GREENER PASTURES WRAP-UP, Upcoming Guest Post and Next Challenge!

Hey RFWers; thank you to everyone who participated in the Greener Pastures Challenge.  A lot of really good concept writing was submitted.  This Challenge was eligible for Featured Writer and Runner up award; and as such had a few special rules added:

-          word count up to 600

-          prose or prosetry

-          1^st posting only judged

. . . and since I forgot it was scheduled for Friday the 13^th when I set up the Challenge, I threw in a last minute $3 gift card to one lucky, randomly drawn winner who managed to use the superstitious theme within their excerpt.  But lets get to the wrap up and see what tales were told (in submission order) . .

Denise – posted a continuation of last weeks’ Stuck in the Middle concept, focusing on Marsilia this time.  Marsilia is considering moving on from her marriage to Greffon, and all signs point that James is about to be a replacement. James has turned up the charm – and smothering-type attention – to win her.  A wiser Marsilia may focus instead on the new relationship growing within her . .

Donna – wrote a new excerpt, with a gritty older male POV, who's love is tied to his deceased wife, and the routine that drove their relationship.  The new love, developed from mutual loss and a steady pharmaceutical purchase, has enough similarities to his deceased wife that the differences are a constant reminder of his former love.

Sally – wrote a poem of abiding love in the aftermath of war.  A family saga, that followed the life of a pretty young maid through maturity, marriage, divorce and in the end, full circle to the first love.  Life was the second love in this heart warming tale.

Adura – poetry was completely unique in “replacing” an old, well loved image with a newer version, a yearning for the 'good old days' reflected in old photos. Is the changing world better?

Kiru – wrote an intriguing excerpt of broken promises, and a life long edict to be “the good wife.”  At the moment of truth, the work mistress that distracted her husband became the wife’s new mistress also.  Justice chilled with wine – on Friday the 13^th . .

Rahul – a newcomer to our RFW ranks; made our hearts bleed with the callousness of the wife’s final goodbye.  But who was at fault we wonder; the wife who tired of sleeping alone in the luxury provided, or the husband who finally remembered the love that inspired his climb to the top?

Crystal – also posted a new excerpt, focusing on the stagnation of marriage and a woman with a demanding career.  A modern tale of changing roles, a missed opportunity, and an unexpected twist at the end to seal the theme.

Andy – stretched his writing abilities outside his usual box of poetry and adoration of the feminine mystique with a heart breaking narrative of love interrupted by fate.  As our scarred beauty confronts her destiny, whose life will change – or end - with her forsworn despair?

Madeleine – posted a short, poignant snippet from her novel that depicts a heart unwilling to move on, though all the charm and affection of a favored friend are not completely unnoticed.

Heather – took a risky spin away from the norms of her world, and ended up somewhere much less pleasant than the status quo; proving that sometimes the same-old same has its own rewards in continuity.

Radwa – a recently new member, wrote of deep pain and the renewal of love, life and the birth of a new day on the bay. The tides of life endlessly wash out the old pain, leaving clean sands for a fresh beginning.

CandiLynn – is also a relatively new member, writing of the sacrifice of one love for the other, an elemental dream exchanged for the trappings of mortality.  When the tides of the dream wash ashore, and a decision must be made, it is the heart’s mistress that makes the final choice.

Anna – also continued her story from the Stuck in the Middle challenge; with a heart breaking decision to return to what has been lost and found, or carry on into the uncertain future.

So there it is, a recap of the submissions for Featured Writer, Runner up, and the bonus $3 Amazon gift card.

Denise and I have collaborated extensively over wine, sun bleached beaches, and the virtual world of e-mails, and come to the difficult decision of choosing the winners in all three categories.  And here is our picks (without drummroll or fanfare) . .

Although some thought Donna's post integrated the Friday the 13th concept by mentioning the lingering memories of the deceased wife, the post did not embody the essence of the superstitious date with any freaky bad luck, or even mention the auspicious date.  And while many of the excerpts were of a darker nature, with open endings left to reader interpretation, only one blamed the date for the bad luck.


Congratulations Kiru; I will e-mail you with the gift card within the week.  If you don't receive an e-mail from me, please nag me in an e-mail, as sometimes I forget.


Next is the Runner Up award.  This is awarded to a member who just didn't quite make the cut as Featured Writer, but only because it came down to a choice, and a final decision HAD to be made.  There can be only one Featured Writer.  


The judging criteria for Featured Writer was pretty stringent for this challenge.  WE (meaning the hosts Denise and Donna) required writers to stay within a 600 (or less) word count, adhere to prose/prosetry writing style (no poetry), be well polished on the first submission (no revisions based on comment feedback), and incorporate the Greener Pastures theme (some amount of contrast between old love/new love).   The rest, as the saying goes, is up to interpretation.


And WE agree that the wide variety of interpretations all stayed within the Greener Pastures theme.  

• Abstract: ideas: Adura, Kiru, Heather, Crystal, Radwa
• reminiscent perspective: Donna, Sally, Rahul, Anna
• the here and now: Denise, Madeleine, Andy,
• paradigm shifts:   CandiLynn, Madeleine

Every concept was unique in its interpretation.

The Greener Pastures Runner Up posted within the required word limit, stayed (mostly) within the perspective character's view point, was a complete scene with a beginning/middle/end, oozed that all important romantic element, and was so well developed WE took a mini cruise on an imaginary bay liner (boat).  Congratulations CandiLynn; you are RFW's Runner up for Challenge #40, Greener Pastures.  Please proudly post the RU Harlot on your blog, with the title of the post you received it for.

Our Featured Writer did all of the above, AND went that little extra mile to stretch his writing skills not only outside of his chosen genre, but also outside of his normal writing style, to post a writing specifically for the RFW Challenge.  This dedication to craft truly deserves recognition.  Andy David, please accept the RFW Featured Writer award for your dedication to craft, and your unique perspective on a difficult writing challenge.


WE would like to thank everyone who took the time and effort to not only post a writing excerpt, but also to polish and present with heart and style.  Thank you all for your contributions to Romantic Friday Writers.

Next Monday, July 23rd, we have a special Guest Post by new member Charmaine Clancy. Charmaine will be letting us in on many of the tricks of publishing your own ebook. There's an especially helpful section on Book Covers. Don't miss it!

And let's start working on our stories/poems for our next Challenge -  Three Things You Could Have Done Better. There's no special guidelines for this prompt - those suggestions offered are only that - inspiration if you need it. Write it your way, but it must relate to the prompt and contain a romantic element...

CHALLENGE NO 41

It's not always easy to say how you feel, so sometimes it's a good- or really very bad idea- to write it down. What has happened in the past to lead you to this point - pen poised, hovering over notepaper? Maybe you communicate better on paper than face to face...maybe you should have acted differently...but should you be sitting here writing it all down...should you be jumping in the car, heading off to see him/her face to face, sort things out? Your call, your story - just make sure there are Three Things You Could Have Done Better.

And Members - be looking in your e-mails for an opportunity to shout out your writing goals/accomplishments in a special post at RFW (publication date to be announced).  Denise is working on an e-mail to collect RFW member achievements.  If you would like to submit your writing accomplishments - from publication, to agent achievement, to writing goals on a work in progress, be sure to sign up on the member linky thumbnail in the right column.

Speaking of writing accomplishments - please take a moment to notice some links in the right sidebar under the member thumbnails for easy targeting of publishers, magazines etc for submission of your work.

Be sure to gather here again on Monday to read Charmaine's Guest Post.