Quote by Pnin
Very well done to the winner: that was a lovely, gentle story. I hope everyone enjoyed entering as much as I did and thanks as always to the judge or judges (I like to imagine a smoky room of sombre expert – perhaps smoking pipes – who have argue late into the night about points of grammar. Please don't spoil it).
Please stop sneaking peeks into the judging room. They told you the last time, no pipe for you until after the comp is over. 😏
Quote by WriterGirl
So… Molly… is “welcome back fall and routine” a hint at the next comp theme or are you just casually remarking about fall?
Haha sneaky lady. No, I was just commenting on it was the perfect time to get back to a routine so hopefully we would have time to write a bigger comp.
I'll leave this here and some cookies https://www.storiesspace.com/forum/writing-competitions-and-calls-for-submissions/announcing-the-winners-of-the-summer-love-competition
Thank you to everyone who participated, read, voted, shared the word, and cheered each other on. It's definitely needed! One of the things I love most about the competitions is when the judges use the phrase "I had a really hard time deciding." Please know that if you didn't make the top 10, it was only by mere points. This one was so close across the board. They were all wonderful, and you should all be proud. I know we are.
Without further ado, here are our winners!
1. Whispers Of The Tide by Expressomarkie
2. D*cks, T*ts and Swast*kas by Ping
3. With A Backpack Full of Manga On Top by OpheliaTusk
And rounding out the rest of the top 10...
4. Jelly Belly and Summer Dog by KatarinaTechgoddess
5. Screw Romance by TomEccleston
6. Guardian Angel by TheShyThespian
7. Shrivelled Grapes by Writergirl
8. That One Summer by AnnaMayZing
9. Mate in Two by Betweenthelines
10. I Don’t Like To Speculate by Pnin
Thank you all again. You're the heart and soul of this site. We've got another (big) competition in the works for September to help welcome back fall and routine. So keep that in mind.
To the winners, I will be in touch with you soon.
We got a late entry so that's 17! I'm hanging around, just in case.
I Don't Like to Speculate by Pnin
D*cks, T*ts, & Swast*kas by Ping
Rowan and the Willow Tree by AnnaBanana
Guardian Angel by TheShyThespian
Jelly Belly And Summer Dog by KatarinaTechgoddess
The Rules of Attraction by CuriousAnnie
Mate In Two by BetweenTheLines
Summer of '71 by Meagananne1986
The Summer Neighbor by J_P_Sinclair
When Summer Calls… by JamesPBear
With A Backpack Full of Manga On Top by OpheliaTusk
That One Summer by AnnaMayZing
Here are the 16 entries we have so far! I'm so excited about this. There's still time.
D*cks, T*ts, & Swast*kas by Ping
Rowan and the Willow Tree by AnnaBanana
Guardian Angel by TheShyThespian
Jelly Belly And Summer Dog by KatarinaTechgoddess
The Rules of Attraction by CuriousAnnie
Mate In Two by BetweenTheLines
Summer of '71 by Meagananne1986
The Summer Neighbor by J_P_Sinclair
When Summer Calls… by JamesPBear
With A Backpack Full of Manga On Top by OpheliaTusk
That One Summer by AnnaMayZing
Okay, here are a few things for you to consider before you start (and yes, I ran this by a friend of mine who just finished recording their second CD):
Are you trying to get a message across or just idle word play, musings, et cetera?
Do you have a melody or rhythmic pattern? This may narrow down the pace, and the pace usually matches the choice of words and how they feel. E.g., aggressive vs loving vs sad.
Do you want rhymes or blank verses, or really just plain prose? Meaning: Is it a message/idea, a story, or just lyrics without much meaning?
What is the recurring theme? That will be your chorus.
How many lyrical/linguistic layers do you want to use? E.g., metaphors, straight to the point, or showing off your lyrical skills and knowledge by using razor-sharp innuendos and quadruple-meanings in every stanza?
For me, to sum all of that up. You're a poet already. You write song lyrics every time you write a poem. It only requires minor tweaking like repetition for the chorus. Although, some poetry has that in between stanzas anyway. It's heart and flow, beats and rhythm. All arranged to keep it flowing, to keep it moving. You don't have to have the music to have the heart of the message. Don't go at it as if you're writing a song; write the poem first, then make a song out of that.
Quote by WriterGirl
I’m working on a cover for a book of my scribbles for my son and my sister. I tried to incorporate some things from my stories. Here’s a couple I’m thinking about…
They are both beautiful, but I love the second one. It's the cat staring directly at you for me. It's like it has secrets and wants you to open the book to find out what they are.
Quote by Mendalla
In a recent post of mine, the software stroked out " ". I mean, I'm no fan of the place but seems a bit extreme for a legit, commonly used social platform.
They have it set so that all outside chat sites are blocked. It does include InstaG. One of the last large batches of spammers to come through were using links.
I want to remind everyone that our story counter does not always show the correct count. This has been an ongoing issue for years. Trust us when we say that we are checking the word limit on every story. Just because some may say they are over, doesn't mean they are.
