Lois & Clark Forums Forums Fan Fiction Fanfic Related Kerth Buzz

Oscar buzz is starting, and it got me thinking... Are we allowed to discuss what authors and stories we think are potential '07 Kerth winners? You know, get some Kerth buzz going?

In addition to just being fun to talk about, hearing about the stories some of you think are award-worthy may help us newbies catch up on some we may have missed from earlier in the year.

Sounds like a great idea to me I know there's a lot of things I've missed this year, so it'd be helpful to get a recap -- and starting this early makes it easier for people like me to catch up.

Remember, the categories will probably change somewhat from last year; they usually do. But this might be the thread that helps the K-Com identify this year's hot new trend.

So buzz away!

PJ

Sounds groovy. If there are any stories people loved this year, I'd love to hear about them! Also helps me catch up on my reading instead of staring blankly at the final nominations list like I do every year saying, "Did I really miss that many stories?!"

Jen

Here some of the stories at the top of my list, although I am not sure which categories they should go in: She's by Terry. Group Therapy by Shayne. Lost In Time by MLT. The Pen by Sara/tvnerdgirl (although I can't recall if there was a gfic version of that). Faustian by Sue. Supermen United by DJ. If I Were You by Caroline, and Stardust as well if she finishes it in time. SQD's fascinating When Galaxies Divide, but that is also a WIP.

Best New Author is harder because, since I am a newbie myself, I am not always sure who is new and who isn't. But my first thoughts are Sue, Caroline and DJ, if they all qualify.

Of course most of these stories are quite recent because I only discovered these boards in July. Any stories from earlier in the year in mind?

Is there a category for best cross-over, or best sequel to a cross-over? Or even best next-gen? 'Cause if so for ANY of those, I'd nominate Meet Sam Wayne by C. Leuch.

I only just got into full FoLC-dom this past February, so I caught the VERY tail end of the last Kerth awards. I'm not exactly sure how they work, exactly. Can anyone tell me?

*raises her hand* I'm new...
Mind you, I don't think I'm half as good as these girls are, but I'm new.

Hey, this sounds like a job for...
www.kerthawards.com

Basically, they'll make a list of all the eligible stories. We'll all send in nominations under which category we think a story should be nominated (after they decide on the categories for the year). And once those are counted and sorted, the short-list of final nominees will be up. (Those are the ones you see with a fancy red Kerth icon at the Archive.) And then we'll all vote *again* on the short list to have a final winner per category.

But the kerth site can go way more in-depth. I'm limited by my chances of the internet crashing on me. :p

Jen

And you're brilliant. Seriously. The plot you came up with for All Weathered Out rocks my world.

I think Faustian Bargain is definitely gonna win something. It's already a 'classic'. I also think 'She's' was excellent.

When do the nominations start? I don't think the 2006 winners were announced until this past June, were they?

Although we each have favourites in all categories, I'm not sure we've ever had quite such an open discussion as this thread suggests because of how discouraging these types of exclusive lists get for those who don't get mentioned.

What has happened in the past is that K-Com puts up a list of all the eligible stories as well as new authors. That way no one is left out.

As well, the Q quizzes for each of the categories provide good overviews of what stories are out there. These quizzes are not completely inclusive, but given the custom of wrting to the quizzmaster with additional suggestions, they wind up being useful guides.

Also, there are stil nearly two months left before the eligibility period ends - who knows what yet may be posted?

However, what the K com might find helpful is a discussion of the categories themselves - suggestions for deletions, additions, revised descriptors. (although the K Com hasn't indicated if it is interested in having that discussion - it is perhaps a little early )

But please, lets not get into lobbying for our personal favourites.
That can leave those not mentioned feeling ... well ... a tad like chopped liver.

c.

I agree with Carol - there are just too many good stories and authors out there to start singling people out this early.

Maybe we can use this thread for a more general discussion of story categories and "trends" (as Pam called it)? I'm new here so I'm curious to learn what the trends were.

I know I'm going to have a horrendous time trying to choose people to nominate and stories to nominate... all the ones I've read were all so good. We have such a talented group of authors in this forum (all of the newbies included)...

I'll be excited to see the qualification list come out because then I'll know for sure which stories I missed... I've only been here since March, so it will be nice to see what I haven't had time yet to read.

Ditto that, Sue.

-- MR

This is exactly why I asked at the beginning if it was ok to do this! I was trying to avoid ... this.

Thanks, Jen!

Actually, what you are talking about are the Alt-Kerths, which is quite different from our regular Kerths. Quizzes usually start in January, the nomming at the end of February, voting a few weeks later, and then at the end of March/start of April, we'll have the ceremony. That'll also be the time when the winners are announced.

So that leaves us with about five months of reading time... guess I should start reading, as I've been very bad about it this year!

Saskia

First, let me state (and I'm not talking as Kerth Coordinator or as a Boards administrator here, but as a simple Lois and Clark fan and fanfic writer and reader, so that's only worth my .02 eurocents and has absolutely no official value!) that I've never minded reading about other people's recommendations. Quite the opposite. I enjoy seeing what other readers think of fanfics I've read or have yet to read. And you can't say it's because my stuff is being quoted, because that's usually not the case. There are so many stories out there anyway.

