Announcement SuperRead 3

**Sorry, it took me a while to finish the article this time, though I did start writing it on Sunday, lol. Nursing School took up my time again >.<"**

Sunday has come yet again, meaning there’ll be yet another round of comparing the reviewed stories and revealing the SuperRead of this week by counting the amount of readers gained in a period of 2 days and the scores for the following subjects when stories make it to the top 3:

• Originality (of the story genre, theme, story itself/storytelling, choices, character personality/looks, etc.)
• Directing (no/barely any mistakes in directing, paying attention to details like people in the background and use of overlays, etc.)
• Creativity (use of backgrounds/overlays in a new way, nice covers, creative use of language/way of storytelling, etc.)

So, again I will make a top 3 of stories that scored best on these subjects, in my opinion (which mostly lines up with the official grading rubric of Episode) and give an explanation why I think they excel and deserve their place in the top 3. Only the top 3 stories per subject will be able to get points for those subjects. The division of points is as follows: number 1 will get 100 points, second place gets 70 points and third place will be provided 40 points. Also, the amount of readers gained within a two day period after the review of a story got published will be added as points on top of the points gained in the three subjects. At the end I’ll add up all the points gained per story and we’ll be able to see who scored best and deserves the title of SuperRead of the week.

Then let’s get started with the first subject, namely the amount of readers gained within a two day period. Here are the results per story:

Knowing His Secret: +7 readers gained

Toxic: Leverage, Love & Crimes: +100 readers gained

Through Hardship to the Stars: +100 readers gained

Designers Runway: +53 readers gained

And this week the blog gained another 185 pageviews, which hopefully contributed to these gains as well 😊. The average amount of gained readers was 65.

On to the subjects of originality, directing and creativity: like I said, I’ll be judging them in separate top 3’s, so they all get their own little header from here on out.

Originality

1.       Through Hardship to the Stars: Though I have my doubts on the presentation of the theme, I do think the theme slavery is a rather original theme to write about. Also, the main character of the story has a strong and clear personality and there are meaningful choices the reader can make.

2.       Designers Runway: Again, a bit of a gameshow theme (I’ve reviewed a story with a gameshow theme before). I really like this theme, since it carries the promise of a lot of choices that actually have consequences on how the story will progress. Though I do hope one doesn’t get forced to cheat on one’s boyfriend with the lookalike that works on the show. That sort of thing really puts me off, especially in stories that offer a lot of choices, since I kind of feel pranked somehow then. Plus, I just hate cheating in general, lol.

3.       Toxic: Leverage, Love & Crimes: I know it’s a romantic drama, but really, it fits the comedy genre very well too. I love the slightly ironic and sarcastic jokes made in this story and seriously laughed my ass off at some of them. Choices also have clear consequences in this story, though sometimes they’re just there for the author to mess with you (which is pretty funny sometimes, but I’d advise not to overdo it: it can also be rather annoying if a reader keeps facing choices which don’t really give the reader a choice except saying ‘yes’ to a question in a bunch of different ways).

Directing

1.       Toxic: Leverage, Love & Crimes: I’m still loving the overlays of the seventh episode a lot. But aside from those amazing tricks, I also just like the way sounds, zooms, pauses and movements are well-implemented, logical and smooth.

2.       Designers Runway: Seriously, I’m still regretting not recording the scenes with bustling people on the streets that lead to the position of the main character. It looks so darn professional! The overall directing is really decent too, especially considering the limitations of using Limelight sometimes (I’m writing a story with it too now, but it can be rather difficult to find the right expressions sometimes as a lot of them are a lot more subtle than Ink expressions, which are quite the bit more expressive).

3.       Through Hardship to the Stars: Especially now some of the small mistakes are being fixed, I am convinced the use of directing in this story is really decent. Overlays, sounds and rarely used backgrounds are used well. Still loving the combination of narration and the changing backgrounds at the beginning of the story, which was really fitting and quite original.

Creativity

1.       Toxic: Leverage, Love & Crimes: The way this story is told is very creative, switching between humorous storytelling and a more serious style. The use of the bodypart-overlays in episode 7 was rather creative as well. And though not eyeing as professional as Designers Runway’s coverart, I also like the coverart of this story a lot.

2.       Designers Runway: A.W.E.S.O.M.E. coverart! Also, the way the title of the story is presented by panning over it like a large background, is refreshingly creative. The storytelling and freedom of choice are also very decent. Giving the reader a choice to change the main character’s appearance at the end of each episode also gives the reader a lot of space to be creative.

3.       Through Hardship to the Stars: The coverart of this story looks rather creative and inspiring too. It could’ve been the cover of a real-life novel. The way the story was told is nice, especially with the interaction with the backgrounds at the beginning.

And now, the moment of truth…who earned first place and the title of SuperRead of the week? Let’s find out!

In 4^th place with 7 points is Knowing His Secret.

In 3^rd place is Designers Runway with 263 points

In 2^nd place is Through Hardship to the Stars with 280 points

And 1^ST place goes to Toxic: Leverage, Love & Crimes with 340 points! Congratulations!

I’ll give your story a shout out on this blog, the forum and Instagram and I’ll recommend it on my Episode Profile!

Still one more title can be earned by the contestants, which is my personal favorite. This week’s Personal Favorite (aside from the first place title, which I also loved) is Designers Runway! Congratulations, I’ll recommend your story on my Episode Profile!