Contest Categories
The categories and their explanations when applicable.
S T A N D A R D C A T E G O R I E S
Angst
Drama
Romance
Action/Adventure
Comedy/Parody
AU/AR/Fusion
Yaoi/Yuri
Other
ANGST
Actual definition via the 'American Heritage New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition' :
angst [(ahngkst)]
-A kind of fear or anxiety; Angst is German for “fear.” It is usually applied to a deep and essentially philosophical anxiety about the world in general or personal freedom.-
By it's very definition, this particular genre is one which is meant to invoke something within the reader. And, more interestingly, is wholly subjective. Where most everyone can point out dramatic effects within writing in the same vein as the next person, angst is something which varies from person to person.
In this, perhaps this category is one of the hardest for everyone to agree on. I, for one, am in love with this idea.
So while you're reading through the Angst Category nominations, just ask yourself a couple easy questions before voting--
¤ Which story invoked the most emotions within me while reading?
¤ Did any particular story leave you with a sense of melancholy afterwards?
¤ Did any particular story actually cause you to tear-up or even cry?
¤ Was there a story in particular that made you just sit back and say, "Wow" afterwards? Did it cut to the quik?
¤ Which story best represented all, or at least one, of the above?
In my experience, these are the things true angst stories will do to you, in varying degrees, of course. So choose what your gut tells you to, ne?
DRAMA
The definition of drama is pretty wide, but there are a couple ones that seem to repeat. And that is:
1) A dramatic story is serious in its core.
2) A dramatic story is, underneath it all, a telling of a line of events which progresses into an emotional effect on the characters as well as the reader. Usually climaxing in some type of harsh fashion.
3) A drama is never anti-climactic.
While you're reading through the Drama Category nominations, ask yourself these questions before voting--
¤ Which story had you pouring yourself over it until the very end?
¤ Which story evoked emotions within you as it climbed to climax?
¤ Which story best represented all, or at least one, of the above?
ROMANCE
Ahhh, romance. Who doesn't love one every now and again to help reinstill those fantasies everyone has deep down, eh?
Romance usually brings to mind a love affair of some kind, pageantry between two people, warm, fuzzy feelings...
Well, that's half right. ^_^ And also easy to subject to your own personal whims, and admittedly, it's probably hard not to. But romance isn't just about love- it's also about embellished and fantastic story-telling. A fascinating tale about people. So while you're reading through the Romance Category nominations--
¤ Which story created an incredible appeal between characters?
¤ Which story could very well be a daydream or fantasy ideal of love?
¤ Which story turned your heart into mush, no matter the pairing?
¤ Which story best represented all, or at least one, of the above?
ACTION/ADVENTURE
There isn't really a 'book' definition for this genre. And there really doesn't need to be. Just ask yourself these questions as you read--
¤ Which story had the best written scenes depicting action sequences (such as fighting, or escaping, or dynamics between characters)?
¤ Which story best described outstanding events and settings?
¤ Which story best represented all, or at least one, of the above?
COMEDY/PARODY
Shit, there's no way *this* category can't be subjective. But whatcha gonna do, right? Everyone's sense of humor is different, so--
¤ Which story made you laugh out loud?
¤ Which story encompassed all the things you find humorous?
¤ Which story took a situation and molested it perfectly?
Really, the major question is, which story would make you laugh twice? ^_^
AU/UR/FUSION
This is definitely three separate categories combined in to one to help preserve the chance of it surviving, so let's break it down:
Alternate Universe:
This is where you take the characters and thrust them into a completely different world.
Naruto and Sasuke are highschool students in modern-day Japan, or Sakura and Ten-Ten are archeologists discovering hidden tombs in Egypt. Perhaps Hinata and Hanabi are sister-spies in Soviet Russia. /shrugs/ The possiblilities are endless.
¤ Which story takes this idea and does it well; makes it believable?
¤ Which story, despite taking the characters from their natural element, still preserves the characters as best as possible?
¤ Which story develops the characters in a believable way amidst their new situation?
Alternate Reality:
Really, most Naruto fics technically fall in to this category. Because unless you're retelling the actual canon itself, it's gonna be an alternate reality, right? But, in this case, there are authors who have tagged their fic as such for a reason. They want to make it clear that the events they're writing about are not what actually happened, and for a reason.
Such as: What if the Uchiha Massacre never happened? Or, what if Kakashi had become Hokage instead of Tsunade-hime? Perhaps the Yondaime was actually Naruto's father and did not die upon sealing the Kyuubi?
¤ Which story takes this idea and makes it believable?
¤ Which story develops the characters in a believable way amidst their new situation?
