Welcome to the Scriptorium's Editorial for September 2011! We have a lengthy editorial for our readers this time around, including the results of the recent writing competition. This competition saw plenty of quality submissions, so if you missed some of them the first time around, you can now read them again, and see the authors behind them all.


Recent Articles
Since the writing competition took up most of our time in the Script, we did not focus on searching for other articles to add, and no members submitted any articles for consideration in that time either. As such, only the competition articles have recently been added to the archives.
Competition Articles

Scriptorium Summer Writing Competition 2011

Fiction Winner: A Penny for your thoughts, a dollar for your dignity... by Katsumoto

Fiction Runner-up: Deus Vult! by Inarus

Fiction Second Runner-up: Over the Top by 'Gunny




Scriptorium Summer Writing Competition 2011

Non-Fiction Winner: The Byzantine-Pecheneg Wars by Manuel I Komnenos

Non-Fiction Runner-up: The Rise of Massed Tactics in Japanese Warfare by Shogun144

Non-Fiction Second Runner-up: Doors to Manual by Major Darling



Scriptorium Summer Writing Competition 2011

Short Fiction Winner: While the World Waits by Dubh the Dark

Short Fiction Runner-up: Young Noble of Venice by MedievalDragoon

Short Fiction Second Runner-up: Here is he... by Eol



Scriptorium Summer Writing Competition 2011

Librarian's Choice Award: Once Upon a Blue Moon by AJStoner



Scriptorium Summer Writing Competition 2011

Other Entries

Ode to an All Night Diner by AJStoner

Collapse by Destroyer83

Good Intentions by Juvenal

The Island by Finlander




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Top News

The Scriptorium Writing Competition has concluded, with a winner in each category, as well as the librarian's choice award winner. You can find all the articles submitted in the Recent Articles Section above, and we have reviews of each winning entry in the Reviews section below.

In addition, a survey was opened in the Q&S about the recent competitions, where we asked members to give us as much feedback as possible on the competitions. The survey will stay open for a while longer, for anyone who wishes to still take it. It is not at all necessary but after these last two competitions, the first one having been quite sloppy and the second only a minor improvement on that, we in the Scriptorium truly appreciate any and all feedback you can give. We wish to improve the future competitions greatly, to give all members a greater chance with their submissions and also make sure everyone has fun with writing for a competition.

You may find the survey here: http://www.twcenter.net/forums/showthread.php?t=481871
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Other News

The Scriptorium added no new articles other than the competition submissions, but Nyxos put together a new catalogue for us, a large archive of all other branches of content and their past issues. If anyone has ever had trouble finding something specific, this catalogue will greatly help you. There's no easier way to look through all of the Content Branches and find all of their work, and those guys always put together great publications!

You can find the new catalogue here: http://www.twcenter.net/forums/showthread.php?t=482764



The Scriptorium may also have an opening for a librarian sometime in the near future. If anyone is interested, they are invited to PM Hader to inquire about the position.

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Article Reviews

This time we bring you reviews of the gold medalist submissions and Librarian's Choice medal in the recent writing competition. Enjoy!

Once Upon a Blue Moon by AJStoner - Review by Hader
Author: AJStoner
Summer Writing Competition Winner: Librarian's Choice

Once Upon a Blue Moon Having been a librarian for as long as I have, I've definitely seen some quality submissions over the years. This entry definitely takes the cake for best fiction story I have read here, as well as one of the best efforts for a competition entry I have ever seen. Few writers have the balls to grind through writing a story both this long and this good, but AJStoner makes it look like a breeze. I even had to have the man shorten the entry a tad just to make it fit in one post! Definitely going to pester him into posting the entire thing soon enough here. But for the sake of keeping it as it was for the competition, it will be kept as is for now.

Anyways, enough with the boring banter. Hopefully you gathered from above that this is an incredible read. If not, let me reiterate it to you in terms even the most apathetic and lazy person should understand:

This is an incredible read.

Now on to Item #2, the white stains someone left on the carpet of the break room...


Ehem. Alright, so the story: It's bloody long, probably something that discouraged some readers in the competition voting thread. But this thing packs both great quantity and even greater quality. It's a sci-fi thriller, and from the start you are thrust into the universe knowing absolutely nothing about the characters, specific setting, winning lotto numbers, etc. Nothing. Imagine watching Star Wars starting from The Empire Strikes Back, just after you find out who that one guy's father is *some spoiler avoidance*. This method of introduction seems lazy and even crappy at first, but it's best quality is it really gets you interested in just who the hell these people are and what the hell they are doing. And when you throw in the obvious imminent danger they face as a space vessel crew having a bad day in the wormhole (no, not the Cantina-like equivalent of a space age tavern), you really can't help but want to read on and see what happens next. It's a thriller built on a lot of suspense, but shapes the characters and setting nicely enough through some time to make sure everything makes some sense at least.

