Competition Update
Well hello, and long time no chat!
It’s been a busy few months (not just in my world of writing) so I’m here with a quick update on life and, of course, Forgotten.
Update on Forgotten:
As many of you know from my last update, I submitted an excerpt of my manuscript for Forgotten to a few different literary contests. While I recently heard back from the organizers at the Letter Review saying they won’t be able to provide feedback for my round of the competition, I did receive feedback on my manuscript from the judges at The Colorado Gold Rush Literary Awards Contest. I did not place as a finalist, but I received such helpful and encouraging feedback! I am so grateful for the judges’ notes and I’m excited to do some polishing so that one day, Forgotten will be a story I’d be proud for you to read or keep on your shelves. In the meantime, here are some of the positive notes the judges included:
“It was a pleasure reading Forgotten. It’s a well written, creative story with an interesting premise that presents a new twist on the sci-fi theme of false memories. And, because of all that, it’s not easy to provide a lot of substantive critique that would improve the story.”
“...this will be an excellent story. You already write wonderful descriptions and have a strong narrative voice. All you need to do is revise and polish a little. This was a fun read, and I wish you the best of luck with this manuscript. ”
“You have an intriguing story here, and the premise sounds like something I would readily pick up.”
“Your scenes are well crafted. I enjoyed the section of chapter two the most because your descriptions really shined there.”
Update on me:
While we’re giving updates, let’s address the elephant in the room! It’s been a while (a few months, I know) since I last posted an update here and I’d like to explain why. Back in June, I won a Korean speech competition at the King Sejong Institute in Irvine, CA. My prize was that I was one of around 240 international students invited to Seoul, SK, for a week-long special cultural training! On top of applying to grad school, starting the next semester’s Korean class, I was prepping for that trip, and had to take a little break. After that transcendent trip, I decided to buckle down a bit due to finishing Korean class this semester and life before the holidays. Whew!
After my time off, I feel refreshed and my brain feels uncluttered enough to action a few edits on Forgotten and march ever forward with the story! At over 60,000 words and 112 pages, I am so excited for what 2025 will bring for Forgotten.
To space everything out, I’m also working on updating one of my old FanFiction stories, Tale As Old As Time. This 2010 FanFiction is based on the 2005 movie Red Eye with Cillian Murphy and Rachel McAdams and is heavily influenced by Beauty & The Beast. You can read the new, more adult version over at Archive Of Our Own.
Thank you for your patience and understanding. Cheers to closing out 2024 on a high note and starting 2025 just the same!
Brightly Yours,
Jessica WB
