The General Appreciation Thread

[Eil]

You know what the hardest part of being in the top 30 is? Well, the sweat-inducing wait, yes, but also a terribly loud word: silence. That is, not being able to personally thank someone once they review your application, or draw your character, or make a paper mache dance recital of your scene.

So! To rectify that situation, I put forward yonder General Appreciation Thread! Lavish vague praise upon unspecified persons for their nondescript work, without having to worry about a single [REDACTION] in sight!

Jokes aside, I've been blown away by all the work I've seen here from everybody. From the quality reviews and app dissections, to the fantastic art. I enjoy reading and looking at every bit of it, so thank you guys for your time, seriously. It's highly valued and appreciated.

[Rascal]

Yes! Thank you so much for creating this thread!

I too shall wish to thank those who have reviewed my character(s) or made drawings for them. I appreciate that greatly.

This thread will also allow me to cut back on PMing people or spamming threads with my thanks, as I am a chatty writer and never quite seem to know when to end a conversation. :3

With out mentioning who my character(s) is(are) in the top 30 I will say that as a person trying to get my writing beyond a simple hobby having my apps reviewed is a good experience, especially from different sources. It gives you a good idea of what people in general think about your writing, as well as help over come that initial shyness that most writers have when they publish something for the first time.

Reviews of course point out all the little flaws that in my writing, mostly things I am kicking myself for not catching, but they also show that I did some things good and that a lot of what I tried to convey in my characters (as well as what I tried to purposely leave as a mystery, as opposed to coming across as a plot hole) came out better than I expected.

It gives you a good boost of confidence to see people point out all the things you could have done better, but still having a hard time deciding on whether to vote for you or another person in the contest.

So yes, thank you all very much for taking the time to review our applications! Have a smiley emote on the house. :D

[Airan]

What a cool idea for a thread.

You know what the hardest part of being in the top 30 is? Well, the sweat-inducing wait, yes, but also a terribly loud word: silence.

Oh, yeah that is just the worst. And the wait is a killer, even for me. :)

[Eliza Lacrimosa]

When are votes due, again?

[Airan]

Thursday, June 11th at 11:59 PM EST. They'd be due Friday, but I originally had work that day, and I wanted as much time to set up the contestant's board before the Top 10 were confirmed the following morning.

[Rascal]

Guh! I sound so sappy in the previous post >.>

But anyway, yes! Voting! Thank you for letting us know when the dead line is for that.

[Matra Hammer]

Your sap is delicious, Rascal. No worries.

[Fern Greenwood]

I appreciate that, even after so many years, there's still new and vibrant writing talent in the Redwall universe. I nearly shed a tear in fond remembrance of good writing times, and very much envy y'all the cozy busy-ness that comes with plotting up a whirlwind of a story!

Thanks for drawing me back into this, Airan.

[Airan]

I appreciate that, even after so many years, there's still new and vibrant writing talent in the Redwall universe. I nearly shed a tear in fond remembrance of good writing times, and very much envy y'all the cozy busy-ness that comes with plotting up a whirlwind of a story!

Thanks for drawing me back into this, Airan.

No, thank you. I know I already sort of said this on the judging board, but really, thanks so much for helping me judge and get all of this going. I've been really wanting to do a contest for a little while now, but I just didn't know if the interest was still there, and trying to do this all alone... I just don't think I would have had the confidence. So, thank you, Fern, Tara, and the other judges, for help making all of this possible.

And also, a brief thanks to all the audience who's taking part in this right now. I was pretty unsure towards the end if we would actually manage to get more than thirty applications. So, thanks to everyone who talked about the contest, told their friends, got people interested, because I don't think we'd have such a good potential cast of different writers and characters without all of that.

Thanks, everyone :)

[Eliza Lacrimosa]

I'd like to throw a special thanks to Tara for posting about this on Facebook. I'd never have found out otherwise. <3

[Vizon]

I'd like to throw a special thanks to Tara for posting about this on Facebook. I'd never have found out otherwise. <3

Me either - at least, probably not in time to get in on the early voting and stuff.

[Opal]

I appreciate that, even after so many years, there's still new and vibrant writing talent in the Redwall universe. I nearly shed a tear in fond remembrance of good writing times, and very much envy y'all the cozy busy-ness that comes with plotting up a whirlwind of a story!

Thanks for drawing me back into this, Airan.

That's pretty much exactly what I wanted to say, although written much better than I would have written it.

I also appreciate that contests are still, like, a thing, after 14 years. Contests are a teenager now, you guys! You're making me feel old. XD

[Opal]

I'd like to throw a special thanks to Tara for posting about this on Facebook. I'd never have found out otherwise. <3

Me either - at least, probably not in time to get in on the early voting and stuff.

Aww, thanks. It was really no trouble at all! Sorry about all the email newsletter troubles. Gmail hates emails from these forums. If you mark them as not spam about fifty times, eventually they get the idea, but eh! What can you do.

[SonikBoomTube]

Thank YOU Eil for coming up with such an amazing thread idea. We need something like this :P

And yeah, all the reviews and artwork is most appreciated. I liked hearing about what people thought about my character(s?) and how I'll need to handle them.

Also, I wanted to give Vizon a special thanks for giving me renewed interest in writing them. Seriously, it showed me another side to them and I loved it!

[Eil]

Guh! I sound so sappy in the previous post >.>

Don't worry, the "General Sap Thread" will be made once the characters start dying. =P

I'm so glad to see this many people active on the boards. I kind of hovered over the forums during the last contest (without even applying, shame on me), and unless my memory is failing me, there really seems to be more discussion going on. Fantasteek, I say! =D

Also, I forgot to make mention of our marvelous admin and judges who've made all this possible. Thanks so much, Airan, for starting this up, and to all the judges for their time and attention. A story's no story without a backbone, and you guys are a heckuva vertebral column.