B2MeM 2014 (Yes, Really!)

[dawn_felagund]

Yes, my comods and I have really started talking about 2014's Back to Middle-earth Month. However, there is a good reason behind this! (Normally, the mods start discussion in December, with the members being brought on board by January or February.) There are two important things that we wanted to bring up to B2MeM participants for feedback.

First is the event for 2014. We have done daily-prompt challenges for the past three B2MeMs. These are always popular and are pretty easy to do (so long as BINGO cards aren't involved ... ;), but when we started running B2MeM, it was not necessarily a daily-prompt challenge, and while daily prompts are usually well-liked, we have also had requests to try a different format. So we wanted to propose an idea and see how the community felt about it.

Instead of a daily prompt, we have considered putting together a compilation this year. Those of you who have been SWG members for a few years know that we have done compilations there in the past. (Akallabêth in August is probably the best example of this.) The idea is that participants claim a prompt or prompts well before the event itself. Each participant then sets out to create a story, poem, or artwork based on that prompt, only instead of trying to get something created quickly to be ready for the next day's prompt, the participant has time to make the piece the best it can be. During the month of the event, one or a few of these pieces are "released" each day. By the end of the month, there is a compilation of stories, poetry, and art based around a theme.

Our idea is to put together such a compilation for this year's B2MeM, based around a theme that encompasses the diversity that our community has to offer, i.e., whether you write First Age or Fourth, Hobbits or Noldor, there will be a place for you. The pieces will be revealed over the course of March. At the end of the month, we would also like to offer an e-book or print-on-demand book of the compilation (for writers and artists who want to be included--this would NOT be mandatory). Ideally, there would be the opportunity for writers and artists to pair up to do illustrated stories, and we would offer beta assistance and other for authors who want it.

So what say you all? Are we willing to give the daily prompt a break for this year? Does a compilation seem like something we'd like to try for this year's B2MeM? Please remember that this community exists to promote a fandom holiday that will help bring the various corners of the Tolkien fandom together, so we need to know if our participants think an idea will work for them or not. In short: please be honest in your feedback! :)

The second point concerns moderators. B2MeM started as an alliance of Tolkien fandom groups that wanted to offer a month-long "holiday" in which Tolkien-based transformative works are celebrated. As a result of this basic structure, it was always assumed that the mods of the groups that participated would be the mods of B2MeM. In actuality, this doesn't work that well. For one, group mods already have significant responsibilities in running their groups. In many cases, they cannot also run B2MeM. Secondly, this keeps those who have ideas about B2MeM, time to volunteer, and who would make excellent moderators from actually serving as moderators.

As a result, we will be opening up moderation of B2MeM to more than just the mods of the groups that sponsor it. Moderators help plan out B2MeM events and get them ready for March. They help run things behind the scenes before and during the event. They help to answer questions from participants and cheer participants on. We tend to work closely together on planning and then divide up responsibilities for actually running the event, based on the talents and interests of each mod.

Please comment here, message me, or email me at DawnFelagund@gmail.com if you'd like to be a mod for this year's B2MeM. You should expect to be available beginning in December through early April. (Obviously, everyone needs time off, and we cover for each other when needed, but this is our "busy season," so to speak.) I will make sure to begin including anyone who is interested in moderator correspondence going forward.

Comments

[tehta.livejournal.com]

I guess my issue is less with having my work read at all, and more with
1. having my work read by people who might actually enjoy it
2. finding the time to write said work
Organized exchanges and challenges worry me in part because my writing is basically forced onto people, most of whom will not like it. (Tastes differ, etc.) Also, writing polished stories takes so much time! (I would not feel comfortable just crashing something out after claiming a prompt. And of course I would get help from my usual betas, etc, but posting to the community before the reveal would take away from said reveal, no? It's almost like we'd be writing not for one person, but for a community.)

In contrast, I found the daily prompts low-pressure and freeing, because I certainly can (if inspired, and not feeling too neurotic) compose a 500-1000 word ficlet in just one free evening, and because they were short, and not billed as The Real Fill For The Prompt, so I did not have to worry about imposing on people, or disappointing them. But perhaps I was misusing the prompts.

[dawn_felagund]

As long as you're writing Tolkien and have the prompt in your mind while writing it, then it is impossible to misuse a B2MeM prompt! :D

[heartofoshun.livejournal.com]

Sounds like you were using the prompts in a way that worked for you. I felt like there were a number of people racing to claim a prompt for every day and that was the point of daily prompts. No matter how hard I tried, I could never keep up with that pace. Wrote a lot of crap and still failed.

[tehta.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I could never manage that. I aimed for one a week. I read a lot, too -- I really loved how different different people's takes were.

[rhapsody11.livejournal.com]

No, you weren't misusing the prompts! Some years ago we did a stamping the ME post card event, if someone would for example finally finish a piece for that and would ask us for a stamp... we would still stamp it. Or create a card for someone who just discovered it and wants to play even years after. Almost everything is possible and you are utmost free to use the prompts in any way you like it.

