jgeorge: I apologize for not doing what others have already done. I wanted to give your entry a bit of a go myself. But, as usual, I am late. As said above (though not in these words), a story must have several strong points (in my unprofessional opinion): Imagination. Something different. Something not read a hundred times already. (even this is not a MUST...but at least a different twist on a love story or a mystery) Character development. Readers LOVE to "grab hold" of a character and relate to them. "Feel" them. Understand them. Plot. Have everything else but no plot and readers will throw what you have written away. Grammatical correctness. No one wants to have all the ingredients listed above BUT stumble over awkward punctuation or incorrect grammar. So, as far as I am concerned, if all the thoughts, ideas, plot development (and so forth) are done well, I can make allowances for some sporadic grammatical problems. Not huge grammatical problems, though. And you, my faraway "friend", do pretty darn well with this language. (you should hear the people I have to communicate with here in Georgia sometime...LOL)