Should there be a deadline? What are the pros and cons thereof? Discuss.

For my part, if we're trying to make this thing have a cohesive timeline, then all the chapters should be done before it is published.

5899721
Honestly, it depends on how many people commit to this.

I don't think that tight continuity is going to be as important as you might think, so I'd advise against worrying about it.

I am wondering how we determine who gets what. I have ideas for Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash, so do I pitch the ideas and you decide if they're good enough, or is it first come first serve? If the latter, where does the serving happen?

5900085 I was hoping this project would be more of a series of character pieces than anything with a proper plot. Obviously, however, there is a thin webbing of plot holding it all together.

Not having any sort of deadline at all--just keeping the project open to submissions forever and posting any that get completed--is certainly a valid idea, and it is that sort of thing that I would like to discuss.

As for the calling of dibs, I had imagined a sort of first-come-first-served system, with the caveat that any writers who wanted the same character would discuss it and decide whose idea best deserved representation. I don't like the idea of acting as some arbiter of quality (mostly because my standards are too high), so I'd like to avoid that if possible. I started a thread for this purpose, but any discussion of whom should get what (and how this is decided) can certainly go there.

My suggestion would be : Give it a week or so to see how many sign up, set up order during that time, and once that's set deadline varies based on where you are in the chain - basically, give each person a week from when the person before them finishes or whatever, which lets them adjust based on the last-posted chapter as-needed, but also gives it a constant momentum.

I know the idea I am floating with I kind of want to go last with, if at all possible. Or maybe as a coda. Either or.

5900173 From what I understand you want all writers to write this within the same continuity correct?

EDIT: I done replied to the wrong people, sorry :P

5900353 I think that sounds like a fair enough way to plan things. Once we have an idea of whom is writing which characters--and the basic concepts thereof--we can discuss as a group the timeline for the story and decide any deadlines from that.

5902472 This question is such an important one, that I actually replied in a new thread.

5903608 You want ideally to post in weekly/xday intervals.

I'm interested in doing something here, but the timing is poor. This weekend is Easter Sunday, S7 opener, a Writeoff, and BABSCon. If there were an extended time to work on it (like a month) it would be doable.

5905281 I think 5900353's idea is the most reasonable solution so far. Basically, anyone who's interested should have a concept ready this week or next. Once we have an idea of how many people are interested, final deadlines will be based on where one's chapter is in the story: so the later your chapter, the longer it will be before your turn comes up.

If anyone has any better ideas, that's what this thread is for.

5906532

So, is there going to be a place where we say where in the general order our chapter might fit best? Like for example, the idea I was thinking of would probably be when the amulet was lower on power and has started trying to resort to more subtle trickery as opposed to what we saw there in Cadence's chapter.

5907299 Once we have an idea of how many people want to participate (and it seems that we are reaching that point since comments on the dibs thread have become less frequent), then I will start a thread where everyone can discuss chapter order and progression.

Ultimately, though, I think that there's going to be a lot of leeway there. After all, if you want the amulet to be at a certain power level for your chapter, just imply that a bunch of ponies already had their turns or something.

5907430
cleverpun, could we an idea when deadlines are likely to be set? Fimfiction does not allow you to watch group threads (sadly), so if I don't set a note for myself to check back here, I'll forget about the contest.

5918984 Someone proposed making each deadline a week from the completion of the previous person's chapter, but I don't think that's too realistic.

Maybe give everyone two weeks to edit and write their chapter, and then the next person can start? I really can't say, because I'm not sure of how many people are participating, and we are still coming up with the initial outline.