Fanfiction Prompt Challenge Discussion

[Ducky123]

Loophole = found

[OwlsCantRead]

That is correct. Any of the three prompts would be acceptable and only the major prompt option mentions the gang.

Loophole = found

And here I was thinking we'd have an all-gang prompt.

[StardustSoldier]

Chances are pretty good I'll still write an all-gang story at some point.

[rhombus]

The 2019-2020 Fanfiction Prompt Challenge has now officially begun!  Have fun, everyone! 

And, just as a reminder:

Rule Change From Last Year:

In the event of a tied vote for the top story of the month (that is not due to there only being two entries) then a runoff vote will happen to decide the winner.

The Monthly Prompts:

December 2019..............................Dec 1 – Jan 31

One word prompt : Exploration

Dialogue prompt : “Sometimes you have to find a new place in order to find what was always there all along.”

Major prompt: The gang is notorious for exploring new places and finding new difficulties along the way. Write a story where one or more of the gang explore(s) someplace new and, along the way, discover(s) something about themselves as well.


January 2020..............................Jan 1 – Feb 29

One word prompt : Perplexed

Dialogue prompt : "He/she had seen much in his/her life, but nothing had prepared him/her for this."

Major prompt: Never mind how old we are, or how much experience we obtain, life has a way of throwing unexpected surprises in our direction. Write a story where a character is confronted with something that confounds them and which forces them to reconsider some of their previous ideas.  This can be played romantically, humorously, or seriously, depending on your preference.


February 2020..............................Feb 1 – March 31

One word prompt : Eggs

Dialogue prompt : "They're hatching!"

Major prompt: The birth (or hatching) of one's first child is always a wondrous and joyful experience, but it is also incredibly daunting.  Now there is a new life on this planet which is dependent on your support and love.  Write a story where a new parent or parents must deal with the challenges of their first nest.


March 2020..............................Mar 1 – Apr 30

Special prompt : Make a story that focuses on another author's OC.  You will need to obtain that OC creator's permission first in order to use their OC, and do give them credit for the OC in your author's note.

Alternative prompt : Write a story that is set in the universe of another LBT fanfiction. Once again, make sure you get the original author's permission again.


April 2020..............................Apr 1 – May 31

One word prompt : Misadventure

Dialogue prompt : "Was it worth it?"  "Of course!"

Major prompt: It's all fun and games until you are chased by a threehorn or sharptooth due to your idiocy!  Make a story that focuses on the humorous misadventures of a character or characters.


May 2020..............................May 1 – Jun 30   

One word prompt : Hidden

Dialogue prompt : "He doesn't like me much, does he?"

Major prompt: Write a story featuring a character that you think is underexplored in the fandom.  Bonus points if you can write a sympathetic story featuring a character that you actually dislike in the canon.


June 2020..............................Jun 1 – Jul 31   

One word prompt : Adapting

Dialogue prompt : "Uh... do you speak my language?"  "Wrth'grrr arrghhh!"  "Um... okay, thank you!"

Major prompt: Adapting to a new home and culture can be difficult. Write a story where a character (canon or otherwise) must adapt to a new home and herd/pack.


July 2020..............................Jul 1 – Aug 31   

One word prompt : Alternatives

Dialogue prompt : "Not all was as it seemed."

Major prompt: History is often written by the winners and this is no less true in the Land Before Time... apart from the whole writing thing. Write a story that presents an alternative character interpretation (or a hidden side) of a canon character.


August 2020..............................Aug 1 – Sep 30

Summer prompt exchange!: Everyone writes a prompt of their own choosing, then the prompts are shuffled and redistributed back to the writers. The writers must then do a story based on their new prompt!


Hiatus for fanfic awards..............................Oct 1 – Nov 30

The prompt challenge will be on hiatus so as not to interfere with the forum fanfiction awards.  It will return on December 1.

[StardustSoldier]

Are we allowed to submit more than one story per month? Or is each month only allowed to have one prompt submission per author?

