Here are the aforementioned Challenges and a brief rundown on Form

[margi-lynn.livejournal.com]

Hi again!

The challenge set run by me will work as follows:  Because I don't want to hunt down people or search indeedsir like a headless chicken, but also because I'm doing this to inspire posting-goodness, I have created a community called indeedsir_nexus purely for those who answer the challenges to leave me a link on the appropriate comment.  I want people to respond by flooding here with fics, not there.  But I'm also going to make it so that if a challenge really makes you smile, all you have to do is add a single page to your memories not five million.

I've also decided (quite arbitrarily, I must add) that I'm serious.  Only I can post there.  I've also decided, based on a really long list of comments that this is how this is going to go down:

1) Very Broadly Themed Monthly Challenges
2) Fortnightly Friday Fives -- lists of 5 items meant to be smaller in scope than monthly
3) Quote Celebrations -- a list of various fav items meant to inspire commenting in some fashion.

Got more questions?  Here's the Request Board/Question Leaving Place, if the Profile doesn't help.

The first Monthly Challenge is here, the first Fortnightly Friday Five is here, and the beginnings of the Quote Celebration are here.

I hope to see answers and links soon!  If you don't like the idea or don't appreciate the bossy, I can stop and delete it, but I'm really hoping to have a great time doing this.  I have no way to write anything and I suck at art, so this is my contribution. *g*  But at the same time, I hope that this is something the community wants to do, because I don't want to be outcast.

Comments

[feather_qwill]

Could we maybe alternate the Fortnightly Friday Fives with more general prompts? Personally, I find them to be rather restrictive stylistically.

[margi-lynn.livejournal.com]

Like one prompt? I can do just five words or ideas. I just like the idea of always giving, at the very least five options for these as this allows people to pick. Or should it be five or less?

Maybe an example of what you'd like to see please?

[mechanicaljewel.livejournal.com]

If I may pop in with some examples of Friday Fives on holmesslash?

Ok, Our lovely mod lyricalsoul posted this on August 10th:

Here are the Friday Fives for this week:

1. Five times someone almost found about H&W

2. Fives things that Watson did in the army that he hopes Holmes never finds out about.

3. Five signs your roommate might be a hedonist (from an article written by Dr. Sigerson)

4. Five pet names Watson calls Holmes in the privacy of their rooms. (One of them annoys Holmes)

5. Five places Watson has love bites. (Holmes is very intrigued by the third one)

Bonus:

Five things that happened in a hansom on the way to a case. (Lestrade can't stop blushing!)

Five things the "great detective" hopes you never find out. (from an unpublished article by Dr. Sonwat)

As always, all are welcome to participate, in any way. Drabbles, poetry, WiPs, haiku, macros, short stories... we want them all.

And then sherlock2040 responded with these (http://sherlock2040.livejournal.com/130522.html#cutid1):

That's the typical sort of response, but sometimes people will bring in a set of five drabbles or a short fic for a given list-prompt, like this one of daylyn's from a prompt back in June: Five reasons Watson stayed away from Baker St. at the beginning of "A Scandal in Bohemia". (http://daylyn.livejournal.com/15511.html)

It's just meant to be a bit of brain exercise. One can answer all the prompts, or just the ones one has ideas for. And it would be nice to have more than one prompt. Often I find that in starting to do one list, I'll grow ideas for other lists, but it's hard to do that without options.

[mechanicaljewel.livejournal.com]

Also, I think it would help to post the Friday Fives prompts in this comm since they're more of a fun exercise than a formal challenge (or at least, that's what I'm used to them as)

[feather_qwill]

I like short-term prompts to be words or phrases, any sort of general idea/theme, preferably not directly referencing the fandom. One prompt or a couple, it doesn't matter to me.

My problem with the FFs is they frequently turn into lists (when I attempt them anyways), unless the author is writing a 'Five Times . . .' type fic, with 5 separate stories hung together on a theme. I love reading these, but it's more effort than I'm willing to put in for a fortnightly challenge - especially on a regular basis. I like writing drabbles or very short ficlets, and Five Times fics do not lend themselves well to stories under 500 words. Also, anyone who wants to write such a fic can use an ordinary prompt to do so, there's no need for them to have a challenge specifying that it be done in multiples of five.

Simply put, I won't answer a FF challenge. Not out of spite, I just won't.

[utopiantrunks.livejournal.com]

*salutes* If I can think of cool stuff in time, I will participate (but I'm crap at sticking to deadlines) and if not, I will read and comment on the cooler people's stuff. ^^ Thanks for organizing fun stuff!

[ironicbees.livejournal.com]

I don't want to sound like I have no reading comprehension skills, but I just want to be sure I understand things clearly: if I come up with a response to, say, the Friday Fives, I post it here, and a link to it in the related post in indeedsir_nexus?

[margi-lynn.livejournal.com]

Yeah, so I can mem it easily for everyone to enjoy. Is that feasible?

*cringes*

I just thought I'd be easier?

[emeraldreeve.livejournal.com]

I'll admit I don't understand at all. I tried and couldn't join indeedsir_nexus. But the important point is that everything is posted here and I can comment here, right?? I can't figure out LJs so I don't see me linking things anytime soon.

[ironicbees.livejournal.com]

That's fine, it won't be a problem for me. Just wanted to be sure I wasn't misunderstanding anything.

[alex51324.livejournal.com]

I think this is a great idea--I haven't written anything in the Jeeves and Wooster universe yet, but I'd like to try my hand.

However, I think that both this post and the challenge posts on the Nexus thingy are just the teensiest bit hard to understand. I think I've worked out what you mean in each one, but it took a rather longish time to puzzle them out. You have a lot of digressions and explanations that aren't really essential to a person who just wants to know what the challenge is. Maybe you should revise each post so that there's a first paragraph that gives that information, as simply as possible--and then you can follow up with the explanations and musings for those who are interested in them. Sorry to be a butter-inner, but as a writing teacher I couldn't quite stop myself.

[margi-lynn.livejournal.com]

It's okay -- thanks for helping! Help? I'm at Margi27272@yahoo.com

[margi-lynn.livejournal.com]

Well actually, the one word/phrase is the challenge... how do I make that clearer, I guess I should ask?

[alex51324.livejournal.com]

I was going to shoot you an email tonight, but then my sister rang up, and now that we're done, it's time for me to toddle off. Expect to hear from me tomorrow afternoon or evening.

PS

[emeraldreeve.livejournal.com]

I love your challenge.

[eaivalefay.livejournal.com]

Yay! It looks awesome! ♥