LGBT+

CONTEST #3 RESULTS

So, a couple things.

First of all: Thankyouthankyouthankyou to everyone who entered my contest! I loved reading all of your entries, and I'm not just saying that. It honestly gets me so psyched to see how many of you are willing to take time out of your lives to write and publish a oneshot for the purposes of my contest. I hope you know how much I appreciate it, because not only are you giving yourself a chance to gain recognition for your writing skills, but you're also helping me accomplish my major goal: Increasing the number of LGBT+ works on this website that are not smut or fanfiction. (Not that those are bad, or that I haven't written both :/)

Second: As much as I love hosting these contests, one of the few drawbacks is the thought of disappointing people who don't win. So I really want you guys to know how much thought and effort I put into choosing the winners for my contests, and that you not winning doesn't mean I think you're a bad writer. AT ALL. There's just a lot of criteria to consider, and unfortunately there can only be one first place.

The chart in the picture above illustrates the final stage of my scoring (the original was much bigger, as it included all the entries). In this one, I had already narrowed it down to my four favorite stories (labeled A, B, C, and D for secrecy purposes), and gave them scores out of ten in the four basic categories. Again, this was the final stage, so sorry if it looks rough. I stayed up SO LATE last night doing this. For that, please respect my choices.

Now, for the results.

To start off, I have two honorable mentions. These are stories that I absolutely loved at first read, and that might have missed winning first place by the slightest margin, but the effort put into them is obvious.

In no order:

Ambiguity by Always-second-best

Back to the Start by raverill21

I would highly recommend both these stories for their creativity, introspection, and ability to move and amaze readers in so few words. Go check them out!

And finally, the winner of my third LGBT+ contest on wattpad:

Nine Days by RoseInDeep

Everything about this story, from its second person point-of-view to its subtle yet direct imagery, struck me as unique right off the bat. The story was relatable, the emotions it triggered were real, and it got better with every read. Though the scoring process was long and laborous, in the end, this oneshot was the clear winner. Seriously, go check it out. And in addition, don't forget to go visit the author's profile and offer your congratulations!

Rose's prize for winning my Ambiguous Ending Contest is that she gets to choose a oneshot of mine that I will write a sequel to, setting all my other projects aside to do so. Therefore, this book should be updated again (yes, a real update!) very soon.

One last note for those of you who participated, but did not win: please, please, PLEASE don't delete your stories. By writing and publishing what that you did, you still made an actual, original contribution to the LGBT+ Teen Fiction genre on wattpad, and that deserves to remain. Additionally, please don't hesitate to enter any LGBT+ contest I may hold in the future. I choose a new author every time, and you still have a chance to win :).

Thank you and stay awesome!

—Lily