DDDDD ZZZZZZ // D D AAAA RRR GGGG OOOO NN N Z I NN N EEEE || D D A A R R G O O N N N Z I N N N E || -=========================================================+|) D D AAAA RRR G GG O O N N N Z I N N N E || DDDDD A A R R GGGG OOOO N NN ZZZZZZ I N NN EEEE || \\ \ ------------------------------------------------------------------------ -- Writers' Frequently Asked Questions -- ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Note: This file was last updated 12/26/1998. Recent changes are noted by a bar '|' in column 1.) What is DargonZine? Hmmm. If you don't know the answer to this one, you should go read the DargonZine Readers' FAQ first! What is the Dargon Project all about? The project was founded in 1985 as a way for amateur fantasy writers on the Internet to meet and become better writers through mutual contact and collaboration. The focus of the group is on mutual support, encouragement, and improvement. The duchy of Dargon is the common thread that all stories share. All Dargon Project works take place in that environs, and authors are encouraged to share and borrow the places and characters and events that are part of that milieu. Authors are expected to comment upon other writers' works in progress, use other writers' events and characters from other stories within their own, and even co-author stories. Does DargonZine accept submissions that aren't Dargon fiction? No. There are several Internet emags that will accept your non-Dargon fiction and nonfiction submissions. We print strictly Dargon Project material. Do I have to join the project in order to submit stories? Yes. Because this is a collaborative project, as a non-member you can't just submit a story for publication. Submissions must integrate with both the existing body of published work, and any work that is currently planned or in queue. You will also be expected to critique others' works and contribute to the shared world. People who don't want to participate in a communal project should consider submitting to other emags. How do I become a project member? To become an official Dargon Project member, send email to the editor, Ornoth Liscomb, at , requesting that you be added to Dargon-L, the Dargon Writers' Forum. Once you're on the list, you're a member, and will start receiving mail from the writers' forum. Once you start seeing list mail, send out a brief hello to introduce yourself to the group. How do I send a brief hello to introduce myself to the group? Any email that you send to is echoed to all the Dargon Project authors. This list is similar to others all around the Internet and the usual rules of netiquette and polite posting apply. Another thing to bear in mind is that the Listserv software that redistributes your mail doesn't like seeing its own name in your mail, so when you reply to Dargon-L mail, it's best to not include mail headers in your citation. If Listserv sees its name in your mail, it will probably delete it rather than redistribute it, and no one will see your comments. How do I find out who is on the Dargon-L list? Send an email to , with the text "send dargon-l list". You'll be sent a copy of the file that lists the current Dargon-L members. What if I'm not on the network? Being an effective member of the project really requires that you have the ability to get mail to and from the Dargon-L discussion list. Although one could technically produce stories without access to Dargon-L, participation in the discussions and reviewing others' work are requirements for submitting your own | stories. Relatively inexpensive email access can be obtained | through several online services. How do I get started writing? | Very shortly after you are added to Dargon-L, you will also be | assigned a "mentor", another writer in the group who has a lot | of experience and knowledge about how DargonZine works, the | details of the milieu, and so forth. Use that person as your | first sounding board for ideas, and the first place you go to | get answers to your questions. Your mentor should be supportive, | and if you aren't getting what you need from that person, speak | to the person who assigned your mentor and see if you can be | assigned a different mentor. How do I get up to speed on Dargon and all the things in it? Once subscribed to Dargon-L, you need to get up to speed on what is currently going on in the project, and what has gone on in the past. Ideally, you should read all the back issues, but we realize that's expecting a little much; a few back issues (especially the ones that are pertinent to current storylines) are sufficient to get the flavor of what's going on in the project. The biggest thing to remember is to speak up. If you have questions, ask away! Don't be shy. We can't anticipate all the information you'll require. | Start bouncing your story ideas off your mentor, and then the other writers. Bear in mind that many of your ideas just won't be appropriate for Dargon, but be patient and try to work within the structure. Don't try to make your first story the be-all and end-all. Once you've got an idea that everyone thinks is workable, start writing! How frequently will I be expected to publish? Well, it'll probably take some time for you to get up to speed, so your first story may take some time. We have a general rule that authors are dropped after failing to publish for two years, but the hope is that you'll publish more frequently than that. One to three stories per year would be great! All