Yahoo Forum Archive

Hey guys,

It occurs to me that some people here may not be as familiar with the
current categorisation system as others are. Inkling suggested
privately that I post the FAQ I wrote to explain it. You can also read
it at http://www.freewebs.com/aure/faq4categories.htm .

In the interest of space, I've deleted some of the longer answers and
just provided a direct link. Trust me, it would be waaaay too long to
read in an email (especially digest!) otherwise.

Oh, and this FAQ was written before this discussion. It reflects how
things were done last year, and not how they'll be done next year. I
suspect there will be changes.

*****

Q: I've looked at your site and want to nominate a story, but frankly
am a little baffled by the categories. I have a races/places, genre,
and books/times choice picked out, but how do I know what order to put
them in?

A: This is a tough question, one that many people struggle with. You're
not alone! Unfortunately, it's also a very personal matter because it
comes down to how the author views their story. That means there's no
"one-size-fits-all" answer.

Stories in the "Races/Places" categories should be noteworthy in their
focus on the characteristics and culture of a certain race (or multiple
race). If the piece in question focuses on the characteristics and
traditions of a certain culture it might do well in these categories.

Stories in the "Genres" categories should be noteworthy because of
their dramatic conflicts, or use of mystery, or some other
genre-specific quality. If the piece in question is more about family
relations between two characters as individuals -- if it is the
dramatic tension that is at the forefront rather than the culture they
represent -- then you might pick "Drama" as your first choice category.
(Similar questions could be asked to identify whether it fits in
Mystery, Romance, etc.)

Stories in the "Books/Times" categories give some new insight to the
events described in canon (books or movies). Gapfillers or new
perspectives on events portrayed in canon might do well here. You might
choose a books/times category as your first choice if this piece tries
to build on or extend canon in some way.

******

Q: What categories are available in "Races/Places"?

A: http://www.freewebs.com/aure/faq4categories.htm#61181020

*****

Q: What categories are available in "Genres"?

A: http://www.freewebs.com/aure/faq4categories.htm#61181499

*****

Q: What categories are available in "Books/Times"?

A: http://www.freewebs.com/aure/faq4categories.htm#61181800

*****

Q: What do those award names mean? What if my story isn't about any of
them?

A: The award names are the themes for the award banners; they do not
necessarily describe the content of the story that wins them. For
example, a story about Feanor would be eligible for any of the three
awards, even though Feanor is never mentioned in the Ainulindalë, the
Valaquenta, or the Akallabêth.

*****

Q: Do I have to choose one books/time category, one genre category, and
one races/places category?

A: No, you just need three categories. If you want to choose two genres
and no books/time categories (or some other similar arrangement) that's
fine.

*****

Q: Okay, I think I understand about the categories, but the
subcategories thing... how do you use this information anyway?

A: Let's say that "Romance" attracts forty entries, while "Crossovers"
only gets ten. Without subcategories, there would be four times as much
competition for the awards in romance as there is in "Crossovers". To
solve this problem we break the larger categories down into
sub-categories. Then in each of the sub-categories we are able to award
first, second, and third place.

*****

Q: So do you also give awards for the whole category?

A: No, if your category has subcategories we will only give awards to
the winners of each subcategory, not an overall set of awards for the
category. This is because it would get confusing very quickly.

Let's go back to the "Romance" example above. Say of the forty entries,
twelve were about Gondorians, eleven about the elves of Imladris, ten
about hobbits, three about the Rohirrim, and four were sit in the First
Age. Some obvious subcategories would be:

* Romance/Gondor
* Romance/Imladris
* Romance/Hobbits

We could not create Romance/First Age or Romance/Rohirrim because the
categories would be inviable. Therefore we have to put those two
together -- but the two have nothing in common! To solve this problem
we create a subcategory called Romance/(no subcategory). Think of it
like a "miscellaneous" subcategory for those pieces that don't really
fit anywhere else. Of course saying "Romance/(no subcategory)" gets
cumbersome after a while, so many people refer to this miscellaneous
subcategory simply as "Romance".

Therefore, if we recognised first, second, and third place across the
whole category it might be confused for the prizes in this
miscellaneous subcategory.

*****

Q: What do you mean by "inviable"?

A: In order for a category or sub-category to compete it must have at
least five entries by at least two different authors or author groups.
If only four crossovers are nominated, then one of two things must
happen:

1. A piece from another category must be moved in from another
category.
2. The four pieces in "Crossovers" must be moved to their second- or
third-choice category.

Such a category is called "inviable" and means that it will not compete
unless we bring new pieces into it to make it viable.

Sub-categories can also be inviable, though we do not normally refer to
them as inviable unless they are mandatory.

