Plot, Plot, Plot

[coalitiongirl]

 So we now have our writers and you've looked through all the technical details, and now it's time to talk plot! We've got seven days to suggest and discuss any ideas you have in the comments, and here are two things to keep in mind:

• Each chapter should ideally be a story in itself. We're each getting one opportunity to write and so we want a plot that allows for each writer to play within the 'verse without being caught up in transitional chapters or the like!
• At the same time, we also want to have one coherent ongoing plot that allows for development so it doesn't read like a series of short stories.

So this can work in several ways.

• We could rewrite a season. We have exactly as many writers as there are episodes, and we could each tackle one. (I'm wary of this option simply because there's the OUATVS and because I don't know about the rest of you, but I find episode rewrites kind of dull, especially when we have many stronger writers than the OUAT ones?)
• We can settle on a theme with stronger individual chapter plots and a weaker overall plot. I suggested tropes before- it could be something like "some kind of magical trickster has come to town and keeps casting wacky spells," and then we go from there. (I've seen people do that way back when SQW did magical mishaps.) In that, the story would be very much about individual chapters and character/relationship development, but it's tricky because the latter sometimes gets lost in the process.
• We can settle on one standard plot that we like and write to it- this is generally easy and straightforward, though you do need a more intricately organized outline from the start so you don't run out of plot along the way. 

Please drop your suggestions in the comments and discuss them! Reply to each other and talk about what you want to write and what you think might work for a story like this. This post closes on May 2, and we'll poll for your favorite option of the ones suggested from May 3-5.

Oh, and I don't think we'll do a totally alternate universe this time around because many people aren't used to writing out of the 'verse. Anything that takes place within the OUAT universe, even if it's a complete deviation from canon, is fair game.

Comments

[snarkingturtle]

A couple concerns that I have about a trope demon are:

-making sure that the tropes make sense together and aren't too random (there should be some kind of common thread/type of mischief the antagonist is drawn to--like for example I could see dopplegangers, body switch, stuck together, rhymes with blinvisible, and new uncontrollable power working well together as a set of tropes, because they all have to do with losing some sort of control over your body. or truth serum and mind reading both match nicely (didn't do a thorough enough comb-through of tropes to pick more for that group), because of the invasion-of-privacy/private thoughts element. you get the idea.)

-picking tropes that preferably haven't been done too much already in a sqw (unless we think we can do something really new and different with them)

-making sure that everyone is comfortable with the trope their team has picked (would there be a veto option, or would it be majority rules?)

But other than that, I think that it would be a good way to wrangle this many writers, and, like you said, be less dependent on really mapped out plotting.