Site Post » EFNW Writing Contest Winners · 1:46am Apr 26th, 2015
Everfree Northwest 2015
Pre-Con Writing Contest Winners!
Welcome everyone and everypony, to our final results announcement for the 2015 Everfree Northwest Pre-convention Writing Contest. I'm your friendly, neighborhood spiderman writing track lead, Xepher! Let's get right to it!
This year, the field was really packed. We had 75+ entries, making the job of our judges quite the difficult one. We went through three rounds of elimination behind the scenes, just to allow enough time for reading all these wonderful entries. In the end though, we selected the three top stories from our final round of eight. So without further ado, I would like to present the winners of this year's contest!
Third!
Bastion, by Cloud Hop
This is one of those feels-ey stories that everyone and their mother has been attempting to write; the kind that the author usually hopes will shoot straight to the front page and stay there for days. Unlike all those others, this one did, and it deserved every second. At first glance, it's yet another remake of an old classic: grizzled, gruff old soldier gets his icy heart melted by some adorable youngster. Buuuuuut Cloud Hop managed to avoid the pitfalls of this kind of piece, making it truly memorable.
--Asylum
Bastion is a classic grumpypants-meets-feisty-scamp story that's told very well. Celestia is a treat to read, and filly Twilight is in rare form. While some may question why Celestia would allow a guard pony to work as hard as this one, I find it easy to see Celestia inspiring this kind of loyalty. Twilight's adoracute fuzziness can break down any barrier, and I love to watch them crumble.
--Silver Flare
Bastion is one of those stories that masterfully frames something hard, aged, and callused with a stark balance of warmth, understanding, and that childhood innocence that caused us to love My Little Pony in the first place. This is a story about recognition for Bastion and his isolated job as Celestia's overly perfect guard. This is a story about just what Princess Celestia saw in a young Twilight Sparkle. This is a story for soldiers, parents, and those who work too hard without enough recognition and thanks. This is the story of Bastion.
--Piquo Pie
Pretty impressive! Cloud Hop will have their story description and place mentioned in the EFNW conbook, as well as receive a third place patch, several EFNW contest pens, a $10 Amazon gift card, and an assortment of EFNW merch.
Second!
Daring Do & The Rookie Editor, by Naughty_Ranko
Now this was a very nice interpretation of how the Daring Do books came to be. I like both official (canon and EU canon) authors of the books, and although I'm a bit biased on Daring Do stories, this was just a treat. Perhaps a little close to how they reveal Yearling's identity in the show, but honestly I like it better here.
--Ckat_Myla
This... was clever. Honestly I don't really have anything more substantial to say. This is one of the most original fanfics I've read in a while. It took two characters that have no business being in the same story together, and not only managed to make it work, but shine.
--Asylum
This one stands out for the uncommon friendship it proposes, and how it serves as a foundation for one defining aspect of Twilight Sparkle's character. Daring Do requiring an editor makes sense. Furthermore, it makes such sublime sense it could fit easily into just about any head canon. Daring Do's need for an editor, Velvet's need for more regular hours, and the unfortunate arrival of goons all leads to the perfect first meeting between author and adventurer.
--Pen Stroke
Wow, quite the accolades! I'd like to point out that this story was also in a 4-way tie for third place in the Community Choice voting. Naughty_Ranko will also have their story description and place mentioned in the EFNW conbook, as well as receive a second place patch, several EFNW contest pens, a $15 Amazon gift card, and an assortment of EFNW merch.
First!
Letters From the Capital, by Apple Bottoms
Really, really well done correspondence trope. Both characters stand out as unique and multi-dimensional. The story and plot are there, but not forced, and there's a lovely emotional component as well. Together, it all fits very naturally as a story of new friendship.
--Xepher
For such a restrictive word limit, Apple Bottoms manages to weave a touching narrative that, somehow, doesn't feel constrained by the word limit. Or by the format. Trixie and Twilight are both given room to be themselves, and the story just feels good to read. In a contest full of standouts, Letters From The Capital still manages to stand a cut above.