The one exception to the 5x2 rule are incompletes: there must be five
stories by two authors in each "Incomplete" category at the end of
nomination season. However, if an incomplete story is completed during
the awards it will be moved to another subcategory in the same category
(or its first-choice category, if it was originally moved). If this
means the incomplete sub-category is left with fewer than five stories
(or has fewer than two authors), that sub-category will still be
allowed to compete.

*****

Q: What are mandatory sub-categories?

A: At the MEFAs three types of pieces must compete in their own
sub-categories: Drabbles, Poetry, and Incompletes.

1. For the purpose of these awards, drabbles are stories of exactly
100 words. Series of 100-word drabbles may also compete in the drabble
sub-category if each piece in the series is 100 words. Variants on this
theme (111-, 150-, 200-, and 300-word ficlets, etc.) should not compete
in this subcategory.
2. All verse should be entered into the poetry subcategory. This
includes classical forms as well as pastiches of well-known poems,
filks, and free-verse. In the past, poems that have mimicked the style
of a poem by an author other than Tolkien have competed in the
"Crossovers/Poetry" sub-category, though they are eligible elsewhere if
the author would prefer.
3. Works-in-progress are longer pieces that the author is posting
chapter-by-chapter and have not yet reached their conclusion. Such
stories will be reviewed based on the work that the author has
published and are eligible again when they are completed. If the author
completes the piece before the end of voting season, it is the author's
responsibility to alert the award admins, at which time the story will
be moved to a subcategory with completed stories.

If the piece you are nominating falls into any of these sub-categories,
you must mention it as a sub-category.

*****

Q: What about optional subcategories? Can you give me some examples?

A: You can suggest any subcategory you like. For example:

* Length - If your prose piece is a ficlet (scenes of some exact
word count other than 100 -- i.e., 111, 150, 200, 300), a single scene,
or a longer piece such as a novella, novel, or epic, please mention
this in the subcategory field. We want to put pieces of similar lengths
in the subcategory.
* Location - Does your piece take place in a certain region? You
might want to mention this as a subcategory. Do not mention this if you
don't want the piece to compete against other pieces set in the same
land. For example, a piece about Eowyn learning to use a sword in "Men"
should probably have Rohan mentioned as a possible subcategory; a piece
about Merry and Pippin on the run across Rohan may not need this
subcategory label..
* Time Frame - Does your story take place before or after a certain
major event? Many of the "Races/Places" categories have had "pre-Quest"
or "post-Quest" subcategories. The Silmarillion also regularly has
"First Age" and "Second Age" subcategories.
* Sub-genre - This year we have had subcategories like
"Hurt/Comfort", "Friendship", and "Metafic". Does your story fit into a
more specific genre than what you chose? Would you like it to compete
against other pieces of the same type? If so, mention it.
* Key character or group of characters - If you would like your
piece about Boromir and Faramir to compete against other pieces about
the brothers 'Mir, please put their names down as a possible
subcategory. Also feel free to mention groups that it deals with, such
as the Fellowship, Tooks, or Ithilien Rangers.

Here are the subcategories that have been used over the past two years:

[snip list --- see
http://www.freewebs.com/aure/faq4categories.htm#61182301%5d

This should give you an idea of the type of subcategories that might be
used.

*****

Q: Can you tell me if a certain subcategory will be offered?

A: Unfortunately, no. At the end of nomination season volunteers group
stories based on common subcategory suggestions. We don't know what
subcategories will be available until after nomination season closes,
and if we allowed everyone to redo their subcategory information those
categories might not be viable.

You can often guess the likely subcategories by looking at the other
stories nominated in your first-choice category. If many of them have
the same subcategory listed that might end up being a subcategory.

*****

Q: If I knew you were going to offer that subcategory I would have
listed it! Is there any way to have my story put in some other
sub-category?

A: Not usually. If we allowed everyone to choose their own subcategory
then many of the subcategories would become inviable, and we'd have to
start all over.

If, however, the categorisers make a mistake and place your piece in a
subcategory you didn't list, pleas contact mefasupport@gmail.com so we
can correct the problem.

*****

Q: Is there any particular order I should put my subcategory
suggestions in?

A: There is no precedence to the order. Many people put their first
choice first in the list, but we don't necessarily try to get
everything into their first category choice.

If you particularly want your story to go into a certain subcategory
please feel free to mention that to your liaison. We cannot guarantee
anything, but we will try to place it there.

*****

Q: I've heard of something called "graduated sub-categories". What are
those?

A: At the MEFAs we try to avoid having sub-sub-categories. but
sometimes in just makes sense. For example, this year Men/Gondor made
sense as a sub-category, but there were over forty entries. This is
when we consider making it a graduated subcategory.

If a subcategory has more than twenty stories by more than five authors
the categorisers will consider making it a graduated category. This
does not always make sense, such as when there is already a main
category by the same name, and it is done solely at the discretion of
the administrators. If we do decide to do this, all stories in the
subcategory will be moved to a new category, and that category will be
handled just as if it was a category that had been available from the
beginning.