Big Finish writing opportunity

[ghost2]

Everyone knows about this chance to develop a Fifth Doctor & Nyssa audio story, right? Who all is submitting something? I decided I might as well give it a try. Of course, first I have to come up with a good idea and then flesh it out, revise, proofread, and all of that.

I already printed out and read the instructions, which seem very straightforward: don't do this, format like this, etc. As long as I follow directions, I figure my submission won't land in the bin on the first round. If I use spellcheck and proofread, it should make it past the second round as well. Other than that, well, I think I'd better start brainstorming and come up with a great concept.

Also, in reading the BF boards, I'm a bit amazed that people are having so much trouble holding their summaries to five hundred words. That's the length of a decent ficlet!

Comments

[doyle_sb4.livejournal.com]

I'm giving it a go, but not doing brilliantly yet at hitting on a plot that hasn't been done by Doctor Who in some form. I have a terrible compulsion to just send Five and Nyssa to a party and allow hijinks to ensue.

[ghost2.livejournal.com]

The positives here are that I currently feel reasonably capable of writing Five and Nyssa, I have free time this week to come up with ideas, and I think that a lot of other people won't bother to follow the directions. That said, I'll probably end up submitting a cracktastic proposal. But at least it'll be a cracktastic proposal with proper grammar.

[doyle_sb4.livejournal.com]

I do get the feeling that despite the guidelines they're going to get an awful lot of Daleks/Cybermen/Black Guardian stories with casts of thousands.

[ghost2.livejournal.com]

I do like how they say on the BF forum that the person reviewing the submissions will be ruthless. :)

[persiflage-1.livejournal.com]

Yup, I saw it, and I'm giving it a go, though I've never written Nyssa before. (Been listening to some of the Nyssa & Five BFAs though, to get her voice in my head.)

My summary's under 400 words.

[ghost2.livejournal.com]

Yes, getting the voices right will be key. I'm glad the concept is for Five & Nyssa, because I really like them plus I recently listened to Castle of Fear and wrote a Nyssa ficlet I thought turned out well enough.

I don't think I'll have a problem holding my summary to under five hundred words! I'm aiming for a minimum of three hundred, so that it isn't too short, either.

[persiflage-1.livejournal.com]

*nods* I had listened to the first couple of audios in the Stockbridge trilogy when it was announced, and really enjoyed the Five & Nyssa dynamic (which I hadn't explored until that point), so it was rather uncanny timing...

My summary is just over 300 words.

[dbskyler.livejournal.com]

I've been very tempted, but I'm not familiar with the BF audios so I don't know what plotlines have already been done, or even the type of stories they typically do. (Although perhaps it's better to not be typical? Of course, I'm not able to be either deliberately typical or not typical.) If I can come up with a good enough concept I'll probably give it a shot, though.

For the summaries that go over 500 words, my guess is that people are writing out every single detail instead of, you know, summarizing. I think you're right that simply following directions and proofreading will get you pretty far.

[ghost2.livejournal.com]

If you get an idea that you think would be enjoyable, it's definitely worth a try. The audios have quite a variety of plots and tones, and I think they're mainly looking for a solid concept that has potential. Also, if you're concerned about coming up with an idea that's too similar to something that's already been produced, maybe check with someone who's familiar with BF. It could save you the time and trouble of developing an idea that won't be acceptable.

[happydalek.livejournal.com]

This is a great opportunity, and if I'd had the time or creative energy I'd have given it a try. Anybody know if the previous opportunity lead to an actual audio?

[sneakyangel.livejournal.com]

I'm not sure about it leading to an audio before, but I know in the past, the stories have gone in the Short Trips books and in the dark ages, the a Benny short stories collection.

[ghost2.livejournal.com]

I don't even know if they've ever offered an opportunity like this one before. I do know about the story competition mentioned by sneakyangel, where there originally was supposed to be one winner but the actual result was an entire book of stories by new authors.

[thisbluespirit]

Good luck!

I saw it, but now is so very not the moment for me to be even thinking of trying anything like that. In the highly unlikely event that I succeeded, my head would probably explode. Although everyone else on my flist is... *feels a bit wistful*


But, good luck - unlike most, I know you have been faithful to Five and Nyssa from the start. ;-D

[ghost2.livejournal.com]

I suppose I'm lucky. The timing is fine for me. Plus, I can always convert the rejected idea into fanfic (unless, by some miracle, I happen to win).