--Silver Flare
This story goes a route you don't usually see in shorter fiction, but achieves this unexpected storyline because of the chosen format as a series of letters. In a contest where the the storyline is to make new friends, this one has the possible friendship first dip and weaken, threatening to break before it grows back into something stronger and more lasting than it was before. It is a kind of storyline I don't recall seeing in any of the stories I read, and the same could be said for this format. A unique plot told in a unique way to give us a unique take on the contest prompt.
--Pen Stroke
Wooo! Let's hear it for our winner! Apple Bottoms will also have their full story printed in the convention conbook after a full edit. In addition, they will receive a 1st place patch, custom engraved high quality pen and pen holder declaring them an award-winning author, several Everfree Northwest contest pens (for more casual use), messenger bag, be invited to an interview to be posted online and featured by Everfree Northwest, a $20 Amazon gift card, and an assortment of EFNW merch.
Community Choice
We asked you, the FIMFic community to come together and vote for your favorite story, and vote you did. I personally spent several hours searching your mishmashed comments and tallying your votes. In the end, we had a very, very close final.
That said, the winner of the Community Choice award, with 22 votes, is:
Pretty Simple, by Gulheru
This story was simply marvelous. The heart and the tone and the everything and the omigoshomigosh *squeee* Discord's narrative voice was a treat, and the whole story just flew by in a rush of quirky comedy and d'awwwws. This author earned a watch from me, for sure.
--Silver Flare
Congratulations to Gulheru, they will have a brief description of their story in the convention conbook, and receive a community choice patch, several EFNW pens, a $10 Amazon gift card, and an assortment of EFNW merch.
Honorable Mentions
A Bump in the Road, by EloquenceInkwell
This is a real gem. I couldn't find any major faults in the execution of it, and it's a lovely idea. The dynamic between Maud and Trixie really shines, and they play off of each other extremely well. Even when Trixie was alone, her antics could bring a smile. It's nice to see characters with real character, portrayed by an author who knows how to let them shine.
--Ocalhoun
This amazing tale made it to the final judging round of 8, as well as the top 8 from the community choice voting. As an honorable mention, EloquenceInkwell will receive several Everfree Northwest contest pens, and an assortment of 2014 Everfree Northwest merch.
Fluttershy's Sick Day, by Everyday
Definitely a great contender for 'story that could easily be done on the show'. I originally thought this would be a FS/Discord friendship story, but then Discord and Angel make that truce and it is just so lovely. Cute sweetness all around.
--Ckat_Myla
This sweet story was narrowly defeated in our final judging round, but was still in the top 8. As an honorable mention, Everyday will receive several Everfree Northwest contest pens, and an assortment of 2014 Everfree Northwest merch.
Snails Aren't Bugs, by Admiral Biscuit
Simple so-wrong-it-makes-sense logic is very difficult to get right as it must be right on the surface, deliciously wrong, and yet right enough to believably make sense to a character. This story nails it. It also took the time to imagine a context full of little details that cement the setting in Equestria. Lots of effort here. Highly entertaining.
--SirTruffles
This story also made it into both the final judging round of 8, and the top 8 of the community choice. As an honorable mention, Admiral Biscuit will receive several Everfree Northwest contest pens, and an assortment of 2014 Everfree Northwest merch.
The Pony Next Door, by HapHazred
Strange... so strange. But great! A wonderful example of magic realism, which curiously is hard to find in human/pony universe crossovers. Celestia just "is there" and everyone is somehow quickly okay with this. It works though, and reminds me a lot of the classic sci-fi short, "Bears Discover Fire."
--Xepher
Congratulations to HapHazred for making it to the final round of judging. As an honorable mention, they will receive several Everfree Northwest contest pens, and an assortment of 2014 Everfree Northwest merch.
