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[julilly]

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

Name of story: The Road That Leads To Who Knows Where

1) What was the biggest challenge for you when reading this story?

Reading it. :/

2) Did you find yourself looking forward to reading as you were going along or did it feel like homework?

At first I looked forward to it because the premise seemed really interesting but my enthusiasm quickly waned and in the end it felt like homework for what I did read.

3) What was your favorite scene/chapter in the story?

Can't say I have one, there wasn't really a memorable moment that stuck out for me.

4) Was your favorite character at the halfway point still your favorite at the end?

I didn't have a favourite character. The story jumped around so much it didn't really take time to do much in the way of character development.

5) Who was your least favorite character and why?

Again, I have no idea.

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

Not if it's done in the same style as this one, where each chapter is told from a half dozen repetitive perspectives.

7) Were you happy with the ending?

I only read to chapter 22 and it's incomplete, so I can't say

8) Name the biggest surprise in the story and did you see it coming? (If there was one)

There wasn't one. In the 22 chapters I read, not a whole lot happened because it was really just a couple of scenes told from multiple perspectives.

9) What was this stories biggest strength?

The premise is really promising, I think the idea has a lot of potential.

10) What was it's biggest weakness?

The repetition. Way too many chapters did absolutely nothing to advance the plot. In reply to some of my reviews expressing that the author simply said "Yeah, another filler. We'll get there...eventu ally." but that's really not a great approach to any story. Filler does not equal suspense. It equals boring.

11) Did reading this story make you want to try another one from this author?

Not really, no but I can't judge a writer by one story alone

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 read 22 chapters of this story and of those I think maybe 5 - 7 had real substance. I think this story could use an overall to condense a lot of the chapters into one (You can still have multiple perspectives but they don't all need to be a full chapter long) to move the plot along faster.

13) Did the author respond to your feedback?

Eventually

14) Any final thoughts or questions for the author?

Sorry if I came off negatively, but I really struggled to read this story. I think if you're following along update by update it may not seem like it drags as much but to read it in one sitting is tough. Hopefully I was able to provide you with something that will help you in the future should you ever decide to edit it.

[mare]

Saturday check in time!

There really isn't much to say. Everyone has pretty much completed the challenge with the exception of Ritz and Emily, so the two of you just keep on reading and see if you can be finished by next weekend. That should give Steph and I time to fill out our reader surveys.

You guys did great this year. I hope everyone had fun despite the huge hiccup.

[Carter]

I had fun!! Totally gonna do it again next year

[mare]

Good, I'm glad you enjoyed & that you plan on doing it again!

[Carter-Orange]

I'll be back too!

[emilo]

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

Name of story: Save a Prayer by Carter-Orange

1) What was the biggest challenge for you when reading this story? Uh-- giving birth in the middle of it? haha.  Otherwise, I'd say the fact that it was out of my genre comfort zone.

2) Did you find yourself looking forward to reading as you were going along or did it feel like homework?The only time it felt like homework was when I was just too exhausted to read (but I was also too exhausted to play with my four year old, too exhausted to get up and feed my newborn, too exhausted to change a diaper, etc, etc.)  Once I could get going, I looked forward to reading.

3) What was your favorite scene/chapter in the story?AJ catching a wild boar.

4) Was your favorite character at the halfway point still your favorite at the end? Yes.  I think that Nick, by default was the favorite character since he was the narrator and "hero" so to speak.

5) Who was your least favorite character and why?I dunno-- except for any of the New Kids, who didn't really contribute much to the story other than the set-up, I'd say maybe Brian?  He didn't really have any big moments that I can remember.  He was just kind of there as an ancillary character.

6) If there was a sequel to this story would you be interested in reading it?I don't really think this story would lend itself well to a sequel, unless maybe Steph delved into the aftermath-- I can actually see that being the type of story I would like-- The guys dealing with their emotions and leaning on each other in the wake of such a harrowing experience.... I'd read that.

7) Were you happy with the ending?Yes.  I think she wrote the ending well.

8) Name the biggest surprise in the story and did you see it coming? (If there was one)Maybe that ALL of the New Kids died?  I didn't really expect that.  I actually thought there would be more competition going on.

9) What was this stories biggest strength?It read like I was watching a movie.  Steph did a great job describing each scene and setting.

10) What was it's biggest weakness?I think this has more to do with this story's genre vs. my genre preferences, but I would have liked to see more of the guys' relationships and communication with each other-- more "bromance," if you will.  But, this was an action/adventure story, so I can see why I saw "less talk/more action," so to speak.

11) Did reading this story make you want to try another one from this author?Yes.  I actually read one of her stories in last year's challenge, which prompted me to pick something else she wrote for this year.

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'm glad I chose this story, because it was out of my reading comfort zone, but I still enjoyed it because it was so well-written.

13) Did the author respond to your feedback?Yes

14) Any final thoughts or questions for the author?I enjoyed it!  Sorry I was a little slow getting started and that I took some long breaks in between reading.  I was a little distracted. lol

 

 
« Last Edit: June 29, 2014, 03:25:34 AM by mare »   
 

[mare]

Ritz, here's a copy of the final survey for short stories.

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

Name of author who wrote these stories:

1) What was the biggest challenge for you when reading these stories?