authors are expected to post status reports at the beginning of each month, indicating the stories they are working on, where | those stories are in the pipeline, and what progress they have made in the previous month. What is the submission procedure? The first step in the creation of a Dargon story is coming up with a story idea. Bear in mind some of the concerns discussed in the "Guidelines" section, below. Once you've got an idea of | what you want to write about, you should send a brief | description or outline to your mentor, who will discuss it with | you. When your mentor approves, you should post the outline to Dargon-L, so that the other authors know about it. They'll do a sanity check to make sure that it fits in with the project and what's gone before, and may suggest alternative storylines and point out potential problems. Iterate as necessary. Once there's general acceptance of your storyline, you can go off and write your initial draft. Bear in mind the items discussed in the "Stylistic Concerns" section, below. When you're done, spellcheck it, proof it, and have some of your | friends read and comment on it. Then send it to your mentor. | Iterate as necessary. When you're satisfied that it's in good | shape, post it to Dargon-L. Be aware that if you post a story which has obviously not been spellchecked or proofed by another person, you are likely to receive strong feedback. The other writers will make general and specific comments on your story and recommend changes. Allow a couple weeks for people to read and comment, but don't hold the story up by waiting for comments after a reasonable period (say, four weeks). Consider what they have to say and make any changes you think are appropriate and re-post the story. Iterate as necessary! Keep doing this until everyone's pretty happy with the story as is. You are the person who decides when the story is ready to print. When it is, send a copy of the story to the editor for publication and get started on your next story! Do I get paid for publishing in DargonZine? | No. DargonZine is oriented toward the aspiring amateur writer, | and as such is thoroughly noncommercial. We have no funds with | which to compensate writers. No one receives monetary | compensation for the work they put into the project. The value | our writers derive is from sharing ideas and techniques with | other writers. Do I need to pay in order to participate in the Dargon Project? | Kinda sort-of, but not much. Let me explain... | | For the past dozen years, the editor handled all costs incurred | in producing DargonZine. However, it now takes over $1500 to run | DargonZine for a year. In order to relieve the editor of these | costs and more fairly distribute the burden of our "vanity | publishing", the authors recently voted to institute what we | think is a fair system of dues for writers. It works like this: | | The only people who *have* to pay dues are those who have been | with the project for more than a year, and who have had at least | one story printed in DargonZine. That way new writers have a | "free trial" period to determine whether the group is of value | to them. | | Furthermore, the fees are graduated. People who have full-time | jobs are expected to contribute the full fee: $25 per year. But | students, part-time workers, and other people who are cash-poor | are only expected to contribute $12.50 per year. | | We hope that is a fair system. The intent is to try to offset | some of the costs associated with running the magazine, and all | dues and expenses are strictly tracked by the Assistant Editor. | | Note that paying dues doesn't relieve a writer of their other | requirements such as actively working on stories and | participating in discussions. Even if you have paid dues, you | are still subject to removal from the project if you aren't an | active participant. Who retains what rights to stories printed in DargonZine? DargonZine retains the right to reproduce its own issues and reprint stories for special collections such as "Best Of" issues. The names "Dargon" and "DargonZine" are copyrighted by the editor. The author retains all other rights. A copyright notice to that effect appears in every issue. Be aware that most publishing houses and magazines consider publication in DargonZine to constitute surrender of "first publication rights". This has implications for writers who wish to print their Dargon stories elsewhere. Also note that your use of other writers' characters is with their permission -- they retain the rights to those characters. Unauthorized use of characters and things that are not yours, in stories that are printed elsewhere, constitutes a violation of copyright laws. Because of these issues and the essentially collaborative nature of stories which take place within the shared milieu, DargonZine stories cannot be published outside DargonZine itself unless reworked so that they no longer reference the shared world or any other elements which the publishing writer does not have exclusive ownership of. Do I retain control of the characters and things I contribute? Once you have introduced something to the project, anyone can (with your permission) use it. After you leave the project, your characters and things become free game for anyone to use. Writers are encouraged both to use other writers' characters and places, and also to create characters and places and things that other writers can reference in their