Griffon It Another Try, by Winston
This is a story that's been done before. Many times. So what makes it stand out? The execution. The author kept things simple to the point where the title could simply be "Pinkie makes friends with Gilda", and the story is stronger for it. He simply let the characters write the story, as it should be.
--Asylum
And yet another that made it to both final rounds of 8! As an honorable mention, Winston will receive several Everfree Northwest contest pens, and an assortment of 2014 Everfree Northwest merch.
A Friend In Me, by TheNewYorkBrony
This story didn't make the final cut, it didn't even make my final cut, but this story is going to be with me far longer than any other story in this contest, probably even this year. A Friend in Me is a great example of a not perfect story that hits that "something special" for a large number of people. Trying to grade it is like trying to compare a perfect, college textbook example of a perfect story with Harry Potter. Yes, the other stories might technically be a bit better, but the heart in this story hits home for many people far harder than any textbook can teach. It features multiple realizations of ADHD that were expressed perfectly, with real, lively characters. I can say that; I have ADHD and a degree in Psychology. If you know anyone with, or are curious about, ADHD. This story will hit home with you.
--Piquo Pie
And that's our final Honorable Mention, coming in at 20 votes and a solid second place for the Community Choice. As an honorable mention, TheNewYorkBrony will receive several Everfree Northwest contest pens, and an assortment of 2014 Everfree Northwest merch.
The stories above cover almost the entirety of both the final judging round of eight, and the top eight from the community choice voting. There are, however, two stories that have gone unmentioned. I'm sorry to say they don't win any prizes, but as they were in the final round for Community Choice, I feel I would be derelict in my duty if I didn't direct readers to at least check them out.
Those stories are: Tea with The Queen by Lapis Lazuli, and Lulamoon Dreams by Spirit Shift.
Thank you again to all of the contestants! There were so many good stories this year that judging was incredibly hard work. Thank you also to everyone who voted for the Community Choice awards.
We hope we'll see many of you at Everfree Northwest this May. If you've been listed as a prize winner, and plan to attend the convention, you can collect your prize there. If you do not plan to attend, we can work to arrange shipping in the US. In either case, please PM me (Xepher) here on FIMFic with a valid email address, and I'll contact you to arrange shipping or pickup of your prize materials.
Congrats to all the wonderful writers in the contest! This contest was a joy to be in and well my first. It has convinced me to enter into more into the future and improve on my writing skills
The unfortunate thing of this contest is it didn't really produce any fics that I'd say were of really high quality. They're alright, I suppose. They're very fluffy, very friendly. They're just not memorable or particularly interesting.
Ooh, I love "Bears Discover Fire." Guess I know which of the contest winners I'll be reading first!
Grats to the winners!
The only fic I read here was "Snails Aren't Bugs," which I loved.
Kinda disappointed with the first place winner. Just felt a bit on the cliche side and I've seen it all before in many, many stories before it. And the ending didn't really move me. Overall not what I'd pick, although there are other fine stories in the contest, but the big winner just wasn't all that interesting to me.
Congrats to the winners, and especially to Winston for the honorable mention!
Overall, I'm glad to see the podium stacked with authors who can greatly benefit from the extra exposure. :)
It makes me so happy to see myself included among the Honorable Mentions. Thank you to all who've read my story, and to those who'll read it in the future, I hope you enjoy it.
Inky Jay here to the winning fic and author,
So first off, if you say in your profile that you love to write, but then only make an account to post stories for a contest, I have to say I don't really believe that statement. Honest to God, you wanna prove you really like to write, then where the hell is the rest? Two contest entry stories doesn't stack to a love of writing in my book.
Second, how the hell this story won the damn contest is beyond me. The description is a bland cookie cutter restatement of the contest's theme, there's no cover art, and the characters and method of the fic are all as old as Trixie's first episode. This fic has essentially been done hundreds of time before, and I don't care about whether the writing is 'good'. It's a contest entry that aimed to win. Good writing is part of the expectation.
EDIT: And yes, perhaps I am a bit biased due to my friend Lapis having entered into the contest, but I would like to think my problems with this are legitimate.