Fusion:
Not quite a crossover, this one. But damn close. You take your characters and throw them in to another series/universe where they take the roles of those who exist there.
Naruto, Sakura, and Sasuke are all members of the Soul Society.
Kakashi IS the Hitokiri Battousai, and on one fateful night he runs in to a blood-stained Sakura in the streets...
Temari is the newest member of the STNJ, a witch with a troubled past and present.
And so on.
¤ Which story takes this idea and does it well; makes it believable?
¤ Which story, despite taking the characters from their natural element, still preserves the characters as best as possible?
¤ Which story develops the characters in a believable way amidst their new situation?
YAOI/YURI
Since we're functioning within a series with no canon yaoi/yuri pairings (yeah, I know, a lot of us refuse to accept that ^_~), this category becomes its own. Because it's not canon pairings, and it's falling in to the alternate reality category, as well as pulling together characters based on reasons only the author can tell you... Well, it might actually prove hard to judge and vote in.
¤ Which story, cracky or not, does the best job of justifying?
¤ Which story is most believable to you? (for undeclared-crack)
¤ Which story is written the best for the characters involved?
OTHER
Oh, ho ho... It goes without saying, this category encompasses many things. In order to preserve some sense of order by not having a billion categories, we had to do the 'other' category. Other involves a few different genres which perhaps aren't as popular as the ones covered above. It includes genres such as: Tragedy, Horror, Sci-Fi, Fantasy, Supernatural, General (no pairings and such), etc.
So all you can do when voting in this category is note which sub-genre the story is labeled for (all should have some kind of hint on them, be it behind the cut or within the summary).
¤ Which story in this category took it's particular genre and represented it best?
S P E C I A L C A T E G O R I E S
Most Original
Best Character Portrayal
Best Surprise
Best Ending
Best One-shot
Best Multi-part
Best 'Sasuke Returns'
Best Team Fic
Best SasuSaku
Best Crack Pairing
Best Smex Scene
Best Work in Progress
MOST ORIGINAL
While voting in this category, ask yourself:
¤ Which fic struck you as something wholly creative, beyond anything you've come upon before?
¤ Which fic had you honestly not seen done before?
¤ Which story took an original idea and made it in to something that stands out above all others? Something you could even consider canon, even though it really isn't?
¤ Was there a story that took an already-been-done idea and made it into its own seemingly original one?
¤ Did any of the fics encompass more than one of the above?
BEST CHARACTER PORTRAYAL
It's a fact that everyone perceives personalities differently. It's unavoidable, and really, keeps things interesting-- wouldn't you say? But in this category, what you're looking for is who took the characters and kept them as close to believable as possible, despite the situation or genre.
¤ When you were reading, did you note that Kishimoto Masashi could have very well written the characters within himself, they were so on-target?
¤ Did the author take the characters and bring out those deep, underlying motivations in a way that was wholly believable?
¤ Were you honestly impressed with the portrayal of the characters?
¤ Did any of the stories in this category hit more than one of the above on-mark?
BEST SURPRISE
Easy to figure out? ^_^
¤ Which fic had you wide-eyed with surprise at some point?
¤ Which fic brought out an element that you weren't expecting and simply blew you away with it?
¤ Did any of the stories in this category shock you so much, you peed a little?
¤ Ignore the last one, unless it really applies. XD
This is a personal judgement call type thing. I myself am easily surprised, while others are unphased. So this should be an interesting toss-up!
BEST ONE-SHOT
A one-shot is just that; one shot. There is no chapter '0' before '1', and there is no chapter '2' after '1', either.
A chapter '3' after '1' and '2' is just right-out!
¤ Which story best evolved within it's allotted one-chapter word-count?
¤ Which story was most complete-feeling from beginning to end?
¤ Which story was so well done that a sequel was not necessarily a thing you hungered for when it was over?
¤ Did any stories encompass more than one of the above elements?
BEST MULTI-PART
These are the epics and the chaptered stories, of course. These are the longest to read in most cases and, by proxy, the hardest stories to judge honestly if you don't have enough time on your hands.
¤ Which story seemed perfectly allotted, chapter to chapter?
¤ Which story consisted of all the elements a long story should have, such as: strong opening, good character introductions and development, a sturdy plot-line, a climax and a resolution?
¤ Which story, no matter how long it may be, kept you interested all the way through?
¤ Which story felt most complete?
¤ Were there any stories in this category which involved more than one of the above elements?
