Phosphorous Tide Story Workshop Rules

[Nolan Joseph Werner and Marc K]

These are the rules for the Phosphorous Tide Story Workshop.

RULE #1:
Everything in this workshop must be in the comic medium. The only exception is a story that you originally wrote in another medium that you are trying to adapt to being a comic story. Please state that at the start of the post.

IF you want feedback on something else, please post it in the other Story Workshop board. If you post it here, we'll give you a warning or two but then we'll start deleting or moving your stuff.

RULE #2:
Don't post stuff that isn't yours unless you have the permission of the author.

RULE #3:
Don't post fan fiction or stories featuring characters you don't own here.

RULE #4:
If you are trying to adapt a story that isn't yours, make sure you either have the proper permission or the story is in the public domain.

RULE #5:
Be respectful of other people's stories when you critique them. Don't be mean for the sake of being mean.

RULE #6:
No one's criticism or commentary should be taken as hard and fast law. You don't have to take any of it in to account.

RULE #7:
Be respectful of the comments other people make as well. Feel free to disagree but don't get nasty about it.

RULE #8:
Please put each story revision in a separate post.

RULE #9:
Please put each story that you want to post in to a separate thread.

More rules may be added as necessary.

[Nolan Joseph Werner and Marc K]

One new Rule:

You are responsible for protecting the rights to your material. Make sure you have your material copyrighted. For screenplays, get them registered with the WGA.

[David Accampo]

OK, Let me post something here...

First, I want to thank Nolan and Marc for setting this up. I suggested this possibility because I thought it would help in the submissions process, and also help writers who WANT to submit something, but are stuck or just want help on a final polish.

I've done a lot of work in writer's workshops, and I think I'm a pretty good story editor. So, anyone who wants a helpful sounding board, please either post here, or send me an email. I'd love to help in this capacity!

David Accampo
email: [e-mail]

[genetic freak]

Creepy. Hey Nolan, I can't but help like you and Marc are now part of some Borg collective. Why not have seperate accounts for both of you administrators?

[Nolan Joseph Werner and Marc K]

GF,

Actually, its because I kind of screwed up and put both names on there because I thought that the registration name was different from the admin name. I figured since we were both editing it, the board should be registered under both names.

I'm going to make up a second name for myself with moderating priveleges and I told Marc he should do the same thing.

So its really less about the Borg and more about me not realizing how this thing was set up.

I'll probbaly make my own account under my regular email later today.

NJW

[nolan]

Okay, heres my name for things.

The other account is the one for "official" announcements and moderating things.

NJW

[nolan]

Guys,

I thought of a new idea to help generate material for you guys to workshop on this board.

I'm going to put up story prompts based on things.

And then you guys can look at them and write the outline or a few comic pages of something based on it. And people can comment on it.

I'll probably post one whenever I come across something that sounds like a lot of different promising stories could come out of it.

[jayvee]

Story prompts are a wonderful idea because it gives people an idea of what you're looking for.

[nolan]

Jayvee,

I'm thinking of story prompts more as a way to help people generate material to workshop.

Not necessarily material they may submit here, or even finish. But I figure if we have 40-50 members, we'll probbaly see at least one finished thing from each prompt submitted.

NJW

[nolan]

Since I'm the administrator I can double or triple post.

Um...I have about 100 more story prompts that have little blurbs in my backpack at the moment.

Um...two more things.

You guys can post either scripts, the start of scripts or outlines to stories here.






And one more thing.

It is up to you to protect your own stuff. Get a copyright.

But...if you get caught ripping someone else off here. You're out.

If someone has a story they aren't going to do anything with that you want to use, ask them for the rights, work it out with them and give them credit.

You get caught ripping them off then you're out, if some very "similar" stories start appearing then we might start to ask questions.

[nolan]

A few assorted points to clear up some questions and thoughts that I had.


1. There was a censor on the board. I have disabled that.

So you are now free to use whatever words you want in your stories. Please use them in your stories and not directed towards each other. Lets try and keep this civil.

If something does come up with the censor on the boards then let me know.


2. Content-wise, lets avoid obscenity, copyright infringement and libel. Past that, unless there's some exceptional circumstance, anything goes.


3. You don't have to read and comment and any story if you don't want to. Whether that means you think its so dreadful that its beyond any hope (though, honestly, stories like that are few and far between) or so brilliant that nothing needs to be changed or taken further (see my last comment).


4. Just to clear up a few questions I received: If you want to post a story or workshop a story here, you can do so without ever intending to submit it to Phosphorous Tide. While there is a vague idea that this workshop could help generate quality material for our magazine, the two are connected more by ideas then anything else (but there is a market that you can easily submit to on the same board if you do decide to).


5. The works on here should be seen more as works in progress then finished stories. Something could be posted that is only a vague outline, a few ideas and a page or two.


6. If you are going to give feedback/criticism then please try and make it constructive criticism aimed at making the person's story better while still respecting their voice. Feel free to state your opinion on the work but at least try to back it up.

And please don't try and rewrite someone's story for them.

Don't just say "your dialogue sucks," try and think of the ways in which it falls flat and ways that it could be improved. Let's just try and avoid what I call the "ROOLZ/SUX Dichotomy" where something is either amazingly awesome in every way or its so terrible it should be eradicated off the face of the earth.

And realize that we all have our own styles of writing as well as our own styles of criticism. So while we use this workshop to become better writers, we can also use it to become better critics and readers.

Some people might be better at analyzing, appreciating and giving feedback on visual elements and/or dialogue. Some people might be better at looking at character voices. Some people may be very helpful in terms of helping you with the characteristics of a particular genre. Some people may enjoy linear stories with unities in them while others thrive in writing stories by focusing on disunity and telling them to do something more along those lines would actually be a huge disservice to them as an artist. Some of us like Joseph Campbell while the rest of us actually know of criticism useful to people who don't like derivative work. Okay, well that last part was a joke (sort of--I do hate Campbell but I think he may have a few useful points, just ones that are more useful for studio executives then writers) but lets try and look for multiple angles when we give feedback on a story.

Personally, I tend to be pretty heavy on the Marxist angles of stories. So I could probably give you useful feedback regarding Class, Economic and Ideology issues in your work. And I'm fairly good at looking at things from Poststructuralist angles as well, but some of you guys might not be particularly interested in that. But if you wanted someone to tell you things from a more Formalist side then I'd be pretty useless.

[nolan]

Eh...I've changed my mind.

Unless we hear from marvel or DC, go ahead and post stuff with their characters. If it bothers them then I'll change the rule again.