Thanks for the continuing interest, fellas. I've been meaning to get over here and then March got ultra busy so I have not had the chance. I'm still mulling topics though I think I have one. I'll unveil it and the round proper soon but thought for right now a small primer on this project might be in order for newer folks come on board or interested since inception or since the last round ended.
So, what is Guess the Author?
It was and is a project started over a decade ago to share anonymous writing and gain critique of that work without fear of popularity, politics or favoritism entering into that consideration. As a side note, it also has allowed in the past a fun game of possibly trying to guess which forumite wrote the pieces entered. This portion has always been secondary, the name of the thread notwithstanding. And with the size of the current forum, it is likely impossible but not discouraged, to be sure.
How does it work?
In the past, we have run it in a number of ways, but usually it was head up by someone who would put out a call for writers, giving them a topic and perhaps other considerations as well as a deadline for submission. Once entries were gathered, the project leader posts the submissions without naming the writers. Forum members are then given a period of time to critique said work - what was done well, what perhaps wasn't, how well did the writer adhere to the topic, what might be improved in the future and any other number of ways to discuss the work. Nothing mean. Just simply honest intellectual critique. It was and is hoped that feedback to this thread will help a writer improve their craft. Oh yeah...and you can try and guess the author too if you want.
If you are new to the thread and perhaps interested, you might wish to go back through some of the previous rounds in this thread to get a feel for how it has been done before.
What will be different this time around?
Given that some rounds have worked better than others and after a number of suggestions offered during and since the last round, I have decided as stated to try and run it maybe twice this year. If this round goes well, we can hope to run another near the end of the year. Hopefully that will assist in helping it become something to look forward to.
As it will be held less often, I am open to increasing the writers accepted. In the past, it has usually been capped at 4. I think we might be able to run perhaps 6 submissions now if a proper word limit is imposed and I am thinking 1500 words appropriate. Please feel free to suggest up or down on that number in the next few days (and on either subject) so we are all at least close to agreement. Further, I think it acceptable to increase slightly the prep time for submission and critique time for those wishing to do so since it will only be twice a year at most. No, not months...but a slight increase.
Anything else to know?
Not really but as always, I hope in picking topics to make them as accessible to writers of any of the games and what ever genre one wishes to write in is always acceptable. In truth, I have always wished to leave the decisions on how best to write a submission as open and free as possible. Stricter rules now has only come due to repeated suggestion and warranted desire to help the project run as smoothly and effectively as possible. There are a lot of old hats that love to participate in this either as writer or critic and I hope that as we once more lift off the ground, some new hats might jump on board to have some fun and perhaps gain some useful knowledge on writing. Also, it is fun to interact and get to know one another. And sometimes, even to write.
Stay tuned for the moment as a finalize a topic. And as always, please feel free to offer any suggestions.