Community Voice Media, LLC is Proud to Sponsor YWWL Members - Come Join Us Stoker Award Winning Author Jonathan Maberry Jonathan Maberry A Premier Judge  for the Young Voices Series  Shares His Comments YWWL Members Published KNIGHT TIME by Jen Coate:  ... I like the humor,  especially in the banter between the knights. The story has a nice build-up, but the ending is a bit too short and happens too quickly.  This could have used another two or three hundred words...and then it would sing! FICKLE by Stacey Johnson: ... Clever concept. The style is almost that of ‘chick lit’ –witty and observant, but be careful of making too many asides to the reader.  Let the scene play out without as much commentary on it as the action unfolds.  Once you’ve established the tone of voice of the narrator the reader will start to think along those lines, which means as the story progresses you can crack fewer jokes and still have the reader share the sense of sarcastic humor.  This concept is called “schooling the reader”. Very nice diction and very rich use of adjectives. The writing improves as the story unfolds and by the end there is a more confident tone in both structure and word choice.  Cute ending.  Tri-Hands by Mary Mauro:  ... Nice opening with strong attention to detail.  I particularly like the imagery (“boots splashing into a puddle”, “he heard a pebble skitter across the stones”.) The story is built on a moral lesson involving warrior cultures.  Tough to accomplish in less than 1500 words, but the bones of it are here.  The story also has the beginnings on an interesting mythology that is quite clever and certainly worth exploring in either a larger version of this tale, or in other tales set in the same world and with some/all of the same characters.   With just a bit more effort this could be expanded out into a redemptive tale as the villain of this piece is then forced by the spell placed on him, to draw his sword only in the service of justice.  Lots of storytelling opportunities there.   Jonathan Maberry Bram Stoker Award winner for GHOST ROAD BLUES (Pinnacle Books, $6.99) www.jonathanmaberry.com     Critique sessions -- If any YWWL members would like their work critiqued at any time, please contact Kelsey Baker at digit91@aol.com. Please attach a copy of your work for distribution. YWWL is a writers' group by teens for teens. We meet monthly at the Purcellville Library. Our mission is to work with professional writers to improve our craft, identify publishing opportunities and encourage each other as we journey toward the writing life -- in whatever form that may take. Membership is FREE! Please email Kelsey Baker (Digit91@aol.com) or Bobbi Carducci (bobbicarducci@communityvoicemedia.com) for more information. YWWL CALENDAR February 2 - Meeting to be held at Carruthers Meeting Room at the Purcellville Library, 10:30 a.m.-noon. This  is a sharing meeting, so if you want to get something critiqued, please email it to Kelsey (digit91@aol.com) a week ahead of time and she will send it out to everyone else so they have time to read it and give critiques. February 23 - Meeting to be held at Carruthers Meeting Room at the Purcellville Library, 10:30 a.m.-noon. This  is a sharing meeting, so if you want to get something critiqued, please email it to Kelsey (digit91@aol.com) a week ahead of time and she will send it out to everyone else so they have time to read it and give critiques. March 29 - Meeting to be held at Carruthers Meeting Room at the Purcellville Library, 10:30 a.m.-noon. Guest Speaker will be graphic novelist Betsy Allen. For more details, please contact Kelsey Baker at digit91@aol.com or visit our web site at www.communityvoicemedia.com/ywwl.html. Coming up:   Poetry Slam & Music Jam. Exact date and time to be determined. If you're interested in sharing your poetry or acoustical music, please email digit91@aol.com. Proceeds of the Slam & Jam will benefit a local charity.        SPECIAL INVITATIONS          FOR YWWL MEMBERS Young Voices Of America Speak Up - Writing Contest Now Open. This is your opportunity to tell parents, teachers, community leaders and your peers exactly what you think. See www.youngvoicesfoundation.org for details and complete contest guidelines. No Entry Fee for this National Writing Constest. See your views published. Enter Now!!! Publishing Opportunity The Purcellville Gazette has launched an article series focused on teens. Articles should be 700 words or less, explaining how it feels to be a teen growing up in the Purcellville area. Ideas may be expressed in an article, poem, interview or short story. Articles will be edited for grammar and appropriateness. Please send submissions to Lynne Holmes at ittakesatown@yahoo.com. Writing Camp The Northern Virginia Writing Project is sponsoring week-long writing camps this summer at George Mason University. For more information, click on the Resources tab on this web page.