Fiction Tribune Report
Features include:
7 weeks, 7 chapters
~140 pages
Raken Notes (read: Cliff Notes)
Some old friends, some new friends
Story-integrated run-on with guidance
Love
War
Free-of-charge
Think "February"
Why so long? Some reasons: GJW 8's ending naturally left a lot of story to tell when we decided it was time to return to Antei. Generally we do one week of competition accompanied by one story chapter. I generated a lot of material when building the ideas for this war following the last GJW. The length of fictions we're accustomed to here is pretty short, so 140 pages might seem like a lot but isn't. So, those are some practical considerations.
Philosophically, the richer the story is with content, characters, etc. the more enjoyable it can be to read and the more helpful it can be to our fictional identity. When you have the room, you can develop a few things and some readers enjoy that. For those who don't, there'll be bulleted plot points to get a quicker idea of what's going on.
What is a story-integrated semi-directed run-on? Anybody. I was hoping one of you could tell me. After just making it up, I think it means what you all do in your run-ons is loosely based on the story. What I do in the story, loosely references your run-ons. I'm not writing your actions as clans, you are. I'm writing what happens to the Brotherhood as a whole when xyz occurs. Basically, the storyline is my run-on and your run-on is your storyline.
The direction occurs as each week your clan has specific guidance or prompts for the run-on as to your efforts in the story. You carry out your orders, but the rest of what your clan does is up to you within the guidance, prompts, rules, etc. This way you all have these things to help give you details to go on for your run-on.
Timeline
Do not sweat this. We have an arbitrary 2:1 progression. We control it. Could change it, leave it, throw it out, etc. I know we technically rolled over to 30 ABY and major combat in the Yuuzhan Vong war ended in 29. The glass house of Star Wars canon though has to take a back-seat to the real world. I was shocked too. We just couldn't get everything lined up with the holidays, family events, Sarin's deployment and new baby, etc. to make that match up. I think we're going with the notion that the events of GJW 9 simply occur in 29 ABY.
Plot Updates Update
Guest author and interstellar samurai, Muz Ashen, should be dropping our fifth plot update anyday now. Thanks to him for writing this one. This update takes us just about to where the GJW starts.
Discipline System
There are features of this not yet enabled. After those things are added, there will be yet more features this system will provide that will be enabled down the road when other projects are ready. You've benefited from some of the perks it offers already. More to come as there is a lot of funtionality and versatility with this relatively simple system to be had. When the coding is ready, everyone should enjoy it even more.
Bad at this. I apologize if you've sent me a question or something and I didn't get back to you.
Monthly Competitions
Nothing from me until after the GJW.
Reading
I picked up Death Star and Rule of Two. Yeah, I know. They were cheap in paperback and sometimes I can't help myself. I haven't read them. Flipped through them, read a few pages of Rule of Two. Pretty bad. Death Star might be tollerable, but I'm also tired of stories being wedged into the Original Trilogy timeline. When I'm done writing War & Peace 2
There's really nothing I'm looking forward to on the horizon for Star Wars. Luke Skywalker and the Shadows of Mindor possibly, simply because it's from Matt Stover, but even then, Luke Skywalker is the last Star Wars character I want to read about.
If you've read any newer Star Wars book lately that're any good, let me know.
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Regarding the Timeline, some sourcebooks say it ended 29 ABY, other sourcebooks say it ended 30 ABY. 30 ABY suits us for it, so, for my part, I say those sourcebooks are the ones we say are canon :P
Wookieepedia likes to stick to the 29 ABY date, but even the Wookiee is only going on a one line reference to the month of Ben Skywalker's birth somewhere in LOTF, which apparently puts Shimrra's death at 29 ABY. There's still a lot of debate over how long the events in The Unifying Force actually took, so there's still a lot of regular debates over 29/30 on TFN.
However, apparently more recent updates at the official database on starwars.com seem to be going back to wanting the Vong War to have lasted five years not four. So... yeah... 29, 30... not even Lucas knows.
Oh, and anyone who wants to have fun reading all about it, you can just scroll down to the bottom of:
http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Talk:Yuuzhan_Vong_War#New_dates
Enjoy :P
Anyone who doesn't enjoy the Darth Bane books should be killed.
Signed,
-Me.
I have to agree with Xanos about the timeline. Having it in 30 ABY produces what I like to call a "organic plotline". The current fictional year is 30 ABY, and while I cannot be a Star Wars geek and know the dates the war ended in the comics, I can say that Clans have been building up to this in a organic fashion (at least speaking from my clan's point of view on this).
A lot of things have happened in the fictional running CNS to produce an interesting and organic flowing storyline that meets up with the 9th GJW set in a 30 ABY stand point. Like Xanos pointed out, some say it ends in 29 while others say it ends in 30. The DJB is itself outside the standard real of Star Wars canon. We're like a window into another possible of things... the "Holy Ghost" as Lucas liked to put it. Having something that flows, that clicks and fits into what we all see in our Dark Side twist of things is more important than having compressed.
Let me put it this way: each of the clans have run-ons that have taken place already in 30 ABY, character and plot developments that have shape the each character, House and Clan that to have it set in 29 ABY simply deletes those developments. I was recently promoted to SBL, if the 9th GJW takes place during 29 ABY then you are going to need to correct my rank to SBM... and the rest of the people you have featured in the fiction if their ranks have changed (if promoted), and that also goes for leadership positions. Cutting off peoples developing resource by setting it in a point where those developments havent happened will affect (from my point of view) peoples creative ability.