Weekly Wattpad Contests

Contest #55 Results

Preliminary:

I haven't disclosed this before, but this contest was to be judged based on how much tension was built within the very narrow word limit. You guys did not disappoint, and, on top of that, you produced some very interesting thematic works. I really need to stop underestimating you all. From now on, the Contests will be even more challenging!

First Place: SeleneFields with Witch Hunt

The moment I read this, I knew it was going to be my first place winner. It's not particularly ornate, or magical or mystifying, but, it absolutely terrified me. I had chills, forreal. This very short piece seems to be ghostwritten by Stephen King. Nothing anybody says will convince me otherwise.

The premise is unique and frightening, and it really stood out from all the entries. The beauty of this is that we don't need to care about the main character. The story is conceptually frightening, and it has such a great potential to be a fully fledged horror novel. I fully expect to see it on the bookshelves one day, with Stephen King's name on the cover.

Selene, I would absolutely love it if you write this novel.

Second Place: GiovannaSuleiman with Mothers and Daughters

I highly appreciate the message embedded into this story. It's an interesting read and a wonderful thing to note that this is both a story about hunting a witch and a story about saving the planet. While it doesn't do much in the way of building suspense, as per the criteria, I feel this is deserving of the unique way the narrative is formed around a different concept.

There's a particular symbolic beauty in Mothers and Daughters, and it's something I think we can perhaps all learn something from.

Third Place: SamShuttleworth with Hunted.

If we want suspense, I doubt we'd find it anywhere else. This story is both unusual and intense. It seems to force the reader into the thrills of a witchhunt, manipulating them with the pacing it sets and the subliminal associations we make the words.

It's an experimental piece, and that exploration certainly pays off.

Closing Notes:

I don't know how much review I can do on such short pieces. It's only impractical to write essays much longer than the works.

This is perhaps one of the contests with the most entrants I've seen, and I believe that is in part because of the word limitation. I'm very glad you all were so eager to rise to the challenge.

While the winners are presented here, I did struggle to decide on them. All the entries had particularly interesting aspects that I would love to mention, but I don't believe that is a workable precedence to set.

The best I can do is encourage everybody to go through all the entries again, and see what you like from them.

And, so, the witch hunts conclude. The witches win.