On Contests in General and Specific · 11:26pm Mar 6th, 2014
Since arriving here:
At FimFiction, I've entered two story contests. I didn't win either one. Heck, in the contest that had a second place prize, I didn't get that, either.
I did get stories out of 'em both, though: "Biology: A Romance" is my second most viewed piece on the site, and "In Their Highnesses' Clandestine Corp" got me inducted into the Royal Canterlot Library.
Now, I suppose I could look back on the experiences with a certain smugness, but there are three reasons why I don't. First, I really dislike smugness and try to avoid it at all times; second, I'm judging my own contest now and can see things from the other side; and third, the story that won the contest I wrote "Biology" for was the original novella version of "Salvation" by Cold in Gardez. He's currently revising it into the full-length novel it was always meant to be, but even in its shorter form, I'll place it up on the highest shelf with Romance Reports and Ribbons and Lace when it comes to "rated mature for sexual situations" ponyfic.
So instead of smugness, I choose to take a lesson from the whole thing--I mean, this is a My Little Pony site, right? That lesson is: a better story than mine doesn't make my story bad. And as much as it hurts to lose, if I've squished the story into a shape I like, chances are at least a couple other folks out there might like it, too.
That all being said, I wanted to salute the entrants in my contest one last time before Monday morning when I have to open the box, collapse the wave form on Schrödinger's Pony, and make seven of you feel that all-too-familiar crumminess.
To Warren Hutch for that perfect first line and to horizon for that perfect last line; to Pascoite for the lovely dramatic Luna and to Silent Strider for the lovely comic Luna; to Chris for the indelible portrait of Luna becoming Nightmare Moon and to Skywriter for an equally indelible portrait of Luna becoming Luna again; and to Jaestring for a Luna struggling to find her place in modern Equestria and to thescentedllamaofdoom for a Luna who's finally found that place.
Thanks again, folks!
Mike
Clandestine Corps is just flat-out wonderful, and I... well, let's just say I'd have judged that particular contest slightly differently.
I was wondering: are you planing to rank all the stories, or just declare a winner and a "the rest?" Either way, I don't envy you; you got a lot more than one good story here, and it's always tough to tell someone "this was great!... but not as great as that."
But "Why then publish?" There are no rewards
Of fame or profit when the world grows weary.
I ask in turn: Why do you play at cards?
Why drink? Why read? To make some hour less dreary.
It occupies me to turn back regards
On what I’ve seen or pondered, sad or cheery,
And what I write I cast upon the stream
To swim or sink. I have had at least my dream.
-- George Gordon, Lord Byron, Don Juan
What contest was biology for?
1902352
Oh you, and your always knowing the perfect bit of prose to fit any situation.
Thank you, in turn, for spurring me to get a very old idea into publishable form!
1902728
Sentiment echoed. I had only told AugieDog this in private, but this story is one I wrote over two years ago and never published. It needed significant work, and I was always scared to tackle it at long last for fear of not being able to do it justice. At least this contest gave me the kick I needed to work on it.
Since attention is the only coin I truly wish to be paid for my fictive excursions into Equestria, I have already been more than adequately compensated from the entire enterprise.
I await the decision with eagerness but no trepidation, because if you and other readers enjoyed my entry then I've hit my personal win condition.
Good luck to the rest of yez. I only partially intend the pun when I say it was truly a stellar playing field.
P.S.: "Half The Day is Night" was the fic that pulled me into reading fanfic in the first place, so this is all your fault.
P.P.S: Was that laying it on too thick? TLDR: You guys are all cool and I had fun!
*sigh* I'd just about finished a comment here when the browser wiped it out. I've been silently freaking out that anything I say might be an unconscionable influence on the judging*, overthinking every single word I write, and I really don't want to reconstruct from scratch what I'd finally settled on.
So, briefly: Echoing 1902728 1902860 but for entirely the opposite reason. Thank you for spurring me to write a story that, without this contest, literally could not have existed in anything resembling its current form, and would have lacked the crucial elements that made me so proud of this one. No matter the outcome, I feel like I've gotten something special. The rest can wait for Monday.
--
* This is my brain damage. I acknowledge that, but it doesn't stop the wheels from spinning.
oh
All this time, I think I've operated under this idea without realizing it. It's a useful thing to be able to have in words!
Also, I'm quite excited to see how this contest turns out. :D And I'm not even in it!
1902342
I'm still pondering:
What format to use, but no, I'm not gonna try ranking them. That way, I'm fairly certain, lies madness.
1902352
"Publishing a book of poetry is like dropping a rose petal down the Grand Canyon and waiting for the echo." --Don Marquis in his Sun Dial column, sometime in the early 1920s.
1902494
It was one kits put together in the summer of 2012. Another fine writer, kits was, who's just recently decided he was done with the fandom--here's the post where he listed the entries and announced the winner. Present Perfect had a story in the running, too, I recall: "Faithful and Strong," it was called, and it no longer exists at the Google Doc link. I've bothered PP about reposting the story here, and I guess this will count as me bothering him about it again...
1902652
I think it must be part of that there Jedi Training.
1902728
1902860
1902902
1903113
Think of me as a catalytic converter. I mean, that's why the "check engine" light's on in the middle of my forehead, isn't it?
1903150
See my above note bothering you again about reposting "Faithful and Strong" over here.
Mike
1903886
For me, your contest had another benefit: it finally attracted some critical comments to one of my stories
I hope I can turn that into making my next stories better, but we shall see. Incidentally, if you ever do another contest, and I get notice of it with more than a week to the end (
), I will try to have something original - and less rushed - to present 
BTW, thank you, PresentPerfect and Chris, for your comments. They mean a lot to me
1903886
It's one of my "backburner" projects right now, which is to say I consider it "in progress" despite the fact that I'm focused on other stuff.
Like the Chrysalis/Luna shipfic I wrote for a different contest. :B