Writers' Study Yearly Awards 2016!

[Caillagh de Bodemloze]

Roll up! Roll up! Come and make your nominations here!

Welcome to our third Yearly Awards competition, where we recognise and reward the greatest writers among us this year – both Creative Writing and AARs!

Without further ado, let’s list this year’s categories:

AAR Awards

AAR of the Year
For – what else? – the best AAR of 2016!
You may nominate any AAR that received an update in 2016.

Best Male Character
Which male character was the most entertaining, the most appalling, or perhaps the most unforgettable?
You may nominate any male character in an AAR that received an update in 2016

Best Female Character
Which female character was the most interesting, the most terrifying, or maybe the one you most wanted to hear more about?
You may nominate any female character in an AAR that received an update in 2016.

Best Use of Images in an AAR
Whether screenshots or other images, which story used graphics to the best effect, in still images or video (or both)?
You may nominate any AAR that received an update in 2016.

Best Newcomer
Who burst into the WS in 2016 in an explosion of AAR-writing talent?
You can nominate any member who posted an update to an AAR in 2016, provided they made their first substantial contribution to the WS in 2016.
Please read the more detailed explanation in the rules post below.


Creative Writing Awards

CW of the Year
For - naturally! - the best Creative Writing of 2016!
You may nominate any piece of Creative Writing that received an update in 2016.

Best Male Character
Who was the most inspiring hero, the most devious villain, or the male character who just stole the most scenes?
You may nominate any male character in a CW story that received an update in 2016

Best Female Character
Which female character was the most impressive, the most despicable, or just the most memorable?
You may nominate any female character in a CW story that received an update in 2016.

Best Poet
Who was this year's master of metre, ruler of rhyme, earl of alliteration, archon of allusion? In short, who wrote this year’s best poetry?
You may nominate any member who posted an update to a poem in 2016.

Best Newcomer
Who soared into the WS in 2016 in a whirl of skill and artistry?
You can nominate any member who posted an update to a CW piece in 2016, provided they made their first substantial contribution to the WS in 2016.
Please read the more detailed explanation in the rules post below.


Combined Award

Best Writer
Whose eloquence most impressed you? Who chose words that sang, turned phrases that danced, and made you laugh, or weep, or desperately long to know what happens next?
This award could go to someone who writes AARs, or CW, or both. You can nominate any member who posted an update to an AAR or piece of creative writing in 2016.

[Caillagh de Bodemloze]

RULES AND REGULATIONS

There are naturally a few rules and regulations. Each category has eligibility criteria, set out in the post above. Please read them carefully. Only stories that were created and/or updated in 2016 are eligible.

When it comes to nominating there are some other rules:


The nomination period will be open until 11:59 GMT+0, 31/1/2017. Following this, there will be a two week voting period.


Nominations are to be made in this thread
Nope, that's not a link. Post your nominations in this thread that you're reading right now please!

No self-nomination
You cannot nominate yourself, your own stories or characters from your own stories for any category.

Maximum of three nominations per category
You can only nominate a maximum of three nominees for a category. Any more than three nominations and only the first three will be counted.

You do not need to make nominations in every category
You may make a nomination (or nominations) in only one category, if you wish. Or you may make nominations in just some categories. Or, of course, you may make nominations in every category. It’s entirely up to you!

When making a nomination, please give as much information as possible.
Please make sure you say which category you are nominating a person or piece of work for. If you are nominating a member (for Best Newcomer, Best Poet, or Best Writer), you need only give the member’s name.
If you are nominating an AAR or a CW piece, please give the title of the piece, AND the name of the author.
If you are nominating a character, please give the name of the character, the name of the AAR or CW piece the character is from, and the name of the author. You do not need to provide any links, but you can if you so wish.

If you are struggling to remember the exact details of the member/piece of work/character you wish to nominate, please nominate them anyway, with as much information as you have. If WS staff cannot easily identify the person/work/character you are nominating, they may ask you for more details. If we still can’t identify your nomination, we may decide not to include it in the competition.

Best Newcomer
As set out above, a “Newcomer” is someone who made their first substantial contribution to the WS during 2016. This means their first substantial contribution as an author of AARs or CW. Their first substantial contribution must have been in 2016. They would still qualify for nomination if they had written a brief one-post AAR during 2015, and then written several AARs (or a larger AAR) during 2016. They might still qualify for nomination if they started their first piece of CW at the end of 2015 and continued it in 2016, depending on how substantial their work was during each year. If you are in any doubt about whether someone can be nominated for the Best Newcomer Awards, please ask the WS staff.

Each member may only win one award (outside of AARotY/CWotY)
If a member places first in two or more categories they will be given the chance to choose which award they wish to receive. The other categories will be awarded to the runners-up.

