Happy One Year Anniversary to the community! I'm not going to rant on about it, since I've already written 4500+ words of gratitude in the Jeweller's Store, but I will say a huge thank you to everyone who has been supporting the community - whether you have judged, participated, or just been a little cheerleader. Thank you so much for your support. I am honestly thrilled that this community is still going strong after a year. 

I'll be completely honest: this has been my favourite panel of judges to work with. I know I shouldn't say that, but it's true. Please, everyone, give a massive thank you to the following judges: 

agilasigma - Thank you so much for judging for us again! Despite your very busy schedule and the pain that real-life can be, you still were very responsive and always let me know about your progress. And, despite everything, you managed to get everything in on time - so thank you so much! You're a champion, and I'm so grateful to have you on the team. 

AstoriaRoses - It was such an honour to have you come back! As a previous runner-up, I knew you had a lot of experience and talent up your sleeve, so thank you for sharing that with us! You even requested to judge 30 books, and that is currently the record, so well done and thank you so much! 

GnomeMercy - As always, I'm blown away by the dedication when it comes to both judging and reviewing. Your feedback is so detailed and goes right into the technicalities of the story, and it's so reassuring to see that. Thank you for your commitment, thank you for always supporting me, and thank you for being a fantastic judge! 

GryffindorsLoneWolf - Lone Wolf, you are truly a blessing upon this planet. I don't know how you do it - you review, you judge, you get everything done on time, and you're barely getting enough time to do it! You're truly amazing, and thank you so much for being my longest-standing judge. 

NDeMeer - Honestly, what would I do without you? You're such an awesome judge. You get everything done well before time, you're always ready to step in when I need help, and even when you're busy, you are willing to lend us some of your time to judge. Thank you so much! Words cannot express how grateful I am to have you as part of the judging panel. 

And now, without further ado, let's move onto the shortlist? 

All stories had a minimum of three judges, and a maximum of four judges - and all judges are very experienced and very talented. In other words, when I say that the scores were tight, it carries extra weight. Most scores were clustered around the 80s, meaning that the quality of the stories were very, very high. You should all be very proud of yourselves. I'm sure the judges can all agree with me when I say that you all deserve a pat on the back. 

Now, our first shortlisted book is:

TITLE: Mark of the Moon

AUTHOR: MaryKhah77

FEEDBACK: 

- The cover picture is absolutely gorgeous, however the font was barely visible I had to squint to read the words.

- You introduced the characters well, but other than that the world isn't really introduced. I'm not saying that you should give out the entire plot, but adding a little more detail would really entice new readers. 

- The spelling and vocabulary in this book is pretty good. Not too sophisticated yet not too simple. However, a lot of the paragraphs are huge chunks & the reader can easily lose their place.

- Though she's high-ranked, Jane should be a lot more formal when it comes to the family. Also you don't describe the setting, I cannot envision the world whatsoever because it's not being described. Also, her romance with the prince should usually be forbidden, since she herself is not a royal. 

- A lot of the time, your dialogue is very modern, and sometimes the characters sound more like children rather than adults. And their thoughts also sound like their young. 

Overall, the plot itself is promising, I mean a woman who is high-ranked in her military becomes a spy? That's pretty amazing. However the execution isn't the very best. Jane sounds more like a 15 year old rather than someone who is supposed to be Captain. The setting is very vague and I wish I could see more of The Night War but you explained very little in one paragraph. 

Maybe you're holding off on explaining it but at times it didn't feel at all like a war story. It has A LOT of potential, and fantasy is a difficult genre since you're creating a whole other world, but the execution needs a little tweaking.

TITLE: The Legend of Mother Nature

AUTHOR: WyPark02 

FEEDBACK: 

Although I love the story of how Anochti came to the jungle, the first chapter is very telling. The first bit had me so intrigued, but then nothing happened with the snake, we just moved on to the story of her background, only to find out at the end of the chapter that it had plopped down next to her. This felt a bit underwhelming. The same goes for the next several chapters. There is mainly telling, rather than showing, and I'm really missing the showing in this story. I can tell that you have a fantastic unique and creative story here, there are lots of details very well placed and helping the story come to life a bit more. But the lack of telling in descriptions is a definite problem. Examples of this in later chapters would be the way you write about the room she wakes up in, or her fighting kit hanging on the wall, but also the way the looks of different characters are introduced to us. You've got a really awesome story here that I'm very interesting in seeing unfold, but it needs to be shown, not told. 

