Writing Group: RULES UPDATE!

This is a big one, but I’ll make it fairly quick.

We’ve made some updates to our rules. Among other things, we’ve had to disallow all fan-fiction, specify that there is only one permissible way to format your titles/author name, and disallow art.

We’re not very happy to be making these changes, but as the writing group grows, it becomes harder to handle. We need to make sure our approach to checking for eligibility between posts is swift and sustainable, and leaves as little margin for error as humanly possible. Fan fiction was rapidly demonstrating it’s potential to become extremely insular and referential, to the point of being totally incomprehensible to anyone not “in the know” about the intellectual properties involved. Titles are just a matter of automation—we need those to be consistent so that the bot we use to check for basic eligibility can tell the difference between what is your submission text, and what’s not. Art is just beyond our reasonable ability to streamline at the moment. Maybe in the future we can find a lean, useful model for automating the addition of art to submissions. For now, regrettably, we’ll have to go without.

As with any project, the writing group is an ongoing learning experience. This isn’t the first time we’ll have to do an overhaul on the rules, and it won’t be the last. Whatever changes we have to make, thank you for bearing with them. Ultimately, we just want this to be as fun, safe, and sustainable as it can possibly be.

Now, on to the new rule set. You’ll see this in every prompt post as usual, but have a look right now to prepare yourself:

 

Rules and Guidelines

We read at least six stories during each stream, three of which come from the public post, and three of which come from the much smaller private post. Submissions are randomly selected by a bot, but likes on your post will improve your chances of selection, so be sure to share your submission on social media!

  1. Text and Formatting

    1. English only.
    2. Prose only, no poetry or lyrics.
    3. Use proper spelling, grammar, and syntax.
    4. Your piece must be between 250-350 words (you can use this website to see your wordcount).
    5. Include a submission title and an author name (doesn’t have to be your real name). Do not include any additional symbols or flourishes in this part of your submission. Format them exactly as you see in this example, or your submission may not be eligible: Example Submission.
    6. No additional text styling (such as italics or bold text). Do not use asterisks, hyphens, or any other symbol to indicate whether text should be bold, italic, or styled in any other way. CAPS are okay, though.
  2. What to Submit

    1. Keep submissions “safe-for-work”; be sparing with sexuality, violence, and profanity.
    2. Try to focus on making your submission a single meaningful moment rather than an entire story.
    3. Write something brand new (no re-submitting past entries or pieces written for other purposes).
    4. No fan fiction whatsoever. We obviously can’t check to make sure all content is original, but by submitting you agree that your creations are your own intellectual property and nobody else’s.
    5. Submissions must be self-contained (everything essential to understanding the piece is contained within the context of the piece itself—no mandatory reading outside the piece required. e.g., if you want to write two different pieces in the same setting or larger narrative, you cannot rely on information from one piece to fill in for the other—they must both give that context independently).
  3. Submission Rules

    1. One submission per participant.
    2. Submit your entry in a comment on this post.
    3. Submissions close at 12:00pm CST each Friday.
    4. You must like and leave a review on two other submissions to be eligible. Your reviews must be at least 50 words long, and must be left directly on the submission you are reviewing, not on another comment. If you’re submitting to the private post, feel free to leave these reviews on either the private or the public post. The two submissions you like need not be the same as the submissions you review.
    5. Use the same e-mail for your posts, reviews, and likes, or you may be rendered ineligible (you may change your username or author name between posts without problem, however).
    6. You may submit to either or both the public/private groups if you have access, but if you decide to submit to both, only the private group submission will be eligible.
    7. Understand that by submitting here, you are giving us permission to read your submission aloud live on stream and upload public, archived recordings of said stream to our social media platforms. You will always be credited, but only by the author name you supply as per these rules. No other links or attributions are guaranteed.

Comments on this post that aren’t submissions will be deleted, except for replies/reviews left on existing submissions.

Writing Group: Moved to this Sunday!

Hello everyone!

Just a little post to let you know the fate of our last prompt:

 

But You Gave Your Word…

 

Because of some unforeseen circumstances to do with my mental health, I was unable to conduct business as usual this last Friday. Fortunately, I was able to do some healing over the course of the week and I think i’m at last ready to give some attention to all the lovely submissions attached to that prompt.

So before we return to form on Friday the 21st, we’ll have a stream this Sunday, the 16th, to make up for the missed session.

After that, all shall be as it once was.

 

—Benji

 

P.S. — If you’re curious about the nature of my absence, however, I recommend showing up to the Sunday stream. I’m pretty open about this kind of thing, and there’s a very high chance I’ll spend some time discussing it.

