THEME: SOMETHING NEW

I would like to apologise in advance for the many typos that will be everywhere. I am sleep deprived. But this is fine. I decided to host these awards. 

So, this was a really, really big month! We had a record number of entries, which led to a massive shortlist full of talented writers.

In all honesty, this was the month I needed the most judges. And while I was disappointed, I can also say that I was incredibly impressed by the following: 

CannibalisticNecro - Offering to judge 20 books? In 15 days? On top of judging for another bunch of awards? Even though you were already sick? You are literally crazy, but I sincerely appreciate you for it. While it may not have ended up coming down to judging 20, you still judged a big number of books (12 is still the highest so far, I think!), and your constant updates and offer to help out was the most reassuring thing. Thank you so much for all your time. 

GnomeMercy - My absolute legend. As always, your judging is perfect, your reviews are detailed and so beneficial to the authors, and you're always ready to lend an extra hand. I'm very lucky to have you as part of the team, and you always manage to be punctual even while reading and reviewing an entire Throne of Glass series. Thank you so much for your hard work -- you're an angel. 

GryffindorsLoneWolf - Someone give Lone Wolf a massive bouquet of roses, some chocolate, and a round of applause, because she holds the record for being the longest running judge for these awards. She participated in February 2019, and judged in March 2019 -- and hasn't stopped judging since. And, every single month, she has been punctual and professional in her scoring. I'm so glad these awards have given me the opportunity to meet you. Thank you so much!

LeafStorm924 - I don't know what Wattpad God brought you to this community account, but thank goodness it did because your judging has been life-saving! You were punctual, kept me informed, and your judging itself was fantastic and fair. Thank you so much for being a fabulous judge and lending your time to these awards! 

lionobsession - Another one of my absolute champions. A familiar face to everyone, when you're not participating, you're lending your time to judge instead -- which is no small thing, on top of all the stories and studying that you do. As always, your judging is phenomenal, you have a great work ethic when it comes to this sort of thing, and I am so grateful to have met you through these awards. Thank you so much!

morrison_hotel - Another surprise judge! I don't know how you found the community page, but you really swooped in and saved me when I realised that we had too many entries and not enough judges. You were ready to pitch in some of your time, and you not only got it done, but you were punctual and informative about it, too. Thank you so much for being a legend! 

NDeMeer - Ah, yes. Let's sob together, shall we? You have probably been one of the biggest supporters of these awards -- giving it shout-outs, participating, judging, tagging others. And though our time with these particular awards have come to an end, I'm so grateful for the fact that it allowed me to meet such a wonderful, hard-working, and talented person. You are an absolute champion, and thank you for your months of friendship and judging! 

ray_of_sunshine9 - Yes, I'm thanking myself. Because, rather than ranting about everything that went wrong, I'm going to change my mindset and be grateful. And so, I am grateful to myself for judging 16 books in three days, and managing to get things done on time. Turns out, with a bit of caffeine, anything is possible. 

And now, what we've all been waiting for: the results. I laughed a lot while organising the scores, because most books ended up getting almost the exact same scores if they were judged by more than one judge -- so we know it was as fair as it could have been! Since we have so many entries, I can't do my fancy little lines between every story, and this will be very long. Good luck! 

Also note: the scores were very close. The winners scores were very high. And so, to celebrate, if any story got 85/100 or higher, I let them know with their feedback. 

SHORTLISTED STORY: Dragonriders 

AUTHOR: Gugus4682

FEEDBACK: The book looks very professional. From the beautiful simple cover to the pretty little page breaks inside the book itself. Very nice. The first couple of chapters are very telling, though. I'd go so far as to say some of them were no more than an info dump. I can see very clearly from the first couple of chapters that your story, and the world it's set in, is incredibly creative. Every now and then it reminded me slightly of How To Train Your Dragon, but it is clear that you gave the dragon taming theme your own spin, made it your own and created a unique story. What's also clear from these chapters, though, is that it needs some work in presentation; the writing itself. Show don't tell is the aspect of writing you still need to master. Find a way to show us all these exciting events, show us the excitement Owyn feels when he sees all those dragons, so that we get pulled into the story and can't help but to continue reading.