BEST 'SASUKE RETURNS'
Because this particular idea is rather popular, it was decided to give it it's own category. These are fics about Sasuke's return to Konoha, or perhaps his return to humanity. All of which are not canon, because of course this hasn't happened yet in the manga. So without delving into the box of 'alternate reality', let's ask ourselves these questions--
¤ Which fic struck you as most creatively done and most believable characterization-wise?
¤ Which fic itself felt most well-considered to you?
¤ Which story took the Sasuke we all know and brought him back, for better or worse, in a way that reached out to you most?
BEST TEAM FIC
One thing about Naruto that we don't get in a lot of other series is the ever-present teamwork element. Because of the subject matter, there's no getting around the idea of human group interaction on all levels.
¤ Which story best grasped 'team dynamic'?
¤ Which story represented said team the best?
¤ Which story possibly made you rethink or consider new things about the group involved?
¤ Which story attacked elements in the most raw and unfettered fashion?
¤ Did any story encompass the above questions completely?
BEST CRACK PAIRING
Though most of us don't want to consider our OTPs and OT3s as 'crack', there is unfortunately no other universal term to be used for this category. XD This is the category of pairings; pairings that are either not canon (which, in the Narutoverse, there aren't really that many definitive pairings), or are so far from possible they actually should be dubbed 'crackish'. This is where you find your Itachi/Sakura, Kakashi/Iruka, Naruto/Temari, Shikamaru/Kurenai, etc..
¤ Which story did the pairing the most justice?
¤ Which story brought two unlikely people together in the most believable way?
¤ Was there a story involving a couple you weren't actually interested in before, but did it so well that you might have been converted or were converted? (^_~)
¤ Was there a fic that encompassed all of the above?
BEST SMEX SCENE
Eh... If this really needs defining... Oh, what the hell?
¤ Which fic was FREAKING HOTTEST?
¤ Which fic had the most believable sex?
¤ Which fic made you blush, in a good way?
¤ Which fic...
Heh. This was about to get dirty. I'll stop. =p~
BEST WORK IN PROGRESS
Suuuubjective, if I say so. But there are some things you should be looking for here, too. Because don't forget that these in progress fics will some day be completed multi-parts, and in that we must realize when a story is going to sink or swim to the finish line.
¤ Which story, when it cut off unfinished, actually made you angry/sad because there wasn't more to read?
¤ Which fic can you see making it to the end with flying colors?
¤ Which fic seems to be solid already, despite the point its currently at?
¤ Which fic will you most likely be checking up on for updates in the future?
S T A N D A R D C A T E G O R I E S
Angst
Drama
Romance
Action/Adventure
Comedy/Parody
AU/AR/Fusion
Yaoi/Yuri
Other
ANGST
Actual definition via the 'American Heritage New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition' :
angst [(ahngkst)]
-A kind of fear or anxiety; Angst is German for “fear.” It is usually applied to a deep and essentially philosophical anxiety about the world in general or personal freedom.-
By it's very definition, this particular genre is one which is meant to invoke something within the reader. And, more interestingly, is wholly subjective. Where most everyone can point out dramatic effects within writing in the same vein as the next person, angst is something which varies from person to person.
In this, perhaps this category is one of the hardest for everyone to agree on. I, for one, am in love with this idea.
So while you're reading through the Angst Category nominations, just ask yourself a couple easy questions before voting--
¤ Which story invoked the most emotions within me while reading?
¤ Did any particular story leave you with a sense of melancholy afterwards?
¤ Did any particular story actually cause you to tear-up or even cry?
¤ Was there a story in particular that made you just sit back and say, "Wow" afterwards? Did it cut to the quik?
¤ Which story best represented all, or at least one, of the above?
In my experience, these are the things true angst stories will do to you, in varying degrees, of course. So choose what your gut tells you to, ne?
DRAMA
The definition of drama is pretty wide, but there are a couple ones that seem to repeat. And that is:
1) A dramatic story is serious in its core.
2) A dramatic story is, underneath it all, a telling of a line of events which progresses into an emotional effect on the characters as well as the reader. Usually climaxing in some type of harsh fashion.
3) A drama is never anti-climactic.
While you're reading through the Drama Category nominations, ask yourself these questions before voting--
¤ Which story had you pouring yourself over it until the very end?
¤ Which story evoked emotions within you as it climbed to climax?
¤ Which story best represented all, or at least one, of the above?
ROMANCE
Ahhh, romance. Who doesn't love one every now and again to help reinstill those fantasies everyone has deep down, eh?
Romance usually brings to mind a love affair of some kind, pageantry between two people, warm, fuzzy feelings...
Well, that's half right. ^_^ And also easy to subject to your own personal whims, and admittedly, it's probably hard not to. But romance isn't just about love- it's also about embellished and fantastic story-telling. A fascinating tale about people. So while you're reading through the Romance Category nominations--
¤ Which story created an incredible appeal between characters?
