Admin Post: Hero's Journey Challenge Stories

[dawn_felagund]

The Hero's Journey challenge closed yesterday. (When I say "closed," I mean that challenge entries posted going forward will not receive a stamp. If you are still working on your story, you're welcome to post it under the challenge! I'm still working on mine, in fact.) Here is the list of stories written for this challenge. If you check them out, please consider letting the author know if you like their work by leaving a comment. All links go to the Table of Contents, where you can view additional information about the story.

Before the Dawn by Grundy. Though all seems bright in Gondolin, Idril is troubled.

Companions on a Quest by oshun.

The Crownless Queen by Tyelca. She is a Queen without a crown and he is a shining opportunity. Or, how Ungoliant and Melkor poisoned the Trees and stole the Silmarils.

A Day in the Life by hennethgalad. The youth of Glorfindel in Valinor. (Additional installments in this story can be found here: The Hero's Journey 2 | 3 | 4 | 5)

A Hero of the Day by Robinka. Just an ordinary day out there on the Northern Marches of Doriath. Or maybe not so much…? Featuring your tall, strong, and handsome, not to mention favorite, wardens and some surprises.

In the Darkest Days by LadyBrooke. Elu has gone to Valinor with Finwë and Ingwë, and those left behind are forced to make up for their absences, no matter how young the ones left behind are or if they have to find their own families.

Let Us Sing Together by StarSpray. There are strange things dwelling in the forests of Eriador.

One Woman's Journey by Lyra. From the bliss of Valinor to the turbulent shores of Middle-earth, the life of Galadriel never gets boring.

Safety Net by Fernstrike. The year is 502 of the First Age. Doriath has already seen the Shadow seeping into its borders - and for Oropher, one of Thingol's chief counsels, it will not be long before it pierces into the vibrant heart of the realm.

A Tale of Two Lirillos by Kaylee Arafinwiel. Lirillo the prince and Lirillo the Maia - an adventure of Alqualonde's youngest prince, coming of age during a time after the Trees, just before the sun and moon. Will the grandson of Olwe prove a match for Ulmo's servant, or will the Maia be up to the task of shepherding his young namesake into this new world intact?

Water Music by Ysilme. As he walks, water is bringing back memories.

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I'm interested to know if you all liked this challenge format? This was the first time I've ever used this format. I know I learned from the experience, if we do it again: 1) Don't allow just one month to complete this challenge. 2) Make the prompts sets have different prompts because people will ask for multiple sets. 3) Be clearer on word count expectations, when they exist. If you participated, what did you like and what would you change? If you didn't participate, what would have to change about the challenge to make it something you might want to try?

Perhaps most importantly: Should we do it again next year?

I will be working on stamp collections tonight and tomorrow. If Tuesday arrives and your is not correct, please let me know. If you have commented on a 2017 challenge entry for Strength & Beauty or earlier, please let me know so that I can award you your stamp, as I am not monitoring those challenges any longer.

Finally, remember that our New Directions challenge is currently underway:

This month, we challenge our authors and artists to attempt creating a fanwork about a character they've never written or drawn before, using one of the best resources on the SWG website: our character biography collection. From our list of character biographies, choose someone that you do not know much about or have not written/drawn before. Read the character biography and create a fanwork about that character.

Fanworks must be posted by July 15 to receive the stamp for this one.

Comments

[independence1776]

Keeping in mind that I just got the prompt set for this and have yet to start writing: I adore the format of this challenge and would love to do it again next year. I think two or even three months would be a good length, as long as there's another challenge in that timeframe for those who want shorter challenges if you go for three months.

I was actually operating under the assumption that all the prompt sets had different prompts.

[dawn_felagund]

Thanks, Indy! I think two months is a minimum. It could certainly run for three, with lower-key challenges in the other two months.

This time around, each successively higher level of challenge added two prompts to the challenge before it. So a Medium challenge had the same prompts as Easy, plus two. I really did not foresee people wanting more than one set ... and in a way I was validated as no one actually completed more than one set.

I can't do individualized prompts per player; that would be insane. We had 14 people request an easy set, 7 request a medium set, and 6 request a challenging set. That would be 119 prompts! For a big event, like a B2MeM, that's not insurmountable but not part as a monthly challenge. But what I can do is make each set different, or have, say, three choices for Prompt 1 and choose from them at random so that no one's sequence is the same.

[independence1776]

Yeah, I realize I was a bit ambiguous: I'd thought Easy had different prompts from Medium had different prompts than Hard, not that all the sets were individualized. Individualization would be a nightmare even for me and I like coming up with prompts.

I like the randomization option you mentioned here or Grundy's idea.