But I suspect we all experience challenges and exchanges very differently. Some write purely for an audience, some for a friend or someone they know, some for a complete stranger in an exchange, then some for a small circle of readers and some entirely for themselves! I do get that. But the compiliation in its nature (the set up and exposure) is utterly different from a fix exchange and I tried to explain that. But there are some management aspects that mods need to take into account (Dawn also explained that) where we'd need to set deadlines in order to make it work and have things to reveal for a certain day. I simply don't know what we will end up doing for 2014, but I enjoyed taking part in compilation(s) in the past so I guess I got a tad carried away in my enthusiasm (my apologies if I did upset you with that). Then again I also understand the thrill and excitement of daily prompts, so see what bunny will bite you and write for your own pleasure. I have had oodles of fun (Bingo anyone?) with that in the past, although for 2014 it will be unrealistic for me personally due to RL.

But it would be great to reach a common ground amongst everyone. What it will be, I frankly have no idea.

[tehta.livejournal.com]

No worries -- of course I am not upset or offended!

It is true that we all see things differently. To me, the main feature of writing for a polished fic exchange/challenge is that it forces me to fit fifty-plus hours of writing time into my life, all before a set deadline. In that sense -- the most important sense, to me -- what you propose sounds EXACTLY like a fic exchange or challenge. It's just a very serious time and energy commitment, you know?

(The second feature is trying to please someone specific, but often a bit mysterious. And here the recipient is not a single person, but the fandom at large, which is... additionally worrying. While I am confident in my ability to write stories that will give a lot of pleasure to certain people in certain moods, I feel pretty out of step with what the fandom generally likes. So, I suspect that my fic would be a disappointment to most "recipients", which is not exactly motivating.)

This might be one thing to keep in mind: releasing fics one by one like that, with an official spotlight on each one in turn, and with the expectation that most readers will read and comment on the first day, will really highlight which fics (and authors, and sub-fandoms) are popular and successful, and which ones are not. (Not that competition is necessarily a bad thing, but it's definitely not something everyone enjoys in all situations.)

[rhapsody11.livejournal.com]

Yes.. but from the adminish perspective... we also have to work with deadlines: even daily prompts are scheduled, the order usually is well thought out so maybe it isn't that visible, we have to work with them in order to get things done. I remember B2MEM's were staying up late to await the new reveal of a prompt (in b2memsupport members were so bouncy saying: is it there yet???), so it can also work positively. But I do understand your viewpoint, but others work well with them. Finding a balance will be hard, but I am still hopeful!

So, I suspect that my fic would be a disappointment to most "recipients", which is not exactly motivating.)

Really? A well respected, one of the Library of Tirion authors at the SWG (a legend was my first thought when your name was prompted for the Library of Tirion back then) who was immediately named to be added? You are never a disappointment to many! I can imagine that after so many years you have to get used to the new names ect. But still.

(Not that competition is necessarily a bad thing, but it's definitely not something everyone enjoys in all situations.)

Yes, I know. Elleth also mentioned allowing stories that are written in advance can be remixed by those who write daily prompts. It can also happen with that that a much beloved author has her story remixed ten times over and a lesser known person is not. That can be very hurtful, unintentional perhaps, but still. Not everyone has an armadillo hide. Then again the positive vibe over the past years has surprised me in that regard, it was not like that 10 years ago where only stories written by people of one group were solely reviewed by members of that group. But I do think that your feedback here is something we should be aware about. Thanks!

A Legend!

[heartofoshun.livejournal.com]

I agree with Rhaps on this. It might be hard to hear, but it is true. I first began reading Silmarillion fanfiction because of you and Claudio, at the time great Silm writing--"like Tehta or Claudio"--was completely linked in my mind. I still get a shivery thrill when I see you have posted something new. You two were also my first exposure to Silmarillion slash. I was not drawn through any social or RPG type of interest, but purely literary and the idea that what fun it would be to read new stories based on Tolkien's work. The friendships and camaraderie of fandom came a couple years later for me.

[tehta.livejournal.com]

I certainly did not mean to disparage the amount of time the admins put in -- I know it is way more than I can even imagine, and you have to be making all sorts of tough RL decisions to manage it.

Anyway, I think that if you guys have something happening daily as well as the challenge, I would try to participate in that, a bit. (Aside from commenting, which I will definitely do.) And I *might* do the challenge, depending on how February looks from the perspective of January. (It might be a better choice for me than Slashy Valentine, anyway.)

As for my legend status: I feel like I got very lucky right when I joined the fandom, because both the slash pairing and the single character I chose to write about (Ecthelion/Glorfindel, Maedhros) were just about to become popular. So lots of people read those stories (which was awesome, of course.) But that brief burst of fame has emphatically NOT gone to my head.