Making it to the finals of So You Think You Can Write is no small feat, but now our Top Four face the real challenge of weekly, public writing assignments.
For their first piece of flash fiction, we asked the writers to explore new territory through an "alien landscape."
The results are in. Retired real estate broker Pat Parker takes an early lead with his story, Disarmed.
Disarmed took us to the border of the Iron Curtain, where a 19-year-old soldier looks into the darkness, listening for noises out of the ordinary. You can read it below, along with the judges' comments on Page C3.
But our other three finalists also showed weight of a sense of place.
UVic interim marketing director Nick Clewley connected an emotional space with a physical one, with a couple trekking through a rarely trodden park in the remote reaches of southern New Zealand.
While judge Janet Rogers said the metaphors were too obvious, judges Dave Obee and Matthew Hooton commended the concept and attention to detail.
Thirteen-year-old contender Fiona Luo set her story in a dream world, with violet skies and happy citizens. Hooton said she has a strong storytelling instinct and suggested more accute attention to detail, writing, "We interact with environments through our senses, and our sensual experience is linked to our emotions."
Finally, retired teacher Frankie Blake opened her story on a landscape as flat as her grandma's backside, with a curious lack of weather. Its twist ending was both risky and fabulous for Hooton, while Rogers wondered if it was sci-fi and Obee cautioned that not every reader will be familiar with the cultural reference point necessary to understand the wink.
TODAY: ASSIGNMENT 1
Today we present the results of the first assignment for the four finalists in So You Think You Can Write.
On this page you can read Pat Parker's entry Disarmed, which was scored highest by our three judges. The judges' comments on the story are on Page C3.
To read the three other finalists' work and vote for your favourite, go to timescolonist.com/writingcontest.
The first assignment was Alien Landscape (500 words): Write a piece of flash fiction set in a "foreign" location (ie. not on Vancouver Island). You might choose to write in such a way that readers identify with the place and feel at "home" in an alien landscape, or you might describe it as utterly "other." The key here is that your location evokes a response from your readers. This piece of fiction should be a self-contained narrative, with a beginning, middle and end. Characters, events, style, we leave up to you.
Next week: Assignment 2
Write a poem (any form) about:
? Your favourite book
? A book that inspired you to write
? Or your most memorable book from childhood Check next Sunday's Times Colonist to see the results.
