Life for the Fan Fic Contest?

[TGRF]

Greetings members of what is surely one of the most obscure forums on this site!

Okay. So I've always been proud to be a writer here, and be one of the privileged few who actually know and appreciate what has gone on in this forum. There used to be a lot of us, now we're down to about two as I figure it, with no real projects save for TAF's zombie tale.

This is reflected in the Fan Fic Competition, which has been inactive for at least around 5 months. It won't take much to move it back into action; Dysole just has to judge or I have to tweak the rules and proclaim a winner myself. The question is: should we do this?

This isn't one of those morbid posts that can be summed up as 'well, is this it?' I'd like the competition to go on, but I don't think it can with these increasingly long pauses.

I think the competition can come back, but before it does, I think we need to take a long hard look at what is causing those gaps. And if, as I suspect, the reason is a simple lack of interest or time, then maybe we do need to let it go. At least until some new blood comes in here and stirs the pot again. Which will happen. Some day. I was that new blood once. Or maybe we just need to radically alter its structure. I don't know. That's why I made this thread.

I think it goes without saying that the competition needs fixing. Anything that can sit unused for 5 months with an easy way out definitely has a problem somewhere. I'd like to identify that problem, figure out what it would take to eliminate it, and then ask ourselves honestly if it is worth it.

Below, I want you guys to post your thoughts on this. Let me know what you think the problem(s) is, what would be needed to fix them (regardless of if it's possible or not, just focus on what we would need), and if that fix is something we can do. Other thoughts on different aspects of the contest are also appreciated.

And by 'you guys' I do not - regretfully - mean anyone who wanders by. I am talking specifically to the Fan Fic veterans here. Those people who have proven over and over that they will stick with this forum through thick and thin, at least to some extent. These are the people who will be, and have been, contributing to the contest, and to this forum as a whole. Unless that new blood I spoke of is reading this, which I would love to be the case.

Tell me your thoughts.

~TGRF.

[TGRF]

Forgot the mentions. @Dysole @TheAverageFan @Tornado

Honestly that's about it at the moment. Unless I'm missing someone.

~TGRF.

[TGRF]

So. My opinion in all this.

Situation

Firstly, I'm a writer, and I am serious about writing novels. I'm nearly ready to start writing my first one, in fact. To be honest, I still have plenty of time to participate in fan fiction. But also to be honest, I cannot juggle two ongoing writing projects at the same time. The best I can do is a one-shot contest entry. Something that takes multiple days to work up isn't going to cut it, because then I have to switch my thinking from my novel, and then switch it back. Which takes time.

So as much as I want to see the contest take off, I doubt I myself can really participate in it too much. Maybe a sporadic poem now and then, but nothing of much substance.

Problem

As I said above, I think the problem is a general lack of time and interest. People have other things to do. I know Dysole's been very busy as of late (news flash, I know), and I'm sure we all have work to attend to in some form or another. There just isn't enough payoff in the contest to justify taking the time to work at it.

Solution

Aside from just dropping the contest, the obvious solution is to increase the payoff. Somehow make the contest worth the time put into it. Honestly, I don't know how we would do this. Money is probably the best bet, but I'm very hesitant to get money involved. If someone starts handing out cash prizes, that cash has to come from somewhere, which means there's an entry fee, which could either crush the contest instantly or upgrade it in the eyes of viewers, and crush the judge beneath a deluge of entries. Which wouldn't be half bad, now that I think about it. But still.

I tried to do something similar by offering titles. That obviously didn't work. The only other thing we could do is look into some sort of partnership with a company, and then offer discounts or memberships as prizes. Like a coupon for a writing course. Or an interview with an agent. Or something. All of which is equally out of our grasp unless the contest gets a serious upgrade and a new home.

Action

To me, it's clear: we either increase the payoff somehow, or this is going to continue. At the moment, the contest is supported by fans entirely. It gives nothing in return but a little in-site glory, which if we're honest gets completely ignored. All the proposed methods of increasing the payoff are out of our grasp, unless we want to sink some serious time into this project and make it into something worthy of such payoffs. Which could be done. But it would take time and money.

To me, it looks like the contest needs to continue in it's current state: waiting for new blood.

