Another Write Your Own Story Topic!

[Poppy]

How about we have another Story Writing topic where we can all join in- we did have one before I think. We've had a few Famous Five ones I think so how about a Five Find-Outers Mystery? Please feel free to join in (anyone can). I'll begin:

The Mystery of the Secret Servant:
Pip and Bets were lazed under a big oak tree in their back garden with glasses of lemonade beside them and a tin of Treacle Toffee. It was to warm to even move that bright summer afternoon. Pip was half asleep but Bets was sat up, her back against the thick trunk of the Oak tree. She was thinking about Fatty and the others. She nudged Pip so he wouldn't fall asleep. "I wonder if there will be any more mysteries these hols?" she said dreamily. "I hope not, I'll be quite happy sleeping through these warm days." Pip replied nestling back down in the grass. "Seen Mr Goon lately?" he asked with his eyes shut. "No silly- he's away on holiday in America. PC Johns is Peterswood's policeman for the time being while Goon's away. I'm glad. I don't want him after us every time Buster barks at the cat across the road..." Bets had a lot more things to say but realised there was no point as Pip had fallen asleep. She glanced at her watch. She would have to wake him up at three because they had to be at the station at half past to meet Fatty. But alas! She fell asleep and the two were woken by Fatty himself at four o'clock! Pip and Bets had slept right through Fatty arriving! "We're so sorry!" Pip apologised. I don't know how we forgot- it's all Bets has been talking about for the last two days!"
"It's alright" the good natured Fatty replied. "Hey- what luck old Goon won't be around these hols!" Fatty jumped over the wall and joined Pip and Bets under the oak tree and the conversation continued, Larry and Daisy arriving half way through. Bets was rejoicing. Just the kind of day she liked. All the Find Outers together again- without Mr Goon! Perfectly perfect!

[Moonraker]

How about we have another Story Writing topic where we can all join in- we did have one before I think.

I think we already have two or three running at the moment, Poppy, Famous Five stories, I believe. However, it only seems to be Daisy and Dick Kirrin that contribute. Good luck with yours!

[Poppy]

Thanks!

[Anita Bensoussane]

These take up a lot of space on the forums and often remain unfinished, so please finish ongoing stories first before starting any new ones. Thanks.

[Poppy]

I completely agree Anita, however the only thing is, there are a few stories being wrote on the forums at the moment but only certain members have permission to write for it. Others can join in but they need to get the details of one of them before writing a paragraph. We have had one like this before where anyone can write and can come up with any kind of plot and it was quite a success (quite a few people enjoyed writing it).

[Anita Bensoussane]

No, don't worry, you don't need permission, Poppy. Anyone can join in as long as he or she is registered on the forums.

[MJE]

     I have to say that I can think of only one story that is still going on, and it is the new one that, if not actually closed to members generally, is one where members are asked to consult with the "leaders" of it before contributing. (I think that is the one Poppy is referring to.) Maybe there are one or two unfinished ones, but I think those have long become inactive.
     So maybe there could be a case for allowing another one truly for anyone to enter. Such plots can sometimes end up being a bit fragmentary, but maybe that doesn't matter if people enjoy posting to the story.
     I don't know, of course, just how acute the problem is of space being taken up on the forum. But it is true that, compared to many types of computer content, such as graphics or especially video or audio, text is practically nothing in the space it consumes. I would highly doubt that even the most prolific author in the world could fill even one gigabyte of data, even if they did nothing all their lives but write books.

Regards, Michael.

[Poppy]

Alright- thanks Anita.

[Daisy]

The only story which hasn't been finished off on the Games thread is the Five in Middle Age. It has got rather complicated and I'm not surprised there aren't many -if any - people wanting to add to it. The new FF story on the Miscellaneous thread is at the moment being written by only two people although there has been another contributor. There isn't any rule which says someone may not add to any posts - that would not be right. Thank you Michael for clarifying that too.

[Anita Bensoussane]

I don't actually know anything about the technical side, but Keith and Tony said right from the beginning of the forums being set up that we didn't want fanfiction because of the space it would take up. Also, long pieces couldn't easily be moderated.

There are ongoing stories under Games and Miscellaneous Blyton - I haven't time to provide links but anyone interested should be able to find them quite easily.

