Letho
12-21-06, 09:19 PM
So, I've been thinking about this a lot lately. "Vignettes" aren't a new concept and they're definitely not originally mine. I remember Gild making them waaay back when he was active and I was still wet behind the ears. What I'm asking from you, the people of Althanas, is some feedback on whether or not would you like to participate in something akin to that. But first, let's get a few things straight.
What are "Vignettes"?
Basically, they are short stories. I've been on Althanas for quite some time now, and I saw a lot of people going through a lot of things with a lot of characters. And now I want to deviate from it a little bit. I think we're starting to focus a bit too much on our characters, developing their stories, planning out the quests, focusing on so many details. It's not necessarily a bad thing, but if you keep your eyes open to this one specific form of writing, you become blind to all others.
What's the point?
What I'm proposing is this. Break free from Althanas for a short while. "Vignettes" would be a mini-competition where people could post their short stories (I thought the limit should be 2000 words) that have absolutely nothing to do with Althanas or their characters. I think this would inspire some originality and creativity, while not distracting us much from the basic concept of Althanas, but rather giving us some reprieve from the usual.
The Rules
There wouldn't be that many, I think. I'll try to list the ones off the top of my head (this might change):
- 2000 words maximum
- one story per person (multiple accounts will be checked)
- three weeks for posting, one week for deciding the winner
- winner is ineligible for victory for two months (so that a single person wouldn't win over and over again)
- the winner gets an announcement on Althanas.com main page
The feedback
Now, this is the part that might or might not work. I don't plan for this stories to be judged or anything, nor will they be eligible for EXP/GP rewards. What I'd like to do instead is to have the writers who participate vote on who they think the winner should be. After the three weeks passed, there will be one week during which the participants can comment on other stories and vote on which one should win/get second/third place. This would not only make people interact more, but it would also encourage the members to give each other feedback on the stories. This would mean that yes, you'll have to read other people's stuff if you want yours to be read, but given the brevity of the stories, I don't think that it should be a problem.
But this is just my idea. I'd like to hear what the rest of you think about it, so feel free to fire away.
What are "Vignettes"?
Basically, they are short stories. I've been on Althanas for quite some time now, and I saw a lot of people going through a lot of things with a lot of characters. And now I want to deviate from it a little bit. I think we're starting to focus a bit too much on our characters, developing their stories, planning out the quests, focusing on so many details. It's not necessarily a bad thing, but if you keep your eyes open to this one specific form of writing, you become blind to all others.
What's the point?
What I'm proposing is this. Break free from Althanas for a short while. "Vignettes" would be a mini-competition where people could post their short stories (I thought the limit should be 2000 words) that have absolutely nothing to do with Althanas or their characters. I think this would inspire some originality and creativity, while not distracting us much from the basic concept of Althanas, but rather giving us some reprieve from the usual.
The Rules
There wouldn't be that many, I think. I'll try to list the ones off the top of my head (this might change):
- 2000 words maximum
- one story per person (multiple accounts will be checked)
- three weeks for posting, one week for deciding the winner
- winner is ineligible for victory for two months (so that a single person wouldn't win over and over again)
- the winner gets an announcement on Althanas.com main page
The feedback
Now, this is the part that might or might not work. I don't plan for this stories to be judged or anything, nor will they be eligible for EXP/GP rewards. What I'd like to do instead is to have the writers who participate vote on who they think the winner should be. After the three weeks passed, there will be one week during which the participants can comment on other stories and vote on which one should win/get second/third place. This would not only make people interact more, but it would also encourage the members to give each other feedback on the stories. This would mean that yes, you'll have to read other people's stuff if you want yours to be read, but given the brevity of the stories, I don't think that it should be a problem.
But this is just my idea. I'd like to hear what the rest of you think about it, so feel free to fire away.