Well, the time has come to once again pick a winner of this month’s writing competition.
Before we announce the winner though, I need to take a moment to recognize the hard work of my fellow judges: Patricia Hunter, Tara Boyce, Debra Atwood, Kristi Boyce, and Bob Vander Lugt, all previous winners of our writing contest.
I say this every time because every time it's true: If you haven't read their Show Off winning stories, you're missing out. They're wonderful.
Now, to the winner.
Photo by fighting irish
Honorable Mentions
The first honorable mention goes to Brian Plank's laugh-out-loud funny story, The PDW World Championship. In case you haven't read it, PDW stands for Paint Drying Watching, and Brian makes a clever twist on the athletic theme by creating a new sport that, I think it's fair to say, no sane person would want to watch. Is this your commentary on the Olympics, Brian?
The second honorable mention goes to Steph's story about a soccer playing robot. Steph's story is the best sci-fi story I think we've seen in the Show Off contest, and it's dark ending was very moving.
The third honorable mention goes to Cleve's story The Real Crowd Winner, a very funny story about a young wrestler who fakes being choked by his opponent to gain the sympathies of the crowd—and the coach's wife! I like Cleve's writing voice and I love the last line.
The Runner Up
The runner up is Jason Hague's story The Penance of Rod Simpson. Jason's first line is one of the best first lines I've ever read, “It had been five years since Rod Simpson killed Anders Grimm with a bad pitch,” and as the title suggests, the rest of the story follows Rod's penance from that one bad pitch. An interesting story well told. Good job, Jason.
The Winner of Show Off: Athletic
The winner of August's writing competition is Doc's story Relay, which follows a group of old friends recounting their younger days and the friendships they've lost. Doc's use of language is fascinating. There's an air of mystery surrounding the protagonist, a deep expanse in his soul that we receive glimpses of. Also, this story has the best peeing scene I've ever read.
Congratulations Doc, and congratulations to all of you, whether you were mentioned or not. Every time I've had a story rejected, it has motivated me to work harder and write better. When you send your work into the world, even if you aren't picked, you will always be given something in return. Let this be an encouragement to grow, not a reason to abandon your dreams.
Congratulations Doc! All the stories are wonderful. It must have been so hard to judge.
super thanks Marla
doc
Congratulations!
Congrats, Doc. I think the peeing scene definitely put you over the top. Fantastic dialogue!
All of them were awesome. Awesome! You guys should be proud of yourselves! ^3^
I didn’t submit an entry for the contest because I don’t know much about the Olympics–well, I don’t know much about sports, period–but I’ve recently noticed that you don’t need to know a lot about the topic you’re writing about. It helps to know, but it’s not a requirement.
Anyway, congratulations again!
Well, isn’t this a fun surprise? Thanks, Joe & judges, and congratulations to the winners. I haven’t read all of these yet; I look forward to going back through them. That first line on the runner up story has me hooked already, indeed!
Hot diggity dog! Awesome! Thanks for the shout out, judges, and congrats Doc and everyone else mentioned. There were a lot of super good stories for this round–everyone who entered something ought to give themselves a pat on the back.
Congrats to the winner Doc, and everyone that entered — I enjoyed reading ALL the stories … lots of creativity this month with what I thought was a tough subject.
Congratulations to all the winers. There were some great stories this time.
Reading the results this round was so much more enjoyable than when I’ve submitted something and I’m reading through the list with my heart hammering in my ears! But if you don’t submit you can’t win so I’ll be trying again… Good job everyone and congratulations Doc!
Congratulations!