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Just want to reflect on this experience. I enjoyed reading the stories, and thank you all for participating. And thank you so much for not writing about vampires and aliens, because I would not know how to judge them.
The following is just my take. Sohaib may have different ideas, and all of you may have more suggestions. Comments are appreciated, so we can continue this process, and make it better. If you all feel that you didn't have enough time, you will have it for the next one.

There was a rather wide range as far as the quality of writing is concerned. Generally, the plots were good. There were 4 pieces that impressed me, and received a high score from my side (Details to follow when the time comes). There were some in the middle that needed polish and minor corrections, but were otherwise good. There were also some disappointments, and I just want to make a few points:

1.What comes first when you write is your command over the language, which means grammar and spelling need to be flawless, and you need to have a good grip on tenses. Some entries were loaded with so many errors, that it became too distracting to read. A large vocabulary helps, but believe me, you don't need to fill your story with fancy words, specially if you don't understand them well or don't know how to spell them. Sometimes less is more. For those who want to write, the best advice I have is read, read and read. Once you have mastered English, write. And then keep writing regularly.

2.The second major weakness I found was the lack of clarity. The reader needs to have an idea about where he/she is headed and what the writer wishes to convey. That means, in a short story, a limited number of characters, and limited number of scenes sometimes work better. Otherwise its easy to lose track of the direction.

3. The third issue was adult content and language, although it was specified in the rules. 2 entries were disqualified for this reason. (It's really not impossible to avoid profanity-timeless classics are all clean, and are read centuries after being written.)

4.To be an effective writer, I think imagination, empathy and maturity are important. Generally the first two came across in most entries, but I found the third lacking in most, which may just be an age factor, and will come with time.

5.At least half the entries had not been proof-read. This is very important because it shows commitment and discipline. Always read what you have written, not once, but several times until you don't want to make any more changes. Then have someone else read it.

On a positive note, there is some great talent here, this is just the beginning.

I am no professor of literature, but I will end with an excerpt from my book, which is a professor's advice to his students:

"If you write fiction, write it as a truth so it appears real; that means you don’t just write it, you live it. You sleep thinking about it. You dream about it. If you are writing about a person, you have to become that person. If you are writing about a place, your mind has to be in that place. You want to be like a seasoned actor performing a character role. Write what your heart tells you to, and when it tells you to, and I promise the ink will flow.�

Lara, that was great, great advice and most inspiring. We are very lucky to have you and your precious time. I hope everyone can benefit from you advice. It means a lot. Thank you.

Lara wrote: "For those who want to write, the best advice I have is read, read and read"

I'll follow that one. I think I would've done a bit better if I read mine a few more times because every time I read it, I made a little change. And thank you!

thankyou for a very sincere and biased advise. we are lucky to have your educated and experienced self here. :P

Damn it!! i really need a 'like' button for comments..would make things very easy :)...thank you @Lara!!

Thank you all. The honor is mine. Being a judge is quite interesting, and challenging at the same time, specially when you are always used to hearing, "don't judge!"
We've tried to be as fair as possible.

Thanks Lara that was really helpful.

Great! Thank you. Its not the points that matter, but the feedback, for future improvement.

Maira wrote: "thankyou for a very sincere and biased advise. we are lucky to have your educated and experienced self here. :P"


Hmm?

sorry it was supposed to be "unbiased".

@owaiz, you are quite a critic. @maira, I knew it was a typo.

Our scores were based on:

Plot/originality
Flow/clarity
Characterization
Resolution
Spelling/grammar/punctuation
Pace
Impact

The way I did it was I read every story first as a reader. Then I re-read it as a critic.

@All members I have been giving my reviews on stories... and I just wanted to clear one thing... I do not intend to discourage you or have a personal vendetta against anyone... I am just telling you without buffers what I felt.. because I think its your right that I do not leave anything out...

So again if anyone got hurt I really am sorry for that..

The biggest problem that i identified was proofreading... a good proofreader could have identified more than half of everyone's problems like spelling mistakes, redundancy in expressions, repetitions in scenes and rushed endings

My second suggestion to all is to plan what you want to write... our teacher used to make us write a rough draft in the form of bullets... in that draft we used to decide how much words we should allocate to that specific portion... this technique singlehandedly helped me write a few of my bestest pieces of writings

Thirdly, when writing you should atleast visualise what is happening in the story... and when u r done writing do your own critical analysis... no one can be a better critic of your work than you

Agreed with everything @Lara said previously

And on the brighter note.... People here amazed me with the raw talent available in this group... I seriously am amazed and pleasantly surprised... and I hope and wish that we, this group as a whole, can help hone this rawness because I can see several of the members reaching the level of internationally acclaimed writers purely on their talent

So better than best of luck everyone and do remember us when u get there ;-):-P:-D:-D:-D

I totally agree with you Sohaib Bahi. I never re-read my story before sending it...I just had a story and i extended its length...finally I think while we are writing the story it seems to go way slow then actually reading so it makes the visual very smooth while writing but not very effective while reading.

I hope could show a better result next time :-P

@Rao Umeed pe duniya qaim hai... aur umeed ki wajah se he dunya haseen hai :-):-)... so keep working towards a better tomorrow and before u know it youll realize that what u aimed for was just a first step and that you crossed it long long time ago :-):-):-)