Suggestion Box

[all_choseny]

Hi all, with about 18 hours left (my time) to the end of round 1 of Fluff Bingo, I wanted to hear your thoughts...

There were about 100 people that signed up for the game (yay!) but very few people actually participated (sad face). I am not sure if it was due to anything I did that made the game difficult for you all. As an admin for this comm, I want to make this is a fun low-key game for you all. Please help me to make the next round even better by submitting your suggestions. I will go through them and take them into careful consideration before launching the next round of Fluff Bingo. This will help me decided to continue running the game as quarterly or changing it to either annually/biannually. Thanks!

-Awesome Admin :D

Comments

[badly_knitted]

Longer rounds would be helpful to me. I write for a lot of weekly challenges and in the end I found I didn't have time to spare before the end of the round to get anything written for my bingo card, never mind posted *sadface*

I did try to write one thing, but it didn't end up very fluffy.

Also not sure what the minimum wordcount is.

[all_choseny]

This is very helpful feedback. Thank you! The game is ran quarterly, but this first round was a bit short because of the start date. The next round will have about 2 and a half months of writing time before posting days. The min word count is 500 words. Additional information about the game and the word count can be found on the profile page, welcome sticky, and the game play post :)

[badly_knitted]

I'm sure I read the sticky post before joining, but I have a memory like a sieve so thanks for a reminder; I've made a note.

Hopefully the longer round next time will help. Juggling a lot of writing commitments can be complicated so the newest ones tend to be the ones that get left behind due to running out of time.

[hamimi_fk]

For me personally, I had a seizure mid-February and it took awhile to recover from it. I've had a hard time writing fic since but I hope to be back to writing for the next round! I'll probably use my card on this 'off-fluff' time lol.

[all_choseny]

Oh No! Wishing you a speedy recovery! I hope to see you next round, but no pressure at all.

[hamimi_fk]

Thank you!

[samuraiter]

*waves*

Real life hit me hard in February, and I apologize for having nothing to post, but I like the community as is. ^_^

[all_choseny]

No apologies! Life happens. Hope to see you next round!

[smallredboy]

I didn't sign up this quarter for a matter of being in too many things at once and not wanting to be overwhelmed, but I think that it being biannual would help for more people to actually get stuff down.

[all_choseny]

Thank you for your suggestion!

[shadowcat]

I wanted very much to participate but health issues and then ran out of time.

If you do a next round I would love to participate -- especially it's longer. <3

[all_choseny]

I'm so sorry to hear that! I hope you are doing better. The next round should be 15 weeks.

[dray]

I found it helpful to double up my prompts for this community with other ones, as it helped mould some really fun ideas to write about, but I know not everyone is into that. Though I didn't really win, per se, I had fun thinking up ideas! And I'm the sort to pick up writing scattershot, so I don't expect I'll be able to hone in on a single line-worth of writing unless I get lucky.

I liked the prompts, I enjoyed seeing everyone's entries, and I'm totally excited to keep participating. (I'm still filling out prompts on my old card and will probably continue to do so until the end of days, lol.)

Suggestion-wise, it would be funkilicious if there were genre-specific prompts that we could take on. I'm writing a lot of fantasy so some fluff that involves magic and inter-species cute-meets might work well for me. That might be too specific for some, but if it adds a little variety in, it might spark others?

I'm always a fan of 'more variety' in general. I noticed a few folks had very similar looking cards to mine, but in a different order. Maybe just a few more prompts for each quarter to provide more chance of very different cards?

[all_choseny]

Thank you for your feedback and suggestions!

There were 150 prompts and I used an app that randomizes lists for both the prompts and distribution of cards. I do plan on adding more prompts on the next round. I am also contemplating making a prompt list and linking everyone to their own Bingo card generator. But that might make the cross checking process a little longer than having premade cards for the game. I still have some time to decide which direction I will go.

[dray]

I liked the randomization! I only saw two or three other cards, so we must have just gotten lucky and matched up a bit. ;)

I've seen some bingo comms use a mix, where you can ask for a pre-made card, but all the prompts are also laid out with a link to the card generator in case someone wants to quietly try without throwing their hat into the ring. Maybe, in that case, you can register your card anywhere between the beginning of the round and a certain time period towards the end--like a week before amnesty?

