#RomanticFridayWriters Featured Writer and Runner Up announced. And...RFW enters the #AtoZChallenge

We have returned to announce the Featured Writer, the Runner Up and the People's Choice Encouragement Award.

You read both Donna's and Denise's critiques of the eligible writers in Wednesday's post. (If you missed it, it's the post below this one). We wondered if you would guess who we'd be choosing!

Without further ado, both Donna and I have chosen Adura as the RU this week for her sensuous poem entitled, She Wears My Ring. Congratulations Adura. Your poem rocked!

For FW we both chose Madeleine Maddocks for her heartfelt romantic story of an elderly couple. It was a beautifully written vignette, well deserving of the FW title.

And the People's Choice goes to...Anna and ahem, Denise! Isn't that lovely! I was hoping for a last-minute vote to even the tie, but it didn't happen. So Anna and I will post our Encouragement Awards on our blogs. Thank you, lovely people!

If you want to refresh yourself by reading any of the winning entries, go to the She Wears My Ring post below.

We noted the comments regarding having a separate competition for poetry and prose and yes, that is one of our motivations to stop the one-size-fits-all judging. Bear with us till May...

MORE NEWS!

I've previously said that RFW would be closing for the month of April as the A - Z Challenge was taking place and everyone would be too busy writing posts or reading them. However, I had an epiphany yesterday and decided instead of pulling down the blinds, I'm going to throw them open! 

RFW has entered the A - Z Challenge! 

There are several positive benefits:

• We will gain more exposure for our group, something that many of you want to see.
• Some visitors may follow RFW and become members in the future.
• Flash fiction will be promoted.
• Any RFW member taking part will possibly receive visits from commenters.

So, I took the train back to the city yesterday and while on the train I wrote 10 little stories, up to 'J'. Didn't take long, but I'm a crazy, quick writer - just give me an opening letter, sentence and my 'pantser' is away, writing the story for me. How about you? Does it take you long to pen a story/poem? (What slows me down is the editing, then more editing, then even more...)

Anyway, my challenge to you, dear members and followers:

Do you want to join this challenge with me? If so, you can write flash fiction from approx. 50 (called a Dribble - 100 (called a Drabble) - 200 words on any theme, hopefully, but not necessarily, with a romantic element, and email it to me for posting. I'll post the occasional 400 + word story so that's okay too! I'll need editorial rights so I can tweak it to fit the letter and fix up any little typos, tenses, grammar and punctuation if I should find any, perish the thought. If you send in a story, write a few words about yourself so I can post this under your story with your blog link. And send another picture if you want, otherwise I'll nab the picture you have when you joined as a member...

If you've already written a story in the past and would like to offer it for publication during the challenge, please send it along. We can post more than one each day if you offer up a surfeit of riches! 

To post to the A - Z I'm using the first word of the story as the letter of the month, so there's no theme for the entries. For example for A, the beginning of the story goes like this -" '...and that's the way it happened,' he said..."

I hope you like the idea of RFW stepping out into the bigger blogoverse and getting ourselves known just that much more. Remember, if you want to post an old story or write a new one or two or ten, please email me at den.covey@gmail.com. Also, if you have any more questions about it, please ask. 

Hope to see you visiting during April - every day except Sunday (challenge begins the first Sunday as it's the 1st April) even if you don't want any of your stories posted.

Don't forget, we reconvene for our challenges on Tuesday May 1st. There will be new guidelines and other changes. Our May 4 prompt is going ahead on the first Friday. This one can be up to 600 words, (an epic poem?) but there are guidelines to follow...

I see some of you have signed up for the A - Z Challenge yourselves. Leave your name below if you have so I can visit you!

Have a great April!

Denise (L'Aussie)