¤ Which story could very well be a daydream or fantasy ideal of love?
¤ Which story turned your heart into mush, no matter the pairing?
¤ Which story best represented all, or at least one, of the above?
ACTION/ADVENTURE
There isn't really a 'book' definition for this genre. And there really doesn't need to be. Just ask yourself these questions as you read--
¤ Which story had the best written scenes depicting action sequences (such as fighting, or escaping, or dynamics between characters)?
¤ Which story best described outstanding events and settings?
¤ Which story best represented all, or at least one, of the above?
COMEDY/PARODY
Shit, there's no way *this* category can't be subjective. But whatcha gonna do, right? Everyone's sense of humor is different, so--
¤ Which story made you laugh out loud?
¤ Which story encompassed all the things you find humorous?
¤ Which story took a situation and molested it perfectly?
Really, the major question is, which story would make you laugh twice? ^_^
AU/UR/FUSION
This is definitely three separate categories combined in to one to help preserve the chance of it surviving, so let's break it down:
Alternate Universe:
This is where you take the characters and thrust them into a completely different world.
Naruto and Sasuke are highschool students in modern-day Japan, or Sakura and Ten-Ten are archeologists discovering hidden tombs in Egypt. Perhaps Hinata and Hanabi are sister-spies in Soviet Russia. /shrugs/ The possiblilities are endless.
¤ Which story takes this idea and does it well; makes it believable?
¤ Which story, despite taking the characters from their natural element, still preserves the characters as best as possible?
¤ Which story develops the characters in a believable way amidst their new situation?
Alternate Reality:
Really, most Naruto fics technically fall in to this category. Because unless you're retelling the actual canon itself, it's gonna be an alternate reality, right? But, in this case, there are authors who have tagged their fic as such for a reason. They want to make it clear that the events they're writing about are not what actually happened, and for a reason.
Such as: What if the Uchiha Massacre never happened? Or, what if Kakashi had become Hokage instead of Tsunade-hime? Perhaps the Yondaime was actually Naruto's father and did not die upon sealing the Kyuubi?
¤ Which story takes this idea and makes it believable?
¤ Which story develops the characters in a believable way amidst their new situation?
Fusion:
Not quite a crossover, this one. But damn close. You take your characters and throw them in to another series/universe where they take the roles of those who exist there.
Naruto, Sakura, and Sasuke are all members of the Soul Society.
Kakashi IS the Hitokiri Battousai, and on one fateful night he runs in to a blood-stained Sakura in the streets...
Temari is the newest member of the STNJ, a witch with a troubled past and present.
And so on.
¤ Which story takes this idea and does it well; makes it believable?
¤ Which story, despite taking the characters from their natural element, still preserves the characters as best as possible?
¤ Which story develops the characters in a believable way amidst their new situation?
YAOI/YURI
Since we're functioning within a series with no canon yaoi/yuri pairings (yeah, I know, a lot of us refuse to accept that ^_~), this category becomes its own. Because it's not canon pairings, and it's falling in to the alternate reality category, as well as pulling together characters based on reasons only the author can tell you... Well, it might actually prove hard to judge and vote in.
¤ Which story, cracky or not, does the best job of justifying?
¤ Which story is most believable to you? (for undeclared-crack)
¤ Which story is written the best for the characters involved?
OTHER
Oh, ho ho... It goes without saying, this category encompasses many things. In order to preserve some sense of order by not having a billion categories, we had to do the 'other' category. Other involves a few different genres which perhaps aren't as popular as the ones covered above. It includes genres such as: Tragedy, Horror, Sci-Fi, Fantasy, Supernatural, General (no pairings and such), etc.
So all you can do when voting in this category is note which sub-genre the story is labeled for (all should have some kind of hint on them, be it behind the cut or within the summary).
¤ Which story in this category took it's particular genre and represented it best?
S P E C I A L C A T E G O R I E S
Most Original
Best Character Portrayal
Best Surprise
Best Ending
Best One-shot
Best Multi-part
Best 'Sasuke Returns'
Best Team Fic
Best SasuSaku
Best Crack Pairing
Best Smex Scene
Best Work in Progress
MOST ORIGINAL
While voting in this category, ask yourself:
¤ Which fic struck you as something wholly creative, beyond anything you've come upon before?
¤ Which fic had you honestly not seen done before?
¤ Which story took an original idea and made it in to something that stands out above all others? Something you could even consider canon, even though it really isn't?
¤ Was there a story that took an already-been-done idea and made it into its own seemingly original one?
