Agreed, even though many of my "chapters" end with a small thought by my character before a time skip before the next one. Although that is a kind of resolution. I've never ended a plot, per se, but I imagine the variety of ways is great fun.

If you don't think yourself qualified that's okay. We still have six, I think.


EDIT: Illy, I'm not sure if it would all fit in one thread here, but we might put a few after the judges look at them. I was hoping Lady Nerevar or someone else could make a forum for us, but I'd bet we could fit most all stories here. Thanks, we'd be happy to have you

I wouldn't mind being a judge. Or setting up the thread as well.

I'd aim for 3,000 and hit 5,000, knowing me and my wordiness.... Can I insist upon a 5,000 maximum?

I'm with you, FC, except that one part of me says 5,000 words would just be too much if there were a lot of entries. As much as I'd like a larger word limit (because, heaven knows, I can go on when I write, LOL), I think a 1000-3000 min-max limit would be the best way to go about it. And, I suppose, it will be good for us, too, having to try to write (well) within the set boundaries.

touche, my good sir, touche.

Of course the writers and judges would need to reach a compromise; we would all love to write long novels. However, I would much prefer to have stories that aren't as long as I like get read much much more. Five thousand is a lot, but it can be done. Although I would prefer you not do so, and there might be a bit of bias there I'll try to iron out. Because, as always, I would rather find a compromise rather than say no.


EDIT: Thanks Rythe, your idea on length is noted. The anonymity of the judges is a little difficult... We all know who the judges are, but we won't release individual numbers or whatever method we use. I hope we can release our comments for everybody to learn, including me

I think this is a very nice idea, especially for people like me who have short attention spans. >_>

I voted 1K-3K words, but after thinking about the short story I tried writing in high school, 3K-5K sounds much, much better. Not too short, not too long.

As for judges, I would honestly prefer they stay anonymous. I would prefer the judges not get any hate for their decisions. I trust they'll make the right ones.

On categories, I'm totally clueless. You're on your own here! :rolleyes:

I don't think I would enter, but it would be fun to read all of the entries. Looking forward to it!

Alrighty, if no one has anymore thoughts on the matter, then we may begin the process. Before we proceed, however, we must decide how we shall proceed. So, a seperate forum, or do you think we can fit this all on one thread? Even if we did a seperate forum, I would like to post most, if not all, stories here as well. Maybe with a bit less space for comments, and less division by category and the like, but still... Does anyone see a definate plus to making a seperate forum?

Can i be judge?

I know you haven't written any novels here, but have you done any noteable work elsewhere? I'm sorry, but we simply cannot have inexperienced people as judges, it wouldn't be fair to the writers. You can submit a story after we start or critique other people's stories, and if you show skill there then it would be alright. I'm sorry, but not everyone can be a judge. I am honestly probably one of the worst writers on the board of judges so far :unsure: , but it would not be fair to create this and not help out in such a way.

Besides, judging is no fun anyway. You have to read every single submission, rate it, and give a fair criticism :read:

Once again, I apologize. I look forward to you writing though, should you so choose.


If no one else needs me, I'll be working on writing more of my stories

Correction: Judging IS fun. I love reading other works...

And I think a separate forum would be nice. We could space certain sections apart and it will look cleaner than if we did everything here.

Plus, at a new forum would could have a "Judge Only" board for discussion.

the stories will need to be PMed to a judge to post up either way. im still in favor of a separate forum, that way each story has its own thread where it can receive critisism. Alternatively, the judges can be emailed the stories and reach a consensus in private, while the stories are posted as simple threads here in this very forum, as if they are not contest related, after the conclusion of voting. the judges then announce who won in a separate thread here also.

Anyways, another comment on the length: getting a story under 3k words is part of the challenge. it takes some talent to get a proper story in such a small amount of words. it really makes you think about what is and isnt necessary in your story, and i think it will improve subsequent longer works as well.

I saw this thread a little bit late, but it's not too late for me to participate is it?

Also I was wondering are there going to be any genre categories? Or would it be a good idea for you or the judges to give a starting point or some sort of theme so that through all the stories have something ion common making them a little easier to judge.

