If I’ve counted correctly, we received 14 entries to the Spec Faith’s 2017 Winter Writing Challenge. It’s a good number—gives us plenty to enjoy but not so many stories we can’t get to them all.

We’ve also received a nice number of comments—on average, 4.5 per entry. That’s important, I think, because of course only three entries will final and only one entry will win. The comments, and the thumb votes, give feedback to the other eleven writers, so they too can benefit from the challenge.

That’s why this week in important.

Some of our contestants posted their entries on the last day or two, and they deserve a chance for Spec Faith visitors to read and respond. So this week gives you all time to catch up—to read the entries you haven’t seen yet, to go back over and make comments you’d like to make, and of course to give a thumbs up to the entries you like the best. Be sure to give your thumbs up no later than midnight (Pacific time), Sunday, January 22.

The top three entries receiving the most thumbs up will make the finals, and NEXT week, we’ll have a poll with those so you can vote for the one you believe is the best of the finalists.

In the mean time, feel free to share the original 2017 Winter Writing Challenge post and to invite your friends and family to read and to give their thumbs up votes. The more input, the more feedback, the better.