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SHORTLISTED STORY: Artistica

AUTHOR: ModernWaterRider

FEEDBACK: What instantly stands out, both from the summary and the first paragraphs of the story, is that world building is your strength. You've created an amazing, unique world for the characters, the likes of which I've not seen anywhere else. On the other hand, what I notice mostly about this story so far is that there is a lot of telling, rather than showing, going on. A good example is this paragraph towards the end of chapter 1: "It was so typical of Julian to be that formal. (...) Despite Veronika, Lacy, and their parents telling him to be less uptight, he wouldn't budge in his ways." I can see that you're trying to show us his uptightness by expanding on it, but it is still telling. Show us this characteristic of his, by showing us the other characters telling him to be less uptight and by having him do it again seconds later. By having him explain why he likes acing formal, even. Also, be mindful of whose POV you tell the story from; most of it is from Julian's POV, but halfway through chapter 2 you suddenly switch to Veronika. All in all, this is an engaging story with relatable characters. Nice start.

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SHORTLISTED STORY: Stormbringer: King

AUTHOR: RainingStorms

FEEDBACK: The first thing that stood out to me, was that the prologue seems redundant. It doesn't seem to add anything that the story itself can't show us, and chapter 1 pretty much reiterated the most important things I took away from the prologue; their personality. I'd suggest just scrapping the prologue. Chapter 1 starts with a bit of an info dump about their personalities and such. The revelation that they were 5 and 7 years old felt very jarring to me, because they act and speak more like teenagers. On the other hand, I thought the interactions between the characters were very nice and fun to read. The characters are relatable, too. The story looks very professional in terms of spelling and grammar. All in all, although the beginning didn't quite hook me in, the further I got into the story, the better an impression it left. 

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SHORTLISTED STORY: Minsdrelle Saga: The Son, the Bearers, and the Finder 

AUTHOR: VismayVairagi

FEEDBACK: In terms of grammar and writing, I think you did a decent job when it came to both. There were minimal errors in grammar (though I recommend an edit as there were some small mistakes), and your writing was quite easy to read, though rather tell-y. However, there were some awkward phrases that I read, which can easily be solved with a quick reread and edit. 

In terms of plot, I think it was definitely interesting! However, I did feel as if things went a bit too fast. After the prologue, a lot of things were told to us instead of shown, too. I recommend slowing things down and letting things flesh out a little more so it's easier for the reader to understand.  

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SHORTLISTED STORY: Silence

AUTHOR: ur_favouritexx

FEEDBACK: While grammar was alright, and there weren't too many mistakes (though I do recommend a small and quick reread and edit to find smaller things—such as unnecessary commas), I did have some tiny problems with your writing style. My main problems was run-ons—where you would repeat a word a handful of times in a sentence. Here is one example from the prologue:

She blew out a breath, and her eyes watered, and tears fell in loops from the corner of her eyes.

To solve this problem, I recommend using synonyms or rephrasing the sentence.

In terms of plot, I think you had a very interesting one! I was intrigued and definitely wanted to know more and what happens. While there are some things you could work on, I think you have the base line for a very interesting read!

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SHORTLISTED STORY: Rebel

AUTHOR: TheLadyCharcoal

FEEDBACK: In terms of grammar, it was clean—and I didn't notice too many mistakes. However, you did have a problem with verbal tags. Verbal tags are basically anything like: "he said", "they replied". If you have a dialogue sentence, and a verbal tag comes after (if it's anything else that is not related to speech, this doesn't apply), you must use either a comma, dash, exclamation or question mark at the end of the dialogue. While it seemed as if you knew that, I did notice some errors when it came to question marks and exclamation marks. Here is an example:

"Who's that?" She asked.

It should be: 

"Who's that?" she asked. 

