The Inter-dimensional Ice Cream Truck
All aboard the Inter-dimensional Ice Cream Truck!
What is the Inter-dimensional Ice Cream Truck, you ask? It's a bit of experimental fiction here on runaway_tales, where authors work together on ever-evolving and branching pieces. All are welcome to jump in and all are welcome to start new threads.
Here's how it works :
One author will post a piece and declare it an "Ice Cream Truck" piece. This can be a single scene, a multi-scene story, or a montage. It must not be a part of your (or anyone else's) existing canon. You will use prompts for this piece as you would any other RaTs piece.
Any author may then add to the piece. You can tack a scene (or scenes) onto the beginning or the end (or both). If the starter piece has multiple scenes, you may add scenes in the middle. These scenes do not have to immediately follow or precede the existing scene(s), but they do have to make some sort of sense when all put together, and they do have to all fit some prompt(s) from your lists as any other piece would. You may NOT edit the existing piece, you can only add to it. You then post the WHOLE thing - the original AND your additions (with some indication as to what you have added and a link to the previous piece) as a new piece, tagged "Ice Cream Truck".
A third author comes along and adds to this post. Again, new material is added at the end and/or beginning and/or between existing scenes, and the WHOLE THING is posted. And so on...
Now we get to the inter-dimensional craziness of the whole thing. Say two authors independently add to that first post and each want to post their version. Both versions are valid in their own right and can be added to. They each become branches or alternate universes for the same basic concept. When you add to a branch, you only need to consider what is included in that branch - that's why the whole thing gets copied with each new post - all other versions are irrelevant. Now, say you have an idea that contradicts all the most recent branches. You can also go back and add to any earlier stage and make a new branch at that point instead.
Some things to keep in mind :
EVERYONE owns these stories. Don't use your existing canons or worlds or anything you are firmly attached to, because once it's in the truck, it's not yours. You may use a world or make reference to an existing Truck canon, with the understanding that developments in one or both threads may later render the association null.
Your own characters may make cameos in a scene you are adding, but please add a note to the Truck's header that they are appearing as such.
If you do wish to use your own canon and make a Truck AU of some sorts, please label it as such, and understand that, as happens with milkshakes, people may be hesitant to join in and write about what is yours.
As everyone owns it, you may NOT reproduce the contents of an Ice Cream Truck thread elsewhere (unless it is the initial post and you are the author or ALL authors approve).
Only what is IN THE POST counts as canon. You are in no way obligated to adhere to anything you thought previous authors might have intended. In fact, it's probably more fun if you don't ask them at all what it's about and just add to it with what YOU think it's about in mind.
You are welcome to write non-Truck pieces about the characters and worlds involved in Truck pieces, but understand that 1. the characters and world still are not YOURS and can be used and interpreted by others in any way they see fit in future posts and 2. while such pieces may influence things that happen in the Truck threads, they are NOT part of any particular version of the Truck canon. If you want something to be a part of a Truck thread, you have to actually add it to that thread.
What is the Inter-dimensional Ice Cream Truck, you ask? It's a bit of experimental fiction here on runaway_tales, where authors work together on ever-evolving and branching pieces. All are welcome to jump in and all are welcome to start new threads.
Here's how it works :
One author will post a piece and declare it an "Ice Cream Truck" piece. This can be a single scene, a multi-scene story, or a montage. It must not be a part of your (or anyone else's) existing canon. You will use prompts for this piece as you would any other RaTs piece.
Any author may then add to the piece. You can tack a scene (or scenes) onto the beginning or the end (or both). If the starter piece has multiple scenes, you may add scenes in the middle. These scenes do not have to immediately follow or precede the existing scene(s), but they do have to make some sort of sense when all put together, and they do have to all fit some prompt(s) from your lists as any other piece would. You may NOT edit the existing piece, you can only add to it. You then post the WHOLE thing - the original AND your additions (with some indication as to what you have added and a link to the previous piece) as a new piece, tagged "Ice Cream Truck".
A third author comes along and adds to this post. Again, new material is added at the end and/or beginning and/or between existing scenes, and the WHOLE THING is posted. And so on...
Now we get to the inter-dimensional craziness of the whole thing. Say two authors independently add to that first post and each want to post their version. Both versions are valid in their own right and can be added to. They each become branches or alternate universes for the same basic concept. When you add to a branch, you only need to consider what is included in that branch - that's why the whole thing gets copied with each new post - all other versions are irrelevant. Now, say you have an idea that contradicts all the most recent branches. You can also go back and add to any earlier stage and make a new branch at that point instead.
Some things to keep in mind :
EVERYONE owns these stories. Don't use your existing canons or worlds or anything you are firmly attached to, because once it's in the truck, it's not yours. You may use a world or make reference to an existing Truck canon, with the understanding that developments in one or both threads may later render the association null.
Your own characters may make cameos in a scene you are adding, but please add a note to the Truck's header that they are appearing as such.
If you do wish to use your own canon and make a Truck AU of some sorts, please label it as such, and understand that, as happens with milkshakes, people may be hesitant to join in and write about what is yours.
As everyone owns it, you may NOT reproduce the contents of an Ice Cream Truck thread elsewhere (unless it is the initial post and you are the author or ALL authors approve).
Only what is IN THE POST counts as canon. You are in no way obligated to adhere to anything you thought previous authors might have intended. In fact, it's probably more fun if you don't ask them at all what it's about and just add to it with what YOU think it's about in mind.
You are welcome to write non-Truck pieces about the characters and worlds involved in Truck pieces, but understand that 1. the characters and world still are not YOURS and can be used and interpreted by others in any way they see fit in future posts and 2. while such pieces may influence things that happen in the Truck threads, they are NOT part of any particular version of the Truck canon. If you want something to be a part of a Truck thread, you have to actually add it to that thread.