"Finally, the winners are announced and so are methods to improve!"

The long awaited results for the short stories genre is here! Firstly, a huge round of applause and a namaste to the judge,  conquestofthesomnium for spending her valuable time to judge the entries! Thank you! Secondly, Ilakshi and I would like to thank all the participants who took part!

Please respect the decisions and reviews of the judges! Do NOT blame them and bully them. If news of such irresponsible behavior reaches our ears, you will be reported without a second thought.

Let's continue to the scores!

•Book: Honey Tears || a poetry collection by ABCDEFGH10_1

*cover (3)

- a readable author’s name, readable title, nice background. but as appealing as the cover may be, it lacks connection to even just the title of the book. why is there a dove? how does that connect to the theme of the poems? yes, it may be poetic but you still have to provide clear connection. you have the skill to improve, so work on it.

*title (4)

- an apt title for a poetry collection. poetic in every essence. i could also say that honey tears is an allegory to something else. so, good job.

*creativity (4)

- the cries you ignore: it’s not all the time that i read poems with such themes. actually, it’s quite rare considering how most poems in wattpad focus on grief, heartbreak and such. writing a poem about our dying environment and adding your own input into it is wonderful.

- lost in the shadows: a narrative poem. it ain’t rare but truly refreshing to read. you were able to tell a story as well as paint various emotions. i can feel the psychopathic energy radiating from the words and the insane twist at the end. i wish there were more poems like this. random but will make you grin and think in the end.

- despondency of humanity: hatred is indeed the world’s biggest problem. and is often caused by stupid reasons.

*poems (9)

- personally, i enjoyed the poems very much. a few more fixes here and there and they will be perfect. 5 for personal enjoyment

- some parts of certain poems were wordy. if you could rephrase them (or reword), please do so. this will also help you improve the rhythm. also, your imagery is something worth noticing. you’ve used them effectively, to a certain degree. so keep that up. 4 for style of writing

*spelling (4)

- not much to note. but there was time when you wrote ‘put’ instead of ‘but’ in despondency of humanity.

*impact (9)

- certainly, this is an impactful poetry collection. you’ve got me thinking at the end of every poem. emotions were well-portrayed; stories were well-narrated; lessons were well-thought. kudos!

Total: 32/40

•Book: my experiments with poetry by Sasha_Samuel

*cover (3)

- minimalistic. i see that. i like minimalistic covers too. but it does not connect to the poems inside. base your cover in your poems’ theme. as i’ve read in the first three chapters, your poems deal with skin color, body shaming, self-acceptance, and such. you deal with loving and embracing one’s uniqueness and beauty. your cover does not give justice to your topics. go to canva and, since you want a minimalistic approach, try their line art graphics there. try monochromatic or maybe some polychromatic backgrounds. and please give your title more clarity.

*title (4)

- i like it. gives off poetic vibes which fits the genre. putting 'experiments' there made it sound like the poems will contain various topics.

*creativity (4)

- the theme throughout your first three poems were consistent. i like your approach on self-love. you added a ton of creativity into the topic, thus, they became alive. 25 shades of brown shared the same concept with 18 shades of black and, my, what a relief it was to read both poems. you showed just how beautiful those colors are. the finishing lines in both were *chef’s kiss*.

*poems (9)

- personal enjoyment: 5. i thoroughly enjoyed the poems.

- writing style:  4. now this is where i’d be able to suggest a few things. put stress on certain words in every line, then unstress. it should be that when the poem is read aloud, there is rhythm that makes you sway (or just bob your head lol). when you say a word (poetry, for example) there is stress in the first syllable, and unstress in the last. if you keep putting stress in a pattern, then you achieve rhythm. there are different rhythmic patterns (that i’m not gonna discuss); play with them and hear how your poem sounds.

an example: The Destruction of Sennacherib by Lord Byron

The Assyrian came down like the wolf on the fold,
And his cohorts were gleaming in purple and gold;
And the sheen of their spears was like stars on the sea,
When the blue wave rolls nightly on deep Galilee.

*stress in the highlighted words forms a pattern which results to rhythm (it’s annapaestic rhythm on this one.)

another thing. line breaks will help you get good rhythm too. i’ve noticed you had lines which were too long and you could have put a line break to get rhythm. line breaks give the illusion of time delay.

here’s an example of a line break: William Carlos Williams’ To a Poor Old Woman

They taste good to her
They taste good
to her. They taste
good to her

*notice how the line breaks make you pause before reading on? now, rhythm is not easy to master. i haven’t perfected it myself but every poet should be able to use it to convey their message effectively.

* spelling (5)

- not much to note.

* impact (9)

- the final lines in the poems i’ve read definitely left me with with something growing in my chest. so kudos on that!

Total: 34/40

•Book: Smitten by IpsitaMitraPupu

*cover (3)

- a clear title, readable author’s name, and a pleasing background. but something’s missing: connection. how are the elements of the cover connected with the contents? you placed lotuses as designs. how do lotuses connect with topics of passion, pleasure, love? lotus means rebirth, purity, and such. yes, you’ve got a red background (which could represent love) so that is a plus. but try to accentuate that even more. your poems are sensual, so make your cover sensual too. try canva’s line arts. they also got templates you can use.

