Everything Was Beautiful

Day 2,358, 11:35 • Published in USA USA • by Aeriadne

Old dog, old tricks.

Doing a Thing
Something Franklin Stone wrote about got me thinking the other day.


Betcha never thought I'd start an article off like that.

To provide context, and thus disavow the illusion that this will somehow be an article about laying graces upon CHS, it was his throwaway comment on this thread that got my gears grinding. For those too lazy to click that link, or who may otherwise be technologically limited in clicking it somehow, Franklin linked to one of Phoenix Quinn's articles, and said of Quinn that he was the "best writer in eRepublik...."

Why the OP ellipses were necessary is beyond me. I don't pretend to know how CHS thinks or why he writes. But again, that isn't the point of this article.

The point of this article is that I may or may not disagree with him.

To wit, Phoenix Quinn has been writing articles in this game before I was even playing it. His paper is one of the oldest ones in game that is still active, and he is one of the few to have ever legitimately earned a Media Mogul Medal by actually working for it. He is a fantastic writer. I read every one of his articles. There is no other paper like his.

But is he the best writer in eRepublik?

Now, I'm a writer myself. Some would argue a hack writer (lookin' a you, Custer), but a writer nonetheless. In point of fact, writing about shit is one of my very few talents, the other two being self-deprecating humor and being worthless.


Hey, I didn't say they were useful talents.

But point is, I write. Quid pro quo, I am a writer. And as a writer, I have a vested interested in written things. I tend to think about them. And stuff. Things and stuff. That are in writing.

And while Phoenix is phenomenal, the best? I don't know.

So I wanted your guys input.

There are, and have been, a lot of really talented writers who pass through this game. Many go unrecognized. They'll write a few articles, can't break the top media block, and quit writing. And that's a shame. And since we all love complaining how crappy the current media is, sometimes nostalgia can be a good medicine.

A long time ago in a profile far, far away, I did a contest, and I'm gonna do something similar here.

The Writing Games
In the comments section of this article, I want you to write the names of as many great writers as you want. The only condition is, they must have at one point been eAmerican. That's it.

After that, I'll take all the names, put a ballot up, and we all can vote for who we think is the greatest writer this country has seen.

Now, because writers are an egotistical lot ("You actually think someone wants to read what you wrote? HA!"), I'm going to play to that. The top five names that are voted are all going to get a very special prize. As a friend once did for me, so too will I do for these five great writers: I will buy them a Media Mogul.

If they already have one, they get another. They deserve it, and in a day and age where this medal is harder to get than virtually any other without buying for it, I feel it's safe to say that this method provides a nice outlet for people who may want the medal and can't really get it.

For the first place winner, the one who is voted best? They get something even better: this award will be named after them. And they, like, like Necrosis/Glorious Failure, will be able to proudly brag that some hack writer gave them a special award.


Cheers, writers. And may the odds be ever in your favor.