It's hard to do this story justice in any short review I can write here. It won our Librarian's Choice award, by unanimous vote I might add. A shame it did not win gold, but in a way I think this is a higher quality award. Either way, a great read. Get through this now and don't tell me you don't want to read the rest. If you do, you're a horrible person and I am banning you from these forums. Don't say I didn't warn you.



-Hader


A Penny for your thoughts, a dollar for your dignity... by Katsumoto - Review by Nyxos
Author : Katsumoto
Summer Writing Competition Winner: Long Fiction

A Penny for your thoughts, a dollar for your dignity...

After having read this submission, one can have no doubt as to why it has won the Long Fiction competition. The story is compelling, the writing beautiful, the damn thing brought tears to my eyes.

Not only does Katsumoto portray a vivid picture of what it might be like to be homeless (a situation I hope never to encounter) but he manages to write it in a way that we can feel what the character is feeling, smell what he smells, see what he sees. By the end of it, I felt so grateful that I will never be in the position of the man described, and that feeling was mixed with the guilt I felt fore having passed so many of these people and not payed attention, walking my way and leaving them behind.

I might be partial to some of the language used here, a little too British for my tastes but it all fits perfectly and even adds depth to a subject that could easily backfire and lose all its value.

But whatever I can say about this piece of writing cannot match the original, and I invite all of you to read it, it really is worth it.

-Nyxos



The Byzantine-Pecheneg Wars by Manuel I Komnenos - Review by StealthFox
Author: Manuel I Komnenos
Summer Writing Competition Winner: Non-Fiction

The Byzantine-Pecheneg Wars When thinking about the Byzantines, often what first comes to mind is its military struggles in the east. Images of Turks marching across Asia Minor, eventually besieging and taking the great city of Constantinople, immediately spring to mind. However, what is not generally well known is that years of military struggle and conflict in the west plagued the Byzantine Empire and ultimately limited its ability to wage war in the east. This is the topic of Manuel I Komnenos' non-fiction winning writing competition submission, The Byzantine-Pecheneg War.

Manuel I Komnenos chronicles the history of Byzantine-Pecheneg military engagements from the 9th century to the early 11th century. Periods of peace and warfare are both discussed, but the main focus is on the years of war and the resulting military engagements. The Byzantines at first suffered numerous defeats at the hands of the Pechenegs. The emperors called more and more troops from the eastern front to help deal with the Pecheneg problem. This severely limited Byzantium's ability to wage war in the east, and this is where Manuel I Komnenos' entry shines. It effectively shows the drain on resources and the numerous casualties that had an enormous impact on the empire. Eventually, however, Emperor Alexius Komnenos comes to power, and Manuel I Komnenos does a great job showing the importance of his leadership in his success in subduing the unruly Pechenegs.

The Byzantine-Pecheneg Wars by Manuel I Komnenos is a truly interesting read that reveals a part of Byzantine history that is relatively unknown. However, some introductory material providing some background and context, particularly discussing who the Pechenegs were, would have been helpful. Komnenos has a great list of works cited, but some end notes indicating how these sources were used would have also been welcome. Nevertheless, these are minor issues and do not take away from this excellently researched and informative article.

-StealthFox


While the World Waits by Dubh the Dark - Review by Hader
Author: Dubh the Dark
Summer Writing Competition Winner: Short Fiction

While the World Waits
Ah, now here we have quite the unique entry. I was a bit reluctant to enter poetry or anything as short into this competition but I allowed it, and I am glad I did. We saw a good couple submissions from it, this included. Though not a typically short bit a poetry, it's length is one feature that only compliments its quality.

It's hard to do this much justice in any one short review. It's something that only really comes together and speaks to the reader when read fully. The imagery in it is very good indeed, and really helps paint the picture of its meaning - to a limited extent though. It's a gradual, but detailed buildup, and in the end really gets you thinking about things on a much grander scale. It will do you, as a reader, even better to read through it twice I think. Taking yourself through the imagery twice helps culminate its overall effect much more compassionately.

A great read nonetheless, worthy of it's gold medal for sure. If you have ten minutes, you won't be disappointed reading this.
-Hader

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Closing Remarks

Thanks for reading the editorial this month. We enjoyed running the writing competition and the results we got for both it and the feedback so far. So please continue to help us do better, and don't forget to submit your own articles! Anything will do, from those old high school or college essays of yours to a total war tutorial or AAR. Quality writing of any kind is welcome here.

Valete!


Did you know there is a whole family of TWC Publications? Just click through the pictures below if you want to check them out.


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