Professor Tomoe Inner Senshi Admin
Activities Director
 
Title : Formerly Aurae; The Galaxy Cauldron Forums' Official Professor Tomoe Posts : 6250 Join date : 2013-07-23 Location : Chicago
 |  Subject: Writing & Roleplaying Guild - Discord Discussion Night - August 2017  29th August 2017, 10:33 am | |
|  Missed the Discord Discussion Night on Monday, August 28, 2017 from 8PM to 10PM Central US time? Want to know what was talked about? Read the notes here!
☿ Discussion question: Do you prefer writing, roleplaying, or like both equally?
Most of our members present at the meeting preferred writing, although a few mentioned participating in more roleplays and/or feeling like they were more accountable in roleplays. Some members mentioned that they don't have much experience with roleplay and would like to try someday!
☿ Discussion question: What are you currently working on? (Or conveniently not working on, but you should be!)
Sometimes it's hard to admit it, but I'm definitely in that second category! Most of our present members had a variety of both Sailor Moon and original fiction projects in progress. We talked about the merits of starting over if you realize that you've come to a point in your story that you can't necessarily continue on from and feel positive about. Wanting to work on a project but needing inspiration was also covered—isn't that the writers' dilemma! We talked about how having too many ideas can make it hard to decide what to work on, and also the value of being able to talk to other writers about your projects, both to challenge each other and to help ideas solidify. There are distractions everywhere, and it's easy to get sidetracked if you're really trying to avoid what you were writing. Sometimes your brain even tricks you into getting the desire to write when you simply can't, like if you're driving a car or sitting in a meeting. Music can serve as inspiration, and members talked about the ways they use music to encourage writing. Rewatching source material (for fanfiction) was also mentioned as a handy way to feel in the right mood to write. There was also a mention of working up the courage to perform your work, in the case of spoken word and poetry. There was also talk of where you post your writing—a member mentioned saving their work in Sta.sh from DeviantArt, and there was some introduction information shared regarding posting on Archive of Our Own (Ao3) and Fanfiction.net (FF).
☿ Discussion question: When you have projects that are Sailor Moon-based and not, is there a particular one that you find easier to write?
A great point was brought up that fanfiction relies on structures that are already established, so that can make it easier to write. It can also be difficult to have a project that involves elements you aren't necessarily too familiar with. (Such as writing about topics you have an interest in, but aren't experienced in.) If that's the case, getting critique from other writers who do have that experience can be really useful! You can do that in the Writing & Roleplaying Guild by starting topics with the tags [Critique Requested] (if you want others to read your writing and give feedback) or [Help] (if you need help with something, but aren't necessarily providing writing for others to read just yet). We talked about how some communities don't provide a lot of feedback; if that's something you want, you may need to seek it out!
☿ Guild feedback: What do you think about the frequency of contests, challenges, and games? Should we have them all monthly? Should we alternate?
- Quick reminder!:
• Contests (submit writing based on a theme and other Guild members vote on a winner)
• Games (group efforts to achieve a shared goal)
• Challenges (personal attempts to achieve a goal)
The overall consensus is that Contests should return. There were some notes about the duration and frequency, both for and against. A few people mentioned that the monthly cadence felt rushed or that they didn't have time to participate. Others noted that if the Contests lasted longer it was easier for them to forget about it before the deadline. It was suggested to have shorter submissions to the Contests. Guild members who have participated in the past mentioned that when participation is low it is discouraging. Sailor Mercury asked if trying out Contests running for two months sounded like something people were interested in, responding to the concerns about feeling rushed. Contests lasting two months (or six weeks) where there is a full month to write before the deadline and voting happens in the second month was approved by the majority. Some people were concerned about motivation or time interfering with participation, but were not strongly opposed to trying. Games and Challenges were mentioned as being fine to have on a monthly basis, with few other comments.
☿ Guild suggestion: Pair writers and artists, where artists create a work of fan art and the writers write a piece based on that fan art. (Possibly in conjunction with the Artists, Graphics & Cosplayers Guild.)
The initial suggestion was based on this Ao3 series. It was mentioned that this idea had been proposed before and received favourably. Someone mentioned having participated with art and music and having enjoyed it; possibly we could seek a variant on the theme. Sailor Mercury will work with the Artists, Graphics & Cosplayers Guild to coordinate (no current timeline established).
☿ Guild feedback: The Apprentice program does not have a lot of activity. Would people prefer a "Writing Buddy" program?
There was a lot of interest in a "writing buddy" program in the discussion. This was a feature of the Guild in previous iterations, but there were issues with buddies going inactive. It was suggested that being able to message your partner on Discord might make it less likely to cease communication. Having regular check-ins was also suggested. Luna, who works with the site's overall mentor program, may be able to assist with organization/etc. for something similar for the Writing & Roleplaying Guild. Luna and Sailor Mercury will coordinate on creating an updated partner program of some kind, for tentative release in October.
☿ Guild feedback: Should we continue Discord Discussion Nights?
It was an overwhelming yes! We talked about frequency and scheduling for the future, and it was decided to create another survey! Sailor Mercury has created the Discord Discussion Nights (ongoing) survey: please take a moment to vote! It will also be possible for members to submit topics for Discord Discussion Nights! (Thread for submissions coming soon!)
☿ Guild announcements: September activities to look forward to!
• Updates to rules threads and the Index of threads
• New Guild Member information thread and a "roll call"
• Archiving of old content/announcements (general clean-up)
• "Writing Buddy" sign up thread, with full revamp of Apprenticeship Program to follow (probably October)
• Discord Discussion Nights poll to vote for
• Submit a topic for Discussions Nights thread
Activities
• Contest
• Game
• Challenge
☿ Guild reminders: Don't forget about activities and feedback!
• Don't forget to answer the survey about the Guild as a whole! (Even after the survey is closed, you can always reach out to Sailor Mercury with comments and suggestions!)
• Want to see a particular Contest, Challenge, or Game? Have a suggestion?
Please take a moment to provide Contests, Challenges, and Games Feedback!
• Expect changes to the Practice Area and RP Practice Area in future months!
| Attendees
Andalusite
chrissifniotis
dreamsinpink
Luna
Magic713
Sailor Jupiter
Sailor Mercury
Sailor Uranus |
|
|
