Resistant Materials
Nobody has ever created a material
that is as resilient as the human spirit.Sir Bernard Williams (1929 - 2003), English philosopher -
A material that is resistant to decay
The time has come. For my first sponsorship for call number 32 in the 4th wave, a total of 184 articles were submitted, of which I was allowed to evaluate 175 articles in competition mode. A total of 48 metals, 39 other materials, 14 stones/precious stones, 12 textiles, 10 woods, 9 crystals, 8 types of glass and 6 liquids were described for the prompt with 69,795 words. The other materials contained gases, spices, biometric or energetic materials.
Already in the first round I had to disqualify 31 articles from the competition because they either did not reach the required word count of 300 words or were shown Multipass. After a further review in which first impressions and introductions counted, 88 articles made it into the actual reading challenge.
Rules for judging
I have tried to take my role as a sponsor very seriously and have set up a few evaluation rules for myself, which you are welcome to read in the following article.
Resistant Material - ID: 5838312
by Blue Fairy 74
by Blue Fairy 74
The first question to be answered was what does resistance mean? According to the definition, something is insensitive to certain harmful substances or influences. Unfortunately, I have to agree with Sir Williams, because no material is truly protected from decay if it reacts with its environment in some way. Sure, we're not on Earth and every world has its own laws.
Since it was a material, most of the articles were quite short, averaging 475 words. Child's play?! Not really, because due to the low word count and some mediocre content, I had to exclude half of them from the next round. The remaining 43 articles received a like and a comment from me.
I would like to thank everyone who wrote an article for this call. You will all receive an additional small badge for your collection. - ID: 5838312
What I learned?
As you can see from my little statistics, a lot of different materials were submitted. However, reading every article wasn't really fun.
The number of words was not the decisive criterion, because there were also articles that told everything that was important for a small, good material article in just a few words. Unfinished WIP items can also provide a good initial overall package and can be further developed later.
However, with some articles I had to ask myself the following questions:
- What do you actually want to tell me?
- When will the part about the resistant material come?
- Why do text or sentences simply break off in the middle of the story?
- Why don't you tell us more about where things get interesting?
Tips for small great articles
My 10 favorites
All of the articles listed here achieved at least 9.5 points in my evaluation round and were really entertaining reads that I had a lot of fun and were very inspired by. If you would like to know your exact score, please write me a comment and I will answer it after the awards ceremony. My favorite items are listed alphabetically, regardless of the number of points achieved and any winnings. I will highlight my winners in this article after the awards ceremony.
Surely you've always wanted to own some dragon scales? Then you definitely need to read CrazyEddie's great article. With a bit of humor in your luggage, you are taken on a hunt for dragon scales in order to perhaps get your hands on this expensive material. Or maybe it's the last thing you do. Absolutely worth reading!
Deleyna's material shows wonderfully that you can write a really convincing and entertaining article with just a few words that contains all the important information. A nice idea is the inserted quotations, which also serve as section boundaries. Very successful!
What could be more absurd than F-major by eccbooks. A witty idea that turned out to be a fun, entertaining but still informative read for me. You shouldn't miss the additional article about piano tuna. Great!
AmélieIS' wonderfully inspiring article describes the production and use of magical lenses in a multi-faceted way. The author is extremely good at explaining technology and science simply by combining everything with a beautifully well done structure and layout. Very educational and entertaining!
Shine bright like a Glitterbomb! This articly by SableAradia made me laugh and convinced me with humor, irony and maybe a little sarcasm. Everyone has had their problems with these glitter fripperies. Really very surprising and wonderfully sparkling idea!
CoolG1319 had an interesting idea in her article about an oceanic ore, which she decorated with a wonderful drawing. Here, jeweled dolphins help mine the material underwater. Don't worry, the author assured that the animals will not be harmed. Inspiring!
It's no surprise that Hanhula's article on magical glass art made it into this selection. I don't want to say anything more than: "Let yourself be enchanted by this magical and beautiful glass!"
With heart and charm, Jamie the WantedHero wrote a wonderful article and turns simple rock into something very special. I assure you, it will put a smile on your face as you read it as you follow the protagonist's explanations about the possibilities of using the banal material. Simply stone-tastic!
From the very first sentence, Tyrdal takes you on a wonderfully poetic journey. He knows how to captivate the reader with all the senses and easily convey a lot of information about the culture associated with the material. A worth reading landscape painting!
What happens when fairies die? In Yerran's article, liquid soul light is harvested from dying fairies. What seems sad at the same time is actually a powerful weapon. A very inspiring idea and this article provides a lot of information to learn more about it. Definitely worth reading!
Can't believe my entry is on this list, thanks so much!! And the tips on how to write a good short article are very useful!
You're welcome and thank you for your lovely comment.