Hello again friends, acquaintances, and other.

It is with great pleasure in which I type this up at my office at 20:37 on a Saturday Evening, instead of playing Dungeons and Dragons while getting absolutely (moderately) intoxicated with my ex-boyfriend.

So, here wo go:

Preface to Contest Results:

I'm quite pleased to have participated in my first contest! Congratulations to me.

I hope you all went well and stretched your typing hand.

I have a hand-cramp now from typing up these results (yes, I'm typing my preface last, it's technique).

Going into this, I didn't fully know what to expect. Participation wasn't the best, we had very few entries, but that's absolutely fine. It gave me the time to really think thoroughly on all the stories presented.

You can find all the entries here if you want to take a look (and I do recommend that you do): https://www.wattpad.com/list/747430165-weekly-contest-valentines

I'll ask Nadia from the Contests account to pretty please add a picture of me in my Zombie Appreciation Day outfit, to ensure you all that I had an absolutely wonderful time getting wasted and singing Bon Jovi songs at Karaoke.

I hope you had as much fun as I did in Valentine's week.

Also, please note that Bonus points don't actually do anything, but it's always nice to have them. Now, ONTO THE RESULTS!

Crossing This Bridge -   Katherynnicolee

First Impressions:

This is perhaps the only story I've read where I wasn't intoxicated, and boy am I glad for that! I have absolutely no desire to go into a drunken existential crisis, because this one hit me - hard.

At first, I thought that story was all over the place – in a good way. It brings up really serious topics and very complicated concepts, mixing light, fun humour with deep emotional reflection. It sounds messy, but it turned that was all for a very good reason.

I wouldn't recommend reading it if you have human emotions.

The Critical Analysis:

Structurally, this is very well written. It progresses naturally and takes you on a very simple journey of introspection. While it may seem, at first, like a lot of loose strings are thrown into the mix, the author ties it in to a very simple, very poignant, ribbon at the end.

Conceptually, this is wonderful. The only character that matters is simple, defined and has a valid character arc. The story addresses the notion of desire and self-fulfilment, and alludes to that constantly. It says to the reader, "Hey, you know what matters on Valentine's Day, truly? You, you and you. Go chase your happy ending, Darling."

Do we want to talk about escapism? Are we prepared for that? You bet your sweet patootie we are:

Katherynnicolee evidently understands the importance of chasing hopes and dreams in black heeled boots. While, on Valentine's Day, perhaps family, love and chocolate from the teacher's lounge vending machine might be vital, the real MVP's are a person's ability to recognise opportunity's open door and shove your foot in there before it slams shut.

To be real – life sometimes sucks. Responsibility, Mental illness, social pressure, all the good stuff. Sometimes people want to get away from that, to find a way out. It's the most basic reason for film and literature's great success over the years. It presents us with an opportunity to get out of that, to escape for maybe a few minutes or hours and live somebody else's life with them.

This story takes that very concept and lays it out flat, for everybody to see. And that's wonderful.

The narration here is ...

Wowee.

It's light and funny, it's aware, it's pensive. The narrator has very firm opinions on the world she lives in, but is open to change and learns the value of paradigm shift and actively chasing your desires.

While the character-fulfilment is granted by an external (debatably) source, it does imply that it's self-affected.

My only problem with this entry is the shift of narrative perspective, from our main character to what I believe is her own delusion's. While many authors utilise certain strategies for stories to be self-aware and self-critical, there is a chance that it become spoon-feeding. Readers generally don't like to be told what they can infer themselves.

But, other than that one minor point, this story hits all the sweet spots.

Bonus points for purple and gold!

Concluding Thoughts:

It's a wonderful story, very well written, with good pacing and an interesting concept.  Katherynnicolee says that she's not sure if the story is going to stay up for much longer after the contest, but I think it should.

Additionally, I think the concept has potential to be a great novel.

Definitely dip into this one if you have emotions made of steel.

Capturing a Star – The Tale of Abigail Shoklade - boring_human

First Impressions:

This story is so stupid and I had a smile all while reading it. It's simple, it's plain, it's a little funny and its cute. I like how straightforward it is and the way it reads like a children's story.

To me, it doesn't seem like boring_human set out to write the next national bestseller. They took the prompt for what it was, and wrote a fun little story, and that's the best way to start my Saturday.

