Highest Ranked Entries for EMPTY and FULL

[Deb Porter]

Hi Challengeers.

Sorry for the delay, but it's time, once again, to give a bit of encouragement to all those who didn't quite make it to the top in the EMPTY and FULL Challenge, but still did very well.

As always, competition was intense for this topic, so if your entry appears on any of the lists below, then you definitely deserve a pat on the back. Well done.

Love, Deb

TOP 40 - “EMPTY AND FULL” CHALLENGE
(Total number of Entries: 189 )

1 Renaissance by Verna Cole Mitchell
2 Fullness in Christ by Ruth Neilson
3 Empty and Full by David Story
4 Sigh by Jan Ackerson
5 Father, Give And Take Away by Patricia Herchenroether
6 My Cups Overflowed by Robyn Burke
7 Aimer et le Pardon by Diana Dart
8 Touch of Fragrance by Pat Guy
9 Beneath an Empty Sky by Carol Slider
10 Of Foxholes and Angels and Sickness and War by Mariane Holbrook
11 The Youngest, Greatest, Fairy Magician Warrior by Jenny Litfin
12 Today I Need to be Empty by Linda Payne
13 The "Jireh" Jars by Donna Emery
14 A Lake, Live Well, and Leaping Lunkers by Bryan Ridenour
15 Oil Foils Foul Prowl by Melanie Kerr
16 Opposites? Naw! By Allison Egley
17 The Pelican Grief by Beth LaBuff
18 Subfolders by Michele Roach
19 Two Letters by Allan Morelos
20 Devoured to Life by Samuel Connelly
21 Full Moon in the Wilderness by Sharon Kane
22 A Worm's Eye View by Coleene VanTilburg
23 White Parcels and Azungus by Sonya Leigh
24 Hollow Giant by Karuna Barla
25 Exiled with a Fool by Rick Higginson
26 Shellin' Peas and Talkin' Love by Glynis Becker
27 Half and Half by Betty Castleberry
28 Oil Poured Out by Leslie Schonfeld
29 The Spaces Between by Lisa Mikitarian
30 Pockets by Beth Muehlhausen
31 No Ordinary Man by Marlene Bonney
32 Bug Shells, Bumps, and Wrinkles by Shirley McClay
33 Caffeinated Oopsy by Kristen Hester
34 In Lila's Head by S Harricharan
35 Mr and Mrs Elf Owl - A Story for Children by Lollie Hofer
36 The Full Life by Mary Dahl
37 Finding Purpose … Even in Wal-Mart by Lisa Harris
38 Pink Quiver by Carole Robishaw
39 It's Time by Rachel Burkum
40 Cup in the Calloused Hands of the Carpenter by Mona Purvis

TOP 15 LEVEL 1 - “EMPTY AND FULL” CHALLENGE
(Total number of Entries for Level One: 74 )

1 Two Letters by Allan Morelos
2 Piece of Paper by Bryan Rudolph
3 Flood by Susan Veach
4 Satisfied by Julie Gregory
5 Treasure by Gordon Lavoie
6 The Tent by Joanne Cordaro
7 Morning Blessing by Terry Atchison
8 Simple but Powerful - A True Story by Lynn Potter
9 Empty Pockets by Jackie Wilson
10 All Our Needs by Pam Vashaw
11 The Long Wait by Laura Manley
12 Our Sustenance in Times of Need by Edmond Ng
13 Dear Jesus, Let Me Die by Rachel Lerch
14 By the Side of the Road by Mary Lou Tiner
15 A Weekend Alone by Marilyn Meiners

TOP 8 LEVEL 2 - “EMPTY AND FULL” CHALLENGE
(Total number of Entries for Level Two: 25)
Top 8 only due to low number of entries for this Level.

1 A Worm's Eye View by Coleene VanTilburg
2 Oil Poured Out by Leslie Schonfeld
3 The Full Life by Mary Dahl
4 Finding Purpose … Even in Wal-Mart by Lisa Harris
5 Position Available by Pat Sipperly
6 Vases… by Deborah Belka
7 Who Knew? By Scarlett Farr
8 Mess by Christine Gaudin

TOP 15 LEVEL 3 - “EMPTY AND FULL” CHALLENGE
(Total number of Entries for Level Three: 58 )

1 Father, Give And Take Away by Patricia Herchenroether
2 My Cups Overflowed by Robyn Burke
3 Aimer et le Pardon by Diana Dart
4 The Youngest, Greatest, Fairy Magician Warrior by Jenny Litfin
5 A Lake, Live Well, and Leaping Lunkers by Bryan Ridenour
6 Devoured to Life by Samuel Connelly
7 Hollow Giant by Karuna Barla
8 Shellin' Peas and Talkin' Love by Glynis Becker
9 No Ordinary Man by Marlene Bonney
10 In Lila's Head by S Harricharan
11 Mr and Mrs Elf Owl - A Story for Children by Lollie Hofer
12 Pink Quiver by Carole Robishaw
13 Cup in the Calloused Hands of the Carpenter by Mona Purvis
14 Filling Holes by Linda Boulanger
15 Last Supper by Gillian Dobson