For example lets say the starting point is something like.... "The story must contain a stealth character a magical character and a warrior character" everyone would have the same starting point but peoples minds think in different ways and so everyone would end up with completely different stories.

Obviously the theme/starting point does not have to be character based, it could be something like "The story must contain a type of fruit" or "The story must contain the word Celestial" I don't know... something along those lines.
I don't know if anyone thinks this is a good idea or not but I think having a common theme through all stories would maker them slightly easier to judge and it would be more than fascinating to see what the participants do with the given starting point.

I thought so as well, but, once more, I wanted to hear everyone's thoughts on the subject. A seperate forum it is, then! Lady Nerevar, if you would be so kind? I trust you can make all the forum sections and other details to everyone's satisfaction, but if you could run by the main points once you take care of it. That and a link would be nice

As to length, I agree. It can be more difficult, and will prove so to me shortly So, the limit is a hazy three thousand, with a slight leeway so people aren't editing stuff out.

Well then, this worked out quite nicely ^_^


Interesting idea, Half Tooth. I am more in favor of people making up stories out of thin air, and although they might be more difficult to judge, they should prove decisively more entertaining Anyone else have an opinion on the subject? I don't see why such a starting point couldn't be an add-on, albeit in a seperate section. As to other categories, I don't intend to seperate them by length (being they should all be roughly the same), setting, genre, etc. It doesn't make much of a difference in Tes, which is usually always fantasy. Though things like horror and thrillers would be interesting. I was thinking of a particular real time thriller story involving skooma... But alas, I doubt I will be able to enter for competetion. Though I would love to still have my work examined by our judges :hehe:

This seems interesting enough that I may cook something up. Or not. Depends on time, I suppose.

I'm actually kind of against the idea of categories by genre, to be honest. Shoehorning stories into different categories will only mean less creative output from the writers -- it'd only really work if the categories were made by story size, but since you're shooting for a universal size of 2,000-5,000 or whatever it is, that doesn't seem like it's going to happen.

i'd prefer it theme less, as the contest started out that way. gives more leeway for individuality. though i admit its an interesting idea.

back when the Infernal City was announced i thought about starting up a "contest" where the people had to write a story based on the generic teaser we were given. a sort of challenge to prove (hopefully) that even a floating, zombifying city could make a good, original, scrollsy story. but thats not really short story material (my own take is 3k in the first couple chapters - yep reds, that is it).

genre categories: i dont know how diverse the entries will be, but im pretty sure that were going to get more action adventure stories than horror or romance. im expecting 20 stories max, so i dont think genre categories are really needed.

Wow fast feedback on my idea O_o

The only reason I suggested it is that sometimes I have difficulty thinking up a story completely out of thin air from scratch especially if it's for a contest where I suddenly have a little pressure on me to write something good because other people will see it. Maybe it should not be so rigid as I just said but a starting point of some sort would certainly help me as then I can branch out in any direction I want.

It's kind of like when I did my Art A level, everyone had the same starting point of say plant art but by the end of the term everyone was doing something completely different. Some people were sewing some people were painting , some people were painting really huge paintings and some really small some were taking photo graphs some where building things. But I expect if they had just said ok guys create something we all would sat around and looked dumb because we wouldn't know where on earth to start.

Having something to branch out from would greatly help me but I don't know about any of the other participants.

If you need a story starter, we would be happy to oblige

But yes, no genres were my thoughts as well.

Lady Nerevar, if you could respond to my request for the forum creation, I would be very appreciative Thanks.


PS And as to the fast response, it was a coincidence, I'm afraid. I might check up on forums often, but not so much that I'm refreshing with every view


Oh, and we would be happy to have you, Putty ^_^

personally, i think the quote(s) in Dark's signature are a great start to a story. Evolution of morality is a great plot, very open ended, and rather underexploited.

i'll set the forum up tomorrow. i'll also add you on msn so that we can discuss the layout of it.

Also, the question of multiple entries. should people be allowed to submit more than one story? on one hand its not fair as it increases your chances of winning, but on the other it encourages creativity.