[keiliss]

I loved it. Only reason I'm not finished yet has to do with multiple family issues. But the concept really works for me. I also find the need to meet a word count is forcing me to flesh out scenes I would otherwise have glossed over in the interests of speed. I'll do it as regularly as you offer it.

Also it has helped kick me out of a patch where writing seemed almost like an alien skill.

[dawn_felagund]

Yay! It makes me so happy to hear that it helped kick out writers' block. :)

Feelings are mixed on the word count. I'd like to keep them for the simple fact that I really want this to be a challenge that produces longer fic instead of producing yet another round of drabbles and ficlets. There's nothing wrong with drabbles and ficlets, of course, but there's also a bonanza of challenges for them, and I do like throwing longfic writers a bone every now and then and giving them a challenge where they can shine.

[grundyscribbling]

I enjoyed the challenge and would definitely do it again, but 100% endorse 'Make the prompts sets have different prompts because people will ask for multiple sets'. It probably works for some, but starting with the same prompt for different levels just lead me to variations on a theme instead of something new. (Maybe there could be a random generator to put together a different set of prompts for each participant/level?)

I also like independence1776's two or three month timeframe. For a challenge like this that is aiming to produce a longer wordcount, having time to let ideas marinate and go over to edit/rewrite really helps.

[dawn_felagund]

Yes, I agree that two months is a minimum and three months is ideal.

I love the random prompt idea! At a minimum, each set will have completely different prompts next time, but the random idea also solves people being inadvertently spoiled when they see other people's stories. Thanks for that idea! :)

[grundyscribbling]

You're quite welcome. I went to 'random generator' on the thought that you'd only need a small pool of prompts, maybe a dozen, to generate a number of prompt sets that would be more than sufficient to cover the number of challenge participants. (As I've never been a mod for any writing sites, I have no idea if there's an existing tool for this. If not, I'm sure I can throw one together. It can't be that difficult, even if you want to have a subset of prompts that are story starters and a second subset for the 'now that you're started' ones.)

[hhimring]

I thought the challenge in itself was fine and a good idea, even though I failed it.

My suggestions for a re-run:

No problem having required word counts, really, but best to clarify such expectations in advance so that they don't come as a surprise when you open the prompt.

If you don't have individualized prompt sets, it's also best to clarify this in advance, not just because of people asking for more than one set, but because I assumed they were and accidentally spoiled a prompt for somebody else--and it seems I wasn't the only one who thought there were multiple prompt sets. People also might want to know if they wish to avoid other people's fills while they're working on their own, as there is no reveal date (and there was no advice against posting early).

If sending out the whole sequence of prompts by email, put a bit of non-spoilery text (perhaps a warning not to read further) at the beginning of the mails so that the later prompts of the series don't pop up in email previews.

[dawn_felagund]

I will definitely clarify word-count expectations. I would like to keep this as a challenge that produces longer stories rather than yet another challenge that produces a rash of ficlets. I have no problem with ficlets but longfic writers tend not to get much love in challenges, and I'd like at least one challenge a year that explicitly encourages longer responses.

Grundy had an awesome idea re: prompt sets: have a set of, say, three Prompt 1 choices and choose them at random. Individualized prompt sets are impractical for a challenge of this size; I would have had to write 119 prompts for the sign-ups for this one. But Grundy's idea ensures that at least no one will have the same sequence.

I didn't even think of the preview issue until Hrymfaxe brought it up. (My email doesn't provide previews.) Would one line do, then a space break before the prompt? (I suppose different email clients will be different too ...)

[hhimring]

Thank you, Dawn!

Grundy's suggestion sounds great, if it's not too much work for you. Something like Grundy's suggestion was in fact what I had assumed was in place: not unique prompts, but a limited pool and individualized sequences. Afterwards, I realized that I had leaped to the conclusion on far too little evidence, just because you had used indefinite articles rather than definite articles in your announcement, but by then I had put my foot in it.
I think people who engage in fic swaps are already attuned to maximum secrecy. I don't do fic swaps, so am more likely to blunder, unless somebody clues me in.

I'm not really sure about the relative preview size of different email systems, but one line and a space break should make it easier for anyone who has such previews, I should think.

[ladybrooke]

I liked that it produced longer stories, I'm not so sure I like the random story it produced for me. I think, if I had seen all the prompts before hand and been able to plan it out, I would have liked it. Right now I just feel like it would have been better if I had been able to edit out some of the elements and replace them with a different set up, but keep the word count the same (or longer).

Longer time frame would definitely have been better. I almost finished the second story I asked for prompts for, but I ran out of time.