Fall Writing Competition 2016

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JediGuy
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Re: Fall Writing Competition 2016

#46 Post by JediGuy »

TheNewGirl wrote:Jedi, please recall that I have offered my judging services if needed :) Just send me the criteria we're using and I'll get right on it.
Oh I'm aware - and I appreciate it ^.^ It's less that they're unavailable and more they ducked out after the fact. Though if we get into too many close calls, I'll send you a PM to be a tiebreaker.
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red.wolf
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Re: Fall Writing Competition 2016

#47 Post by red.wolf »

Do we have any updates by any chance?
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Re: Fall Writing Competition 2016

#48 Post by JediGuy »

red.wolf wrote:Do we have any updates by any chance?
Yes, actually - you guys will enjoy this bit.

First and foremost, I apologize that things are taking a bit longer than expected. The news you all -want- to hear: I DO HAVE PARTIAL SCORES FOR ALL THE SUBMITTED STORIES. I do believe we agree on an overall victor. Notice, of course, the word 'partial.' My other judge has been a great help, but I don't feel like two of us alone agree enough on certain stories to make a fair grade - after all, I could just as easily say mine supercedes theirs.

But, I have a friend of mine RL who actually is a published writer - she's helping me with the last set of grades as we speak. We'll get those and the full results to you 'soon.'

Thank you all for your continued patience.
-Jedi

P.S. - To those of you who PM'd me already volunteering to be backup judges, don't think I forgot or ignored you. Several things have also been happening with my job that have kept me rather busy during my off-time, and this is only a recent decision I made after consulting with said RL friend.
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Re: Fall Writing Competition 2016

#49 Post by Jarlath »

JediGuy wrote:
red.wolf wrote:Do we have any updates by any chance?
Yes, actually - you guys will enjoy this bit.

First and foremost, I apologize that things are taking a bit longer than expected. The news you all -want- to hear: I DO HAVE PARTIAL SCORES FOR ALL THE SUBMITTED STORIES. I do believe we agree on an overall victor. Notice, of course, the word 'partial.' My other judge has been a great help, but I don't feel like two of us alone agree enough on certain stories to make a fair grade - after all, I could just as easily say mine supercedes theirs.

But, I have a friend of mine RL who actually is a published writer - she's helping me with the last set of grades as we speak. We'll get those and the full results to you 'soon.'

Thank you all for your continued patience.
-Jedi

P.S. - To those of you who PM'd me already volunteering to be backup judges, don't think I forgot or ignored you. Several things have also been happening with my job that have kept me rather busy during my off-time, and this is only a recent decision I made after consulting with said RL friend.
Glad to hear that you're still on top of it! Damn that Real Life... Always getting in the way of what is fun and time wasting... :)

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Welsh halfwit
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Re: Fall Writing Competition 2016

#50 Post by Welsh halfwit »

Jarlath wrote: Glad to hear that you're still on top of it! Damn that Real Life... Always getting in the way of what is fun and time wasting... :)
This is a true statement.
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Re: Fall Writing Competition 2016

#51 Post by Myperson54 »

Glad to hear you're on top of things. As always, I anticipate results, though I'm willing to be patient. :) it's neat that you got a published author to look over our work.
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Re: Fall Writing Competition 2016

#52 Post by HugMePlz »

So... What's been happening?
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Re: Fall Writing Competition 2016

#53 Post by Myperson54 »

Patience, padawan. Haste is the path to the Dark Side.
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Re: Fall Writing Competition 2016

#54 Post by JediGuy »

Myperson54 wrote:Patience, padawan. Haste is the path to the Dark Side.
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Ladies and Gents, thank you so much for your continued patience. I am happy to report that the judges have submitted everything, and the results are in!

Keep in mind that all of the point totals are out of 40 possible points, under the following categories:

I) Writing Skill - How well you can write, simple enough. Things like proper use of grammar, punctuation, using complete sentences and the like. This is the 'crunchy granola' of the grading scale.
II) Creativity - How creative you are with your writing. Whether this means taking an existing idea and giving it a new twist, coming up with something new, or taking us in unexpected directions. Everyone's read about the knight who fought the dragon and saved the girl; entice us.
III) World-Building – How lively and believable is the story’s setting? In essence, does the world, setting, or even the room that your story takes place in feel natural, alive - or are there just two voices talking in a blank white box?
IV) Investment - You can have a rich world with interesting characters, but if there's no hook, no reason for someone to get past the first page, something needs to be changed. What is it you're providing to keep us reading to the end, and leave us wanting more?

