A NOTE: It’s taken me a very long time to get around to this (much longer than I anticipated) and for that I can only offer my apologies. SatSunTails will be restarting shortly, however, so please look out for the competition link in the future.
Furthermore, this is the last time this shape of format will be used for the competition. Future competition posts will be slightly different in layout but the same rules will still apply.
Thanks for bearing with me!
You can help by promoting next week’s #SatSunTails on your blog or by giving the post a +1 or a tumblr reblog or click the ‘tweet this’ link up on the right hand side or share from the facebook fan page or retweet from my twitter page to spread the word.
Or, even better, go on the #SatSunTails twitter search results and retweet other entrants.
The more people that hear about #SatSunTails, the more entries there are and the better the competition becomes!
If you are on twitter and you’d like an @reply every weekend to remind you that the competition is open then please leave a note regarding this along with your twitter handle in the comments of this post so I can set that up for you.
But for now, let’s get to the winners!
The Written Prompt
interloping disaster
Runner Up Mentions
@klingorengi –
The man who never seems to escape a mention for his excellent wordsmith abilities. This was a great story and I thought the use of the word prompt particularly well achieved.
@Leo_Godin –
Not what I expected given the cues, but a well done tale with a touching finish.
Overall Winner
@reravelling –
Something about this piece really enthused me. The narrator’s voice was fantastically developed and the ending was great.
Winning Entry
This was the hottest ticket in town. I’d paid Jimmy McDonald all of my pocket money for this moment even though it meant I would have to go without my usual visit to the corner shop on the way home.
Sherbet lemons strangely lost their sparkle compared to being here in this sweet smelling heaven.
Everyone said Jimmy’s big sister Nancy could be a model with those long legs and well turned out ankles, from my prominent position I swooned with delight at my private viewing.
Of course I couldn’t see much above her ankles but at her feet was a bounty of mesmerising girl stuff. Every few seconds a manicured hand would reach down carefully plucking the desired potion from the treasure.
It was unfortunate that the talcum powder caused me to sneeze.
Nancy gave me such a disapproving look.
“Mum, Jimmy’s fat friend is underneath my bed and I think he’s stuck!”
Critique Mentions
Now, as promised, I shall critique those entries that didn’t make it. Sometimes it can literally come down to the smallest things.
@AnnJudson –
This was a very promising tale, yet it got a bit muddled in the centre. Especially this bit ‘cat-scratching pole?” Sarah had demanded’ where it became tangled to read. A new paragraph should have been started after the closing speech marks as, confusingly, it causes the reader to think this is a continuation of the speech. It’s also always good practice to start a new paragraph when the subject matter changes, which saves the reader from muddles. Otherwise, I felt this story could have been a good contender for at least a runner up position.
@LurchMunster –
I would have enjoyed this story more if it hadn’t been for the rather lacklustre finish. The last sentence felt clunky where the rest of the narrative was fun and easy. 150 is a difficult word count to keep in, but there are ways to create a great ending in that space. Your character could have left it slightly more open ended by saying that the phone rang or something similar instead of simply reiterating his suspicions on the happenstance of his friend.
Thank you to all of those who entered. The criticism is never meant to harm. It is there to help you better your writing and someday win overall. I’m sure it will also benefit those who were not criticised. I hope this has helped you in your writing as well as encouraged you to join in again next week!
Click here to read the mentioned entries.
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