Winners of the #WEP #NARCISSUS Challenge for December 2021

 

Winners of #WEP December Challenge

"What a phenomenal group of writers WEP has." 

Nick Wilford, WEP judge.

Hello everyone, Jemi here! We would like to thank those of you who took part in the December Challenge NARCISSUS. This was an interesting challenge and produced a wide range of themes and stories! 

Thank you all for writing blurbs/taglines for the stories. Don't worry, if you forgot, we've always got your back.

We'll keep asking for taglines in the next challenges - they're great for practicing pitches for our stories. We thank our co-host, Jemi Fraser, for collating them.

Denise Covey - A Little Reflection Can’t Hurt - Be careful what you wish for; you might just get it

Yolanda Renée - Narcissus - Narcissistic led materialism the new golden idol

Debbie D - Rita - The Portrait of a Narcissist 

Jamie - Hashtag - Fashion becomes pain for a narcissistic social media influencer

J Lenni Dorner - #BeautifulPrincess Parable - A simple story with a lesson about 

valuing youth and beauty above all else

Michael Di Gesu - Narcissus - Beauty is literally in the eye of the beholder...

Jemi Fraser - Little Tommy - Bringing up Tommy, the tale of a narcissist

NR Williams - Narcissist - When one imagines themselves invincible

HIlary - The Wear and Tear of Aging - Wear and tear begone!!

Olga Godim - Narcissus - Even a barber could be a hero!

Shilpa Gupte - Narcissistic Me - One in million

Shannon Lawrence - Beautiful Husk - Some must bear witness, an echo only of the horrors they see

Ornery Owl - Symphony for Narcissus - Greetings, Class. Fasten your seat belts! Professor Ornery Owl has a history lesson and a proposal for you

Roland Clarke - Mirrored Pride - Uplifted by daffodils, two women affirm their love and pledge to fight for human rights.

Kalpana - Narcissus - A poetic interpretation of the name and the myth

Nilanjana Bose - Reflections - Narcissi will grow in the most unexpected of places

Rebecca Douglass - Snow Dragon - Sometimes a dragon is really a dragon

LG Keltner - Adoration - Dorian’s followers have come and he’s ready to take them to the next level

Jemima Pett - The Scent of Narcissus - A dreary winter day holds more than it seems

Bernadette Braganza - A Christmas Fairy Tale - A dialogue between two sisters that turns into an inspiration for one of them

SHORTLIST

Our wonderful judge Nick Wilford has been a real trooper over the years. This month we did our best to make things easier on Nick by sending him a short list of six. This is not a reflection on the quality of the entries this challenge. There were passionate email exchanges involved as we whittled things down. There were pieces we all loved that did not make the list, so do not despair if you don't see your entry listed here. Maybe next time.

COMMENTING

Thank you once again to all of you who continue to comment! Commenting is a major part of WEP's success. The feedback you give your fellow writers helps them improve their craft, and the words of encouragement help to motivate and inspire.

CRITIQUE PRIZE

The winner of each challenge gets the opportunity to receive a critique prize if they have a piece of writing ready, whether it be a full manuscript, a short story or an article. They also get the opportunity to write a guest post for WEP on a topic of their own choice. If a winner has no work for critique, please let us know so we can pass the opportunity on to the next on the list. We need you to contact the editor right away, then send your work in under three months at the most. Editors are busy people who need to plan, so please respect their time.

Our sidebar proudly displays everyone who is offering critique prizes for 2021. You are welcome to contact any of the editors with a request for work. 

This month's critique prize is brought to us by Christine Rains -a detailed 10,000 word critique  Thank you, Christine!

NOW LET'S CONGRATULATE OUR WINNERS!

THE WINNER OF OCTOBER 2021'S CHALLENGE

NARCISSUS IS:

Congratulations, Cie, Ornery Owl, for your entry, 

Cheeky History With Ornery Owl: Sympathy for Narcissus

Nick wrote: "A bit of everything here. Poetry, a history lesson and great satire. Really fun read."

