#WEP WINNERS - OCTOBER 2022 THRILLER CHALLENGE - CONGRATULATIONS ALL! CHECK OUT THE FULL SHORTLIST.

Hello friends!

 What an amazing group of entries for Michael Jackson's Thriller challenge. All entertaining, some dazzled, some broke our hearts, some challenged our concept of horror. This prompt took us in all directions. Thanks to all the superbly talented writers who participated. The WEP challenges are such fun, but so very hard to judge.

Thank you, everyone, for your outstanding entries:

Thanks to Jemi, here's a round-up of the taglines for all entries posted:

Yolanda Renée - One Foggy Halloween - The power of a kiss

Denise Covey - Run, Sadie, Run - Was Mom right again?

Olga Godim - Thriller - Finding a stolen relic takes guts!

Bernadette Braganza - Halloween Pursuit - A tale of pursuit during Halloween

Hilary Melton Butcher - The Thriller - A bucalling blob slurping its way into the thrill of life itself … a time line of bubbling burping life …

Ornery Owl - Thriller - Sometimes the thing that thrills you most is a mask for what you'd rather not see.

Pat Garcia - Thriller - Behind the big red barn

Jemi Fraser - Hey Thrillers! - A legend of a Seventh Son of a Seventh Son

JQ Rose - Frederick and The Princess - Nearly paralyzed with fright, Frederick struggles to face a situation that is not of his making

Beth Camp - Irreconcilable Differences - The Hunter’s Moon signal’s change

Roland R Clarke - Thriller - In Ukraine, Night Witches gamble their lives against Fate 

Nilanjana Bose - A Different Route To Return - In the end, everything returns via a different route and in different forms

LG Keltner - Only A Prank - Pranks can have unforeseen consequences

J Lenni Dorner - Review To Live - Not reviewing really kills you

Lenny Lee - A Night On The Town - A newbie vampire’s first night out. Will it be feast or famine?

Susan Rouchard - The Trunk - The lights are up, the music begins, but someone is missing

Tanya Miranda - Justice - Crime doesn’t pay

Sally Stackhouse - Waiting - Keeping the power

Mary Aalgaard - Murder Moon - Something evil’s lurking in the dark

Michelle Wallace -Thriller - A flickering street lamp views a tale times three

Shortlist

So many great entries. We had such trouble whittling down our choices. This is our full list, but only 3 could win!

 

Bernadette Braganza

Beth Camp

Pat Garcia

Mary Aalgaard

Susan Rouchard

Lenny Lee

Tanya Miranda

Ornery Owl

The shortlist was reached without too much discussion. We are very aware of personal taste. There are so many not on the above list which we thoroughly enjoyed, but we felt failed to fulfil the guidelines of the prompt. Even though interpretations can be broad, they should reflect the prompt in some way. It is always hard when the writing is brilliant, but the interpretation of the prompt doesn't make the cut.

We all agreed that this was one superb challenge. And now, just one challenge left before WEP begins again with fresh challenges in 2023! Stay tuned!

Don't be disheartened if your name isn't there this round. Maybe next time. Keep writing! Who knows? You could be the winner of the next challenge. Just be careful to write to the prompt!

FINAL SHORTLIST (with some team comments)

Pat Garcia - "...took my breath away!"

Mary Aalgaard - "Brilliant."

Bernadette Braganza - "Cute."

Lenny Lee - "Amusing."

Beth Camp - "A great story idea, beautifully told."

Commenting

Thank you to all those who comment widely, especially those who read and comment even when they do not have an entry in the ring or are unwell. Commenting is super important to us both as feedback towards the improvement of writing craft and as a communication channel for community building.

Sadly, this month as in months past we've had commenting issues. No one's quite sure what is going on, but it is not just a WordPress/Blogger issue. Please check the comments on the WEP post or the C-Box where we posted comments that wouldn't take on blogs. 

Please note that due to incessant spamming issues, we have had to keep comment moderation on. So your comment may not show up right away, but we will get to it soonest possible. We value your comments, please keep them coming. 

Critique Prize

The winner of each Challenge wins a critique prize from professional editors/published writers – our sidebar displays the prizes for 2022. If the winner has no manuscript/WIP ready for critiquing, then the prize is passed on to the runners-up. Therefore, it’s important that the winner(s) let us know immediately if they do not have work ready to be critiqued, so that we may get in touch with the next in line. Also important to submit work for critique within three months of winning so that editors can plan their work schedule. They are busy people and work to definite, often urgent deadlines. So thank you for your cooperation on this matter.

 This month the winner gets a 10,000-word critique from our very own much-published author of crime fiction, YOLANDA RENEE. 

YOLANDA is offering a 10,000-word critique, content edit, or full novel BETA read.: 

The winner also gets a guest post here at WEP on a topic of their own choice.  

FOR THE THRILLER CHALLENGE ONLY!

Along with the generous offer from Yolanda above, we're offering Amazon Gift Cards to the three winners! We know our writers aren't seeking financial rewards, but please accept your gift if you're one of the three winners!

WINNER - gift card of $20 US

RUNNER UP - gift card $15 US

ENCOURAGEMENT AWARD - gift card $10 US

ALL WE NEED IS YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS!

