Comments | metamorfic_moon: Post Jumble Post

godricgal in metamorfic_moon

Post Jumble Post

Oct 30, 2006 16:14

Ahead of making our final preparations for the next metamorfic_moon fic event, we thought we'd ask you all for a bit of feedback on the Half Moon Rising Fic Jumble.

What aspects of the Jumble do you feel were the most helpful to you as a writer? Do you think that it has helped you to grow? Do you think there is anything that could have made the Fic Jumble more ( Read more... )

half moon rising fic jumble, community info

Comments 17

an_fhanai October 30 2006, 17:57:38 UTC

What aspects of the Jumble do you feel were the most helpful to you as a writer? Do you think that it has helped you to grow? Do you think there is anything that could have made the Fic Jumble more effective as a writing exercise?

For me, the serious concrit and mini-brainstorming sessions were definitely the most helpful. I don't think my own pieces would have turned out nearly so well if some significant flaws hadn't been pointed out. Having other writers with whom to bounce around ideas is wonderful.

One of the greatest assets of any writing/discussion group is hard-core feedback from fellow writers - not harsh, but honest. I hope that as we all get more comfortable with each other, we can give more thorough concrits - personally, I really appreciate having weak spots in my writing pointed out. What better way to learn and improve?

If we were to initiate a beta pairing system would you be interested in signing up, either as a volunteer beta, or to find a beta?I like the idea, although it would need to be carefully defined. ( ... )

an_fhanai October 30 2006, 18:45:58 UTC

And just so that I don't sound like a complete hypocrite (possibly far too late for that :P), I'm still very much in the process of reading and reviewing everybody's fics here. It takes a bit, but I will get around to everyone's, I promise!

psychicnagger October 30 2006, 18:57:02 UTC

I'm not really a writer so I'll just answer this:

If we were to initiate a beta pairing system would you be interested in signing up, either as a volunteer beta, or to find a beta?

I would like to volunteer as a beta, I'd love to help out. I've only done it a few times and in another fandom, but I'm usually pretty quick at getting back to people, and I'm good at paying attention to details :)

joely_jo October 30 2006, 19:31:46 UTC

I know I didn't take part this time (mostly due to a lack of time, but also because I'm an 'inspiration grabs me' type writer, rather than one who actively follows specific rules or plot devices), but I wondered about encouraging people to try writing styles that were unusual... For example, multi-narration, first-person, second-person, stream of consciousness etc... I would certainly be game for having a go at this kind of writing exercise rather than the prescriptive prompts thing. I'm not saying the use of prompts is a bad thing, it's just that you seem to have set a tone of being that little bit different, and I don't think I've seen this kind of challenge in any fandom.

As for the beta system, I would gladly offer my assistance. I do have a regular beta reader already, but I'm sure she wouldn't feel her toes were being stepped on if you need me to be an active 'pair' with someone.

writermerrin October 30 2006, 20:39:42 UTC

LOL! I was going to say that I am totally willing to beta for people, but only if Jo doesn't object on the grounds that I'm too busy with her stuff ;) Obviously we know better than to expect exclusivity in this relationship.

bratanimus October 30 2006, 22:28:40 UTC

"but I wondered about encouraging people to try writing styles that were unusual... For example, multi-narration, first-person, second-person, stream of consciousness etc... "

I like this idea! I'd be willing to try it!

fantasticjackie October 30 2006, 23:57:32 UTC

Yeah... A scary-cool idea. :) I agree. Sounds like an fun challenge.

Dude. It's like we're all signing up for additional homework: "I wanna do something harder!" XD

Thread 5

jncar October 30 2006, 21:01:15 UTC

I thought that the most helpful thing to me this time was having to write in genres that I normally wouldn't have chosen. This really caused me to look at the ship, and my own writing, from a new perspective, and I learned a lot.

I'd like to second joely_jo's idea to use different POV's as part of the challenge. The place and thing prompts made for interesting stories, but I think we (or at least I) would grow more as writers if prompts included not just genre, but things like point of view and tense (past or present). Other ideas: stories could be required to include appearances from other canon characters (maybe use their names as prompts) to give us more experience writing a wider range of characters. Or you could do challenges like "write a story with more than 500 words of dialog, and less than 300 words of action," for people who need to work on dialog, or the converse for people who need to work on action, description, etc. And some of these things could be done as weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly challenges instead of in one ( ... )

phe_o November 2 2006, 03:59:24 UTC

I love these ideas, too! Especially the one to include certain characters (that would be the ultimate challenge, especially if you landed one you have difficulty with) and the number of words for a certain element. Great ideas.

fantasticjackie October 30 2006, 23:52:42 UTC

Well, seeing as how I couldn't participate this time, I can't really answer any of the first questions. However, I think the beta thing sounds cool. =D I'd be willing to volunteer [and I'll be able to join in this time, too! ;)], and it's been a while since I last had a real beta. :)