What I mean is that personally, I've never seen that as lobbying for personal favourites. To me, those threads are more like the reviews on amazon.com. When I've read a book I've enjoyed, I want to tell other people that I've enjoyed it and why.

A few years back, we had fanfic recommendations posted on a regular basis. I wish we still had that, because it was nice to read about other people's impressions on their reading, and it would lead me to read stuff that I might not have taken the time to read in the first place.

Anyway, now as Kerth Coordinator, a bit of clarification: it's never too early to discuss the Kerth Awards, if just to get everyone in the mood. The list of eligible stories comes out in early January, and the quizzes take place between January and February, until nominations start. A final list of categories will also be released in early January.

Kaethel
Fanfic reader first and foremost
(and occasionally Kerth Coordinator, but just for the last paragraph of this post )

Absolutely no reason why we can't have recommendations and, indeed, I'd hope people would still begin threads asking for recs or offering up recs on fic they may have read outside this forum, on other sites. I'd definitely miss them if they didn't! They've often pointed me to some great stories I'd otherwise have missed.

I'd love, in fact, to see a rec thread for some of the older fic on the Archive. The stuff that nowadays gets missed just because of the length of time it's been there, but deserves the recognition.

There is a section for author's to recommend their favourite fanfic from other authors in the Writers' Showcase Interview forms. We've begun a new batch of interviews recently. So look out for those being uploaded to Annesplace in the near future! We've already had some terrific interviews back and I believe the first of them will be uploaded to the website soon. Watch out for updates here in the Fanfic Related folder.

Technically, Lisa, it is okay to do this! You've broken no rules of the forum at all. And you can't be telepathic and predict what reaction every single board member is going to have to a thread you begin. (Unless, of course, it's a predictable attempt to provoke, which doesn't describe this thread at all). If we didn't post because we worried about that, we'd post nothing at all.

So, basically, as far as this particular thread goes, it's simply down to whether you continue on as you intended, or decide to cede to the request of other board members, not to. If you take the latter course, it would be a courtesy, but that's all. And there are good reasons, now and then, for doing just that, of course.

But there's no official reason why you shouldn't discuss particular stories. It's entirely up to you.


LabRat

I understand what Helene and Labrat are getting at, but with respect, they both have been among the most frequently cited writers and so perhaps, from that perspetcive, it may be more difficult to understand how really discouraging it can be for some writers who are overlooked.

Of course, it's always interesting to read the feedback for particular stories as they're being posted or a recommendation for a previously "unseen" fic that has just been posted to the archive. And the Kerth quizzes are always fun

But those are different things compared to lists which exclude others.

If people are interested to get caught up on stories, the archive makes it easy to get the descriptors of the stories posted in the last few months - back to May. Perhaps Labrat or someone connected with the Archive could post a list fo the stories posted in the earlier months of this year?

Maybe we could have a volunteer to to do a very brief review (depending on story length of course ) of each of the stories posted in January. Each review could include a couple of things that the reviewer thought was good about the story, e.g. strong characterization, quirky or interesting plot device, great dialogue, etc. as well as a brief quote from the story.

I'd be prepared to start it off with the first story posted to the archive in January as long as it's not a Lois deathfic.

c.

Well, dragging this thread back to its original purpose - ie, to create some Kerth buzz - and taking on board Pam and Sue's comments...

What's your favourite Kerth category? Personally, my favourite is Best Original Character. I love the fact that we're now able to reward those writers who've taken the first few scary steps beyond the strict boundaries of L&C to create something brand new and entirely their own. I feel we're doing our bit to encourage and nurture fledging writers who might just be ready to leave the L&C nest and fly out into the big wide world of Real Fiction.

Anyone else got a favourite?

Yvonne

Far from me to beat a dead horse, but... *g* Carol, I think you give my stories too much credit. I don't feel they've been cited that often, and I've frequently seen lists of recommended fanfics without my name attached to any of them. Not that I've kept count. But anyway...

The thing is, if I say I like potatoes, it doesn't mean I don't like rice. It just means that tonight I've had fantastic potatoes and I want to tell the world how good they were.

I mean, it's like when Carol says she doesn't like Lois deathfics. That's absolutely fine. It's her taste, and I sure hope people who write Lois deathfic don't feel horribly hurt that Carol doesn't like the genre they enjoy writing. See what I mean?

It seems even less significant when you've got fanfic recommendations: Reader X recommends Story Z. Doesn't mean Story K isn't any good or that Reader X dismissed it. It just means Reader X might have just read Story Z and wants to recommend it to other readers who might enjoy it as well. The following day, Reader R might recommend Story K, for all we know.

Sure, if people want to start doing systematic reviews for every single story on the archive, I'll be an eager reader. However, I wonder why we just can't do things simply. We just can't walk on eggshells all the time. Just like everyone else, I don't want to hurt people's feelings when I can avoid it. However, I think that censoring myself when I've loved a story and would like to recommend it is pushing it a bit too far. Because if we go there, then the Kerth Awards could equally hurt people who don't get nominated or win an award, and we might argue that since they might hurt some feelings, they have to go.

Kae

ps: Carol, could you please avoid using my real name on the boards? No big deal, but I usually stick by my nick. Makes things easier all round. Ta!