¤ Did any of the fics encompass more than one of the above?
BEST CHARACTER PORTRAYAL
It's a fact that everyone perceives personalities differently. It's unavoidable, and really, keeps things interesting-- wouldn't you say? But in this category, what you're looking for is who took the characters and kept them as close to believable as possible, despite the situation or genre.
¤ When you were reading, did you note that Kishimoto Masashi could have very well written the characters within himself, they were so on-target?
¤ Did the author take the characters and bring out those deep, underlying motivations in a way that was wholly believable?
¤ Were you honestly impressed with the portrayal of the characters?
¤ Did any of the stories in this category hit more than one of the above on-mark?
BEST SURPRISE
Easy to figure out? ^_^
¤ Which fic had you wide-eyed with surprise at some point?
¤ Which fic brought out an element that you weren't expecting and simply blew you away with it?
¤ Did any of the stories in this category shock you so much, you peed a little?
¤ Ignore the last one, unless it really applies. XD
This is a personal judgement call type thing. I myself am easily surprised, while others are unphased. So this should be an interesting toss-up!
BEST ONE-SHOT
A one-shot is just that; one shot. There is no chapter '0' before '1', and there is no chapter '2' after '1', either.
A chapter '3' after '1' and '2' is just right-out!
¤ Which story best evolved within it's allotted one-chapter word-count?
¤ Which story was most complete-feeling from beginning to end?
¤ Which story was so well done that a sequel was not necessarily a thing you hungered for when it was over?
¤ Did any stories encompass more than one of the above elements?
BEST MULTI-PART
These are the epics and the chaptered stories, of course. These are the longest to read in most cases and, by proxy, the hardest stories to judge honestly if you don't have enough time on your hands.
¤ Which story seemed perfectly allotted, chapter to chapter?
¤ Which story consisted of all the elements a long story should have, such as: strong opening, good character introductions and development, a sturdy plot-line, a climax and a resolution?
¤ Which story, no matter how long it may be, kept you interested all the way through?
¤ Which story felt most complete?
¤ Were there any stories in this category which involved more than one of the above elements?
BEST 'SASUKE RETURNS'
Because this particular idea is rather popular, it was decided to give it it's own category. These are fics about Sasuke's return to Konoha, or perhaps his return to humanity. All of which are not canon, because of course this hasn't happened yet in the manga. So without delving into the box of 'alternate reality', let's ask ourselves these questions--
¤ Which fic struck you as most creatively done and most believable characterization-wise?
¤ Which fic itself felt most well-considered to you?
¤ Which story took the Sasuke we all know and brought him back, for better or worse, in a way that reached out to you most?
BEST TEAM FIC
One thing about Naruto that we don't get in a lot of other series is the ever-present teamwork element. Because of the subject matter, there's no getting around the idea of human group interaction on all levels.
¤ Which story best grasped 'team dynamic'?
¤ Which story represented said team the best?
¤ Which story possibly made you rethink or consider new things about the group involved?
¤ Which story attacked elements in the most raw and unfettered fashion?
¤ Did any story encompass the above questions completely?
BEST CRACK PAIRING
Though most of us don't want to consider our OTPs and OT3s as 'crack', there is unfortunately no other universal term to be used for this category. XD This is the category of pairings; pairings that are either not canon (which, in the Narutoverse, there aren't really that many definitive pairings), or are so far from possible they actually should be dubbed 'crackish'. This is where you find your Itachi/Sakura, Kakashi/Iruka, Naruto/Temari, Shikamaru/Kurenai, etc..
¤ Which story did the pairing the most justice?
¤ Which story brought two unlikely people together in the most believable way?
¤ Was there a story involving a couple you weren't actually interested in before, but did it so well that you might have been converted or were converted? (^_~)
¤ Was there a fic that encompassed all of the above?
BEST SMEX SCENE
Eh... If this really needs defining... Oh, what the hell?
¤ Which fic was FREAKING HOTTEST?
¤ Which fic had the most believable sex?
¤ Which fic made you blush, in a good way?
¤ Which fic...
Heh. This was about to get dirty. I'll stop. =p~
BEST WORK IN PROGRESS
Suuuubjective, if I say so. But there are some things you should be looking for here, too. Because don't forget that these in progress fics will some day be completed multi-parts, and in that we must realize when a story is going to sink or swim to the finish line.
¤ Which story, when it cut off unfinished, actually made you angry/sad because there wasn't more to read?
¤ Which fic can you see making it to the end with flying colors?
¤ Which fic seems to be solid already, despite the point its currently at?
¤ Which fic will you most likely be checking up on for updates in the future?