MARCH - 2020 - MICROSTORY CONTEST (CRITIQUES ONLY)

[C.]

Channeling my fem side, but it's slim pickins! Lol

[Justin]

Marianne wrote: "Everyone did a great job this month. Across the stories, it was interesting to me how folks played with the concepts of Infidelity and Jealousy and how they placed the various matriarchal societies..."

Very much a stretch!

[C.]

OK, now that the voting has been completed, here are my promised critiques that scored 24 Hypernova Stars or better:

March 2020 story critiques

1-5 Hypernova stars:
A. Overall story enjoyment:
B. Writing quality:
C. Scientific content quality:
D. Emotive quality:
E. Ending strength:
F. Compliance with story requirements:
(1=disappointed. 2=Meh. 3=OK. 4=Nice! 5=LOVED IT!)

This Month's Theme:

What if matriarchal culture had endured and predominated over the past 5 millennia?
Required elements:
1) Infidelity
2) Jealousy


Betrayal by Chris Nance
A. Overall story enjoyment: 4
B. Writing quality: 5
C. Scientific content quality: 4
D. Emotive quality: 5
E. Ending strength: 5
F. Compliance with story requirements: 5
Score: 28
Great story writing with incandescent visuals and despicable court intrigue. Would have liked more science in this fictional tale, but great story telling in any case.

‘She’ is All by Andy Lake
A. Overall story enjoyment: 5
B. Writing quality: 5
C. Scientific content quality: 5
D. Emotive quality: 5
E. Ending strength: 4
F. Compliance with story requirements: 3
Score: 27
Great story telling. I really liked Andy’s exploration of a society of women and the new cultural influences this might cause. Brief mention of Jealousy and no infidelity references did little to take the shine off this story.

Jolia by Jot Russell
A. Overall story enjoyment: 4
B. Writing quality: 3
C. Scientific content quality: 5
D. Emotive quality: 4
E. Ending strength: 5
F. Compliance with story requirements: 4
Score: 25
A clever story with a nice twisty, double entendre ending. The writing started off a bit rough as did the ending, but the middle was well done. Great visuals of the two tethered planets.

The Myth of Man by Justin Sewell
A. Overall story enjoyment: 4
B. Writing quality: 5
C. Scientific content quality: 4
D. Emotive quality: 5
E. Ending strength: 4
F. Compliance with story requirements: 4
Score: 26
Great writing, fabulous intro. The ending was not quite as strong as the story, since the big reveal about their being modeled after the Mona Lisa just didn’t knock me off my chair. The requirement for jealousy and infidelity were barely met, But a great read overall.

Quartz by Marianne Petrino
A. Overall story enjoyment: 5
B. Writing quality: 5
C. Scientific content quality: 5
D. Emotive quality: 5
E. Ending strength: 5
F. Compliance with story requirements: 5
Score: 30
My first-ever perfect score. This was a masterful piece of storytelling, from the slow reveal of the culture, to her lover’s betrayal, to the impressive technology of the crystalline artifact, to the artful descriptions of ultimate revenge. And the ending, gentle as the beat of a butterfly's wing, was a powerful statement of forever changed destiny. Wonderful and inspiring writing, Marianne!

A Simple Medical Condition by Greg Krumrey
A. Overall story enjoyment: 4
B. Writing quality: 4
C. Scientific content quality: 4
D. Emotive quality: 3
E. Ending strength: 4
F. Compliance with story requirements: 5
Score: 24
Good story, seems some words got left out. Nice overall concept and clever twist at the end with the description of a cure by castration. But there wasn’t much imagery or emotive appeal here.

[Marianne]

Thanks for the comments, C. Much appreciated.

[Greg]

Thanks for the critique. They are always helpful.

Greg