1) I never did Flash fiction here, but that's mainly because I didn't solo write much at all. Tried several times though! There's probably nothing wrong with one word prompts, but perhaps there needs to be some incentive for writing it up? Maybe all the Flash Fics done will get showcased in a FF&W Bulletin Board thread the next week, to fish in some extra views?
2) Perhaps it isn't the reviewing/commenting that is the problem. It is actually reading some fics that can be daunting. They might be long, multichaptered already, or perhaps you simply can't find one you enjoy enough to read. At least that's actually how I can feel :c How to make people more willing to read?
Incentives might be something to consider, so the FF&W Bullentin Board mention could work.
Yeah taking the time to read the fics can be a problem. I have a hard time keeping that up myself as I read other fics that are not based off of Pokemon and sometimes I would like to do another activity instead. I do try my best to give feedback as much as possible as I often get sad when some of my stories don't get much attention and I want to give back, but yeah it's not easy for me sometimes.
Do take my suggestions with a grain of salt as I'm pretty much a lurker by this point.
1) The main reason I didn't usually work with Flash Fiction was the "Flash" part. The prompts were usually quite good, they just didn't plant any idea in my mind that I could instantly use. I do think that stretching the possibilities and mediums for prompts might be a good idea, with things such as using song or image prompts or even parts of random conversations that pop up in the DCC or other places.
2) I completely agree with Pikachu's statement here. My backlog on things is enormous, be it videogames, TV shows and then add to that fanfiction? I feel like one would have to sift through listings and then find one good enough that one can dedicate the time to read plus review.
If enough people are interested in me bringing the Flash Fiction challenges back, I might consider mixing up how the prompts will be presented.
As I mentioned to Pikachu, indeed I like reviewing but there are a lot of other things I would like to do too, lol.
Concerning your removing intermediaries suggestion, to be hontest not exactly sure how that can work in a forum setting. I do want to enourage that short reviews are fine as long as you mention a couple things you like or feel needs work (your "this plot needs work" and "came for the X, stayed for the Y" examples are fine).
And yeah, if I go through with the opening the Archive section, I'll see about promoting it.
4) Isn't there a Summer Camp NaNoWriMo around June/July time (or at least, there has been in the past)? That seems like it would be a good time of year (with schools/universities finishing around then) and might well repeat the success of Nov's.
Yeah Summer Camp NaNoWriMo comes in April and July. I think for this year's Summer Blitz I'll have it in July since some might do Summer Camp NaNoWriMo. I know some people also want mini writing blitz that takes place very few weeks or so.
I'll give feedback too, because why not. I liked the Flash-fiction, since it put my short-writing skills and creativity to the test. Heck, an entire series sprang from one of those entries (Focus).
As for getting people to review... the general advice is "You scratch my back, I scratch yours." I always reciprocate reviews, and I'm sure others are willing to do the same. That being said, someone has to be the first to send out a review, so my advice is if you're hungry for reviews, send some out.
There's also the monthly reviewing challenge, which I participated in a few times. I felt that was another great way to encourage reviews, particularly reviews with depth. So, perhaps bringing that to the writing section's attention again could get some reviews going.
That's one way to bring in more reviews indeed. There have been instances where some people asked how they can get more reviews and the advice tends to be to go review other stories, haha.
When the review challenge was first introduced a few years ago, many people participated. Back then you would need to review from fifteen to thirty fics, but that prove to be too overwhelming for some so that then changed to five per month. I might be able to see about bringing attention to the review challenges.
For activities, I generally don't participate in long-term projects with a deadline because I can never trust myself to keep one. As much as I would love to partake of such an event, other commitments can keep me busy for weeks at a time.
Understandable. Most of the activities so far I do try to not have it last too long as many people will have real life obligations and such.