In terms of characters and plot, I really liked your system of magic! I liked the system of aging, too, and wanted to know more about it! The War sounded really interesting, and I liked the dynamic between characters. It sounded like there was a lot of history between some characters, and I was excited to know more about that.

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SHORTLISTED STORY: Behind Boleyn

AUTHOR: traci_edmunds

FEEDBACK: 

In terms of the actual prose and grammar, I think you have a great and interesting writing style; however, your sentences can sometimes tend to be redundant: where some words repeat themselves multiple times in a sentence, which can make phrasing a little awkward, and make it sound a little stilted. Grammar was clean, and I didn't see too many mistakes! Well done. It was clean and easy to read, so good job with that!

I thought the plot was lovely! It was really intriguing to read about Anne Boleyn, and I absolutely loved the twist with Millie coming into the picture and changing up her life. I loved how you stuck to facts (though not much is really known about Anne Boleyn) and did a good amount of research (I also adored Millie's witchy spells and potions, it was a nice touch!). In terms of characters, my only advice would be to really delve deeper into Millie's motives, and don't be afraid to flesh out the plot and take your time with things.

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SHORTLISTED STORY: Hating Mr Stone

AUTHOR: PrincessBlu06

FEEDBACK: This work was a ride from start to finish. Word choice and sentence structure were enjoyable, and the author utilises suspense in a way that always leaves the reader at the edge of their seat. The dialogue is well-written as well, being realistic and engaging. However, one thing the author may want to work on is the skill of "show, not tell", as to further draw in the reader. Other than that, only minor grammatical errors were found. Overall, this was a very pleasant read. 

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SHORTLISTED STORY: Trailing Stars

AUTHOR: words_for_food

FEEDBACK: While occasionally rather long-winded, Trailing Stars is a raw, realistic and absolutely touching work. Mona, the main character, was written very well, and her interactions with her sisters and friends were also those that were a delight to read. The poems in the story and the meanings they held were deep and profound, holding a sort of prose that made it beautiful. This work holds resemblance to books such as Thirteen Reasons Why, and one that will shake you to your very core.

Congratulations on a score of 87.5/100!

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SHORTLISTED STORY: Musings

AUTHOR: NCharlz

FEEDBACK: Staying true to the theme "something new", this work includes the interesting concept of muses, idea-bearing beings that can only be seen by the pure of heart. The battle over the intelligence of Countdale's people is certainly one that stimulates our own minds - just what can be deemed "intelligent"? Musings does a good job of illustrating how society sees those they deem stupid or unworthy, although some of their ideas, such as those regarding capitalism, may have benefitted from more subtle portrayals. Despite that, this is definitely a book that will make you think, and reconsider much about how things are today.

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SHORTLISTED STORY: Trace

AUTHOR: oceanacamerons

FEEDBACK: Rich with decadence, luxury and sensuality, Trace is much like a glass of wine; it blurs your senses, turns you giddy with its richness, but never fails to leave you hoping for more. The main character, Elijah, and his fiasco involving the dancer was an unbelievably exciting one, and although worldbuilding and character interactions did have room for improvement, the quick-paced storyline, which never went a paragraph without excitement, made up for it. Although it appears dull at times, this story ultimately proves to be one-of-a-kind.

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SHORTLISTED STORY: Melting Love

AUTHOR: See_Barb_Write

FEEDBACK: Layla is a brilliant character. I love her internal thoughts and her reactions to certain situations. Her voice and personality come through amazingly off the page, as do the supporting characters around her. All this is aided by correct spelling, punctuation, and grammar, with interesting and creative use of sentence/paragraph structure. The only thing that was distracting for me, as a reader, was the amount of 'telling' and not 'showing' within the book, particularly in the earlier chapters. I'm not saying there should be no 'telling' whatsoever– sometimes it's a useful tool – but I want to see she's nervous and excited rather than be told she was nervous and excited.

The way the plot is structured is great too, with a natural build-up and following on of events. There's also plenty of intrigue and making me want to read on. A great story.

Congratulations on a score of 89/100!