Cie, please post your badge on your blog and link the badge to your winning entry. Enjoy the critique prize or pass it on if you have no body of work ready. We eagerly await your Guest Post on a topic of your choice!

~*~

THE RUNNER-UP OF OCTOBER 2021'S CHALLENGE

NARCISSUS  IS:

Congratulations, Hilary, for your entry, 

Narcissus - the Wear and Tear of Ageing 

.

Nick wrote: "This was fun too. A unique take and as always with Hilary, there's history in there too.."

Hilary, please link the badge to your entry and post it on your blog. Congratulations!

~*~

THE ENCOURAGEMENT AWARD WINNER FOR OCTOBER 2021'S CHALLENGE

NARCISSUS IS:

Congratulations, Jamie, for your stunning entry, 

Hashtag Fashion Pain

.

Nick wrote: "Perfect for our times. I appreciated the black humour. "

Jamie, please link the badge to your entry and post it on your blog.

~*~

Nick also commented: "So fun and satire seemed to be the watchwords here, but there was a lot of pathos over many entries too. I didn't see any that I didn't like."

We agree - so many amazing stories and writers!

Read amazing entries from our WEP OCTOBER 2021 NARCISSUS winners @DeniseCCovey @yolandarenee @LGKeltner @OlgaGodim @jemifraser #amwriting #flashfiction #wepwinners https://writeeditpublishnow.blogspot.com/2022/01/winners-of-wep-narcissus-chanllenge-for.html

#WEPFF NARCISSUS winners announced @DeniseCCovey @yolandarenee @LGKeltner @OlgaGodim @jemifraser https://writeeditpublishnow.blogspot.com/2022/01/winners-of-wep-narcissus-chanllenge-for.html #amwriting #flashfiction #wepwinners

Come congratulate our DECEMBER winners!. #WEPFF NARCISSUS Challenge @DeniseCCovey @yolandarenee @OlgaGodim @LGKeltner @jemifraser #amwriting #flashfiction #wepwinners https://writeeditpublishnow.blogspot.com/2022/01/winners-of-wep-narcissus-chanllenge-for.html

 

We're looking forward to The Year Of Music for 2022!

Wishing all of you peace and love this holiday season and

all of the best that 2022 has to offer!

Join us in February for our first Year of Music challenge!

#WEP 2021 Continues the Artistic Inspiration for December - NARCISSUS! Sign up here today! Write your own #tagline!

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If you're wondering when the winners will be announced, wonder no more. In case you missed the MailChimp email, due to Christmas activities, we won't choose a SHORTLIST until the end of December! 

Apologies to Jemi who wasn't on the team when this badge was made. 

Please Note:

CRITIQUES

Remember:

The WEP is a place where writers can confidently share their work without fear of harsh words or biting feedback. No matter what the choice is by the author of the type of critique.

For the WEP, a critique is:

Constructive feedback or positive reinforcement of the writer while helping reign in problems or giving helpful suggestions.

The point is to be helpful, not hurtful.

Check the Menu Items Under The Critique for more information!

***

BLURBS ARE BACK, BUT WITH A DIFFERENCE!

We need your help. Place your tagline for the piece you've submitted above your story. It's an essential part of the writing process when giving your pitch or submitting to agents and editors. It helps us get to the core of the story.

We were thrilled with the taglines last challenge! Thank you!

For those new to taglines:

Here's an example of a #tagline from Denise's Paris Dreams novel:

"Sometimes, a new life comes at a cost."

Here's an example from Renee's first novel: Murder, Madness & Love:

"After a gritty detective becomes involved with a beautiful widow, rumor and obsession obstruct his quest for justice."

Short and sweet. A tagline doesn't have to tell the story. It captures the theme. Go on, give it a try!!!!

Jemi Fraser will collect/collate your taglines  during the reading process. They will then be posted in the December winners post. 

December's Critique Prize is from a great supporter:

CHRISTINE RAINS, Speculative Fiction author - 'All I want for Christmas is a 'especially-tailored' prize from Christine.'

Christine says, "I'm offering a 10,000 word critique. I'm a detailed critic. I give my reactions as I'm reading, along with what I like and don't like, overall plot, tropes, and characterization. I try my best to be as helpful as possible."

