Subject: If there's one thing this post made me realise...
Author:
Posted on: 2008-11-05 20:24:00 UTC
It's that I haven't written a mission since John Freeman in, like, April. With NaNoWriMo and a play competition coming up, I probably won't have a mission up 'til the end of the month, but Harry the Wizard is looking to be purged of the Candy Mountain menace, so I shall get on to that soonish.
Since I've noted of late a distressing tendency to forget a few things, I figure now is as good a time as any to remind everyone of them.
1/ The PPC does not condone torture. The only two instances of it in the Original Series are a) Jay's sockpuppets, and b) sending a 'Sue off with Miss Cam. In the final TOS mission, No Way Back, it is explicitly stated that "you know Headquarters frowns on torture".
2/ Permission is granted to people so that they can participate in the world of the PPC. This is not a right -- it is a privilege. Certain forms of writing are allowed without formal Permission -- MSTs are outside the remit of the PPC, Fill the Plothole is non-canonical, and participation in RPs as minor characters is fine. Missions and large changes to the PPC canon are not. This hasn't been previously stated, but is in effect as of now.
3/ The PPC is first and foremost about the missions, not the massive events. I realise I'm actually the one who started this trend, with the Reorganisation and now Crashing Down, but I also have 21 missions written and posted. It's fun to have RPs and plan massive attacks on or by the PPC, but that's not what we're about. The number of missions being written has dropped dramatically of late, and that's worrying.
4/ You don't need to come up with a quirk or shiny new concept to write your missions. Again, there is a tendency for people to want to make their mission stand out by doing something big -- be it a new Department, an uber-badfic, an arc plot, an obscure fandom, whatever. That's not necessary. I'm reminded of, I think it was Artemis, who wrote the original DIA stories, and then stepped back and wrote Agent Aerilyn and Zera in an effort to get closer to the spirit of the Original Series.
5/ Above all, the PPC is supposed to be FUN. We don't write these stories to slaughter 'Sues, that's the Agents' motivations. We write them to entertain ourselves and one another. We do this with Agent-Agent interaction (yes, that's why they work in teams), Agent-Sue interaction (come on, who didn't find Mr Socko hilarious?), and Agent-picking-on-Sue action. That's what we're here for. That's why we keep reading.
So I'm going to make a couple of suggestions. No, call them challenges. First up, I'm going to point everyone to The Original Series and say that we all need to read it again. Everyone. That's it -- just read the series.
The second challenge is the tough one. For anyone who has a set of Agents (and has been granted Permission), even if you're in the middle of doing something else right now, I challenge you all to drop every dangling plot thread, massive project, everything, and write a mission. Write a mission which isn't connected to anything else. Backdate it if that makes it easier for you -- if your Agents are currently tied up in arc-plot angst, set it six months before that started. No foreshadowing, no plot relevance, no nothing -- just a plain, simple mission in whatever Department your Agents happen to be in. Or happen to have been in, if they're retired; I'm going to try and put together a backdated Dafydd & Selene mission, despite Dafydd's quitting a couple of years back.
Is everyone going to manage this? Of course not. But I hope everyone's going to try. And I do recommend completing the first challenge before the second -- it'll make it easier.
Hopefully this post will be taken in the right way -- I'm trying to bring the PPC back to its roots, not attack anyone in particular (I promise you that I've ignored most of these points at one time or another). Still, I'm always here as a punching bag if someone gets too upset about it -- and provided you're not afraid of what my wife will do (you shooooould be...)
hS
Good points, all of them. I am in complete agreement. *nods*
*now wondering how far the line can be toed*
Also now looking forward to the influx of new missions.
I suppose this means I have to finish that first mission for Kat and Samuel that's sitting 85% finished on my hard drive... >.> Ah well. Motivation is good. And re-reading the OS is also good - just can't do it in class or I'll get funny looks. =P
But I just like to say:
This challange has a point. It is not just something to get alot of oneshots out there and get read, it is to get the spirit back into our regular stories.
I have been wanting to write a story for a while, now I have some insentive to! I have been hopping to get the PPC store running again smoothly (well as smooth as it ever gets) and have something new before the end of the month!
