Circle

While I certainly see the purposes of these awards being purely motivational and generate recognition for an author's work, there are several fundamental questions to this which I would like answered, simply because the lack of transparency undermines the entire purpose. There were hundreds of new stories in 2013. Who made this list? Who came up with this narrow band of a handful of stories inside which we must cast our vote? What was the process by which these stories were chosen? Were they judged on their merits, literary skills, popularity, or what? What were the criteria for such selections? How should we cast our vote, when the definition of 'best' story could simply be our favourite, or the only one we have read? And if no criteria had been given to what exactly the 'best' story is, should it therefore not be simply our 'favourite' story as it is practically a popularity contest? Since the selection process is not transparent, and since this is a site that promotes quality fiction, 'best' is not an appropriate word for the small amount of stories that have been chosen which is then to be voted by willing forum voters who were not given the appropriate criteria of judgment for the word, 'best'. Even to the eventual winners, claiming to be 'the best story of 2013' is still rather too pretentious when there is little ground for which they could actually wear that title. If there *is* a transparent system behind the nominations, I would very much like to hear. Distinctions and acknowledgements would be very helpful to clarify that this award has taken into account the majority of works written in 2013, and indeed show that the forum clique had looked beyond members of their own and acknowledge other authors who share the same site they do. Thanks for the clarification.

Hey Bleu Hehe, I guess I was testing whether I can actually write happy endings and it proved that I can... but what's this unfeeling easy inside that it doesn't cause quite such a stir? I'm sure this conundrum is waiting to be unraveled in all its complexity some day. But as for my immediate plans... well, I have none. I might put up some old and juvenile writings from time to time. My next super secret novel project is not to commence until July probably Thanks for reading and looking out for this story from its beginning to end, Bleu .

Heya Lisa! No no no, I'm writing about a boy who wrote what he wanted to happen - or rather, a journey he wished he had taken. . But if you think about it, it was as if 'Dan' did not come out of the library in Chapter 3. Instead of writing pages and pages about David, he could have just gone out and meet the guy? From a different angle, how many writers here are writing and not acting? Dan's Conundrum examines the purpose of fiction, and its ability to change lives. This young boy had found the courage to do what he always wanted, at last. Once again, it was my honour to have you follow this story from beginning to end, and many thanks for your kind and generous words, and all these wonderful reviews you have given. I'll be sure to post another novel here, if I ever find the motivation to write . This one took me over two years lol.

Epilogue posted. Enjoy Thank you all for reading up to this point. It's been lovely to have you all telling me what you thought of the story through posts and reviews. Until next time...

By half past twelve on that ordinary day in June, a young boy had finished typing his first novel, bringing his months-long project to a close. The deed was done. How many breaks and lunches had it been since he sat here in this library on this very same chair in this very same awkward position in front of this same computer, and typed down the first sentence? It seemed years ago, however silly it sounded, that he announced his sexuality to a computer and confided in it the many secrets he tho

Heya! Thanks for reading and sticking with this from start to finish. There's still an epilogue if you're interested? Once again, thank you so much!

Heya! Thanks Lisa for sticking with this story for so long . The Epilogue won't disappoint!

Thanks! There's still an Epilogue if you're interested . A pleasure to have you follow this journey .

The Final Chapter, 24, is up. Enjoy! P.S. Still an Epilogue to go, however.

Catherine and Rodolfo stumbled comically out of a room, half dressed, when Catherine’s uncle Eddie entered on stage calling for her. Caught in the act. Their terrified eyes only hinted at the despicable activities that were practised backstage just minutes before. Nowhere to hide now. Eddie’s eyes widened in disgust. He glanced at his niece’s half-naked body before turning to Rodolfo, noticing his gorgeous abs thinly concealed behind that unbuttoned white shirt – he was an angel on Earth. Eddie

Oh, it seems I forgot to post that Chapter 23 is up. As you probably can see, this story is coming to an end (soon) .

