Incentive Program for Completing Fics... Good idea or no?

[calic0cat]

Well, I was considering running a contest for Preventer case-fics - and may end up doing so at some later date - but then I got thinking about some of the great fics out there that are languishing in an incomplete state. And I started wondering whether perhaps some of those authors would be - motivated - to complete said fics - say by the end of the year - if given the right sort of incentive. Like, maybe, some commissioned fanart and hosting for the fic?

There's quite a few good contests out there for new, complete fics but there isn't really anything to encourage the completion of stalled ones. Whether or not something like this would help get some of them moving again... *shrug* Well, it would be worth a try.

Obviously, the incentive program would be open to fics that ended with an intact 1+/x2 pairing (or 1+/x2+/x5). I might also consider fics ending with a strong friendship between the guys and *no* pairings (as long as, like in the original series, the *possibility* of a pairing between the guys is left open).

So, anyone have any thoughts to add? Think it would be a worthwhile program? Waste of time? Any suggestions on other criteria that would be a good requirement? Obviously, I want to encourage fics of - well, a certain caliber. Ideas on the best way to control that aspect?

Comments

[mmariep2.livejournal.com]

i think this is a wonderful idea. a contest for WIP's only? very very good.

are you gonna have different categories? and i know its really hard to pick up fics that have been sitting around for a while. how about fics that have just been posted to mailing lists? or well known fansites or such? how long do the fics have to have been stalled? do you have a certain amount of time?

i'm pretty sure i could come up w/ more questions for you later... :D

great idea.

[calic0cat.livejournal.com]

Categories - I'm not sure if they'll really matter. I'm thinking more in terms of offering an incentive to anyone who meets the criteria. Though maybe an additional award that's only offered to a "winner" would be good to have as well...

I was thinking that it would be open to fics that have been stalled for, say, at least six months, maybe, as of whenever I actually start this? Obviously, the fics would have to have been posted *somewhere* online in order to prove how long they'd been stalled... The catch is, how do I limit which fics are eligible in such a way that I don't end up with the dregs of ff.net yet I also don't miss stories by really good authors who don't happen to have been picked up by an archive? Same thing with accepting mailing list fics - how do I weed out the plotless, poorly written fics? I guess maybe I'd have to have a volunteer jury to vote on whether a fic was eligible or not, then include being beta-ed and having a solid plot as criteria. Regardless, I think writers would have to let me know that they intended to "enter" well before the closing date. That way, anyone who didn't qualify would find out before it was too late to rectify the problem with their potential entry.

As for duration - I'm thinking maybe run it through till the end of the year to finish the fic but maybe offer a mini-incentive for demonstrated progress before then? That way, if someone was clearly making progress but couldn't quite make it by the final deadline, there would be reasonable grounds for working out an extension...

Still a very rough outline of the idea but maybe it's a little bit clearer...

[tsuki-bug.livejournal.com]

I think that's great motivation to complete a WIP multipart. I've always wondered myself if there was any way to get those authors who seem to put fic after fic on hold to start them up again.

My only concern is how the news is going to spread. I know of a lot of WIPs, but the on-hold WIPs I've seen lately are usually due to RL or fandom problems. Those authors might not be active enough to hear of the contest.

-Junebug = )

[calic0cat.livejournal.com]

I'm thinking that maybe I need to have fics nominated - maybe require nomination by at least two people? And it's up to the nominator to track down contact info for the author and pass it on to me. Then the info about the "incentives" would go out with the nomination notification.

As for WIPs on hold due to fandom problems - I'm thinking that maybe if the author has moved on to a new fandom, I could offer the completion incentive to be fanart or a zine or dj for that new fandom while the "encouragement" art in exchange for progress would be for the GW fic... I'd rather commission all GW stuff but an incentive in the new fandom might be more productive in terms of encouraging authors who've moved on...

