I think more than a single story in the tisoz's Second Shadowrun Fiction Contest deserves an award. If Angels were not in the running, who would be your top three finishers?
And feel free to tell me why and influence my decision.
Full Version: Help me choose a 2nd and 3rd place finish
It's terribly difficult to be objective about one's own work.
As one of the authors, I'm not convinced of the ethics involved in participating in a tiered vote. It was easy enough to identify one story other than my own to pick and vote for in the poll. It's a more difficult task to pick three more while leaving my own story out.
Any guidance on this? Should all authors just pretend their own story doesn't exist?
As one of the authors, I'm not convinced of the ethics involved in participating in a tiered vote. It was easy enough to identify one story other than my own to pick and vote for in the poll. It's a more difficult task to pick three more while leaving my own story out.
Any guidance on this? Should all authors just pretend their own story doesn't exist?
Assuming no Angels, I'd go:
1) Inhuman
2) Another Night in Poland
3) Curtains
1) Inhuman
2) Another Night in Poland
3) Curtains
Eh. I see no reason not to vote for yourself if you think you deserve it.
I'll just reiterate my vote for Inhuman here. I'm still not sure about the others, though.
I'll just reiterate my vote for Inhuman here. I'm still not sure about the others, though.
Better Run Runner was my runner up on voting, it was so good when I read it I almost voted before reading the rest.
1) Inhuman
2) Another Night in Poland
3) We'll Meet Again
2) Another Night in Poland
3) We'll Meet Again
| QUOTE (coolgrafix @ Aug 14 2006, 09:23 AM) |
| It's terribly difficult to be objective about one's own work. As one of the authors, I'm not convinced of the ethics involved in participating in a tiered vote. It was easy enough to identify one story other than my own to pick and vote for in the poll. It's a more difficult task to pick three more while leaving my own story out. Any guidance on this? Should all authors just pretend their own story doesn't exist? |
If I wrote something I thought deserved rank, I doubt modesty, or good taste and sportsmanship or whatever, would cause me to exempt it from competition.
My first brush with not voting for yourself was choosing the team MVP in Little Leaguue Baseball, where the vote was dramatic. The results were about 60% for one player and 30% for another good player and mysteriously the retarted kid who picked his nose and rarely played got 2 votes. I'll let everyone figure it out on their own, but it was a slap in the face for other good players that got no votes.
At this point it looks like a few authors have already started ranking without ignoring their own work. So place your own work where you think it belongs and point out why it belongs in the good neighborhood.
Like I said before, I am happy with the submissions. The bar got raised a bit from earlier competitions. This exercise is to award other than one deserving work.
1)Inhuman
2)Jungle Fever
3)Another night in Poland
2)Jungle Fever
3)Another night in Poland
It just seems like an art show where the artists in the show get to be their own judges. However, moving right along.
If anyone read my comments in the previous thread, you'll know:
a) I really enjoyed "Better Run, Runner." Nice little vignette full of action and characters I wanted to hear more about.
b) I was looking for a nice little vignette full of action and characters I wanted to hear more about. =)
Call me a mouth breather, but that seemed at least as a good a criteria as "any story where sounds are spelled out" automatically being discarded.
I didn't get to vote in the poll, but if I had it would have been for "Better Run, Runner," which I will now place at my number one spot:
1) Better Run, Runner
I place "Better Run, Runner," "Jungle Fever: Epilogue," and "Curtains" in essentially the same boat. They all offer about the same level of sophistication, technique, and feel. Of the three "Curtains" held me least enthralled. A lover-death-avenging story where we never get to know the love interest enough to care, much less relate to the suicide. I moved "Curtains" down a few notches, which brought "Jungle Fever: Epilogue" into contention with "Another Night in Poland," which I had placed below the main three. "Poland" was a good read, but a little bit of a downer and not my style as much as "Jungle..." a little clinical. So "Jungle" took second place.
