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Hey! That's ME!
Sorry for the delayed reaction, all! I've been travelling and haven't had time for my usual internetting. But what a huge honor! Thank you, Cecasander!
I honestly consider the Character Writer award to be "the" most important award on this forum...and I'm not just saying that because it's the only award I've ever won.
Okay...that's EXACTLY why I'm saying it. :rofl:
But, having said it, allow me to defend my remarks: Without memorable, distinguishable characters, AARS quickly devolve into "So, I was playing this game yesterday, right? And, like, here's where I invaded and stuff..."
You may write the best action scenes, the best visual descriptions, or the best jokes...but if the characters blend in with each other, then it becomes impossible (as a reader) to disappear into the story. To truly care about the outcome. And that has always been my intent...to make people care about the poor countess locked away in a cellar. To make people care about the three-year-old girl swept away in a flood...unable to swim...yet still struggling to find and save her infant cousin. To make people care about a pantsless young boy lost in the middle of the Mediterranean, battling pirates, sharks, and a Muslim girl as quick with her tongue as he is with his sword.
And I have the additional task of making people care quickly...because in this AAR...characters seldom live to see their 30th birthday.
I haven't always succeeded...and, in fact, I sometimes get so overwhelmed by the task that I go entire months without updating...but recognition such as this is reassuring that, even when we fail, our efforts do not go unnoticed.
So, thank you once again, Cessander, for reminding me that there are people out there who care about the characters I've created just as much as I do. And because of that, I promise, I'll finally get around to that update I've been promising for weeks.
Speaking of that update, it will (finally) feature a map that was actually created by Wilcoxchar. And while I'm thanking Wilcox, I'd be remiss if I didn't also thank Slinky, who...as my resident battle-scene writer...has just as much a role in developing these characters as I have in creating them.
Thank you as well to all my readers, who continue to wait on updates even when I go months without creating them. In the future, I'll try to be as loyal a writer as you've been readers.
I realize I'm quite late in naming a successor, so give me just a few hours more to refresh my memory with all the incredible AARS out there, and I'll nominate one tonight!
Thanks again!
Sorry for the delayed reaction, all! I've been travelling and haven't had time for my usual internetting. But what a huge honor! Thank you, Cecasander!
I honestly consider the Character Writer award to be "the" most important award on this forum...and I'm not just saying that because it's the only award I've ever won.
Okay...that's EXACTLY why I'm saying it. :rofl:
But, having said it, allow me to defend my remarks: Without memorable, distinguishable characters, AARS quickly devolve into "So, I was playing this game yesterday, right? And, like, here's where I invaded and stuff..."
You may write the best action scenes, the best visual descriptions, or the best jokes...but if the characters blend in with each other, then it becomes impossible (as a reader) to disappear into the story. To truly care about the outcome. And that has always been my intent...to make people care about the poor countess locked away in a cellar. To make people care about the three-year-old girl swept away in a flood...unable to swim...yet still struggling to find and save her infant cousin. To make people care about a pantsless young boy lost in the middle of the Mediterranean, battling pirates, sharks, and a Muslim girl as quick with her tongue as he is with his sword.
And I have the additional task of making people care quickly...because in this AAR...characters seldom live to see their 30th birthday.
I haven't always succeeded...and, in fact, I sometimes get so overwhelmed by the task that I go entire months without updating...but recognition such as this is reassuring that, even when we fail, our efforts do not go unnoticed.
So, thank you once again, Cessander, for reminding me that there are people out there who care about the characters I've created just as much as I do. And because of that, I promise, I'll finally get around to that update I've been promising for weeks.
Speaking of that update, it will (finally) feature a map that was actually created by Wilcoxchar. And while I'm thanking Wilcox, I'd be remiss if I didn't also thank Slinky, who...as my resident battle-scene writer...has just as much a role in developing these characters as I have in creating them.
Thank you as well to all my readers, who continue to wait on updates even when I go months without creating them. In the future, I'll try to be as loyal a writer as you've been readers.
I realize I'm quite late in naming a successor, so give me just a few hours more to refresh my memory with all the incredible AARS out there, and I'll nominate one tonight!
Thanks again!
I have chosen my successor!
Though my own AARs are generally focused on the Crusader Kings game, my favorites to read are almost entirely Victorian. I'm facinated with American History...and especially "alternate" American history...so seeing how other figures from American history "could" have led the country is always an interesting read.
As such, I'd like to nominate one of the best Alternate American History writers for this week's award. In my last post, I talked about how important (and difficult) it is to create memorable, distinguishable characters in our AARs. But this WritAAR has an even more difficult task. He has to take characters who truly existed, and not only enhance them to the point that they are no longer just a carbon copy of their Wikipedia page...but also somehow different from the 30 other American AARs from the same time period, using the same historical characters. On top of this, he also has to actually play the game AS those historical characters, making the choices they would make.
So congratulations...to Volksmarschal, for "The Presidents: Clay to Smith 1836-1920)!
Though my own AARs are generally focused on the Crusader Kings game, my favorites to read are almost entirely Victorian. I'm facinated with American History...and especially "alternate" American history...so seeing how other figures from American history "could" have led the country is always an interesting read.
As such, I'd like to nominate one of the best Alternate American History writers for this week's award. In my last post, I talked about how important (and difficult) it is to create memorable, distinguishable characters in our AARs. But this WritAAR has an even more difficult task. He has to take characters who truly existed, and not only enhance them to the point that they are no longer just a carbon copy of their Wikipedia page...but also somehow different from the 30 other American AARs from the same time period, using the same historical characters. On top of this, he also has to actually play the game AS those historical characters, making the choices they would make.
So congratulations...to Volksmarschal, for "The Presidents: Clay to Smith 1836-1920)!
Congratulations! Interesting aar idea... varying the playing style dependant on the elected president
Congratulations volksmarschall!
I agree with Actinguy's story on characters. And yes, your nomination was partially meant to tell you to 'get on with it'
I agree with Actinguy's story on characters. And yes, your nomination was partially meant to tell you to 'get on with it'