Forum / Challenges Challenge

• 
  David Ackley

  Mar 25, 07:13am

  I note that a number of pieces for at least the most recent challenges have been stories that were previously published and slightly refurbished for the occasion.

  Fictionaut is a great second home for previously published things seeking new readership, but to--the admittedly warped--thinking of your humble correspondent, a Challenge is a WRITING Challenge not a COPY-EDITING Challenge.

  Come on, People, Woman-Up! Write Something!

  Or maybe we should just have a separate Challenges category called "From the Recycling Bin."

• 
  Kevin Myrick

  Mar 25, 11:32am

  I nominate David to run that challenge.

  I can see your point, and you make a good one. But for instance, I think Susan Tepper's story is one that fits in well with the idea of my challenge, despite it being recycled material.

  Maybe a new rule for these sorts of things is that all works should be previously unpublished...

• 
  David Ackley

  Mar 25, 12:01pm

  I haven't looked at the story yet, but will. In any event, I'm sure you're right as regards relevance/appropriatness to the challenge.

  I suppose in future challenges, too, it would be the prerogative of the issuer to propose the rule you suggest, a good one I obviously think.

  Thanks for responding, Kevin.

• 
  Shelagh Power-Chopra

  Mar 25, 02:31pm

  Damn, guess I can't submit that story about Mrs. Peters and the very sick camels I wrote when I was ten to the April Fool's challenge! (I do intend to submit something...)

  Just kidding-I never thought about writing that early...hey I used "just kidding"...

  But you do have a good point.

• 
  David Ackley

  Mar 25, 05:37pm

  I'm thinking we can make an exception for stories written under the age of eleven about a lady and some camels. Just what do you mean by "Very sick?"

• 
  Dorothee Lang

  Mar 26, 10:54am

  "Or maybe we should just have a separate Challenges category called "From the Recycling Bin."

  i like that idea. would you organize it?

  about sending previously published stories to challenges: if you wanted to, you could count my April Fools contribution (Going Bananas) in here, too, but the story i sent to the challenge is a rather different version than the published one. i just looked, i wrote "i revisited it this winter, and now couldn't resist to clean it up a bit" in the author's note. actually, the story is heavily revised, i added the link to the original version in the comments.

  what i really like about fictionaut is the openness and playfulness, that it is about the writing and the stories, and that it provides a space for stories that have a bit of a history already. for me, one of the huge pros of fictiounaut is that it inspires me to work creatively with older stories.

  but i see your point that it might feel unbalanced when some authors write a completely new story, and others return to an already written story. on the other hand, the challenges are not about prize money or anything, more about the fun of having a challenge. but still, yes, maybe specify that in the guidelines for the future.

• 
  Susan Gibb

  Mar 26, 11:50am

  I usually write from scratch--I'm good with deadlines, they get the juices flowing, good or bad--but I can also well understand the huge sigh of relief when someone feels that they can drag out an oldie but goody that fits the ticket.

  Perhaps, as has been suggested, the writer proposing the challenge can simply mention his/her preference in the rules. Whether it be for new material only or accepting of previously written work.

  As Dorothee brings up, we're not going after any prizes here. And # of stars don't matter; for some of us, the fact that we responded, shared, and slid in there under the deadline is enough.

• 
  David Ackley

  Mar 26, 01:02pm

  One of the things I discovered in writing for the first two challenges here is that they got me to material that had story in it, if I can put it that way. I started leafing through my brain for situations that would "fit" the challenge, and in both instances turned out new stories that I was pretty happy with. Looked at from that side, although Dorothee's comment above is well taken re something heavily rewritten, I think those who put up an old piece are really depriving themselves of the opportunity of that discovery, which is what the challenges can provide to the writer herself.

  Thanks both for engaging with the idea and for your thoughtful responses. I'm not as hard and fast on this as the initial posting may seem. I just thought it was a topic worth discussing. It's good to ask ourselves what something is all about I think...

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