Note: I am leaving reviews on the stories in the January Monthly Writing Competition On Demand Only, so if you competed and you want a review, leave a comment here or PM me.

Contestant: RapeMuffin
Story: Hanged Man's Elegy
Original flash artist: Sarkazm
Scores:
Theme: 6/10
This competition was pretty awkward in terms of the theme. While the premise was good, your submission, as well as a lot of others simply retold your chosen stories, so the fan fiction theme was almost blurred into adapting film to text. Points were either lost or won here, and it's understandable that while you wrote a very good story, the fan fiction theme was lacking original input.
Vocabulary: 10/10
Very well done here, very well done indeed. Your vocabulary is impressive, not only in simply using eloquent words, but knowing how and when they should be used. The only perfect score for an individual category in this competition.
Spelling and Grammar: 9/10
Again, it's your wording and phrasing that brings your stories to life. I believe someone mentioned before (I think it was BankingOntheEnemy), you retold the story, but through your storytelling, you brought another layer to this already gripping tale. Your spelling and grammar are definitely amongst your leading qualities as a writer.
Plot: 5/10
Here's where the theme hit hard. It's worth noting down that a lot of people had average scores for their plots simply because of the misinterpretation of the theme. You had a whole universe in which to explore and combine your own ideas with that of the animator, and you settled for a second hand plot.
Character Development: 6/10
Exactly the same as above. The characters were created by someone else, but in the fan fiction, they're given to you. With an original plot, I'm sure you could delve into the characters and bring out a side to them that has remained untouched, you could unravel a whole other side to them, yet the characters were stifled by ownership. The characters you described, while you described them immaculately, while you defined them so accurately, they were still the creations of the animator, and you left them at that.
Total: 7.2/10
While I'm sure I'm coming off very negetive, I can honestly say that I was tough on every submission, and the things that cost you the most were the things that caused problems for most of the others. While 7.2 doesn't sound terribly high, it earned you a fourth place on my list. You're an interesting writer, and it's a pleasure to read your stories. I'm hoping that next time you can really capitalise on the theme and shoot even higher.

Contestant: BankingOntheEnemy
Story: I'm A Creep
Original flash artist: Ticketyt0ck
Scores:
Theme: 6/10
First off, I'll say that it was an interesting choice to go with a music video based on "The Nightmare Before Christmas". Personally, I think that the flash is not the most appropriate for this month's theme, as it's main focus is on the music, not the plot and setting, but you accepted the challenge and while your story, like some of the others, wasn't exactly a "true" fan fiction, yet you rose to the occasion and wrote an interesting story.
Vocabulary: 8/10
You're quite good at describing things within your story, and really bringing a mental image to the reader, however, your writing felt somehow detatched, like you were just an observer. A phrase that I've heard thrown around a lot is this: "Show, don't tell". With a bit more practice, I'm sure you'll nail this part of your writing. Expanding your vocabulary and understanding how and where to go into detail can be difficult, but you've done a great job with what you've got, and time will show how much you can hone your skills.
Spelling and Grammar: 6/10
There are a few key errors in your spelling, such as differentiating between "your" and "you're" that are essentially holding you back. If you get the spelling and grammar perfected for your basic vocabulary, then you'll be improving in leaps and bounds. As you gain more experience, you'll be able to phrase your sentences and paragraphs so that they flow into one another a lot smoother, making for a more seamless read.
Plot: 5/10
Here's your problematic section: The second hand plot strikes again. I judged low for a lot of people on this because it's a writing competition, in which the plot is a major factor. Don't beat yourself up over this one, you're not alone here, and I'm sure that with any other competition, you'd have scored considerably higher, I am curious though, why did you lay out your story like you did? The introduction, the characters on their own, and the characters together. I felt like you followed the flash too closely to be able to achieve a solid cohesive plot.
Character Development: 6/10
As with RapeMuffin, the characters you describe don't really feel like your own. You describe their feelings really well, but you start off assuming that the reader knows all about who they are. Even with a fan fiction, I'd say that you're better off building the character from the ground up, rather than having "Sally" and "Jack" displayed at the head of each paragraph. To a reader that knows nothing about these characters, it doesn't reveal a whole lot about the characters. Again, something that should fix itself with the "show, don't tell" method.
Total: 6.2/10
Overall, I think that the one thing that hurt your story most was the way you interpreted the theme. I feel that you've got the potential to be a great writer, but you've still got to get a bit more experience behind you before you can achieve your potential. If I were you, I wouldn't worry too much about your scores, you appear to have a good head on your shoulders, so just keep at it, and in time we should see those numbers increase. Your entry was interesting, definitely a fresh and unique submission to the competition. Nice work!

Contestant: TheReno
Story: A ComiX Halloween!
Original flash artist: diamond-armada
Scores:
Theme: 8/10
Congratulations, you wrote a fan fiction. While I feel that your story was more of a script than a complete story, you continued on with the series well. Your story was appropriate to the theme, so I'm glad to say that you scored well here.
Vocabulary: 6/10
I find that comedy is a tricky genre to write in, as you generally compromise your vocabulary for a joke everyone will understand. Generally, I think it's better to have a more serious story peppered with jokes and quirks, rather than trying to portray your jokes as if you were watching them, instead of reading them. I'd like to see you take a more subtle approach to humour writing, then I think you could reach a greater potential with your vocabulary.
Spelling and Grammar: 6/10
Paragraph structures and the general solid frame for your story needed some beefing up. For the most part, I just think you'll need a bit more experience before you can really hit home in this section. A touch up here and there would definitely be helpful, but I'd expect your skills as a writer to naturally evolve, so keep it up.
Plot: 6/10
I was overwhelmed with the sense that this was more so written as a script than a short story, so it's understandable that your story is dialogue heavy, but my issue with that is that this is specifically a short story writing competition, and as such, your story could use more details, and more of a narration. The actual events themselves have the potential to become an interesting and humourous read, yet I would have to say that you exagerrated everything too much. As a reader, I feel like I'm being told what's funny, rather than genuinely finding it funny. Don't get me wrong, you've got some good humour, but your approach needs perfecting.
Character Development: 7/10
As part of a series, I think you did a great job capturing what the original animator had created, however, your characters lacked description. Such as with BankingOntheEnemy's story, you presented the characters already fully created, no explanation, they're just there. Personally, I feel that, fan fiction or not, you should always present your characters, and build them up in your own words. It's your story, your interpretation, we want to see your characters come into existence, and we want to see your characters evolve and develop.
Total: 6.6/10
Overall, a decent effort. You didn't try to pull anything unusual, no confronting or disturbing themes, and with that, it was a courageous attempt at a comedy. While I feel you've got a little way to go to hone your writing skills, your jokes were decent. As a script, your story worked very well. As a story, well, I enjoyed reading it. Plain and simple. It was a breath of fresh air to read a story that was light hearted and fun. Thanks for writing your story for the competition, I hope to see your writing further down the track.