Writing
	January 8, 2026

Story: Financial Exposure

Won 6th Place in Round 1

What the judges said:

Judge 1:  I really enjoyed reading your story. The descriptions fit your main character perfectly. I was impressed by the creativity of the word play. Beyond this, the torture scene was an inventive piece of body horror. It elevated a pretty standard crime drama into the realm of scary. Well done!

Judge 2:  The mob’s chosen punishment/end for the protagonist is slow and painful, and just the sort of gruesome torture that fans of scary story will enjoy. It’s very creative. The language the protagonist uses when he narrates his story feels authentic to New York and New Jersey mob members. it gives the story an overarching sense of authenticity. There are some great lines in that vein, like this one, “[w]hat’s a cooked book without a bit of seasoning?” The reference to Icarus was a fun little allusion that works well to tell the reader what to expect next, as well as how the boss now felt about him. Allusions are a strong choice, because they’re able to say so much more that the reader could with the same number of words.

Judge 3:  Good smooth setup of the backstory with his misdealings with this criminal network, and also how the stock market miscalculation backfired; your pacing is tight throughout here, with good varied but generally short sentences and paragraph lengths that keep us wanting to read more. My favorite aspect here though is the inventive form of torture, the burns by magnifying glass. I love the wicked surprise reveal of this tactic, and good job balancing the wry humor of it with the despair of our main character as he faces another day to come of pain.