The Spec Faith 2017 Summer Writing Challenge is now closed to new entries. We received a good number of interesting and entertaining stories, some coming in at the last minute.

We want those entries to have a fair shot at the finals too, so please take time to read and give your feedback for the later entries as you did the ones that came in earlier in the week. Remember, to indicate which you like best (no limit), reply to the entries and give a thumbs up. Also, feel free to tell the authors what you like about their story or give them constructive criticism which might benefit them (whether you choose to give a thumbs up or not).

Then next week we’ll announce the three finalists, and we’ll vote for a winner.

The drawback of a readers’ choice challenge is that it might turn into a popularity contest. On the other hand, we need reader feedback for the challenge to be successful. With both these facts in mind, I think the best answer is for Spec Faith visitors to connect with family, friends, and followers (our share buttons make this quite easy) and encourage their fair and unbiased feedback (as opposed to, “Vote for mine—you don’t really need to read any of the entries,” which I’ve seen from some other contests).

Thanks ahead of time for letting others know that we need their feedback.

And special thanks to each of the authors who shared their work with us. We have a selection of wonderful entries to choose from. What a nice predicament! To find the entries, follow one of the links in this article (such as this one)—the entries are in the comments section of that post. Be sure to click on the “Explore More” button to see all of them. And you might even consider reading them, last to first.