Project Assignment Brainstorming

All right, writers, let us bring the game back to life! We need ideas, and we need impetus. Come spill your ideas about project assignments - do old, fun, beloved ones again, try something new, bring in new players...what do you want to do? Let me know! We can keep this alive together.

I like the old system where we write rewards for each other - I think that's a good gig, because good writing habits should definitely be rewarded.

So...we have until Sunday. Throw down your ideas and let's get this party started!

Love,


Your Mod.

ETA:

Here are the suggestions we've had so far. Feel free to add more:

Raise a character (in six days)

Build a world (in six days)

Build a place (six places, one per day)

Song Fics

Picture Fics

Proverb Fics

Epistolary fics

Theme: travel (this is new!)

New day (going from one day to the next)

A year in the life of (either one year per day or one year over six days - we'll decide when we get there)

Secrets

The Last Time (we've done this one decently recently in memory, so we'll move that to the lower end of the list)

New characters in 100 words (one character a day for six days)

Rules 3.2

3.2(a) - since almost everything we post is "prose", almost everything was tagged prose, and the tag had lost its usefulness, so from now on don't use it as a tag (I've removed it). If we do write poetry, however, do mark a poem as poetry so it'll be easier to find. The prose tag wouldn't help anyone find anything.

3.2(b) - prizes! We have not been picking winners and issuing prizes as of late, which is pretty sad. It'd be a bit insane to go back and attempt to issue awards and prizes, but from now on we would definitely like to get prizes and the like written again. Also, if there is anyone out there who would like to join the game and would contribute regularly, let me (Nagi) know and we'll see about getting you listed in the ranks.

Question: on tags, do we want contributor tags, so one writer can find everything he or she has written? It could be done. I could do it. Let me know.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

That's right - today is the one year anniversary of the first Master & Madness fic to ever grace cyberspace. It's been a wild ride; we've built worlds, written poems, made each other laugh and cry. Thanks to all my sisters in literature for being there.

(feel free to leave a comment and share your love of our little green corner of cyberspace)

Rules 3.1

Here it is, another modification to our rules! (Hopefully they won't get too complicated and people are keeping up. Let me know if this business starts to look like the library of Congress.)

Awed Awake inadvertently suggested something that I should have thought of before, so kudos to her for having common sense. The rule on prizes has changed: if you issue a challenge in a given week, you get to pick the winner...and you also get to write the prize. (Saves me the dilemma of having to write for myself.) Reply to this post and let your fellow writers know what fandoms you can write in, what fandoms you won't write in, what types of stories you won't write, and where you will post your shiny gold medals. So we don't overburden each other, prizes are limited to 500 words, but a winner can request a poem if she likes. (Let's face it - all the players at this point are female.)

Overview #39: Kisses

Ah, but this was a difficult challenge for me, despite the fact that I picked it. I think I came up with a fairly solid arc, that began with The Mission and ended with The Mission as well. It felt like the posts I was more comfortable writing were the heartbreak posts, the ones that usually involved Clay feeling like he'd been punched in the gut. I wanted all four brothers to get in on the action without making poor Carolyn too Mary Sue and having all the boys like her, and I think I did all right. In some posts, the kiss was definitely the main point of the plot, and in others, sometimes a kiss was sort of there and just incident to the entire thing. (Drafting the "Wide-Eyed and Lovely" scene for Bob and Carolyn in the middle of Advanced Con Law was a serious study in awkwardness, by the way.) I liked getting Dan's perspective back in on things, since he's the only brother who's really aware (and only peripherally at that) that Carolyn's not a normal teenage girl. My sense of romance might have been improved, if I hadn't detracted from my romantic progression by throwing down some Clay-angst and a scene loaded with killing. Urgh. I wanted to stray from my comfort zone, but then I was afraid of getting too mushy on my readers, which really defies the purpose of this exercise, which is to write to improve.

NOTE: This week's winner is Madness! So, post a reply in the comments to this post and claim your prize. The rules have been altered thusly:

The winner shall be chosen by whoever issued a challenge in a given week (since it'd be lame if I picked myself as a winner one week when the challenge was not issued by me). Challenge issuers should take into account the creativity of the manner in which the challenge was answered, the timeliness of posts, and the helpfulness of feedback. Carry on writing, friends!

Rules 3.0

First, let us give a big modly welcome to Awed Awake, who has joined our hapless game.

Now, onto the new rules:

This is both a writing exercise and a game. And, since we do not hold to the socialist/communist/military model of games where we are a team and we are as fast as the slowest of us, I have decided to institute a prize. That's right - a prize. If you keep with the challenge during the week and get in all six days in a timely fashion (this does not include a mass-posting session at the end of the week followed by a load of back-dating posts) then you will win a 500-word ficlet from me, the Mod, to be hosted at the Little Shop of Horrors, containing the fandom, ship, plot-kink, or whatsoever of your choice (but do check the Little Shop posting restrictions).

