Gaia NPC Story Contest ~Finished! Look out for our next one!

[Yeata Zi]

I want you all to know it has been my sincerest pleasure running this contest over the past month and a half. I have gotten a chance to make some new friends and to read fifteen wonderful stories about the NPCs I love so much. Choosing a winner was not in the least bit an easy choice to make, but someone had to win. I want you to know that every story is special to me even if you didn't happen to win the big prizes.

You made the decision really tough for me. I hope that next time I run this contest the decision is even harder for me to make. I couldn't let everyone who worked so hard go with out a prize, so I made every contestant a little consolation package. It's not much, but what little gold I had left I put into it.

I want to thank each and every one of you who made this contest work--whether you wrote a story, donated, helped judge, made a banner, or just hung around and chatted with everyone.

You're awesome.


Ok, ok. Now that I'm done with the sappy stuff, here it is--the main event. Our winners. Drum roll please....

First place goes to VKiera and her story "Blind Faith". Both judges agreed that this tale really encompassed everything this contest was about. It focused on two relatively unexplored NPCs and gave them a third dimension.

Second place goes to Ysavvryl with "Wish it Wasn't an Ordinary Day". This detailed slice-of-life tale really in went into great detail of some of our well-known but little spot-lighted NPCs.

Third place goes to "Changes" by Reed Meroe. It focuses on Alien 09 as he goes on an introspective journey to change himself.

Our two honorable mentions go to Treacherous Hat's "The Mouse and Lion" and LabTech Kestin's "Collusion"

Congratulations to our winners. I hope to see you all here next year.

Readers Choice Vote!

Congrats to Reed Meroe for barely winning the reader's choice award!

Yay!



Hello! I'm Zi and I am what you might call a plot enthusiast. In recent years I've noticed quite a
number of NPCs seem to be ignored in Gaia's over-all plot. For this reason, I got it into my
head that I would throw a writing contest to explore the possibilities of what these unused NPCs
have been up to over the years. What kind of adventures have they been on? What romances
have sprung up? What drama are these unused NPCs going through as the spot light is turned
away from them? I want to find out, and I want you to weave me a tale of their exploits. Several
kind people around Gaia donated to help fund this endeavor, and I intend for this to be the single
most amazing NPC story contest that has ever graced this website.

So, yes, as the name suggests I will be taking short stories about our dear NPCs from Gaians
around the site and these will be compared with other stories based on originality, hilarity, story,
and whatever else my mind can think of. These NPCs can be anyone from our well known shop
keepers, to our holiday figures to characters who have popped up in RIGs or have items named
after them.

The contest will be accepting entries until September 1st, 2012.

This should be fun! And I hope to see some characters expanded that are otherwise two
dimensional.

...and just to sway those of you who are still on the fence about this--CHECK OUT THESE
FABULOUS PRIZES!

Fabulous Prizes*
To our over all first place winner 1,500,000 g
To our second place winner 500,000 g
To our third winner 300,000 g
Two honorable mentions will receive 100,000 g

I've gottena lot of item donations, so I may throw these around on occasion! Huzzah!

*These are subject to change if I get more donations through out the contest


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[Yeata Zi]

When posting in the thread....

Be kind to your fellow posters.

Follow Gaia ToS

Don't quote the first page please (it's annoying)

If you read someone's story, please be constructive in your opinions. We are trying to build
people up, not bring them down.

You can PM me or Quote me if you want my attention. I may be slow to respond, but I will
always attempt it.

I'll add more rules if I sense they need to be added.



When writing your story....

I take plagiarism very seriously. If I even sense that it has occurred, you will be instantly
removed from the contest and placed on my ignore list. The point here is to be creative and
have fun.

Have fun!

Have a look at the rubric for better idea of what I'm looking for.

Follow the directions on the entry form carefully.

This is a short story contest, so although I am not going to put up a word limit, I want you to
remmeber you don't need to write me a chapter book.

If you have questions, PM me.

