I thought this story was well-written, and the decision to tell the story from the point of view of a horse led to an interesting perspective on the narrative.

The quote prompt felt a little shoe-horned in. The challenge was to use it as inspiration for your entry, and the story didn't feel so much "inspired by" as "dropped in to technically meet the minimum requirements of the contest." If that line of dialogue were removed from your entry, it wouldn't make any tangible difference to the story you were telling, and I was looking for the prompt to be a little better incorporated.

Overall, the characterization and the story were solid, and it was a polished read. As a standalone story, I think it works fine; but as a contest entry responding to a specific prompt, I found it a little lacking on that front. But good job overall!

I liked the progression of this story. You included a lot of details that ended up being relevant later in the story, which is a great use of the prompt.

TYPO: ‘Just give me a hint, Sav. Remember, I don’t want a boozy night. I [don't?] want a hangover for the wedding.’

The scene at the bar was really confusing. Even knowing that Savannah was apparently trying to wreck Tara's relationship with Greg, the story read as a little confusing that Tara specifically said she doesn't want a boozy night, but then shows up to a mixology class and just goes along with it. I think the choice of a "new white dress" also brings up some confusion about whether she's wearing her wedding dress in this scene. I'm assuming she's not, but you might be able to clarify by using a light color that's not white (pale yellow, baby blue, etc.) just to create more of a distinction.

I also think Savannah texting the photo to Greg at the end is a bit of a telegraph; up until now everything Savannah has done can be explained an innocent mistakes, or simple misunderstandings... but this is the point where she makes a conscious choice to antagonize her best friend's relationship, which spoils th ending a bit. It might be more effective if you played that moment as more lighthearted, where the reader will think she's just trying to be funny, rather than actually tearing her best friend down.

Overall, I enjoyed this story and thought you did a great job with the prompt. Well done!

I enjoyed the premise of this story. Having a character debating over story generation with a chatbot is a clever idea, and I liked the way you clearly delineated the characters using both color and italics which made for a very easy read.

The story started to feel a bit repetitive toward the end, with the narrative and the conflict not really changing throughout. It's just the protagonist stubbornly arguing with a chatbot and having no real change or resolution until the very end. I would have loved to have seen a little more character and narrative development, where the stakes of the story or the tension increases in their interaction over time.

Overall, I thought this was a creative take on the prompt, and a good start to what has the potential to be a very compelling and timely piece of fiction!

I'll admit, I definitely didn't see this take on the prompt coming. I really love the originality of the premise; it was a clever use of the prompt and definitely one that stands out.

The piece read less like a story and more like a comedic bit or one-note joke. I would have loved to have seen a little more narrative and character development overlaid into the basic structure of the setup and punchline.

Overall, this was a fast, fun read that I really enjoyed and found quite memorable. Nicely done!

I really enjoyed this story. I thought you did a great job weaving historical details into the narrative and telling a big, important story while still managing to focus on those small character choices that made it feel relatable and engaging. Well done!

No specific suggestions for improvement.

Overall, I think you did a great job with this story. Well done!

I thought you did a good job with this story. The worldbuilding and the character development was solid, and it was well-written and the plot moved along at a brisk pace. Nice work!

No specific suggestions for improvement.

Overall, I enjoyed reading your entry. Great job!

I really liked your worldbuilding. The character development and setting were clear and unique, and I thought you had a solid take on the prompt.

No specific suggestions for improvement.

Overall, I enjoyed reading this story. You have a solid contest entry here.

I enjoyed the structure of this piece. I thought you did a great job outlining a compelling narrative with characters that engage the reader. Nice job!

I think some additional detail and description would really help this piece stand out. It felt like more of a synopsis or a summary, largely to do parts where the narrative is generalized (like, "Malik faced numerous challenges. Along the way, he encountered mythical creatures and wise elders who tested his courage and determination." I would have loved to see those scenes play out rather than just having them summarized after the fact.

Overall, I think you have a great foundation for a compelling story. The execution needs to be fleshed out a bit, but you're off to a great start!

This was a thought-provoking piece. In only a few sentences you were able to articulate a difference (as well as similarities) between computers and humans with a surprisingly deep philosophical response. Nice job!

No specific suggestions for improvement, although I would love to read a piece that expands on your thoughts here a bit and fleshes it out a little more.

Overall, this was an enjoyable read. Nicely done!

I thought you did a great job with the imagery in this piece. In just a few short lines, you communicated a lot of visuals and created a compelling narrative, which is not easy to do. Nice job!

I was a little confused by the "my life lights sky pistons by control" line. For me, I had a difficult time conceptualizing that as an image.

Overall, I enjoyed reading your poem. Well done!

I really liked the structure and the pacing of this piece. The imagery was also excellent, which created a feeling of a solid, well-rounded poem.

No specific suggestions for improvement.

Overall, I thought you did a great job with this piece. It was well written, easy to read, and memorable. Well done!

I'm impressed by the way you were able to tell a complete story with a beginning, middle, and resolution in only three sentences. That's very impressive, especially considering that you were able to resolve the narrative with a surprising ending.