*title (4)

- smitten. a word often connected with love and passion. but where is the poetic sense? add another word that will further define ‘smitten’. what is being smitten? how is it smitten? why?

*creativity (4)

- your poems are sensual. and they involved elements of the world and not just the human body. that is commendable. however, try to take out the humanness from your poems, if that makes sense. try to not involve the human body. make a connection between love and ocean waves. write about the sensuality of dewdrops on blades of grass. find out how passion is related to fire. all without the use of the words ‘heart’, ‘arms’, ‘lips’, or any body parts. instead, personify the non-human.
*poems (9)

- personal enjoyment: (5)

- writing style: (4) you’re big on poetic devices and imagery. you’ve got a good grip on what to write and how to write it. just try venturing out more.

*spelling (5)

- not much to note.

*impact (8)

- there is impact. but it is not the strongest. yet. ;)

Total: 33/40

•Book: Requiem: a poetry collection by MiniMoxx

*cover (3)

- aesthetic, readable title, readable author’s name. it’s good. but where’s the connection? how does a rose with fallen petals relate to the title? requiem means an act or token of remembrance. so it involves memories. how does a rose relate to memories? why don’t you try a clock to represent time and remembrance? or if you’re really into flowers, try out poppies. they mean remembrance.

*title (3)

- poetic, yes. but i fail to spot the connection between the act of remembrance and your poems. especially because requiems are mostly associated with the deceased. so i was expecting to read elegies. but no, that’s not what i got. or maybe you were trying to make an act of remembering a man’s love or an eaten bacon (lol).

*creativity (4)

- the first two poems i’ve read? they were unique. creative. funny. and symbolical. i give you that. the third one, however, is a common topic. death. almost every poet i know have written about death at least once. then what made yours different? what made it creative? it’s the wording. “when i cease to be” may be a common phrase, but you incorporated it amazingly into the poem

*poems (9)

- personal enjoyment: (5) because i’ve thoroughly enjoyed them. i love the second one, specifically. ;-)

- writing style: (4) here, i may have things to suggest. try line breaks. and make them purposeful. and you write narrative poetry. i do too. i see why you’re appealed to write them. but try other forms. try a villanelle to challenge yourself. or to fit your title, an elegy.

*spelling (5)

- not much to note.

*impact (9)

- your poems are impactful. they did leave me with several thoughts after reading.

Total: 33/40

•Book: poetry by @beingmyself06

*cover (3)

- the plainest book cover amongst all the participants. plainness is not necessarily a bad thing. but to attract readers, you better get a better cover.

*title (2)

- i’ll give you points for even putting a title. but, like your cover, it’s overly simple! find a word that will fit with the poems you write. then accentuate that word. or look at other poetry books. for example: “Pillow Thoughts” by Courtney Peppernell. it’s a title that will make you think and wonder. it attracts readers whilst also embodying the poems inside. that’s what a title does. Simply putting ‘Poetry’ as your title won’t work. readers will go, “Poetry? Okay. This is a poetry book. But what else? What are the poems about? What should I expect?” and ironically, even the word poetry doesn’t sound poetic enough. that’s why no poet titles their poetry books ‘poetry.’

*creativity (3)

- Facade: the desire to help a friend heal and feel accepted in this poem is evident. i appreciate the topic you wanted to discuss. however, the concepts of the lines you used are pretty basic. nonetheless, it was still creative in the sense that you were able to put these thoughts into words.

- Toxic: getting out of a toxic relationship may be one of the biggest reliefs in one’s life. but what comes after? you’ve dealt with that topic well in this poem.

- Nature: the message you wanted to send in this poem was evident. you made good use of similes. but again, the lines were subpar. describing something differently would spice up your poems. using better words would also add to their beauty.

*poems (7)

- personal enjoyment: 4.

- writing style: 3. your poems rhymed. that adds to the personal enjoyment. but some lines just didn’t satisfy my cravings for ‘poetic vibes.’ you seemed to be writing just normal phrases. still, i did find beauty in your poetry. there were also lines that made me smile and nod a little. tips: try different forms of poetry. and also different poetic devices. the best thing you can do is to research then apply. everybody starts somewhere and i can see you improving in the near future if you just keep going.

*spelling (4)

- not much to note, but i spotted several tense issues.

*impact (7)

- taking into consideration all the issues above, the impact did feel flat. but again, there were also moments that were just beautiful.

Total: 26/40

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Please respect your judge's opinion. Thank them for taking some time off their personal lives to judge and review your works. Do NOT send any sort of hate messages to them. If knowledge of any such events reach our ears, we shall report the hater.

I am extremely pleased to announce the winners of Poetry genre. To those who lost, do not worry. A little bit more hard work and your work is going to win the first place! Winners, please request for your rewards if we forget to deliver them. Our hearty congratulations to all the winners!

🎊The first place goes to:

My Experiments With Poetry by Sasha_Samuel

🎊The Second place goes to:
Requiem: a poetry collection by MiniMoxx

Smitten by IpsitaMitraPupu

🎊The Third place goes to:
Honey Tears || a poetry collection by ABCDEFGH10_1

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Thank you all for participating. Congratulations to everyone once again. Please direct message the respective host if you haven't received your prizes from them.

"One does not need to win the competition if they know that they have tried their best. Participation matters more than winning."

Your hosts,
Ilakshi and Marina ❤