[Feb 2016] - Fanfic - Voting Thread

[Rukaio_Alter]

So two people basically rotate winning this contest?  Think I'll be passing on this event in the future.

In the past 12 months, we've had 8 different people win. This contest isn't biased towards any particular person (Hell, I first won after I'd only been here a month or two), it's biased towards who can write the most entertaining story. I'm good at that, thanks to my comic talents, which is why I win a lot. But I'm far from perfect. I've lost a lot of contests, even with comedic stories. But if you write a good enough story, people here will sit up and take note.

But the one way you're absolutely certain to lose is if you give up and not bother entering just because you're frustrated with not winning. First time I ever entered this contest, I only got 2 votes for my story. If I'd thrown in the towel then, decided it wasn't worth it, where do you think I'd be? Certainly not with the 5 wins I have now.

Besides which, you're missing that winning isn't the only point of the Writing Contest. Certainly, the wins are nice and all, but the thing I got the most out of the Writing Contest was experience. Experience from coming up with interesting ways to play with the chosen topic, from writing up a story that feels well written and well paced and naturally fits into the short story format, and from tirelessly clipping away to actually try and get the blasted thing under 1500 words. And enjoyment as well. Because I, like most people on here, enjoy writing. Otherwise we wouldn't be doing it. Certainly, it's often disappointing if you lose, but that doesn't undo the progress you've made and the good times you've had.

[eclipse]

Don't forget you can get feedback in the  Critique Thread

I only voted for Henry this month as I thought it was the best story by far only two other people thought the same 

[eclipse]

but this theme really wasn't for me

It's good to be challenged through ! Are you Nora?  its becoming a tradition ,I'm always amazed when she likes a theme.

[Blackthorn]

but this theme really wasn't for me

It's good to be challenged through ! Are you Nora?  its becoming a tradition ,I'm always amazed when she likes a theme.

Oh it was definitely a challenge, and I posted a pretty late entry because of indecision on what characters to use. Its just that I don't particularly write fanfiction well and even worse a crossover. it isn't something I had much faith writing a story on so I figured I might as well enjoy the fun and write a poem without worrying about wasted opportunity.

Personally glad no one voted for me  .
I wanted to have something to enter but this theme really wasn't for me and I wouldn't have wanted my drivel to waste a well earned vote for anyone else.

I can feel you, this was a very difficult month for me as well, I wasn't motivated and when I had half of a decent idea, it relied so much on a big, well described cast that I felt like I was forced to pare my story to its bones. I'm surprised I did this well votes-wise, I imagine a few people recognized the MC and his magic system.

But don't brand yourself so harshly. I read and rather enjoyed your poem. I could not write a poem to save my life, so you have my respect for catching my interest all along, but I think the worry was that the month's topic wasn't ideal for that format. Mine was better suited (I mean the "arena fight" rather than the epic poem) in my own opinion, so my votes went for similar stories, more confrontational and visual.
Given the looks of the podium, I think that's why you ended up with no votes, rather than for anything intrinsically wrong with your poem...

I actually didn't recognize any of your characters that I can think of, but you still got my vote. I like your overall concept, and it was impressive you managed to fit so many characters. I also went for the more confrontational stories, but I had fun with the poem as it isn't something I do often.

[Nora]

but this theme really wasn't for me

It's good to be challenged through ! Are you Nora?  its becoming a tradition ,I'm always amazed when she likes a theme.

You little @£#!!%&1 !!

I liked Nightmares a lot, and I like Dystopia as well! What next, are you gonna say I'm the house gloomy writer as well?! 
Damn it people I'm gonna go find myself an avatar with a gloomy Poe-esk writer frowning over a pile of coffee stained parchments!!

Like this :

[eclipse]

You just made me burst out laughing Nora! 

[Nora]

You're welcome.

 

[JMack]

So two people basically rotate winning this contest?  Think I'll be passing on this event in the future.

In the past 12 months, we've had 8 different people win. This contest isn't biased towards any particular person (Hell, I first won after I'd only been here a month or two), it's biased towards who can write the most entertaining story. I'm good at that, thanks to my comic talents, which is why I win a lot. But I'm far from perfect. I've lost a lot of contests, even with comedic stories. But if you write a good enough story, people here will sit up and take note.

But the one way you're absolutely certain to lose is if you give up and not bother entering just because you're frustrated with not winning. First time I ever entered this contest, I only got 2 votes for my story. If I'd thrown in the towel then, decided it wasn't worth it, where do you think I'd be? Certainly not with the 5 wins I have now.

Besides which, you're missing that winning isn't the only point of the Writing Contest. Certainly, the wins are nice and all, but the thing I got the most out of the Writing Contest was experience. Experience from coming up with interesting ways to play with the chosen topic, from writing up a story that feels well written and well paced and naturally fits into the short story format, and from tirelessly clipping away to actually try and get the blasted thing under 1500 words. And enjoyment as well. Because I, like most people on here, enjoy writing. Otherwise we wouldn't be doing it. Certainly, it's often disappointing if you lose, but that doesn't undo the progress you've made and the good times you've had.

