Winter Writing Contest 2014: Winners

This year's annual Winter Writing Contest has reached the end and the winners have been decided by both the judges and community!

Congratulations goes to El Chacal for winning the Judge's Choice award with his most favored submission of Dysfunction. There has never been a writer on this forum with such a genuine and pure fervor in their style of writing as you. The words you have chosen have bought your story to life and impacted us with a moral worthy of teaching and remembering for our entire lives. We also wanted to honor RavenxSinon as the Runner-up for the unique tale of The Curse of My Kind. Your piece was pristine, I felt very connected to the existential philosophies that the single salmon raises within their life, and in turn ours. Thank you for your thought-provoking entry.

Congratulations also goes to leonard267 for winning the Reader's Choice award with his most satirical and controversial submission of Concerning Morality and the Human Life Cycle as the Writing and Fanfiction community determined it to be the top entry in the final poll. The life of John is wholesomely packed with instances thoroughly descriptive of the morals he had been taught. As a satire, it sought to poke fun at the process by which we learn as people which things in our lives are good or not by way of consequences and reception. This allows it to teach us an excellent lesson of how one must settle upon the morals that they uphold, and also if those lessons may hurt in some way, how they might provide us with insight as to what we treasure even if the cost may seem like much initially. Thank you for providing us with something so unique to you, through a submission only you could write. Splendidly done. I am also happy to wish a job well done by Sound of Destiny for their submission of Risk of Rain, as they were closely deemed the Runners-up by the community. Your entry taught us that even though stepping out of our comfort zone can be unwanted, at least trying it can yield rewarding results.

With some details about the prizes, the winners of the Reader's Choice and Judge's Choice awards, El Chacal and leonard267, will each win $25 of value to the FAKKU store, as a gift certificate to J-List, or similar online retailers within reason. The Runners-up RavenxSinon and Sound of Destiny will receive any one (1) current or future digital download of a FAKKU publication, a $10 value towards the FAKKU store.

Additionally, El Chacal and leonard267 have won a 3 stanza poem each dedicated to their honor. RavenxSinon and Sound of Destiny will each be regaled with a limerick. You may find these in the next post.

Although, the forum rank title of "FAKKU Writer" was never confirmed for this contest, I will let someone among the higher ups know of the winners just in case it could be granted to them for their most deserving entries. No promises, but I hope they'll grant it.

Lastly, special thanks goes out to all the submissions and authors who participated in this year's contest and I hope it was as rewarding for you as it was for us, on behalf of the judges: xninebreaker, Cinia Pacifica, and myself. Thank you, it was an honor to arrange and judge this contest for you all. I will now provide my specific corrections and comments on entries to those of you who desire it. Please post here or message me if you would like and I will post it publicly, or privately if you wish.

Honorable mentions for this year:

Dawn_of_Dark submitted “The pieces I lost for my puzzle"

Nejik submitted Black Sheep

Both of these writers created exceptional entries this year and I have had the pleasure to witness as their literary talents grow bigger and better every year that they enter consistently. These entries are surely their greatest to date and that fact shall not be ignored.

Nejik's provides us with the interesting philosophical question of evil that does evil for the sake of good, an interesting plot development that I am a big fan of. Dawn's provides us with a heartfelt tale of the atrocities of war in a method almost akin to a screenplay. I can easily imagine watching it on stage at a theater. Well done, you two. Thank you for your exceptional entries.

Thank you everyone, and may next year hold even greater things for us all.

El Chacal:


leonard267:




RavenxSinon:


Sound of Destiny:

Disappointed I didn't win, but congrats to the winners! Honestly, it kinda worked out the way I thought it would. I think that Risk of Rain and Dysfunction are the two strongest entries in the contest. And while Concerning Morality isn't suited to my usual tastes, I do think it's good for what it is. Black Sheep and "The pieces I lost for my puzzle" were two other stories I enjoyed, and it's nice to see them get honorable mentions.

Leonard, while we don't agree on a lot of things, you have my respect.

Now that it's all over, would you judges mind telling me what you thought of my entry?

