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Molly · 12-05-2004, 11:10 AM

the_logos Dec. 04 2004,14:47
I think your entire post illustrates the difference in our 'personal values' better than anything I could say, so I am not going to dwell on that. Why don't you just stick to your advertising, and let the ones of us more interested in storytelling than counting numbers of hits develop this idea?

Now, if we are going to pursue this project any further, I think it needs some organizing to avoid unproductive work. Here are some thoughts:

1. As much as I'd like a separate section for storytelling to open on TMS, let's not lose track of the initial idea, which is to reach a target OUTSIDE the already establish Text Mud World. We need a paper magazine, or a Website directed mainly at a different audience, where we could get a chance to establish a 'column'. Brody mentioned RPG Times already, are there any other potential targets we could approach?
(Still - one good thing with opening a new column here is that the efforts wouldn't be totally wasted if the entire idea turns out to be unfeasible).

2. A section for Mud stories on this site would be a great help in the task of collecting a large enough number of suitable stories before we approach the targets. I think we need a minimum number of 10 good stories to even start this out. I have suggested a few already, maybe somebody else could point us in some other direction? Some stories will also have to be written specifically for this venture, and perhaps a small reward for the authors would be in place? (It doesn't need to be any fancier than the already existing system of putting an icon next to the name of the author's home mud for a month).

3. The main problem with using already existing stories is probably the length. Although there are a number of very good stories to choose from, for instance in the earlier Storyteller competitions, most of them are way too longwinded. The stories we need for this venture would have to be comparatively short, or most people would never bother to read them through. We should probably settle on a max length right from the start. My initial suggestion would be a max of 1200 words, perhaps even 1000.

4. If we use already existing stories, we obviously need to seek out the authors of those and ask their permission to publish them again in another context. While this usually wouldn't be hard to get, it might present some difficulties in the cases where the authors have left the Mud world or even the internet, and old addresses are no longer valid. I am not sure of a solution to this one, maybe we'd just have to drop the stories in these cases, however good. Copyright should always be respected.

5. It would be a help if any people who wish to take part in this venture would announce their interest either in a reply to this thread, or in a E-mail/message to me or Brody. That would give us an idea of how many stories we might be able to get together, which in turn would be helpful to know, if and when we decide to contact some magazine. It would also be good if you gave a short synopsis or at least some idea of the type of subject you'd be choosing for your story. That could prevent several different people concentrating on similar subjects.

6. Apart from the stories themselves, I think we also need some light articles of more 'editorial' type, to explain some of the quaint features typical of text Muds to an audience that never played any. I was going to volunteer for the task of writing some of those myself, since that's the way my talents are leaning, but maybe some more people are interested in this type of writing?

12-05-2004, 11:10 AM	#109
Molly Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: Sweden Home MUD: 4 Dimensions Posts: 574	the_logos Dec. 04 2004,14:47 I think your entire post illustrates the difference in our 'personal values' better than anything I could say, so I am not going to dwell on that. Why don't you just stick to your advertising, and let the ones of us more interested in storytelling than counting numbers of hits develop this idea? Now, if we are going to pursue this project any further, I think it needs some organizing to avoid unproductive work. Here are some thoughts: 1. As much as I'd like a separate section for storytelling to open on TMS, let's not lose track of the initial idea, which is to reach a target OUTSIDE the already establish Text Mud World. We need a paper magazine, or a Website directed mainly at a different audience, where we could get a chance to establish a 'column'. Brody mentioned RPG Times already, are there any other potential targets we could approach? (Still - one good thing with opening a new column here is that the efforts wouldn't be totally wasted if the entire idea turns out to be unfeasible). 2. A section for Mud stories on this site would be a great help in the task of collecting a large enough number of suitable stories before we approach the targets. I think we need a minimum number of 10 good stories to even start this out. I have suggested a few already, maybe somebody else could point us in some other direction? Some stories will also have to be written specifically for this venture, and perhaps a small reward for the authors would be in place? (It doesn't need to be any fancier than the already existing system of putting an icon next to the name of the author's home mud for a month). 3. The main problem with using already existing stories is probably the length. Although there are a number of very good stories to choose from, for instance in the earlier Storyteller competitions, most of them are way too longwinded. The stories we need for this venture would have to be comparatively short, or most people would never bother to read them through. We should probably settle on a max length right from the start. My initial suggestion would be a max of 1200 words, perhaps even 1000. 4. If we use already existing stories, we obviously need to seek out the authors of those and ask their permission to publish them again in another context. While this usually wouldn't be hard to get, it might present some difficulties in the cases where the authors have left the Mud world or even the internet, and old addresses are no longer valid. I am not sure of a solution to this one, maybe we'd just have to drop the stories in these cases, however good. Copyright should always be respected. 5. It would be a help if any people who wish to take part in this venture would announce their interest either in a reply to this thread, or in a E-mail/message to me or Brody. That would give us an idea of how many stories we might be able to get together, which in turn would be helpful to know, if and when we decide to contact some magazine. It would also be good if you gave a short synopsis or at least some idea of the type of subject you'd be choosing for your story. That could prevent several different people concentrating on similar subjects. 6. Apart from the stories themselves, I think we also need some light articles of more 'editorial' type, to explain some of the quaint features typical of text Muds to an audience that never played any. I was going to volunteer for the task of writing some of those myself, since that's the way my talents are leaning, but maybe some more people are interested in this type of writing?