Ficly

The Ten Ficly Bounce

“If you’re not having fun, you’re not doing it right.”

It applies in a lot of contexts, but I’ll let you and your imagination decide where best. For our purposes today, good ficlyteers, I mean playing around here on ficly, our literary playground. As all good playgrounds need games I’d like to suggest one. Most also have bullies, play structures, loners, and those little gaggles of giggling girls, but we can do without those.

I call it the Ten Ficly Bounce.

See, just reading the most recent or most popular or most active stories can be so staid, so predictable. Okay, it’s not really that predictable considering the random nature of each individual story. Stay with me though, if you would be so indulgent. The lists are a good starting place, so you pick one and read it AND leave a comment. Really, even something as simple as, “I read this and enjoyed/was lost/didn’t mind.”

Then comes the bounce. Click on the author link for anyone else who commented on that ficly. Read one of theirs. Click on the author link for anyone else who commented on that ficly. Repeat until you’ve read 10. If you find one with no comments, you win and get to be the first to leave a comment. Congratulations you get 10 bonus points. Now click the ‘Random Story’ button (small blue link at very bottom right of screen). If you land on one you’ve already commented upon, you win 20 bonus points and get to spin again by either clicking on an author link of another commentator or the ‘Random Story’ button. (This one doesn’t count towards the goal of 10 stories)

To make it more competitive, I say you get 5 points for being the second commentator, 3 points for being the third, and 1 point for being the fourth. Anything more than that, no extra points. Oh, and no points for the first ficly, as it’s too easy to cheat and pick one with no commentators on it, which also means you should automatically be picking the most recent story off the author’s list you bounce to. Also, no points if you don’t leave a comment, as that defeats half the purpose. Prequels or sequels by a different author are also a valid bounce destination, but not required by rules, I think, you know, just to encourage spreading the love around. Also, the author’s own comments on a story don’t count for any of this.

Feel free to comment with rule suggestions or brag about your scores. My first time around I got 113 points, so there.

15 comments Posted 2010-10-14 Author: THX 0477

Comments

  • Robert Quick

    58 Points
    Well I’ve finished my trek through the entire Ten Ficly Bounce challenge and I am not half the man you are. My point total is a whopping 58! Oh well it did provide a way to re-connect or connect more with the Ficly community. So I thank you for this wonderful idea. I hope that my eagerness to provide constructive criticism is understood.

    I may take her around again but it’ll depend on the circumstances in the near future.
    Thanks again and cheers!

  • H.S. Wift

    So this is limited to 10 bounces? That’s good for keeping a control variable. Anyway, THX, you’ve commented on so many stories, I would be suprised if every last bounce got you the 20 pt bonus.

  • THX 0477

    That’s actually how my score wound up so high. I think I hit 4 stories upon which I’d already commented. If Elsha plays she’ll whoop us all!

    And you can certainly do more bounces, but if we’re going to compare scores it’s based on 10 bounces. Maybe you could formulate or institute a marathon version of the game, H.S. Wift.

  • H.S. Wift

    OK, I call it Ten Thousand Ficly Bounce…

    Nah, lets not be ridiculous. But lets say we used the great bookmark system and took a few days to do it, and we could go for the Hundred Ficly Bounce. Anyone wanna play? The rules are simple, (see The Ten Ficly Bounce)

  • Garsecg

    This is a fun idea, though I have been way, way too busy to give Ficly the attention it deserves. I’m so deep in grad school work I can barely see the light.

  • THX 0477

    100 seems a bit much, but I may just try to give it a try this week.

  • ElshaHawk (LoA)

    okay i wrote down the points. heh heh heh.. I have to beat 113, huh?

  • ElshaHawk (LoA)

    Luckily for you, I have not been as active in the past two months! I ended up with 97 points. This method encourages commenting on people’s recent works, which lowers your score. If you’re playing for points, you’ll pick a story in the author’s list that you’ve read before. (hey look 20 bonus points and spin again!) Just saying. I like a game as much as the next guy, but let’s not cheat.
    To get higher points, I’d have to use the random story button 10 times. That’s not entirely the point here. Sure 10 (or more) stories are getting read either way, and not everyone can use this method to raise their score, (it doesn’t even work for me every time!) but how unlucky to be the 3rd or4th commenter! Maybe we should play for the lowest score..
    Also, do author’s OWN comments count? If you read my story and I commented on it, does it make you second commenter, or first?

  • THX 0477

    I think it’s been mentioned, but I think when you link to an author you have to pick their most recent story, thus disallowing the intentional selection of stories you’ve read before.

    And no, I don’t think an author’s own comments count in the sequence of how many comments have been posted before yours.

    I’m still working up the courage to try the 100 ficly bounce. Maybe another round or two of 10 ficly bounce first.

  • ElshaHawk (LoA)

    yay! I’ll have to play again.

  • THX 0477

    Second time around I got a more reasonable 91—didn’t get as lucky on the one ‘random ficly’ I got to hit, and the last couple had comments already.

  • RoseTone ~LoA~

    Oh my goodness…. how did I miss this?

    I was thinking about Monthquel and wondering if there would be a Monthment, decided to look back at the blog before I asked, lo and behold – I find the Ten Ficly Bounce.

    I’m not quite sure I understood the rules – so I’ll have to go over it a few times, but I’m going to try a Bounce at least every month. I’m planning on more, but trying to keep it reasonable at first.

    This is a great (fun!) way to encourage commenting…

    Love it! I’ll be posting my scores… once I figure out exactly how to play…

    ….gonna have to make a scoring/play chart…. something to tell me what to do and how to award points in a “…for dummies” fashion…

  • Jae

    This is how I consolidated the rules:

    INSTRUCTIONS
    1 – Choose a first story to read.
    2 – Read it
    3 – Comment on it / rate it (this completes one “bounce”)
    4 – click on another author who left a comment
    5 – read their latest story
    6 – comment on it / rate it
    if you have already commented, note your comment’s position # from the top.
    *    if there are no other comments, comment on the story, then click the random story button and continue from step 2 until you have “bounced” through 10 ficly’s.
    ***prequels and sequels by other authors are valid bounce destinations

    SCORING
    Being the first to comment = 10pts
    Random landing on a story you’ve already commented upon = 20pts
    Second commentator = 5pts
    Third commentator = 3 pts
    Fourth commentator = 1pt
    Leaving without commenting = 0pts

  • RoseTone ~LoA~

    Oooh… concise…

    Remember: “…no points for the first ficly, as it’s too easy to cheat and pick one with no commentators on it….”

    Also needing to be included: “If you land on one you’ve already commented upon, you win 20 bonus points and get to spin again by either clicking on an author link of another commentator or the ‘Random Story’ button. (This one doesn’t count towards the goal of 10 stories)”

  • Jae

    Wow, I guess that leaves me with only 21 points.