First Place: Sun Tether by Kaylee Peltier
Kaylee Peltier (@kaylee.a.writes) is a barista by day, English student and writer by night. She spends most of her free time reading, writing, or playing Dungeons & Dragons, and lives in Utah with her husband and cat.
What the Judges said:
“This story gripped me from its very first lines! You have a talent for evoking beautiful, strong imagery (“macabre sun-catchers”?--come on!), and your command of language and story flow is so impressive. I was hooked on every word.”
“Your writing is so brilliantly visceral. You did such a commendable job creating intrigue from the very first line, and I love how visual your writing is.”
“Your single page has haunted me–in the best ways–since I first read it. From the moment the curtain of blood closes over your protagonist’s collarbones, I knew you had a remarkable ability to paint vivid scenes for your readers. The potential of the first lines was carried throughout the entire page, and by the end I was wishing for more.”
“You had me hooked at “a curtain of blood closes over my collarbones…” You really know how to draw a reader in with your prose. This was such a beautifully written first page!”
A Chat with the Author:
Tell us a little about your writing background. How long have you been writing? What inspired you to start? What challenges have you faced along the way?
I’ve been writing for as long as I’ve had access to Google Docs. I read a lot as a child, finding escape and comfort in endless books, and storytelling has always been one of my favorite things in the world. My more recent return to creative writing in earnest was born mostly out of a desire to flesh out my D&D characters—to give them rich backstories and develop their relationships. This practice reminded me how deeply I love writing and exploring stories, and I ‘won’ my first NaNoWriMo last year with my first draft of Sun Tether. Impostor syndrome has been an intense challenge throughout writing this book, but I also find that this creates difficulty connecting with other writers; fear of sharing my work has stopped me from participating in—rather than observing—the community.
What is your dream as a writer?
Connection is at the heart of almost every endeavor of mine, and writing is no different. I think my dream is similar to that of most writers: to share my work, and, hopefully, at least fractionally improve someone’s life in the process. Stories are so important to me, sharing them even more so.
How did you come up with the idea for this story?
I was doing some random writing exercises, and decided to try and come up with a creation myth. That sparked this entire novel, this whole world that’s been in my mind for over a year! Then came the characters, the playlists, the outline, the first draft, and the endless reworks.
What is your writing process like?
I am a plotter through and through. My original outline for this story was about 10k words—I cannot resist a well-structured outline. Once that’s on paper, I love exploring character voice and tend to write out a few journal entries per character before I begin drafting. When I sit down to actually write, writing sprints keep me going! I’ll usually start with two 15-minute sprints, after which I often have a good flow going. I also keep a bowl of skittles on my desk and reward myself with one every hundred words or so (mini marshmallows also do the trick).
Have you written more of this story yet? How much?
I wrote about half of a first draft of this story in November 2023, completely re-plotted it in January 2024, re-plotted it again in September, and am currently trying to build up the courage to dive into a second ‘first’ draft.
Where can readers find more of your work?
I’m on Instagram as @kaylee.a.writes! I’m fairly new to the writing side of IG (longtime lurker, though), and I’m so excited to be here.
What advice would you give writers on writing a great first page?
Focus on your character, and do not start with exposition. Action draws your reader in, and providing a glimpse of your character’s reaction to or reasoning behind that action keeps your reader, well, reading! That’s really all it comes down to, in my opinion: do whatever you need to do to keep your reader engaged and create a strong first impression of who your character is.
