Greetings everyone! I have had a lot of news posts over the past few months, but not a lot of reports. In order to remedy that, I present my 19th Report as your Voice.

• ACC Tournament: Grading Tips and Tricks
• ACC Tournament: How to Complain
• ACC Tournament: You are writing Begeren
• Fiction: Motivators
• Fiction: Stealth Approval
• ACC: Final Reminder: Links Galore!
• The Voice's Word (Stolen from Jac)
  

ACC Tournament: Grading Tips and Tricks

Round II of the ACC Fading Light Tournament has come to an end with the conclusion of several close matches. Mav and I wanted to address a few common threads we have identified in the grading thus far and believe they will help writers in the rounds to come.

1) Syntax will cost you the fight. Mav and I read over every fight and identify major syntax issues that disrupt the flow of the story. These mistakes come in the common form of misused words (there, their, they're), incorrect usage of its/it's, spelling mistakes, and spacing/formatting errors. These mistakes are extremely common and are easily avoidable with a good proof reader. If you submit a rush job without the benefit of a proof reader, you can expect to lose syntax points and potentially the match.

2) Syntax will cost you the fight. If I identify 20 syntax errors in a fight, you are in big trouble. I'm not a grammar Nazi and will gloss over some mistakes that do not disrupt the flow of a story or are not easily fixed. If I find 20, you lost.

3) Your story does not have to be insane, but you can avoid the same themes everyone else uses. Multiple fights this round consisted of two individuals entering a cave, banter, fighting, and a fatality. Very few authors did anything that really caught our attention. Did you know Trouty had his opponent strip naked? That Tarax destroyed the artifact out of spite? That Selika utilized lore? That Timmy introduced a unique twist on the purpose of the Tomb? Take a look at their battles and see how they took the standard fight and made it unique.

4) Realism is graded with a fine eye towards the character sheets. If you are stabbed in the head, have a broken arm, and a wraid is eating your intestines, it might be difficult to put up any sort of fight against a Sith Lord. We like to write our characters as super heroes swooping down from up on high to save the day, but that can really only happen if your character sheet allows it. Be sure to review your sheet and your opponents when conducting those big and defining moments within a fight. Does your opponent have reflexive counter, lightning reflexes, divine intervention? You need to take these things into consideration before lopping their head off with your Gamorrean War Axe.

5) Continuity. Everyone did a nice job on continuity this round with only a few minor errors. Sometimes a continuity error can occur because your opponent was not very clear on their actions in the previous post. We attempt to take this into consideration.

ACC: How to Complain

Mav and I spent a long time working with many people to develop the ACC over the past year. We have a strong idea of how powers, feats, and skills work within the ACC. BUT, we are fallible. We will make mistakes, we will miss writing errors, and we will make judgment calls that some people disagree with.

Mav and I will confer with one another on any match that is exceptionally close. If I grade a match that includes members of Taldyran, I ask Muz/Raken to review my scoring. Despite our efforts, we are still going to make judgment calls that some members will disagree with.

So what do you do if you are on the losing end of an exceptionally close match? Email Mav and I your concerns and ask us to take a look at the fight one more time. Address concerns that you may have with negatives scores associated with your writing or positive scores associated with your opponent's writing. Do this in a manner that is fitting of two human beings interacting with one another.

We appreciate everyone's candor, but please avoid spitting venom in our direction in the event you lose a close battle. We are extremely reasonable human beings and are willing to re-look most decisions (If you have 50 syntax errors, you lost, move on).

Thanks.

ACC Tournament: You are writing Begeren

Mav and Shad came up with a great idea to incorporate the best writing from each round to flesh out our planet wiki for Begeren. If you write a great scene, descriptive environment, or kick ass whatever, you will more than likely see your writing become canon. We will continue to do this each round and it gives our great writers a chance to see their little ACC battles become a bit more permanent.

Fiction: Motivators

The Dark Brotherhood is littered with Dark Jedi, Grey Jedi, and Light Jedi. Each character has a reason or reasons for why they have become the person they are. What motivated you down the Dark Path? Why have you forsaken Jedi and Sith to walk the middle road? What events in your life led you to the Light Side of the Force? This is your opportunity to flesh our your characters back story and motivations without worrying about the traditional fetch and quest prompts of Fading Light.

Competition Details: https://www.darkjedibrotherhood.com/competitions/7872

Fiction: Stealth Approval

Some of you may have noticed, but the Voice Office now approves all fiction competitions. This decision was made in order to help facilitate Cluster of Ice awarding and to bring the Gaming/Fiction Officers more in line with one another. I doubt very many people have noticed and it should not impact the approval time of your competitions. Thanks!

ACC Final Reminder: Links Galore!

1) Capitalization Guidelines
2) ACC Feedback Form
3. ACC Guide
4. ACC Grading Rubric
5. Character Sheet Express Guide
6. Force Powers

The Voice's Word (:p)

ACC Grading is no joke. We have very good writers who are writing at the top of their game. Mav and I will have our work cut out for us over the next several weeks. Take care to stay friendly and not let ego destroy your ability to communicate during this competition. The DJB is here for fun, don't let it become something beyond that.

Conclusion

I'm moving and stuff, again. 25 June to 24 July will be a hectic time period where I am traveling from Kansas to Colorado to Pennsylvania to Orlando and then back to Colorado. I will still be grading matches and on email/whatsapp, but my mIRC time might take a hit. I wanted to forewarn all you cats who like to !lastseen DC members on mIRC. :p

Darth Pravus