Judge's Report
When the Common Thread Writers decided to run this competition it was after much discussion about the problems we have all experienced when entering competitions. The two most common were that the word limit was too restrictive and that there was no feedback. 'You feel as if you're sending your story into a black hole', said one of our members.
As a judge I have often felt that stories with lower word limits were far too short for proper character development and/or plot development. As both a writer and a reader I prefer longer stories because I get to know the characters, I feel for them and they have more emotional impact. Of course, I can understand why most short story competitions limit the word length. There's a lot more reading to do when most of the stories are close to 5000 words!
Rosemary Hansell was our Competition Secretary and she did an excellent job. It wasn't easy and, to make her life even more difficult, I asked her if she could possibly randomly number the entries so that I would not read multiple entries by the same author one after another. She also had to keep track of who wanted feedback and who didn't, payments, email addresses, postal addresses etc. Unfortunately, a couple of entries were disqualified because the entrant had included their name on the manuscript.
We received 83 entries and I was thrilled to discover that the general standard was high. Yes, it was a lot of reading but I thoroughly enjoyed it. I had difficulty deciding on the short list, and many stories were read three or four times in the process.
The winning story, They Flee from Me by Paulette Gittins, is a very moving story in which the first person narrator travels an emotional journey from contentment through anger and finally to great sadness. It is a skilfully constructed story and the author handles eight characters ( a lot for a short story) very well. The writing is strong and poetic and there are recurring themes and images that add impact, especially at the end.
The second prize winner, Big Miriam, Little Miriam by Jacqueline Winn, is also a very moving story with Little Miriam, a child, the main character. There is something mysterious and different about Little Miriam and the author has seeded the story with clues that ultimately come together in a powerful conclusion. It is an unusual story written with great sensitivity.
Facts and Figures
Out of the 83 short stories we had a huge variety and if I were to attempt to categorise them according to subject matter I would say that most stories involved death in some form, especially murder. There were also deaths by suicide, old age and illness. Love stories, families and relationships were also numerous. There were a few stories set in outback Australia featuring droughts and bushfires. Some were set in small communities such as country towns, a retirement village, and one within a dramatic society. Historical settings were used for a few stories, and there were some were set in the future. Supernatural events and fantasies were also featured.
There were also what I would call biographical stories that cover the time period of a whole life – a difficult thing to achieve in a short story, as it usually requires summarising much of the action. However there were a few very memorable and moving biographical stories that were more successful because the author limited the action to one aspect of the character's life.
Most stories were written using a third person narrator, though often with a limited point of view – that is, restricted to one or two characters with the reader given insight into their thoughts. There were also many excellent stories using a first person narrator. This narrowing of focus works well in short stories. Both the winning story, They Flee from Me used a first person narrator, though she was not the central character. The second prize winning story used a third person narrator, limited to Little Miriam's point of view.
Troubleshooting.
I was disappointed that some stories had poor resolutions despite the extra word allowance. The resolution is so important in a story and it should not happen by magic or by something out of the blue – even in the fantasy genre. The writer's maxim known as Chekhov's gun should be applied, that is, "One must not put a loaded rifle on the stage if no one is thinking of firing it." And, the rifle should not appear magically at the end if it is not present earlier in the story.
Another common problem was the not-quite-logical deductions and assumptions made by crime-solvers which were convenient for the plot but not particularly credible.
Most stories were well structured and I was pleased to see that many authors fleshed out their characters by using back stories. There were some brilliant opening lines and I particularly liked: "Did I do it?" (Too Much Imagination by Ronda Bird) and "Small hover flies, humming in grists, fizzed and darted over the easel." (Self Portrait with Jam Jar by Theresa Layton). A few stories had over-long introductions.
I'd like to thank everyone who entered and I'm hoping we can do it again next year.
With best wishes,
Pippa Kay