TOP 15 LEVEL 4 - “EMPTY AND FULL” CHALLENGE
(Total number of Entries for Level Four: 32 )

1 Renaissance by Verna Cole Mitchell
2 Fullness in Christ by Ruth Neilson
3 Empty and Full by David Story
4 Sigh by Jan Ackerson
5 Touch of Fragrance by Pat Guy
6 Beneath an Empty Sky by Carol Slider
7 Of Foxholes And Angels And Sickness and War by Mariane Holbrook
8 Today I Need to be Empty by Linda Payne
9 The "Jireh" Jars by Donna Emery
10 Oil Foils Foul Prowl by Melanie Kerr
11 Opposites? Naw! By Allison Egley
12 The Pelican Grief by Beth LaBuff
13 Subfolders by Michele Roach
14 Full Moon in the Wilderness by Sharon Kane
15 White Parcels and Azungus by Sonya Leigh

[farrslcpa]

Awesome!! I moved up a level and I'm ok the list!! You guys are so encouraging and it has been such a blessing to part of your family. Last night I signed up for the conference so I can't wait to put faces to names. I got a chance to read quite a few this week and was so inspired. Congrats to all

[OldManRivers]

Congratulations to all. Beautiful work all of you!

I believe I best retire. After 0 for 8 I realize I must not be up to FaithWriter's standards. It has been fun and I will certainly keep reading your fine work.

jim mcwhinnie

[dandelionflower]

Congratulations to all. Beautiful work all of you!

I believe I best retire. After 0 for 8 I realize I must not be up to FaithWriter's standards. It has been fun and I will certainly keep reading your fine work.

jim mcwhinnie

Dear Jim of utmost gentleness and beautiful words. Zero for eight is not a reason to give up. This week I spoke with Write4Christ-- I didn't count how many entries he's submitted but the number is high--and he is still in beginner. He is a fantastic writer, and continues to write to God's glory in spite of any official ratings that come out because unofficially his writing touches people and brings glory to God.

Your writing touches us. If you want to experiment next quarter and add conflict to your stories, go for it. If you want to continue giving us gorgeous and vivid pictures of a splended God from an incredible perspective, I know we'll be more than satisfied.

Zero for eight is not a good reason to stop. Do you derive joy from writing? Do you find joy in this community? Do you feel God is leading you in a different direction? Is God wanting you to persevere?

These are the questions (among others) to ask. I think most (if not all) of us have had "down" periods--I did last quarter, for sure--that's where our heavenly Father and the community He's provided come as on angels' wings (as you might say) to lift one another up.

I pray that you and anyone else feeling down can feel the love and support of the whole.

[Deb Porter]

Congratulations to all. Beautiful work all of you!

I believe I best retire. After 0 for 8 I realize I must not be up to FaithWriter's standards. It has been fun and I will certainly keep reading your fine work.

jim mcwhinnie

Jim, please don't retire from the Challenge. You are in a HIGHLY competitive level (Level 3) and it can be really hard to crack it. BUT you are actually doing well.

I don't normally give this sort of information publicly, because it has the potential to open floodgates I'm not ready to open, but you are never that far off. You placed 20th in Level 3 this week (out of 58 entries) and 50th overall (so just ten off the top 40). That was out of 189 entries.

To put it in perspective, your entry was exactly 0.06667 off the 40th place winner. That's very close.

So please don't quit. You are actually doing very well.

Love, Deb

[grandmalovesbabies]

CONGRATULATIONS to all you cool people who have received special recognition for your fine writing. Way cool!


I'm truly that I made the list. I didn't think a children's story stood a chance. I had lots of fun writing the story, though.


I agree...please Jim, don't throw in the towel just yet. Since being in advanced, the best I've done is 10th place. There were many weeks I didn't place at all BUT I have learned so much in the past year and I've grown as a writer as well. The challenges keep my mind sharp. The red ink alone is worth the effort because these folks know their craft and they have challenged me to hone my skills. I've decided that staying in Advanced forever isn't all that bad as long as I continue to grow. And I am growing! So are you!

[Allison]

Wow. I was not expecting that. Totally stepped out of the box on this one. I had the general idea early on, but decided to wait until the end to see if there would be a summary topic. So "empty and full" wasn't my best options for what I did, but it appears the judges didn't mind much.

[ElizaEvans]

Congratulations to all!!

Jim - Do you want to improve? Then you have to be willing to learn, to grow, to change, to work at it.

