#330 Hello and Goodbye with Chersti Nieveen

This week, we're running a takeover in collaboration with Reedsy freelancer Chersti Nieveen! The winner of this contest will not only be awarded $250 — they’ll also receive personal feedback from Chersti herself. For your chance to get insight from one of Reedsy’s very own professionals, read on!

Hello, writers! I’m Chersti Nieveen, a developmental editor here at Reedsy who specializes in fantasy, science fiction, and suspense. I feel so blessed to have worked on books by several incredibly talented authors over the course of my career, such as Brandon Sanderson, Demi Winters, Arabella Federico, and Tricia Levenseller. My editing style has grown to where I see each edit as more than just providing editorial feedback; it's also an opportunity to teach the author so they can better understand writing craft and structure.

You can check out my Reedsy profile here.

The theme for this week’s contest explores something found in every novel: beginnings and endings. A classic line in cinema history is the final line of Casablanca, where Rick says, “Louis, I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship.” This line caps the emotional journey of the plot, ending the movie on a piece of dialogue that has endured the test of time. The movie itself is set in a city that’s more of a waystation, and the story revolves around a myriad of hellos and goodbyes that create that emotional journey: lovers reuniting, refugees fleeing their countries, and heroes finding themselves.

These moments of beginnings and endings are among the most authentic emotional experiences, the spaces in our lives that might hit us the hardest. As writers, we can use those moments to make readers laugh or cry — or even surprise them with an unexpected twist or a slice (or two) of romance. If done well, you’ve pulled the reader into that emotional experience and tied them to that moment — to those characters — forever.

So, here’s your moment to make this beginning or ending yours.

Special Update: The Results 🏆

Chersti's top pick for her takeover was "TAG" by Elizabeth Hoban. Here's what Chersti had to say about it:

This story is a compelling blend of optimistic heart and grounded realism. Starting with a strong opening line, the first paragraph immediately creates a vivid world, giving a level of detail and emotion that makes the story come alive. Danny, as a character, is painted with such sincerity, the key details revealing this is a character yearning for connection, which he fortuitously finds in Tag, the abandoned dog. The gentle humor with the dog’s name and dog tags helps maintain a lighter tone of what could easily have become a much darker story, and that optimistic tone adds greater believability to the heroism shown by both Danny and Tag. But it’s really the reliance on themes centered on relationships that mend and give us the courage to move forward, despite the harsh realities of life, that carries this story. "TAG" truly touched my heart and will stick with me.

Congratulations to contest winner Elizabeth Hoban and the runners-up, K Arlington Andrews and Michelle James!