Fic Rush: timing of future rounds

[lolmac]

So, this is not actually a poll to choose dates for an August round, not yet.

Over the last several months, I think a lot of us have been distracted, or having Stuff happen, or being tired or burned out.  LJ is less active than it was some years ago, which of course also factors in; but, for all the many reasons, the last several rounds have tended to be on the quiet side.

However, I don't want to give up and stop doing rounds, even though I've been slacking a lot myself.

So:  let's have some more polls!  (Almost as good as penguins.)  What do you think of holding rounds on alternate months?  A terrible idea?  A good idea?  Worth trying for a bit?

If we go to alternate months, we would skip August and do a round in September, then skip October and do a round in November (for NaNo, as well as for Non-NaNo).  We can then decide if we like that schedule, or if we're feeling more inklish and writerly and need our penguin fixes.

This poll is not a ticky box poll, because you're actually going to have to choose just one option.  However, I have made sure there are ticky boxes anyway, because ticky boxes are Important.

[Poll #2019410][Poll #2019410]

Comments

[evelyn-b.livejournal.com]

I've been a total slacker when I've managed to show up for the rush at all, but just knowing they're happening and being able to post updates is hugely helpful to me, and helps keep me motivated for the rest of the month. Of course I'm not a mod, so I understand if mods think it's more trouble than it's worth to keep them running monthly -- but I definitely like having them around.

[lolmac]

Would you be interested in doing a mod shift yourself? My biggest concern is preventing mod burnout, and sharing the load is one of the best ways to manage that. Most mod shifts are 3-4 hours. Plus you get a Pretentious Title and all the fame and fortune you can eat!

[evelyn-b.livejournal.com]

I would have to plan ahead, but I think I could do that!

[prisca1960.livejournal.com]

I would feel very sad if you would cut down / close the com because of the leck of interest. but: for me this com is new and it's really helpful to keep me writing while the Fandom around me seems to slow down.

I can understand that it is difficult to keep a com like this running for all the years and that the mods might feel 'burned out' espcially when the interest of the writers seems to drift away. But maybe it's just because of summer = vacation, weekend-trips ect. ? LJ is always more quiet during this months but in winter people often come back.

I did vote for 'every month rounds' but maybe it would be a good solution to go to bi-monthly rounds at least over summer?

[thisbluespirit]

I know I'm only an occasional stunt mod (but I am always willing to step in!), but while I could see the logic of being bi-monthly across the summer months, the autumn and winter is when fandom gets busier - certainly the proposed schedule would miss off a December round, which is much needed, due to many exchanges at that point.

But if it's getting too much trouble to run, that's fair enough. Every month feels like a lot at that point. I really value having it come round, but I know I'm still only doing a fairly minimal amount.

[agirlnamedtruth.livejournal.com]

So sorry for zoning out on the poll (though I suppose it's a good thing if you were planning this poll anyway), it completely slipped my mind -- I'm not sure I was even present last round at all 0.0

I'm going to second what's already been said, I think things definitely slow down a lot in the summer and pick up again over the autumn/winter. I know I'm personally feeling a summer burn-out in all aspects of my life even though in theory, I do all the same things in the winter. It just feels like everything is more of a chore in the summer. Maybe it's the heat (yeah, it's tipping it down outside but I'm in England, it doesn't count)

I personally clicked skip August and keep going monthly because I do feel like we could use a little break, just to give us a breather and so we come back to it refreshed. I would be cool with every other month if a more long term breather was needed, I'm just a little shy of dialing it back because that tends to be the first step in things tailing off and dying. Which I 100% do not want to happen because this place kicks major writing ass.

[lolmac]

Hee, I had started to set up a poll on dates, and then thought "Hmm, this would be a good opportunity to do that poll about whether monthly is still working well . . . "

There's a strong consensus so far that bi-monthly might be a good short-term idea, and that summer is a slack time, and that the comm is a dearly loved thing that we treasure, which has brightened my week no end!

[justice-turtle.livejournal.com]

I clicked "bimonthly for the next couple of rounds", but I'd be equally cool with just skipping August or continuing to have monthly rounds. (Spook's point about needing a December round is a good one, imo.)

[naemi.livejournal.com]

Other than I love this comm. Don't let it die! I don't have much to say ^.^ If help is needed, I'm more than happy to offer.

[laurie-ky.livejournal.com]

I haven't been checking in with LJ very much so I missed some, I know. Also. life is crazy. I need to clone myself to keep up with everything.

I would like to keep participating, though.

Laurie

[dbskyler.livejournal.com]

I'm not sure if it's because the pace of my life has sped up, or if it's because I'm not writing as much, but it does feel like a monthly fic_rush isn't quite as special of an event as it used to be. I support the idea of every other month -- definitely wouldn't want it less often than that -- and I also agree that there are certain times of year, such as November/December, when I would want it to go back to monthly.