Results 1 to 16 of 16

Thread: Writers' Study Yearly Awards 2016 - The Awards Ceremony!

Threaded View

Previous Post Previous Post   Next Post Next Post
  1. #1
    Caillagh de Bodemloze's Avatar to rede I me delyte
    Content Emeritus spy of the council

    Join Date
    Sep 2014
    Location
    the British Isles
    Posts
    10,212

    Default Writers' Study Yearly Awards 2016 - The Awards Ceremony!






    The Writers’ Study staff have been labouring night and day; counting votes, re-counting votes (just to be sure), drafting paragraph after paragraph of elegant and appropriate praise for our winners, and cleaning and pressing their official gowns of office. In the Writers’ Study Theatre, where all our awards ceremonies are held, the Writers’ Study imps have been frantically ironing the stage, scrubbing the lectern, and waxing the velvet curtains (they’re easily confused). Alwyn assures me that his eagle-eyed supervision has prevented any such mix-up with the prizes – after some threats gentle encouragement, the imps have polished those Writers’ Study points and medals so thoroughly they now – worryingly – glow in the dark.

    It is therefore my great privilege to invite you all to don your best dinner jacket or ballgown (or both, if you wish) and join me at the

    Writers’ Study Yearly Awards for 2016



    We begin with a very special guest. Here to present the award for AAR of the Year 2016 is someone without whom the Writers’ Study staff would be just a bunch of people doing random things. He is a writer of many fine AARs himself, but somehow still finds time to offer help and guidance to other writers. He is almost certainly the best-known cup of coffee in the Writers’ Study – gentlebeings, please welcome the one and only Alwyn, Director of the Writers’ Study…!


    [Alwyn proceeds to the lectern with all the majesty due to his elevated rank. A small, untidy-looking imp scurries out from the wings after him, tugs at the tail of his official gown, and – with an enormous, toothy grin – hands him a slightly creased envelope. Alwyn, somewhat gingerly, takes the envelope and completely ignores it.]

    Quote Originally Posted by Alwyn
    I am happy to announce that the winner of Most Popular Cup of Coffee goes to…
    [The imp tugs at Alwyn’s sleeve and points insistently at the envelope in Alwyn’s hand.]

    Quote Originally Posted by Alwyn
    What do you mean, I can’t just make up an award? How about an award for Best Beverage?
    [The imp shakes his head solemnly. Alwyn sighs and opens the envelope.]

    Quote Originally Posted by Alwyn
    All right then. The first-place winner of AAR of the Year 2016 is…
    [An unnecessarily long dramatic pause follows. The imp begins to nudge Alwyn.]

    Quote Originally Posted by Alwyn
    A Long Way From Home by Caillagh! Caillagh’s AAR shows us Skyrim through the eyes of Yannick, who doesn’t want to be there, doesn’t understand that he is allowed to keep the treasure he finds, and finds himself in trouble because doesn’t know what a housecarl is for. We see characters who are familiar for Skyrim players – such as Lydia and Farkas – with distinctive personalities, histories and voices. Some excellent AARs make readers want to play the game. An outstanding AAR such as A Long Way from Home can make readers wish that the game was as immersive and engaging as the AAR. This well-deserved win is a sign that A Long Way From Home has maintained its exceptional qualities – since this AAR was also the first-place winner in the 2015 AAR of the Year category!
    Quote Originally Posted by Alwyn
    2nd placeVandalarius: The One Sword of the Romano-Gothic Empire by Lugotorix
    The second-place winner is Vandalarius by Lugotorix. This remarkable AAR tells us of the fall and rise of the Ostrogoths, a people whose leaders are becoming entwined with the nobility of the falling Western Roman Empire – but will the Ostrogoths share the same fate as that doomed empire? This, then is the story of how the Ostrogoths fight to survive the arrival of Attila’s armies. As the author, Lugotorix said, this tale provides a “tapestry of relations and political maneuvering.” In Vandalarius, the political battles are as exciting as the physical fighting – and just as deadly.
    Quote Originally Posted by Alwyn
    3rd placeWay of the Bow by Merchant of Venice
    Merchant of Venice is one of the best-known writers in the Writers’ Study, and Way of the Bow makes it very obvious why that is. An enthralling tale winding together the threads of several expertly-drawn characters, it is something you should definitely read if you have not already done so. Whether they are heroic or cruel, Merchant’s characters and his story are always compelling.

    Moving swiftly on, for we have many awards to present, we turn our attention to:

    Best Male Character in an AAR
    Winner – Authorius from Fractured Eagle by baozi
    This award was hotly contested right down to the wire. Our very worthy winner is a young man from an aristocratic family who nevertheless proves himself in battle. Fractured Eagle is known not only for its characterisation, but for its dramatic descriptions and excellent screenshots, and it is a great pleasure to be able to present this prize to baozi.

    Best Female Character in an AAR
    Winner – Suzume, from Way of the Bow by Merchant of Venice
    Our next winning author needs no introduction – not least after having won third place in this year’s AAR of the Year category! Suzume is only one of the many complex and interesting characters in this AAR. Her life and her dreams are both full of excitement and intrigue – not always pleasantly – yet she still remains a likeable character. She is a superb demonstration of Merchant’s skill at characterisation.