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You might want to chill out on this one. The account was made on March 16th. Two stories in a month and a half is pretty good. Different people write at different speeds, and I think the bio is just saying that the contest was a convenient reason to join. Little early to say the contest was the one and only reason they're here.
I haven't read the story yet, so I can't say if it deserved to win or not. I hope it did. It beat me, after all. If my entry lost to a bad story, what does that make mine?
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The winner of a shiny participation ribbon? :D
3017412 The letter story?
It's written to appear in a pamphlet at a convention. No one will find anything offensive in it because there's no substance to it.
So, I guess it's the best for what it is?
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I apologize if my tone was dickish. Not the intent. My first point was just an irksome thing. It's the rest that bothers me. And losing in a contest means nothing about the quality of one's story. It only means it wasn't *chosen*, not that it didn't deserve the top spot.
3017373
Your first point seems to be implying that the only type of stories anyone could ever write are ponyfics. Have you considered that he loves to write things that aren't fanfics, as well as the stories done for this contest?
First of all, allow me say that I am honored to be granted the Community Choice award, especially considering that there were many appealing and wonderful stories around, by authors more known, with a greater number of followers and a LOT more experience. I'd risk saying that it could have come down to the motivation of the supporters. A small group united with purpose can do more than throngs of people without direction...
But, enough of that, I'd like to address the "atmosphere" in the comments below. Yes, perhaps one does not agree with the choice of winners, yes, perhaps a successful story was somehow lacking, slightly unoriginal, bland, colorless, whatever. It was not a contest about that. It was not a competition of achieving the apex of creativity, artistic breakthroughs and astonishing exposition.
It was a contest celebrating Friendship and what it means to all of us. Perhaps Friendship is a cliché in the end - sometimes "unoriginal", "seen before, many, many times", "not of the highest quality"... But that does not matter, does it? A lot of people that were brave enough to enter the competition simply wanted to show us that they appreciate Friendship. So what if their appreciation was not worthy of Nobel Prize in Literature in someone's eyes?
I want to thank all of the writers that participated with the intention of celebrating Friendship. Each of them in their own, unique way.
Honourable mention'd. I feel suitably recognized.
Good show to the winners. Ironically enough, out of the eleven or so stories I read, none of the top three winning ones featured.
3017850 And writing as well as one can is commendable.
But I follow contests to read good fiction. This contest was very subpar in terms of the quality of fiction. From the perspective of a reader, unrelated to the contest prompt, looking at these fics as fics, there is not a lot there. I am disappointed in the quality of the entries because I have seen superior works.
These fictions should have been better than they were. That's the sad truth.
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I have seen superior works too. Tolkien, Orwell, May, Hemingway, Dostoevsky... But I don't remember us coming here for the search of new prodigies. We came here to read about Friendship. And we did. It's good to point out flaws in someone's work, but not to the extent of diminishing their efforts altogether, them being sometimes flawed and lacking perfection.
Wow, 2nd place.
Thank you very much, and thanks to anyone who voted for my story in the Community Choice Awards!
3017876
Personally I would say part of this came down to our subject matter. Some subjects, like last years villain redemption, promote a lot more mental gear grinding and thought than something cute and simple like friendship. If anything this contest actually highlights how hard it is to write a nice little slice of life show and have it stay with the audience.
That being said, we did noticed that the average quality for stories went up this year. So while there weren't as many great inspiring works, there also weren't as many complete flops. This isn't really reflected in the above post with the examples given but I thought it was worth mentioning. This likely had to deal with fewer people really jumping out of their league with some crazy idea.
Anyway, it was a learning experience for us all and even if there weren't as many mind-blowing fics there were a lot of good and enjoyable stories about friendship and in the end that is the point of the contest. Having fun with pony words.
Congratulations to all winners!
WOW, to say I'm surprised is to put it mildly!!!
