Trinkets, Tombs, and Rooms

Challenge 2 Results and Standings

The Second Challenge. “Write a bottle episode.” We took the difficulty up to 11.

This one was hard. Almost every competitor chimed in to say this was a brutal challenge. This was a real test of how creativity performs under pressure. You read ‘em folks, they showed up for this challenge.

Sara Dietz

and I, once again, had our work cut out for us to evaluate all five of these amazing tales. And I took my sweet time reviewing—sorry!

Photo by Filip Kominik on Unsplash

Let’s break it down like a fraction!

The Stories, The Results

Presented in the order of the standings after Challenge 1!

E.B. Howard

of

It's For A Story

wrote “The Eye of Ra”

The Eye of Ra

E.B. knows how to take her readers on an adventure. She proved that in the first challenge, and she reiterated herself in this challenge. It was adventuresome, classic Egyptology at it’s finest. The best part of this story was the setting, which leapt off the page and made you feel the dust and grit and wafts of air of the ancient tomb. My comments to E.B. centered on Craftsmanship: The climax didn’t quite land for me, and the ending felt rushed. With no point in this competition coming truly easily, attention to these details will be key going into the third and final challenge! E.B.’s Overall Score is 21/27.

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Hanna Delaney

of

A work of fiction

wrote “Copycat”

Copycat

This story is something else. Even now—I don’t want to spoil the ending in case you haven’t read it, but it’s a twist like you wouldn’t believe. You’re going to have to read this one twice! The best part of this story is of course Characterization—the twist ending throws the whole story into a new light, and I laughed out loud at my desk. It was BRILLIANTLY executed. My comments to Hanna centered on Craftsmanship: while this had set up and a kind of punch line, it needed something else to give us a sense of conflict and resolution. Splicing in some action could have helped sell the same premise in a different way. Hanna’s Overall Score is 21/27.

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Hyun Woo Kim

of

Requests of Literary Exile

wrote his story, “A Long Cold Shower”

A Long Cold Shower

Hyun Woo proved that his trademark is heart-wrenching character dramas. This story showed us one man living out his worst nightmare, and it was emotional and endearing. The best thing about this story was the Setting, a cold shower, which he brilliantly illuminated for us with a mix of flashbacks and desperate struggle. My comments to Hyun Woo centered on Craftsmanship—he noted that he had to pivot and write a new story with very little time left, as he felt his original story wasn’t up to code, and I feel that burned him with the ending. If he had taken more time with this story, he could have given us a little more emotional payoff. Hyun Woo’s Overall Score is 20/27.

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Alice Meredith

of

A Teapot Full of Tales

with her story “The Trial”

GWC '24 #2: The Trial

This was Alice’s unique twist on a coming of age tale, and to my great satisfaction the first competitor in the two years of this competition to leverage an Escape Room style approach to the Bottle Episode! This was emotional, evocative, and fun, a very efficient story as well as an effective one. The best thing about this story was it’s Setting, which was vivid and intense, and participated to dramatic effect in the story. My comments to Alice centered on Characterization: there was one little detail which she mentioned, and which I felt was underdeveloped and would have been interesting to develop further. Alice’s Overall Score is 21/27.

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Last and certainly not least, comes

Eric Falden

of

The Falden Spot

wrote “The Encircling Cells”

The Encircling Cells

Eric knows how to write a good adventuring tale, and after what I’m sure was a disappointing performance in Challenge 1, he came roaring back to achieve the highest score of the second challenge. Eric took us to a fantastical monastery overrun with forest demons, and the solitary monk who had to find a more fulfilling purpose to life. The best part of this story was Characterization, where his main character leveraged both the setting of the monastery, and the items in the room he is stuck in, to both serve the narrative and develop as a character. My comments to Eric centered on Craftsmanship—giving us a little more contrast could have helped deepen the journey his character was on. Eric’s Overall Score is 22/27.

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Standings

After the second challenge, here are the standings:

E.B. Howard is in first place, with 42 points (21 + 21)
Hanna Delaney is in second place, with 41 points (20 + 21)
Hyun Woo Kim is in third place, with 38 points (18 + 20)
Eric Falden is tied for fourth place, with 37 points (15 + 22)
Alice Meredith is tied for fourth place, with 37 points (16 + 21)

• E.B. has NARROWLY held the lead, can she clinch it with only one challenge remaining, and a narrowing field?

• Hanna is still nipping at E.B.’s heels, but if the status quo remains she will fall behind! How can she shake things up?

• Hyun Woo Kim made up the deficit from the last challenge, and is tantalizingly close—can he showcase all his skills, and not lose time in this last challenge?

• Eric showed the most improvement week over week, and while he succeeded in narrowing the field, he has a lot of points to make up! Will he be able to land his best story yet?

• Alice is fighting with Eric to climb the standings—will her next story rock the competition?

These are five EXCELLENT writers! Only one challenge remains, with 27 points which they are realizing now are not easily come by. This whole competition can turn on a dime, and with only five points separating E.B. from the tied Eric and Alice. The third challenge will be their last opportunity to showcase all their skills, adjust from both comment feedback, and grab every single point they possibly can. Sara and I already know the last challenge will be tough, and our scoring is tougher. All that is left is for the competitors to bring it all together.

It was gratifying to see how these talented writers took the comments from the first challenge and adjusted. Every competitor should be VERY PROUD of what they have written! They know now just how hard won each point is. Every detail counts, and with only five points per category, they need every point they can get.

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Special shout out to

S.E. Reid

and

Dragon Writer Luc

, for writing their own takes on this challenge! If you wrote your own take on this challenge, let us know in the comments!

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Which was your favorite story? Have you subscribed to them all yet? What do you expect to see in the next challenge?

Tune in 4/25 to see the unveiling of the Third Challenge of GWC ‘24!