    Best Use of Images in an AAR
    Winner – Kingdoms of the Sand by Geoffrey of Villehardouin
    This year’s winner in this category uses images in a way that – as far as I know – no previous winner has done. This year, I am very proud to be able to say that for the first time we are presenting an award to a video AAR. A very fine video AAR, in which Geoffrey of Villehardouin tells his story with a brilliant combination of his recorded gameplay and a narration which adds immeasurably to the details shown on-screen.

    Best Newcomer to AARs

    Winner – theSilentKiller
    Our final winner in the AAR section of these awards is this year’s Best Newcomer, and I am enormously happy to be presenting this award to theSilentKiller. As he has already provided us with A.E.I.O.U. and Nous Pauvre Couillons du Front, there can be no doubt of the quality and inventiveness of theSilentKiller’s writing. We look forward to seeing what other gems he will produce for us in the future!


    Having completed our list of AAR awards, we now celebrate the work of the Creative Writers among us.

    [There is a pause. Nothing happens. Caillagh looks round, towards the wings. A scuffling sound can be heard, and then a gentle thump, as if a small body has just been knocked to the floor. An imp with a slightly tattered ear limps triumphantly across the floor to Caillagh, waving several slightly ripped envelopes, some of which bear distinct toothmarks. Apparently the imps have been fighting over who gets to go on stage to hand over the envelopes...]


    Our most significant award in Creative Writing is, of course:

    Creative Writing of the Year
    1st place Of Souls by Shankbot de Bodemloze
    This year, for the second year running, the award goes to an incredible piece of writing by Shankbot de Bodemloze. This is the beautifully-written story of a world where people’s souls can be used to fuel magic; of a man caught in an impossible political situation, and committed to a war that will destroy his country; and of a Soulsmith on the run. It is difficult to imagine that anyone reading this has not already read Of Souls, but if you haven’t, do. And then read Of Souls: Fragments, which is set in the same world.

    2nd placeAD USQUE FIDELIS by ♔Old Dragoon♔
    The story of a veteran of the army of the Eastern Roman Empire, AD USQUE FIDELIS took second place. Uliaris is a man whose past seems to be catching up not only with him, but with those others who shared his past with him. A friend of his stands trial, and it seems that someone wants Uliaris – and the testimony he could give in support of his friend – out of the way. But who is the someone? And can Uliaris and his friends stop them? The story is full of twists and turns and keeps its readers on their toes.

    3rd place
    Against the Tribe by Boriak
    In third place, we have a fascinating and elegant tale of politics and personal relationships within the tribe of the title. The two brothers who are Boriak’s main characters demonstrate very different approaches to their life within the tribe – one believes the tribe’s customs are all that keep them alive; the other believes the tribe’s customs are barbaric, and should be changed. Both their lives are changed by their beliefs...


    In addition to our main award, this year we are pleased to be able to make an award for:

    Best Male Character in a Piece of Creative Writing
    Winner – Arthur from Game of Thrones: Long and Sharp by SoulGamesInc
    Our winner in this category is a man with a complicated heritage – a man who describes himself as “Reyne to my friends, Lannister to my enemies.” SoulGamesInc has given us a tale based in the world, and the time, of A Song of Ice and Fire, but he has cleverly chosen to weave the story of his own characters around the contents of GRR Martin’s books. People and events we know intermingle with SoulGamesInc’s stories of other lives, and Arthur is one of those new characters.


    [Alwyn, standing (where else?) by the coffee, suddenly finds himself seized and dragged back on to the stage - not roughly, but very firmly - by a couple of imps. His coffee is speedily removed from his hand, and replaced by yet another envelope. The look on the face of the imp holding Alwyn's coffee makes it extremely clear that the imp will be keeping the coffee until Alwyn has read out the winner of the last award.]


    Quote Originally Posted by Alwyn
    Our Best Writer award can be won by someone who writes AARs, Creative Writing or both.

    There are writers who can conjure exciting images of the worlds their characters inhabit. There are writers whose characters seem real. There are writers who demonstrate a variety of tones and styles, so that their writing prompts us to sadness and sympathy, horror and anger, happiness and laughter. There are writers whose stories grab us and will not let us go. The winner of Best Writer for 2016 is Caillagh, whose Skyrim AAR A Long Way From Home does all of these and more.

    In addition to our official winners, we would like to make special mention of HunterKYA for his character Edhen, from Titanium Core: Borderlands, who was the only nominee for Best Female Character in a Piece of Creative Writing, and Lord of the Drunk Penguin, who was the only nominee for the Best Poet award. With only one nominee in each category, it was impossible to hold a vote, but the Writers’ Study staff would like to congratulate HunterKYA and Lord of the Drunk Penguin; their work is very worthy of recognition.


    Thank you to all the writers of the Writers’ Study for producing so much high quality work for us to read. Thank you also to everyone who posts comments – I know from my own experience and from the comments of other people that it is a huge encouragement to writers just to know that someone has read what you’ve written. And thank you to all the people who have participated in this Writers’ Study Yearly Awards competition: the people who made nominations, my colleagues in the Writers’ Study staff, and of course the Imps. These awards would be impossible without you.


    The Imps will now circulate among you with drinks and light refreshments. I would advise you very strongly to ask them for details of all the ingredients of any item before you eat or drink it. You are, of course, welcome to stay and chat about this year’s awards here. If you would prefer to offer feedback relating to this year’s awards – or any suggestions for next year’s awards – more privately, please PM me or Alwyn. I cannot stress strongly enough that you should not write a note and hand it to the Imps, because they’ll probably eat it...
    Last edited by Caillagh de Bodemloze; March 19, 2017 at 07:08 AM.






Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •