Short Story Writing Competition 2022 Great writers create the finest stories01

        The English Language Centre organised the 2nd year of the Short Story Writing Competition with the objectives to inculcate the love of story-writing among students, develop their inherent need to express themselves, as well as promote creativity and universal values through writing. This is also part of the ELC’s effort to promote appreciation of English literature.

        This year, ELC received a total of 136 entries. The judges made deliberate selections based on the judging criteria, which include originality in storyline, creativity in expressing ideas, organisation and overall effect of the writing pieces. According to the respective panels of judges, while each level of writers demonstrated their strengths impressively, at the same time, there is room for improvement. 

        An overall feedback was gathered from the judges regarding the short stories submitted. To begin with, the Junior One students were able to develop an interesting climax as well as dialogues that really captivated the judges. Meanwhile, the Junior Two students managed to give a cohesive sequencing of their storyline and create imaginary visions through their choice of words, resulting in fascinating hooks. For Junior three  students, there was good usage of figurative language and good attempts of using inner monologues to make the story interesting. Besides, foreshadowing techniques have been selectively used by certain students in creating suspense elements in a story. 

        In terms of  senior levels, most Senior One students were able to come up with thrilling and creative ideas that evoked one’s curiosity in reading the short stories. Furthermore, Senior Two students were able to come up with catchy titles and provided a coherent sequencing of the short story while Senior Three participants showed strength in  excellent choice of words used in their storyline. Some writers  let their imaginations go wild, coming up with bizarre concepts that made the storyline engaging and interesting. There were also some amazing plots and twists spotted in the short stories. Overall, it is suggested that students work on proper paragraphing and order of events when developing a storyline. 

        We thank all the writers for their participation and congratulate them for being able to begin the delightful journey of writing short stories in their teenage years. The winning pieces will be published on Hin Hua Love Reading ezine and posted on the ELC Google Sites. 

Lim Seng Qi (J2 Paris)

        For me, the short story writing competition was a great opportunity to improve my writing skills and to view other people's stories at the same time. It's a wonderful experience for me to express what I feel in my stories. I would also like to congratulate all the winners of the short story competition. Each of us has the potential to write better every day and learn effective writing techniques in writing short stories. 

《兴华月报》2022年10&11月号
https://www.hinhua.edu.my/ebook/2210&11hinhuamonthly/mobile/index.html