I really appreciate the feedback from the judges and those who read my fics during the judging process; thank you, thank you to everyone who gave me their feedback on my stories!! I really appreciate those who gave a "new name" the time of day. 
I hadn't dared hope that I would win something, but here I am! I am humbled and honored, thank you so much!!!
During the writing process for Letters, I imagined the feeling of a 'serial', the kind of story that would be published, chapter by chapter, in a newspaper. I thought it had a nice similarity to seeing a story in a con book (maybe with chapters printed between advertisements), to be read on-the-go (like at a con!) and now it's going to happen!!
I'm so excited!! This is the first contest I've won for writing, and it means the world to me! Thank you!!
I'd also like to offer congratulations to the other winners! I am so excited and proud of all of us!!! There were so many wonderful entries!! Writing is a wonderful pursuit, and whether or not we won something today, a magnificent body of work has been produced, and I'm proud of everyone who finished an entry. Sometimes the hardest part of writing can be starting, and to everyone who submitted a story, I'd like to say that I think we are ALL winners!
Great job!!
3017887 I'm not asking for Hemmingway. I'm asking for something interesting to read.
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I've read very, very interesting stories in the contest – I came searching for Friendship and it's what I have found.
It's a shame your standards forbade you from enjoying the competition, friend.
Ahhhhhhh!
I am so deeply honored that my story was thought of highly enough to receive an honorable mention! I am so, so glad that this tale was so well-received, really, I am nearly at a loss for words.
Major congratulations to all of the winners of this contest!
3017949 I am agreed in average quality being better. Unfortunately, I would have preferred more flops if there'd been more standouts. This is all a matter of personal preference, of course. Many people enjoyed the output of the contest, but I was hoping for something more.
3019005
It's something to be improved upon in the future when we run more.
Showing us lower tier authors just how much we suck
Wow, "Snails aren't Bugs" gets an honorable mention? Hmm... Maybe I should just write every single pony OOC from now on, and I'll win every contest ever.
3020281
if you think you suck compared to these, then I'd hate to see what you wrote...
3017373
Yeah, you tell 'em, mah brutha! I also think a story about Chrysalis having a tea party with Celestia for no reason is waaaaay better!
3017949 I'll agree that the subject was challenging. "Making friends" could go in any number of directions! Narrowing that down to something simple and presentable was not easy.
But it was a good challenge, and I was grateful for the opportunity to take a shot at it.
Congrats to all those who won and/or were recognized!
3020307
My works are very well received, but I guess crap will always shine over true hard work...
Looks like I have some more stories to add to my read it later list.
*comes back to thread after a few days off*
I usually stay far away from drama threads like this one, but as a contestant, I feel the need to speak up a bit.
A bit of grousing over why 'fic X won instead of Y' is to be expected in any contest, but disparaging the contest and the participants smacks of both sour grapes and a staggering amount of condescension. And specifically calling out the winning author and questioning their intentions and motivations? Sorry to be blunt, but that's just childish.
3020636
People do it because every contest ends the same way: almost every spot in the top 10 is some cookie-cutter clickbait story made by an author with a billion followers, while the winner is either of the same kind, or some bogus attempt of the jury to pretend they "found fresh talent" by putting some no-name author with an average story up there.
But hey, at least the contests don't rub it in by saying the usual "everyone is a winner" nonsense...
3020844
Of course we didn't need to say "everyone is a winner", it goes without saying
Personally I think we did a little better last year with the contest. Still, everyone has different tastes and when it comes down to it there is no way to make everyone agree.
3020844
Snips and Snails, Dinky, an OC, and a Human story count as clickbait? A good chunk of the authors listed in the blog also have less than a hundred followers, so... pretty sure that's less than a billion. Plus, you can't ignore the fact that the winning fic is going to be printed in the convention conbook. I'm sure the people in charge want a subpar story printed in a souvenir that (hopefully) hundreds or thousands of people will keep and remember.
Disparaging the contest doesn't help anyone. If the winner is bad, it makes everyone who entered look worse by comparison.
