Winter Writing Contest 2017

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Xenon FAKKU Writer
Forum Image: https://i.ibb.co/WGWMrVj/Winter-Writing-Contest-2017-3.png


One and all, the time has come again for the FAKKU! Writing and Fanfiction section's annual Winter Writing contest. Members of the community new and old are welcome to try out and submit any kind of original written work from poetry to prose. The winners will receive some nice FAKKU! prizes, in addition to fame and respect. You can discuss the contest and find the rules and guidelines in this thread.

The contest will accept entries until its deadline which is 00:00 of New Year's Day, the 1st of January, 2018 (EST, GMT-5). Submissions posted after this date cannot be included, so please hurry to submit your entry and join in on the fun!
2
Xenon FAKKU Writer
It is my honor to have the privilege of hosting this competition alongside last year's runner-up, d(^_^)(^_^)d, and xninebreaker. So, please participate, prepare your submissions, and remember to have fun in this seasonal and festive time of the year!

Rules

1. 5000 word limit.

2. The themes this year will be: Family and Bonds and/or Fighting and Struggle. These themes come with strong emotions; spending time with family and friends during this festive time might build memories worth recreating in your entry. Feel free to also base your entries on winter/holidays if you wish, although it is not a required element. Fighting and conflict also can be a popular writing setting. The literary focus of battle is an art all on its own! However, please take care of yourselves if you combine these two groups of themes into one entry!

3. It can be any kind of creative writing - stories and poetry are welcome.

4. It must be your own work. We will be looking very closely at your words for anything that has been plagiarized.

5. Please avoid having someone else edit/improve/fix errors in your entry. It goes against the spirit of the contest in questioning whether your submission is truly your original work.

6. Keep posts in this topic relevant. Comments are allowed, and submissions should be posted here as links to separate Writing and Fanfiction forum threads. Details can be found in the post below.

7. Please try to include the following tag [Winter Contest Entry 2017] at the front of your entry's thread title. An example would be "[Winter Contest Entry 2017] Fakku's Wonderful Christmas".

8. Each contestant is allowed to submit a maximum of one (1) entry.

Deadline

The deadline for entries is 00:00 of New Year's Day, the 1st of January, 2018 (EST, GMT-5). Entries after this time will have to be disregarded.

Judging

A panel of three judges - d(^_^)(^_^)d, xninebreaker, and myself - will analyze the submissions very carefully, select the ones we find the most exemplary, explain the reasoning behind them, and declare the winner of the Judge's Choice award. There will be a runner-up selected for this award who will be commended for their close placement.

There will also be a public poll on the selection of top picks come January so that everyone gets their say. The winner of the public opinion on FAKKU will receive the Reader's Choice award. The user receiving second in the polls will be a runner-up for this award who will also be commended for their close placement.

Prizes

The winner of the Judge's Choice and Reader's Choice awards will each win up to $25 in purchase value towards items on the FAKKU Store. This can include two months of subscription to FAKKU or a physical FAKKU publication delivered to you.

Those in the runners-up positions will win their choice of any one (1) current or future digital FAKKU publication, a $10 value. For a list of current and planned releases, check this link to the FAKKU! Store Manga & Doujinshi page. This could also be a full month subscription to FAKKU!

Of course, the winners will also gain the praise of the Writing and Fanfiction section.

Special addition this year: Winners will be able to receive an exclusive custom "FAKKU Writer" rank on the FAKKU Discord server.

Lastly, due to popular demand, and the fun of it all, I will be returning with my personally written 3 stanza poem dedicated to the winners, and a limerick to the runners-up.

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Ask any questions you may have in this thread. You may PM one of the judges instead if you would like.

Also, please try to leave some comments on the entries of the participants, whether constructive or supportive. It doesn't matter whether you're a fellow writer, a participant yourself, or someone who barely writes and just reads; writers enjoy comments and feedback from almost anyone.

So please give it a shot and get your ideas out there; we wish you the best of luck. And of course, happy holidays!

Credits go to waterflame for this year's banner. Thank you!
2
Xenon FAKKU Writer
F.A.Q.s
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--How do I submit my Entry?

Make a new thread for your entry in the Writing and Fanfiction Section. Then, copy the link of your entry and post it in this thread.

You MUST post the link of your entry in this thread or else, we will NOT count it.

--Can I submit multiple entries?

For every users' entries, there will be a limit of one (1). It is not yet known how many will be participating. However, each judge has to read every entry. In order to avoid potential eye strain, please limit your entries to one piece please.

