Thanks and congratulations to everyone who entered our Journeys Writing Competition.
Due to the huge number of high quality entries, this competition was extremely difficult to judge. For this reason we have awarded extra prizes in the 8 to 12 category.
Two, second place winners will receive a free e-book on writing, 10 Top Writing Tips: What to Write About https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/250240
Once again, there were some fabulous original story ideas with great characters.
Some stories were funny, some were sad; each one was unique and had something appealing to offer readers.
TIPS FOR FUTURE WRITING COMPETITIONS
Don’t be disheartened if you didn’t win this time. Writing a story and entering it in a competition are both huge achievements.
Some general tips for those who want to work on their stories further.
1. Read your story out loud before you submit it – that way you’ll be able to tell if there are words missing.
2. Try and hook your reader from the start with an interesting character, event or setting.
3. Sometimes we include things on the first page of a story that don’t need to be there. Look at the second page of your story. Would this be a better place to start?
4. Try to keep ‘tense’ consistent. If you are writing in ‘past tense’ about something that has already happened, keep writing in ‘past tense’. If you start writing in ‘present tense’ (in the here and now), keep writing in this tense.
5. Show your story to someone who hasn’t seen it and ask them if it makes sense or if there are any bits that are confusing. These might need to be changed.
6. Instead of telling the reader what’s happening to your main character, try to show it through actions and conversations between characters.
Congratulations to all the worthy winners and to everyone who wrote a story and had the courage to enter it.
Dee:)
COMPETITION RESULTS
Age 8-12
| First Place | Phuong Pham | Heist |
| Equal 2nd Place | Ruth Mukheibir | Dust |
| Equal 2nd Place | Nikki Wong | Journey Towards Better Things |
| Highly Commended | Felicia | The Last Free horse |
| Highly Commended | Byron Kunert | A Wasted Journey |
| Highly Commended | Celine NG | The Autograph |
| Highly Commended | Darby Welberry | Deer King |
| Highly Commended | Isabelle England | Swim |
| Highly Commended | Kate Reynolds | Doreen Hollows Seat for Dreaming |
| Highly Commended | Venika Vachani | One Last Journey |
| Highly Commended | Zoe Dalziel | Travel Across the Plain |
| Commended | Alex Blondale | Food Island |
| Commended | Amelia Wilson-Williams | The Crystal of the Universe |
| Commended | Bryce Thomson | Journey |
| Commended | Grace Begines | Life’s Journey |
| Commended | Eva Farutin | The Last Journey of Emily Cricke |
| Commended | Makenzie O’Brien | Conflict on Vacation |
| Commended | Olivia Palmeri | The Journey Home |
| Commended | Rachel | The Magical Christmas Journey |
| Commended | Victoria Parkes | Space |
| Commended | Veronica Hester | The Journey of a Dandelion |
| Commended | William Johnson | The Space Journey |
Teen Category
| First Place | Evelyn Taliette | Reflections of Another |
| Highly Commended | Elizabeth Jade | One Last Run |
| Highly Commended | Tabitha Neil | Finding Taylor |
| Highly Commended | Alexis Bloom | Hallucination Nightmare |
| Commended | Kimberley Rance | Money, Love, Freedom |
| Commended | Emily Nicole Persons | Walk After Death |
| Commended | Jaidev Shah | The Compass |
Adult Category
| First Place | Vicki Griffin | Journey’s End |
| Highly Commended | Catherine Pelosi | Hysteria |
| Commended | Lee Barton | The Mouse in the Mill |
Thanks again for entering our competition. All prize winners certificates will be sent out over the next few days, and book winners should receive their prizes shortly.
First place winners in the 8-12 and teen categories also receive a five-page manuscript assessment and our adult winner receives a ten-page manuscript. First place winners, please email your five pages, double-spaced in 12 point font with 3cm margins all round to dee*at*deescribe*dot*com*dot*au
Happy writing:)
Dee
