ROUND ROBIN NOVEL (Chapter 4 + RHS's turn!)

{ {{ UPDATED: August 24, 2014 }} }
Keep in mind, the rest of you are welcome to submit a profile and join at any time!
Deadlines. How long might it take you guys to write 750 words to add? For the first round or two, we're going to set the deadline to TWO WEEKS per chapter!
This is a trial size that seems fair, and as always, if you have any questions or concerns regarding this, feel free to let us know!
Not that it seems to be a problem at all thus far! SWEET


ClubTeenTitansOC

Alright, guys. Guess what: It's Friday. And you know what that means?

THE BEGINNING OF OUR LONG-AWAITED ROUND ROBIN NOVEL PROJECT!

We're going to kick this off with a run-down of the rules, and at the end of this journal will be instructions for joining if you're interested!

~~


Contents (aka Skip Ahead to the Part You Need):
Premise
The Plot

• Synopsis (so far)

The Participants
How to Join
OC Sign-Up sheet

~*~


~The Premise~

Written stories are a huge part of the OC community. Whether it's through fanfiction, elaborating on a biographical backstory, or roleplaying within the community, we see it everywhere. But so seldom do these facets of the fandom get to shine around here! And so it is with great pleasure and excitement that ClubTeenTitansOC is finally unveiling its entirely literature-based activity!

The ~*Round Robin Novel*~ will run quite similarly to the Round Robin Comic. Each member will join with some information on their character, and everyone gets to tell their chunk of the story, one at a time. Only this time: the stories will be told exclusively through words!
(If you'd like to create a "cover" for your submission, that's entirely acceptable!)

Even if you don't sign up this week, we're going to allow members to join the project at any time!

You WILL have to find a plausible way to write them into the story if you're joining after the first round. Even if it's as simple as simple "they happened to be scoping out this area at the same time the other people came".

Likewise, if you withdraw after your character has already been in the story: We're going to need you guys to write your character(s) out on your next turn! We can't just have characters vanishing and re-appearing... (Unless you'd like to use that as a plotpoint.) But we're going to need some CONTINUITY here.

Failure to follow this policy will result in suspension from the project and an RRN-style "strike". After three strikes, you will be removed from the Novel entirely.

Collaborative chapters WILL be allowed! If you're having trouble finding inspiration or you're unsure which direction to go next, please don't hesitate to contact one of us for ideas, suggestions, or general help-and-support. This is the kind of project where it might be your turn, but you certainly don't have to write it out alone~ Heck, if two people want to write a chapter together: That's entirely acceptable!

~ WORD COUNT GOAL: 800-2000 words ~
That's per turn. We're not going to be super strict on this rule! Especially not to start out. But at least shoot fooor, maybe, ~150 words within this range.
I know, I know. That's a lot of words compared to your average RP post! But it's not unrealistic; 800 fills up about 2 pages on an MS Word Document. And that brings us to the point that each submission should be sufficient to further the plot, or at least provide enough action that every installment matters!

The only thing that's still in a sort of BETA mode: Many members expressed interest in running this project as an extended multi-player RP. That is, rather than use every character in whichever scene you choose on your turn, members would instead focus mainly on their characters. For now, we're going to leave it up to each participant to decide how much focus they put on their character in one moment, and how much they write for everybody else. In that regard: you're free! It's just like the RRC, which has been very successful on this. Use your judgement, and try to be fair to everyone else. We'll only add restrictions and rules on this if we need to.

Just keep in mind that other characters will be involved, this is a group activity, and everyone should get a fair share of the Plotpoint Pie! Speaking of:


~The Plot~

A couple weeks back, we held a chatroom meeting to discuss how members wanted to work with the project. So here are the plans (without revealing plot twists to keep those who aren't in the know on the edge of their seats), and below I'll be keeping track of the key events from each post. CliffNotes style, so people have a quick reference once this project really gets going!

This story is going to use a Race to the Important Artifact format!
~ I'm going to open the story with a series of myths surrounding this strange artifact...
~ Nobody knows quite which myth is true. There's a mystery involved here...
~ The characters will be drawn to the mystery surrounding this artifact, each for their own reasons.
~ But the artifact is hidden deep underground on the site of some very precarious and deeply mysterious hardly-explored Mayan ruins!
~ The path to piecing together this puzzle is going to take everyone's best efforts to make it through.
~ And even when they think they've done it: surprises await them at every turn...

Synopsis (so far):

A mysterious Mayan temple has been discovered, and Dove did heaps of research before reviewing mission assignments; the Titans are needed to protect archeologists on the expedition.

Intrigued by the news (which he discovered on his own), Kenji visited Mexico to explore the ruins himself -but was greeted by an ambush of jaguars! Too many for him to handle on his own...

...but the T-Jet arrived with backup just in time! Kenji and the archeologists were saved. And after a bit of an awkward start, Icestorm offered Kenji a few pointers and reassurances that he doesn't have to be in this alone. (While Storm watched?!) And so ends the first day of their mission.

If you'd like to know more (about what we're planning, or about what has already happened), you can always feel free to discuss it with any of the other participants. I have everything we've planned already conveniently compiled - but I know that while some of us prefer planning everything out, there are others who love the suspense of a good plot-twisting surprise! So we may already have a plan... but I would never rob you guys of your right to antici...

