So tomorrow the results for PWA come out, and not just on the stream. 

The stream results are on the Gotta Read 'Em All club YouTube channel in case you want to see the exacts. 

I didn't place or win any special awards. 

I don't quite know what I was expecting, this is my first year entering, or for that matter, finishing such a big project. 

I'm still learning. I payed attention to the small bit on stream where Metamorphosis was being discussed by the judges. There were a lot of good comments. I was told that they would recommend the book. I was told that the ties between Knights, Patrons, Saints, and Mercenaries all gave off a very religious vibe and all tied together fairly well. 

But I was also criticized. 

I was told (or at least, what I took away from the stream) to work on more world building, and to flesh out the role of antagonists and what truly is evil more. I was told that out of the 3 medieval-like stories that entered Adventure this year, that mine was the weakest. 

Still an okay story, but the weakest.  

Am I upset that I didn't place? Of course. 

Do I understand it? Yes. 

Do I realize my flaws? Absolutely.

But I am still proud.

I worked very hard on Metamorphosis, flaws and all. I loved working on it, and it is the best book I have on this account in my opinion. I got 4 special award nominations this year, FOUR! For a first time entrant that's huge. I may not have won any of them, but it was extremely impressive to at least get nominated as a first timer. 

I believe that my downfall was two things: I too closely followed the plot of a story that needed much more adaptation to incorporate the things I wanted to incorporate, and I was too focused on building up the plot and the characters that I overlooked the world itself. Metamorphosis is set in a region of my own thinking. As so, I should have spent a lot more time working on the world itself. Maybe one day I'll come back to Metamorphosis, and give a rewrite. That would be a fun project, but for now it will stay up as is. 

All in all, I think that this year was a great learning experience for me. I'm reading the reviews that the other entrants are getting to see what made their books good and what made their books bad. I'm also looking forward to my own review coming out on December 19th. I'm already eager to write my next story, and this time around I think I'll take more time with it, and possibly not enter in the 2018 awards with a full length story, possibly just a one-shot or a short story. 

I'm having fun working with this story. I'm trying to increase the work I'm putting into differentiating the characters, find a writing style that suits not only me but the story I'm telling, creating a balance between all the elements in the story. But I'm most excited because I'm also trying to break and defeat cliches. 

I know a lot of you guys don't come from Pokemon, but in the Pokemon community, almost every relationship and crush is written by people who have never been in a relationship or never crushed on someone, and it hurts to see relationships being put in a bad light. (I personally believe romance should only be written if the author has experienced the kind of romance they're writing about.) I hate these tropes, and if romance has nothing to contribute to the characters, or the plot, then it has no point being in stories. 

Another trope is that all the female protagonists are weak, shy, and don't want to be the protagonist and such. Why not give us someone strong? Or this is fun (and what I'm going to try with this book): A female lead who's a bit of a brat and doesn't want to be the protagonist? 

We all know that stories are basically about throwing people into situations that force them to become protagonists. I tried to experiment a bit with a character forced to become a protagonist that doesn't want to be in their role with Kaden in Metamorphosis, but that could have been written much better. 

(For those who did not read, I intended for him to be a character with a past that forced him to be a hero. After an attempt to be that hero failed, it completely threw him out of his role, and he enjoyed being out of the role, but was soon forced back into it, and for the rest of the book he filled his role with reluctance and regrets, although eventually turning and accepting his role just before the end.)

I'm just rambling at this point. All I do know is that I'm very excited to write this story. I don't have a cover or an official title yet, but I will give a bit of teaser below. 

1) It's another Pokemon book, if that wasn't obvious.

2) The top candidate for the title is Bosque Verde. 

3) I've written this story under a different name on this account before, it was recently taken down but I've wanted to bring it back for quite some time now. I won't tell you which one, but you guys can guess if you want. 

4) I'm trying my hand at writing a bit of romance, but it's going to be one revolving around the protagonist and her boyfriend, who get together before the start of the story, and how they adjust to the new roles they're being put into, both as individuals and as a couple. I plan the relationship between the two to be loosely based off of my current relationship. 

5) It revolves around the logic of Ultra Wormholes from Generation 7, and as such I may refrain from posting until after I've gotten a chance to read up on the dialogue from Ultra Sun/Moon or I've gotten a chance to play the games themselves. 

TL;DR

I didn't win any awards for this year's Pokemon Watty Awards, and I'm already starting to try and learn from my faults. I realize I made mistakes, however, I am not ashamed of the content I have produced, I am in fact quite pleased and proud at the fact that I got several special nominations. 

As a part of learning from my faults, I am already starting to take action and attempting to write a better book that you'll be learning more about as I continue to make plans and develop the story, which includes the characters, the plot, and the world it's taking place in.