FAQ: Can one piece satisfy multiple prompts? Can I continue a work-in-progress?

[dawn_felagund]

Receiving questions about events always clues me in to what points I need to clarify or emphasize generally. I'm a teacher for my profession, and I know that for every person willing to put their hand up to ask a question, at least five more are wondering but don't want to ask! :)

"Can I use multiple challenges to create a single fanwork?"

Yes! Absolutely! This has been our policy for past B2MeM events, and it will continue to be our policy for this one.

In fact, I'd like to encourage those of you who prefer to create longer works to take advantage of this possible way to work with the challenges. One piece of feedback that we received after last year's event was that the challenge seemed to favor those who created shorter works like drabbles and vignettes over those who preferred to write longer stories or create art. This is a legitimate critique and an inherent downside to holding a daily challenge (however, most of our participants prefer a daily challenge). This year, we're emphasizing that a single fanwork can emcompass multiple challenges, in part, to encourage creators of more time-consuming works to use the event as an opportunity to work on these projects.

For example, say the number B3 is called on the first day of the challenge. That matches with the following challenges on cards you've claimed:

Artifacts and Weapons: Silmaril
Canon Couples: Finwe/Indis
Genre 1: AU
Genre 2: Tragedy
Weather: fog

You'd be hard-pressed to write a drabble or ficlet that incorporated all five of these elements, but if you wrote a short story? Finwe returns from Mandos at the end of the First Age (AU) and reunites with Indis (Finwe/Indis), but their joy is short-lived, as he learns his family's fate in Middle-earth and decides to attempt to recover the Silmarils from Morgoth (Silmaril). On a foggy evening as he nears Angband (fog), he is ambushed by Orcs and dies ... again. And so the Silmarils result in another fruitless death (tragedy).

In the past, we've also had authors write a chapter per day for a longer story, allowing each day's challenge to determine the direction the chapter takes. This isn't something that would work for every author, but for those of you who like to discover what's happening right when your characters do (Tolkien wrote LotR this way, incidentally!), this is another possible approach for the event.

Also, remember that you only need to start a piece in order to receive credit for it. As in years past, you don't need to post the piece publicly or in any way "prove" to us that you've met the challenge. We trust participants to be honest and recognize that every author isn't comfortable sharing a piece only hours old. Nor do the event mods want to play the role of arbiters of "correct" interpretations of the challenge prompts.

What counts as starting a piece? Again, that's up to you to determine because it will vary from author to author and situation to situation. If writing 1,000 words per day is the most you can manage on the best of days, then 500 words might be a significant start for you. If you only have an hour that day to work on creative projects, then spending 45 minutes on a piece of art would probably be a good start for you. If you've never written about Hobbits before and spend two hours reading in order to fulfill a prompt on the Shirish card, then canon notes and a few paragraphs of story might represent a lot of progress on that story for you. We ask you to use your good judgment and discretion in determining what is a good enough start on a piece to warrant claiming a stamp for it.

Can I work on an piece I started before B2MeM?

If you can use the day's challenge to continue on a work-in-progress, then you are welcome to do so. To claim a stamp for that challenge, you must make significant progress on the piece using the prompt. Again, "significant progress" varies from person to person and so is up to your discretion.

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Finally, a gentle reminder that tomorrow (Tuesday, 21 February) is the last day to send in BINGO cards or requests for BINGO cards to be created. Depending on how many cards/requests I get between now and then, I hope to have the final batch of cards posted and ready to claim by midweek.

Comments

[dawn_felagund]

Thank you--I'm glad it was useful! :) I've been tinkering with it for a while in my "scratch paper" file, waiting for a good moment when there was enough of a lull in card-claiming mania that people would have the time and energy to notice it. I always worry that people are going to miss out on opportunities to participate because they think we're much stricter than we actually are.

I have already begun some sketches for a few artwork pieces.

Awesome! :) I'm so excited about the diversity of responses I know many participants are thinking about and planning to work on. It's going to be hard to top this B2MeM next year, methinks! :D

[heartofoshun.livejournal.com]

Are there any unposted cards you can give us the name of so that we do not duplicate?

[dawn_felagund]

Here's what I have so far to post in the last batch:

Book Titles
Crackfic
Crack Pairings 1 & 2
Elven Realms
Evil Villians and Monsters
Feanatics
Food
Food and Drink of Middle-earth
Hobbits
Of the Sea
Random Fandom Things to Do
Rangers of the North
Rare Characters
Relationships
Textures
This Means War
Water
Winter Wonderland

[heartofoshun.livejournal.com]

I was working on an Animal one called "All Creatures Foul and Fair."

[heartofoshun.livejournal.com]

Thank you so very, very much.

[aliana1.livejournal.com]

If these titles are any indication, I'm not out of the woods, yet in terms of card claiming. :p

[dwimordene-2011.livejournal.com]

*sigh* Can I preemptively claim "Rangers of the North"? Because I just can't see how to avoid it...

[grey_gazania]

...I'm doomed. Doomed, I tell you!