[MJE]

     If fan fiction is not really acceptable here, but there is a sustained interest in it, there might be other options. Maybe a separate web site could be set up for it, and people who register can contribute to Round Robin type stories. I believe there are providers of free or cheap web space (although with the disappearance of GeoCities, which was an example of this, I cannot think of an example at present), and, as I said before, in computer data storage terms, text really does not consume a significant amount of space. You might, for instance, fit two or three complete Blyton-sized novels into one megabyte of space, even allowing for the H.T.M.L. code which would be required if formatting, italic type, and so on were to be allowed for.
     Or another possibility would be to set up a Yahoo Group for the purpose of writing fan fiction - although there is, of course, a Blyton group there, which occasionally (but not frequently) features Round Robins - but it is not owned by the forum, or officially associated with the Enid Blyton Society.
     Personally, I don't think there is currently the audience to support yet another forum for general discussion of Enid Blyton, and the Blyton Yahoo Group has been pretty inactive the last year or two - I think its role has largely been overshadowed by the increasing activity and success of this forum in more recent years. Sad, in a way - it served a useful function, and a good group of people gathered there for close to a decade, many of whom are either not on this forum, or at least not active. (Sadly, one or two have apparently totally disappeared from *any* Blyton-related activity on the Internet.) But its day may now be over. (Rather puzzlingly, I get the feeling Yahoo Groups *generally* are in decline. I am genuinely mystified by why this is apparently so.)
     But there might be the possibility of a group specifically for fan fiction by forum members - if enough members are interested to contribute. And if it's only slightly active, that doesn't matter - there is no practical minimum quota of activity for a Yahoo Group, or a minimum required membership - except that if there is very close to *no* activity and literally only one or two members, it can be deleted by Yahoo - but otherwise this is not really an issue.
     So if people are interested, but fan fiction is really discouraged on the forum, there *are* other options. I'd be prepared to create and run a fan fiction group on Yahoo if there were enough interest. (I already know how to create and run Yahoo groups.)

Regards, Michael.

[Julie2owlsdene]

The thing is though, Michael, if people get tired of adding to a story, like a 'round robin' as they have done on this site in the games thread, then what is the point in setting up something like that. Surely the games thread here has proven that adding to a storyline has fallen by the way-side.

I've never contributed to adding to a story, because when I write a story, I like it to be my very own, and I know which way it is heading. If anyoe else added to it, they would take it along a very different pathway!

If anyone wants to try their hand at writing a fanfiction story, then if it's good enough, I'm sure Keith would put it up on his site.

[MJE]

The thing is though, Michael, if people get tired of adding to a story, like a 'round robin' as they have done on this site in the games thread, then what is the point in setting up something like that. Surely the games thread here has proven that adding to a storyline has fallen by the way-side.

     You're probably right, Julie - I was just responding to the apparent renewal of interest here, and giving it the benefit of any doubt about how long it would last.

I've never contributed to adding to a story, because when I write a story, I like it to be my very own, and I know which way it is heading. If anyoe else added to it, they would take it along a very different pathway!

     I feel exactly the same way, and my interest in contributing seriously to such a story is close to zero. (I did contribute to an "Adventure" Round Robin on the Yahoo group, but that's pretty well all.) But clearly some are interested in contributing to a collective effort - maybe in a light-hearted way sometimes that's not overly concerned about real quality. I was just suggesting possible ways this could be done, if it's not really wanted on the forum (but just sort of tolerated).

If anyone wants to try their hand at writing a fanfiction story, then if it's good enough, I'm sure Keith would put it up on his site. :)

8)

     Those aren't Round Robins, though - so they may not be quite the same as what I was talking about.

Regards, Michael.

[Nair Snehalatha]

I think someone should continue with Poppy's story---- make it short and interesting

[MJE]

     Given that there is some doubt about whether fan-fiction and/or round robins are really wanted on this forum, I think it might be a good idea to resolve that - have a bit of discussion about it, and maybe a decision by the moderators - before people start adding bits to this story, or any others that may be floating around on the forum. I would personally be hesitating to add to such stories (if I wanted to in general, that is) if I knew they really were considered unwelcome by some.
     I will repeat my offer to run a Yahoo group (which I know how to create) expressly for fan-fiction or round robins, if there is enough interest. If people here want to do it, but it's not really welcome here, there certainly are other options.

Regards, Michael.