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SHORTLISTED STORY: The Thousand-Eyed Crow

AUTHOR: aerys_the_mad

FEEDBACK: Your writing is highly accurate in terms of spelling, punctuation, and grammar. It was easy to read and follow, but I feel there could be more variety, particularly in sentence/paragraph lengths, to really increase the tension. This is a highly dramatic plot which needs to be reflected in the writing. But I love the style and the natural way the characters speak. Dialogue is great, and the descriptions are vivid too.

The characters seem really realistic and well thought-out. I particularly thought the love/hate sibling relationship between Kallias and Caoimhe was entertaining to read and is something that readers are likely to relate to. As for the plot itself, it all happens very quickly. Just within the first chapter, they wake up from their shared dream, see the paranormal shadow, had breakfast, argued, had Caoimhe being possessed, then taken to the hospital, then had a discussion about cults with the doctor. It's a lot to take in, especially at the beginning of the book. I'd recommend showing large time jumps with page dividers (***) to aid readers, or feel free to split up the activities within the chapters, which will then give you more space to go into more detail in your descriptions.Saying all this, I do love the way you weave bits of information into the story about the sci-fi world outside. The news, the sun, the ban of the religious – it all makes it feel real.

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SHORTLISTED STORY: When Hope is Gone

AUTHOR: Writer_of_God

FEEDBACK: 

You have such a fascinating premise, that is quite heartbreaking! The little girl with a number as her name, and her death in particular, was very sad and memorable for me. There were also some great moments of philosophy all throughout your story – describing humanity, morality, and hope. Those letters made a great addition to your story, especially since they started from the beginning and showed to be a recurring theme, with the hidden notes inside a teddy-bear concept.

Now, the biggest issue I found – and say biggest because this actually disrupted the fluency of the writing and made it difficult to engage with – was your tenses. You kept going back and forth from past to present tense, in both the prologue (the past) and the rest of the chapters (the present). For example:

I saw Hope open her mouth but then close it, realising that we all know where Mother is.

If we break it down:

I saw Hope... [saw = past tense]

... we all know where Mother is. [know, is = present tense]

You need to keep your tenses consistent.

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SHORTLISTED STORY: Out of the Ordinary

AUTHOR: sboufath

FEEDBACK: The summary works, but ordinary was said far too many times. I would recommend a rewrite. The story had a lot of verbiage, so I'd be careful for that. There was a lot of information that didn't need saying or could've been worded in a more interesting way. The story itself is cute, and the writing technicalities are there, but it misses the mark with intrigue. When reading, little caught the eye or felt unique. Something about the writing style itself lacked emotion, and the characters felt a bit weak. But I'm sure this will eventually be something great with more going over. 

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SHORTLISTED STORY: A Careless Whisper

AUTHOR: Intonation13452

FEEDBACK: The blurb says all we need to know about the story, but it was a bit jarring to read after the quote at the top, so I recommend checking it out and smoothing it out. To start off for the story, the pacing felt a bit fast, yet the plot line itself didn't feel too meaningful. I found myself uninterested in the MC's day since not much was of interest or held a sturdy plot, and while the story shows a knowledge of band, it can be a bit bland to one who isn't involved with instruments. The characters didn't have strong, unique voices, nor were many visuals given in the story. But this is a good start to a story. It's a backbone for something that could end up great. Make a stronger, more focused plot line and add a lot more visuals and distinct character traits, and this could certainly become something great.

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SHORTLISTED STORY: The Knight and the Peasant

AUTHOR: SirTurtletheIII

Feedback: The summary tells all that's needed about the story, though I would recommend going over it, smoothing it over, and possibly adding a hook to the start. This story is certainly interesting, and I like the personalities of the characters and hispanic touches to a medieval fantasy world. The dialogue felt a bit unrealistic at times, though, and I found the story a bit odd in tone. Though a medieval world, the speech felt too... modern, perhaps? Something about the text, too, felt off. The writing was good, no doubt, and with few errors, but the story felt very YA. If that's what you're going for, though, you've made a story for the proper audience. Also, be careful since some of the sentence structures were awkward. Overall, this is a good start to a story. Though I will say it's a bit juvenile, and the writing itself could use work, but again, it's a good start.