Maybe the moral to take away from this is to ignore any of this groups contests in the future, since there are obviously none among the group with any sort of taste. Supporting low quality fanfiction only encourages bad habits.
3020636 I dislike being called out. But let's talk it out.
I don't have to write an entry to be critical of a contest. I did not enter because I did not write a satisfactory entry. I do not believe this contest was bad, only that the entries were not stellar. As I mentioned, they are entirely inoffensive.
I just wanted to read a stellar entry. I'm still going through them, but I've yet to find one.
3021568
Says the HiE enthusiast who likes to retreat to fandom memes ("Lyra + humans", etc.)
3021882
I think it's actually kind of interesting that your response to any given issue can be accurately predicted by "What's the most cynical thing someone could say in this situation?"
3021882 Yes, that was the prompt for the contest. Very perceptive of you.
Wow. What an embarrassing display.
I suppose people are going to have different tastes in a lot of things, and this contest certainly was oriented mostly towards slice of life and light heartedness.
I think it's odd that, despite the fact that I get bored sick of adventure, dark, and oh-so-tormented 'deep' psychological stories, I don't think I've ever blanketed an entire seventy five stories that are oriented towards that category as sub-par just because they don't tickle my interests.
I don't think I've seen this much whining since the 'FimFiction is terrible' thread. I'm not obliged to take thoughtless criticism seriously, and I'm certainly not impressed by a bunch of writers failing at even common thread decorum.
And to those whom this does not apply, sorry. This thread leaves a bad taste in my mouth. I enjoyed plenty of stories in this contest, some more than any 'stellar' work, whatever the hell that's supposed to mean.
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I love your avatar. So appropriate to so many situations.
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3018775 To everyone who participated, thank you so much for your contributions! I, for one, found a number of stories I enjoyed, and a few authors I intend to follow. You were asked to write very short, family friendly stories centered on the theme of 'making friends,' and you folks delivered. I enjoyed several that made the cut, and many more that didn't. And every author has been simply lovely to interact with. At least, the ones I've interacted with...
Please, don't let the negativity of a few discourage any of you from continuing to write. As far as I can see, there is one user who enjoyed some fics yet didn't enjoy the #1 winner, one user who seemed to be looking for something more edgy than the contest outlines seemed to inspire, and a couple others who just seem to be jumping on the bandwagon and throwing negativity around. Constructive criticism is something every author should try to learn from, and differing opinions are still valid. Vitriol, however, is something every author should try to let roll off their backs. While it can be a predictable byproduct of placing creative works into public arenas, it's unfortunate to see so much of it here. Especially amidst a generally sunny fanbase, and an equally pleasant prompt.
Rest assured that most of the reactions and votes surrounding the contest entries are positive.
3035478 Wow. I'm not pigeonholing all the criticism here. A couple of people with negative things to say cited specifics, expressed their opinions and were open to discussion. Not you, though. You've just generally bashed the entire website as a whole, and every single participant in this contest in specific. That's just mean-spirited. What do you do for an encore, shove a child off a swing?
You certainly do seem to think you're clever, mushing a bunch of big words and phrases together, but so far all you've managed to do is drag the discourse down into the gutter. Ignoring the fact that I did not respond to you specifically (are you just refreshing this page, hoping for something negative to say?), you are not saying anything of value. Two cents is a pretty generous estimation, isn't it? The purpose of coming together around fanfiction is to encourage writers, both practiced and novice. Every single contribution you have made to this particular thread has been negative towards every single participant, and the website as a whole, for good measure. You've had nothing constructive to add. So why should any one of us read a single caustic word of it?
What you call 'mollycoddling,' others might call encouragement. It's not unheard of in this fandom. If your inevitable response has nothing constructive to add to the dialogue I believe I'll just block you. Please, say something worthwhile. Change my mind.
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Seriously. This thread is a week old. Let it fucking die, people. The winners are the winners. At least pretend that you're mature and accept it for what it is.