Character Study
Oct 7, 2013 11:13:22 GMT -5
Post by Vinny on Oct 7, 2013 11:13:22 GMT -5
What Is "Character Study?"
Character Study is a lot like feedback, but it goes into a little more depth. Instead of leaving feedback on a singular RP, the feedback is focused on the character(s) that is being written. We will analyze a character's motivations, the ability of the writer to display the character's unique voice, the progression of the character over time, and other various aspects that are generally too broad or too deep for standard RP Feedback.
How Does It Work?
The plan is that every week I - or a substitute if I'm unavailable - will select a character from the list of participating handlers/characters. As of right now, we will be operating on a system of longest-tenured handler first, followed secondarily by the order in which handlers signed up for Character Study. The idea is to reward handlers who have been with FGA for a while, and avoid people who drop in, get their study and then drop out.
How Do I Sign Up?
There is a thread in the OOC forum here. You can also PM me and I will add you to the list.
What Exactly Do I Do?
Hehe. "Do do." Basically, over the course of a given week (this will generally run on weeks where there is NOT a FGA show), I will select a character. Everyone who is participating in Character Study will read as many RPs from that character as they personally feel is necessary to get a grasp of the character. I decided on "personally feel is necessary" because I don't want this to be some time-consuming as to cause everyone to read or re-read every RP, but I do expect participants to read more than one.
At the end of the week, or whenever you finish, you will post your comments on the character here in the Feedback Forum. I will create an individual thread of reach Character Study that will look something like: "Character Study #X - Character Name - Due Date" where X is the iteration we are on, and due date is the last day we expect studies to come in.
What Makes a Good Character Study?
That sort of depends, but at a high-level: insightful reading. No one here is Ernest Hemingway, but a lot of us spend the time and effort of putting little nuances into our writing. A careful reading may show you sides of a character you never noticed before; that is the intent of this.
Above all, we aim for constructive criticism. While it is nice to hear "I really like this character," it is more useful for the handler to hear "I like how you did this, but..." It should go without saying, but all criticisms and feedback should be kept civil.
There is no set format. If you're struggling on what to write, or how to structure your feedback, let me know with a PM.
What If I Can't Do It This Week?
If you are going to miss a week, please let me know as soon as you can. If you let me know far enough in advance, there won't be any penalty. If you're going to miss one week, and you're on deck for the next week I might even flip spots to accommodate schedules. If you miss a week without letting me know, you will be bumped to end of the list. If you miss two weeks in a row (with an excused absence) you will be bumped to the end of the list.
As of right now, I see no need to remove people from the list, but if it becomes necessary it will be done.
Final Thoughts
- Please try to avoid reading comments from others before making your own. The more unique voices we have participating, the better.
- Please try to avoid criticisms like "it just didn't work for me." If it didn't work for you, do your best to explain why it didn't or what about it didn't work. You're a big girl, you can do it.
- Speaking of big girls, make sure you have your big girl pants on when it's your turn. While the goal is to create an open dialog and discussion about each character, we want to avoid people coming to the defense of their writing. "You just don't get it" is as bad as "It just didn't work for me."
- There is no word limit on feedback.
- If they so choose, handlers may offer suggested reading to their reviewers. Keep in mind, you probably want feedback on your worst work as well as your best.
The idea is to encourage discussion, not just simply feedback. Please feel free to engage your reviewers.
The List
1. Dom Harter (Ben) - 10/20/13
2. Chris Q (Nick) - 11/3/13 extended to 11/5/13
3. Malcolm Drake (Vinny) - 11/17/13
4. Johnny Blaze (Shaun) - 12/1/13
5. Madman Szaliski (Jeremy) - 12/15/13
6. UK Dragons (Sam) - 12/29/13
7. Usual Suspects (Jerry) - 1/12/14
8. Chris Bond (John) - 1/26/14
9. Graham Clauson (Matt, apparently) - 2/2/14
10. Chaths (Stephen) - 2/16/14
Character Study is a lot like feedback, but it goes into a little more depth. Instead of leaving feedback on a singular RP, the feedback is focused on the character(s) that is being written. We will analyze a character's motivations, the ability of the writer to display the character's unique voice, the progression of the character over time, and other various aspects that are generally too broad or too deep for standard RP Feedback.
How Does It Work?
The plan is that every week I - or a substitute if I'm unavailable - will select a character from the list of participating handlers/characters. As of right now, we will be operating on a system of longest-tenured handler first, followed secondarily by the order in which handlers signed up for Character Study. The idea is to reward handlers who have been with FGA for a while, and avoid people who drop in, get their study and then drop out.
How Do I Sign Up?
There is a thread in the OOC forum here. You can also PM me and I will add you to the list.
What Exactly Do I Do?
Hehe. "Do do." Basically, over the course of a given week (this will generally run on weeks where there is NOT a FGA show), I will select a character. Everyone who is participating in Character Study will read as many RPs from that character as they personally feel is necessary to get a grasp of the character. I decided on "personally feel is necessary" because I don't want this to be some time-consuming as to cause everyone to read or re-read every RP, but I do expect participants to read more than one.
At the end of the week, or whenever you finish, you will post your comments on the character here in the Feedback Forum. I will create an individual thread of reach Character Study that will look something like: "Character Study #X - Character Name - Due Date" where X is the iteration we are on, and due date is the last day we expect studies to come in.
What Makes a Good Character Study?
That sort of depends, but at a high-level: insightful reading. No one here is Ernest Hemingway, but a lot of us spend the time and effort of putting little nuances into our writing. A careful reading may show you sides of a character you never noticed before; that is the intent of this.
Above all, we aim for constructive criticism. While it is nice to hear "I really like this character," it is more useful for the handler to hear "I like how you did this, but..." It should go without saying, but all criticisms and feedback should be kept civil.
There is no set format. If you're struggling on what to write, or how to structure your feedback, let me know with a PM.
What If I Can't Do It This Week?
If you are going to miss a week, please let me know as soon as you can. If you let me know far enough in advance, there won't be any penalty. If you're going to miss one week, and you're on deck for the next week I might even flip spots to accommodate schedules. If you miss a week without letting me know, you will be bumped to end of the list. If you miss two weeks in a row (with an excused absence) you will be bumped to the end of the list.
As of right now, I see no need to remove people from the list, but if it becomes necessary it will be done.
Final Thoughts
- Please try to avoid reading comments from others before making your own. The more unique voices we have participating, the better.
- Please try to avoid criticisms like "it just didn't work for me." If it didn't work for you, do your best to explain why it didn't or what about it didn't work. You're a big girl, you can do it.
- Speaking of big girls, make sure you have your big girl pants on when it's your turn. While the goal is to create an open dialog and discussion about each character, we want to avoid people coming to the defense of their writing. "You just don't get it" is as bad as "It just didn't work for me."
- There is no word limit on feedback.
- If they so choose, handlers may offer suggested reading to their reviewers. Keep in mind, you probably want feedback on your worst work as well as your best.
The idea is to encourage discussion, not just simply feedback. Please feel free to engage your reviewers.
The List
4. Johnny Blaze (Shaun) - 12/1/13
5. Madman Szaliski (Jeremy) - 12/15/13
6. UK Dragons (Sam) - 12/29/13
7. Usual Suspects (Jerry) - 1/12/14
8. Chris Bond (John) - 1/26/14
9. Graham Clauson (Matt, apparently) - 2/2/14
10. Chaths (Stephen) - 2/16/14
