2005 Golden Pen Awards ~ Suggestion Topic

[mr_pikachu]

Well, "Best Mystery" was supposed to be sort of like "Best Cliffhanger", except it referred to tension that was carried over through multiple chapters, rather than just a cut-off point at the end of a single chapter. Now that I think of it, even "Best Moment of Tension" would be better than that horrid name. That is, if everyone still thinks that it deserves its own distinctive category.

And I agree that it probably makes more sense to have a cut-off point from the Silver Pencils, rather than the GPs from way back when. And it certainly makes more sense than what I initially thought you meant. Imagine the turmoil if dozens of writers bumped their fics just so they could be on page one! Scary. :eek:

[Chris 2.1]

Best Non-Pokemon

[Gavin Luper]

Didn't "Best Mystery" refer to the best fic of the mystery genre? That's what I always thought ... although come to think of it the plot-related mystery thing does sound familiar also...

[Lady Vulpix]

Some suggestions: best Fantasy, best original concept, best continuity.

[mr_pikachu]

Didn't "Best Mystery" refer to the best fic of the mystery genre? That's what I always thought ... although come to think of it the plot-related mystery thing does sound familiar also...


That confusion is precisely why I feel it is a bad name. If I remember correctly, we had nominations in the past for both meanings, which always led to loads of frustration.

And on another note, what precisely do you mean by "Best Continuity", Gabi? I think I may know, but I just want to be sure.

[Lady Vulpix]

I was referring to keeping continuity and coherence in the details. I'll try to make it clearer.

I've read fics that constantly messed up the plot by including things that contradicted what was said in previous chapters, and left loose ends everywhere, which would be the opposite of having good continuity.

There are other fics that have a main plotline that is followed smoothly without many side details, that's ok (average, I'd say).

But there are other fics in which some details are spread throughout the story and then converge into something later, or which contain things which are referred to of have incidence later on. That's the kind of fic I'd nominate for best continuity. This includes keeping the backgrounds and personalities coherent as well (characters can change, but there has to be a reason).

I hope that's clear.

[mr_pikachu]

Yeah, that does clear things up. It sounds like a good idea, Gabi. That's certainly a critical aspect of fanfiction.

On another note, in all honesty, right now there are probably almost as many non-Pokemon fics as ones that are based on aspects of Pokemon. I'd like to tentatively suggest a "Best Pokemon Fic" category for that reason. What do you all think about that? Is it a decent idea, or would it be ridiculous with a "Non-Pokemon Fic" category already in place? (And if it is preposterous to have both "Pokemon Fic" and "Non-Pokemon Fic" categories, do you think we should replace the latter with the former?)

Thoughts?

[The Decapitated Mole]

Well it seems to me that a lot of the non-pokemon fics fall under categories that are already listed under the main fiction categories. And I also agree with Mr. Pikachu, if there's going to be a best non-pokemon there should be a best pokemon as well simply because of the dramatic increase in non-pokemon fics. To make it fair and all. Otherwise I'm fine with it all.


o_0
jimm

[Charizard04621]

I agree with putting in best non/pokemon fic because it would only make sense for both to be there rather than just one. On that note, if there's a best non-human character, shouldn't there be a best human character as well...? I mean, a non-human character could still qualify for, say, Best Male Supporting Role.

[mr_pikachu]

I agree with putting in best non/pokemon fic because it would only make sense for both to be there rather than just one. On that note, if there's a best non-human character, shouldn't there be a best human character as well...? I mean, a non-human character could still qualify for, say, Best Male Supporting Role.


Huh. I thought that those four "Role" categories were meant to be exclusive to humans, while the "non-human" one covered all the... well, non-humans. Was I mistaken in that assumption?

[Lady Vulpix]

That's right. Karin's fic Lune is a good example. And my fic features only a few humans while most of the characters belong to different races. It wouldn't be fair to deny them a chance of a 'role' award just for not being human. Now, a 'best human character' award does sound a bit odd to me. In fics where humans are the majority, it would be virtually equivalent to best character. And in fics where humans are a minority, it wouldn't make more sense than having a 'best * character' award with * being any of the featured races. And we can't make a list of every race that appears in every fic and have an award for each, it wouldn't make sense. I think the 'non-human' award should be only for fics where the main characters are human, or for pets and the likes. Characters of a 'dominant' species shouldn't count for that award. At least that's what I think.

I do like the idea of having a 'best pokemon fic'. It's true that pokemon fics are no longer a vast majority, but one of many options.

[mistysakura]

Okay, I think most of us agree on having a "Best Pokemon Fic". Best Continuity sounds good too, but if it's going to be used in the GPs it'd probably have to have an accompanying note specifying what it means, as it isn't clear from the name. Same goes for Best Mystery. Best original concept sounds okay too, except there'd probably be some overlap with Most Original, or Best Plot Twist. Best Fantasy, however, seems to lackenough fics to make it a decent competition. By the way, has anyone seen the other mods besides dh lately?

