PC Review Challenge (April '11): so i herd u liek reviewing

Grovyle42(Griff8416) said:

Anybody else notice that "taco" is still "taco"?

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Apparently, any post edited yesterday stays that way. xD

Mizan de la Plume Kuro said:

Apparently, any post edited yesterday stays that way. xD

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Which means that this, quite seriously, was the stupidest idea PC has come up with. I mean, it wasn't even that funny (especially compared to last year). Sorry to be blunt about that, but really? No... no one thought that this might be just slightly disruptive after the fact?

But I'm leaving the first post as-is until I get annoyed with it because to be honest with you, there's so many other things that need to be done besides going back -- even with the search-and-replace feature Word's got -- and getting that all taken care of.

JX Valentine said:

But I'm leaving the first post as-is until I get annoyed with it because to be honest with you, there's so many other things that need to be done besides going back -- even with the search-and-replace feature Word's got -- and getting that all taken care of.

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I'll do it. I have the free time tonight (too tired to review coherently and there's an event on another website) and will have access to the rest of the staff in case there's a word I can't guess what it is.

For now, it'll just have to stay that way while I take a nap.

a) Yes, this was a stupid April Fools' joke. Should've done the Serebii skin and left it at that.

b) I'm gonna need to take my name off the list. Workload suddenly increased, so it doesn't look like I'll have time this month after all. :/

Neither of you have to do it because I just changed it all back just now. =p (If I did miss something and your name is not Jax or Astinus then post here/tell one of us please!)And while I was at it I also took you off the list, MW. Shame about workload increases stopping you (I can sympathise) but oh well.

Best Way To Contact: Pm please. Getting PM's is just great isn't it!

Reviewing Style: I'm not a grammar expert I admit so my reviews will focus on description, characterization and plot development. I'm likely to comment on anything I enjoy or find interesting.

Custom Challenge Rules: Reviews must be completed with an eyepatch on while listening to music with a tempo above 180 bpm.

Request Queue: None! Get your PM's in!

Completed Reviews:

Never in the wrong time or the wrong place by Grovyle42(Griff8416) (Prologue and Chapter One)

This was going to be a reminder that there's only one more day left for this challenge. But then I realized that I'm five reviews behind from completing it myself. And I don't have the time to finish it tonight, and will be working all day tomorrow.

We need a "real life sucks" emblem or something.

Don't forget that everyone can use this thread to offer suggestions for the next Reviewing Challenge.

Astinus said:

We need a "real life sucks" emblem or something.

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This. So hard.

I have a list of reviews I need to cover (Sorry!), but April just slammed me. ಠ_ಠ, April. ಠ_ಠ.

Meanwhile, I'm highly surprised that we don't have an emblem for "real life sucks" or something -- you know, for the people who lose this challenge on the basis of legit, real-life-sucking. Or for people who have, in general, posted some kinda sob story about how much their life sucks at that moment. I mean, we have an emblem about watermelons, don't we? Watermelons. Or something. I don't remember, but there's some ridiculous ones out there.

Uh, I mean, yes. Keep having the spring challenge in April. Good idea or "SCREW YOU AND THE HORSE YOU RODE IN ON, JAX"?

JX Valentine said:

I have a list of reviews I need to cover (Sorry!), but April just slammed me. ಠ_ಠ, April. ಠ_ಠ.

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Ditto.

I won't elaborate because that's just attention-whoring, but, well, damn, April is not a good month. You know, seeing as we only had two active participants this month. If you ask me, I say we either move the Spring Challenge to a different month or leave the challenge at twice a year. Once in winter and once in Summer. The two most free times of the year for both sides of the world.

"SCREW YOU AND THE HORSE YOU RODE IN ON, JAX"?

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HORSE, JAX? YOU OWN A HORSE? /couldnotresistmeme.

Real life bit me on the arse for this one too, but I wouldn't qualify for an emblem because I just dropped out after three days DX. (In hindsight, I probably could have completed it anyway :x)

Trouble is, I don't feel there's any particular month that would be more or less busy for people, at least as far as I'm aware.