stories. While you are an active Dargon Project member, you are the "curator" of the characters, places, and things that you create. You are the authority on those things, and have final say in what can be printed regarding it, unless you are overruled by the group as a whole. However, if you leave the project, the project retains the right to use those characters and things within future Dargon Project stories. "Curatorship" of those entities may also be transferred to other active writers. Can I use other peoples' characters and things? As this is a collaborative anthology, authors are highly encouraged to use other writers' characters, but there are some important factors to be kept in mind. Above all, check with the curator of the character. That character may be destined to do something else or be in the wrong geographic location or be out of touch in terms of timeframe. If the original curator is no longer with the project, check with the group to see if someone else has adopted or is using the character in their work. How do you keep track of all the characters and references and all? | Our primary tool is a database called the Author's Master Database (or "the AMD"), which lists all stories, writers, characters, things, references, curators, and so forth. The database is regularly updated, and is one of the most important resources a Dargon Project writer can have. A subset of the AMD is the Online Glossary, which lists all characters and places and such, along with their definitions and what stories they appear in. This is available on the DargonZine | Web site at . What other resources are available to Dargon Project writers? There is also an email daemon called "The Dargon Project Library", which is designed to be a quick reference for Project staff and readers. To request a document, send mail to with the text "Request " in the subject line. For a listing of available documents, send "Request DARGON". There are also several facilities available on the DargonZine Web site through the DargonZine Writer Menu at the URL | . From there you can view the Global Status Report, which shows all the stories currently in progress and where they are in the pipeline. From this menu you can also obtain the current list of DargonZine writers. There is a full-text search which allows you to specify a character string, and you will be shown every instance of that character string in every FSFnet and DargonZine issue which | contains it. There is also a form for updating Glossary items and the details of each time that item is referenced in a story. Note that the Writer Menu is password protected. If you are a participating writer and need a password, please contact the editor. This Writer Menu will be the place where future | facilities for the writers will be made available. Can I co-author a story with someone? Sure! Unless you're geographically close to someone or have the money for a lot of phone calls, true co-authorship may be difficult. But don't let that stop you from trying! Two ways that we've gotten around this are as follows. We've produced several stories where different authors wrote different sections of the text. For example, one person would write a specific encounter between two characters, while the other writes a larger context: one of the characters' visit to Dargon. Another alternative is to write about the same events from two different characters' perspectives. But feel free to experiment with whatever you think might work! The main thing to be careful of is plotting out a lengthy storyline that requires multiple people to get their parts done. We've had problems in the past where a storyline took years (of real time) to develop, and in the meantime some of the key writers left the project. Be careful that you don't put yourself in the position of having to clean up after someone who left you holding the bag! How do you resolve conflicts? Obviously, the first thing to try is compromise. If differences of opinion continue, the opinion of the majority of active Dargon Project writers rules. When people are in a receptive mood, the editor can occasionally get away with issuing edicts. Is material posted to Dargon-L canon? If someone discusses (for example) an idea about a new coin, it doesn't become an immutable fact unless it sees print in a story. As authors, we are bound by what the readers have seen within the pages of the magazine. We are not bound by ideas that have been presented in Dargon-L. The ultimate test of whether something is a fact is whether or not it has seen print. Is there anything else I have to do as a project member? As a project member, you are expected to be an active participant in the discussions that take place on Dargon-L. You are expected to provide opinions and critiques of other authors' ideas and stories in a timely manner. Your comments on stories should be turned around within two to three weeks at most. And don't forget those monthly status reports! In short, Dargon is not a place for lurkers! Individuals who do not actively participate in the project and are "idle" for several months at a time will periodically be removed from Dargon-L at the editor's discretion. When you join Dargon-L, you will find some people who are better writers than you, and some who aren't as good, and many with specific areas of knowledge. One of the difficulties you face is taking blunt criticism of your writing maturely, without getting emotional. Remember that criticism is intended to improve your writing. You are also expected to provide criticism of others' works in a sensitive and constructive way. Be considerate in your comments. The goal of the project is to provide a supportive environment for aspiring writers who wish to improve. Above all else, be a professional. It is also hoped that you'll help promote the magazine by telling your friends and encouraging people you meet on the net to subscribe. The magazine's success is in your hands, and we hope that you can help us make it better. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- -- DargonZine Writers' Guidelines -- ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Over the course of a fifteen-year collaborative writing project, we've learned quite a bit about writing fantasy. What follows is a list of general suggestions to bear in mind when developing a story idea. While some may sound arbitrary or unnecessarily restrictive, the collaborative nature of the project requires that we accept certain limits on what we can write about. Set your stories in the vicinity of Dargon. New writers should base their first stories in the immediate vicinity, rather than strike off on their own. All writers are expected to set stories in or near Dargon on a regular basis. Don't use powerful magic. Magic is exceedingly rare in Dargon because it is very destabilizing. Magic can be used, within limits, but it cannot be used so liberally as to effect society. If you do use magic, make it very rare and unique. There's nothing more pathetic than reading a story full of spells and items that are right out of a Dungeons and Dragons rulebook. It's also a good idea to "dispose" of powerful magic by the end of your story. Don't introduce new technologies. This is a medieval society, and introduction of new technologies can have the same destabilizing effect as introducing powerful magic. Don't do it. There are no explosives in Dargon. Don't overuse nonhuman races. The world of Dargon is a human one. There are a few nonhuman races around, but don't use them too liberally. Again, if you use them, make them unique -- and please don't lift species from roleplaying games or similar sources. No superheroes! Powerful characters are also destabilizing, and are often the sign of a writer who is trying to overcome a sense of personal inadequacy. Similarly, don't introduce anti-heroes. Like our own world, Dargon is populated with relatively ordinary people who occasionally find themselves in extraordinary circumstances. Don't be a worldbuilder! New project members must overcome the desire to "leave their mark" on Dargon by creating lots of new continents and kingdoms and cities and other named items. You'll be much more fondly remembered for a single good, powerful story than for the mess you make of the map. Write your stories to be consistent with the landmarks and people who are already there. Don't start anything you can't finish. When you introduce a character or a plot, be sure that it's something that you will have the time and energy to finish. There have been a large number of plotlines that petered out, because the person writing that thread left the project. Don't leave a mess that other writers will have to clean up. Know what you're writing about. If you're writing a story that takes place on the high seas, do some research into it. Learning about your subject matter not only gives you a passable understanding of it, but will also give you the ideas and vocabulary to make your story vibrant. You'll only damage your own reputation as an author if you write about impossibilities such as castles with 300-foot towers. Don't steal names. It may be tempting to name characters after your friends, but it's unprofessional, juvenile, and usually illegal. Come up with your own names for people, places, and things. In addition, stories which feature "real" people or which feature "cross-overs" between Dargon and "reality" aren't allowed. Don't use "modernisms". One of the things that Dargon writers will check you on is your use of modern phrases, such as "Cool!" or "policeman" or "gastroenterology", especially in dialogue. Use of "modern" language can destroy the reader's willing suspension of disbelief. Don't borrow roleplaying game plots. The Dargon Project is for serious, aspiring writers, not for people who want to document their gaming sessions. People who lack the originality necessary to come up with their own plots and who rely on others to make a story interesting have no business calling themselves writers. The Gods. We've already got several pantheons, thank you, we don't need any more. The gods do not actually manifest themselves in Dargon. Period. What time is it? All Dargon stories must indicate the date they take place, and should reflect events happening at that time. There is a vague sense of a "current" time in Dargon, which writers should stay within. If you write a story that takes place in the comparative past, be aware of other things that happened at that time. If you write in the comparative future, be aware that your work will be very closely scrutinized. Any references to people or things gives the reader some foreknowledge about what will occur in the "present". For example, if Dargon is being attacked by Beinison hordes, and I write a story in which Clifton Dargon appears that takes place two years in the relative future, the reader knows that Clifton will not die in the intervening