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SHORTLISTED STORY: The Drawings Never Lie 

AUTHOR: JadeY_oung

FEEDBACK: This story was interesting and original! I love how you've captured the main character in the first person point of view; it's incredibly hard to do. The descriptions of the surroundings, her emotions and the dialogues were on point and helped build Ramona's world.

I'm not sure why though, you keep putting apostrophes in several words that don't need them. Like, in part four (chapter 2): The ebony officer actually let's out a breathy laugh. The 'lets' doesn't need an apostrophe. The other thing I noticed was that, within the chapters, you write in first person present point of view, you've accidentally wrote some verbs in the past tense. Be careful about this; some people tend to be picky about this (like me). 

The pacing of the story was done very well. I didn't find it being rushed and I enjoyed the changes with every chapter (points of view and scenes). Ramona, even from her bed and with the things going on with her, is a relatable female.

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SHORTLISTED STORY: 2020 Revision

AUTHOR: Gabthesecond

FEEDBACK: Some descriptions were simple, but they got the point across. The suspense and cliff-hanger type endings to chapters kept me highly interested. The summary itself was short and sweet, though a bit of work could be done when it comes to structuring dialogue; it was sometimes a little confusing. Each chapter gave introductory explanations of motivations of character choices, which was fantastic, and while some relationships are a little hard to understand, I assume they will become clearer as the book progresses and character development increases. 

That aside, the idea is super original and I will 100% keep reading as this is updated. 

Congratulations on a score of 89/100!

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SHORTLISTED STORY: Nick's Valentine

AUTHOR: Kaiddance

FEEDBACK: Oh, this story was so cute! I absolutely enjoyed it and look forward to seeing what happens with Nick! I love the twist on the Santa Claus character. You made him so relatable to any of the younger (or older) generation! The fact that he hates his job, he was looking forward so much to seeing the person he loved and have that go down the drain, and his friends, who were awesome and supportive by the way!

I do think the plot could've been slowed down. The scenes where he's meeting Erica and where he's with Aphrodite's friends seemed rushed. Take time to build up the characters and scenes; it's alright if the chapters become longer (I know you're writing a novella, but still). The descriptions were perfect, however. They weren't too long or cliché or lacking.

You really did a wonderful job with this story! I honestly think you could make it a novel; it's got the foundation and backbone for one! (And if you don't mind me saying, I think it'd make a great Hallmark movie!)

Congratulations on a score of 89/100!

Anyways, that is all the shortlisted books. Congratulations to all, because the competition was very tough. 

And now... for the winners...

We actually had two stories receive third place! So: 

TIED IN THIS PLACE: 

STORY: The Play

AUTHOR: Anyone187

FEEDBACK: You have a short summary, but it has everything a summary needs—so well done! I was definitely intrigued, and wanted to read more.

In terms of grammar and writing style, I absolutely loved the way you wrote! It was so easy to read the story, and get wrapped up inside the mystery! Grammar was clean—though, if I had to be nit-picky, I would say that sometimes, in between em dashes (and sometimes hyphens when you were trying to indicate stuttering) there would be spaces between the words and the dash— like so. Those aren't necessary, actually, so I recommend you do a small edit to clean those up.

In one of the earlier chapters I noticed "never mind" was written as one word. I did some research, and "never mind" is actually two words, so I recommend you try to clean that up a little. These were such small errors, and I think you did a really great job overall in these areas!

In terms of plot, I really enjoyed reading! Thrillers are a very interesting topic, and while I have seen the "psychopathic kidnapper" trope before, it was lovely to see your spin on it. I think this is such an interesting story, with realistic characters and a wonderful plot! Your grammar was almost flawless! Well done.

