Future Events: Feedback

[torino10154]

Hello, lovely friends! If you're anything like me, you could use a drink. ;)

I've been thinking for a while that perhaps it's time for a change in how we do these events. It's a little too complex for a poll though.

Some of my thoughts--definitely less focus on HP but as I have no other fandoms, I don't know what kind of prompts and themes we should have. Also, do we want to keep it a "competition" and anonymous? Or post the submitted entries not anon? Or not even submit entries?

Please feel free to leave detailed thoughts about what you think works well, what could be improved, what you want to see, etc. We're all friends here and I'd love to be able to have some kind of ~gathering every few months, even if it looks different than it's been in the past.

Comments

[ride_4ever]

Yep, I could use a drink too. I'm raising a shot-glass of mezcal here to celebrate seeing a new post in this comm.

As more and more time passed since the last FWF in April of 2024 I more and more thought that was the end of the comm. I loved FWF exactly the way it was and I would be happy to see it return in the same form...but if the comm returns in a changed form I will try to fit in with that change if I can.

[torino10154]

Cheers!

Yeah, I understand. We have had little hiatuses from time to time, rarely intentionally, but shit happens. LOL And honestly, if people want to keep it mostly the same, we can absolutely do that too. I don't want to let it go completely, that's for sure.

[ride_4ever]

Yep, I know that sometimes "life is what happens while you otherwise would be drinking and ficcing". I've belonged to this comm for years now, but not enough years to have experienced any of the previous hiatuses so this was FOR ME newly uncertain territory.

woot!

[oldtoadwoman]

I've missed this! Yay!

I kind of like the anonymous-at-first part. It lets you enjoy a story without preconceived ideas about the author. (Although, honestly, playing guess-the-author is kind of fun too when you start to suspect you've recognized someone's style.)

As for the "competition" aspect ... maybe we could brainstorm more categories so that everyone is a "winner". I'm totally fine with cheating this aspect. So in addition to the classics like "Best smut" and "Best use of prompt" you could add some more serious options like "best gen", "best crossover", etc ... AND you can just make up additional categories like "best use of time-traveling underpants" as needed. (This option probably makes it harder for you, so feel free to ignore me, but I personally felt like "Least coherent" was the most coveted "prize" and I always enjoyed my failed quest for it, but I would also be honored with any variant of "best crackfic". Maybe encourage people to include suggested honorary mention categories when they are voting?)

Re: woot!

[ride_4ever]

"Least Coherent" was deffo the most coveted prize...while I, alas, was a several-times winner of the "Most Coherent".

Re: woot!

[oldtoadwoman]

Ditto! "Most Coherent" always felt like I'd wasted my booze somehow. :-)

Re: woot!

[ride_4ever]

When I got "Most Coherent" I would just feel like "look at my tolerance..all this booze and not even a typo".

Re: woot!

[lq_traintracks]

LMAO yes!

Re: woot!

[torino10154]

Woohoo!

Thanks for offering your thoughts. Honestly, it feels like most people like the "standard" format so I think it's a matter of making minor tweaks rather than overhauling the whole thing. But I do still need to ponder some more.

Re: woot!

[oldtoadwoman]

Yeah, I hear you. I'm great at random brainstorming, but that doesn't mean any of it is actually a good idea.

Re: woot!

[torino10154]

LOL I am not even good at that so I welcome everyone's suggestions!!

[digthewriter]

I really enjoyed the old format—though I’ll admit, I’m a creature of habit, so take that as you will!

That said, I really like the submission-based format because it gives structure without pressure. I also enjoy the HP theme, but I appreciate when it’s flexible and doesn’t require using HP if someone wants to branch out. I’m not a fan of the competitive aspect, but I do love participation banners—they’re a fun reward without adding stress.

I’m open to new prompts or even other fandoms, especially if they’re broad enough to spark different kinds of responses. Mostly, I just want a chill, creative space that pops up regularly without being too demanding.

Also, maybe the submission header could be more direct, smaller, or more concise? It might help make things clearer and easier to follow.

[torino10154]

Thanks for poking me about the comm in the first place!

It feels like, so far, most people like the original format so I may just have to tweak it a little. I suspect there will always be something HP in the prompts or theme but definitely have other options available so it's not required to participate.

OH! And yeah, I'll look at the header too.