~TGRF.

[TheAverageFan]

Well it's simple: Its all Dysole's fault. Ban hammer time!

I kid of course. As I said before, there's been a surge of activity for the CoN so I don't see why the same wouldn't apply for the contest. Personally I think we just need to not stick so close to singular prompts. If the deadline comes and goes and there's only one entry, then that is by default the winner. Moving on. Keeping things quick is probably for the best.

And if nobody enters, Idunno. Just let whoever come up with another prompt. Make it a bit more small scale--like your "TGRF challenges" in reverse. Someone offers a prompt, others take it on, etc. If there's more than 1 person then it's a contest again.

It's all theory of course. But it's better than nothing. We'll see. I personally came across the Contest because it was a busy thread and I was curious. Surely others will wander in if they see activity. Who knows.

~TAF

[TGRF]

It should be noted that I have the resources to upgrade the contest out of fan fiction. I have the website. I have the space. I have about a quarter of the capabilities (might need some help there). But I can do it.

I would need help in promotion if we want new writers, and I would need some funds. Not much. Just enough so the website pays for itself. I would also need help with administrative work and judging. That means a good chunk of time from other people, and myself.

That's what would be required. The option is there. Just FYI.

~TGRF.

[TGRF]

Originally Posted by TheAverageFan

And if nobody enters, Idunno. Just let whoever come up with another prompt. Make it a bit more small scale--like your "TGRF challenges" in reverse. Someone offers a prompt, others take it on, etc. If there's more than 1 person then it's a contest again.

That's... actually an interesting idea. Scaling it down obviously isn't the direction I was thinking of, but it could help.

~TGRF.

[TheAverageFan]

We can scale it back up if it ever gets bigger. I just think currently the low-activity lengthy-deadline prompts probably scare off reluctant newcomers. A quick one-and-done story is a bit more of a "why not give it a fling?" thing that might actually get some people hooked. Like I said, we'll see.

~TAF

EDIT: I also seem to recall from older prompts that the first Contest stories were quite short as well. My first entry had Bro-Man saying MAKE IT EPIC at 10000 words, which seems like chump change to me now.

[Tornado]

Bro-Man, have not thought about that guy for awhile. He really improved quite a bit from when he started and I think I did as well.

I credit the Fan-Fic Contest for improving my writing in general and really that was a big reason I started competing.

I like TAF's idea. Maybe a low word count or another poetry or even a song satire ala' Weird Al to get the ball rolling. I see no reason why the contest cannot return and be strong again. I know I could use the experience.

I am not sure the rewards will ever be the reason people participate but they are a nice perk. I think it will come down to the prompt/challenge and if people have time to write.

All we can do is try.
Feliz Navidad.

[Dysole]

Let me get back to you after I get back to Oregon.

~Dysole,

[TGRF]

I think you guys might be on to something with the small prompts idea. We of course had the big discussion about word limits, so I doubt those that advocated for a big limit would be too happy about a small one. But maybe that's we need to get rolling again. I'll give it some thought.

~TGRF.

[TGRF]

So this is just a random thought. I figured I'd post it and let you guys toss it around some. See if anything shakes loose.

As TAF said, CoN had a revival. And as I've said in the CoN threads, I don't follow the extensive strategy theories too well and am mainly there for the RP.

What if we combine these things? Imagine if you will, CoN, here, minus the strategy, with just the story and the RP. I guess that basically equals a group story, though I'm more envisioning something along the lines of scorpiusx's Apocalypse, where every choice the characters make have an effect on the outcome.

Granted, it doesn't allow much room for actual story creation, but if people take it seriously it could be a good exercise for writing characters. And if not... then it's just some good fun. And who knows? Last time we did this, people decided they liked their characters so much they would create backstories for them. And so began the last age of Fan Fiction.

Tornado, I know you've mentioned wanting a group story a few times. What are your thoughts on this?

~TGRF.

[TheAverageFan]

It might work. I bet if you pitched that idea you might be able to get a few CoNers to give it a try. There's a big difference between writing a fanfic and doing an RP so maybe they'll be more willing. Less daunting, y'know?

~TAF