Thanks in advance for your understanding!
Look at this! I step away for two days, and I come back to five new stories! That's fantastic. I have so much reading to do. Yay, keep 'em coming.
Shrivelled Grapes by WriterGirl
Whispers of the Tide by expressomarkie
That One Summer by AnnaMayZing
With A Backpack Full of Manga On Top by OpheliaTusk
When Summer Calls… by JamesPBear
And just like that, there are three. I love this part of the competition. Checking the queue every day to see who has completed their story and what brilliant idea they've come up with.
Shrivelled Grapes by WriterGirl
Whispers of the Tide by expressomarkie
Good morning. I want to thank everyone for your patience with my silence. In the last few months, I've lost several people, I've been sick, and my father has not been doing well. It is hard to stay fully focused on being responsible when your mind is pulled to its breaking point. I want to publicly thank gillianleeza and Sherzahd for everything they do. They are amazing. I don't know what either I or the site would do without y'all.
As for my announcement, I thought a fun little summer flash was in order: https://www.storiesspace.com/forum/writing-competitions-and-calls-for-submissions/summer-love-competition
Summer Love
Summer is the time for vacations, exploring new places, and meeting new people. The chances are pretty high that most of us have had a summer love. Was it something sweet and innocent, or passionate, both fleeting and never meant to last? Did you meet the love of your life?
It doesn't have to be a true story, but summer love is what we are looking for. Is it that first taste of love as a teenager, or are you escaping the tediousness of your day-to-day and finding someone that ignites life back into you?
Please keep in mind we are open to those 16 and above, and we will not accept erotic stories.
As always, all categories are open except for micro, musings, play, poetry, and song. That means you can make it a horror, Sci-fi, comedy, fantasy, etc. It doesn't have to go into romance.
Quick Rules:
This doesn’t have to be a true story.
The maximum word count is 1000.
You cannot submit already published work.
All Stories Space rules and guidelines apply. https://www.storiesspace.com/legal/acceptable-use-policy
The ending date is August 1, 2025
The winners will be announced on August 8, 2025
Prizes:
1st Place $100 (USD)
2nd Place $50 (USD)
3rd Place $25 (USD)
Have fun!
Quote by Mendalla
Molly is actually kind of lucky as forum admins go. A lot of us ARE the tech support. 🙄😉
It's a mixed bag. A little bit of a yay and boo not being able to fix things myself.
Even though it may not always appear like it, we(mods) are staying on top of things and we do try to keep the site flowing smoothly. With any luck the issue should be fixed shortly. That way we can get the next comp going.
Good morning/afternoon... https://www.storiesspace.com/forum/writing-competitions-and-calls-for-submissions/announcing-the-winners-of-the-writers-block-competition
In honor of Mardi Gras yesterday here are Beignets while you read.
That was short and sweet, but so much fun. The creativity on this site never ceases to amaze us. Without further ado here are your winners!
1st Place: The Deadline Pact by expressomarkie $50 (USD)
2nd Place: The Dandy Lion & The Whiter Box by KatarinaTechgoddess $25 (USD)
3rd Place: Purring Pussycats, Bird Poop, And The Voodoo Princess by WriterGirl $15 (USD)
Rounding out the top 10...
4th Ghost Writer by Ping
6th A Chip Off the Writer’s Block by JamesPBear
7th A Fresh Perspective by TomEccleston
8th Madame Thorne's Final Fortune by AnnaBanana
9th How To Procrastinate And Get Away With It. by CuriousAnnie
10th Inspired by Meagananne1986
All the stories submitted were wonderful and you should all be proud of yourselves. If you haven't read them, please do.
Do Not Skip This by OpheliaTusk
The Coffee Shop by AnnaMayZing
To the top three, I will be in touch about your prizes!
Thank you everyone for all that you do for SS. All of the promoting, supporting, and showing up. It does not go unnoticed. You are appreciated.
Adding to this list on my phone while at work is hard! We have 13 and a few hours to go...
The Deadline Pact by expressomarkie
Purring Pussycats, Bird Poop, And The Voodoo Princess by WriterGirl
A Chip Off the Writer’s Block by JamesPBear
Do Not Skip This by OpheliaTusk
Ghost Writer by Ping
The Dandy Lion & The Whiter Box by KatarinaTechgoddess
The Coffee Shop by AnnaMayZing
How To Procrastinate And Get Away With It. by CuriousAnnie
Ladies and gentlemen, we have our 10!
The Deadline Pact by expressomarkie
Purring Pussycats, Bird Poop, And The Voodoo Princess by WriterGirl
A Chip Off the Writer’s Block by JamesPBear
Do Not Skip This by OpheliaTusk
Ghost Writer by Ping
We've got nine, can we get 10 by the deadline?
The Deadline Pact by expressomarkie
Purring Pussycats, Bird Poop, And The Voodoo Princess by WriterGirl
A Chip Off the Writer’s Block by JamesPBear
Do Not Skip This by OpheliaTusk
Ghost Writer by Ping
