The 2006 Silver Pencil Awards - Suggestion Topic!

[mr_pikachu]

Well, it's that time of year again. Time for the long-overdue Silver Pencil Awards to get going, that is!

In case you haven't seen the Fanfic Awards before, they're basically a special event held twice a year where everyone in Fanfic gets to vote for the best fics, characters, writers, and overall members. One is called the Golden Pen Awards, while the other is the Silver Pencil Awards. Being nominated alone is a praiseworthy achievement, and winning awards in this ceremony is certainly worthy of plenty of kudos!

To start things off, as in years past, we need to figure out what categories should be in this Awards. So, we're calling on you for suggestions! What you see here is the list from the previous Golden Pen Awards. If you see something on this list that you think isn't needed, let us know and we might trim that excess category. And if there's something that should be on the list but isn't, tell us so that we know what you all think should be added!

We'll need your help to make this list the best one yet, so give us your advice! And make sure you don't wait, because this will only be up for a week or two before the list is finalized. Don't miss your chance!


General Fic Awards

Best Fiction Overall
Best Pokemon Fic
Best Non-Pokemon Fic
Best Dark
Best Trainer
Best Fantasy
Best Mystery Fic
Best Comedy
Best Romance Fic
Best Action in a Fic
Most Original Concept
Best Description
Best Writing Style
Best Plot
Best Short Story
Best Promising New Fic
Best Single Location
Best Overall Setting


Fic Moments

Best Cliffhanger
Best Plot Twist
Best Pokemon Battle Scene
Most Suspenseful
Best Chapter


Characters

Best Character in a Leading Role
Best Character in a Supporting Role
Best Villain
Funniest Character
Most Original Character
Best Romantic Relationship
Best Un-Romantic Relationship
Best Original Cast
Best New Pokemon


Member Awards

Most Unusual Board Member
Best New Writer
Most Dedicated Writer
Best Writer
Most Dedicated Reader
Best Newcomer to the Boards
Most Rounded Member


So, what do you think of this list? C'mon, tell us!

[Blademaster]

Hey, here's a few dumb ideas:

Considering that the amount of Yu-Gi-Oh! fics seems to be increasing and the amount of Poke-fics seems to be decreasing (or at least staying pretty much still), why not add 'Best Yu-Gi-Oh! Fic' to the General Awards, 'Best Duel' to the Fic Moments, and 'Best New Card' to the Characters Section? I'm sure there would be a few good nominations for those categories...

[Chris 2.1]

Since it wasn't *too* long since The Golden Pens, is it not simple to keep the various catagories? They were all fine tuned for the GPs and I can't see anything wrong with them

[Lady Vulpix]

Of course it's possible. But if someonehas suggestions, I don't think it would be wise to discard them just because the Golden Pens were held not so long ago.

How many YGO fics are there? If there are just 2 or 3, they may not merit so many categories of their own, but we could have a "Best other fanfiction" categories, for fics based on perviously created worlds other than pokemon.

[Gavin Luper]

Gabi, last time I counted, we had about 6 YGO fics on the board, probably a couple more by this stage, so we might actually have to consider a few new topics relating to the YGO genre.

That said, your suggestion would cover it too; it would just give less scope to the genre itself.

[Mewfour]

We gotta get FRO up and running. That oughta help with the "Best of" catagories.

[Gavin Luper]

I'm getting there with the FFRO ... all submissions are now in. It will be up before the Nominations Topic.

In the meantime, how about ideas for fun 'community'-based awards, like Biggest Drama Queen, Most Likely to be a couple, etc - that kind of idea. Those kind of awards are always good for the Silver Pencils.

[darktyranitar]

Just dropping a few question and a suggestion:

Can we nominate for fic that had already nominated in the past gp awards?
Second, is there any time restriction for fics to be nominated?(eg: fic that are posted 2-3 years ago).
And what makes a new fic; it's amount of chapter posted, the date the first chapter of the fic is posted, or both? (If so, how much and how long?)

And a suggestion: Why don't we put "Best Quote" in the fic moments?

Well, that's all that I wanted to know for know.

[mr_pikachu]

Well, the usual criteria for nominations is that a fic has to have had a new chapter since the previous awards in order to be eligible. As long as it's had an update since then, it's in the running for at least some of the categories. That goes for both of your first two questions, as past nominations don't play a role whatsoever in eligibility.

As for a new fic, that would be a work which began since the last awards. Any piece which had its first chapter since the last Golden Pen Awards (or in the case of one-shots, any piece which was posted during the same timeframe) is eligible for a nomination in that category.

And a "Best Quote" category would certainly be a possibility. That's definitely a notable idea.

Anyway, I hope this post helped. I really like some of the ideas here; you all have clearly put some thought into your suggestions!

[darktyranitar]

Just to clear things up: Any fic posted after the last award is eligible, right?

I hope we can start this whole thing up quickly!

[mr_pikachu]

Yes, that's right. The last Golden Pen Awards is the cut-off point. Fics that started since then are eligible for Best New Fic, and any that have had updates since then are eligible for the other fic categories, provided that they fit extra criteria for the various other categories (Best Pokemon Fic only includes fanfics with Pokemon in the plotline, only comedies are eligible for Best Comedy... you get the idea).

[Chris 2.1]

There seems to be few problems, that's good - I'm sure the last one took forever to sort out :P

When can we start nominate?

[Gavin Luper]

Just a few more days until Nominations, I think. Brian said a one to two weeks, so any time now I suppose.

In the meantime, any more suggestions? I was thinking of having the Most/Least Likely to be a couple and Most Likely to never finish their fic, awards like that from the last SPs and the Fun Awards from 2003 ...

Any other ideas in that kind of vein? Random, people-based awards?

[mr_pikachu]

Yeah, it should only be a couple more days until we start up the Nominations. Although we would like to have some more fun awards, if you all have any suggestions...

Maybe the old Most Unusual Member category? I'm pretty sure that used to be one of the fun ones. That might be an idea. I'm having trouble thinking of another good one at the moment... which is exactly why we need your suggestions! C'mon, everyone!

[starjake]

I vouch for the Most Likely to Never Complete their Fic category; with the way I post chapters, I'm certain to win at least one award in regards to that. ;)

How about a Most Original Ideas category? It wouldn't apply to the fics in general, but to things the writers make up for their fics, e.g. new Pokemon, new YGO cards, that sort of thing. That would probably limit the award to people who write Pokemon and/or YGO fics, unless there are other-themed fics on the boards that I'm just unaware of, which is highly possible.

Just a thought.

[mr_pikachu]

Everyone, thank you for helping us to compile the list of categories for the Silver Pencils! The nomination topic will be up shortly.