There you have it. A prize.

Also, when the game goes dead for a week like it has, we will simply wait and reset at the beginning of the next week with whoever has that week's challenge. So far, the challenge rotation is as thus: Nagi, Awed Awake, Madness, Jaded Chaos. Feel free to switch weeks with each other if something comes up, and I know school/new jobs/new housing is coming up for people, so the game will be in upheaval, but try to keep up with your weekly project assignment.

Don't forget to use appropriate tags on your entries.

Happy writing!

Rules 2.2

Hi and hello from the Mod!

Feedback consistency: friends and fellow writers, let us attempt to be as consistent as possible with feedback. Sometimes we fall behind and it feels like a rush, to make up for back posts missed (click on the "post options" button so you can back-date posts) and catch up on the posts we haven't read, but this game is for the improvement of all, and improvement comes through constructive criticism. Do make a point to try to find posts you missed reading - it's only fair to the other writers.

First - constructive: be helpful. We're mature here, and so far the feedback here has been friendly and decent and full of camaraderie, and we do our best not to waste the pixels our comrades have to read. If someone points something out, pay attention to it. What may seem like nitpicking to you may be where someone at the bookstore closes your novel and sets it back on the shelf and never gets to that cool scene in the third chapter. Don't take things personally, either - just because you might have grammar/spelling/style issues doesn't mean you're a horrible person or we think you're horrible for mentioning them. Yes, writing comes from your soul, but just because we may not like something you wrote doesn't mean we dislike you as a person all of a sudden.

Second - criticism: try to have something useful to say. Sometimes all you can do is nitpick, but do it, because it's that fine-toothed comb that makes good writing better. We want to encourage each other and help each other keep up with this tasks, but we want to help each other improve, and gushing only love and puppies to each other (which we've all been guilty of) doesn't always help/isn't useful to the writer. Did you hate a particular sentence? Why? Tell the writer and let her know, and she will take your criticism under advisement.

Yes, under advisement. We have free agency, and we will listen to criticism with open minds, but don't be offended if someone doesn't take it. You might be annoyed, but try not to be offended. We love each other.

Remember that.

Mod Post and Rules 2.1

Let's give a big master and madness welcome to Jaded Chaos, the newest player in the game! She will join the challenge rotation between Madness and Nagi, so this week it's her turn to issue a challenge.

Rules 2.1 - New players must be apply/be invited by a current member and be screened by the admin (in this case: Nagi) before being allowed to join the game. Even though this is a free country, this corner of cyberspace is being guarded closely and the mods have discretion as to who is allowed to join the game.

Rules 2.0

First, check the project posted at the beginning of the week. Post questions in the comments of the weekly project post if any portion of the topic confuses you at all. A week begins on Sunday (with the posting of overviews from the previous week and the new assignment for the next week) and ends on Saturday. Challenges may only be reused once every six months and not more frequently, and the same challenge may not be used thrice in one year, so check back to see what previous challenges have been issued.

Second, try to write every day. Leave lots of constructive criticism in the feedback and do the best you can to help each other.

Third, your word limit is set forth in the weekly challenge. Look at the challenge and keep an eye on the word count. At the end of the post, add your word count so we know what gives. Never go under 100 words unless there's poetry invovled.

Fourth, label your posts. Can be anything from "random" to "Dagaz" (but really, only use that one if you must). Try to use a consistent system of labels, so check the existing list of labels before randomly slapping one on your post.

Fifth, there will be overviews. At the end of the week, we make our confessions - strengths, weaknesses. Posts of our own we liked most and liked least. Types of writing we found typical, we thought were experimental, we enjoyed doing or were like pulling teeth. Places we improved. Places we screwed up.

Sixth, if you discover midweek that you're going a challenge alone, finish it out by yourself and then do your best to nudge the person whose turn it is to issue the next week's challenge.

Seventh, if for any reason life hits all the writers at once and a challenge is dead for an entire week, it is automatically renewed at the end of the week to run for another week so that no challenge is wasted.

Eighth, these rules ares subject to alteration and change as the game progresses.

In the meantime, game on.

Rules v. 1.5

Rest Days

It is my official decree that Sunday shall be a day of rest, a chance to post overviews and new project assignments or muse on one posted by another, but having to post two or three things in a day could be a challenge, since sometimes creating a challenge and then writing for it is difficult. From this week henceforth, Sunday shall be a day of rest - feel no need to post writing beyond minor admin stuff on a Sunday. There - take a load off and relax.

