Poll: original content?

[trascendenza]

Poll #2536

This poll is closed.
Open to: Registered Users, detailed results viewable to: Just the Poll Creator, participants: 43

Would you like ladiesbigbang to allow original content?

Yes.
24 (55.8%)

No.
16 (37.2%)

Explain in comments.
3 (7.0%)

To clarify: if this challenge is going to allow original content, ALL creators will be able to do original content, not just writers. That would mean: reccers could rec original fic, a photographer could sign up to do picspams and picspam pictures of women they've taken themselves, podficcers could podfic original fic, artists could draw original characters, icon makers could icon any women (not just those considered as "fannish" or celebrities), meta writers could discuss womanhood not just in relation to fannish sources but a broader spectrum, etc. etc.

This will also include allowing OFCs in fiction, because I think it'd be silly to allow original content creation without allowing for original female character creation.

All opinions and thoughts welcome in the comments.

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Creating work in a category outside of our primary ones has now been added to the Rules & Guidelines.

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ETA: Poll closed. The section for original creators is here and information about OFCs has been added to the Rules & Guidelines.

Comments

[dharma_slut]

Thank you for taking my request seriously that makes me so happy!

I think it would open the doors to a lot of awesome new female characters-- you know, the ones that don't exist in current popular entertainment but should be there...

[shopfront]

My instinctive reaction is no, but I also don't really want to say no, if that makes any sense? I think like the multi-media submission option it's at the very least something that should perhaps be discussed on a case by case basis or have some clear boundaries on it, for when someone queries how a submission is any different to someone just putting together a bunch of random stuff involving women. I think there's a transformative intention behind fanwork that makes it a smidgen easier to find a common thread, and also I guess with anything there's the question of when does including new options diminish the overall intent/impact of the wider project?

But then at the same time, women are awesome. I am loathe to say no to more women! So I guess I'm mostly undecided, and my personal opinion would probably depend on how the content was defined as allowable or otherwise.

One quick clarification though, would you allow people to mix original and fanwork focuses? Or would someone have to be doing all original/OFCs in canon verses or all canon women?

[dharma_slut]

Hmm, I used to be active in a fandom where the original characters kinda took over-- they developed their own canon, and the canon characters became less and less the central focus. it was really pretty awesome, a great exercise for the writers and although we did lose a few readers, we gained some as well. :) I'm involved in something similar right now.

someone queries how a submission is any different to someone just putting together a bunch of random stuff involving women.

I'm not following this thought? Random in what way? What is fiction, come to think of it, if not random stuff involving people, and the ways in which they work it out...

I think there's a transformative intention behind fanwork that makes it a smidgen easier to find a common thread, and also I guess with anything there's the question of when does including new options diminish the overall intent/impact of the wider project?

If the common thread is the HP verse, then yeah. If the common thread is awesome women, then maybe excluding the potential for new awesome women might diminish the wider project.

Not that I'm campaigning or anything... *grin*

[shopfront]

That particular 'random' comment will probably make more sense to the mod, as we've discussed my intention to do a mixed media submission, and I was actually thinking of a particular thing she said in email when I wrote it. So don't get me wrong, I'm obviously all for trying and allowing new options for creative expression in a fan challenge context!

And by diminish, I don't necessarily mean that in a 'original characters will make people think the challenge will be awful' or anything negative like that, but more a question of internet marketing I guess. As far as attracting creators (both for the big bangs and the complementary works) and readers, inclusiveness of all possible options does eventually reach a point where other people can't get a grasp on the project because it covers too many bases. Eventually a point is reached where people won't bother sifting through for their favourite fandom/pairing/creative medium/whatever because it's too unwieldy. Which is not to say original characters would be the breaking point for something like that, it's just a concern that needs considering every time something new is tried.

I guess there's also a definition question, whereby I think most people consider bigbangs to be a fannish specific sort of challenge because the nature of fanworks tends to make shorter fics/etc. more common. You could argue therefore that original work might be more appropriate in one of various original focused novel or novellette challenges, or a general challenge for the medium someone wishes to utilise (like a choose your own subject photography challenge or whatnot), than incorporated into a bigbang.