Her latest book is Shudder of Spectres, a fantasy LitRPG/GameLit for fans of table-top role-playing games. 

 Here's the blurb:

In every one of their games, the bard dies first.

But this time, she may be the only one who can save them all.

Nora Quinn wants to play a bard like no other seen before, and the newest table-top role-playing game is the perfect chance to show off her skills. Yet when Nora and her friends find themselves in the dark fantasy world of Khthonia, she struggles to be any type of bard at all. There, things aren't as straightforward as the games she's used to playing.

If she and her friends want to get back to the real world, then Nora has to lift the curse plaguing Khthonia for over a century. The fate of the realm and their way home rest in Nora's hands, but will she survive when the bard is always the first to die?

Christine has a new website. Click to visit her.

So, to win Christine's valued prize, submit your Narcissus or Narcissa entry between December 1 - 15.

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FROM OUR CHALLENGES PAGE:

This one depicts a classic subject by an Italian Master and needs no introduction. Narcissus is a well known character from Greek mythology – his story has been repurposed and retold all through the ages. Caravaggio was one of the prime movers of Italian art scene of the 16^th/17^th century and a good few of his artworks are based on the classics. He was a controversial figure in his lifetime, but has come to be recognised as an artist with far reaching influence on modern painting. He was a master of chiaroscuro and developed the use of shadows in art.

This particular painting can be interpreted many ways – will you update Narcissus’ story to fit  a modern timeline?

Or retell it from a different angle/POV,  perhaps a Narcissa instead?

Explore the mental disorder that is known after Narcissus and its impact on caregivers/physicians/family?

Or perhaps go in a different direction entirely -  make Narcissus quite incidental to the story – maybe the painting is only a prop in the setting?

Remember there is no right or wrong interpretation, you can make the prompt front and centre of your entry. Or not. Totally your call. Think out of the box, or rather, frame – and delight us with yours.

Happy writing!

                                                               

So thereby ends our YEAR OF THE ART. I think it's been a resounding success, what say you?

2022 is THE YEAR OF MUSIC!! Yay! Don't we all love our music!

GRAB the badge and post it in your sidebar! Thank you!

Go HERE to our Challenges 2022 page to see all the prompts for the year - we thank Olga Godim for the magnificent badges and Nilanjana for the magnificent blurbs. We have a talented team. 

Here's the link if you want to add it to your page:

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<script type="text/javascript" src="https://www.inlinkz.com/cs.php?id=827805"></script>

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If you want to read about self-publishing, Denise is guesting at Damyanti's site over the holidays. Both Denise and Damyanti would love you to visit and add to the conversation.

 Please tweet one or two of these:

WEP writing prompt Narcissus @DeniseCCovey @YolandaRenee @LGKeltner nullSign up December 1–15th! #amwriting #flashfiction #WEPFF #poetry #nonfiction #amwriting #flashfiction #WEPFF #poetry https://writeeditpublishnow.blogspot.com/2021/12/wep-2021-continues-artistic-inspiration.html

 Get-your-thinking-caps on for Narcissus @DeniseCCovey @YolandaRenee @LGKeltner  http s://writeeditpublishnow.blogspot.com/2021/12/wep-2021-continues-artistic-inspiration.htmlSign up December 1 – 15th! #WEPFF #amwriting #flashfiction #poetry #nonfiction 

Join WEP @DeniseCCovey @YolandaRenee @LGKeltner, for the next Challenge of 2021, December's Narcissus. Sign up and Post December 1 – 15th!  #WEPFF #amwriting #flashfiction #poetry #nonfiction https://writeeditpublishnow.blogspot.com/2021/12/wep-2021-continues-artistic-inspiration.html 

Write with @DeniseCCovey @YolandaRenee, @LGKeltner, for the December Challenge Narcissus! Sign up and post on December 1 – 15th! https://writeeditpublishnow.blogspot.com/2021/12/wep-2021-continues-artistic-inspiration.html 

#WEP OCTOBER CHALLENGE #WINNER'S #GUESTPOST – ELEPHANT'S CHILD AND SELF-EXPOSURE #AMWRITING

Hello everyone! Renée here! 