Hey, Lisa! Thanks for the review What I think I was going for there is, in one sense, a basic, animalistic explanation that the emotion of betrayal that some parents may experience could be engineered by their genes. If you think about it, we have introns and extrons in our human genome - some genes are never used at all, and the purpose of some is never known. Because genes are in part trying to ensure their survival by giving their host desirable characteristics (E.g. Blonde hair, generously-sized endowment, masculine features...), it could be assumed that continuation of the genes is explained by gene-triggered behaviours (e.g. happy feeling after climax, eating etc) and a likely negative response if these are not met. All in all, I'm glad you enjoyed the chapter .

I was not happy when David squeezed my hand as we walked down the school’s main corridor after our compulsory P.E.. I swallowed and looked at him. I knew what he was trying to do, but really? Making out behind the tennis courts was one thing, but having my hand grabbed in public with no way to struggle free was something else. He gave me no warning. For some reason I felt unable to confront him. All I could do was relax and pretend everything was fine. Maybe that was the point. Cautiously, I wat

A few more chapters to go I think, at this point, it is of Dan's interest to figure David out since... he knew practically nothing about this 'new' David. When someone rejects you and run away and then kiss and make up and somehow get into a relationship, sometimes it makes these questions really difficult to ask if you really wanted to keep what you're having. In fact, most stories I come across here shows teenagers all too eager to jump into relationships without asking these questions and that begs the question... are teenagers naturally more susceptible to romantic dreams and ideas? In this case I think both Chris and Dan hid their affection pretty well. Chris was able to get much more physical contacts (Chapter 10) than Dan ever did but I guess Dan won in the end... or at least, for now.

Naw, Part 5 is the final part, but this is definitely NOT the final chapter . There are a few loose ends to tie-up and there needs to be more content before this story can be brought to a close. I found this chapter really difficult to write, but I'm glad you like it What I will say is... more will be revealed lol.

Hey Lisa! Sorry for the late reply... I've been busy with lots of things lately. This chapter was upped a while ago I was guessing that neither of them was prepared for it... who knows. But Dan was definitely feeling punished! Thanks for reading

Chapter 22 is up.

Couldn’t wait to see David at lunch! It was like meeting him for the first time again, with that same magic in the air, feeling that everything was going to be good. Since break I found myself imagining what he would say to me next with that dreamy voice. I wanted the lesson to end so I could rush outside and be with him. Just thinking about him sent my blood racing. I want him now – I want him to hold me, stare into my eyes and tell me how special I am. I want him to keep me safe. Nothing would

Chapter 21 is up. After a two-week break, I'm now back to present Part 5: Finale of Dan's Conundrum. Thank you for being patient .

How to begin to understand what had actually happened? Only one theory came to mind. And in this theory, I saw the end of my journey, that despite my efforts and everything I had done, the conundrum remained unsolvable. It wasn’t useful or healthy to ponder the cause, but it helped. There was a day of beautiful sunshine with a cloudless sky, soon after I’d returned from Hong Kong, when I noticed that the colder it was, the more David and I huddled together when we went out towards the tennis co

Well, this time I wanted Bleu to post a review, so I guess that played a part Thanks for the read and the review .

Hey! Superb instincts! David wasn't very nice today, was he

Chapter 20 is up. This marks the end of Part 4. And as with before, I'm taking a two-week break to focus a bit more academic work before returning to Part 5: Finale. Thank you for reading .

There was something incredibly exciting about my first date – I know this because it was always on my mind and my heart jumped at the thought, every time. I hadn’t looked forward to anything in a long time, and it felt strange. It felt liberating and the world was that little bit brighter. As for why exactly I felt more alive, I simply didn’t want to know: the suspense was what made it special. It was fun, not knowing exactly why I felt certain things. What made this even more special was that t

Thanks Lisa! As always your reviews are much appreciated Dan's pessimism ultimately derives from past experiences in a hostile environment/country (Chapter 6), shocking discovery of the modern gay scene (Chapter 7), bad sexual encounter (Chapter 10), various guilt from the past (Chapter 12), the thoughts of coming out to parents (Chapter 15), and various other reasons such as inexperience, paranoia and his overtly analytical mind. Glad you're looking forward to the next chapter! Well, I *had* met up with someone from here... if the opportunity arises, go for it! Thanks for reviewing again