[tjs_whatnot]

I really, really want to participate getting drunk with you all and writing is seriously one of my happy places, but I don't think I have any more HP in me. It's been sucked out and left me feeling bereaved. I know that is always been optional, but I'd love to see more people take that option. I just don't know how that should look. 🤷‍♂️🤷‍♂️

No matter what though, I'm going to get drunk with ya'll and maybe write some silliness.

fandom alternatives

[oldtoadwoman]

One thought I had (that is probably too hard to actually organize) is to pick one or two (or three or four?) books or movies and give people a heads-up ahead of time that these will be the prompted fandoms so we have time to read/watch and then have prompts themed around them. I've bounced around between writing HP fic for these and writing other fandoms, but I always worry that when I'm doing a different fandom that possibly no one else even knows what I'm writing about which would make it much less fun for them. So the wide-open "any fandom you want to write about" could lead to a more fractured reading experience, but if we narrow it down a bit to something short enough for people to become familiar with (i.e. I love a lot of TV-series fandoms, but that's too much homework to expect people to do) it might be like ... drunken fanfic version of a book club? And then we could pick different things for the next one.

Re: fandom alternatives

[tjs_whatnot]

That would be really awesome! You hit on what I struggle with when I think of writing other fandoms in this, the engagement is off because they're not known characters and stories. I do it too for things I'm unfamiliar with. But if we all were writing in another fandom (or two) that we're all familiar with, that might make it fun again.

Re: fandom alternatives

[ride_4ever]

If FWF does go to this "book club model" I will be happy for the people who favor this model and I would not criticize it, but because I know from my own book club experiences that this wouldn't be suitable for me I would just cheer from the sidelines rather than participate.

Re: fandom alternatives

[oldtoadwoman]

I think we are all favoring keeping the "or just write anything you want" as an option in case you have zero interest in writing to any of the prompts.

Re: fandom alternatives

[torino10154]

Yep, this is definitely the plan regardless.

I do think there will be some generic prompts too, like "Daffodils" or "Birthday surprise" so no matter the fandom, people have something they can use.

Re: fandom alternatives

[ride_4ever]

Hope you didn't take any offense at my saying that the "book club model" wouldn't work for me. I deffo did not mean it as a criticism of the suggestion being made, only that just I myself would have reasons for not participating with that model.

Re: fandom alternatives

[torino10154]

I'm fairly certain no one will be required to do homework in advance. That's definitely going to be more of a personal choice, if it happens at all.

I do however completely agree that when I don't know the fandom at all, it is harder to get into it. So if we mentioned in advance a couple we planned to use--besides the classic write in your own fandom--people would have the option to look into it. Again, I can't see this being applicable to all participants. God knows, I'm too lazy myself. :P

Re: fandom alternatives

[ride_4ever]

Yeah, it was that "homework in advance" that was concerning me because I already have a TBR list and a TBW list that's longer than I can complete in one lifetime....

Re: fandom alternatives

[torino10154]

Hmm, I definitely can see some potential here. Maybe just ask for fandom options and then once I pick from the list, announce those in advance? I mean some folks may not care and want to write their own fandoms anyway but for those people who want to add this aspect they could? I'm still pondering how to make this work but also have it be fairly simple. I do appreciate the suggestion!!

Re: fandom alternatives

[oldtoadwoman]

And like ... I would genuinely want to suggest something kind of not good for the fandom ... bad movies/series make the best fanfic because your brain is already going, "What SHOULD have happened was..." before it's even over.

[torino10154]

Thanks for weighing in. Even though I am still in the HP corner of fandom, I fully totally 100% get that some people are not just not in it but actively avoiding it. I suspect there will always be one prompt or aspect of the theme that will be HP but yeah, I do really want to open it up to more fandoms and not make it so HP heavy.

Still need to try to figure out how to do it but I appreciate you leaving your thoughts!

[goddess47]

I do like the anonymous, even if I haven't participated in a bit...

But especially for the folk who have left the HP fandom or have never been in it, maybe two sets of prompts... a HP set and a generic set.... one can pick and choose as they went but it's a clearer path for the non-HP folk...

It is fun to hang out once in a while!

[torino10154]

Thanks for commenting!! I definitely think there will always be something HP but it just won't be as central. Maybe a character, maybe a prompt but not 2/3 of the options. Still trying to figure out how to make it work best for everyone!

