HEY GUYS! 
Just a heads up! Registration for accounts and submissions for Scholastic 2019 opens up on September 12th 2018!!!
Only 182 days left to go!!
Yup xD
Already got 3 entries to enter! I was wondering what if we were to provide feedback on each other. This doesnāt mean to post the entry, just to seek input from previous medalists. Just an idea.
I mean Iād be happy to help out even though Iām not a medalistā¦
@nobodycansaveme Of course, I feel like if as writers we help one another, we will show them our āsword and mightā.
What feedback do you need, fellow writer? @geometry1761
Just wondering, what categories and how many entries do yāall usually enter?
@StreenaSkywalker last year I thought you could only do one entry so I only did journalism, but this year Iām doing as many entries as I can and the categories are going to be (hopefully) flash fiction, journalism, photography, fashion (working with school to use 3-D printer), short story, personal essay, novel writing, and poetry if I can somehow make my poetry sound nicer.
Iām doing the categories Short Story and Science Fiction & Fantasy and possibly Novel Writing if I manage to finish editing my entire manuscript! I have 12 stories ready to submit half Sci Fi/Fantasy and the other half Short Story
@geometry1761 YOU ARE TOTALLY RIGHT!! TEAM WORK ROCKS! And if you want we can make a group chat where we can share stories and give feedback.
Iām afraid Iām not a medalist but in a Gold Keyer first try so hopefully that means something xD but my friend FlameAlchemist is a medalist so we can always add her 
@Lunarlitgend a group chat sounds amazing!
@wistfulwords Awesome!!! Iāll make one!
Alright just made one! You guys should get it soon enough
If anyone wants critiques, Iāll be glad to help. 
Iām a senior so I wonāt be participating in Scholastics next year, but I go to school for writing, have two medals + civic award this year, have been published in literary journals/magazines, etc. Iām also quite experienced in workshopping pieces, so PM if youād like help.
@shakuton thank you so much! I totally will
@Aerlyn Yes of course you can join!!! This chat is for anyone participating or planning on participating for the Scholastic Awards!!!
And hmm how I found out about Scholastic ;D
Basically I was just researching one day for a bunch of writing contests that I can compete in because I got inspired and amazed by the fact that I won an Honorable mention in my first writing competition which happened to be a local one and being someone who has trouble believing in their work it made me so happy and ambitious to try other competitions and push my abilities and broaden my writing skills! So as I was researching I stumbled upon Scholastic and when I saw the last years results for my region I actually saw someone from my school won and for some reason that made me more ambitious and I got determined to join this contest for 2017-2018! Believe me it was an awesome experience especially when I got a Gold key my first time entering! I was disappointed though when I didnāt make it to nationals but it was on me because I made the mistake of not doing my research about the Scholastic contest and taking the time to read Gold medal works in their galaries and not writing a great story in advance but rather just rushing a story with the false thought I can finish on time which I barely did, So a part of me feels like my gold key win was a pinch of beginners luck.
But yeah long story short, found it by research!! And Iām so glad I did! I canāt wait to compete for the 2018-2019 especially since Iām actually more prepared and weāll informed with how this contest works and the type of stories that go far.
Sorry if I sound like Iām endorsing something xD
But anyways yup. How did you find out about the contest? Do you plan on entering?
@Lunarlitlegend I read about Scholastic while reading a book on college apps as an ambitious, bright-eyed freshman, but it was too late for me to enter. As a sophomore, I entered some poetry. Nothing that year. Looking back, it was terrible, really. My imagery was pretty vivid, but there was no voice, and no originality. I didnāt enter junior year since I was in a creative rut (recently got out though). I finally pushed myself to write some short stories, and boy does AP Lang do wonders to your writing! Iām kinda sad that we have to write to please the contest thoughā¦ but hey, know the rules before you break them, right?
Now, Iām kinda jaded by the hyper-competitiveness, but it does push me to improve my writing. I have a love-hate relationship with these competitions. Iāll be a senior next season, and itās my only chance for Gold in Portfolioā¦ so Iām not going to throw away my shot, if you know what I mean 
Is it your last year too?
No, no. Scholastic and contests like it are great for writers to aspire to, and I appreciate the effort to keep the arts alive at a time when STEM is all the rage, you know?
@Aerlyn AHHHHH IāM GOING TO ASSUME WHEN YOU SAID āIāM NOT THROWING AWAY MY SHOTā YOU WERE REFERRING TO HAMILTON!!! AHHH (If not then just my Hamilton imagination I guess xD)
And actually this year is going to be my 2nd time participating!! Iāll be a junior next year so I have 2 more years left and yeah I totally feel you on the STEM and the love-hate relationships. Contests like these can be fun and healthy yet damaging at the same time as Iāve experienced but itās nice to get wellā¦the experience of it. And Iām glad you learned and improved on your writing!! I totally believe youāll go far with your protfolio especially since again youāve improved!!
@Lunarlitgend Yes, yes that was a Hamilton reference Whatās your favorite song of the soundtrack?
Agreed! Itās awesome that youāve also progressed from entering the competition (doing research and all). Yeah, itās definitely a far cry from my sophomore year self, but I donāt know if itās gold-worthy. The only thing I can do is keep revising, and trying not to obsess.
Iāll hopefully be entering in short story and poetry, maybe flash fiction and sci-fi/fantasy. Iām not sure if one of my short stories falls under sci-fi/fantasy or notā¦
@Aerlyn YASSS!!! Nonstop is my BEST Hamilton song by FARRR!!!
And thank you yeah I learned the hard way about not doing research for a competition, especially when they provide award winning short stories that you can read and be inspired from and yeah dude just keep revising it and making it better you never know what could happen
P.S If thereās any fantasy involved or sci-fi, dystopian then itās in the fantasy sci-if category