The SSSS Scriptorium

[Pupunen]

I had plans for that too. Here's what I was thinking:

By character: One category for each member of the main crew, plus an "Other" category

By relationship: Gen, het, M/M, F/F, and Emil/Lalli is so popular it could plausibly get its own.

By genre: Action/adventure, angst, fluff, horror, humor, crack, hurt/comfort, tearjerker (romance is already covered by the relationships category)

By setting: Canon compliant, Y0/prologue era, pre-mission, post-mission, Dreamworld, Alternate Universe, Alternate Reality, crossover

By format: Oneshot, WIP, best (multi-chapter) work completed this year, best series

Oh, I think that sounds really good! (And like a great excuse to go and re-read a lot of fics...) How were you planning to handle the actual voting part (I'm assuming there would be a vote)?

[Lazy8]

Oh, I think that sounds really good! (And like a great excuse to go and re-read a lot of fics...) How were you planning to handle the actual voting part (I'm assuming there would be a vote)?

Still working on figuring that part out, actually. But yes, voting was the idea.

I don't really know how I feel about that. I'm not really sure what it means? Like some people chose one fic that's better than all the rest? rrrrgh... I'd be happy for the person who won of course but I also know I'd feel terrible about my own writing over it because why isn't that good enough? D:
Look at me already assuming my writing isn't good enough.
j/k, I know my writing is terrible.

Okay, I'll shut up now.
Also no, I'm not looking for people saying my writing is good, I'm having a bad evening, tomorrow I'll be back to thinking I'm the awesomest

I kinda like the idea with different categories! but uh... I'm still not... entirely sure what this is about?
I'm sorry, I so stupid *reynir-flop*

If this is a thing that would make a lot of people feel bad, I won't do it. The point would be to have fun, not make people feel like they weren't good enough, and if it won't be fun then there's not much point. Which is why I'm testing the waters now and asking people first.

[Miriam]

I don't really know how I feel about that. I'm not really sure what it means? Like some people chose one fic that's better than all the rest? rrrrgh... I'd be happy for the person who won of course but I also know I'd feel terrible about my own writing over it because why isn't that good enough? D:
Look at me already assuming my writing isn't good enough.
j/k, I know my writing is terrible.

Okay, I'll shut up now.
Also no, I'm not looking for people saying my writing is good, I'm having a bad evening, tomorrow I'll be back to thinking I'm the awesomest

I kinda like the idea with different categories! but uh... I'm still not... entirely sure what this is about?
I'm sorry, I so stupid *reynir-flop*

If this is a thing that would make a lot of people feel bad, I won't do it. The point would be to have fun, not make people feel like they weren't good enough, and if it won't be fun then there's not much point. Which is why I'm testing the waters now and asking people first.

I had the same immediate reaction as Windy: questioning if my fanfics are any good, feeling bad about my own writing... Fanfics are for fun, not to compare or to be anxious about being bad at writing. But that's just my opinion.

At the same time, though, I don't want to be a killjoy...

[wavewright62]

I had the same immediate reaction as Windy: questioning if my fanfics are any good, feeling bad about my own writing... Fanfics are for fun, not to compare or to be anxious about being bad at writing. But that's just my opinion.

At the same time, though, I don't want to be a killjoy...

Count me in the insecure category as well along with Windy & Miriam, and I also echo their desire to not stifle the fun just to save my fragile ego. (Huddles in with Windy.)  At the very least, it provides me a great impetus to go back and have a (re)read, and that tips the balance towards DO IT!!

However, I like Pupuinen's and Lazy8's idea of numerous categories for voting, and the caveat that a multi-chapter work has to be completed by the closing date to be considered for the year.

I second Ragnarok's idea of a period coinciding with the Forum birthday - 1 September 2015 to 31 August 2016.

You may wish to consider a category for overall achievement on the year, looking at the likes of Lazy8, OwlsG0, and L00neyDac here, who are consistently spinning the fic and fulfilling the NaNo 100 fics Challenge and more.  Lazy8, I know you have a conflict of interest in that category.  It may also devolve into a popularity contest, hmmm, how to work that?

[OwlsG0]

Count me in the insecure category as well along with Windy & Miriam, and I also echo their desire to not stifle the fun just to save my fragile ego. (Huddles in with Windy.)  At the very least, it provides me a great impetus to go back and have a (re)read, and that tips the balance towards DO IT!!

However, I like Pupuinen's and Lazy8's idea of numerous categories for voting, and the caveat that a multi-chapter work has to be completed by the closing date to be considered for the year.

I second Ragnarok's idea of a period coinciding with the Forum birthday - 1 September 2015 to 31 August 2016.

You may wish to consider a category for overall achievement on the year, looking at the likes of Lazy8, OwlsG0, and L00neyDac here, who are consistently spinning the fic and fulfilling the NaNo 100 fics Challenge and more.  Lazy8, I know you have a conflict of interest in that category.  It may also devolve into a popularity contest, hmmm, how to work that?

