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To all the lovely participants, thank you for participating. I had a wonderful time reading and evaluating the scores of your one-shots. It was a delightful experience for me as I got to read and experience each of your unique traits of writing. I had not expected evaluating and judging stories to be such a beautiful experience. I hope you all had a great time as well. - Inhee

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1ST PLACE WINNER:

Yootifully

Crown's Secret.

Score: 96

PLOT: 20/20

I had a smile on my face as I read the progression of the plot line. Your delivery met my expectations and showcased your talent for creativity. The addition of 'the curse' to the given plot served as the magic touch I was referring to, and the plot twist of the female lead being the real heir of the kingdom was like a cherry on top. My main intention in making the prompts as basic as possible was to allow the writers to use their creativity which you excelled at, congratulations!

CHARACTERS: 20/20

I adored how you mentioned the female lead being shy, a couple of times in different situations. I thought the participants would overlook this trait of hers, so I'm glad you paid attention. As for the male lead, I liked his clarity regarding his future, past, and present. His high sense of morals and righteousness that led him to leave his home became his reason, and his purity that inspired him to have everything in its right place served as his purpose. Hence, all the characters were well-written.

DIALOGUES: 18/20

There was nothing wrong with the dialogue, but also nothing that caught my eye. Since the story was mostly led by the plotline, it was slightly fast-paced, allowing little room for the dialogue to make a remarkable impression. However, they were not boring.

DESCRIPTION: 19/20

I liked how the descriptions were not crowded by unnecessary flowery expressions. You have a very good eye for description. The way you mention minor details brings a touch of reality to the scenes. For example, "Balancing the pot of cold rice porridge in her hands," and "Unmistakable sparkle of emerald green in the old man's eyes." I was able to vividly imagine most scenes in my head as if I were living it.

Also, I liked this one "Whispers of intrigue danced on the air like ethereal wisps of smoke." Except for the minor mistake "on the air" → "In the air."

Overall, like I said above, you have a good understanding of writing descriptions. Well done!

PACE OF THE STORY: 19/20

As mentioned previously, the pace was slightly fast, but it makes sense given it's a one-shot with a lot less room to linger on minor scenes and give them more space to be impactful. The only area that I believe was harmed by this is the dialogue, but the exciting plot makes up for it. Therefore, well done once again!

AUTHOR'S NOTE: I loved how you developed the storyline and made it yours. I'm impressed by the light of creativity you were able to bring to such a simple prompt. Also, This being your first time writing a royal-themed story, you did a great job!

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2ND PLACE WINNER:

tothemooonnn

Strawberries & daydreams.

Scores: 94

PLOT: 18/20

Firstly, your writing is so delicious that it felt like taking a bite of strawberry-filling enriched vanilla cake. The only reason why I gave this section the lowest score is because I felt like the plot was not developed to its full potential. For example, the ending was kept open for writers to add their touch of creativity, but it felt as though the end was quite abrupt. However, very well done, and congratulations!

CHARACTERS: 19/20

I liked how every character had something going on, giving them a sense of 'alive', instead of them being there for the sake of being there. For example, the king's forgiveness and acceptance towards his brother despite being aware of his doings. To me, that played a role of bringing a reality touch to the story. The male lead's character was thoroughly discovered and explained, such as his motives and preferences and the same goes for the female lead although not on the same level. Overall, the characters were interesting to read.

"Work, work, and work, that is all he does all the time." I felt this line on a personal level. No, I am not always working, but- oh, well-

DIALOGUES: 20/20

Using dialogue to move the story forward and bring out the characters' colors instead of using them as space fillers, I enjoyed that a lot.

My personal favorites:

"If deceit and betrayal are a part of our blood, Father, then do not count me in it."

"I have been looking for you all day! What godforsaken work have you been doing that is more important than me?"

DESCRIPTION: 19/20

Your descriptions are quite rich. You only require a sentence or two to explain most of what is necessary. For example, "The sound of the door closing seemed to be louder today." That single sentence spoke for both the prince's manners and his current state of anger. Along with that, you did add the simple descriptions that are much required to evoke the readers' imaginations, such as "His father smiled, his eyes forming subtle creases as he did so." There is only one issue which I explained in the section below.

PACE OF THE STORY: 18/20

I would suggest one thing. As I mentioned in the description section, you have the ability to point out what is necessary in a few sentences, but if you linger at a scene longer than that then it feels like it is being dragged on. For example, from the moment Vincent entered Sol town to the moment he encountered Jane, I felt like the descriptions were slightly excessive. Those scenes mostly contributed to the tad bit slowing of the pace. That should not be a problem if you are writing a long story, but since this is a one-shot it caused a slight delay. Apart from that, you did a great job.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: I'm happy that you liked the prompt. You mentioned you hadn't written a royal-themed story in a long time, but honestly, you did a wonderful job despite that. I enjoyed your writing so much, and the title was a very sweet touch to the overall aesthetics.