SCORE: 92.5/100

AND ALSO TIED IN THIRD PLACE: 

STORY: Wicked Waters

AUTHOR: CeeMTaylor

FEEDBACK: Your cover is absolutely beautiful; it's one of the best I've seen on here! Definitely original and amazingly done. You should honestly open a graphics shop. Getting back on track...your story is well written. You have a strong understanding of your characters and show them well through the dialogues and emotions. I do think you're missing a few words here and there, but they don't detract the reader from the story.

The other thing that I noticed was the dialogue tags. I think on one of them you used the word 'scowled' at the end of a dialogue as in: "He's not like this," she scowled. Scowled isn't usually a word used to describe speaking. A better way would be to say maybe, "he said, scowling."

The descriptions are amazing. I feel like I'm transported into the story, living within your characters. It's a gift that many writers would wish to achieve. I'm glad I found a new book to read! Keep up the amazing work! Also, I wish I could give extra points for the guyxguy romance!I'm a sucker for a good guyxguy story! (But she can't because, alas, the host is cruel like that). 

SCORE: 92.5/100

IN SECOND PLACE: 

STORY: For Those Who Don't Believe in Love Songs

AUTHOR: david_hull

FEEDBACK: Although slightly on the long side, the summary was incredibly engaging, showed off your creativity and the uniqueness of the story, and got me very excited to read the story. And boy, I was NOT disappointed! I am writing this halfway through the first chapter and I'm already blown away by this story. The way you draw your readers in, the way you show us Martha as a character, her thoughts and feelings, how she perceives things, it all comes together to make an unforgettable tale. The characters are adorable together, the plot develops in a nice pace, and the descriptions are wonderful, even though the main character hates metaphors. After three chapters, I have nothing more to say about this. It is a genuinely unforgettable tale. I can't wait to finish reading it. 

SCORE: 95/100

IN FIRST PLACE: 

STORY: Goliath Fallen

AUTHOR: aclouis

FEEDBACK: The cover doesn't especially catch the eye, but the color scheme and image fits the theme. My complaint for it would actually be the text. It's a bit hard to make out the subtitle and the author name doesn't especially stick out (and it's placement is odd). No complaints about the summary, other than a bit of a nitpick where I think semicolons would help (Lucas, info; Nathan, info; and Izzy...). Now, immediately when I started reading, I got a sense of nostalgia, in a good way, which may seem odd. This reminded me of when my boyfriend reads to me. This information may seem odd, but I would like to point out that this means it not only seems like a real story, but I also compared it instantly to published sci-fi stories. That is a great sign. The book sounds professional. I don't know what more to say. Everything is near-perfect. 

Near perfect indeed with: 

SCORE: 96/100

And after many sleepless nights, that is the conclusion of The Monthly Gemstone Awards. Thank you so much to everyone who has participated in the past twelve months. Can you believe it? Twelve rounds of awards. I still can't. Wow. 

A massive congratulations to all the winners, and all shortlisted books! The competition this month was beyond tough, as you can tell with such high scores. I encourage all writers to take whatever feedback you can on board and use it to hone your skills. I believe in you all! 

I also must give a few special shout-outs to several people who have kept me sane throughout these awards. They're names you've probably seen me go on and on about, but truly, they are some of the most talented, most hard-working, most beautiful people on this planet. Thank you so much to my champions: GnomeMercy, GryffindorsLoneWolf, lionobsession, and NDeMeer. If you ever need to vote someone as President of the Universe, I encourage you to choose one of these guys. They are phenomenal. 

While these awards are now officially over, feel free to check out The Monthly Gemstone Awards 2020: Short Story Edition! Because, truly, I don't care about my sleep. The new awards run a bit differently; they will feature writing prompts, and you must write stories based on said prompts in a limited amount of time. However, I highly recommend it -- it'll be super fun to see what magic we write! Besides, more writing... more feedback... more improving... more stunning literature. I don't know why you wouldn't participate. The February prompts are super cool. 

Congratulations again to everyone involved, and thank you to everyone for your ongoing support. I love you all!