Maybe instead of picking one ultimate winner per category, we mention one or two or even three people who have shown especial devotion to those categories? That way more people will get a mention and there is less chance of a bruised ego? I get the insecure thing too- I think it's an integral part of being a writer, because writing is essentially putting a giant chunk of your inner-world out there and saying 'enjoy!'.
Having more than one 'winner' might remove the competitive element that we're dubious of?

[Pupunen]

It may also devolve into a popularity contest, hmmm, how to work that?

That crossed my mind, too (it's not that I'm never insecure about my writing, but I guess I worry more about people not liking me). But I think having many different categories and maybe giving recognition to the runner-ups as well like OwlsG0 suggested would give people who are not so active on the forum/chat/tumblr a chance, too.

[Minutia_R]

Mmmmm, I'm kind of on the side of being afraid it will cause bad feelings.  But if it does happen, I will be participating, because I am weak to the lure of possibly winning things.

(I would also assume that nsfw works would be exempt from consideration?  Unless anybody wanted to run a parallel version on the nsfw forum.)

[OwlsG0]

I finished the prompt challenge.

100: End http://archiveofourown.org/works/6445972/chapters/18674186

Send new wrists please because mine are dying. What do I do with my free-time now?

AGH. I just-

flops and groans weakly into the wood-panelling

[Dverghamrar]

While we're discussing an awards event, I guess I could use this thread just to ask: would anyone be interested in a yearly SSSS (and aRTD if there's interest!) exchange that's run solely on AO3? The matching process and all fanworks would be posted there. Instead of one prompt from each person, they make several requests (usually in AO3 exchanges, it has to be at least 3, and we can discuss the maximum.)

If you're unfamiliar with AO3 exchanges, we usually first go through a nominations period where we gather everything into a tagset that we can then select our requests from. I'll be using Coronation Ceremony as my example here since it's a single fandom exchange and is the closest to what I'm thinking of doing (here's the tagset on AO3, and the mod's organized list on Dreamwidth.)

After that comes sign ups where you select your requests and your offers that you will then be matched on. You can type in your requests directly into the AO3 sign up form or write a "dear author letter" which you can see examples of here for the Tolkien-centric exchange, Innumerable Stars (and I especially like Indy's letter, which I think is a good example of a dear author letter to emulate if you've never written one before. )

As for the matching process: we can match on characters, relationships (romantic or platonic) and even worldbuilding themes (magic systems, how the cattank works, etc.) You can also be matched on the type of fanwork you want which we can discuss (fic, art...anyone want to add to the list? Fanmix? Videos? Podfic?) And since the event will be run solely on AO3, I was thinking of adding in ratings, so you can also be matched on ratings. So if you want to request NSFW fanwork, you can select that, and the person who does not wish to create NSFW work will not be matched with you, and so on. This way, everyone wins.

In terms of the works themselves, I was thinking of keeping things low-pressure. At least 500 words, or a nice sketch not on lined paper. You are free to do treats afterwards (additional gifts for either the person you're assigned to or to another person whose request tickled your fancy!) My hope is this event will be fun for all. Would anyone be interested?

In terms of when this will be run...I was initially hoping for the wintertime, but I don't know if that's still possible because I had a period of illness recently that pushed things back. If we can still opt for wintertime, such as making middle to late January the deadline for all fanworks, we could call this exchange Silent Night.

[Minutia_R]

I finished the prompt challenge.

100: End http://archiveofourown.org/works/6445972/chapters/18674186

Send new wrists please because mine are dying. What do I do with my free-time now?

AGH. I just-

flops and groans weakly into the wood-panelling

Oh, wow, that is truly impressive.  Congratulations!

[Yuuago]

Would anyone be interested in a yearly SSSS (and aRTD if there's interest!) exchange that's run solely on AO3?
(Cut for length)

I'd be interested in participating, if you do run it.

Since it will probably be a small exchange, I'm unsure about adding many matching variables - the more you add, the more possibility that matching will be difficult, I think? But since I don't have first-hand experience with that, I might be wrong. Especially since it also depends on what people are actually requesting/offering of course.

[Talimee]

I finished the prompt challenge.

100: End http://archiveofourown.org/works/6445972/chapters/18674186

Send new wrists please because mine are dying. What do I do with my free-time now?

AGH. I just-

flops and groans weakly into the wood-panelling

*wipes away tear* I am so happy and proud to have been there at the start and to see it finished now. =') *huggles* Thank you for writing and sharing this. On many a day your stories have made it a little bit brighter. *huggles again and runs off bawling*

[Lazy8]

You may wish to consider a category for overall achievement on the year, looking at the likes of Lazy8, OwlsG0, and L00neyDac here, who are consistently spinning the fic and fulfilling the NaNo 100 fics Challenge and more.  Lazy8, I know you have a conflict of interest in that category.  It may also devolve into a popularity contest, hmmm, how to work that?

I think that "don't vote for yourself" would be kind of a given. But hmm, "Best New Writer" and "Most Improved Writer" were also categories that I was considering.

