Entries are in!

I have had such a wonderful experience putting this contest out there and working with writers! Thank you so much to all the students who entered. I have already begun reading the entries and plan to post the winners by May 19th.

I can tell you through my visits with some of the writers that many things impressed me in the stories that were discussed. For one thing, it is interesting to hear how many people like cliffhanger endings in their various forms. I have always been a fan of a mystery left in the resolution that keeps me wondering how that little thread panned out, but a full on cliffhanger can be a lot of fun as well. The tricky thing to remember is that a cliffhanger is a well planned event in the story, not simply leaving out important information at the end. I am excited to see if any stories actually ended up using them and how they played their role in the story.

I have to say, too, that I was surprised (and happy!) at how dark some of the subject matter sounded. I like a wide variety of story types, and scary is certainly right up near the top, so it is a curious thing to see how a young writer’s mind works when creating frightening or sinister situations. I must say I am looking forward to the thought of getting scared to pieces:)

The topic that came up most often, though, is subject of outlining. When I was young, I shuddered at the thought of extra work, and to me, that’s exactly what outlining felt like since you didn’t see it in the final product. Now, however, I have had a lot more experience with them and have a lot of ideas that I think will be helpful in future writing projects. So stay tuned for my next post which will give lots of things to think about and try!

For now, I am off to read entries! Good luck to all of you who participated and we will soon have some winners!

Until then, happy writing!