TITLE: Inevitable

AUTHOR: exposedwords

FEEDBACK: 

I don't usually enjoy reading fanfics (or read any at all) but I found myself enjoying this read! I felt as if the relationship between Leena and Thanos was natural, and was something that would have actually existed! — so well done! Also, I adored the natural way it segued into Infinity War, and Leena's power was super cool! (Be careful of overpowering her, though.)

Overall, your grammar was pretty okay. It wasn't horrible, and you knew your basics (I would notice, sometimes, that commas weren't exactly necessary, but this was quite rare). However, I did catch some mistakes, these were quite small, and simple mistakes I have noticed quite a handful of people make, so don't worry.

In the Prologue, I noticed this:

"Is that her?" A young girl's soft echoed.

If there is a question mark, and a verbal tag (aka: he said, she replied, they stated, she welcomed, he reported and so on) after, then it shouldn't be capitalised and be written like so:

"Is that her?" a young girl's soft voice echoed.

This next error was something that continuously happened, and pretty much everyone I have encountered on Wattpad seems to do this very thing (so don't worry):

"Report." Thanos commanded sternly...

Here, "Thanos commanded" is a verbal tag. — and that means it's actually a part of dialogue. So, if you use a period at the end of speech you are actually making a mistake. It should be:

"Report," Thanos commanded sternly.

Since it's a name, you don't need to de-capitalise (that's not a word) the "t" on "Thanos", but if this were a different situation you would have to.

In this next error I found, you used the wrong word:

How would decimating an entire civilisation restore the balance if they were no longer apart of it?

It should be:

How would decimating an entire civilisation restore the balance if they were no longer a part of it?

"Apart" means something completely different to "a part", and they're two separate words. (I think this was a typo, though.)

Lastly, I noticed this one other mistake:

His children had started to separate the Asgardian's, splitting the hall in half.

"Asgardians" actually doesn't need an apostrophe, as that apostrophe is telling us, the reader, that something belongs to them. If you are not talking about something that belongs to a certain person, but instead plurals, then it shouldn't have an apostrophe.

Overall, some small errors that can easily be fixed and some verbal tags (which are normal here on Wattpad). — if you fix these small mistakes, we'll have a lovely story on our hands. (I would also suggest putting your name on the cover, but I am being picky.) I enjoyed your writing a lot!

TITLE: Earth Warriors 

AUTHOR: LuisPetrizzoRengel

FEEDBACK: 

I like a good science fiction story (who doesn't love aliens?). However, there were a few things that bothered me. Your verb tenses don't match up. Sometimes they're in the present, sometimes they're in the past. You tend to jump scenes or break a chapter with videos, something I've never seen on Wattpad and I don't think is usually done. It doesn't really flow, and makes it a hard read. The chapters seem really long too. The overall point of view for the story seems to switch from first to third based on how the verbs are written. I do like the idea of the story, but it's overshadowed by quick scenes, overly described areas, a lack of flow and tense shifts. 

To all shortlisted participants: A massive congratulations! The competition was incredibly tough. And now, to our winners: 

IN THIRD PLACE: 

TITLE: The Kingfisher 

AUTHOR: shinrili

FEEDBACK: 

Minimal errors found, mostly misspelling (naïve, wannabe) and indention. The cover is formal, unique and enticing, while the blurb has enough to hook readers in with just the right fantasy expectations.

Very clean technical writing, so it's easy on the eyes even with its long chapter. The character traits and development/pacing are just right - not too slow nor too fast - which maintains the audience's attention. I'd highly recommend this work.

The political unrest in your world is something that can really interest certain types of readers. — I think you did a great job when it came to worldbuilding and plot. Your grammar was polished, and you had a good grasp on the storyline, and I only had a small problem with your story.

There were some typos I noticed — especially in chapter 1. I also noticed an error in word choice:

The man's black uniform shined in the sunlight.

Here, it should actually be it "shone" in the sunlight.

The man eyed the flock of naivewanna-be warriors.

Here, there needs to be a space between "naïve" and "wanna-be".