The Critical Analysis:

Simply put, this story isn't made to be critically analysed, so let's talk about that for a second:

If you've ever played a game of make-belief with your friends, like Dungeons and Dragons, Cards Against Humanity, or Pictionary, you might be familiar with the idea of 'fun'. We don't play games to follow rules or get drowned out in the nitty gritty mechanics of it all. We play those games to have a great time, and that is what this story basically is.

This entry is absolutely perfect for the contest – it's creative, with an interesting world, character and plot. The main character, Abigail, has clear opinions about the world around her and the events that take place, and she makes decisions based on those opinions. The theme is very simple, and very effective.

Perhaps you're familiar with Ralph Waldo Emerson's essay, 'Self-Reliance'. In it, he talks about a person's need for individuality and their desire to avoid conformity and follow their own instincts and ideas.

"A foolish consistency is the of little minds, adored by little statesmen and philosophers and divines."

That's what this story is. And it's wonderful. Abigail learns the value of friends, family and self-reliance (but it's good food too).

I have one note of importance: Inexperienced authors tend to add unnecessary plot twists or commentary that can really detract from the value of a story. In Capturing a Star, the story ends with, "They all lived happily ever after, until one of them died."

This is perfectly okay, because it fits with the spirit of the story. The story isn't taking itself seriously, and the silliness of it adds to the charm. So, good on boring_human

Bonus for Little Red!

Concluding Thoughts:

I cannot fully express how much I like this story. I'm not sure if it's for everybody, but if you want a little light reading, or a fun little silly story, ask your Mom to read this to you when you go to bed.

Or get drunk (if you're legal) and read this with your friends. It's good.

Red - PaigeCollins

First Impressions:

The contest was a weird one, admittedly, and this story's hook suits it so well:

"On Valentine's Day there was only three things that mattered to Olivia Castle and running for her life wasn't one of them."

It reads like a young-adult spy action novel, with the obligatory romance and ominous, mysterious agency included.

And it delights me to no end.

The Critical Analysis:

My absolute favourite thing from this story is the character. My specialisation in acting, and character work is generally very important to actors, so when I see a good character, I see potential for a great story.

Our main character, Olivia, is a woman of simple desires – finish watching The Big Bang Theory, consume copious amounts of pizza, and avoid the gush of love from other couples. Her character arc is a strange one, and she learns the value of living, saving the world and cute space guys.

This story is predominantly a first act to the Hero's Journey. We meet the hero in her ordinary world, we receive the call to action, we follow along as our character refuses to participate in adventure, we meet our sexy mentor, and finally our character crosses the threshold and accepts the call to action.

Pretty standard stuff.

And it's standard because it works. These are the things that good stories are made of, but they don't work if characters aren't interesting or relatable. Earlier, we talked about Emotional relevance, and that is what draws the reader into the lives of the characters. And the character work here is excellent.

Our character/narrator has a strong voice and clear thought process. It's important for readers to be able to understand why the narrator makes the decisions the way they do, and with Olivia, we can.

The theme, it seems to me, is the journey itself, which is the main struggle our character goes through and the events that happen because of her decisions. That's a powerful idea, because it makes the entire story a character-driven narrative.

If you've been paying attention, that I don't really need to point out that this story hits all the contest criteria for this week.

This isn't a complete story, by any means, but Red is the first act to an epic adventure, and I hope the author continues to write it.

Bonus for Christmas Red and Green!

Concluding Thoughts:

This isn't my genre. It doesn't appeal to me very much, but I can still recognise what makes it work. This story is in the field of The Hunger Games, the Divergent series, and Skulduggery Pleasant.

If you're into young-adult fiction, then, boy, do I have news for you. Check it out!

Honorable Mention: Unify the Universe - AbsentSmile

LGBTQ support and religion – it's complicated, and it's well written. Go look at it. Now. These non-normative things need to be said and heard.

Final Notes on the Valentine's Contest:

I'm dishing out criticism left and right, but even I, The Great TimberWoolf in the Sky, am subject to mistakes. Please note that these are my own opinions, and if you have some that differ, then feel free to voice them.

Give the stories a read, see what you think. Offer your own analyses. Tell me what you liked, what you disliked, if you agree or disagree with the things I've said, and make suggestions to authors where you think you can offer helpful feedback.

Make the community wholesome. Everybody gets a participation medal.

If you missed out, but want to participate, be sure to check out the new weekly contest that's up right now!

With great appreciation for the Zombies

The Great TimberWoolf in the Sky