[sabethea]

I love the general way it works and agree with keeping the anonymised version first but would definitely like less focus on HP for obvious reasons to do with a certain author’s awfulness. So more generic prompts or if you want to put a character prompt in, you could sort of have “Ron Weasley or [insert an equivalent importance and type of character from the fandom you’re writing in]” challenge, which would be interesting for people who knew both fandoms to see if they agreed whether that character fitted the prompt.

[torino10154]

Thanks for leaving your thoughts! It does feel like most people like the general format as it is but yeah, even though I still write HP I fully get it that it's a problem for a lot of folks. I suspect there will always be some tie-in. One prompt per event rather than so HP heavy. Still trying to figure out how to incorporate other fandoms (that I know nothing about!).

[verushka70]

Well, I've only participated once... but that was only because almost every time a FWF came up, RL crap came up for me too, which made it impossible for me to participate - otherwise I would have long before, since Ride_4ever has been pimping FWF to me for quite some time!

I'm not in HP fandom - I would just write in whatever fandom suits the/a prompt(s). The mere idea of an assignment to get drunk or high & write fic is delightful. I don't mind the contests, but I'm not wedded to the idea either.

Anonymous posting does make it fun for people to try to guess authors, but the only one I really know here is Ride... So whether it's anonymous or not doesn't really matter, for me... just the inebriation & writing! 🙃 🙂

[ride_4ever]

Glad to see that you are still tracking this comm's posts after its hiatus and still interested in participating.

I still have those two unopened bottles of Triple Sec that I bought when I was with you at Walgreens over a year ago, been saving them for making FWF Margaritas.

[verushka70]

Yes, I'm subscribed to it!

I still have the grapefruit vodka I bought when you bought the triple sec! 🙂

I'm not sure what it would be good for, mixed drink wise... Seabreeze? Something with cranberry, maybe. Combined with ginger ale? Or 50/50? If only all soda except diet didn't have HFCS in it, dammit.

[ride_4ever]

Although cranberry is generally a good choice with vodka, if you use it with the grapefruit vodka it might overwhelm the grapefruit flavor. Also, I'd rec that you use seltzer or club soda for the "fizz" instead of HFCS soda pop. If you want something gingery instead of sugary ginger ale I rec ginger beer (the "real" stuff -- the Jamaican imports that have actual ginger and that don't have sugar added -- I buy mine at Binny's).

[verushka70]

Huh. All good points - thanks for the tips. I should definitely get some seltzer water - but I do love a good ginger beer, too.

[torino10154]

I really appreciate you taking the time to comment! Sometimes it's hard to get a good perspective from people who've been doing it the same way for a long time. We get set in our ways. LOL

I'm still trying to figure out how to make it work best but I suspect it'll stay closer to the previous way since most people do seem to like the general format.

[verushka70]

Well, however it continues, I hope to participate again - it was fun! 😉

[bluedreaming]

I’ve always looked on at this community/event with lots of interest but unfortunately can’t drink! I don’t know that there’s any way around it (maybe wake yourself up at 3:00 am and write something in ten minutes? Or stay up super late and write when you’re almost asleep?) but am glad to know that this community is continuing!

[torino10154]

YAY! Thanks. And thanks for commenting. Yeah, that aspect is definitely tricky. We've opened it up to the 4/20 crowd but it's really hard to be inclusive as possible but also have the event serve its purpose. Maybe I will (if I remember) ask about this aspect the next time I post about our options.

[bluedreaming]

It totally makes sense! And really, not every event can work for everyone, and that’s totally okay. I think this one is really cool, and I’m so glad it exists and people are having fun!

[ride_4ever]

Would the 4/20 option work for you?

[bluedreaming]

It wouldn’t, unfortunately, but that’s okay!

[lq_traintracks]

I'd probably show up for whatever you do. <3 If you want to open up the prompts, what if you put out a call from prompt ideas ahead of the FWF night and then use whatever people send in? Or randomize them, if you get too many to use? And they could be really general prompts, not attached to any fandom.

I will say that I love the anon/competition aspect, BUT if posting the fics anon is too work intensive for you guys, and making banners too, I'm sure it would still be fun if we all posted non-anon ourselves and just enjoyed the ridiculousness without the competition and such. I want things to feel good for you guys as mods, so do what you need to do for you and we will all adapt!

[torino10154]

Maybe a call for prompts (people can leave 3?) when also asking what date works. I will definitely need to chew on it a bit but it's starting to take shape in my head.

Too much work is rarely the issue. LOLOLOL But we might try doing things a couple of different ways and figuring out what works best.

Thanks for chiming in!