Cycle 2: Best Original Story

Best Original Story

Welcome to Cycle 2 of this year’s KHV Awards!! Jayn and I shall be your guide for this week’s cycle in our awards celebrating the more creative among us, from role-playing to writing and poetry, to video editing and more!

Please vote honestly and remember, if you sould have any queries about voting procedure, please read our voting rules here, and if your question isn’t answered there, don’t hesitate to contact Misty.

Good luck, and may the odds be ever in your favour!!

Nomination Samples:

Darunter by Jiku Neon

Cargo by Clawtooth

 

Never thought I'd see the day.

 

Based on these samples, it seems that Jiku's writing is unrefined and filled with too many descriptions. It lacks necessary pauses and punctuation, making it hard to read.

But I have seen her write after this, and she has been much, much improved. I voted for Claw's story based on these samples, but that was foolish of me. Writing style and story creation are two different subjects.

Having read an equal portion of both now, I believe that Jiku is more deserving of my vote for an original creation. Pleas switch it over.

 

In all fairness, the sample from mine was written in 2009.

Though, I still feel like there must be other originals out there to choose from. Darunter is a patchwork of trainwrecks in my opinion and Cargo is barely a one off, no offense intended.

 

That influenced my opinion. I said you had improved for a reason.

The sample should have been taken from this year, personally.

 

I actually was under the impression that I've gotten much worse. I'm still bad about editing for grammar and I still don't really know how much is too much and how much is too little and I really have kind of lost motivation in general.

 

I was taking from your other posts. Your quest thread is better written.

 

It's probably better because it's shallow and I'm not really trying to convey much beyond direct actions, I'm trying to let your guys figure out what the character is and decide for yourselves. So in a way, I'm not really the only writer there.

 

Free form writing is often the best kind. I dislike heavy revision and worrying because it is often the cause of bad writing. Especially among us perfectionists.

 

I personally don't like things that are too free form. I prefer structure and wish I was good so that I could pull it off. A lot of the books that I like for the actual writing from are Victorian novels. At one time they were my goal, but I've long since given up entirely. I'm not good and I'll never be good with the amount of time and effort I put in, so I might as well not delude myself.

 

I meant in the attitude of the writer. Straight out writing a story. Not thinking through every line. Being free spirited about it. The structure of the writer's thought process is more important than tropes and methods.

 

Ah, well, I still like thinking out everything. You'll inevitably end up with inconsistencies and a general lack of cohesiveness if you don't. I prefer a very intentional and deliberate quality where you see how things connect and how they foreshadow. It also helps with character development and general organization. So as a rule, I like thinking long and hard about what's going to happen. Things I write on the fly, I consider worthless, disposable throwaway work that anyone could do.

 

I concede to that, but I prefer writing that feels effortless, like it is rolling off of the tongue. As if someone were telling me the story by word of mouth instead of deliberately choosing, erasing, and rechoosing their words. An easy, gliding tone.

 

Well, it takes a ton of effort to feel effortless. That or there really are just people who get it and people who don't. Oh dear, that would be depressing.

 

I think both exist. Some people have a natural gift. Others have to work.

The workers usually go farther.

 

Being neither, I guess I don't have much of a stake in this whole thing if I'm completely honest. Maybe it's time to start trying again. I sigh.

 

One thing is for sure. Neither of them ever got anywhere by self-deprecating.

Unless they wrote about it.

 

This is why I try not to talk about my own writing too often, I tend to get like this.

 

Shame on you.

 

I'll remember that.