Read excerpts from the winners of Blizzard's writing contest
by Eliah Hecht 
Jun 5th 2009 at 7:00PM
The winners were announced back in May. So why am I bringing this up now? Well, Blizzard has posted excerpts from all eight winning stories on their web site. I have to say, aside from the overuse of adjectives and adverbs that tends to be endemic to fan fiction (write with nouns and verbs, people), this is some pretty enjoyable writing. I'd like to see the full stories; I wonder if they're going to be released at some point. Edit: To read the entire grand-prize-winning story by Sarah Pine, click here.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Vassal Jun 5th 2009 7:11PM
Lol Aethas Sunreaver. What a loser.
Marshy Jun 5th 2009 7:17PM
"I have to say, aside from the overuse of adjectives and adverbs that tends to be endemic to fan fiction (write with nouns and verbs, people), this is some pretty enjoyable writing."
^^ This.
Ringo Flinthammer Jun 5th 2009 7:17PM
While none of the stuff was necessarily War and Peace, I found the overall quality pretty good.
censorman Jun 5th 2009 7:54PM
That's cause your simple.
SFP Jun 5th 2009 7:56PM
I feel a little silly pointing this out, but I feel a little compelled to mention that Andrew Moeller is not the first place winner. That would be me, Sarah Pine, as Nethaera announced in this thread: http://forums.worldofwarcraft.com/thread.html?topicId=17367876801&sid=1
My story is also posted in full--if you click on the "grand prize winner" in the link you provided (above the summaries of the runners-up) you can read the whole thing (as Vassal seems to have done ;) ).
Whether or not you enjoy it, of course, is entirely out of my hands, but I would appreciate proper credit for authorship. :)
Eliah Hecht Jun 5th 2009 7:56PM
I fail at reading comprehension. Editing the story to fix; you have my apologies.
Danarok Jun 5th 2009 8:37PM
As someone who has read pretty much every piece of warcraft lore literature I can lay my hands on, let me congratulate you for that awesome read. Well researched, thoroughly plausable in every detail, and in my opinion better than several of Blizzard's own commissioned stories. Hey, if that was extended to full novelisation, I'd buy that. Something to think about when you meet them, perhaps...
Congratulations :)
GeekNoire Jun 5th 2009 10:46PM
I just finished reading your story and I was pleasantly surprised! Much better than most fanfic I have read. You did a great job of bringing three relative "flat," ignored characters to life, especially Lor'themar. I do hope you plan on continuing to write. Authors usually only get better with practice and this is a very good, no, great start. Anyway, kudos to you, from one writer to another.
Ghost Jun 5th 2009 10:56PM
I have to say after reading nearly all of the Warcraft novels published by Blizzard, I would rank this right around the top. The only thing that would have made it better would have been if it was at least 100 pages longer!
JCali Jun 7th 2009 1:18PM
I really enjoyed your story Sarah. Blizzard gave the high/blood elves a rich and complex history and you wove it all together nicely. I think one of the greatest "gifts" the blood elves have given the Horde is representation in Dalaran. What this means for the future of Aethas, the Kirin Torr, and even the under-represented troll mages is exciting. Now maybe you can explain how all those high elves got into the Argent Crusade!
Deadly. Off. Topic. Jun 8th 2009 3:06PM
Sigh.
I’m not exactly sure what I’m frustrated over more, my inability of thinking of something positive to say regarding the story, or that it has taken me this long to write something at all.
Honestly, I felt that the writing was too dry. There were a lot of descriptive words in there, but they felt more like “lets open the thesaurus and tack this on” instead of adding to flow and direction. If this was a drink it would be filled with dust choking the reader as it went down. Description should flow smoothly in the story and further the development within. In the time it took to tack on the words, you could have used that to develop the characters, add history and NOT assume (NEVER assume) that the readers will know the background. Take pride in your work by adding that information in. Sure some people might bitch because they know the stuff, BUT not everyone will and if you’re trying to get as many people to read your story as possible that’s something you need to keep in mind. Description without development, characters without true explanation just make for one long boring read.
I still have to read the others so for all I know this was the “best” of the bunch. ....
Karilyn Jun 5th 2009 7:57PM
"(write with nouns and verbs, people)"
As a person who generally considers herself to be a fairly solid writer, I must say, it's difficult to emphasize this enough.
Adverbs especially should be avoided. People should brush up on their action verbs vocabulary, and try to find an alternative that adds the desired description without the use of an adverb.
"Swiftly walked" = Hurried
"Arguing loudly" = Squabble or Bickered
Just to name two off the top of my head.
Good writing typically is characterized by being clear and concise.
SFP Jun 5th 2009 8:10PM
No harm, no foul. :)
Thanks for updating it!
SFP Jun 5th 2009 8:12PM
Now I certainly fail.
Meant to respond to your earlier comment, Eliah.
/facepalm
Sleutel Jun 5th 2009 10:44PM
After skimming the opening paragraphs of the winning entry, I can honestly say that the writing is on par with the other official Blizzard fiction I attempted reading.
Sean Riley Jun 6th 2009 1:16AM
"I have to say, aside from the overuse of adjectives and adverbs that tends to be endemic to fan fiction (write with nouns and verbs, people), this is some pretty enjoyable writing."
To be fair, my over-use of adjectives and adverbs in The Last Days of Crank Fizzlepop was to establish a character. First person narrative can change the rules.
Sean Riley Jun 6th 2009 1:18AM
I lost the start of that pose. I began it by brandishing my copy of the Elements of Style. Avoid unnecessary words, I know, I know.
Sean Riley Jun 6th 2009 1:21AM
Start of that POST. God, I'm distracted today.
Tate Jun 6th 2009 2:04AM
I wish they would format it correctly. Unless that is 'add space after paragraph' which is still annoying.
Paragraph Paragraph Paragraph Paragraph Paragraph Paragraph Paragraph Paragraph Paragraph Paragraph Paragraph Paragraph Paragraph Paragraph Paragraph Paragraph Paragraph Paragraph Paragraph Paragraph Paragraph
Paragraph Paragraph Paragraph Paragraph Paragraph Paragraph Paragraph Paragraph Paragraph Paragraph Paragraph Paragraph Paragraph
New scene or great change in time- Paragraph Paragraph Paragraph Paragraph Paragraph Paragraph
Lets hope that formats right on here. Otherwise it will look silly. Indent first line. Do not double tap enter. Indent first line of next paragraph.
/example
Also an overuse of commas, and commas.
They should add a print preview option to that blizzard page having to click next with the frustrating formatting on every page really disrupts the story, much like the commas.
Tate Jun 6th 2009 2:06AM
Apparently it wont format right... (------ = Indent first line of paragraph)
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------Paragraph Paragraph Paragraph Paragraph Paragraph Paragraph Paragraph Paragraph Paragraph Paragraph Paragraph Paragraph Paragraph
-----New scene or great change in time- Paragraph Paragraph Paragraph Paragraph Paragraph Paragraph