I have two pieces of work that I'm considering entering into this contest I came across, but I don't know overall which one seems to have a better lasting impression for the contest. There is no genre preference, all are accepted. So I'm stuck between my short story, Black Wings, and that new short story I've been noodling with, called Kiss Me. So, in the opinion of all of you guys, which one is better of those two works of mine? I'd really appreciate it. So the score sits at: Kiss Me. - 1 Black Wings - 1
I just read through both stories for the first time, so this is a very virgin impression for you. Perhaps like what a contest judge would want? I would go with Kiss Me. I like Black Wings a lot and it feels more refined, like you're on a later draft perhaps, but I think that fantasy is very hard to convey in a short story. Kiss Me deals with a more hard-hitting subject; it's something very close to home for every reader. And it's not just because it's fantasy that I'm pushing aside Black Wings, it's partly because I really thing Kiss Me is the better piece of work for a contest. Black Wings feels like the prologue to a story or perhaps a vignette.
If it was me, I'd enter the older one. Reason being is that (again, if it were me), I'd have edited it more, refined it more, and had more people review and critique it. I'd also probably be less infatuated with it... when I write something new, I love it (most of the time). If I still love it a long while later then I know I REALLY like it, and it might potentially be good. Those would be some of the things I'd look at. That said, I personally like Black Wings better.
I do see your point about using Kiss Me over Black Wings. The only problem is that I don't want to come off sounding like a crazed teenager who can only write stories about relationships and love. Plus, there's a 5,000 word limit, and I know this will sound silly, but I wanted to use a story that would come close to that limit, not be so far under it. Then again, if a story is good, it doesn't need to be a million words, just the little it needs be, right? The older one is Black Wings of the two. I love both stories the same, regardless of how old they're written, because I love the tales I've created from both of them. But I'm still stuck on which one to enter. -headdesk-
forget 'lasting impression'... what matters is which is written better and most polished... the 'best' story won't make it if it's not well-written... unless, of course, the contest is being run by less than top-level pros... in which case, a mess can well take a win over a perfectly written piece...
I have to second Maia. Go with the one that is most refined, especially if they are both equal in story power. By story power, I mean how much the story affects a reader.
