Fic Talk > I Challenge You....

Let the 2014 Summer Reading Challenge Begin!

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mare:
Readers survey (To be completed once the person reading your story is finished)

Story: Living at the Top

Person reading it: Steph

1) When you found out this person was reading your story what were your initial thoughts? I was happy because I know Steph and I figured she'd like this one.

2) Did your reader leave you an adequate amount of feedback and was it helpful to you? She is always fantastic with leaving feedback. It wasn't necessarily helpful but this story is so old I really didn't need to be. lol

3) Did you find yourself going back to read your story as a result of the feedback? I probably should have because I barely remembered this one, but I most likely won't.

4) Do you have any questions for the person reading your story? Nope

5) Overall did you find the experience a good one or a bad one? Yes, it was a great experience. I can't believe she's finished it already! LOL

KeepThisSecret:
Final survey (To be completed after finishing the story you are reading)

*I put a spoiler alert on the biggest surprise answer. I hope you don't mind KeepThisSecret but I kind of want to keep that secret! lol It's what makes the entire story.  ;D

Name of story: Shadow Woods

1) What was the biggest challenge for you when reading this story? I probably encountered the most difficulty at the beginning (in terms of motivation to keep reading) because there were a lot of "supernatural" things going on and that is not really my thing. However, I really enjoyed the story towards the end, so I'm glad that I kept going with it.

2) Did you find yourself looking forward to reading as you were going along or did it feel like homework? I was definitely looking forward to reading it, especially towards the end.

3) What was your favorite scene/chapter in the story? I really enjoyed the part where Nick convinces "Evil Brian" to give him a piggy-back ride up the hill. Too funny!

4) Was your favorite character at the halfway point still your favorite at the end? Yup - I liked the growth that Nick's character experienced throughout the story.

5) Who was your least favorite character and why? Probably Matt because he chopped up Sarah and Mary-Beth with a hatchet.

6) If there was a sequel to this story would you be interested in reading it? You bet!

7) Were you happy with the ending? I was extremely satisfied with the ending. I liked how Mare summed things up while still leaving a lot of unanswered questions.

8) Name the biggest surprise in the story and did you see it coming? (If there was one) [spoiler]The fact that Nick had meningitis and was essentially dreaming the whole thing from his hospital bed. I probably should have been able to figure it out, but it threw me for a loop.[/spoiler]

9) What was this stories biggest strength? Nick as the narrator was strong. He told the story as he saw things, which created just enough confusion and doubt to keep my guessing,

10) What was it's biggest weakness? I can't identify a weakness. Nothing stood out as wrong or unrealistic and the writing was good!

11) Did reading this story make you want to try another one from this author? Yes - Actually, I had read Hope by Mare prior to reading this story and that's why I selected this story for the challenge.

12) Give us one final review that sums up your experience reading this, maybe explain why you gave the kind of feedback you did or if you would have perhaps picked a different story from this one? I had a really great time reading this story! I mostly commented on what was going on in the story, but I also tried to throw in some of my predictions (which all turned out to be wrong - LOL). There wasn't really anything to critique, because Mare did an awesome job with the writing.

13) Did you prefer the way we did the challenge this year or did you like the pairings better? I didn't participate in the challenge last year.  :P

14) Did the author respond to your feedback? Yup!

15) Any final thoughts or questions for the author? Thanks for giving me such a positive (reading) experience with my first-ever reading challenge!

mare:
Aww two of you are done reading my stories. :( This makes me sad. lol

Story: Shadow Woods

Person reading it: KeepThisSecret

1) When you found out this person was reading your story what were your initial thoughts?
I was excited because she's a pretty great writer so I was counting on really insightful, honest feedback and I wasn't disappointed!

2) Did your reader leave you an adequate amount of feedback and was it helpful to you?
Yes she did and yes, it was!

3) Did you find yourself going back to read your story as a result of the feedback?
I am kind of re-reading the OF version of the story now so in a way, yes.

4) Do you have any questions for the person reading your story?
Not that I can think of.

5) Overall did you find the experience a good one or a bad one?
It was a great experience! :)

mare:
Questions:

1) What is the hardest part of the challenge for you? (Reading, reviewing, responding to reviews etc...) and why?

2) How do you feel about getting reviews for the challenge? Are you excited to read them or do you dread them?

3) After you review are you curious to see what the author has to say?

4) Has this changed the way you handle reading other people's stories?

mare:
Halfway there survey (Only to be completed once you have gotten at least halfway through your story)

Name of story: All of Your Life

1) Are you finding it easy to follow plot wise?
Yes, the plot is not confusing at all. Pretty straight forward.

2) So far who is your favorite character and why?
I love Nick because he is so open with the idea of falling in love with Rayna. I also like Rayna because despite all she's been through, she seems like a tough lady.

3) Are you getting a sense of how it will end and if so, any guesses? (Sometimes authors get a kick out of seeing what a reader thinks will happen and how predictable they may or may not be)
I'm going to go out on a limb here and say yes, I'm pretty sure at this point.

4) Do you feel like the summary the author gave accurately describes the story you are reading? Would there be anything you would include or omit?
I think the summary works perfectly.

5) Has there been any big surprises/plot twists or just overall observations?
Not really, except for maybe the speed at which the two of them have fallen for each other. It reminds me of Tony and Maria in West Side Story a little minus the snapping, dancing and singing every five seconds. lol

These are the harder questions, but don't be afraid to answer them. Remember we all signed on to this knowing and expecting to get and give constructive criticism.

6) If this wasn't a challenge story and you didn't have to continue reading, would you have stopped already? If so please explain why.
I would have stopped most likely, although it would have nothing to do with the plot. Even though it's really not something I would ever read, Carter's two main characters (Nick and Rayna) are so likable I actually do care about them both, but there are so many grammatical errors that it makes it really not fun to read. Especially if you tend to be a grammar police person like I am. lol

7) Has there been any glaring errors that have stuck out? (I'm not talking about the occasional missed period, typo or spelling/grammar errors but huge mistakes that need to be pointed out that the author might not be aware of)
As I've mentioned to carter in my feedback, there are a lot of grammar issues. Missing periods at the end of sentences, making them run on forever. Going back and forth between past and present tense, etc... all of those things makes it hard for a reader to keep track of what's going on and might be a reason for the small amount of reviews this story received, which is a shame because it's a good story otherwise. Just needs a fair amount of editing. I'll take a good plot and strong characters over a weak plot with weak characters any day. It's very rare for me to like a female character and root for them all the way through, but I like Rayna. That should say something.

8) Do you have any questions for the author in regard to the storyline, characters or plot?
Nope, this story is very self explanatory. I know it's intensely personal to her and I feel like I'm watching a scene from her life. :)

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