--Does it absolutely have to be under 5000 words?

If people could make do with 1000 words in the first contest, and 1500/2000 words in past contests, 5000 should be more than enough.

--Can I change or edit my entry?

Sure, but please announce and let us judges know. You can change or edit your entry up until the deadline - 00:00 of the 1st of January, 2018 (EST, GMT-5).

--Can I take ideas, or have a parody from an already-existing work?

Sure, you can. However, you need to explain it to us that you did and have permission from the owner of that work if it's a work located on these forums. We may suspect plagiarism otherwise. Just leave a footnote regarding it in your thread.

--Do I have to include adult/sexual contents in my entry?

This is purely your choice. We don't mind if sexual content is present. We don't encourage or discourage it.

--What is this poll and how is it going to work?

Depending on the number of entries, we may have multiple polls. The top users in each poll will move on to the Final poll. The winner of the Final poll will receive the Reader's Choice award. The second highest will receive the Runner-up award.

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Polls

Closed: You can view the first and only poll here.

Winners

You can view the Winners declared in a thread here.

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List of entrants and their submissions:
Spoiler:
In order of submission:

leonard267 submitted For the Greater Food

Yanker submitted Sonata by the Sea

TaurusNitram submitted I have a problem.

waterflame submitted Meeting


If your name is not on this list, it means:

- You did not post a link to your submission as instructed by the rules above.

- Your entry did not follow the rules, being that it went over 5000 words or was not somehow related to the theme.

- Your entry was not posted before the deadline.

- The list is yet to be updated.

If you've made an error from any of the infractions described above, then your entry may not be included, but you will be notified of such and given the opportunity to fix as appropriate, unless the deadline has passed.
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xninebreaker FAKKU Writer
I am honored to be able to participate as a judge this year. The Winter Writing Contest is, by far, my favorite writing event of the year, and I encourage anyone interested to participate. While turnouts may vary from contest to contest, I always look forward to it because of the incredible gems that get posted. This year is no different!

I am looking forward to how everyone will be handling the themes. May the best writer win!
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Yo, long time no see! I'm excited to be a judge once again, and I'm looking forward to what you guys will do with these juicy themes. I realize I've been MIA from this site for awhile, but I can assure you, my writing contest judge skills are as sharp as ever.
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waterflame FAKKUDL.NET
Wooo! My story writing skills are horrible but I may still try this out... Really I just have problems with writing characters. Should be fun :3

As for this years banner, it's the third one - https://imgur.com/a/NjJsQ
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waterflame wrote...
Wooo! My story writing skills are horrible but I may still try this out... Really I just have problems with writing characters. Should be fun :3


I wouldn't worry about the pressure of this being a competition. Just look at it as an excuse to write something and have fun with it. And if you happen to win free stuff, awesome.
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Yanker I read hentai for plot
Ah, it's that time of the year again.
0
waterflame FAKKUDL.NET
d(^_^)(^_^)d wrote...
waterflame wrote...
Wooo! My story writing skills are horrible but I may still try this out... Really I just have problems with writing characters. Should be fun :3


I wouldn't worry about the pressure of this being a competition. Just look at it as an excuse to write something and have fun with it. And if you happen to win free stuff, awesome.


If anything that's what I planned on doing... funny enough I didn't even read the there were any prizes... If anything I'd write it to have fun~
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Alright friends, I've awakened from my eternal slumber and crawled out of my cave to participate!
0
Xenon FAKKU Writer
Merry Christmas to those who celebrate!

Also, a friendly reminder that there is one week left to work on entries.

Take care and be well.
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leonard267 FAKKU Non-Writer
Here is my entry. Take it as a Christmas gift that no one in their right mind would want.

For the Greater Food
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Xenon FAKKU Writer
There are only a few days left to work on entries, please try to use this weekend to make your finishing touches.
1
Yanker I read hentai for plot
Time to start

EDIT: here

Sonata by the Sea
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I hope I did this correctly!

I Have a Problem.
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waterflame FAKKUDL.NET
Here it is! Don't expect much though...

Meeting
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Xenon FAKKU Writer
Thank you all for your entries.

As of now, the deadline for the contest is passed and submissions will no longer be accepted. Stay tuned for the Reader's poll that will be posted in a couple days. The other judges and I will analyze the pieces as the polling is happening so both award-winners will be announced at once and in a timely manner.

Thank you for your participation and happy New Year! May the year of 2018 raise the creativity in your writing and provide you with more opportunity for inspiration.