[Lady Vulpix]

Aren't you one? o_O

[Charizard04621]

Hmm, I think mistysakura was referring to the absence of Gavin and Pancake. Er, yeah, it's pretty weird that they wouldn't post in this topic if they were here...

Well, Gavin made a post in early-mid August, but I don't see a post from him since then... Of course, it was only a cursory search, but yeah. *shrug*

Name: Gavin Luper
Posts: 1966 (1.221 per day)
Position: Moderator
Date Registered: April 01, 2001, 06:00:00 AM
Last Active: August 26, 2005, 02:41:16 AM

Pancake seems less active.

Name: PancaKe
Posts: 5616 (3.393 per day)
Position: Moderator
Date Registered: February 15, 2001, 06:00:00 AM
Last Active: August 14, 2005, 05:47:23 AM


Hmm, I would attempt to PM Gavin.


Other than TPM, best contacts I could get (you might know better):

Gavin: MSN & e-mail: luperdude88@hotmail.com

Pancake: AIM: MistyDeeDee
MSN: punky_moo_monkey@hotmail.com
E-mail: mistydeedeetpm@hotmail.com

[Lady Vulpix]

What happened to taraeleven@hotmail.com? Did she stop using it?

[classy_cat18]

*raises hand* Quick, while everyone's still writing!

[mr_pikachu]

Looks good for the most part. I do have a few suggestions and questions, though.

Can we really have a "Best Mystery Fic" category? I ask because I don't recall any recent fics that would fit that genre, and I read as much as I can. Perhaps I've overlooked some, but I can't think of any at the moment.

I think it might be good to split "Best Relationship" into two categories: romantic and non-romantic. People voting in that category would probably be more inclined to nominate and vote for romantic relationships. That's the first thing that comes to find for me, at least, when I think of that. Hearing that category, I would think of something like "Ash and Misty" before I even pondered the merits of "Ash and Pikachu" (and I don't think I've ever seen or will see someone on TPM try to spin that into a romance). I understand that non-romantic relationships may still have a little romantic tension, and relationships can obviously change, but I think we are sophisticated enough to deal with that confusion and make the proper judgment calls on separate categories.

"Best Location" and "Best Setting" kind of remind me of our previous "Best Mystery" confusion. Do you think more defined terms like "Best Specific Location" and "Best General Setting" would help?

All in all, though, these look pretty darn good. I may have a few minor questions about a few of them, but we're just about ready in my opinion.

[Chris 2.1]

*Appears*

I agree with best relationship point that Mr P made. *Nod nod nod*

I also think we're overcomplicating things with aliens/Pokemon/humans/aliens/bananapeople etc all. As long as they are a character, then we should have them in the same catagory as humans. That's my 2 cents. If we keep splitting them, we'll have rougly 1,098 catagories ranging from "Best Supporting Female (From Galaxy 7's Planet Mugambo with short spiky hair and of an inquisitive nature)" to "Best Landscape (based off a real-life setting, in the Uk which involved trees".

Also, can we get little trophy sprites for winners? For sigs and things. Whee.

*Dissapears*

[The Decapitated Mole]

Yeah. Best Male Character can still apply to Pokemon, since most of them have genders. Other than that, I'm happy with the list.

o_0
jimm

[Lady Vulpix]

Are there any genderless characters in leading roles?

[mr_pikachu]

Actually, the "Character in a ... Role" categories don't have genders specified anymore. It's either "Best Character in a Leading Role" or "Best Character in a Supporting Role". Since I believe genderless characters would count, I don't think a separate category is all that necessary. Unless, of course, the aforementioned categories get split back up by gender.

[mistysakura]

Cool list dh, thanks for doing that, looks great. Sorry for not being here for a while guys, went on camp and forgot to post in the away topic. Anyhow, if everyone's happy with that list, nominations should be up soon I guess.

[Chris 2.1]

I didn't actually read them...because I'm sure they're fine. :-/

Anyway let's get the showizzle on the rizzle. Dizzle.

And I can make sprite trophy things. I made some for the upcoming ASB Tournament and I - *gasp* too much information -_-;,

*Dissapears*

[Lady Vulpix]

Nice selection overall, but why did Best Original Cast turn into Most Original Cast?
They're two different concepts. Best Original Cast would be best cast composed by characters created by the writer (the most interesting, the most appealing, not necessarily the most original). By Most Original Cast I understand the cast that's most different from the casts of all other fics, but not necessarily the best.

[mr_pikachu]

Other than Gabi's point and the fact that "unusual" needs to be capitalized in "Most unusual Board Member", it looks pretty good. Let's hit it!

[mistysakura]

Oh yeah, something strange happened to Best Original Cast. I'll have to ask dh about that. In other news, I reckon the nominations will be up in a few days.

[dratinihaunter13]

good point gabi. i'll edit in that change right now. ok well ada or i will have the nomination topic up monday/tuesday, thanks for all the help with the suggestions everyone. y'all definitely made this list look good =D!