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3RD PLACE WINNER:

reader_SecretAgent

The Traveller's Secret.

Scores: 92

PLOT: 19-20

It was quite a short and fun read, and I enjoyed your style of writing as well. The plot twist of Isabella being an assassin was the touch this story desperately needed given how simple the prompt was although I believe the storyline could have been a bit more developed. Nonetheless, you did a good job, congratulations!

CHARACTERS: 17-20

For August, the connection he had with nature is what stood out to me, as a reader, and for Isabella, her character felt more complete after the revelation of her secret. I believe that there could have been a bit of mystery or suspicion following the female lead's character given how she was revealed to have hidden her identity. However, the characters did not feel bland.

DIALOGUES: 19-20

You did a good job with the dialogues, using them as assets to explore the characters along with using them to move the story forward. For example: "I hold no fear for them, I am not fond of them." Here, you allowed the character to create their 'character,' with something they liked or disliked, preferred or detested. This one is my personal favorite, "My family didn't captivate my heart, Milady, you did."

However, I must bring your attention to this. Repetition of names. For example (Incomplete quotations): "I understand August..." "Would you not come with me, Bella?" "I fear not, August..." "Cease your empty words, Bella..." Names being taken frequently can be quite uncomfortable for readers and it does feel very unnatural. If you read them aloud, you will notice how unnatural it flows.

DESCRIPTION: 20/20

The descriptions were very captivating. I don't have much to say as I did not notice anything wrong, so good job! These are the lines that stood out to me the most: "It was fascinating how a thick layer of foliage could keep him in the dark when the rest of the world enjoyed the warmth and brightness of the sun." "August believed between an ending and the beginning there was a time, that was dark. In this period people might feel lost, but in the end, the sun rises demolishing their agony with a new beginning."

PACE OF THE STORY: 17/20

The pace of the story felt slightly rushed. Perhaps, because the ending was quite abrupt? It was a one-shot, the storyline was expected to be short, but it could have been slowed down slightly towards the end.

Overall, you did justice to the prompt and your writing was not 'empty' or 'shallow, so well done!

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Your distinctive style of writing is quite profound as of now, but I would suggest you keep writing to bring more light to it. Every writer has a different way of writing, and I always encourage them to explore that. And, the grammar section was not included in the scores, but I would advise you to be more mindful of the usage of commas.

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4TH PLACE:

ARMYofSEVENkings

Before it's too late.

Scores: 87

PLOT: 17-20

Firstly, the plot line was simple and fun, and I did not see anything potentially being a rock in the reader's way. It was evident how thoughtfully you crafted this story, so I must say I'm proud of you, well done! The reason for the low scores: The plot line could have been developed more to become intriguing for the reader's attention.

CHARACTERS: 18/20

I enjoyed the characters and how you showcased their thought process. They were a blend of funny and ambitious. The usage of 1st person's POV also made the characters very fun to read.

DIALOGUES: 17/20

Dialogues were fun and sweet, and the "OMG THE JUNGKOOK," haha, I would do the same, Ash. I would suggest you learn how to use dialogue as an asset to describe, add, create, and express the characters' personalities. The more you read, the more you notice how to do that.

DESCRIPTION: 18/20

Because the story was written in the 1st person POV, the approach to the descriptions was done in a humorous way, which was fun! I would suggest you exclude the unnecessary bits. A simple way to do that is, to try to put yourself in the reader's shoes. In that way, you would know what details to keep and what to delete.

PACE OF THE STORY: 17-20

The low score is due to the fast pace. Some gaps and jumps felt quite abrupt. To resolve this issue, I would suggest you keep a steady flow to the storyline. All the parts should be stitched in a straight line, leaving the same distance between them. Do not be afraid of making your story boring as long as all the details are necessary for the story to unfold. Although I said to put yourself in your reader's shoes, at the same time, do not restrict yourself to only meeting their expectations. Once you eliminate that worry, you will find your comfortable pace to write.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Once again, I'm proud of you Haeni. You did a great job! Do not be discouraged by the results. I had a good time reading your story, and I hope you had fun writing it. I left a few suggestions here and there if you want to take them, that is. I hope you had a good time participating, and I would encourage you to write more, for yourself and your readers. All the best!

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NOTE: The next results will be out very soon!