Greetings, fellow writers. Once again the time has come to vote for your favorite Feyfolken writing contest short story. We had some really good entries this time, all focused on the theme of "A Day in the Life of...". If at all possible, the writers and I would very much appreciate a small explanation of why you did or did not like each story. It doesn't have to be anything long, just a paragraph or two. Thanks.

Please be sure to read all stories before voting, and be as fair as possible. Thank you all for another wonderful contest :goodjob:


http://s1.zetaboards.com/Feyfolken/topic/2951467/

http://s1.zetaboards.com/Feyfolken/topic/2951481/

http://s1.zetaboards.com/Feyfolken/topic/2951472/

http://s1.zetaboards.com/Feyfolken/topic/2951474/

http://s1.zetaboards.com/Feyfolken/topic/2951478/

http://s1.zetaboards.com/Feyfolken/topic/2956552/


Thanks again to everyone for voting, and a final good luck to our writers


The next contest is set to begin around April

Bumping to top so people will start reading these and Voting!


1. Well Written
2. Good
3. Funny
4. Interesting
5. Really touching - and

Hey darkom i don't know if its a good idea to do public voting. I mean any average joe can come in and vote without even taking a second to look at the storys.

I agree Fox, it's not a perfect system, but I think not having it would be far worse. We'll just have to trust people not to do that then, now won't we I for one believe that this community is mature and responsible enough that if they don't want to take the time to read these fantastic stories, then they'll just walk away without damaging our results.

It's too early to say for certain, but so far so good Thanks to the two of you who voted. Cheers!

This is worth bumping back to the top. The effort of our brothers and sisters should not go to waste.

I am going out now so I shall have to run my eye over them later today.
Thanks for setting it up Darkom and good luck to the anonymous six!!

I agree with Winter Wolf, "Out of sight, out of mind" - so I am bumping this to the top so people will read and vote!

Firstly, all the stories are well-written and each writer should be congratulated, not only for their story, but for the brave step of entering this contest. :read:

Let me also point out the recent addition of a sixth story to the contest.

Darkom, thank you for helping to bring us this event. :goodjob:

Normally, in commenting on stories, I try to be aware of who the writer is, what they are trying to accomplish, and support those efforts. Given the anonymity present here, I decided to simply vote for what I enjoyed reading the most. So. . . here are the very subjective criteria that I used, based solely on what I enjoy reading:
- Venue: Based in my familiar and beloved Cyrodiil.
- Plot: S-i-m-p-l-e, easy to follow, easy to understand.
- Style: Character-driven (not plot-driven) by an endearing character.

Not surprisingly then, story five, Lizard's Offence, is the one I voted for. The story is based in the comfortable surroundings of Leyawiin with familiar supporting characters. It has a plot that is simple, clever and easy to follow. The story even exploits the supporting character weaknesses found in the game. The style is character-driven by an endearing young Argonian. I did note a small number of minor spelling/grammar type errors. Quite simply, of the six fine entries, I enjoyed reading this story the most. :foodndrink:

Wasn't it agreed that all stories would begin their titles with "The"? Words of the Nine is breaking ranks! Suppress the non-conformist!

I think you are the only one who would drop by a writing contest and that's all you have to say. I noticed that as well, and I actually made up that name for a story I recieved that had no title. So it is actually my fault; I can make it "The Words of the Nine" if you'd like

A huge thanks to everyone who has voted, the writers and myself appreciate it. If you have the time, I would also appreciate a small comment on why you did or did not like the story (thanks Acadian ). Thanks again guys :goodjob:

I'm having all sorts of problems my end Darkom, work and personal. I haven't had a chance I'm afraid to do any judging at all yet, and the near future doesn't look promising either - I've had the fortnight from hell here and it's showing every sign of continuing. I'm really sorry, I hate leaving people in the lurch, but I'm afraid I don't have a choice. Please accept my apologies and find a replacement, I suspect I won't be on the forums for several weeks at best. Again, my apologies.

I'll tell you what Darkom.

I'll have time to read them all this weekend. After that, I'll put in my vote and a little "why" I voted for such and such.

First, I wish to congratulate each of the writers for their efforts in crafting some truly interesting stories. Again I am struck by the amount of talent that this board has to offer.

I would like to make a special mention of The Rise of Dagoth which I enjoyed very much; but considering that the story opens with the main character pregnant and ends with the main character having already given birth off stage as it were. And given that the action covers years as opposed to a single day in the life of the protagonist, I don't feel that it lies strictly within the theme given for contest. I admit that this is a purely subjective view acquired after a single reading and might in no way reflect the author's intent.