Rules v1.4

All right, another update to the rules. When a challenge is issued and there are no takers, it will run for the week-long period anyway before a new challenge is issued. No need to go wasting good challenges. Also, if one writer is down, the other writer can and should, if at all possible, keep up with the challenge anyway. Technically no man gets left behind, but really, if one is down and the other is capable of writing, we should have someone minding the store, as it were.

On you marks, get set...write!

Mod Post

All apologies to the girls (as yet there are no boys) on Master & Madness. Apparently both The Master and The Madness went AWOL this week. It's one of this times life takes over writing and some things end up on the back burner. Fear not, for this replacement is temporary, and writing will resume on Sunday with a new challenge posted by The Master. Until then, butter up your muse!

Rules v. 1.3

Life Events: during life events, huge time-consuming holidays that require a writer's presence in the real world, or other such things, a challenge may be extended to last two weeks, and after that challenge expires, the next writer will post her challenge in regular turn. For all intents and purposes, a writer may not pass or forego her week to issue a challenge, except in cases of direst emergency (such as sudden illness or a death in the family).

So, this week's challenge goes for another week, or at least until completion.

The Rules v. 1.2

All right! So far so good - we're doing well with the rules, adjusting them as necessary and whatnot. I'd just like to add an additional note about the tags and other references:

1. Tags/labels: we've added two new tags, "poetry" and "prose". Please use these tags (and you'll use either one of these tags for every post that isn't an overview, project assignment, or other administrative matter) whenever you post. Hopefully the number of poetry posts will grow as time goes on, but in the meantime there's nothing wrong if the "prose" tag has an overwhelming number of posts. There is an edit post function that allows a poster to go through and add the same tag to multiple posts, so if you feel it ought to be done, do it. As a general rule, try not to mess with someone else's tags, even though right now all the members here are administrators. A little friendly reminder or suggestion about a new tag or necessary tag is perfectly in order and should not be met with offense. In the writing section, the "dialogue" tag has also been added. Not every post will be about characterization, especially if it's a random character with whom the writer never works again, and projects may arise that focus on dialogue, so if a post doesn't focus much on characterization or description (i.e. of a place) see if the dialogue tag fits. Some days, the only tags that might apply are "random" and "prose", and that's fine.

2. References: if at any time a writer references what may be copyrighted material (i.e. song lyrics or something beyond fandom) go ahead and put a note of it in the post somewhere. We're all non-profit here, and some references like to books or shows are obviously copyrighted, but for a reference or allusion that's clear, we'd best throw in the answer (maybe at the bottom so as not to spoil the surprise), not only as a sort of CYA measure but also so other readers who are curious about the reference can find it easily and decide whether or not the allusion was apropos.

3. Drafts: if you do save a draft of a piece that you eventually post, make sure you delete the draft of the piece once you're done working with it so as to save space on the server. If you're confused about this, check the 'edit post' function or leave a message in the comment section and we'll get back to you.

The Rules v. 1.1

Haha. Okay. So I'm invoking the original rules to add a rule.

Labels: let's try to keep the list short. If you're writing in someone else's universe, call it fandom, hands down. If you're writing for something of your own or that you hope to develop, call it original. If you wrote something that really, truly belongs nowhere, call it random. If someone was random and becomes original, go back and add that extra label for reader convenience. Use the established list as much as possible. Try to pin down, if at all possible, what literary element you're working with - it'll help you later, as well as readers.

The Rules v. 1.0

Welcome to Master & Madness!

Here are the rules of the game:

First, check the OneWord link every day. As soon as there's a new word, give your good sixty seconds and then post it on here.

Second, check the project posted at the beginning of the week. Post questions in the comments of the weekly project post if any portion of the topic confuses you at all. A week begins on Sunday and ends on Saturday.

Third, try to write every day. Leave lots of constructive criticism in the feedback and do the best you can to help each other.

Fourth, your limit is 100 words. Seriously. 100. Use whatever tools in whatever word processors works best for you and make sure you have your 100 limit. We are working on an honor system, however, so there will be no repercussions if your work isn't 100 on the nose. Still - 100. No more, and certainly no less. (I know I originally said sixty seconds, but it'd be better if we stuck with a word limit rather than a time limit. If we can do it well briefly, we can do it well when we have more space. Although brevity is the soul of wit.)

Fifth, label your posts. Can be anything from "random" to "Dagaz" (but really, only use that one if you must). Try to use a consistent system of labels, so check the existing list of labels before randomly slapping one on your post.

Sixth, there will be overviews. At the end of the week, we make our confessions - strengths, weaknesses. Posts of our own we liked most and liked least. Types of writing we found typical, we thought were experimental, we enjoyed doing or were like pulling teeth. Places we improved. Places we screwed up.

Seventh, these rules ares subject to alteration and change as the game progresses.

In the meantime, game on.