Well, now that forum colors are gone, I can't do it the way I've done in the past of copy-pasting the font and making corrections in red and comments in dark red. It may be a good thing because that really did take up some time. I can send the .docx file with all the corrections and also take screenshots of the pages, upload them to tinypic, and then post their images. The latter might make more sense if you want it to be public, but I'm fine doing either/both.

Really? That makes me disappointed even though I never used them.



Why not just go ahead and send me the .docx file? I feel like that would be more convenient for both you and me to deal with. Thanks in advance.

First and foremost I would like to congratulate El Chacel for winning the Judge's award, and RavenxSinon for being a Runner-up. Both of these works are outright superb. It was only after many hours of discussion that we could lay out a verdict, and even then, it was extremely close.

I would also like to congratulate leonard267 for winning the Reader's Choice, and Sound of Destiny for placing 2nd. I was watching as the timer ticked down on the poll, and my goodness, that was right down to the wire. I quite enjoyed Risk of Rain myself as I found it endearing and compelling, but I will say that Leonard's entry is what I think is his best work to-date; it is not surprising at all that he won the Reader's Choice.

As for the honorable mentions, Dawn_of_dark and Nejik, I've been with you two since the very beginning. Every contest that you guys show up in, you two dish out works that always get better. I kid you not when I say that both of your entries this time are big leaps above your previous work. Both of you undoubtedly deserve the honorable mentions for the growth that you two have displayed. I'm looking forward to what you two create next time.

If any of the participants would like me to comment on his/her work, just let me know on this thread or in a PM. (I'll stop by your thread soon d)

And lastly, I would like to thank Xenon and Rise for having me as a judge, and I would like to thank everyone for the great entries. Judging was everything I imagined it would be and more. Xenon and Rise really know what they are doing and the difficulty behind judging was only exacerbated by how good the entries were.

Cheers! Here's to hoping the new year will be even better than the last!

congratulations for the winners :D

i got some good reads this year, to be said =)

I had a ball with this contest! Congratulations to tho other winners! While I can't say I'm not the tinniest bit disappointed, there were definitely much more deserving works out there. It appears that I still need to take my own story's advice. Better luck next time, I guess.

xninebreaker, if you or any of the other judges (or anyone else for that matter) could be so kind to give feedback on my work, it would be most welcome!

Once again, I'd like to congratulate everyone for a job well done. I'd also like to thank the entire forum for being overall pleasant and giving a newcomer like me such a warm reception. It's nice to see that it's actually possible for a truly accommodating community to thrive on the internet. :)

So, how often are these competitions held? I'd love to participate in more of these.

Twice a year I think. It depends on the users who wish to organise them. You can start a competition yourself if you want to.



All the more reason to frame my entry and keep it for posterity. I used coloured font for that you know. I take that back.

Back to topic, congratulations to me and I think I have left remarks for most of the entries that are mentioned here with the exception of Dawn of Dark's work (which I might get to)

Since everyone loves my work so much, I see incentive for coming up with yet even more.

There's no better way to start the day than by finding out you won something.

Unless that something is gonorrhoea.

HOLY SHIT BALLS.

Can't believe I won.

I'm genuinely surprised by this.

Anyway, when's the next contest? I'M PUMPED UP, MAN.



This had me smiling like an idiot 'till the last stanza.

I especially enjoyed the meatball part.

Well done Xenon!

First, I'd like to congratulate El Chacal for his victory - your piece was my most favorite in this contest so far. There were some grammatical issues, but I think the moral message was strong which made me really like it. Next, congratulations on the poll, Leonard, I wasn't really looking at the poll as the time ticked to its end, but I have heard of it. It was a really close battle there.

I commend Raven and Sound of Destiny for attaining the position of runner-ups, it takes a lot of effort to get up there, but you two have made it. We spent quite a lot of time talking about the good sides, and possibly the bad, of the main messages conveyed by these two entries, and I have to say, these factors made judging all the more challenging for us judges.

