SPACE WRITING COMPETITION WINNERS ANNOUNCED

JUDGES REPORT

Thank you to the hundreds of writers who entered the Space writing competition.

photo 3 - Version 2I was overwhelmed by the quality and quantity of entries.

There were so many great stories that it was impossible to limit the winners to ten.

I wanted to give as many writers as possible the chance to be published, so 23 stories have been selected for the anthology.

If your story wasn’t selected, please don’t be disheartened. It doesn’t mean your story wasn’t great, it’s just that I couldn’t include everybody’s work in the anthology.

When selecting the winners, I tried to include a variety of different kinds of stories from boys and girls across different age groups.

Stories were also selected on originality of ideas. So your story might have been fantastic, but it might not have been selected because there was a story that was a lot like it.

I was amazed at the different and wonderful interpretations of the theme Space.

Everyone who entered this competition should be proud of their story.

Taking the time to write a story and enter it in a competition like this is a fantastic achievement.

EVERYONE who entered the competition will receive a certificate.

WRITING TIPS

Unfortunately, I can’t give individual feedback on your stories, but some things to look out for in your writing:

1.  Read your story out loud. This will help you pick up where you have accidentally left words or letters out or the words are in the wrong order.

2. Try to keep your tenses consistent. Decide whether your story has already happened (past tense), is happening right now (present tense) or will happen in the future (future tense).

SOME INFORMATION ABOUT TENSES

PAST PRESENT FUTURE
was have been will
had, have will have
had been are will be
did am will have been

3.  Instead of telling the reader what happened, try to show them what happened. Here’s what I mean:

Telling:  He fell of his horse and broke his arm.

Showing:  The horse bucked and tossed its head. He gripped harder with his knees but he couldn’t hung on. He grasped desperately at the saddle as he felt himself slipping. Thud! He hit the ground, his arm twisted under him.

4.  Use specific descriptions. For example, instead of saying that the tree looked interesting, show the reader why it was interesting.  “The bark on the tree was thorny like the skin of a crocodile. It was sharp to touch and it smelled like peppermint.”  See how this description gives the reader a much clearer picture in their mind of what the tree is really like.

5. Use strong verbs. For example, instead of saying that the horse ‘ran quickly’, say that it ‘galloped’.

THE WINNERS

Congratulations to the following writers whose stories have been selected for publication in the Space anthology

  1. How I Got a Space in My Heart by Jocelyn Jeary – aged 6
  2. Alien Friends by Emily Brown – aged 7
  3. The Black Hole Adventure by Emelie Kim – aged 8
  4. Did That Really Happen? by Tia Brantley – aged 9
  5. The Secret Room by Bann Irbash – aged 9
  6. I Need Space! by Shrishti Bendigeri – aged 9
  7. Seeds by Matthew Yun – aged 9
  8. Renewal of the Bear by Olivia Le – aged 10
  9. Space Girl by Tarni Mccosker  – aged 10
  10. Obsidian’s Challenge by Dinah Gardner – aged 11
  11. Mr Literal by Angus Nolan – aged 11
  12. Gone by Lauren Deards – aged 11
  13. Bridging the Gap by Katie Frazier – aged 12
  14. To Space and Beyond  by Izzah Khan – aged 12
  15. Empty Space by Cian Mcgrath – aged 13
  16. Space by Sophie Claridge – aged 13
  17. Kidnapped and unknown by Mary Kaunda  – aged 14
  18. Untitled by Shelden Bourk
  19. Doomed Flight by Cherry Bakura – aged 14
  20. The Space Between Us by Keearin Jackson – aged 14
  21. The Ramblings of an Abandoned Space Robot by Gillian Goh – aged 15
  22. Space for a Village by Reena Mukherjee – aged 16
  23. Space is inside of us by Merima Mustafic – aged 17

PUBLICATION OF THE ANTHOLOGY

Subject to receiving all the editorial changes in time, I will be aiming to edit and publish the anthology in the first week of December.

It will then be available to download free from this blog.

Thanks again for sharing your wonderful stories and entering this competition.

Happy writing:)

Dee

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Comments

  1. Agreed, Dee.

    The videos are a writer’s treasure. Thanks for the blogpost all the way from down under. I met you on THe Path to Publishing Concept workshop in August.

    Best,
    Gayle