I think some more specificity in this piece would help clarity. "A man who talks about promises and other good stuffs" and "couples of balls" and other generic references leave the reader a little confused about what's specifically happening in the story.

Overall, I think there's a ton of potential in a micro-fiction story like this, although I think there's an opportunity to add a bit of clarity and polish to really make it stand out. Nice work!

I liked the way you addressed different types of sky in this piece, from the day to the nighttime. It gave the work a really cohesive, thematic tone that worked really well for it.

No specific suggestions for improvement.

I thought you did a great job with this piece. Well done!

I thought you did a great job of packing a lot of narrative into a comparatively short piece. I also really liked the introduction to this piece, where you tell the reader at the outset that some of the things you're about to say are true, and some are not. That's a great way to capture the reader's attention!

I thought the pacing and delivery could have been improved a bit. While there's a lot of action that happens in this story, it's all told with a bit of a one-note, detached style that doesn't give the reader a sense of which details are important, when the tension should increase, etc.

I think you have a great foundation for a story here. The basic narrative elements are there, and they just need to be finessed a little to really make the story stand out. Nice work!

I thought you did a great job capturing the feeling of wrestling with writer's block. The poem was evocative and clear, with vivid imagery. Well done!

There were a couple of small imperfect rhymes (hand/demands, blank/tanked), and I thought calling it "dear Writer's Block" toward the end of the poem contrasted a bit with the otherwise negative connotations you're eliciting.

Overall, this was a creative, well-written poem. Nice work!

I thought you did a great job with the imagery in this poem. Each line was vibrant and descriptive and really helped paint a picture for the reader. Well done!

While the sensory details were excellent, I didn't get a distinct sense of which season is represented here other than the clue from the prompt and the title. This could be due to the fact that our associations are different, but "parched earth" is the only thing that for me speaks of summer, as "birdsong" is more associated with spring (at least to me). And I'm hopeless with seasonal fruits, so I'll just have to take your word for it that mangoes are a summer fruit!

Seriously, though, my only real quibble with the piece is that if the goal is to capture a season in the form of a haiku, I'd perhaps want to select things that are more unmistakably "summer" in nature so that the seasonality comes though in the poem itself as well as the title.

Overall, I thought this was an enjoyable poem with great description and just a bit of room for improvement in terms of more fully capturing the seasonal prompt in the poem itself.

I enjoyed this poem. I thought it was short, evocative, and told a story which is not easy to do in so few words. Nicely done!

I found the repetition of the lines ending with "drinking" to be a little repetitive, especially since the second line of the poem already communicates that a "wild night of drinking" occurred, which makes the line about Sam Adams "starting drinking" to feel like a bit of a redundancy.

Overall, this was an entertaining read. Good work!

The detail and description in your story was excellent, creating a vivid and specific image in the reader's mind. I also thought the character development and the dialogue were realistic and engaging.

The "horror/scary" elements of this genre piece felt a little muted. For me, the genre more than anything is defined by an atmosphere of tension, dread, etc. and I didn't get as much of that as I was hoping from a story written for a Horror/Supernatural prompt where something "scary or spooky" was going on. I would have loved for those genre elements to really be exploited a little more.

Overall, this was a solid, well-written story with excellent detail description and good character work. Nice job!

I liked the worldbuilding in this story. You did a great job of packing a lot of setting and narrative into just a few hundred words. Nice job!

No specific suggestions for improvement.

Overall, this was a fun read. Nice work! Thanks for entering the contest!

I liked the action and the description in this piece. The pace moved along nicely and the characters were interesting. Well done!

While following the prompts of other contests is beyond the scope of judging criteria for "The Bradbury Contest" , I did note that the prompt for that contest was Horror/Scary and it was one of the selected three genres of the piece as well. On that front, I'm not sure it was successful; there was very little that was creepy, scary, suspenseful, or horrifying about the narrative. Supernatural, sure... but it was missing that tense, dread atmosphere that I associate with pieces in the horror/scary genre.

Overall, this was a fun read. Thank you for entering the contest!

I enjoyed the worldbuilding and the setting in this story in particular. The sci-fi elements are worked into the narrative well, without being too distracting or pulling focus from the story.

No specific suggestions for improvement.

Overall, I enjoyed the read. Well done!

I enjoyed the characterization in this story. Terry and Thunder were both fun, intriguing characters that were entertaining to follow along with throughout the narrative.

No specific suggestions for improvement.

Overall, this was a fun read. Nice work!

You did a great job developing story and keeping the pacing moving along through dialogue in this story. It was only about 800 words and it read much faster than that. Well done!

No specific suggestions for improvement.

Overall, I thought you did a good job on this piece. Nice work!

I thought you did a great job with this story, particularly the way you depicted some really sensitive topics. They were handled with a deft touch and were really compelling. Nicely done!

No specific suggestions for improvement.

Overall, this was a really good read. Nice work!

I really enjoyed this poem. I thought you did a great job with the imagery and the structure of the piece. The stanzas were short and concise and allowed the piece to be read in smaller bits and pieces that all complemented one another.

No specific suggestions for improvement.

Overall, I think you did a great job with this piece. Well done!