Leto
While Teh Awsum Drama is all very well, that's not what the PPC was made for.
As for your challenges... I just finished reading TOS, but I'm more than happy to do it again. I'm sure my neighbours don't mind hearing me giggling like a loon at weird hours of the night. And I think the missions I've done so far are pretty grass-roots... but if not, I'll put my effort into the one I'm going to finish before the month is up.
And I apologise if my creating the MTFFAT was a litle overboard, I just liked the idea of someone wandering around trying to get people to be nice to their technology and constantly having to leg it because of their (predictable) reactions.
So... *attempts to nudge the microphone she's been using to record for the Movie out of sight* I'll get on that. Though my production duties will continue- I'm the one who runs round poking everyone to do things, after all. Looks like we have something in common, hS.
*salutes* Sir, I accept your challenge with great pleasure! (And a bit of a groan, now that I have to actually find a Suefic to put into my mission, but I won't mention that.)
I can't promise I'll write anything, or even ask for Permission this year, but I'll try to find time to reread TOS. And I support with great delight those unconnected, old-style missions!
Duly noted, mon capitaine!
And I do rather agree with you, on #1 particularly; torture shouldn't be used in writing unless it's to prove a social/political point (although since that's not even the point of the PPC, this bit is irrelevant), or, as you mentioned, like Jay's sockpuppets.
And one no-strings-attached-yet-hopefully-entertaining mission coming right up. ;)
I probably fouled up at least a few of these points, though thanks for the message. I didn't mean to offend, if I have. And yeah, I know this isn't directed at me, but I do feel like I'm at least a little at fault (especially when I accidentally started that "attack the Factory" discussion), so I thought I'd say something. Never know if you've pissed someone off when you're only talking to them through a computer, heh. The only challenge of yours I can actually do at the moment is rereading the Original Series, but I'll go do that. Very well said post.
For a while I started to wonder whether there was something wrong with the missions I wrote because none of them are part of any major plot arcs (most of them can even be read in random order; that's how unconnected to a plot arc they are).
That said. I'd like to excuse myself from Challenge Two. At least until December. It's NaNo and I've just plugged two missions on the board less than a week ago.
*goes off to read TOS*
...that up next for me is an interlude introducing my newest recruit and then said recruit's first mission.
Really, the best thing about the PPC is the humor. Drama is all well and good, but the bizarre humor is what makes the PPC what it is.
...using a rather decently-written Suefic.
The Suefic I'm using
Now I feel like I'm cheating, but...she IS a Sue.
I have three and a half missions done, only one of which is posted - and my hit list has grown to epic proportions, and it's not going anywhere on its own. I'm not doing NaNo so that should give me time.
Only thing is that I have a bit of clean-up duty for our first mission to complete in this one - I don't suppose that'll count as anything 'big' or 'unusal', though.
Cheers, hS. I think we all needed this kick. Besides, any excuse to read the OS is a good thing. *grin*
Huinesoron, I'm really glad I'm not the only one who thought that. :)
*quietly sneaks out*
And you're right about rereading TOS, as well. Keep the focus, guys! Fun first!
I've got a few in progress at the moment, actually. I'll try and get the Department of Angst's second mission done for the end of the month.
-Trojie, trying to do everything for the fun parts
I'm doing NaNoWriMo at the same time as well.
And does this mean I'll need to do something about both Lori and Bill (DMSE&R) and Christianne and Eledhwen (DMS)?
Oh and does dissecting a 'Sue alive for scientific purposes count as torture? Along with every other experiment the DMSE&R might perform on Sues for the sake of science?
I'd have to say, even with the amazing writing of the massive events and all, and the cool later series, the Original Series really is still my favorite.
Definitely taking you up on Challenge 2, too! I've had permission for a few years now, and I've had 1/3 of a mission on the back-burner for at least a few months, so I'll get on that! Should provide a welcome distraction from NaNoWriMo.
It's that I haven't written a mission since John Freeman in, like, April. With NaNoWriMo and a play competition coming up, I probably won't have a mission up 'til the end of the month, but Harry the Wizard is looking to be purged of the Candy Mountain menace, so I shall get on to that soonish.
