Written by: Sarah

First off, I’d like to thank everyone who participated in this contest—writers and commenters alike! The contest surpassed my expectations, and it was a delight to see so many entrants, in addition to all of the enthusiasm and support in the comments section. I truly appreciate everybody who took part, and I’d especially like to give my heartfelt thanks to Aniket for hosting the contest. We had a great deal going–I got to sit back and have fun; he did all the work.

Until last night, that is, when I made my final choices. And what a decision it was. I’d like to talk about my judging process a little, for those of you who are curious. First, I narrowed the entries down to five. These five, to me, demonstrated the highest facility of writing. Each of these stories or poems was a wonderful, fluid reading experience for me as a reader. There were very few hiccups in terms of grammar, punctuation, awkward phrasing or dialogue, or excessive wordiness. These entries flowed, lending a precious believability to, and immersion in, the story itself.

From there, it became harder. I had to squeeze down on each line of each piece. Minor problems—like sloppy sentences, overwrought phrasing or dialogue, or a lack of narrative immediacy—were accounted for. Ultimately, I believe that good writing trumps everything. Good writing is what makes the story breathe on the page, and is what translates emotion to the reader’s heart. The selections I made are wonderful examples of writing we all can aspire to.

And here, in no particular order, are the two winners whom I selected to receive free copies of Plum Blossoms in Paris:

Morning Maelstrom by May Anderton

Because it relied so heavily on “telling” and peripheral action, this was an exceptionally tricky story to pull off. But May did so beautifully. It wouldn’t have worked nearly as well as a straight-up breakup tale. As it was, I found it hypnotic. The swirl of events occurring on the narrator’s fringes—the excruciating detail of what she distracts herself with—contrasted with the vast remove of her emotional state felt acutely realistic to me. As if she had become the stranger to herself.

To me, this entry was a French film, played out in deep, deep focus.

Congratulations, May! Impeccable craftsmanship.

Present by Precie

To me, Precie’s title could be interpreted in two ways. One, of course, is that the painting was a gift to her parents. But there is also an important realization congealing from those unsatisfying layers of paint: that Dee’s present relationship with Chris cannot compare to her parents’ past. She will not give up on that dream, just as she cannot give up on painting that perfect work of art.

Precie’s writing painted the details well here, and Dee’s epiphany felt organic to me. I had great sympathy for Chris, but Dee’s stubborn sense of artistic and romantic idealism struck a nerve of painful authenticity.

Congratulations, Precie! Matisse would be proud.

Note from Aniket:

* Winners please mail your shipping address to aniket.thakkar@gmail.com for your soon-to-be-cherished copy of Plum Blossoms In Paris. Congratulations for your deserved win! *

Sarah

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