The other thing that confuses this, @Nerf, is the number of ties. In my four wins over 16 months of stories, I've been in 2 ties. This means I've only outright won twice. And one of the ties included Rukaio. So he and I joke about domination, but it's completely untrue. @Rukaio_Alter is not dominating the contest. Truly.   

one day i will sing over his dead body and the poisonous chicken bone i hid in his potpie. Yes, one day, i will be triumphant!

[Raptori]

My impression of the voting trends is that comedies or whimsical stories tend to get a lot more votes, and most of the winners fall into either or both of those categories. Feels like I'm generally an outlier, since the majority of the comedy stories do nothing for me and as a result I rarely vote for the winner! It'd be interesting to see whether that fits the facts.

...brb. 

[tebakutis]

So two people basically rotate winning this contest?  Think I'll be passing on this event in the future.

Besides which, you're missing that winning isn't the only point of the Writing Contest.

This! Yes. I think the "contest" part throws people new to the forums. Like you have to win or quit.

Don't think of this as a writing contest ... think of it as a writing contest. "Winning" is fun for a day or two and a nice confirmation that you're improving as a writer, but the fun comes from actually brainstorming a story for a specific theme, seeing what you can do with that idea, and then sharing it with others (at least for me). I love it!

Since I started participating I've written at least 6 stories I would *never* have written otherwise, and gained valuable experience each time. The prompt provides a seed that inspires me to write something cool. I even post these short little stories over on a blog, and people (both fans of my existing work and people who might become fans from reading my short tales) enjoy them there too.

So yeah, the fun is in the writing. If you happen to win a month, that's just a neat little bonus.

[Raptori]

"Winning" is fun for a day or two and a nice confirmation that you're improving as a writer

The flip side of that is that if you never win, you'll inevitably come to the conclusion that you're doing something wrong. 


Anyway, to check whether my impression was at all close to the mark, I looked back at the winners since I joined. I scanned the ones I vaguely remembered and ended up rereading a few as well. Comedic/whimsical stories (imo) in bold:

Dec 2014: Religion
Wardu's Wager by Jmack
Ailurophilia by Carter

Jan 2015: Science Fiction
Junk Mail by Giddler

Feb 2015: Fanfic
Ghost in the light by Saraband

Mar 2015: Rogues
The 7 Tenets of Roguishness by Rukaio_Alter

Apr 2015: Plot Twist
A Twist Too Far by Rukaio_Alter

May 2015: Fairy Tales
The Sun, the Moon, and the Morning Star by Jmack

Jun 2015: Multiple POVs
The Braying Jack by Jeryn

Jul 2015: Flash Fiction
For Evil to Triumph by wakarimasen
Last Regrets by OnlyOneHighlander

Aug 2015: Space Opera
Space Opera by Jmack

Sep 2015: Politics, Scheming and Intrigue
The Translator by tebakutis

Oct 2015: TNotSSmbtoaFBbtSiathatdwtB
The Exorcist by Nora

Nov 2015: Mighty Beasts
The Magnificent Mythical Zoo (No Refunds) by Rukaio_Alter

Dec 2015: Young Love
Adrift by tebakutis
An Unconventional Proposal by Rukaio_Alter
The Library of Alexander by Jmack

Jan 2016: Breaking the Fourth Wall
But, I'm a F#@%ing Dragon! by m3mnoch

Feb 2016: Fanfic
Mistaken Identity by Rukaio_Alter

That's 15/19, so roughly three quarters of the winners! A couple might be debatable, but regardless it's pretty clear that people tend to vote for the stories they find funny over anything else. 

Incidentally, my favourite story out of the lot was actually from the one month last year in which I hadn't read any and therefore didn't vote: December. If I'd have voted, it'd have broken the three-way tie in favour of Adrift; Rukaio & Jmack would have one less winner's medal each! 

[m3mnoch]

this is where i take issue with your findings, raptori.

it's fairly obvious that "But, I'm a F#@%ing Dragon!" is a hard-hitting allegory castigating the mathematical fallacies perpetrated upon unsuspecting tabletop game participants.  it brings to light a serious issue that needs addressing, rather than simply perpetuating the practice in the name of simple tradition.

um... and some other stuff.

[Raptori]

this is where i take issue with your findings, raptori.

it's fairly obvious that "But, I'm a F#@%ing Dragon!" is a hard-hitting allegory castigating the mathematical fallacies perpetrated upon unsuspecting tabletop game participants.  it brings to light a serious issue that needs addressing, rather than simply perpetuating the practice in the name of simple tradition.

um... and some other stuff.

Can I double-like this? 

[ArcaneArtsVelho]

this is where i take issue with your findings, raptori.

it's fairly obvious that "But, I'm a F#@%ing Dragon!" is a hard-hitting allegory castigating the mathematical fallacies perpetrated upon unsuspecting tabletop game participants.  it brings to light a serious issue that needs addressing, rather than simply perpetuating the practice in the name of simple tradition.

um... and some other stuff.

Can I double-like this? 

Let me check the rule book...
No, you cannot.

 

[Raptori]

this is where i take issue with your findings, raptori.

it's fairly obvious that "But, I'm a F#@%ing Dragon!" is a hard-hitting allegory castigating the mathematical fallacies perpetrated upon unsuspecting tabletop game participants.  it brings to light a serious issue that needs addressing, rather than simply perpetuating the practice in the name of simple tradition.

um... and some other stuff.

Can I double-like this? 

Let me check the rule book...
No, you cannot.