Though the judging was difficult, reading each new love letter was a wonderful reminder of all the ups, downs, and in-betweens of any romantic relationship. Whether sad and longing, angry and bitter, or sweet and sincere, these letters touched the entire spectrum of emotions and brought to life the passion of an amorous affair. As such, we would like to thank everyone who participated and offered their aide--most especially =Mithgariel and `youthculture, who donated prizes, `diamondie who offered an excellent prize suggestion, *Ebonessa who stepped in as a judge, and =Riangel and ^coshdaddy for their incredible support.

And now for the results!

1. ~Negated


for the boy I try to forget

If there's one thing the judges were looking for, far beyond grammar and perfect conventions, it was sincere, stirring emotion; we found it in ~Negated's beautiful would-have-been. There's not one line we can highlight or one thing we can say: this letter is simply deeply-felt and painfully real; it touched each of us, and we're sure it'll touch you.

Prize:

a $30 dollar print of their choice or a 1 year subscription
a 3-month subscription from ~EveningDownpour;
a 1-month subscription from *GeneratingHype;
a small (A5) print from =Mithgariel's gorgeous gallery; and
a choice of either David Lowenherz's The 50 Greatest Love Letters of All Time, A. S. Byatt's Possession: A Romance, or Kazuo Ishiguro's The Remains of the Day.


2. ~LucidOnion


Her Love Letter

Regardless of what you might think about war, there's no denying that it deeply affects us all. In Her Love Letter, ~LucidOnion takes an honest, heartbreaking, resolved approach, describing one woman's struggle to balance the bigger picture against her own grief and love. There's also a companion piece, His Love Letter, which is worth a look.

Prize:

a 3-month subscription from `youthculture
a lit mug of their choice and
a choice of either David Lowenherz's The 50 Greatest Love Letters of All Time, A. S. Byatt's Possession: A Romance, or Kazuo Ishiguro's The Remains of the Day.


3. ~renaissance1912


Letter to be Sent by Comet

This letter was original, the speaker's voice was authentic, and the writing was stellar. Letter to be Sent by Comet is a wonderful journey through the pangs of heartache and the silly things we do for love--with quite a bit of grounded philosophizing on the side. It reached us on an intellectual level as well as an emotional one.

Prize:

a 1-month subscription from *GeneratingHype and
a lit mug of their choice.


(All winners will be featured in =Riangel's journal.)


Special Mentions:



~Lilithia's LOVE LETTER landed in *Ebonessa's Top Five picks for its sincerity and touching account of a love that's lost but not really gone. The recognition is well-deserved, as LOVE LETTER builds on wonderful characterization and a believable back-story to make it both an enjoyable read and the tantalizing start to what just might be an incredible plotline down the road.



The letters that stuck with ~EveningDownpour were *BerylAlexandros's Sincerely, Maddy, ~lovetodeviate's Rajeev, and *lilmoongodess's Love letter. Not only does Sincerely, Maddy show the desperation of a long-distance affair, but it also represents something realistic and aching--and mature. Rajeev, which provides insight to a writer's mind, builds an amazing story with a troubling-but-honest ending. Love letter, in a similar vein, inspired real tears from a wife who often grapples with the possibility of losing her beloved too soon.



*joecifur found ~EpicureanPoetry's A letter to my Husband a simple, cute example of the fact that you don't have to write a novel to write a love letter. Above all, he could definitely see it taped to the 'fridge, computer monitor, or underneath someone's breakfast bowl. Another stand-out was ~oh-no-heather-jo's Love Letter. Clever, it applied a scientific theme very well without sounding stilted or overly forced, and it had a strong, rhythmic 'spoken word' feel to it that was surprising to see in a letter.



*GeneratingHype would like to recognize a few love letters that made him smile (or even laugh out loud): Friend and more by ~xAristax and Freiheit by ~ColdContactKiss were definitely enjoyable entries. Also, Love letter by ~quackling is worth a look for its creative presentation and sincere sentiments.

~*~

While our winning entries are absolutely wonderful, we would like to take the time to recognize each person who participated; the response was a little overwhelming. Please have a look at their submissions, which can be found here. (We promise you won't regret it.)

Thanks again, congratulations to the winners, and have a happy St. Valentine's Day!

,

*Ebonessa
~EveningDownpour
*joecifur
*GeneratingHype

<sub>Judging Guidelines

Or, before you complain about the winners (or why you're not a winner), please read the information here.</sub>


(All winners should be contacted within 14 days to discuss the prize distribution.)

~*~

Uh Oh...

You missed the Love Letters deadline! Now what can you do?

Here's a great idea: channel all that creative energy into 's contest! *fotoFRIDAY is an excellent project designed to inspire all types of writers, and this month's contest offers awesome rewards to increase your motivation.

How can you enter? First, have a quick look at this news article and it's very fun (and challenging) picture: .

Next, write! Both poetry and prose are acceptable, and no doubt a bunch of things in between. You can use the picture as a major component of your writing or just a small sliver--there is no definite rule in that regard. Want to write about sunsets? Sunrises? Drunken escapades on the beach? Love? Sand? The ocean? The influence of Kantian ethics on Nietzsche's reading of Kierkegaard's interpretation of Cain and Abel? Go for it! The only limit is your own imagination.

After that, it's up to you to note the *fotoFRIDAY account with your entry, cross your fingers, and hope for the best.

See how easy that is? Then why are you still reading this? Get writing!