And I actually feel reassured. Everyone's been doing these huge, big plot-arc-y things, and I've felt bad about just having little ideas for regular missions instead of getting into something big like that. ^^; So, I've actually been thinking right, even if I've been incredibly lazy about getting things actually done.
That said, I will have that new DoGA mission turn up before too horrendously long, I promise.
~ Rath ~
Now I need to actually write my first mission, instead of just shouting my approval. *is a procrastinator*
Another thing about PPC canon: If it isn't in the Original Series, it's pretty much up to group consent. If everyone goes "Oooh, yeah, that's awesome!" then it can be canon. Otherwise, if I don't like something someone has done since the OS, I feel okay about ignoring it. I'd go so far as to say that's a right. So, just because you have Permission doesn't mean that what you do is automatically going to be accepted by everyone. If it is, congratulations, but it isn't really something you should be expecting. Again, it's all in fun. If you want to make all the rules, write an original story in a world of your own.
As for me, I've been trying to finish my current mission (which does contain angst, but it is mission-specific angst). It SHOULD happen sometime this year... And then I have a 2008 Invasion interlude to do, and then a FicPsych story, and before I die retire I really want to take on "Subjugation," but other small missions will probably happen before that's done.
~Neshomeh, who might get more prolific when she's out of college, but then again, she might also drop off the face of the internet for the lack of money to afford it. We shall see.
I'm so glad you're saying this. I'm slowly coming back from a really long hiatus caused by everyday Real Life things, and I'm looking around and thinking, "Wow...lotta stuff's happened." It's a little disorienting to come back and find out that there've been a couple hundred additions and changes to PPC canon, as I'm slowly finding out.
That said, I'm gonna go read the Original Series, and then find the time to finish up that mission I started ages ago. And that little interlude, too. And then maybe write another interlude chock-full of character interaction and development, should I find the time. Because while giant canon-expanding plotlines can be fun...I have to admit that my favorite stories are the ones that are character-driven.
*goes off to read*
... so do I have to drop that to do a mission? It's overdue as it is.
I kind of like the bog-standard missions more than the big complicated storylines (I don't think the TS set counts as a big complicated storyline so much as a bunch of missions stuck together) but I admit I'm guilty of #1 - I did mention that my agents got in trouble for the Drip Rat and Redneck Tree deaths but didn't detail their punishment because I couldn't make that funny. Could also apply to the Nighthunt fiasco, unless HQ makes exception for characters who attempted to violate and/or consume PPC members.
I shall try to write a mission, but it might be a bit difficult~
Also, as regards 1., what would be the disciplinary action taken against an Agent who did use torture?
According to the wiki page, the discipline is either a reprimand (if used on a Sue) or outright expulsion (if used on another agent, and I assume it's the case if you're a multiple offender, too).
Kitchen duty, Building Maintenance duty--anything menial and boring, really--a spell in FicPsych (they probably CAN adjust your personality if need be)...
But most likely, a total prohibition from all things Bleep in conjunction with missions just bad enough to make your fingers twitch for your Bleeprin without being so awful as to induce a homicidal rage. It would be easy to accomplish. An HQ-wide memo stating that these specific agents were not to be given any Bleep-stuff would likely result not in sympathy for the offenders, but in lots of pointing and laughing. Fitting, I think, and also with great potential for humor. {= )
~Neshomeh
This has actually given me an idea; S&S being assigned to prevent L&F from sneaking Bleeproducts after the Drip Rat incident, agreeing to refrain from using them themselves for their upcoming co-mission ... and said mission is the one where they end up getting genderbent for reasons too bizarre to explain here. Yay.
Seeing as I have a psychopath who rather needs to be taken down a peg or two, that sounds like a very good idea~
And now I have to figure out which work in progress to work on.
. . . usually.
It's always 'Oh god, I'm in trouble!' when he's really, really not ...
I didn't think I was that scary, and I doubt you are too :)
Do we have to use our normal Agents to fulfil this? I'm no good with Connie and Steve. :P
Ideally yes, but in cases where you haven't written them for some time, I see no reason why you can't use some others.
Also: I'm not laying down rules or anything. It's a challenge to return the PPC to its roots. How you do it is up to you.
hS