Exactly Zulu - everyone has different tastes and different standards by which they rec a fic. There is no one set. All I know is that if someone liked a story and recced it, for whatever reason, you know, that even if it isn't your cup of tea, there might be something interesting about it. I think basically, if you want to boil it down to a basic level that even the FOX writing monkeys could understand, the reccing thread is about connecting with people. A fic gets recced because it connected (or communicated) with another person. And that is basically the only criteria. Puts on Nathan Lane voice: Just never never never rec your own stuff - cos if it is bad I'll get Hugh and Stephen to MST it! I can't think of anything intelligent to say about fan fiction. I am just slowly working my way through a myriad of stories in which House suffers terribly from various ailments - dang that man can get (I can't spell this) pneumonia at the drop of a beanie. But in terms of genres - car crash, filling in blanks, apocalypse (for some reason - no idea why that one is popular): can anyone think of some new ones to try... ... And Jen: Coup d'etat - C'est Francais pour 'taking over' - historically a la say in politics when there would be a big fight about issues and one side would do stuff (ie talk, gather intelligence, etc) so that they won the fight and could set the agenda. It was a coup d'etat, he won the argument by his brilliant oration. And interestingly enough - hence the term 'coup' - often happens in Latin American countries - where the military storm into the parliament and take over the government.

Thanks for the history lesson, DIY

We aim to please: Sorry, been listening to too much Wodehouse in the car!

OK, how many people like doing prompt challenges more than doing their own thing? Do you mean posting prompts for challenges for other people to write, or writing fic from a challenge prompt? If you meant the latter, it's a kind of "when did you stop beating your wife?" question. Even when I'm writing from a challenge prompt, it's still my own thing. The initial inspiration is just a tiny, tiny part of the whole story. I like challenges or ficathons because they generally provide a wider readership for specific subjects, and because it's fun writing something that you know at least one person, ie the prompt giver, will especially enjoy, and that when I actually manage to finish them in time, I'm usually quite proud of them. Fic exchanges in particular are fun. As for the challenge part of the challenge - that, I'm not so fond of. I won't choose to write prompt I don't connect to for the sake of challenging myself and exercising my writing skills (even though I admire those who do). (Okay, actually, won't is somewhat of an exaggeration, seeing as I've stupidly signed up for the House Big band challenge. But hey, I'm half-regretting that already.)

And interestingly enough - hence the term 'coup' - often happens in Latin American countries - where the military storm into the parliament and take over the government. True story, I was in the Phillipines when the military coup'ed against the President. We asked some of the military guys who were with us what they were upset about..no one knew. It was funny. They also coup in Thailand against the Parliamnet and basically drove tanks on the street and took naps on the them. Back on topic- fic challanges. I like them, I don't do them. I think it is more I have never really found either a prompt or a challange that said DO ME DO ME and some like the get house laid challanges are a bit too constricting for my tastes. I do love reading the responses because some fo them are brilliant, but writing them, I perfer to come up with my own stuff.

I both. I understand your caveat though, Roga. Either way, the work is your own. I like them bnoth personally. I like reading them because some prompts are quite interesting, and I like writing them just because it focuses me to think on a certian task. A little bit of structure, if you will, since I have to meet the goals of the prompt.

Generally speaking I don't care for fic challenges because it seems too much like work: writing to a specific deadline with a specific topic. I've done most of the ones over at The Clinic, though, because those don't have time restrictions and generally are more about writing exercises than a "challenge."

I'm a little late for the party, but I don't understand censoring "God" by writing G-d. To me, that looks like you're actually censoring a swear word that uses God in the first half. And, you know what, I'm not going to NOT write out the word God for the sake of some stupid "political correctness." If someone doesn't believe in God, fine, but expecting me to censor myself or my writing is pushing your beliefs on me. Freedom of speech, you know. It's weird to see God censored on the same forums where swear words are written out. That makes no sense!

I always just thought the censoring of "God" was an author's personal choice. My own beliefs are agnostic, so I usually use "Dog" or "Cod" in place of "God." So it's still freedom of speech - my freedom allows me to not have to say the word "God" if I question my belief in the concept.

I'm a little late for the party, but I don't understand censoring "God" by writing G-d. To me, that looks like you're actually censoring a swear word that uses God in the first half. And, you know what, I'm not going to NOT write out the word God for the sake of some stupid "political correctness." I've never encountered a case where somebody tried to censor someone else's words in a story - has that happened to you? According to Judaism, you aren't allowed to write or say aloud God's name (in English, the word 'god' and his various names; same goes for Hebrew), and observant people will often write alternate words or simply the word G-d instead. If it bothers you, you can always simply not read the fic, but certainly no one who believes/observes the tradition should change their spelling for your sake, and I find it hard to believe anyone has ever forced you to change the way you spell 'God'. (Correct me if I'm wrong.)

I got no response from the prompt giver. That didn't give me a warm, fuzzy feeling about challenges. Aithlyn, with regards to this issue, I see a difference between ficathons and fic fests. In a ficathon, every writer is given another participant's personal request, with a prompt and a list of their kinks and squicks. Ficathons are gift exchanges, where you are writing for a very specific somebody. I'll generally go over to my recipient's journal, check out what they like, and then write the best story *for them*. If a recipient doesn't comment on a gift-fic, that's seriously bad manners, even if the story is terrible and all they can say is, "Thanks, I really like this pairing," or whatever. Fic fests are different, and far more prominent in House fandom. Everyone contributes as many prompts as they like, which are then put on a list that writers can choose from. When choosing a prompt, I never notice whose idea it was originally, because it comes out of the middle of a two-hundred-item long list. I write to the challenge, in that case: using the prompt, but letting it take me wherever it wants to go. If the prompt-giver shows up and says, "Hey, that was my prompt, awesome!" then that's cool, but I don't notice if they don't. Deadlines aren't as set in stone for a fic fest, either, since if you miss, you aren't disappointing someone and flaking on the ficathon organizer, who has to find a pinch-writer for that recipient. Challenges are different again, like the Big Bang. That's a purely personal challenge, as I see it. It's your own plot, your own prompt, and your own hard work. You're really writing for yourself, when it's a challenge. Of course, you hope you'll have an audience when you're finished, but the big thing is knowing that it was really difficult and you emerged triumphant! I like all three kinds. And I find that a deadline inspires me, makes me write. I never would've finished Tympani in three days if it hadn't been due for the Characters Of Colour fest. So for me, they work.