The Lodestar Contest

Once more, a hearty thank you to all who entered. I hit a point in here where I was either going to give out four Honorable Mentions or else eight to ten, and from there, many more. The temptation was great.

There are so many good stories on that "Qualified Entries" list that aren't winding up with a prize from this contest it kills me. I hope they're able to find the recognition they deserve out there. Additionally, there's at least one Honorable Mention that given more time and wordage could very well have taken Grand Prize. But that is the way of things with contests, especially those with prompts, themes, and the like.


Out of twenty-three qualified entries, here are the six taking home prizes:


Your Grand Prize winner captured me from beginning to end, held my heart in its hand, and made me love dream sequences. Part of that had to do with the fact that they were more flashbacks of dreams than dreams happening in the story's real time. And the story those sequences wove—and wove in with—was lovely and rich and authentic.

STATIC

Time After Time  (13+) There's just never enough time #2160237 by Eric Wharton

Our Runner-Up came in with a sex scene that I felt was absolutely essential to the story. A sex scene made fresh by the characters involved while their natures made the scene necessary. It was done as a seamless part of a story that was well written with good characterization.

Your Name  (XGC) When close friends go through changes, it takes some getting used to. #2162433 by Lynn McKenzie

There are four Honorable Mentions, and I'd like to say a little something about each one: They're not in any particular order, save for what order they were in when I closed all other story tabs on my browser.

Than Pence put "telepathy" down as the element used in this entry. (I didn't ask for contestants to tell me which element(s) they were using, but I didn't mind that so many of you told me anyway.) The telepathy is impossible to miss, but the unmentioned twist was what really blew my socks off, especially when my mind was going in so many other directions, from a haunting to—well, I don't want to say too much more on that lest I become unintentionally spoilery.

STATIC

Inside Voice  (18+) Tina, a checkout girl starts hearing a man's voice. Then things get tense. #2163681 by Than Pence

This next one was billed as a "twist ending" story, though I'm ashamed to say I didn't quite grasp what happened at the end of it. But the characters were gorgeously done, the writing details were just masterful, and the world-building was rich without exposition. Hell, I Googled "Haj'ko" because I was convinced it was a real thing. Plus, that twist just before the middle had me leaning forward.

Invalid Item  This item number is not valid. #2163726 by Not Available.

What I really liked about this next story was that it used the "dream sequence" element in a way that usually leads to some romantic connection, but this was deeper than that, and very touching. The imagery, too, is still imprinted on my mind, as are the emotions.

Invalid Item  This item number is not valid. #2161138 by Not Available.

And this one—whew. It was, in a way, the most heartbreaking of the bunch. It created conflicting emotions for the main character in that I was ready to root for her if she'd redeemed herself, but that "if" was a big deal. That "twist ending" made me drop my jaw. Nicely done.

STATIC

'She'  (18+) The story of a woman in trouble... #2027238 by Sally

I can't thank you all enough for entering this contest (and so I'm doing it again!). I also can't stress enough how many good stories there were on that entries list. It was a pleasure to read, and a stress-filled weekend of judging, complete with note cards and a lot of scribbling.

Congratulations to the winners!

Chy