To be honest, it was a really close fight between Dysfunction, The Curse Of My Kind, and the Risk of Rain, and we had a tough time going through the pros and cons of the pieces, which was a new experience to me, unlike the time when we decided that Jericho was a clear winner like, uh, three years ago?

So kudos to you guys for giving us a lot to go over, and for getting Xenon to tear his hair out, for once. Of course, the other entries were fun to go over, too, especially those from the honorable mentions - good job you two. I've seen you guys every year, so I'm going to commend you two as well, for making so much advancements over the years.

Thanks for participating, you guys. Thanks for making the start of this year exciting for me, and reminding me of how fun being a judge for a contest is. I have really enjoyed it, and was reminded of my old days in this particular forum section.

Thanks Xenon, for the invitation to the judges' panel, and Xninebreaker, your inputs and perspectives were very refreshing and insightful towards understanding the entries further.

For those wanting feedback and opinions from me...


I literally wrote it all down while I was reading the entries, so some of the comments may seem like minor points.

Alright, I'll admit, I was just being lazy; so I prepared my feedbacks in advance for whoever may ask for opinions and criticisms. If you still want more criticisms from me, then feel free to tell me in this thread, or in PM.

For those curious and excited; look forward to the Summer Writing Contest this summer. I'll have to look for rewards and prizes for it, but I'll try my best at that. Beware that Xenon is out for blood, and he intends to crush anyone on his way to his desired Writer title. So, brush up your skills and brace yourselves.

Though, I believe there are more than two contests each year, like the event around Halloween (I have some plans for it) or if CoffeePrince comes back for this year to host a contest, too.

so now that this contests over, can i get comments on my work?

I've been anxious waiting for the result thread for a few days. Can't say I'm not disappointed for not winning anything (the prizes are so nice), but I admit that the winners' works are far stronger than mine. At least I earn some honorable mention, which is nice. I do feel that I've been getting better every year, if I may say so myself. Congratulations to the winners.

I would also like to have your comments on my entry, Xenon. Please do it both way you've mentioned above, since I want to make the corrections public to anyone interested and the docx file for convenience.



Thanks a lot ninexbreaker. I must say it has been quite some time since the first time we joined our first contest. Shame that I haven't won any yet, haha. I wonder if you also have prepared some writing for us, like Jericho (did I get it right?) did some 3 years ago?

Anyway, I also want to have your comments on my entry as well. Thanks again.

Congratulations winners!

I tell you, one of the most rewarding and best things since I started doing the poems is seeing if my inexperienced poetic mind can bring a smile and laugh to the recipients. I'm glad you liked it, and Nasty is probably still my favorite. If people want to get the meatball reference, read this man's 2012 winter entry Nasty. You might regret it, but totally worth it.

Also, I may have teared up a little bit at reading the other judge's posts. It really was exceptionally difficult this year, and I'm glad about that. Even if some users are new, if your writing is exceptionally great, then there is of course a great chance to win.

For anyone that wants to receive my actual .docx I used for editing of your individual piece, I will need you to PM me your email to send it through, otherwise I will just screenshot them page by page to all who request it.

I just want to say thanks to everyone who took the time to read my work. This was a very fulfilling experience for me considering this was the first time I ever joined an online writing competition (really didn't expect I'd win lol).

I was actually juggling between this tale of a salmon and another topic. I guess I'll write about that other topic once I find the time to do so (don't expect it to be soon}. Hope you guys drop by and share your thoughts if and when I decide to post it here!

Congratulations to the other winners and may the best author win in the contests to come!

The contest may be over but if it won't be too much trouble, I'd like to request the opinions of those who haven't read it yet/haven't commented on my work.



Once again, Raven>Sofia>Carina>everyone else. No offense though :)

I enjoy some kuudere/dandere on occasion, but I'm a sucker for a pure deredere sweetheart, personally.

Looking forward to your future submissions to this sub-forum and I'll post my notes to your story later in the day.

Congratulations on the winners! And thank you all for taking me in seriously, both judges and contestants who took their precious precious time (and all their efforts) to read my entry and give their own feedbacks. A very great learning experience.


Also please look forward for more of my works and hopefully you read them again!