NOW LET'S CONGRATULATE THE WINNERS! 

THE WINNER OF THE OCTOBER 2022 CHALLENGE, THRILLER, IS MARY AALGAARD

CONGRATULATIONS, MARY

MURDER MOON is a most thrilling entry.

Nick said - "This was very enticing in creating an intriguing setup in very few words and leaving the reader wanting more. Really skillfully done."

MARY, please post this badge and link it to your winning entry. Enjoy the critique prize or pass it on if you’d prefer. Make good use of the Amazon Gift Card. We look forward to a guest post here on a topic of your choice soon.

THE RUNNER-UP OF THE OCTOBER 2022 CHALLENGE IS LENNY LEE -

CONGRATULATIONS, LENNY!

Thank you for the reading pleasure of A NIGHT ON THE TOWN.

Nick said, "This is a lot of fun. Very visual with an old-school comedy vibe. Great puns!"

Lenny, Please take this badge and link it to your winning entry on your blog. Enjoy your Amazon Gift Card.

AND FINALLY, THE ENCOURAGEMENT AWARD FOR THE OCTOBER 2022 CHALLENGE GOES TO - PAT GARCIA!

CONGRATULATIONS, PAT!

Thank you for a true Halloween Treat of THE CABBAGE PATCH!

Nick said, “Short and sharp again, leaving us all with a ghoulish image. It could be expanded but leaving the reader to fill in the backstory is the strength of a piece like this.”

PAT,  please take this badge and link it to your entry on your blog. And do enjoy your Amazon Gift Card.

Thank you to all our amazing participants for your entries. We read so many magnificent and magnificently varied takes on this month’s prompt!  

We announce our WEP OCTOBER 2022 THRILLER winners @DeniseCCovey @yolandarenee @LGKeltner @OlgaGodim @jemifraser #amwriting #writingcontest #flashfiction #wepwinners https://writeeditpublishnow.blogspot.com/2022/10/wep-winners-october-2022-thriller.html

#WEPFF OCTOBER 2022 THRILLER winners announced @DeniseCCovey @yolandarenee @LGKeltner @OlgaGodim @jemifraser https://writeeditpublishnow.blogspot.com/2022/10/wep-winners-october-2022-thriller.html #amwriting #flashfiction #wepwinners #writingcontest

Come congratulate our OCTOBER THRILLER winners! #WEPFF Challenge @DeniseCCovey @yolandarenee @OlgaGodim @LGKeltner @jemifraser #amwriting #flashfiction #wepwinners #writingcontest https://writeeditpublishnow.blogspot.com/2022/10/wep-winners-october-2022-thriller.html

Please join us in DECEMBER for our final challenge for the Year of Music Prompts -

Renee and Denise for 

#WEP October 2022 Challenge - #Thriller - Sign up here on October 19th

Welcome to the October Challenge for Write...Edit...Publish, THRILLER! 

My favorite time of the year, FALL (Autumn), and my favorite holiday is HALLOWEEN!

 Hi, Renee presenting this month's challenge. Welcome to "THRILLER", inspired by the lyrics and videos of  Michael Jackson.

Anything goes, so have fun, just let the words flow...

Please Note:

Denise will be side-lined for this posting. Please direct all your questions to yolandrenee@hotmail.com

Her husband broke his back, and she is seeing to his needs at this time. Her last report to me said he is getting better. 

I know Denise will do her best to participate and comment, but please contact me or any other team member for help if you need it.

Thank you!

XXX

Photo by Toa Heftiba on Unsplash

To give you a little information and inspire your writing, Nila composed this regarding:

"THRILLER"

This is the Fear fest Challenge in which we ramp up the spook factor over here, welcoming your creepiest compositions, your most haunting and haunted tales running the gamut of paranormal, speculative, crime, and horror genres. However, as always, there are no rigid rules. Feel free to write to any genre if those mentioned are not your thing. 

The prompt is based on Thriller, released in the early '80s,  an unofficial anthem for Halloween and horror. Both singer and song are music industry icons. Thriller has sold 70 million+ copies worldwide, and Michael Jackson, known as the King of Pop, is one of the controversial and culturally significant figures of the 20th century. He is credited with some landmark music and reinventing complex dance moves like the moonwalk to make it his own signature. Like the Beatles, MJ was, during his lifetime and remains, more than a decade after his death, one of the best-selling artists of all time. He has left a massive and unique thumbprint on the music/entertainment scene of the late twentieth century. 

The prompt has endless possibilities. Take this song - they can inspire myriad flashes - the forty thousand years of funk, the beast about to strike, the thing with forty eyes - the imagery is vivid and specific, and boy! can they be used to craft a creepy tale or what? Or you could use the video's own storyline to write to. Use that iconic dance with the undead, the MC morphing into a zombie, to spin a horror flash. 

Or maybe not...because hang on...not everyone needs to be a horror/Halloween junkie. Use the demons as a metaphor. Let the dance with the zombies become an inner wrestling bout with some tragic character flaw(s) in your MC. Or weave a girl-boy-movie-night narrative. Or one of a rescue mission where the hero snatches the damsel in distress from the jaws of monsters, real or imaginary.  Or...just write to the title 'Thriller' - no end to the tales you could tell. You see? - a million ways to go, a million things to be!