I noticed an inconsistency with the spelling of a character's name. In chapter one, the Princess of Light's name was spelt "Aylin". However, in Chapter 3 and onward it was spelt as "Aiylin" so you might want to correct that.

Overall, a wonderful story with a great plot and interesting characters. I think you have a good grasp on what you are doing, and that this story has a lot o potential! Good luck for the future!

OVERALL SCORE: 87.17/100

IN SECOND PLACE: 

TITLE: Unite: The Broken World Trilogy

AUTHOR: lionobsession

FEEDBACK: 

Although the blurb is on the short side, it had me intrigued and excited to read. A little more detail wouldn't hurt, I think. What I noticed in the first couple of chapters, was that your usage of descriptions, of similes and metaphors etc., is great, it's an amazing way to show the readers the scene. You're doing this really well. What could be improved though, is the details of the characters; I find it difficult to really get into your characters' heads. It's hard to really pinpoint what the problem is; maybe we need a bit more thoughts or description of feelings, or just background of the characters. But something to flesh then out and make them feel real. That is pretty much the only thing that can be improved in this story. The story is unique and original, the plot comes along really well and the pacing is great. Fantastic work.

I, firstly, spent a while analysing everything I read because I wanted to make sure I gave you some helpful feedback, instead of just "wow" "amazing story" "very much enjoyed". — I did enjoy your story, I loved your plot, I loved your world, I loved your main character's name. I can tell a lot of time and effort has been put into this story, and you've done your best to make sure it's good. 

Honestly, I think your chapters are pretty well written! I do think, at times, your writing was just a little telly (but I am being extremely nit-picky here). It's such a small slip from showing to telling that my only advice would be to look at your book again — a while after initially writing it — so that your grasp of writing is stronger and you can be a bit more judgemental about your work. 

Overall, I think you have an amazing story in your hands! Well done! I had a pleasure reading it!

OVERALL SCORE: 87.63/100 

IN FIRST PLACE: 

TITLE: Larksong

AUTHOR: Davrielle

FEEDBACK: 

Minimal errors found, mostly missing punctuation marks (Dr., brother's). The cover is formal and enticing, while the blurb has enough to hook readers in. Very clean technical writing with just the right pacing and development. Tense consistency helps people not used to reading present tense get used to it. I'm hard-pressed to find faults so far.

I also enjoy how you didn't just throw us into the war, you build into it. There's something special about historical fiction, especially done right. It takes the reader back in time and they can feel, see and react to everything as if they were truly there. 

Also, I absolutely adored the title name! "Larksong" has such a sweet tone to it! 

I can tell you that, overall, your writing style was quite pleasant and your grammar was polished! I do think you should be careful of run-one and phrases that repeat themselves — and a quick re-read of your story should spot them.

In Chapter 3, I did notice some typos and errors that can be fixed with a quick edit. One of these errors was this:

She holds the green apple in her hand. " You see, you take one end and then slice it..."

There is an unnecessary space between the speech mark and the text.

On the subject of speech, I did feel as though your characters spoke quite casually for the time this story was set in. I think it would have been better if their speech was more formal and less like modern times — as this story is set a little over a century ago, and they spoke quite differently.

I think you have a wonderful storyline — with quite a compelling backstory — and all you need to do is watch out for run-ons, typos, and casual speech. I think this story has a lot of potential, and is well on its way to being an amazing story. Good luck on your writing adventures!

OVERALL SCORE: 89.17/100

And that's another wrap! A massive congratulations to our shortlisted stories and authors - you guys are awesome, especially considering how tight the scores were. Also, sorry about the awkward fractions - that tends to happen when you have more than two judges on each case! 

If you would like to give me feedback on running this community, I'm open to hearing it! I don't bite, I promise. Do I spam too much? Have I been disrespectful? If so, let me know. 

Finally, Happy One Year Anniversary! I'm so excited for another year full of amazing literature. If you'd like to see my massive celebratory chapter, please check out the Jeweller's Store, and look for the chapter that says, "Sunshine's Picks: One Year Anniversary!". I have... a lot there. I was initially going to do a Q & A, but there's not much to ask me, so I thought it'd be apt to talk about some of my favourite books and people. 

Have a great October, everyone!