2) Jungle Fever: Epilogue
I had some problems with "Curtains" if you recall from above, enough to knock it down a couple of notches to below "Another Night in Poland." That put it in contention with "Inhuman," a confusing read that I did not appreciate as much as other did, but whose writer was clearly trying to attain something at a higher level. Between the two I chose "Inhuman."
3) Inhuman
The remaining stories all had good points, but either brevity, abruptness, or a confusing backstory knocked them out of the running when compared to the others. See the previous thread for more on this.
Hope that was helpful. There. I voted for mine. Hope everyone is happy now. =) I kill me.
If anyone read my comments in the previous thread, you'll know:
a) I really enjoyed "Better Run, Runner." Nice little vignette full of action and characters I wanted to hear more about.
b) I was looking for a nice little vignette full of action and characters I wanted to hear more about. =)
Call me a mouth breather, but that seemed at least as a good a criteria as "any story where sounds are spelled out" automatically being discarded.
I didn't get to vote in the poll, but if I had it would have been for "Better Run, Runner," which I will now place at my number one spot:
1) Better Run, Runner
I place "Better Run, Runner," "Jungle Fever: Epilogue," and "Curtains" in essentially the same boat. They all offer about the same level of sophistication, technique, and feel. Of the three "Curtains" held me least enthralled. A lover-death-avenging story where we never get to know the love interest enough to care, much less relate to the suicide. I moved "Curtains" down a few notches, which brought "Jungle Fever: Epilogue" into contention with "Another Night in Poland," which I had placed below the main three. "Poland" was a good read, but a little bit of a downer and not my style as much as "Jungle..." a little clinical. So "Jungle" took second place.
2) Jungle Fever: Epilogue
I had some problems with "Curtains" if you recall from above, enough to knock it down a couple of notches to below "Another Night in Poland." That put it in contention with "Inhuman," a confusing read that I did not appreciate as much as other did, but whose writer was clearly trying to attain something at a higher level. Between the two I chose "Inhuman."
3) Inhuman
The remaining stories all had good points, but either brevity, abruptness, or a confusing backstory knocked them out of the running when compared to the others. See the previous thread for more on this.
Hope that was helpful. There. I voted for mine. Hope everyone is happy now. =) I kill me.
Didn't mean to scare everyone off. =)
Eh. I just don't think there's much enthusiasm.
Anyway, I may suggest Another Night in Poland behind Inhuman, but just barely.
Anyway, I may suggest Another Night in Poland behind Inhuman, but just barely.
Congrats to Critias! Bravo on the first place win.
Tis, you really know how to keep folks in suspense. =) What's the scoop on second/third?
Tis, you really know how to keep folks in suspense. =) What's the scoop on second/third?
| QUOTE (coolgrafix) |
| Congrats to Critias! Bravo on the first place win. |
Danke. Thanks for the votes, everyone.
hack!
I'd like to thank the Tisoz Academy, and the fans, of course. If it weren't for the Academy holding these contests, and the fans voting in them, I wouldn't be up here accepting this statue, today. Most of all, though, I've got to thank Jebus, for giving me everything I have. Jebus told me to write about almost-gang-raped little girls and horrible monstrous packs of cyberpsychos, and Jebus wanted me to tell a story about gay street samurai and the dangers of drug addictions (especially using SR's rules for those addictions).
Thanks, Jebus, for the upbeat and popular story idea. Feel good short fiction of the year, woo! Go Jebus!
Thanks, Jebus, for the upbeat and popular story idea. Feel good short fiction of the year, woo! Go Jebus!
Once upon a time there was a notion of selecting a second place story. Have I just missed the announcement? I'm pretty good at just missing obvious things. =)
I just read Angels and I'll be damned if it wasn't one of the best stories I've ever read in any genre. Like, literally. Way to go, Critias.
| QUOTE (krayola red) |
| I just read Angels and I'll be damned if it wasn't one of the best stories I've ever read in any genre. Like, literally. Way to go, Critias. |
Thanks. Glad you liked it -- it just might be the single piece I like the best, of what I've written. I posted a thread a few weeks ago with a link to all my short fiction, ever. Give it all a once over, it's free.
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