Story Development Group - April

-- WHAT IT IS: 

In this group, we aim to brainstorm the ideas in your story based on the type of story you wanted to write. This is perfect for those on their early drafts, final drafts, or developing a concept that goes beyond just a chapter (e.g., an arc or a character). In short, if you’re a writer who's working on your plot more than your exact wording, this is the group for you.  

-- HOW IT WORKS: 

The group brainstorms each story for 45 minutes, with writer of that story (“The Head Writer”) deciding the goal on their turn. Optionally, the Head Writer can use their first 5 minutes to ask any questions they've always wanted to ask a whole group of people ready to talk about it.  It’s important that we get all the context we need in advance; with only 45 minutes, the less the group has to stop and clarify, the more time you have to develop your story.  

This also means that the host (just me right now) will have to actively moderate the group! Because of how exciting brainstorming can get, discussions can sometimes run away. The Moderator’s job – in all of its capitalized significance – is to keep everything constructive, everyone on time, and everybody playing by the rules.  

-- THE RULES: 

1. Don’t be jerks.  

Great news: the OWC has so many wonderful people that this goes without saying. But in the interest of having said it, and because ‘being a jerk’ is subjective, it’s The Moderator’s job to check the group’s pulse on what we’re defining as ‘jerk-ish’ that day (e.g., Group A says it’s people interrupting, Group B says interruptions are life, Group C says not to put words into someone else’s mouth).  Your job, as a participant, is just to avoid behaving in some way that gets The Moderator asking you to ‘dial it down a little.’  

2. Embrace your roles. 

Our Dropbox has a “Goals, Roles, and Group Tools” document (https://www.dropbox.com/s/bq2q49ft01dviwc/%230%20-%20Goals%2C%20Roles%2C%20and%20Group%20Tools.pdf?dl=0) explaining what the three roles involved will actually have to do: The Head Writer, The Brainstormers, and The Moderator.  

This is crucial to know because everyone will either be The Brainstormers or The Head Writer at any given time (plus I worked really hard on it).  

3. Ask questions.  

This is a special group in a moderated format, wiith rules that get enforced. You're absolutely welcome to ask how this all works, and to even ask about me if we haven't had a chance to meet! Find us on our Discord or ask on our forums!

-- DEADLINE TO SUBMIT YOUR DOCUMENTS: 

11:59 PM on April 20th (both for those who've rsvp'd and those on the waitlist)  

-- HOW TO JOIN: 

1. Message the Host with your email address to get access to our Dropbox folder (you'll be prompted when you RSVP).  

2. Read the “Goals, Roles, and Group Tools” document (https://www.dropbox.com/home/Story%20Development%20Group).  

3. Answer three short questions (https://www.dropbox.com/s/c4oly2ulwpij13p/%231%20-%20Pre-Session%20Questions.docx?dl=0) and submit them as a .doc, .docx, or .pdf to the Dropbox folder by the deadline.  

4. Write a "context document" explaining what the group has to know to 'get' your story, and submit it as a .doc, .docx, or .pdf to the Dropbox folder (3,000 words max) by the deadline.  

5. Read everybody else’s answers and context documents.  6. Come to the session and participate in the discussion!  Thanks, everyone! Here’s hoping for another productive day. :)