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[Yeata Zi]

Because I don't entirely trust myself to judge alone, I am going to try to make this as fair as
possible. In that spirit, I will be recruiting two additional judges to read through every story and rate
them based on the rubric I am supplying. These lucky folks will have much work ahead of them--so
if you're thinking about applying, consider it carefully. A judge is a person who is not entering the
contest, but is very interested in it none the less. They have to be balanced and fair.

If you are interested, please shoot me a PM.

YeataZi
Age: 23
Race: Elf
A bit about her: Zi is the leader of teh Gaians in Black.
She likes long walks on the beach, and watching her
mutated experiments attempt to escape their captivity
in the dark basements of section 13 eeerrrrrr and uhh
puppies. She lieks sci-fi, comic books and space. She
dislikes brussels sprouts and people who claim they
like brussels sprouts. Stop kidding yourselves.


Queen-of-the-Rogue
Age: No one needs to know a Lady's age, it's rude to ask.
Race: Human
A bit about her: She is a member of the thieves court of Corus,
Tortall. She's not really a Queen, just a Princess, but don't tell
anyone that. She likes to hide from her best friends and they
would never think to look for her under the title of Queen. cool
She rules the Patten District and puts up with no nonsense,
unless it's coming from her best friends or family. She tolerates
them much better than other people. Her favorite thing to do is
spend time working in her garden, mess up her garden and she's
very likely to kill you. Her best friends are the only people that
doesn't extend to.




Rubric


Originality: Rate 1-10 with 1 being so unoriginal it is a bore and 10 being flipping mind-blowingly awesome.

Grammar, Spelling and Sentence structure: Rate 1-10 with 1 being so horrible it would
make your sixth grade English teacher cry and 10 being so immaculate, heaven itself opens up
to shine a light down on this perfect piece of literature.

Organization: Rate 1-10 with 1 being entirely unorganized so much that the reader has no
idea what transpired and 10 creates an interesting, clear narrative told from a consistent point
of view.

Elaboration: Rate 1-10 with 1 being something similar to "See Spot Run" and 10 being a
story that describes characters, setting, actions, etc in a clear and entertaining way.


I of course hold the right to add a section later.
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[Yeata Zi]

This part is very simple <3

After you have written your short story, put it in your Gaia Journal as an entry. Then, fill out the following form and PM it to me.

[b]Username[/b]: Put your username here.
[b]Title of Story[/b]: Here, you put your short story's Title!
[b]NPCs involved[/b]: What NPCs does this story focus on?
[b]Genre[/b]: Here, tell us if your story is an action adventure, a mystery, a drama, etc.
[b]Link[/b]: Here, you will link to your Journal Entry in which you have posted this story.

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[Yeata Zi]

Username: VKiera
Title of Story: Blind Faith
NPCs involved: Jack Frost and The Sandman from the Bitterfrost RIG, there was also a short comic.
Genre: Eh, romance I guess, if you squint just right.
Link: Please Enjoy the Story!

Username: MelodyOxO
Title of Story: Buttercup Cafe
NPCs involved: Rina
Genre: Drama
Link: Buttercup Cafe

Username: Reed Meroe
Title of Story: Changes
NPCs involved: Zurg 09, Natasha, and Devin
Genre: Drama
Link: Changes

Username: LabTech Kestin
Title of Story: Collusion
NPCs involved: Faris, Cordell
Genre: ???*
Link: Collusion

Username: Arcanines
Title of Story: [Don't knock it until you try it]
NPCs involved: Main focus: Ian
Side characters: Louie
Vague mentions: Moira, Sasha, Liam
Genre: Inspirational
Link: [X]

Username: Purple Hyena
Title of Story: Duck and Flower
NPCs involved: Rina and Peyo, with a small Ruby cameo.
Genre: Romance.
Link: Duck and Flower

Username: Meushi.
Title of Story: Have Door, Will Travel
NPCs involved: Rina, Stein, Kanoko, Brennivin and Radio Jack
Genre: Comedy/Slice of Gaia Life
Link: Hope this works!