Maybe instead of picking one ultimate winner per category, we mention one or two or even three people who have shown especial devotion to those categories? That way more people will get a mention and there is less chance of a bruised ego? I get the insecure thing too- I think it's an integral part of being a writer, because writing is essentially putting a giant chunk of your inner-world out there and saying 'enjoy!'.
Having more than one 'winner' might remove the competitive element that we're dubious of?

I was toying with the idea of doing a gold-silver-bronze thing. Or would that sort of ranking still result in bruised egos and hurt feelings?

(I would also assume that nsfw works would be exempt from consideration?  Unless anybody wanted to run a parallel version on the nsfw forum.)

I have not opted in to the NSFW board because I have no interest in it. So yes, if we wanted to include that someone else would have to run a parallel vote over there.

[Talimee]

I wish I could wrap this up in anything other than pure bluntness, but I am decidedly against awarding-polls for fanfiction and if it should come to pass here I will opt-out of it.
My personal reasons are plain: The fear of not being good enough and the feeling of being a failure is a constant shadow in my daily life and I will not have that in an environment where I want to feel safe to experiment with my art and writing. Getting no kudos or comments or whatever is hard enough to bear without giving in to the urge of withdrawing everything and never to post anything again (only slight exaggeration), having awards here would make that infinitely worse because I would not only feel like a failure myself but would feel sorry for everyone else who got no mention. That is that.

I can see the the noble reason behind this proposal, however. There are fics here which are exceptional, there are writers here who are awe-inspiring, be it in one way or the other. Authors create with their fics something out of nothing, they give their own spin to the events and the world we love and they're doing it in their spare-time when they could be doing other things. So writers deserve appreciation and a friendly clap on the back for their work. And before anyone asks, yes, even with the Most Horrible Fanfic Ever there is at least this as a reason for encouragement and approval.

Also, we should not forget that several of the regular contributors are not english-natives and as much as we might want to overlook it, it shows in insecure usage of appropriate code-switching variants, of idioms, accents, cultural-inherent visuals, slang and so forth. And a firm and secure grip on those is very important for creating diverse characters and a reading environment which engulfs the reader and pulls them along without hickups that disturb the flow. Running awards would basically be unfair on the level of craftsmanship.

So, what can we do to let people know that we like their work? There is always the comment. Write and tell people how you liked their work, let them know what moved you, what disturbed you. Tell them what didn't work for you. Semi-constructive criticism does not need to be an essay - two sentences about what you liked and another two about things you think could be improved. Done and dusted.

Another thing I liked in this regard was a meme I have seen recently on tumblr. It was for fanfiction-appreciation day and asked people to recommend fics, using prompts like: "A memorable sentence", "made you see a character in a new light" or "made you ship a pair you formerly didn't ship". Going about it like this doesn't focus on competition but on personal experience and encourages people to explain their choice, giving the author feedback and possible advice or inspiration to others. A recommandation-thread could work that way, even with the categories Lazy8 has suggested so far.

[Lazy8]

Welp, it looks like this would just generate too much negative feeling. I do like the idea of a recommendations thread, though.

While we're discussing an awards event, I guess I could use this thread just to ask: would anyone be interested in a yearly SSSS (and aRTD if there's interest!) exchange that's run solely on AO3? The matching process and all fanworks would be posted there. Instead of one prompt from each person, they make several requests (usually in AO3 exchanges, it has to be at least 3, and we can discuss the maximum.)

If you're unfamiliar with AO3 exchanges, we usually first go through a nominations period where we gather everything into a tagset that we can then select our requests from. I'll be using Coronation Ceremony as my example here since it's a single fandom exchange and is the closest to what I'm thinking of doing (here's the tagset on AO3, and the mod's organized list on Dreamwidth.)

After that comes sign ups where you select your requests and your offers that you will then be matched on. You can type in your requests directly into the AO3 sign up form or write a "dear author letter" which you can see examples of here for the Tolkien-centric exchange, Innumerable Stars (and I especially like Indy's letter, which I think is a good example of a dear author letter to emulate if you've never written one before. )

As for the matching process: we can match on characters, relationships (romantic or platonic) and even worldbuilding themes (magic systems, how the cattank works, etc.) You can also be matched on the type of fanwork you want which we can discuss (fic, art...anyone want to add to the list? Fanmix? Videos? Podfic?) And since the event will be run solely on AO3, I was thinking of adding in ratings, so you can also be matched on ratings. So if you want to request NSFW fanwork, you can select that, and the person who does not wish to create NSFW work will not be matched with you, and so on. This way, everyone wins.

In terms of the works themselves, I was thinking of keeping things low-pressure. At least 500 words, or a nice sketch not on lined paper. You are free to do treats afterwards (additional gifts for either the person you're assigned to or to another person whose request tickled your fancy!) My hope is this event will be fun for all. Would anyone be interested?

In terms of when this will be run...I was initially hoping for the wintertime, but I don't know if that's still possible because I had a period of illness recently that pushed things back. If we can still opt for wintertime, such as making middle to late January the deadline for all fanworks, we could call this exchange Silent Night.

Ooh, YES.