Of the five stories remaining the one that I have chosen is The Red Hat. The irreverent humor and internal grousing of Minister Shenk kept me engaged throughout. The description of the effects wrought by the hated article gave the story an atmosphere that worked with both the setting and the protagonist's mental and physical state. As Acadian so ably put it, of the six fine stories, I enjoyed reading this one the most.

Also Darkom.

I'm writing something for Spring break! I'll be writing in the next one. I'll have time to.

Story one - A great descriptive piece that served up a round of mystery on the side. I like.

Story two - I enjoyed the way it used circumstance and differing perspective to drive the event.

Story three - This story was the hardest one to write properly. The author has clearly set the bar quite high for themselves and deserves praise for that. It is not the sort of writing I would try. I would stuff it up. Kudos to the author for making it very entertaining.

I shall tackle the remaining three tomorrow.

1st one: Truly something else. The plot was cleverly thought out. All in all, quite a piece! Kudos to the author.
2nd: An interesting look into a pov of someone who's lost everything.
3rd: Laced with a sarcastic sense of humour, great characters I came to love to hate - even in such a short story. No doubt in my mind who wrote it
4rd: I thought this was brilliantly continued from something else I read some time ago. Might have been Lore. I'll have to agree with Destri though, this one seemed a bit out of the format.
5th: An endearing story of a innocent young man that gets his youthful trust shattered. Just like Acadian, I was rather partial to the familiar setting.
6th: The grammar and style were perfectly executed, nothing I can fault on that but the story just didn't do it for me.

It's going to be a hard choice for me.

Great stories, again. Seeing as how I'm a contestant, I won't make any specific comments, lol, except to say that I enjoyed reading all the stories -- good job all!!!

The Odd Affair was touching in how the monk cared for his brother, but it seems like the COC would have better access to health care. Very tragic. I really like the idea of the hero dying tragically, but I'm not sure why the priest went with him.

The Innocent presents a good point, though I wanted to see the beggar shove it in their faces at the end. I would have liked for the begger to tell people those things instead of the voice telling him.

The Red Hat's character can't even convince the king or prince to let him wear a different hat, he wouldn't have made a good Vizier anyway. Get over it! We don't want to hear about your stupid hat!

The Rise of Dagoth is pretty cool, and it has a little echo of Le Mort d'Arthur in how a woman seduces her brother and has a powerful offspring. Very interesting, and a good take on the history of Morrowind.

The Lizard's Offense is entertaining, but I think it should be twice as long so we really get the mindset of the Argonian experience in Leyawiin. Perhaps the escape should have been more difficult as well. You do capture the horror of the situation well.

The Words of the Nine strikes an odd tone because the Priest goes through his life, is presented with an awesome gift, and then a kind of business as usual continues. A sharper transition of some kind is needed, this event needs more fanfare I think.

1, 2, and 5 have had the most impact on me...Not sure wich I like...Really feel for 5...Being a lover of that race...But also like the irony and feel for the character in 2...And I love the ending of 1..So sad...

But which did I like the most....Im going to say The Odd Affair would be my favorite...With my heart bleeding for the poor Argonian in The Lizard's Offence....To short in my opinion but it comes in second...Then The Innocent.

Also liked The Red Hat, poor guy.

4th story - Clearly written by a very good writer. I felt that it needed more room in which to tell its tale. It would be epic in full size fan-fic.

5th story - I suspect I know who wrote this story. It had the best character driven story of the lot. It needed some descriptive language to flesh it out however.

6th story - The intro had a little too much info for me. I prefer either a soft or explosive start to a story. When the character appeared it quickly stepped up into a smooth gear that I did enjoy.

Lets wrap this up tomorrow, I think the majority of voting is done. Last call for votes?

I probably missed it, but are the judges' votes in yet?

Not yet.

I sent the final call out to our judges, all but one of whom for some reason or another have been unable to post their votes thus far. Which means that the public voting is just about done, anyone that wishes to offer their vote and opinion on these stories should do so within the next week at the latest. If our other judges do not find time to get to the stories before midnight on Saturday then their ratings will not count (if we only have the single judge's vote at that point we will simply discount the results, as one person is not enough to get a good result). Thank you all for waiting so patiently, I apologize for the delays.

What does "discount the results" mean? Can't you contact some other people (like BSparrow, Lady Ninevar, etc) - to sub for the absetee judges? If Hauteecole Rider doesn't have a story in, she is qualified to judge, and is a fast reader. (of course...you understand I am volunteering her name without her knowledge or permission, lol)

Thanks Malx, I'll ask around. I apologize for not being a bit more proactive with this, I am pretty busy myself. We do have two judges' votes already, with minor critiques, but if anyone else would like to volunteer an hour of their weekend we would very much appreciate it. Thank you.