[rhombus]

Are we allowed to submit more than one story per month? Or is each month only allowed to have one prompt submission per author?

Only one story per month per author can be submitted for consideration in voting.  That being said, if someone wanted to submit an extra story but did not mind that extra story not being subject to the end-of-month vote, that would be perfectly fine.

[StardustSoldier]

As I suspected (and perfectly fair), but I just wanted to confirm. Thanks.

[OwlsCantRead]

Proposed Rule Change:

In the event of a tied vote for the top story of the month (that is not due to there only being two entries) then a runoff vote will happen to decide the winner.

Just out of curiosity, does this mean we finally get to vote for your stories if you participate since there wouldn't be a conflict of interest in the event of a tiebreaker being required?

[rhombus]

Proposed Rule Change:

In the event of a tied vote for the top story of the month (that is not due to there only being two entries) then a runoff vote will happen to decide the winner.

Just out of curiosity, does this mean we finally get to vote for your stories if you participate since there wouldn't be a conflict of interest in the event of a tiebreaker being required?

Hmmm... I suppose that might be permissible now. Though in the event of a tie involving myself that exists after a tie-breaker vote I will automatically vote against myself, as having me cast the tie-breaking vote would be an obvious conflict of interest.

[OwlsCantRead]

Hmmm... I suppose that might be permissible now. Though in the event of a tie involving myself that exists after a tie-breaker vote I will automatically vote against myself, as having me cast the tie-breaking vote would be an obvious conflict of interest.

Wait... come to think of it, if one's stories are part of the cluster that are tied and now to be decided by a tiebreaker runoff vote, how would we vote? Wouldn't voting for our own stories defeat the point and introduce an element of biasness? Or am I just seeing this wrong?

[rhombus]

Hmmm... I suppose that might be permissible now. Though in the event of a tie involving myself that exists after a tie-breaker vote I will automatically vote against myself, as having me cast the tie-breaking vote would be an obvious conflict of interest.

Wait... come to think of it, if one's stories are part of the cluster that are tied and now to be decided by a tiebreaker runoff vote, how would we vote? Wouldn't voting for our own stories defeat the point and introduce an element of biasness? Or am I just seeing this wrong?

In that case (if only two voters exist) then I cast the tie-breaking vote. If it is more than 2 voters in a tie-breaker then you simply cannot vote for your own story.

[rhombus]

So it would work out like this:

Only 1 entry: the one entry wins

Only 2 entries: I break the tie (unless I am one of the two entries, in which case the other one wins)

More than 3 entries: all people who participated casts a vote, with a tie breaker if necessary.

If a tie-breaker ends up being tied then I break the tie (unless I am one of the two tied entries, in which case the other one wins)

If there is ever a 5-way tie then I hold open the possibility of having you guys decide the matter by gladiatorial combat. 

[UnionRags123]

I'd offer to do tie breakers...but I've never submitted a fic and i'm pretty sure it's only the authors of the fics in voting who do the votes

[Ducky123]

In case of doubt, RNG is your friend

[Sleeping-force's-inside]

Quick question, how does one enter a story again? Been a good few years since I last participated XD

[Anagnos]

Quick question, how does one enter a story again? Been a good few years since I last participated XD

It's good to upload the story to both the forum and Fanfiction.net as that can potentially bring in new members. Once you've done that, send the links to Rhombus via PM and he'll add it to the masterlist.

[OwlsCantRead]

Given that we are pretty much right on the cusp of the December 2019 voting, are there still participation and award banners? Or is it something else to mark the new decade?

[Anagnos]

^I would imagine that's the plan as there hasn't been any news that it would be different this decade. Or then this might just be an admin ploy to trick us into a false sense of security and deliver a massive twist when we least expect it.

[OwlsCantRead]

Ah, I checked. The conversation I was remembering was whether Darkwolf would do more/continue with the award banners.

Well, I won't burden her anyway. I'm okay with a Taunt banner, I guess.

[rhombus]

^ There has been no change to the banner policy to my understanding.