Request for Comment: Finish-a-thon rules

[kerravonsen]

Hi folks, I am still intending to do the finish-a-thon, and just to whet your appetite, and more importantly, to get feedback and remove any misunderstandings early, I present you with a draft copy of the Rules of the finish-a-thon, so I can make them better before the thing actually happens.

Remember all those poor, neglected plot bunnies that have been starving from lack of attention, because all those ficathons kept on having higher priority? The stories you wish you could finish, if only you could find the time? Well, fear not, the finish-a-thon is coming to the rescue!

The finish-a-thon is a ficathon, with all the ficathon-like things like deadlines and fellow volunteers to encourage you, but with this ficathon, you write your own ideas. But since part of the encouragement of a ficathon is writing things for other people, what we're going to do, is vote for which story ideas people should write.

The way it works is this:

1. Sign up. In your sign-up post, list a short description all the plot bunnies, unfinished stories and vague ideas that you are putting up for voting on. Say what universe(s) it's in, a very brief description, and some idea of what rating and type (gen,het,slash) you think it will be, to give people a good idea of what they'd be voting for.
2. A poll is made, each "question" consists of the potential stories of one participant.
3. We vote for which story we want each person to finish. The winning story in each section is the one which that author has to work on.
4. Each writer works on their winning story, and finishes it by the deadline. They then put it up on the web somewhere, either in their journal, or on a website.
5. I will post a master-list of all the stories, so that people can find them.
6. Everyone rejoices!

Dates

Sign-ups begin: mid-November
Sign-ups end: late November
Poll is put up: end of November
Voting ends: start of December
Stories finished: end of January

Sign-up Template

Name:
Livejournal:

For each plot-bunny...

Description:
Fandom(s):
Type: het/gen/slash
Rating:

Questions

Are there any restrictions? This isn't an anti-slash thing, is it?

No restrictions. They're your own ideas, hence, your responsibility. Just let people know, in the descriptions, what kind of story you think it will be, so that they can vote wisely.

What if I don't finish my story?

Then post what you've managed to write so far, indicating that it isn't finished. Warts and all. No hiding. If you didn't finish... well, we don't want this to drag on, do we?
On the other hand, if it's only a day or two late, then do finish it first. Especially if all it needs is a beta, get it beta-read first.

What if I don't know what story to vote for?

There will be a "none of the above" option for all poll questions. But please do try to pick one story from everybody if you possibly can.

Hey, I thought everyone was supposed to be voting! How come there's a "none of the above" option?

I don't know how diverse this finish-a-thon will be. If Person A is writing in fandoms that Person B knows nothing about, or Person A writes only in genres that Person B can't stand, then Person B should be allowed to pick "none of the above".

What if there's a tie in the votes? Which story would I write?

Toss a coin. If you can't toss a coin, I'll toss one for you -- just ask.

Comments

[astrogirl2.livejournal.com]

Looks good to me! The only thing I'm not sure about is the "none of the above" option. What if "none of the above" actually wins? I mean, how ego-brusing is that? ;) Seriously, does there need to be a "none of the above," or can people just not to fill out an answer at all for a given writer if they don't know any of the fandoms? I don't think there's anything in the nature of LJ polls that forces you to answer all of the questions, is there? Assuming that's how the voting will be run, that is.

[kerravonsen]

Good point.

[izhilzha.livejournal.com]

Are you sure we want to be writing over the holidays? Otoh, I do write while on a plane. :-) So...

[kerravonsen]

Well... I want this ficathon to happen as soon as possible, so that it actually happens, and December was the earliest it could be, due to various people's commitments.

[fikgirl.livejournal.com]

The rules sound good as long you eliminate the "none of the above" option. Maybe "not familiar with the fandoms," or something like that would work in the poll.

[kerravonsen]

Yep, am planning on eliminating the "none of the above" option.

[lizamanynames.livejournal.com]

...is there a maximum? I mean, people could be voting on like TWENTY bunnies with me...

[kerravonsen]

Good point. Probably should make a maximum, like about ten, otherwise it might be the case that there aren't enough votes for there to be a winning bunny.

[lizamanynames.livejournal.com]

Ten sounds good. Enough for there to be variety, not too much as to be overwhelming.