STORY INFO
28 Letters
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Author
Alex Sultan
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Categories
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Danh mục
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Update
6 months ago
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Part Chapter
1/??
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Reads
108
Content
A gem can not be polished without friction, nor man perfected without trials. Sejong swept his books off the shelf. Rain pelted the world outside. The king opened one of his many works, the spine of it splitting under his force, and read off a page. Nongsa jikseol, methods of cultivation in agriculture. A guidebook to farming in Korea’s geography. Words that could keep his people from famine.He threw it into the rain. It splashed against the mud-coated field, water distorting the ink. A second book follo...
Outstanding reviews
first time trying historical fiction. It is a challenging genre. I tried my absolute best to write a winner, and it was a lot more difficult than I thought it'd be. Also, while this story is a bit dramatized, it is true. Sejong is the founder of the Korean alphabet.All feedback would be appreciated. Thanks for reading - 읽어줘서 고맙습니다Update: It was a nice surprise to wake up and see this win. I'm glad I could bring light to Korean history.
Very well written story. It is true that the Korean script is quite easy to learn. I was in Korea 10 years ago for a 2-week work visit and easily learned it in that time and even started to understand some basic road signs. Unfortunately as soon as I got home I forgot it all almost as quickly >.< Really hope to read more of your stories in the future :-)
Terrific story, well done!
You deserved the win. Great story. I thoroughly enjoyed it and you, my friend, have a great talent for writing.
hey Alex,All your previous east asian stories have excelled without any flaw and this too follows through. Everything is well elaborated and beautifully described. I like that even after so many opposing voices, Sejong didn't give up. It is a brilliant story. Keep writing:>
OH MY GOD!!!! Alex!! I cannot believe this. I told you, I told you. Wohhooo! Lot many congratulations!! 🥳🥳 I am so excited and happy for you!
I could do this in my sleep 😴In all seriousness, 고마워요 - thank you for the kind words. I'm looking forward to writing about Korean history again 😁
this such an amazing story! gosh i love it so much. :)historical fiction is a difficult genre to tackle, but you did it nicely. i could vividly picture this; it's wonderful.my favourite part has to be, "The letters birthed poets, playwrights, and philosophers. Astronomers learned to write the names of constellations. Winemakers created labels. Apothecaries devised written names for their medicines."i don't have specific critique for this story, so well done!
Thank you, this is such a kind comment :)I was worried about how people would see this story, and it is reassuring to know you liked it. I'm so used to thriller and fantasy stories that writing this was a complete mix-up for me. Thanks for reading.
you're such an amazing storyteller in that genre, my favourite has to be "a thousand years in tokyo" and "mistweaver." but it's good to broaden and write in a genre we won't normally write in! i have to try it sometime.
The opening line of this is fantastic.
The opening line of this is fantastic.
Thank you, Jon. I put hours into research for this piece - I didn't want to get anything wrong, and I'm glad you liked it. I'm going to brainstorm ways to fix up the clarity of the quote before the week ends. Thanks for pointing it out and reading it through.
Thank you, Jon. I put hours into research for this piece - I didn't want to get anything wrong, and I'm glad you liked it. I'm going to brainstorm ways to fix up the clarity of the quote before the week ends. Thanks for pointing it out and reading it through.
I really love this story! It’s not for everybody, but I especially love that your story spanned time (those single-scene overly ambiguous ones aren’t really my thing). Your style is unique and engaging, with a perfect mix of vivid descriptions and quick, sharp action. Really well done!
I love this story! Historical fiction is pretty far beyond my wheelhouse, but it's clearly within yours. I can tell you've done your research and you make the story compelling and detailed without it being an information dump. The beginning I found especially compelling--your story drew me in from the get-go. Nice work!--Tommie Michele
I love this story! Historical fiction is pretty far beyond my wheelhouse, but it's clearly within yours. I can tell you've done your research and you make the story compelling and detailed without it being an information dump. The beginning I found especially compelling--your story drew me in from the get-go. Nice work!--Tommie Michele
I love this story! Historical fiction is pretty far beyond my wheelhouse, but it's clearly within yours. I can tell you've done your research and you make the story compelling and detailed without it being an information dump. The beginning I found especially compelling--your story drew me in from the get-go. Nice work!--Tommie Michele
This is a really beautifully written story with a nice, inspirational message. I think a lot of people will value it and enjoy reading it. I think historical fiction is one of my least liked genres, so I probably can't offer much for insightful genre advice, but I can say that I did really enjoy reading this so it seems like a better than usual example of the genre to me at least.
To read this story is to admit defeat in any writing contest. Well done.
Thank you for the kind words, I'm glad you enjoyed reading it. I hope it does well in the competition - I like writing about Korean culture and would want to shine more light on it.
Hi Alex,I've had a re-read. It's great. I just have a few comments: She sat on the wooden floor(s) with a script out in front of her, writing out poetry, stopping to bow.Her dress, (the colour of) red and gold, flowed behind her. - OR Her dress flowed, red and gold, behind her. He ran (his) fingers through his beard. Sejong ordered (for) his books to be rewritten.I think it's really good.
I'm thankful for your help. I was hesitant to write this story at first, but I'm glad it worked out and I could shine a light on Korean history. I really like how polished the story feels now. Thanks again 😁
You might want to consider tagging it as "creative non fiction" as well as historical fiction? Just a thought.
Hi Alex, I've posted a draft of this week's story if you feel like taking a look. If you check the comments I've noted a few things I may add in later. I'm actually considering a complete rewrite because the story itself doesn't feel strong enough for the premise. Any ideas welcome.
I really enjoyed the prose here.As someone who's getting a degree in language I found the descriptions of the Korean alphabet and how the sound was produced to be very interesting and well-written. I liked how I learned something in this piece, it flows nicely between being sentimental while providing historical info.
Thank you for reading! I think the most challenging part of writing this was balancing how much info I wanted, and how much to leave out. I didn't want it to be an essay on the Korean alphabet, but at the same time, I did want readers to learn something. I'm glad it worked out.Best of luck with your language degree 😁
WOOHOOOOO! YOU WON. CONGRATZZZZZ 🎉🎉
OMG! I was coming here to congratulate. And I learned that you spoke Korean!!! OMG!! I didn't know that. Anyway, I came here to CONGRATULATE YOU. Congratulation!! You deserve a win!! This story is brilliant! 축하합니다
댓글 감사합니다! 저는 한국어를 조금 할수 와 더 배우고 있어요. 한국어 어렵지 않아요 - 익숙해지면. Thank you for the kind words. I'm glad this won, and I'm looking forward to writing more about Korea. 😁
“There are voices I would never hear.”This story was absolutely beautiful. Many emotions came from this sentence alone; it was very easy to resonate with the main character. I was intrigued from the start. Good job, a well-deserved win!
Congratulations!!!
Excellent story. Congratulations on your win. Well deserved.
Merci beaucoup pour les mots gentils. C'était très amusant à écrire cette histoire - j'aime beaucoup l'histoire coréenne.
:)
:)
Congratulations! It was just a matter of time before you got your due. The story flows effortlessly and it's a joy to discover the history of other cultures.
Congrats on the win!
Great writing ! I look forward to reading more from you.
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