Writer Games | Death Wish & 51

Task Six: On My Own /SF - Voting

Well, I think we can all  agree that that was a well-fought semifinal (and promised an even more  disputed final)! Let's give our writers a hand of applause, shall we?

Now, before I actually  reveal the character who managed to avoid voting this task (and let me  tell you, it was a close call and a half!) there's still one thing I  need to do to make this a proper semifinal: notes.

Amari Fairland (katniss-everdeen) [4]

I've never seen anyone  use words to sculpt something as pretty... or as terrifying. The slow  descent into madness is something you've proven time and time again that  you write brilliantly, but this time you've outdone yourself. The use  of the song was absolutely brilliant, coming across in every aspect of  your entry (even the atmosphere of it), and that last line? Honestly,  it'll haunt my nightmares. I don't even have anything negative to say,  honestly, so can you not?

Lincoln Gardner (AverageEverydayHero) [8]

Can you not, please? I  was expecting this to be cutesy and feel good and instead I want to cry  because that was sad and they're alone in the darkness and that was such a clever way of using the song. Obviously  I expected something good out of each of you, but this is without a  doubt the strongest I've seen you perform. I've really grown fond of  Lincoln's inner monologue and I liked the amount of emotion I could feel  flow from the piece, and at this point my key suggestion is to layer  your writing - continue thinking about how Lincoln sees things, but give  us a hint for how they really are/how they see him

Maria Thisbe (MagmaKepner) [5]

First  of all, the character work in this piece was absolutely brilliant. I  gave you this song hoping that you would take advantage of it to further  explore Maria's character, and I can definitely say I wasn't  disappointed! Her inner monologue was fascinating and you clearly had a  great feel for the song - not to mention the thought that she was doomed  to be underappreciated until her death was brilliant. That being said, I  felt like the entry might have paced a bit too quickly for the song.  While I understand that Maria's thoughts run a mile a minute, I wish she  maybe hadn't realized everything so quickly and that it had been more  of a gradual, introspective entry, which would have made her thoughts  seem less repetitive and circular.

Kara Travis (-Raven-)

Possibly some of the  best writing I've seen throughout the course of the Games, this is  without a doubt a brilliant entry. Your characterization as well as the  ideas/themes brought into your piece was clever, and the way you played  with time and reality (not to mention tiny details like making the book Frankenstein rather  than something else) was particularly effective. While your link to the  song was well-done in its subtlety (building life rather than death/the  abrupt ending reflecting "my boy" making a coffin for you), there was  something about the content that didn't show as much growth in Kara as I  would have liked for someone who has survived an experience like the  one she's lived.

Alicia Washington (TheCatKing) [29]

Honestly, the way in  which you portrayed not only Alicia, but all five of the characters in  this entry can't be described as anything besides masterful. The link to  the song was brilliant in its own right, and you did a brilliant job of  portraying the atmosphere of the song within the entry, giving a very  interesting, nostalgic kind of tone to the entry which made it stand  out. I would say, however, that it lacked a tiny bit of punch to it,  which made it come off, over all, as slightly flat.

After a lot of  deliberation (and I do mean a lot - I genuinely considered giving you  all byes to finals because I want to keep all of you), I have decided  that the bye goes to Amari Fairland [4], which means that the following tributes are in danger of elimination:

Lincoln Gardner [8]
Maria Thisbe [5]
Kara Travis
Alicia Washington [29]

PM me the names of your two favourites. Two will survive. You may vote for yourself. Voting closes tomorrow at 5 PM GMT.