I'd like to suggest a variant on the drabble-off/flashfic idea.
Remember the glory days of the wednesday100? Heh. You may well not, given I have no idea if you ever crossed paths with Smallville. But it was the comm that gave birth to the weekly drabble fest comms that were so common once upon a time.
In this case obviously we'd do it here, rather than on a separate comm. I'd suggest a weekly post (rather than monthly or less frequently) because part of the aim is to encourage as much creative output as possible (within reason). It doesn't cross the line into spam because it's still just one post and any/all fics are safely in the comments. And there's a twenty-four/forty-eight hour window to get your entry in.
Benefits I foresee (extrapolating on past experience):
The regularity and tight time frame encourage people to write ("Don't want to miss the boat!" but also "There'll be another along soon!")
New theme every week --> if one doesn't suit, skip it and wait for the next.
Competitive spirit means some people (try to) post every week.
New writers feel encouraged --> "I could totally do that!" (I know this is how I got my start writing in the first place, and so did a lot of other now well known writers.)
Chance to experiment/take a risk because it's only a comment after all, you didn't spam anyone.
Regular posting time --> builds sense of anticipation, people are hanging out for the prompt post.
Very simple prompts --> lots of scope for ideas/adaptation.
All it takes is a mod to make the prompt post every week at the same time. And think of the prompts too, lol, but we also used to take suggestions at the end of the previous week's challenge. If you guys were too busy for that I'd be quite happy to give it a go for a while and see how it goes.
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Remember the glory days of the
In this case obviously we'd do it here, rather than on a separate comm. I'd suggest a weekly post (rather than monthly or less frequently) because part of the aim is to encourage as much creative output as possible (within reason). It doesn't cross the line into spam because it's still just one post and any/all fics are safely in the comments. And there's a twenty-four/forty-eight hour window to get your entry in.
Benefits I foresee (extrapolating on past experience):
The regularity and tight time frame encourage people to write ("Don't want to miss the boat!" but also "There'll be another along soon!")
New theme every week --> if one doesn't suit, skip it and wait for the next.
Competitive spirit means some people (try to) post every week.
New writers feel encouraged --> "I could totally do that!" (I know this is how I got my start writing in the first place, and so did a lot of other now well known writers.)
Chance to experiment/take a risk because it's only a comment after all, you didn't spam anyone.
Regular posting time --> builds sense of anticipation, people are hanging out for the prompt post.
Very simple prompts --> lots of scope for ideas/adaptation.
All it takes is a mod to make the prompt post every week at the same time. And think of the prompts too, lol, but we also used to take suggestions at the end of the previous week's challenge. If you guys were too busy for that I'd be quite happy to give it a go for a while and see how it goes.
Just a thought. :D