Elephant's Child, the winner of the October Challenge The Scream, won with her story Un.... Her tagline: Sometimes no one will hear your scream.

 

As our judge, Nick Wilford said: "The rhythm really hammers home the oppressive feel and air of inevitability, but fortunately this is leavened by having a hopeful ending. Very thought provoking."

Today EC is addressing self-exposure. So take it away, Sue!

 SELF-EXPOSURE

I write occasionally. I read every day. I am much more comfortable describing myself as a reader than I am a writer.

What do I read? I refuse to be limited by genre or defined by target groups. Instead, I read for education, comfort, and escape – and am sometimes lucky enough to find them all in the same work.

While I am a greedy reader, I am not uncritical. Writing to strike a chord with me and find a home in my head and heart has to be authentic. Real for the moment (while I am reading), and/or honest for all time. This means that memoirs, autobiographies, diaries, and letters make regular appearances in my towering to be read lists. It does not mean that I avoid fiction. Neil Gaiman (one of my favorite authors) summed it up for me.

‘Fiction is the lie that tells the truth.

We all have an obligation to daydream. We have an obligation to imagine. It is easy to pretend that nobody can change anything, that society is huge, and the individual is less than nothing.

But the truth is individuals make the future, and they do it by imagining that things can be different.’

My latest WEP post was and is certainly real, an ongoing part of me that I rarely display. I was in at least two minds about submitting it, and having done so, felt exposed and vulnerable.

Not a comfortable place. So I thought about it. And thought some more.

That thinking brought me to a place where I realized that all writers expose themselves, or at least some of themselves, in every piece they create. As an aside, I do not think that art and the artist who created it can be separated. Each piece exposes their backgrounds, their personal values, their beliefs, their hopes, their dreams, and their fears. Some of it is conscious, and I suspect some of it isn’t. And by exposing themselves this way, they make themselves vulnerable. Vulnerable to being criticized, dismissed, or not understood.

Do my musings make sense to you? And do you agree?

Writers have long been my heroes, and I thank them for their courage and the gift of trust they bestow on their readers.

And I thank WEP, both the administrators and the contributors, for making this a safe place for writers to stretch their wings and to hopefully soar.

~~*~~

Our award-winning author, Elephant's Child is from Canberra, Australia

She says she is in the process of reinventing herself. Even though she keeps busy with gardening, reading, birds, blogging, and swimming.

You can learn a lot more on her blog. Just follow the link https://myjustsostory.blogspot.com/

Photo by: Photo by Alysha Rosly on Unsplash

~~***~~

Thank you so much for your guest post, Sue. How about you, readers? How do you feel about self-exposure? How much of you, is in your writing?

We'd love for you to tweet this post or share it to Facebook or your favorite social media site.

#WEPTHESCREAM #WEPwinner #guestpost SELF-EXPOSURE https://writeeditpublishnow.blogspot.com/2021/11/wep-october-challenge-winners-guestpost.html @DeniseCCovey, @YolandaRenee, @LGKeltner, @OlgaGodim #amwriting #writingchalleng

#WEPTHESCREAM #WEPwinner Uh…. #guestpost SELF-EXPOSURE https://writeeditpublishnow.blogspot.com/2021/11/wep-october-challenge-winners-guestpost.html @DeniseCCovey, @YolandaRenee, @LGKeltner, @OlgaGodim #amwriting #writingchallenge

#WEPTHESCREAM #WEPwinner Uh… #guestpost Self-Exposure https://writeeditpublishnow.blogspot.com/2021/11/wep-october-challenge-winners-guestpost.html @DeniseCCovey, @YolandaRenee, @LGKeltner, @OlgaGodim #amwriting #writingchallenge

~~***~~

Our next challenge will be here before we know it! We hope many of you will consider joining us for our December challenge. Narcissus! We'll be posting early, anytime between December 1st and the 15th.

Thanks, Sue!

See you all there!