AARotY and CwotY are considered to be separate from the other awards, so it is possible to win AARotY plus one other AAR award, or CWotY plus one other CW award.

‘Honour’ system
We are running this competition on the ‘honour’ system. If you notice that you have been nominated for an award you do not qualify for, please notify the WS staff.
Likewise, if you notice someone else has been nominated for an award they don’t qualify for, please notify the WS staff.

If, at any stage, the WS staff discover that a nominee for or winner of any award does not qualify to be entered in that category, the WS staff reserve the right to disqualify them. If voting has not yet begun, the disqualified nominee will simply not be entered in the competition. If voting has already begun, and the disqualified nominee obtains enough votes to win an award, that award will be given to the person with the next highest number of votes.




To nominate, please copy and paste the following into this thread, with your nominations for each category:

AARotY:
Best Male Character:
Best Female Character:
Best Use of Images in an AAR:
Best Newcomer:

CWotY:
Best Male Character:
Best Female Character:
Best Poet:
Best Newcomer:

Best Writer:

For example:

AAROTY: Story A by Member 1, Story B by Member 2, Story C by Member 3
Best Male Character: Character X from Story D by Member 4, Character Y in Story E by Member 5, Character Z of Story F by Member 6
Best Writer: Member 7, Member 8, Member 9

etc...

If you have any questions, feel free to ask them in the chat thread or PM any member of WS staff. Happy nominating!

We are very grateful to all (Scottish King, Hitai de Bodemloze, m_1512, Radzeer and Dance) who began the Writers’ Study Yearly Awards in 2014. We want to say a huge thank you to Joar for designing the artwork. Please rep him generously for his troubles!

[Owlparrot3]

Aar of the year - long way from home.skyrim aar by calliagh.
(And no I have not read or seen it just now.)

[Luume]

CWotY
Best Newcomer: SoulGamesInc

[Rabbit55821]

Here is my nominations for the Writer's Study Yearly Awards! Any one who hasn't read these, I definitely recommend you do, as these are, in my opinion, the best writings of this year.


AARotY: Vandalarius: "The One Sword of The Romano-Gothic Empire" by Lugotorix, "Andraste's Children" by Alwyn


Best Newcomer: "A.E.I.O.U" by theSilentKiller


Best Writer: "The One Sword of The Romano-Gothic Empire" by Lugotorix, "Andraste's Children" by Alwyn

[Alwyn]

Thanks to everyone who has nominated people so far! I look forward to seeing more nominations.

Luume, I'm afraid that SoulGamesInc does not qualify for Best Newcomer because he wrote a substantial AAR in 2014, this one. You might be thinking "That was an AAR; he's nominated for Creative Writing". The competition rules say that a writer is a newcomer if your "first substantial contribution to the Writers' Study" was in 2016. It doesn't matter whether your first contribution was an AAR or Creative Writing; it just has to have been in 2016. The thinking behind this rule is that, otherwise, someone could become a well-known writer of AARs (winning the MAARC and earning Writers' Study medals), then start their first Creative Writing piece and be nominated as Best Newcomer in the Yearly Awards. I would not see such a writer as a newcomer. Of course, you (and others) are welcome to nominate SoulGamesInc in other categories.

[Caillagh de Bodemloze]

Too much to choose from, as always. Still, here goes!

AARotY: An Orcs Tale by Maltacus
Best Male Character: Mabon from Andraste's Children by Alwyn
Best Female Character:
Best Use of Images in an AAR: A.E.I.O.U. by theSilentKiller
Best Newcomer: Rabbit55821, theSilentKiller

CWotY: Against the Tribe by Boriak
Best Male Character:
Best Female Character:
Best Poet: Lord of the Drunk Penguin
Best Newcomer:

Best Writer:




(I'm planning to add some more later, when I can manage to choose between all the possibilities!)

[theSilentKiller]

Here is my list, more will be added later:

AARotY: A Long Way From Home - A Skyrim AARby Caillagh, Vandalarius: The One Sword of The Romano-Gothic Empire by Lugotorix, [Third Age MOS AAR] An Orcs Tale by Maltacus
Best Male Character: Yannick from A Long Way From Home - A Skyrim AAR by Caillagh, Malthur from [Third Age MOS AAR] An Orcs Tale by Maltacus, Danilo Rurikovich from Historia Quod Britonum by Rabbit 55821
Best Female Character: Lydia from A Long Way From Home - A Skyrim AAR by Caillagh, Suzume from Way of the Bow by Merchant of Venice
Best Use of Images in an AAR: Vandalarius: The One Sword of The Romano-Gothic Empire by Lugotorix
Best Newcomer: Rabbit55821, IndieBlue, mad orc