Too many options can be paralyzing (and you see it where people overload their plates and wind up not being able to take part) but giving a couple of solid options like this might help balance the people who are all in, and the people who are intrigued but are afraid they may not have time.

[all_choseny]

So I see length of time is the biggest take away so far. The next round will give every writer 15 weeks from the first day of sign ups to get their fics in. Would that be a good length of time?

[smallredboy]

15 weeks sounds great!

[dray]

Sounds like a good amount to me! This will be my most likely quarter to get things done, as June/July/August become art months. :B Bring it on!

[flipflop_diva]

The time was definitely a factor for me (I have a newborn so some days it's hard to get much writing in at all), but I think 15 weeks seems reasonable.

I was wondering, too, if during the amnesty periods for future rounds if we can post fics we wrote for old cards? I have so many fics from my card half-started, and even though I might finish and post them to my AO3 anyway no matter what, it would be kind of nice to be able to post them during amnesty if possible.

[all_choseny]

Congrats on your newest edition!

I was actually thinking about starting a collection or at least a tag page on AO3. So any fics from older cards can be posted with a tag.

[bwblack]

Slightly longer time frame would be good. I like that it it isn't super long but this was short if you got sick or had unexpected commitments.

I think also my particular card was very romantically based fluff. Which is great. But I feel like I write a lot of fluff. I write primarily fluff. If I had to make a criticism of my writing it is that there is very little there there. But my particular card was sort of like the same prompt several times and when I thought about tossing off a few amnesty drabbles today it felt like it would tend towards too saccharine because how much fluff was speficially romantic fluff. Maybe this community, though, is only for romatic fluff? I just feel like I write a fair bit of gen fluff and family fluff.

[all_choseny]

Thank you for the feedback. Yes, this community is more geared toward romantic fluff. The tag line in the community says for the romantic in you lol. Although someone could still take a prompt like "sweet" or "eyes" and still make it a gen or family fluff fic. However, I'll keep that in mind when adding more prompt words to the list.

[dhamphir]

I managed to get my bingo, but I definitely felt the press of time. A longer time to complete a bingo would definitely be a help, as pointed out by several commenters before me.

I'm also participating in 100prompts and was able to double up on prompts to creat my fics. That part was actually really fun. To take two prompts and create a story was what really sparked my imagination. :)

[but_can_i_be_trusted]

In my own case, I had planned a blackout, and even had all of my prompts figured out; but I lacked motivation. That's my own issue, rather than anything on your end. I hope to do better in the next round. Part of the struggle was trying to stretch each story out to five hundred words. Some stories just don't want to be that long. Again, my own issue, and not anything on your end.

[nachodiablo]

I passed this round because of the 500 word min. I've participated in other bingos that have a 200 word min and that's just the right length for a short, cute scene. 500 words is a bit more involved and I didn't think I could commit to it, especially with the short timeframe and my other committments.

I love the concept and I definitely want to participate in future rounds! Thank you for running the event! :)

[all_choseny]

Thanks for your feedback!

[cornerofmadness]

Honestly I had no issues with it as it was but I wouldn't say no to more time if there are reminders (I'm used to these things being one month long since I do A LOT of them) because with longer time given I'll forget (or just do it in a month like all the others I do)

[all_choseny]

Yep I'll be running sign ups next week for the 2nd quarter for two weeks and then that will give everyone who signs up then between 15-13 weeks to write. That's a full semester in college lol.

[cornerofmadness]

Exactly. Sounds good.

[shauds]

I forgot my Dreamwidth password :(. So lack I participation on my end was just my own dumbassery sorry.

[tommygirl]

I took a card but ended up unable to take part because I got sick right after. But I agree with some of the other comments that a bit longer would help

[mkrobinson]

I liked it -- I did write something but I forgot to follow the community so I missed the amnesty. I would like to rejoin for next time but I understand if that's not allowed.

[all_choseny]

Round 2 sign ups are open to all and begin on 3/15.