For those unfamiliar with our program, please visit this page:  Port Yonder Press’ TEAM PYP Mentored Writing Groups.

In the 1st quarter – from July through September – each team member crafted and honed a 1000 word (or less) short story in their genre of choice. I encouraged them to branch out, if they wished, and try an entirely “new to them” genre.  I know at least a couple did, and I applaud them for their efforts.

First, let me thank the fine mentors for this year’s teams:  Grace Bridges, CathiLyn Dyck, Suzanne Hartmann, Lisa Lickel, Hanne Moon, Gray Rinehart, & Guy Stewart.  You can see our entire TEAM PYP group configurations here.  These stories are what they are, in large part, because of you.  The team members have repeatedly told me how appreciative they are of you.  Let me echo that sentiment.

Thanks are also in order to several judges who will remain unnamed (for the purely selfish reason that I may want to use them again next time).  The stories were short, yet it did take time to read, comment, and categorize them.  I should also mention that this was blind judging – stories were sent to the judges without author names attached, and most went through at least 2 judges & 2 rankings, if not 3.  In fact, I queried people to act as judges who I felt probably didn’t know most of our authors.  For the judges who volunteered, I was careful what I gave them.

What we looked for:  Imagination, interest, emotion, movement (either internal, external, or both), well-handled conflict, readability/flow, and all the usual writing skills such as strong characters, grammar, description, setting, dialog.

And now, considering the input of those judges, I’ve tallied the results and come up with the following list, along with select judges’ comments. Let me also mention that coming to a final conclusion was no easy task.  Each story has merit, and each is ready to garner some measure of success in the writing world, today.  Our job was to try and pick the very best of the bunch, the shiniest apples in the bushel of tasty fruit.

TEAM PYP FIRST QUARTER SHORT STORY WINNERS

FIRST PLACE: 

Hot Toddy by Jennifer Fromke

“a strong story” “very entertaining” “understated”

An excerpt:  Why would Griff be up at this hour? She blushed from her forehead down to her pounding heart. The same could be asked of her. The soft click of the door closing was the only sound she’d made. Had he been awake the whole time? Would he glance this way? She pulled the edges of her robe together over her heart and held her breath….

SECOND PLACE: 

Tinges by Barbara Hartzler

“suspense from the git-go” “a growing uncertainty” “uncanny ending”

An excerpt: Not that awful snow again.  They appeared on a gray-green cobblestone street at the edge of a stone-walled village. This night sky was dark emerald instead of yellow-brown this time.  “Quick. Get out of sight.” Dylan dragged the group across the mossy stones.  Emma tried to avoid the puddles, but there were too many. Her flats felt like galoshes….

THIRD PLACE: 

Unquiet Personality by Grace Bridges

“a clean-cut, strong, unique story” “good descriptions” “witty use of personality traits”

An excerpt:  Yet another thunderclap boomed overhead, and all the lights went out before coming back on one at a time. Ellie frowned. Maybe the lightning was somehow affecting the house wiring. But the whir of the dishwasher continued unabated from the kitchen. Opening a new browser tab besides Mandy’s page and the personality descriptions, she then googled and selected a local electrician at random….

HONORABLE MENTIONS

(in no particular order)

Switched by Cindy Smith -  “well crafted” “very original” “Excellent use of quite ordinary language to create threat by the antagonist.”

The Ferris Wheel by Dan Davis – “strong story”  “real emotion” “out of genre for him, a plus”

A Cure For Every Disease by Jessica Thomas – “a good job of conveying close POV”

And finally,

I’d also like to put in a plug for J. L. Rowan’s A Brief Candle which, I feel, handled medieval fantasy action quite well. One judge said it this way: “Good use of sentence length to drive tension in the battle scene …”

Congratulations to all of you!  Again, they were all fine stories, some simply more polished than others.  And … that’s why we have 4 quarters … to keep working, keep honing, until the judges have such a tough time deciding which is better … well, we’ll deal with that then.

Our up-to-2500 word 2nd quarter has begun!  Dig in with your mentor and let’s kick it up a notch.    I’m sure the stories will shine – can’t wait!

***

Now the stories are sent out to first one magazine and then another.  Again, we’re aiming for the highest ranking general (*not* religious) markets we can find.  When a story comes back marked “unable to use at the present time,” it goes out again, to another high ranking market.  We work from the top down, and we won’t stop for yellow lights.

I’ve had the honor of working with both mentors and authors for the past 3 months in this endeavor.  I truly love what I’m seeing here.  And I can’t emphasize enough what a tough time we had picking those listed out of the line-up; some simply resonated with the judges more than others.

What a great 1st quarter, teams – onward!

~Chila