I recently entered a writing competition, held by my local writing group.

The brief was to write a ghost story of 1,000 words. I must admit, short stories are not my forte, and I’ve never written (or indeed read) a ghost story. But an idea popped unbidden into my head, and I thought, “what’s the harm in entering”? I’d never entered a writing competition before but writing to a brief was good fun.

Last night was our Christmas Social, where the winners were announced. And I’m extremely proud to reveal that I came in second. There were 15 entries, I believe, and the judge commended the high quality of the writing across the board.

I wanted to share the feedback I got, because I’m extremely excited to have placed in the competition, and to have received such positive comments from the judge.

“Very different to the winner, and only very narrowly placed second, ‘Nine’ gives us a dark little glimpse into the aftermath of a serial killer’s actions.  This original and deeply unsettling story forces us to pay attention, to pick up on the clues scattered throughout and to piece together what’s happening, and is extremely cleverly constructed. 

“I particularly liked the opening line, and it missed out on first place only because in places the language could have been tighter and more polished, which would have had the effect of throwing the ending into even sharper focus.”

I’m delighted with the feedback and have already gone back to the story to see where I can apply it, to learn and improve my skills as a writer.