At least you had the foresight to drop out, Misheard? The rest of us were so masochistic that we attempted the challenge and continued in real life.

GO US!

I'm not a good one to look to for an opinion on when we should schedule challenges. The only reason why I couldn't finish the challenge this month was because I have a very short attention span and ran off to a new fandom and fanfics. Oops.

Another suggestion aside from rescheduling the Reviewing Challenge is to change the amount of reviews needed for the challenge so that it isn't one a day. Still a good amount to make it challenging, but enough to allow for real life to suck and not panic about finishing the challenge.

Though there are other challenges as well we could do. How about bringing back a general writing challenge? I have the basis of a plan for that. Or how about the prompt challenge we had going a few years ago? (Was it years?) That could make a return every once in a while.

Really, anything to get some activity to this section without killing off our loyal regulars.

Besides, FF&W needs some more emblems, and even a few joke ones.

And because I can:

This. So hard.

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Completed Reviews:
1. Breaking Through (FrozenFlame): One Shot
2. The Retelling of Pokemon Colosseum (bobandbill): April Fools Chapter Special
3. Best Laid Plans (Ian Donyer): Chapter 5
4. Freewriting and Fragments (SeleneHime): One Shot- Dragonheart Prelude
5. Breaking the Fourth (Mizan de la Plume Kuro): Chapters 1-3
6. All in a hard night's Work- Spongebob Squarepants fic (The Noob): One Shot
7. The Key (IanDonyer): One Shot
8. Shipping Satire: Proud to Be Your Slave (Bus Driver is a Fruitcake): Prologue and Chapter 1
9. Freewriting and Fragments (SeleneHime): One Shot- Pokemon: Chronicles of Erana
10. Close Quarters (Simon Alexander): One Shot
11. Prufessa Motha****a Oek meets Professor Oak and buys some Milk (The Noob): One Shot
12. Best Laid Plans (IanDonyer): Chapters 7 and 8
13. Shipping Satire: Proud to Be Your Slave (Bus Driver is a Fruitcake): Chapter 2
14. Golden Scoop for Dawn's Heart (Simon Alexander): One Shot
15. Freewriting and Fragments (SeleneHime): Unnamed fragment
16. Best Laid Plans (Ian Doyner): Chapter Nine
17. Unova: Broken Ways (Kjt): Chapter One
18. Ending Sunrise (Legendarian Mistress): Chapter One
19. Champion Game (Misheard Whisper): Prologue
20. Man-Eater Bugs (Caliban): Poem
21. Unova: Broken Ways (Kjt): Chapter Two
22. 8.23.09 (Haruka of Hoenn): One Shot
23. Champion Game (Misheard Whisper): Chapter One
24. To Dust (Lily): Chapter One
25. To Dust (Lily): Chapter Two
26. Champion Game (Misheard Whisper): Chapter Two
27. Untitled (Rekky): One Shot
28. Anima Ex Machina (JX Valentine): Chapter 17
29. Champion Game (Misheard Whisper): Chapter 3

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WOW. Looks like I"m the only one that finished this challenge the second time. XD; Despite April being a busy month for me with work, chores, writing, and betaing other people's works, I still managed to get 29 reviews. I must be crazy. D: I still need to get through my review requests though (I'll get to them sometime in May, promise, Griff and Ian Donyer! D: )

Anyways, hm how about make the challenge 20 reviews in a month? I think that's good enough as a challenge that's not too hard to achieve for those that are busy.

Also, I"m up for a writing challenge. I'm still writing, but not Pokemon. It would be great if I could make a comeback in Pokemon fanfic writing. The prompts challenge was a great one that should come back.

I AM SO KEEN FOR A GENERAL WRITING CHALLENGE OMG YOU HAVE NO IDEA.

/leaves again
/has a chapter to finish tonight

omg i love the warblers so much!!!!!

Congratulations on completing the challenge, Bay! Enjoy your new-ish emblem.