.....pation! ;D

I put together a forum board specially for RRN discussions, because I think this would help us organize all of our ideas, discussions, and Q&A's all in one convenient place!

Check it out.
(An account IS required to post, but it's super easy to register, and don't worry, I know from experience that this website doesn't send out spam or sell our souls email addresses. Members can create new threads as needed.)
{{ UPDATE: The threads require quite a bit of pre-release behind-the-scenes work that I wasn't aware of, so hang tight while I work with them and I'll let everyone know as soon as they're REALLY up and running! }}


~The Participants

RavensHiddenSoul (with Dove)
SuperheroGeek13 (with Kenji)
Linzerj (with Storm)
Coolspeedbot (with Ice Storm)


This is where you guys come in right off the bat. It's time to SIGN THE HECK UP!

Once you do: this is where I'll list all the participants and their characters, with links to all the relevant information.

The order of participants is as written above! (New participants will be added to the end of the list.)

Once we reach the end of the writer list, we'll circle back and start the round anew.

So what are you guys waiting for? Oh, that's right. Probably some of these: INSTRUCTIONS!


How to Join

In order to sign up, we're not going to make you guys write a mini-novel, just to get in.

BUT: We do highly recommend filling out as much detailed and thorough information as you can!

Keep in mind that submitting your character to a collaborative project like this means that other people will be writing for your character as well. So the more information you give, the better idea people will have of them.

(On the same token: If you're ever unsure about characterizing someone else's character in a moment: Go 'head and ask! We all LOVE talking about our OCs, and it's better to ask than potentially risk writing something entirely OOC.)

So who'd like to join?

1) Post each character overview as a regular deviation. If you'd like to use a picture, and write all the information in the Artist Comments, that's fine. If you'd prefer to write it as a Literature deviation, and then provide a link to a picture reference for appearance, that's fine too.

Please do not post submissions as an image that includes text. There's a lot to write there, and sometimes the text on a picture can be a pain to read. (Old monitors, dA's fullview of large pictures being tricky, browsing on Mobile, having the page zoomed out for resolution purposes, etc.)

2) Then submit it to the RRN Roster folder! I'll review each one, make sure there's enough information to work off of... and once they're approved and sent to the folder, they're officially a part of the story!

DO NOT send us character submissions as a group note. We love that system, but this isn't the time for that! Only admins and the member who sent it can see the notes, and we want these to be PUBLICLY VIEWABLE so each writer can reference them whenever they need.

You are absolutely welcome to send any questions or concerns you have as a group note, though~ But of course: if you're unsure about something regarding a character, it's best to contact the OC's creator!

~ For this first round, we're going to require that each member only sign up with one character and one alone. However, if you'd like to submit the application for another NOW and put them "on hold" for the moment when they can join, that's fine by me.
~ Once the plot gets going, I'll give the green light for another to join!
~ Any Teen Titans OC from any member in the group can join!

As usual, canon characters aren't allowed to participate. (We are a whole group of fandom OCs, and we understand that, so of course alluding to canon characters in their past or thoughts is allowed. As long as it has no effect on the RRN plot, and the canon character doesn't actually show up. We DO have plans for an event like this which might cross over into canon material for some characters, but we'll cross that bridge when we come to it.)

So who's ready to get this party started?!


~Sign Me Up!

Just fill out this form, post it however you prefer, and submit it to our Round Robin Roster folder!

I) Appearance
Minimum: Height, weight or build, notable physical characteristics. Give people an idea of what other characters' impressions might be; details like their posture and gait help with that. You may fulfill this requirement by providing a picture if you'd like.

II) Powers and Abilities
Include any weapons, skills, and areas of special knowledge and expertise. Please be as specific as possible. Note their strength, whether they're projective or receptive, what limits there might be, and if there are any circumstances in which they wouldn't work.

III) Personality
Nobody wants their character written unlike themselves! So give us all an idea of how they act. How are they under stress? How do they react to triumph? Would anything you think they might encounter along the way change how they act?

IV) Interaction
There will be several characters involved in this story, so everyone needs to know what will happen if/when they meet up.

• Alignment: Hero, villain, civilian, anti-hero, or neutral?
• Do they play well with others? Are they competitive?
• Team worker or flying solo?

V) Writing Sample
This is an ESSENTIAL part of the application! Descriptions only provide so much insight. But a paragraph of at least four sentences provides a more in-practice example. You may create something especially to represent your character just for this application, include an excerpt from a fanfiction or RP, or even compose a brief prologue to the story! Just make sure it helps people get a grasp on who and what your character is.

VI) (optional) Is there any other information you'd like to provide?

To provide a more in-depth understanding of your characters, we DO highly suggest filling out the longer and more in-depth Audition Form thought out by LilBluestem to give others a better idea of your character's mental processes! Even if your OC already has a profile that covers ALL of this information, keeping everything in a unified format makes it easier to search and find the bits we're gonna need. :}

And that covers just about everything! If you have any questions at all, feel free to comment on this blog, or send us a Group Note! I know we have some talented writers and plenty of wonderful OCs about there, so I'm looking forward to seeing you guys on the roster!

With as much excitement as ever,
~ RHS