So like I said, I don't have a particular opinion either way, because I probably need to see more in the way of discussions or community policies for how to ensure that original content (particularly if it's multi- or mixed-media I think) is comparative to the fan content requirements before being sure of my answer. I'm all thumbs up for freedom of creativity, I just also wouldn't want the sense of a cohesive bigbang to be lost underneath it. Hence, dilemma.

And as a note for the mod: I am inherently wordy, so for the record my lengthy comment isn't indicative of anything like vehement disagreement with the idea, haha. All of my above concerns could have potentially applied to mixed-media options as well, but I pretty obviously think you're striking a good balance so far if I'm planning to sign up as mixed media. *g*

[dharma_slut]

You mean you've never heard of original *short* stories? :p

I can see that attracting creators of complimentary works for Big bangs of original material would be a problem with a fannish population full of fannish expectations. Still, one never knows.

[shopfront]

Of course, but minimum word counts for bigbangs tend to direct them more towards lengthier pieces than short stories. Of course someone could do short stories as part of a mixed media piece, but then to refer back to the requirements I've sorted out for that, my submission will be a collection based around a theme and the same characters being featured in different mediums. This is obviously really subjective and variable, but if I was doing original pieces then there isn't the backstory context of using a transformative character (therefore a collection of small multi-media pieces have the benefit of referencing back to familiar canon character, rather than trying to keep an audience connected with a character with less opportunity to keep that character familiar without the additional context), it could potentially be a bit trickier to keep a unifying feel to the submission.

Actually I think 15k of one coherent fan story is pretty much equal to 15k of one coherent original story, but this is a multi-media bang, so it's not going to be that simple and it's probably better identify and address potential issues beforehand.

And hey, for the record, I think it's good that you're campaigning for the opportunity to express your choice of creativity. I usually sadface when I see a great bigbang that only allows art, not mixes, to complement the writing, so I totally get where you're coming from. All my quibbles here are very much 'maybe think and evaluate this' not 'don't do because' things.

[dharma_slut]

You've just hit on something interesting. I think that one reason I like to read fanfic, even if I can't write it, is because I have always written 'in media res' which is where most fanfic comes from. And also, I like to write the same characters into different stories-- I do seem to be developing a couple of coherent 'verses' where the focus of one story appears in other stories as well, interacting in different ways. Like writing 'original slash' I've come to realise that I write 'original fanfic.'

To be honest a part of my campaign is not only for my own creativity, but political as well-- I am sick to death of the screams of 'Mary sue" that go up at the merest mention of an OFC, I think it's become pernicious and stultifying to young writers who never dare to write women because of it-- much less original ones-- and I can't think of a better place to encourage them to try after all, than a fest celebrating awesome women!

[shopfront]

That's a really good point. I too find it frustrating that people forget that Mary Sue-ism is really about the quality of an original character, not simply about whether she's original or not, it would be interesting to see works aimed at reminding people of that.

[dharma_slut]

there's some meta happening... Funny how these things come around...

[megaptera]

Thank you for this. I'm writing in an RPG type fandom where the characters are almost by definition 'original' even though the sandbox doesn't belong to me. Two of my four heroes are female and the Sue thing is lingering in the back of my brain and I'm getting sick of its discouraging remarks. ;)

[dharma_slut]

UP THE REVOLUTION SISTAH! *grin*

[sophinisba]

I would want to keep it to fandom universes but I would like to open it up to original characters. I think, in fic at least, they can be a really great way of opening up the canon, and in some fandoms (*cough*hobbits*cough*) it's really hard to focus on women without writing OFCs.

I don't have strong feelings one way or another though. There are plenty of canon characters who are awesome, and if the group wants to open it up completely that's cool too.

[megaptera]

it's really hard to focus on women without writing OFCs

There are so many fandoms where the canonical heroes are male, and it would be awesome to see the same worlds explored from a female perspective. I'm thinking it would be a bit unnecessary to create a whole separate Big Bang for original female characters in fanfiction settings. :P

[ariestess]

While I do like the idea of using original female characters [as I have several that I like writing about], I think it would be easier in the long run to have this bang just use fannish female characters.