[sunhawk16.livejournal.com]

It's an interesting idea... I've never seen anything like that before, and there's certainly enough 'bitching' in the fandom about incomplete works. ^^; (Yes... I do it too!)
Assuming, of course, that the rest of the world isn't stalled for the same reason I am. I have all the motivation in the world... I just don't have the darn time.
It certainly couldn't hurt to give it a try!
As for quality, I don't know how you'd control that. Maybe a fic is disqualified if spell-check kicks out more than four words in the first paragraph? ^^;

[calic0cat.livejournal.com]

Well, I can't really do anything about the time issue, unfortunately, and I suffer from it myself with disturbing frequency. But maybe I can at least encourage some of those who've simply lost inspiration or have moved on to other fandoms to wrap up the stories they left behind...

And I'm leaning towards a multiple-nomination requirement for fics in the hopes that will get a decent quality of submissions. Though I'm thinking a proviso that fics be subject to approval based on reasonable spelling, grammar, plot development, and character development would be a good idea just in case I need to do some quality control. Or I could do what gwyaoi.org does for their contests and send things back to the authors for correction of that sort of thing (at least if it's excruciatingly bad, I'm not talking about occasional typos or stilted grammar due to English not being the author's first language). If the author didn't want to bother, well, too bad, guess that story's out. If the individual made a reasonable effort to improve, well, great, he/she's earned the incentive.

[sunhawk16.livejournal.com]

Well, I can attest that a little encouragement can go a long way. I once commented on a series I was following and a few weeks later stumbled across the writer's blog. Hadn't even known they had one... and they had made an entry mentioning my feedback and said that they had been contemplating dropping the story, and that one bit of feedback changed their mind. O.o;;
The multiple-nomination thing is an interesting idea, that just might work.

[princess2000204.livejournal.com]

I like the idea and I hope it will certainly kick some of the lazu authors off their butt! But I agree, I think the main problem with the contest would be the quality of the fic in themselves.


If you're looking for someone to be on the jury or to be a beta reader let me know and I'll do it ^_^

[calic0cat.livejournal.com]

I'll keep your volunteer status in mind! *grin* I'm leaning towards nomination to get a fic in, then - depending what the submissions look like - maybe a combination jury/beta reading process to weed out the junk. Though it could be that the very nature of the contest will weed out some of the junk if I'm careful how the qualifications for entry are stated...

[iniq.livejournal.com]

Definitely a very interesting idea.
I won't add stuff to the points that have been already made, but... I have an idea for the criteria. If you gave a list of words authors must not use you can raise the standard - just think of the standard 'Hee-chan', 'Duo-pumpkin', or exclude female Original Characters with exotic names and mysterious, angsty pasts - things like that.
Thinking about other mechanisms of control - what about going into the direction of 'plot'? For example, if the fics are supposed to be Preventer case fics or 'action fics' - maybe a mature plot would be a requirement? It would be hard to check, of course, but it would scare people away who mask their fics with more character/romance development than actual plot as action fics.
No clue how that would work with the other categories tho >_>;

Ah, one more thing, going into psychology a bit - by the end of the year sounds scarier than you think it does. Especially with Christmas just before... if you make it February 2005, it might be less pressure on the authors (at least I think so... very subjective opinion ^^; )

[calic0cat.livejournal.com]

If you gave a list of words authors must not use you can raise the standard

*snicker* Oh, that could get ugly. I'm thinking though that if I require at least two reader-nominations for a fic, that might be of some assistance... Maybe...

I think if I just make "good plot development" and "good character development" criteria for being included, that might leave more room for a jury (if I go that route) to weed out the - uh, less desirable stories. A really good fic should have both plot and character development...

by the end of the year sounds scarier than you think it does.

Good point. And I think I want at least six months after I announce this for people to finish the stories, so it would have to be sometime in the first part of next year anyway. But I should keep end of school term in mind - things slow down online a lot once people go home from college/university for the summer. Probably best to wrap things up well before that...