time. For this reason, we try to keep most stories within the relative past or present. Is there a message in your story, or is it purely entertainment? This is perhaps the most important question you have to face as a fantasy writer. To be sure, there are many commercially successful fantasy writers who fall into both camps, but the presence of a message is what differentiates most fantasy from being considered "good literature". The message doesn't have to be profound or delivered in a heavy-handed way. In fact, many fantasy stories' message is "It's tough being a teen," which is why so few adults take fantasy seriously. A good writer writes because he has something to say about life, and the Dargon Project encourages amateur writers to experiment with the message. It can be as simple as "Losing a friend is hard," but be aware that it is there. The skill with which you develop and communicate your message is what separates the mediocre writer from the artist. Do you involve the readers' emotionally? A story cannot succeed if it doesn't involve the reader. He must be made to care about the protagonist(s) and feel for them in their plight. A successful story isn't one where the good guys beat the bad guys, but a story that makes the reader feel intense emotion. How that is accomplished is the art that we, as writers, pursue. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- -- DargonZine Writers' Style Guide -- ----------------------------------------------------------------------- This section details how submissions should be composed and formatted. Dashes: When using dashes to set off an independent phrase -- such as this one -- use two characters, and set them off as if they were a separate word. Something -- well, exactly --- like that. Ellipses: Ellipses should appear as a single three-character word, set apart from other words. Like ... this. When an ellipse ends a statement or sentence, additional punctuation is not used in addition to the ellipse; it stands by itself and ends the thought or statement. If the ellipse begins or terminates a quotation, the quotation marks directly abut the ellipse. Emphasis: Use *asterisks* around words to indicate emphasis, rather than _underlines_ or CAPITALS. Format: Submissions should be mailed as ASCII text. Anything else won't be read, to include ZIPped or UUENCODEd text, word processor files, or text with imbedded control words. Headers: All stories must begin with a header, and all the lines in the header must be centered. The first header line contains the story's title. If it is part of a serial, the second line will contain the part number, and an optional title that is specific to that part. The next line will contain the word "by" and the author's full name, and then a line with his network userid if he wishes it to be known to the readers. The following line will contain the Dargon date when the story takes place. All stories *must* have a Dargon date. The header will be followed by a blank line, after which the text of the submission begins. For co-authored stories, the first attibution line will contain "by" and both the author's full name and (optional) network address. Subsequent attribution lines will contain "and" and subsequent authors' full names and (optional) network addresses. Hyphenation: Do not hyphenate words. Words that would otherwise exceed the line width should be spilled to the next line rather than split, as they will be reformatted by the editor before publication. Indenting: Don't indent your base text. Whenever a space appears in the first column of your text, this will be interpreted and formatted as a paragraph break. For text that should be indented, adjust both left and right margins inward by 5 characters. Justification: Submissions should never be right-justified or contain more than one blank between words. Length: Stories should range from 80 to 800 lines. Stories that exceed 800 lines must be serialized into two or more stories that will be published separately. Paragraphs: Paragraphs should be indented 5 spaces. Quotes: Use double quotes for dialogue. When single quotes are needed, use two 'apostrophes' rather than `open and close' quotes. Sections: Submissions will often be divided into separate sections by a single blank line. This indicates a change of setting, time, or viewpoint. Serialization: Stories in excess of 800 lines must be serialized. The author is responsible for breaking the submission into parts and writing appropriate prefaces (remember that parts won't appear in the same issue). Ideally, a serial story should either be submitted and approved by the group as a whole, or individual parts should be able to stand on their own as independent stories. We don't want to get into a situation where a series is left only partially completed when an author leaves the project or loses interest in the storyline. Spacing: All submission should be single-spaced. Spelling: Run your submission through a spelling checker and have live humans proof it *before* you sent it to Dargon-L. Spelling and grammar are basic skills that any writer must master, and it's extremely unprofessional to expect the other writers to perform this function for you. The purpose of the project is to teach the art of good writing, not fourth grade spelling and grammar. Trailer: Stories should end without any trailer. All pertinent information must be given in the story header. Width: 80 columns maximum, 70-72 columns preferred.