Hidden Taleoid Giveaway!

There are taleoids on the loose!

During the next three writing group streams, taleoids are going to appear on screen  with secret messages!

TaleoidKeychainPromo_9a4_bTaleoid_Sign_FindMeLarge

If you’re the first to see a taleoid and you let us know, we’ll send it home to live with you, free of charge!

…in the form of a lovely keychain!

CLICK HERE TO PARTICIPATE!

 

 

A video long overdue…

This video is long overdue.

In January of this year we opened a GoFundMe campaign for my mother who was (and to some extent still is) going through some terrible times. Because of the cascade of events and how much she was giving in terms of time and money to help the people around her stay afloat, her life was falling apart.

We didn’t expect much when we opened the campaign. I remember telling my team mate, Chloe, that I’d be shocked and elated if we even broke $5,000. Imagine our surprise when together, you contributed $10,000 within the first 24hrs, and then when you all went on to contribute $21,000 in the month following.

A veil has been lifted from our eyes. We see you, and feel your love, and appreciate you. We might not know each of you, we might not be able to interact with you on an individual basis, but the feeling of love and gratitude is very real.

To everyone who donated or helped to spread the word, thank you. You’ve saved my mother from ruin, and saved my family.

 

—Benji and the Tale Foundry Team

50,000 Subscribers Giveaway!

50,000SubsGiveAwayAlright! We promised there were felicitations on the way, and here they are: https://goo.gl/forms/45VHqpItaxizVEL63

Recently we broke 50,000 subscribers on Youtube. That’s half-way to a silver play button. This is… really big for us. So to celebrate all the love and support we’ve been getting from our community, here! Free things!

Or… free thing.

We’re giving away a Tale Foundry hoodie to a lucky fan! Just follow the link and fill in the form! We’ll draw and announce a winner at random two weeks from now (6/20)! More info in the link.

—The Tale Foundry Team

[legal note: WordPress has no legal obligation to this giveaway or its participants. All information involved in this giveaway will be released to Tale Foundry, not to WordPress. Participants must be 18 years or older, and must live in the United States]

6 Mythological Invaders of Ireland

Wherein we thoroughly abridge Irish pseudohistory. If you want to find more information (and more ideas) yourself, check the Credit/Attribution section below.

Subscribe for more! ➤ http://tinyurl.com/ho9cl6s
Facebook ➤ www.facebook.com/TaleFoundry
Twitter ➤ https://twitter.com/TheTaleFoundry

***View the video description on Youtube for sources/attributions/additional information***

We are One Year Old!

17270358_10212187992871950_2079505387_n.pngAs of today, Tale Foundry is one year old!
 
On behalf of everyone at the Foundry, we thank you for a year worth of wonderful creative thinking and writing. We are privileged to have such supportive fans and enjoyed seeing the many minds we inspired this year.
We invite you to share your stories with us by posting them on Tumblr with the “keep making stuff up” tag, or by submitting them here: https://goo.gl/ynaE9V. The same goes for any alternative art for stories you may have been inspired to create or any general fan art. We want to see what we have inspired you to do!
Thank you.

We’re One Year Old Tomorrow!

Tomorrow marks one full year since we posted our first episode! We believe that this is a major cause for celebration and we want you to join in.

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We invite you to share your stories with us by posting them on Tumblr with the “keep making stuff up” tag, or by submitting them here: https://goo.gl/ynaE9V. The same goes for any alternative art for stories you may have been inspired to create or any general fan art. We want to see what we have inspired you to do!

At the bottom are the links to all of our series. We’ve had a great time letting our creative juices flow with you this past year and we can’t wait to see how well the upcoming year goes!

Thank you, everyone.

Chloe, Happy Human Helper

Celtic Folklore

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLegyBq4Mvn-YplUq8htcQh9-RZJn4CJ4X

Game of Thrones

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLegyBq4Mvn-YagUCJ6fIFQUOZT_46vqLC

Weird Fiction

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLegyBq4Mvn-aBqWzHwiUiKvaczsW6riLt

American Mythology

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLegyBq4Mvn-Y4LDaObCud7smW86aKy1lX

Pokémon

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLegyBq4Mvn-YHtheCuzlwNinJ4_G-jiod

Creepy Pasta

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLegyBq4Mvn-YjkHXRlo5HhZSEuJytO2vC

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLegyBq4Mvn-apySLXczOQxjuqM3nwfe92

Westworld

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLegyBq4Mvn-ao21hH5cn63Jy8FgK-dayr