The Standouts - A Critique Contest by PAULAPDX (Summer 2019 Edition)

The Standouts - 2019

Alrighty folks, we are good to go for this year's Standouts! Whew! I tried to vote on all the chapters I read. If I forgot to vote on yours, please do let me know. There was a lot of ground to cover and you deserve a star for putting yourselves out there!

I'll be creating a Standouts reading list comprised of the Top 20 Standouts chosen. The list will sit high on my profile (for what it's worth 😄) until the Top 5 are chosen. Hopefully, this will bring more eyes to your work. Also, I'm aiming to have your feedback to you by the end of July. I need a bit of a breather, but I'm hoping it will be sooner. We'll see.

I'm also separating this announcement out into three chapters, the ones here who will be getting a rated review of their first chapter sent to them via Google Docs, and then two chapters with the entries I'm passing on and an explanation of why.

I'm just going to list those entrants with guaranteed spots and their story titles and loglines because I'm unbelievably exhausted (not from the reading--the stories were good--but from the analyzing and articulating), and I'd prefer to read your first chapters with fresher eyes.

The First Five - These are the first five entrants who were on the ball and entered early: 

@Cross-Warrior (Midnight) - Logline: Ash Crest thought she had found her happily ever after when the prince swept her away from her life as a servant for her stepfamily to become his bride-to-be. That all changes when her legs turn into a mermaid tale and pirates kidnap her prince. She will have to join the Midnight Pirates, a crew made up of others cursed by magic, if she ever wishes to get him back, discovering more about the world -- and herself -- along the way. 

@CelticWarriorQueen17 (Between Two Worlds) - Logline: When Enid's world is shattered to pieces, she believes that she will never love or trust anyone again. But when she meets Lucius who shares similar heritage, her world is once again rocked upside down as she learns that there is still good in this world. 

@MAzhaan3005 (1960 London Love) - Logline: a story set in India and London that revolves around the journey for love and friendship that transcends border, 1960 London Love is an epic tragedy revolving around Meera Bhandarkar, who, six decades later, is asked to recount her saga of love, betrayal, and friendship that has made her the town's legendary figure. As the wounds are opened and secrets spilled, the listener and speaker find a connection and bond that they had overlooked

@myromichaels (Otherworldly Beasts - Finding the Royals ) - Logline: Sarah is ten and too old to believe in fairy tales. Her brother, at seven, still loves a good bedtime story though. When Lucas, who is diagnosed with dyslexia, finds an old picture book of their grandmother, he sneaks it into his room at night and together, they turn the pages. This is the beginning of a marvelous journey. 

@inkwellheart (The Wolf with the Iron Jaw) - Logline: When a seventeen-year-old asylum escapee's plans for suicide are derailed by a mutant wolf, she agrees to become the assistant of the young doctor who saves her. Now she's pulled into a world of questionable morals and bizarre experiments as she helps track down the monster's creator in the sleazy city of Tinkerfall.

The Back-to-Backers - These are the entrants from last year who were paying attention (still following me...yay!) and jumped on this opportunity, tout de suite: 

@Calmwolf (Fractured Red) - Logline: Redaliya learned quickly that the world doesn't give second chances. After an ill-fated choice, her time is ticking; she goes in search of the only things she can't have. A cure.

@Ellenfairyblue4 (Spirit Guide) - Logline: She's back this time with her daughter. Follow Yazmin on her journey to keep her daughter in a world of paranormal. Will she keep her or not?