So there you have it folks. Nine stories about crime.



They were posted in no particular order, and can be read in whatever way strikes your fancy. The random list is as follows:

CAW 29 I Dreamed a Dream in Times Gone By

CAW 29 Bad Seed

CAW 29 Grandpa Elvis and Gram

CAW 29 Where Dreams Come, True

CAW 29 Karma's A Bitch

CAW 29 Undulating Waves

CAW 29 The Italian Job

CAW 29 Drone

CAW 29 The Grave


I will say that two weeks reading time should be plenty, and then another week to make a decision on your favorites. That means on March 4th I will post the voting criteria. Try and narrow it down to your top three.

Read and enjoy! I urge you to post comments on all of the stories. Writers write so that others may enjoy their stories. New authors, and veterans alike need feedback to improve their craft. Leave your opinions, but do try and remain civil.

Now off you go! Tread cautiously into the evil places that our writers have created... Who knows what dark paths they may have led us.

 

​

 

Thanks to @UncleB71 for hosting the competition. So far, I've read three of them, and they've been universally weird, and not at all what I was expecting from this competition. Thats one of the good thing about competitions, different people have different interpretations.

 

Okay. Good turn-out after all. See?

Now to read.

 

Couldn't help but chuckle when I noticed only two CAW stories weren't commented on and they happened to be the two longest.

 

That could very well be not coincidental. I read the stories in order of length, starting with the shortest stories first. I just have the three longest to go.

I'm a little daunted by the 12k and 19k word stories, though I have no grounds to complain about a 12k word story, my last CAW entry was that long. (And I still don't know how it got to be that long.)

 

This thread keeps falling to the bottom since it's not yet a sticky, so



to keep it visible. This way readers have a chance of finding the nine entries people worked hard to write.

Read 'em, folks!

 

Well...

Nobody has sent me a message saying their story was posted wrong, or that I screwed up with the posting. Mission accomplished!

I see that comments are being made, and that entries are being liked. Carry on!

 

You've done very well so far, I hope there are more readers and comments - I've read all of them now I think (I will check to see if I've missed any) and commented. As ever there are a wide variety of entries, and each and every one is worth taking the time to read.

 

Wel, 7 out of nine.....enjoyed them very much
Encourage mor e readers comments...

 

I've read them all now as well. Comments are a bit thin on the ground apart from us three.

 

Hopefully with nine (?) authors and a few readers there will more comments soon.

C'mon folks - get commenting! Having been a participant in some previous CAWs I know from experience that it is rewarding to receive feedback on stories that one has posted, good or bad. In fact constructive criticism is more helpful than blind praise, it helps one to improve.

 

I agree with Jayne, and my aim in comments is to provide both constructive criticism (especially with the technical aspect of writing) and praise. It's not easy to write, it's more difficult to write well, and the steps that it takes from going to an average story to a great story often starts with constructive criticism ALONG with encouragement. Blowing smoke up one's ass isn't necessary, but providing encouragement to those who are really trying can be helpful.

 

Finished them all!! Another great CAW, come on people lets see a little more comments
If there authors can take their own time to writd these we can certainly read them!!!

 

This past weekend a drone crashed through a window on the 27th floor of a Manhattan apartment. Authorities are investigating. It is not known at this time if on the drone there was a message saying Vote for Drone - CAW 29

 

It makes me happy to see everyone reading and commenting. 9 stories was more than I expected, and it gives me hope that this place is still breathing.

Plenty of time to finish reading any that you might not have gotten to. Grab a snack and a cold drink, settle into your favorite chair, and enjoy a few stories.

 

I have the drink part handled.

 

I finally reached the end. I want to thank all of the writers for their submissions as they all added to my reading enjoyment during this CAW. Thanks again all and good luck.

 

So, I've read all the stories, and commented on all of them too.

The CAWs have changed. I started with CAW 5, and have participated in and hosted a number of them over the past six years. Learned a little, and learned a lot. Some writers have moved on, others from way back when still participate. What's changed is the crew that reads and comments on the stories. A few years ago it wasn't unusual to have a second page with comments on it. Now some stories get a handful. Readership at the site has declined dramatically. Don't be swayed by the hundreds of apparent reads. The vast majority of those hits are from search engine robots. A site this old, a site of this type that has content constantly changing, gets hit by all of the major and many of the minor search engines daily. I would be surprised if more than a few dozen actual humans read each story. Same thing on the sex stories side of this site. Huge search engine robot bait.

My point? If you're an author, don't be discouraged by the decline in comments. It's not your story, your writing capability, or the CAWs in general. It's just a decline in actual numbers here. Revel in those comments that you do get, and, keep in mind, what's more important than any comment by any reader is YOUR opinion of your story. I'm serious. I know that I'm a nit-picky pain in the ass when it comes to the technical aspects of writing. I'll ferret out whatever mistakes I can find and then point them out. It's because I care about your writing. Even if I don't like you as a person, I care about the craft of writing, and will always try and help one improve. I'm far from perfect myself, and struggle sometimes. However, what I think of my own story is what's really important, because if I don't love what I write, then I'm doing something wrong.

Love what you write. Make it your child. Revel in it. Realize that, like a child, it needs to grow, and that there are always going to be stumbling blocks and growing pains. Nevertheless, love the craft. Take what others (including me!) have to say with a grain of salt. You're not writing for one person, you're not really even writing for the masses. You're writing for yourself.

Congrats and THANKS to all of you who have taken the time, and put forth the effort, to submit stories to this CAW. It was a great theme (thanks UncB), and while it didn't produce dozens of entries, it produced enough, given all the circumstances, and it produced quality entries. Good luck in the voting, and remember, y'all are winners.