Username: The Maiden of Midnight
Title of Story: Josie's Story
NPCs involved: Josie (Global Imports, formerly of Towns)
Genre: Comedy
Link: Josie's Story

Username: Monday Delirium.
Title of Story: Just Another Friday
NPCs involved: Yorick (check Yorick sdplus and Yorick's Curse) and Friday XIII (an actual npc, also has an item of his own and a sdplus doll)
Genre: Huhhh... Feels a bit noir.. I always write stuff either noir, pulp fictiony or somewhere in between.... I.. Drama, maybe?
Link: Here it is!

Username: Treacherous Hat
Title of Story: The Mouse and the Lion
NPCs involved: Liam
Genre: War story?
Link: Enjoy!

Username: Sevi Rais
Title of Story: Sewer Beasts
NPCs involved: Ian. Plus cameos from Rufus, Sasha, Moira, Liam and Vanessa.
Genre: Drama, horror: The shadow of Ian's ghosts still haunt him from a simple childhood prank.
Link: Sewer Beasts: Part 1, 2, & 3

Username: Zabby42
Title of Story: The Task
NPCs involved: Eileen, Azrael, and Ciro
Genre: Non-Fiction
Link: The Task

Username: LillShadow Kitty Cat
Title of Story :An Unexpected and Secret Love
NPCs involved:Ian and Rufus
Genre: Romance
Link:An Unexpected Secret Love

Username: Ysavvryl
Title of Story: wish it wasn't an ordinary day
NPCs involved: Mostly Mirai, but also Rina, Agatha, Barrett, Logan, Ian, Rufus, and some mermaids and mermen
Genre: slice-of-life
Link: here

Username: Alazon
Title of Story: Words in Silence
NPCs involved: Louie and Gimpi - mentions of Zhigavo, Vladimir von Helson, and Ian
Genre: I'm...not too sure.
Link: (◕o◕)

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[Yeata Zi]

So many wonderful people in the GCD or otherwheres
donated or supported me so that this contest
could happen!

AND THEY DESERVE OUR THANKS! Without
them this contest couldn't happen!

SO THANK YOU

Anabaena
Existential Existence
high skies
Love walks in
Meushi
Queen-of-the-Rogue
Ridley Starsmore
Sasune
Stop Dont Believin
tea bakeries
Unno Rokuro
VKiera
Your Blushing Paladin

Thank you to the artists of Gaia whose art I stole to decorate mah contest!


If you want a complete list of what was donated, you can check out this thread.

THANK YOU KIND FOLKS

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[Yeata Zi]

Want to place a link in your signature? Well, here you go!


by Ridley Starsmore

[url=http://www.gaiaonline.com/forum/writing-contests/not-open-don-t-post/t.81247717/][IMG]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v56/yeatazi/wcb.jpg[/IMG][/url]



by VKiera

[url=http://www.gaiaonline.com/forum/writing-contests/not-open-don-t-post/t.81247717/][IMG]http://i49.tinypic.com/2pt4f7m.jpg[/IMG][/url]


Want to make a signature button for me? You would be the awesomest person ever.

Want linked to? Tell me!
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[Yeata Zi]

HOLD

[Yeata Zi]

HOLD!

[Yeata Zi]

O P E N

[Anabaena]

I'm psyched! I can't wait to see what people come up with!

I personally do have the imagination, but not the writing skills to write a proper story. So I let others do it for my entertainment.. heart

Write away people, write away!

[Yeata Zi]

Anabaena

I'm psyched! I can't wait to see what people come up with!

I personally do have the imagination, but not the writing skills to write a proper story. So I let others do it for my entertainment.. heart

Write away people, write away!

That's about how I am. <3

I'm excited!

[Anabaena]

Yeata Zi

That's about how I am. <3

I'm excited!

At least we can do something like this, to get it started! biggrin

[LabTech Kestin]

I'm definitely going to enter. Just so you know. 3nodding

[Yeata Zi]

LabTech Kestin

I'm definitely going to enter. Just so you know. 3nodding

WOO! I'm excited.