Creole Ned
02-07-2009, 04:23 PM
Back when jackrabbit and I started this we had no formal goals, we just figured that if we committed to writing some exercises it would help give us the discipline to keep up with our own writing. We formalized the process a bit by having jackrabbit create a site where each of us could post the results of our efforts -- http://write.jckrbbt.com/ but actual discussion occurred privately through online chats.
Now that we have more people taking part, I thought I'd throw out a few questions and see what people would prefer or like to see with the writing exercises. I'm not making any promises now, but I'm definitely eager to make this whole thing work as well as it can for all involved.
Frequency and size
How often would you like the exercises to be? Currently there is no set schedule but we have lately been going on a pace of about one per week. Would you like to see them less often, more often or is one per week about right?
Related to this is size. Obviously a more ambitious exercise requires more time. Would you prefer to stick to meatier exercises that are typically full short stories or would you also like to see some smaller exercises thrown in that are more limited in scope -- a single scene, 500 words, one page or something along those lines.
Type of exercise
Do you prefer exercises to be specific or more general or a mix of both? A general one would be "Write a story about being invisible". A specific one would be like Exercise #10 that imposes specific (and in this case, multiple) conditions on the story.
Format for submissions
What kind of submission process would you like to see? Currently it is ad hoc. jackrabbit and I each host our own stories converted to PDF on our own sites and I do the same for those who cannot convert to PDF and/or host themselves. Is this fine with everyone or would you like to see a more centralized way of getting the stories online for everyone to look at?
Feedback
Finally, feedback. Right now feedback is being gathered here in this subsection of the Martian Cartel forums. To people who have been part of MC (a gaming group that dates back to 1999 for those unaware) it's probably a natural fit but to others, like those hailing from Quarter to Three, it may feel a bit odd. Would you like to see feedback continue here or would you prefer a different location, perhaps one devoted exclusively to the writing exercises?
Let me know what you think. So far I am enjoying the various writing styles we all bring to this and it has charged up my writing and my desire to write.
Now that we have more people taking part, I thought I'd throw out a few questions and see what people would prefer or like to see with the writing exercises. I'm not making any promises now, but I'm definitely eager to make this whole thing work as well as it can for all involved.
Frequency and size
How often would you like the exercises to be? Currently there is no set schedule but we have lately been going on a pace of about one per week. Would you like to see them less often, more often or is one per week about right?
Related to this is size. Obviously a more ambitious exercise requires more time. Would you prefer to stick to meatier exercises that are typically full short stories or would you also like to see some smaller exercises thrown in that are more limited in scope -- a single scene, 500 words, one page or something along those lines.
Type of exercise
Do you prefer exercises to be specific or more general or a mix of both? A general one would be "Write a story about being invisible". A specific one would be like Exercise #10 that imposes specific (and in this case, multiple) conditions on the story.
Format for submissions
What kind of submission process would you like to see? Currently it is ad hoc. jackrabbit and I each host our own stories converted to PDF on our own sites and I do the same for those who cannot convert to PDF and/or host themselves. Is this fine with everyone or would you like to see a more centralized way of getting the stories online for everyone to look at?
Feedback
Finally, feedback. Right now feedback is being gathered here in this subsection of the Martian Cartel forums. To people who have been part of MC (a gaming group that dates back to 1999 for those unaware) it's probably a natural fit but to others, like those hailing from Quarter to Three, it may feel a bit odd. Would you like to see feedback continue here or would you prefer a different location, perhaps one devoted exclusively to the writing exercises?
Let me know what you think. So far I am enjoying the various writing styles we all bring to this and it has charged up my writing and my desire to write.