Here's what I'm thinking: we can have four challenges in total every year. One every three months. One Reviewing Challenge, one general writing challenge, one prompted writing challenge, and we can either double up a challenge (rotating every year which one we rotate) or maybe someone has a fourth idea. The Reviewing Challenge is awesome and fun, but maybe it would help if it wasn't that same challenge every time. Sometimes, you just feel like having a writing challenge or whatever.

Let me explain the writing challenge a bit. Specifically, the general one.

During sign-ups, each potential challenger can post with their own goal. For example, I personally can't write a chapter in a week because of lack of time and how often I switch fics/fandoms. So when I sign up for the challenge, I would say that I would have one chapter and three one-shots completed/edited/typed/whatever. Misheard Whisper, on the other hand, could say that his goal is one chapter a night (you crazy diamond you). Then we all have a month to work on our goal.

The fun part of this is that maybe once a week, I can post in the thread with a "check-in" post, so we can all discuss what we're working on and how things are going. One of the reasons why I want to add that is because I'm always interested in learning how my fellow authors work. Another reason is so that we can maybe bring back the casual attitude of the old FFL have some fun.

How many times can I say "fun" in this post?

As for the prompt challenge, it would be the same thing, but the response to the prompt would probably be a one-shot from everyone.

Also, I'm thinking that maybe the chance to run the challenge can be passed around. If someone wants to do the general writing challenge or the prompt one (they can choose the prompt) then they can.

Okay, "can" and "fun."

As for the reviewing challenge, we can lower the amount of reviews needed if it gets posted during a busier month. Or if we find that everyone has some more free time, we can increase the amount needed. It all depends on how things go.

And that's all, so thoughts?

The general writing challenge sounds like a good format to me, especially with the feedback/check-in posts, because I am also interested in how everyone else works. (Also, the chapter-a-day thing was kind of a one-off this week because I'm on holiday XD It'd probably be two chapters a week at max during the school term)

Prompted challenge, yep, cycling turning fun can times, yep. @_@ Your post is so much fun it's robbing me of my powers of speech.

Thanks for the emblem and congrats, Astinus! \o/ Yeah, already have that emblem but I'm fine getting it again, LOL.

The general writing challenge idea I like a lot. I'm actually in this one community at a blog site, Dreamwidth (Jax knows that site), where you sign up for what challenge you want to make yourself and each day someone will do a check in post. I already signed up for May and the challenge is I'll try to finish two one shots that month (one will be short will another I anticipate it'll be quite long).

Just posting to say that I'm all for it etc, etc...
:3
I'm particularly looking forward to a prompt challenge. It's always fun to see how one prompt can be taken in so many directions, all awesome.

You people, myself included, are all crazy for wanting to do an event of a similar nature four times a year, but that's why I love you guys (platonically).

Here's what I'm thinking: we can have four challenges in total every year. One every three months. One Reviewing Challenge, one general writing challenge, one prompted writing challenge, and we can either double up a challenge (rotating every year which one we rotate) or maybe someone has a fourth idea. The Reviewing Challenge is awesome and fun, but maybe it would help if it wasn't that same challenge every time. Sometimes, you just feel like having a writing challenge or whatever.

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This is something I like - variety is the spice of life after all. ;p I'll also mention that I beleive the next Get-together is in July this year so there's always the potential for a ff&w-related challenge or two during that as well.

And yeah, I think I was right not to attempt this challenge this time around seeing how busy I was in the first two-thirds of this month. >_<

And congrats to Bay! =D

bobandbill said:

I'll also mention that I beleive the next Get-together is in July this year so there's always the potential for a ff&w-related challenge or two during that as well.

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About that... I looked through the other discussion thread about the Reviewing Challenge, and found the schedule that Jax proposed when we decided on seasonal events.

Spring: April
Summer: June
Autumn: September
Winter: February

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So we could space out the next challenge to meet July and make it the prompt challenge. I say the prompt challenge so that we can get participants who don't normally write joining in.

If that's what everyone wants to do. Or maybe we can try something else? We always up for suggestions.