning about taking the journey home.I enjoyed the way that the theme was incorporated into the piece in that I didn't expect for the thieves to be children. I also appreciated the amount of thought that you had put into the creation of the world on which this story took place - as usual there were no holds barred in that respect! An entertaining action story that was very well planned - great job!
Chen Posted May 3, 2011 Author Posted May 3, 2011 "Faith" by Lieutenant Alleran TanReviewed by Lieutenant Commander Jesse LawnWhat an incredible piece. It had me from the very first sentence. In articulate, descriptive fashion, Radi Rais lays out a touching story of a young girl's desperation, courage, and faith. Each of the paper's three simple segments effectively told the story without wasted superfluous material. I was also impressed how in such short order the characters were made so believable. Tami and Antani were fantastic! The story even played well with the Star Trek lineage. Nicely done!
Chen Posted May 3, 2011 Author Posted May 3, 2011 Well, the judges have deliberated, cogitated and digested, and the votes have been counted. As there were three entries this round, we'll be announcing a winner but no runner-up, and that winner is...Wait for it..."Faith" by Lieutenant Alleran Tan!A huge congratulations to Lieutenant Tan, and a big thankyou to everyone for entering the competition! Watch this space for the launch of the May/June round!
Alleran Tan Posted May 3, 2011 Posted May 3, 2011 (edited) Well, the judges have deliberated, cogitated and digested, and the votes have been counted. As there were three entries this round, we'll be announcing a winner but no runner-up, and that winner is...Wait for it..."Faith" by Lieutenant Alleran Tan!A huge congratulations to Lieutenant Tan, and a big thankyou to everyone for entering the competition! Watch this space for the launch of the May/June round!Thank you! Also, thanks to Mister Saveron for providing such an interesting topic- it really got me fired up to write the story, although it took a LONG time for me to get it exactly the way I wanted to in my mind. After that, writing it was easy.And... thank you to the judges- I find judging to be absolutely nerve-wracking, so a big thanks to you guys. I've got my topic all prepared and I'm sure you'll all love it. Look forward to seeing you all in the next round of competition! Edited May 3, 2011 by Alleran Tan/Radi Rais
Alleran Tan Posted May 3, 2011 Posted May 3, 2011 Congratulations, mate! Thank you! I hope people like the subject I've picked.
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