It depends on how you look at the fairness issue, really. If someone were to take the time and effort to supply two really good stories, then I would say let them, but I would much rather see one quality story. However, I am afraid that people will get so excited with a plot for a second story, their first would suffer. If you would like to write two stories, I would ask that you only submit one for the competetion. I believe that the other could go somewhere else and still get a few reviews. Regardless, I'm not sure I want to forbid people from doing so, but I question whether it is a good idea.

The point is to get better and have your work read, so I hope that in the spirit of bettering oneself people would only submit one story.

As to MSN, sounds like a good idea. Thank you very much for the help I await your msn request, unless you would rather have me add you. We both have them on our profiles, after all.

And thank you for complimenting my signature, although I am curious as to how you came to that thought My sig is a bit more of a joke, really. More so the last quote. EDIT: Thank you once more for noticing my sig. As such, I felt I should return the favor

Another thing you'll maybe want to sort out is the time limit, so to speak -- like, when the stories are due by. How long do you think you should give the people submitting to work on something? I'd say about a month, no more than that. But then, I forget how long Chorrol gave us to submit stuff.

Hey Darkom, I can get a separate forum up for you, like another site.

Eh, I don't have time to write and enter, but I would be glad to be a judge or something of that matter. Anyway, tell me if you want a forum page up. I can make one for you.

Indeed, putty, there would be a due date for stories, then the voting could start the following week. Or something similar. It would have to wait until we are fully ready to accept stories, and that depends in no small part on our friend, Lady Nerevar.

I would say that there should be enough time for people to write the first time, but I would like to have the next contest start immediately after the previous one ends. Perhaps a weekend in between for us judges to take a break. Either monthly or every two weeks would be nice, but as was with the number of judges, I am clueless on this one. Anyone got any opinions?

ok, so, i got bored.

the contest boards, http://s1.zetaboards.com/Feyfolken/index/, are up. I have created the basic forums and sections and made a *real* quick banner. I also created a new user called Admin who should be used to post up stories so its totally impartial and stuff. i'll be online tomorrow to talk stuff over with you Dark, its late over here.

I think a month is a good deadline. so September 1st? thats the beginning of school/college for most people, so thats the cutoff for free time for those folks (me included).

i'd say 3 judges. we can run a poll on the new board as to how many people plan to enter, if its over 20 then 5 judges may be in order. i think the idea is to have as many people write as possible, so having too many judges is taking away from that.

if youre wondering about the title, Feyfolken is a http://www.imperial-library.info/mwbooks/feyfolken.shtml which makes people write really well. i thought it was a fitting title. It also enables me/us to reuse the board if need be.

i just realized im talking rather officially. sorry, admin sense kicking in

Thank you very much, Lady Nerevar. I too have read Feyfolken, it was one of the first in game books I read in Oblivion, and arguably was one of the things that brought me to the forum

The banner is...interesting. I wouldn't mind if we could change that

I agree on the judges, I may step down from judging being I would know who everyone's story is. I'll still try and critique as much as possible, though, so I would in effect have the same responsibilities as a judge without the voting power.

Then it is official, the first anual Elder Scrolls Feyfolken Contest shall begin in one hour and forty three minutes! After the contest begins, you all have one month to send your stories to me (Or someone else, though one person getting all the stories is probably best) in order for them to be judged, posted, reviewed, and eventually voted on! Who will win each award? Remember there are five categories, each with a judges pick and a popular vote:

1) Creativity (Is it unique and original? Is it a retelling of OB's main quest?)
2) Story (Does it make sense? How is it developed during writing?)
3) Characters (Are they round? Are they believable? How do they interact?)
4) Feel (Does it fit into the ES universe? Does it invoke a clear mood/tone?)
5) General Impressions- Judges Overall Pick!

If anyone wishes to comment on the categories, do so now. I'll be changing tid bits here and there later.

Thanks to Lady Nerevar for setting up our forum, thanks to our great judges for volunteering, thanks to our writers for their stories, and thanks to our readers for...reading!


PS How do we register at the forum? Are you still working on it and we should come back tommorow, or am I missing something? EDIT: Found it, at the top left. Thanks. I shall begin posting as soon as I get my admin badge