Otherwise, just write for the pure pleasure of it and forget the scores! Nothing wrong with that!
You have many fans who adore you.

I think you have a very special gift...but in my opinion it does need work and polish.

I personally need heaps and heaps of work on my own writing.

We are all learning here.

Even those in Masters do not place in the Top 40 every time.

((((((( JIM )))))))

[anna banana]

I believe I best retire. After 0 for 8 I realize I must not be up to FaithWriter's standards. It has been fun and I will certainly keep reading your fine work.

jim mcwhinnie

I understand how you feel Jim. I, too, am "stuck" in advanced. I had some "showings "this quarter in the highest ranked entries, but I still feel prety stuck. I've decided to write a list of all the things I've learned this quarter from and with the different entries that I've entered. I think/hope that will give me a clue as to how much I am learning and growing. It still doesn't "place" me, but I am hoping to see that I am growing as a writer.
I pray that God will give you His grace to keep on keeping on.

[hawaiinei]

Okay, Folks, I too am joining the "encouragement" wagon.

Jim, first of all, you don't have a chance at quitting with cheerleaders like us on your side! The truth is, we would all be saddened by your departure.

As practical advice I would like to suggest that you model a writer who really touches you, or even just a story that has touched you. Print it out and put that story up in front of you. Analyze it, ponder it, dive deep into it.

Figure out what makes it shine for you, and then, keep that paper posted as you write your story. This is one of the things I do in order to learn.

In fact, this is how our homeschooling co-op teaches our children to write. We use a writing system derived from the Suzuki method of teaching music to students. The Suzuki method was actually developed to teach music by mimicking the way a child learns to speak---through modeling, immersion, repetition and a self-paced timetable.

Dr. Suzuki based his theory on the fact that children learn to speak (often through repeating a newfound word until mastered) before they learn to read.

In our co-op, we put the prescribed formulas to work for the kids--it's just repetition of some proved methods, like using several strong adjectives and verbs per paragraph, and varying sentence openings, etc.--and then it becomes second nature. And then they develop their style.

I have found that some of the things I love about my favorite FW writers are formulaic in mechanics, but not in style. You already have a terrific style!

Anyway, I hope I haven't been too wordy here (probably have).

One last thing I would say is, don't wait 'til the last minute to write the piece (you may not do this, but I certainly do). This is something I do way too often, which is the absolute worst thing. When I wait too long, I can't send it out to anyone to look it over, and I can't remove myself from the story for a period of time to pick out its faults either.

Now, I've definitely been too lengthy.

Don't quit dear Writerfellow,

Many Blessings,
Sonya

[write4christ]

This week I spoke with Write4Christ-- I didn't count how many entries he's submitted but the number is high--and he is still in beginner. He is a fantastic writer, and continues to write to God's glory in spite of any official ratings that come out because unofficially his writing touches people and brings glory to God.

dandelionflower ... thanks for the encouragement.


... to all who have made it to the top 40s and top 15s of your level! God bless you all as you continue to write for Him.

[Verna]

Congratulations to all.

Jim, I spent a whole year in advanced before moving up--thought I never would. I enjoy reading what you write. Keep it up.

[gracelikerain]

Congratulations to one and all!!

And to add my two cents' worth to Jim (and everyone else): I've been feeling a little bit that way as well. You and I are competing for recognition in what I would consider the toughest level because of the sheer number of entries every week.

Within my first few pieces submitted to the challenge, I moved through the ranks and now I've hit that Advanced plateau as well. I've been discouraged because after my one EC, I thought I'd found my voice, but apparently I still need to work on it !

I'm encouraged by the comments, and I just love writing, so I'm not stopping...and my point I guess is: don't you quit on us now!!

Here's hoping to "compete" against you (in the most friendly possible way, of course) next quarter !

[OldManRivers]

Thank all of you, dear loved ones, for all the encouragement.

I love to write and I write for a living and I write for my Lord.

I find myself rather uncomfortable by the quantitative judging process that provides no qualitative feedback. I am more probably more comfortable with a less competitive model for the development of the writing craft.

Again, thank you for your sweet and much appreciated encouragement.
It is a beautiful witness of the spirit of Christ within you.

jim mcwhinnie

[Greghory]

You placed 20th in Level 3 this week (out of 58 entries) and 50th overall (so just ten off the top 40). That was out of 189 entries.

To put it in perspective, your entry was exactly 0.06667 off the 40th place winner. That's very close.
Love, Deb

You know, to me that sounds ridiculously close, just 0.06667 between 40th and 50th, especially when an entry can in theory score anywhere between 0.0 and 5.0 Statistically that sounds as if a lot of entries are being scored round about the same level. It makes me wonder to what extent the judges are using the full range available to them. Just a thought.

Gregory