2) Did you find yourself looking forward to reading as you were going along or did it feel like homework?

3) What was your favorite story and why?

4) Did you have a favorite character and if so which story did he/she/it come from?

5) What was your least favorite story and why?

6) If there was a sequel to any of these stories would you be interested in reading it?

7) Were you happy with the endings?

8) Name the biggest surprise in any of the stories and did you see it coming? (If there was one)

9) Overall what were the stories biggest strength (you can pick one or just speak generally)?

10) What was their biggest weakness (same as above)?

11) Did reading these stories make you want to try another one from this author?

12) Give us one final review that sums up your experience reading these, maybe explain why you gave the kind of feedback you did or if you would have perhaps picked a different story from this one?

13) Did the author respond to your feedback?

14) Any final thoughts or questions for the author?

[mare]

Hello!

Not much to say. Steph, you need to complete your reader's survey so this way I can post the happy wavy guys for Emily.

Ritz you just need to finish up those last two stories.

Next weekend I'll be back to wrap things up.

[Alexsgirl_ritz]

Sorry if it took me so long to finish the last 2 story, it has been really busy with work and business, and my youngest was admitted to the hospital for four days. But here it is:

Name of author who wrote these stories: Mare

1) What was the biggest challenge for you when reading these stories? I guess the time.

2) Did you find yourself looking forward to reading as you were going along or did it feel like homework? Even if I struggle with finding the time to read, it did not feel like a homework at all.

3) What was your favorite story and why? I'd still go with Mirror Image and the Easter Bunny story. Those two really touched my heart.

4) Did you have a favorite character and if so which story did he/she/it come from? Nick, from almost all the stories. I love the way Mare writes Nick.

5) What was your least favorite story and why? probably The Colors of my world... suck, it's not that I don't like it, I actually had fun reading it. This story made me laugh, but if you will ask me to rank the short stories, this probably would be on the last due to it doesn't have much meaning just like the other stories.

6) If there was a sequel to any of these stories would you be interested in reading it? Yes!

7) Were you happy with the endings? Absolutely.

8) Name the biggest surprise in any of the stories and did you see it coming? (If there was one) None, but maybe the way Mare's mind works. She's one creative writer.

9) Overall what were the stories biggest strength (you can pick one or just speak generally)? Mare's creativity and excellent writing.

10) What was their biggest weakness (same as above)? None that I can think of.

11) Did reading these stories make you want to try another one from this author? These stories made me love Mare's works more.

12) Give us one final review that sums up your experience reading these, 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 enjoy all the short stories, these proved how awesome Mare is as a writer.

13) Did the author respond to your feedback? Yes!

14) Any final thoughts or questions for the author? No questions. Just I love you, Mare.

[mare]

Okay that was easier to find then I thought it would be! lol

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

Story: my collection of short stories

Person reading it: Ritz

1) When you found out this person was reading your story what were your initial thoughts?
I was happy because as reader, Ritz has always given honest, detailed feedback.

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

3) Did you find yourself going back to read your story as a result of the feedback?
Only Mirror Image

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?
It was excellent! Thanks, Ritz!

------------------------------------------------------

[mare]

Thanks, Ritz! I love you too! Lol

[Carter-Orange]

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

Story: Save A Prayer

Person reading it: Emily

1) When you found out this person was reading your story what were your initial thoughts?
I knew Emily liked the more bromance type of story and wasn't sure what she'd make of it.

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

3) Did you find yourself going back to read your story as a result of the feedback?
No, although sometimes I probably should've so that I knew what was happening lol.

4) Do you have any questions for the person reading your story?
No

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

[mare]

Well, it's time to wrap up this years challenge. As you can tell by all the happy, wavy people on the first post, for the most part it was a big success.

I wanted to thank all of you for participating and I hope you had a great time! I'll be posting the new rules in here so I have a point of reference when we do this again next year and so you can see if you and your stories will qualify.

Thanks again guys!

Feel free to post final thoughts and input of the rules. p

[mare]

Some new rules starting in 2015:

~ You can only submit a collaboration if all writers are participating in the challenge.  The story can be submitted by both people and it can be read by two different people but I think it's fair. Otherwise, it can be an awkward situation for the person reading it. And you never know if the other person who wrote it would want it to be read for a challenge.

~ When you volunteer to participate in the challenge, before I allow you to submit stories you need to meet the following guidelines:
-Under your username where it says reviews, you must have at least 300 there, unless you are a newer member (less than two years) then I will allow 100.
- I will check to see if you respond to the reviews that you receive, if you don't then this challenge is not for you.

~Before I allow a story, I will actually click on the first chapter and if it's laced with a ton of grammatical errors, I will not allow it as part of the challenge unless it's fixed.

~ You may only submit a story in progress if you have updated that story at least three times in the course of the present year. We want to read stories that actually have a chance of being finished and if you are flaky about posting, it isn't fair to the reader. The story also has to be more than halfway to completion.

~ If you are new to this challenge, you may only submit one story for consideration. After this past year's fiasco, I need to make sure you aren't going to be irresponsible and leave everyone else with a mess.

~ If you have done this challenge before, you may submit up to 5 stories including ones that have previously been submitted.

That's all I have so far. Lol