Have fun writing!

The October Prize:

 Yolanda Renee  - Your host today and author of a 7-book mystery series, and one book of Poetry, is offering a 10,000-word critique, content edit, or full novel BETA read.

Check  out my books on Amazon. Of all the books I've written, FOR OPAL is my favorite, written for Lilly Opal Stansberry, my grandmother. While I love mystery, horror, and romance, poetry allows me to be me.

Visit Renee's Blog Defending the Pen

To win Renee's valued prize,

submit your "THRILLER" entry between

October 19 – 21st.

Denise butting in here:

WEP is full of surprises! For October, along with the generous offer from Yolanda above, we're offering Amazon Gift Cards to the three winners! We know our writers aren't seeking financial rewards, but please accept your gift if you're one of the three winners!

WINNER - gift card of $20 US

RUNNER UP - gift card $15 US

ENCOURAGEMENT AWARD - gift card $10 US

COMMENTING:

If you have trouble commenting on blogger blogs, please continue to leave a comment here. And if your comments are down and you have a blogger blog, consider changing your comment settings to Pop-ups, not embedded, temporarily, until google provides a fix.

STOP PRESS - NEWS!

WEP and the IWSG Anthology have a long history. There have now been 7 Anthologies. The seventh is the first in the romance genre.

💓💔💕💖💗💘

And if you haven't heard...

Two of our writing friends won a place in the last IWSG Anthology.

First Love

Congratulate our hostess with the most-est 

Denise Covey and her story

Marmalade Sunset!

along with regular WEP participant

Michael Di'Gesu and his story Oliver's Girl

for their winning stories

"Marmalade Sunset" by Denise Covey.

 What is his grandmother up to? A grandson wonders when she invites him to accompany her on a trip to Greece.

This moving love story is set on the beautiful island of Santorini in the Aegean Sea.

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"Oliver's Girl" by Michael Di Gesu.

Will star-crossed sweethearts find a way back to each other?

Olivia spends an afternoon with her great-grandfather and learns some surprising things in this poignant and uplifting story.

CONGRATULATIONS 

Denise & Michael!

💓💔💕💖💗💘

Denise here. Right from the start, WEP enthusiasts have been winners in the various anthologies. 

In the first, Parallels, Felix was here, we have L.G. Keltner (winning story) and Yolanda Renee from Team WEP.

In the second, Hero Lost, Olga Godim won a spot!

In the third, Tick Tock, we have again Yolanda Renee, along with Jemi Fraser, Rebecca M Douglass, Mary Aalgaard and C Lee McKenzie.

Masquerade, the fourth edition, saw L.G. Keltner and Anstice Brown win places.

The fifth, Voyagers, saw Roland Clark and Rebecca M Douglass take pride of place.

Dark Matter, the sixth anthology, saw Olga Godim from Team WEP our sole representative.

As soon as the next anthology is announced, we encourage to sharpen your writing for this chance to be read by agents and editors.

📚📚📚📚📚

You can check out the IWSG Anthology website run by Tara Tyler HERE to check out all the anthologies. All available to buy.

~*~

And the fun continues in December 

Roberta Flack herself said about the song -  it's the kind of song that has two unique & distinct qualities: it tells a story, and has lyrics that mean something....Because of [its meaningful lyrics] the [song] can be interpreted by a lot of people in a lot of different ways: the love of a mother for a child, for example, or [that of] two lovers. 

And our most generous judge/editor for WEP is Nick Wilford. He asks for nothing, just does his job. How about wishing Nick well for his new release, Reckoning.

~*~

We'd love if you'd Tweet Tweet Tweet

some / all

WEP writing prompt October's "THRILLER" @DeniseCCovey @YolandaRenee @LGKeltner @jemifraser https://writeeditpublishnow.blogspot.com/2022/10/wep-october-2022-challenge-thriller.html Sign up October 19-21! #amwriting #flashfiction #WEPFF #poetry #nonfiction #amwriting #flashfiction #WEPFF #poetry 

Get your thinking caps on for October's "THRILLER" @DeniseCCovey @YolandaRenee @LGKeltner @jemifraser https://writeeditpublishnow.blogspot.com/2022/10/wep-october-2022-challenge-thriller.html Sign up October 19-21! #WEPFF #amwriting #flashfiction #poetry #nonfiction

Join WEP @DeniseCCovey @YolandaRenee @LGKeltner @jemifraser, for the next Challenge of 2022, October. Sign up and post October 19-21 https://writeeditpublishnow.blogspot.com/2022/10/wep-october-2022-challenge-thriller.html  #WEPFF #amwriting #flashfiction #poetry #nonfiction.

Write with @DeniseCCovey @YolandaRenee, @LGKeltner @jemifraser, for the October challenge "THRILLER"! Sign up and post on October 19-21 https://writeeditpublishnow.blogspot.com/2022/10/wep-october-2022-challenge-thriller.html #WEPFF #amwriting #flashfiction #poetry #nonfiction

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