The Pick-An-Episode Challenge

[ginamr]

In this challenge, writers create a missing scene from the selected episode and send their entries. At the end of the month, all entries are judged and the winner gets to pick the next episode.

Rules are as follows:

1. The missing scene can be general or a pairing, but no slash pairings.

2. The missing scene can be any genre or any rating.

3. All entries must include "The Pick-An-Episode Challenge" somewhere in it and in the subject line.

4. All rules for Triaxian Silk submissions apply.

So what does everyone think?

[Distracted]

Who's judging? If we do it by poll there might be a tie. Also having winners requires that there be losers, and as far as I'm concerned, anyone with the gonads to post a story is a winner. It's a good suggestion otherwise, though. Why don't you just pick an episode every month or so and yell, "Go!"

[Silverbullet]

I like the idea of writing a missing scene. But would want to pick the episode. One problem would be being compared to the incompparable Alelou. (Hell of a tough act to follow)

That and what is the parameters. Suppose one hates an episode and wants to write a missing scene revealing that distaste. How about NC-17 romances?

Not that I have any missing scenes in mind. Just asking.

SB

[Distracted]

The solution, SB, would be to write a story only when the monthly suggested episode appealed to you. We've got to have some structure to the thing, don't you think? We can't just say "Okay, the challenge is to write an additional scene to any episode you want". What kind of a challenge is that?

I think ginamr was pretty clear on the content guidelines. Basically, I'm thinking they'd be the TriS guidelines. NC-17 is permitted but we'll put it in Decon, not in the main section or on the board. Slash is not permitted because none of the Enterprise characters swing that way in canon and site administration has decided as a group that we don't want to go there. I would point out also that pairing anyone else on the crew with T'Pol or Trip probably won't fly either. We've tolerated some deviations from that standard in the past as long as TnT end up together or the story otherwise illustrates their undying love, but Archer/T'Pol added scenes are not for this crowd. As far as fixing an episode you dislike, well, isn't that what additional scenes are for?

[Cogito]

Does this mean that all of you would all be writing about the same episode for each month's challenge?

[Distracted]

If I'm understanding ginamr's idea correctly, I think so. So the key would be to be as imaginative as possible so that they aren't all the same.

[Silverbullet]

How can that be avoided? I have read stories that wer very similar. I have thought of some that when I ws reading a bit later came across a story that was exactly what I had in mind. Some episodes would lend themselves to a general interpretation and you would get similar missing scenes. It is hard enough to be riginal as it is.

SB

[Distracted]

Thus the term "challenge".

[Silverbullet]

Dis, you are correct there. HOow about five episodes and one can choose which one to write the missing scene from. There are some episodes which generally are liked by most members. Others that some like and others loath. A few that are not generally accepted.

Would the missing scene be confined to the main characters or could a writer use a secondary character or make up one to interact with the main characters? There the possibilities would be fairly large.

SB

[Cogito]

Would the missing scene be confined to the main characters or could a writer use a secondary character or make up one to interact with the main characters? There the possibilities would be fairly large.

No restrictions have been mentioned so far, and if I have understood the proposal correctly an imaginative or novel approach would be positively encouraged.

[Distracted]

So what about it, Ginamr? You want to do this? Looks like you've got a couple of people chomping at the bit to try it. It's your idea. I think you should pick an episode for us to start with.

[ginamr]

I should reasonably be able to pick an episode every month.

As a reminder, here's the rules (some we've agreed to, others made to satisfy most parties):

1. The selected episode will be posted to this thread at the beginning of every month.

2. The missing scene can be general or a pairing, but no slash pairings.

3. The missing scene can be any genre or any rating. Stories can be NC-17, but will be posted in Decon. Spoofs and parodys obviously wouldn't work, but a secondary character can make fun of a primary character's behavior offscreen or how a decision that was made was stupid. For example, you could have a missing scene where Hess teases Trip about getting "pregnant" in Unexpected.

4. All entries must include "The Pick-An-Episode Challenge" somewhere in it and in the subject line.

5. Writers don't have to do a pairing, but if there is a pairing it must be canon only.(Trip/T'Pol ). If it's a secondary character pairing, so long as the pairing isn't with Trip or T'Pol, it would be fine. For example, you can reveal a one night stand between Reed and Hess offscreen (though please keep any pairings believeable. If you do a Reed/Hess, be prepared to justify it in your story...i.e. heat of the moment or if it's an episode where the crew is acting out of character as a part of the plot, "the anomaly made them do it" or "the illness made them do it"). AKA no slash pairings.

6. Missing scenes can AU, but must fit within the confines of the episode canon and other established canon for the series (an addition of mine, if everyone agrees). For example, for Terra Prime, T'Pol can't have another baby later, but they can talk about it offscreen.

7. Missing Scenes don't have to be from a primary character's POV, but the secondary character's POV MUST REVOLVE around a main character. Just one rule on that: NO MARY SUES (Don't put yourself in the story) purely because that drives me nuts. Also, any interaction a secondary character has with a primary character MUST BE BELIEVEABLE.

If everyone agrees, we can continue. We can work on the rules on a case by case basis if need be, but the above will be basics.

Since we're in the middle of June, I can just make this July's challenge and give everyone an extra couple weeks. So to be clear: the July challenge will run from now until July 31.

This month's episode is: E2.

There's so few missing scenes done for this one and I'd love to see some different viewpoints on this. Writers can even explore more about older T'Pol's past with the other Trip or Phlox's relationship with his selected mate.

One I'd like to see is the other Reed's reaction to everyone pairing up and how he go left in the dust.

I picked this episode first because it's an sort of AU and gives writers more to explore offscreen. It'll stretch everybody's brains so to speak. But beware, they get tougher from here.

[WarpGirl]

Just one rule on that: NO MARY SUES (Don't put yourself in the story) purely because that drives me nuts.

Okay I'm just a teeny bit confused, when you say no "Mary-Sue's" does this mean no original characters what-so-ever. Because if you think about it, people like Janie Taylor, Mike Rostov, and Hess have so little information on them that anyone who writes them (assuming they don't copy other authors) writes an "original character".

[ginamr]

Original characters are okay, so long as they're not completely based on the writer and acting all fan-ish ("Oh my God! It's Trip! I wonder if he'll sleep with me even though he's into T'Pol.")

[WarpGirl]

Thank you for the clarification!