So, without further delay, lets get right on to the good stuff!
Spoiler!
Deserving of an honorable mention this year, with an average score of 31.6 / 40:
Friend by UnsteadyPheonix!

Here's what one of our judges had to say:
"The detail was amazing, and the plot was good. I just wanted more of the reasoning. What documents, why did it involve killing people, how did it turn into a hostage situation?


Next on to the Third-Place winner, who will win a custom-made forum signature representing their achievement:
Spoiler!
Just edging-out the Honorable Mention winner, with an average score of 32 / 40:
Fighter by Welsh halfwit!

Here's what one of our judges had to say:
"After spending a little time on the grammar and maybe fleshing out a few things, I think this story could be submitted for a monetary contest and win."


Now, our Second-Place winner - their story will become an audio-drama, being read and performed by yours truly (including music and sound effects where applicable!)
Spoiler!
A hard fought battle to the end, with an average score of 34.6/ 40:
Ascension by Myperson54!

Here's what two of our judges had to say:
"Effective start, simple but interesting premise, good characters, I was hooked the entire way through. Not much I can really say here, the author hit all the right marks."

"The level of writing in this story is almost perfect, and it was great to read a story with little to no errors that could pull me out of the plot."


==========================================
And, last but not least, the moment you've all been waiting for. This decision wasn't -quite- as difficult to draw a line between as last years, but both the grand-prize and second place stories were definitely heavy-hitters. The first place winner will receive a free sketch-quality commission from Tom himself.
Spoiler!
A story packed with emotion, relatable characters, drama and leaving us wanting more, with the second-highest score we've ever awarded at 37.6/ 40:

The Modern Moreau by anonfox123! Congratulations!

Here's what all of our judges had to say:

"I liked how quickly the story escalated and was caught off-guard by what happened around the middle of it. It had a good balance of explaining things while having an air of mystery to some aspects of the story..."

"I literally can’t say enough about this story. I love the fact that the author took something and made it their own. Such a fantastic read. I honestly want more!!! "

"I'll admit, I was worried that I'd have to remind myself about the old tales of Dr. Moreau, but the author reminded the audience beautifully while keeping the intrigue heavy right at the beginning. There was drama, the scenes were set in such a way that I could picture them easily - I honestly was surprised when I got to the end, if only because I didn't want it to be over."


So, once again, thank you everyone for all of your hard work, patience, and dedication. Over the next few days I'll work on getting everyone their grading sheets and scores.

Judges: thank you for all your time and effort put into this labor of love we call the Fall Writing Competition. For those of you who are curious about the 'published author' I mentioned helping me with this year's competition, I'd like to invite you to check out her first story: Fayth Blackwell, P.I Franki is one of my best friends and has graduated from University of Illinois Chicago with a degree in English with a concentration in Creative Writing, along with a Classical Studies minor.

So that's all, folks! See you again next year!
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Hayate
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Re: Fall Writing Competition 2016

#55 Post by Hayate »

Holy jeez! Congrats Anonfox!! Good job everyone else too!
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Re: Fall Writing Competition 2016

#56 Post by Welsh halfwit »

An Anonfox win is a worthy win!
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Re: Fall Writing Competition 2016

#57 Post by Jarlath »

Good job to the winners, some excellent works.

And to all who entered the contest. It takes no small courage to post your personal works and possibly get critiqued negatively. Congratulations on your courage and your efforts!

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Re: Fall Writing Competition 2016

#58 Post by Myperson54 »

Well damn, I'm very happy to even have gotten a placement! It's a huge encouragement.

And congratulations to Anon for winning this year. I'll have to take tips from you :P

Now to prepare for next year...
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Re: Fall Writing Competition 2016

#59 Post by anonfox123 »

Thank you for the congrats guys! :grin: Your stories were pretty fun to read too, keep it up.

Just one question: How do I go about claiming my prize? Just PM Tom? (Jediguy help me out here...)
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Re: Fall Writing Competition 2016

#60 Post by JediGuy »

anonfox123 wrote:Thank you for the congrats guys! :grin: Your stories were pretty fun to read too, keep it up.

Just one question: How do I go about claiming my prize? Just PM Tom? (Jediguy help me out here...)
You deserve every bit of it, anon. I've already alerted Tom that you're the winner, so he'll be on the lookout for you. Just send him a PM - he'll get to it when he sees it.
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