Translations... Shmarlations... (made that up)

I just received a package from Japan, containing the winning entries from the Translation Competition that I took last year. I already knew that I lost, and after skimming through the work of the winners, I can see why. Seriously though, with work this good, how could these people still be 'amateurs'? (The content was meant for people who are amateurs in the field of Literature translation, not technical.)

The competition consists of picking 1 of each type to translate from a list of 6 articles; 3 Commentaries and 3 Stories. Obviously does not help that all three winners chose the same Commentary, and two picked the same Story to translate as I did. On the other hand, it is good as I get to compare my work with the 'Master's'.

What I noticed so far is that, aside from losing out in the style class, I did at least manage to get 90% of the content right. Their presentations are just waaay better than mine. So good that I suspect that they could be writers, or just were trained as one. I have always wanted to improve my writing, and this package was enough to drive the 'want' to a 'need'. Unfortunately, the 'hows' still elude me.

The only thing I can do now is analyze and compare my work and theirs. And join the next competition!

Info tidbit:
There is no direct translation of the phrase "For fun" into Japanese...