[idleleaves.livejournal.com]

Oh, hell. And here I thought I was done card-claiming. =D

[dwimordene-2011.livejournal.com]

What? No more opportunities after tomorrow to create crack cards? MUST MAKE MORE CARDS! ;-)

[dawn_felagund]

Tomorrow's the last day. Thank the Valar. Y'all are really starting to worry me. ;)

[grey_gazania]

Can one work satisfy prompts from adjacent days? Like, say on Tuesday 'Canon Couples: Finwe/Indis' is called and on Wednesday 'Weather: fog' is called. Could you on Wednesday start a piece about Finwe and Indis getting lost in the fog and having sloppy make-outs?

[dawn_felagund]

Good question--yes you can. Once a number is called, players will have 2 days to start a piece that satisfies that prompt. So you could get Wednesday's prompt and think of ways to combine it with the prompts from Tuesday.

Or you can keep adding to the story based on each day's prompts. Mirach did that last year: wrote a long story where each day's addition was determined by the day's prompt.

Pretty much as long as something new is being created for the prompt, it will count. We're very easy. :)

[febobe.livejournal.com]

I apologize deeply and profusely, but if you wouldn't care to remind me where to send the card ideas, I'll try to get my h/c suggestions in by evening tomorrow. It would thrill me to help create a h/c bingo card, even though I may not get to do that card till after the month ends. :) Maybe others can enjoy it too!

Cheers,
A Scattered Febobe
('scuse me not getting on this sooner, but there was this little cardiac arrest situation with my husband, after all...)

[rhapsody11.livejournal.com]

Hi Febobe, just go to this (http://www.silmarillionwritersguild.org/b2mem2012/#cards) link and it will lead you to the request/bingo card making page or the list of cards that already have been made.

[dawn_felagund]

I'm so sorry to hear about your husband! I hope he's okay?

I got your card, just so you know. Thanks so much. :)

Edited to add ... I also added the h/c card to the master list for you, so as soon as it's ready, I'll add it to your player page. :)

[febobe.livejournal.com]

Another question, please!

When may we begin? I know posting is not till March 1, but when are we permitted to begin work on filling our Bingo cards? B/c I would like to play a bit with some of the bunnies now. I think I'll probably be doing shorter ficlets for a lot of these, but there's no telling, considering my nature!

When may I begin play? :D

Delightedly,
Febobe :)

[dawn_felagund]

You're correct that we'll start drawing daily BINGO numbers on the first of March. We will draw one number each day, and you will have 2 days to start a response to any prompts matching that number in order to claim a stamp for that prompt.

But there's certainly nothing to stop you from starting on the prompts now; I know a few people at least are coming up with ideas. The only caution I'd issue is that only 31 numbers will be called--less than half of those possible--and so you might start a prompt for a number that is never called. But if you don't mind that, then I'm never going to stand between a writer and her plotrabbits! :D Also remember that pieces posted publicly before the number is called are not eligible to claim a stamp.

[ave eva (from livejournal.com)]

I don't really think that it will be possible to write a continuous story this year, at least with some cards that are too specific about the time or place, but we'll see...

What I actually wanted to ask is - what's the free space on the card for? Does it count as stamped or not? (I've never played a real bingo before)

Mirach

P.S: I just got an idea of a huge drawing, adding the characters or items to it every day, according to the prompts. But I want to write as well... Oh, what to do, what to do??? @_@

[dawn_felagund]

The free space will automatically receive a stamp. For the cards I'm assigned to stamp, I'm figuring I'll stamp the free space when you do the first challenge for that card ... or I might get them stamped ahead of time, if I have some spare time. (As if! :)

The continuous story might work depending on the cards one has claimed ... I did think about that approach ... o.O

[febobe.livejournal.com]

Question!

How does it work if you want to use one item to fulfill multiple prompts? ie, N37 on Injuries and G50 on Winter Wonderland are both hypothermia (there's also a hypothermia on the Cause of Death card, but I actually do want to write two fics for it, one where Frodo lives and one where he dies)...so is there any way I can possibly fulfill both squares with one story if the numbers are called more than 48 hours apart? I don't know that I want to write THREE hypothermia fics; I probably COULD, and will if I have to, but I'd rather have the option to get two for one, if it's possible. :)

Just let me know!

Thanks,
Febobe :)

[dawn_felagund]

Already existing works that fulfill the prompt can't count for a new prompt unless you continue that story for the new prompt. So, for example, say N37 is called on Day Two. You write your Frodo story where he lives. On Day 29, G50 is called. You can continue or add to the story you've already started for credit; i.e., you might write an epilogue about how Frodo is getting on two weeks later. Or you might add an extra hypothermia-related scene into the existing story.

Pretty much, to count for credit, you should create something new for the day's prompt, whether adding to an existing work or starting something from scratch. :)

[sivanshemesh.livejournal.com]

How do i know that you've got my fic? Can i post it at FF? Or give you a link for the prompt that i have written?

[dawn_felagund]

There will be a daily post to this community with the day's BINGO number. You will report there to claim stamps for a prompt. (You can also email us directly at moderator@silmarillionwritersguild.org if you can't access LJ, etc.) After the day's BINGO number is called, you will have 48 hours to claim stamps for that number.

You don't have to post the piece to receive a stamp for it. Many of our participants like to run a piece past a beta before posting it or just don't feel it is ready to put up in public yet. We take our participants' word that they have made a good start on a piece inspired by the day's prompt(s). :) If you do have it posted publicly and wish to share a link when you claim your stamps, that's more than welcome, of course. You can also post the piece to the community, if you wish.