CWotY: AD USQUE FIDELIS by Old Dragoon, Dans l'ombre de i'Aigle by isa0005, Against the Tribe by Boriak
Best Male Character: Arthur from Game of Thrones: Long and Sharp by SouldGamesInc
Best Female Character:
Best Poet: Lord of the Drunk Penguin
Best Newcomer:

Best Writer: Alwyn, Caillagh, waveman

[Alwyn]

These are difficult choices! Here are mine (I might add more later):

AARotY: A Long Way from Home by Caillagh; For Honor or For Glory by waveman; Way of the Bow by Merchant of Venice
Best Male Character: Yannick, A Long Way from Home by Caillagh; Thomas Rampasse, Nous Pauvre Couillon de Front by theSilentKiller
Best Female Character: Suzume, Way of the Bow by Merchant of Venice; Lydia, A Long Way from Home by Caillagh
Best Use of Images in an AAR: Vandalarius: the One Sword of the Romano-Gothic Empire by Lugotorix; Scourge of the Sand by Paladin94610; Kingdoms of the Sand by Geoffrey of Villehardouin
Best Newcomer: Rabbit55821, theSilentKiller

CWotY: Of Souls by Shankbot de Bodemloze; Against the Tribe by Boriak; Dans l'ombre de i'Aigle by isa0005
Best Male Character: Niomir, Against the Tribe by Boriak; Lann Reyne (also known as Lann Longclaws), Game of Thrones: Long and Sharp by SoulGames Inc
Best Female Character: Edhen, Titanium Core: Borderlands by HunterKYA
Best Poet: Lord of the Drunk Penguin
Best Newcomer:

Best Writer: Caillagh, Merchant of Venice, Shankbot de Bodemloze

[SoulGamesInc]

I'm afraid that SoulGamesInc does not qualify for Best Newcomer because he wrote a substantial AAR in 2014, this one.

That terrible thing ruins my chances at winning a darn thing huh? Well that's a crushing disappointment... there goes the one category I thought I might have a shot at lol.

[isa0005]

Ohm wow, thanks Alwyn!

[Owlparrot3]

can we post random comments here like the 2 above me .

[Caillagh de Bodemloze]

@mad orc: As long as comments are on topic - so, in this thread, they have to be related to nominations for this year's Yearly Awards - they're probably fine. Of course, if people start being rude about other people's choices, or if the comments seem to be stopping people making nominations, the WS staff might not be so happy to let that continue.

@SoulGamesInc: I think you're underestimating yourself, mate.

[Owlparrot3]

what do you mean by underestimating

[SoulGamesInc]

@SoulGamesInc: I think you're underestimating yourself, mate.

Well a lot of people did yell at me when I killed that one 'main' character in Sunstarks. We'll wait and see, maybe I'll get at least a nomination. I had my hopes set on Newcomer tho since all my creative work was posted in 2016.

[Owlparrot3]

well i did get a nomination from the greatest loud killer . .
will do my best to keep up to this new standard .

[Lugotorix]

I'm flattered by these nominations. I'm familiar with several of these tales so perhaps I can get a nomination list in by tomorrow. RL has been an obstacle recently.

[Boriak]

Wow, I'm in there too. And not once.

Thanks for the support, guys. Really interesting to see how this works out.

[Lugotorix]

AARotY:
Best Male Character:Theon Greyjoy 'Last, but not least.' by Mitsosan. Pakheme, 'Scourge of the Sands'. by Paladin94610. Authorius 'Fractured Eagle.' by Baozi
Best Female Character: Rosalind and Placidia 'Fractured Eagle' by Baozi
Best Use of Images in an AAR: Fractured Eagle by Baozi, Kingdoms of Sand by Geoffrey of Villlehardouin (perhaps a video category could be introduced, just a suggestion for this revolutionary AAR)
Best Newcomer: TheSilentKiller, Geoffrey of Villehardouin

[Caillagh de Bodemloze]

Hi, Lugotorix.

Thank you for your nominations.

Could you provide authors for the AARs you've nominated? Thank you!

Also, I'm sorry, but baozi, having produced a significant amount of work during 2015, doesn't qualify as a newcomer.

[Edited to add:] I should have noticed this sooner, Lugotorix, sorry: you've nominated more than three characters for Best Male Character in an AAR. The rules state very clearly that you may make a maximum of three nominations in each category, so I'm afraid (as set out in the rules) only your first three nominations will count.


Thank you everyone for your nominations. I'm going to start organising the voting threads, but they won't be posted till Friday. So... if you have any last-minute nominations to make, let me know on this thread. If I know soon enough, I'll try to include them in the competition.