WOW! Did you all read Kickle's addition to the 4th Rewrite Discussion Zone? Here it is:
quote:I'm posting this here because I think it relates nicely to the rewrite challanges and those of you who have been doing them.BBC America is having a short story contest to rewrite a tale from Geoffrey Chaucer's, Canterbury Tales. The contest starts January 8 , ends in late February and the word count is under 2000. The info is on their website.
So, the Challenge schedule is changing. Laocoon is just going to have to wait until February.
I hereby announce that January's Rewrite Challenge will be a retelling of one of Chaucer's Canterbury Tales. That should give everyone interested in participating plenty of time to write, ask for critiques and put the final touches on a story to be submitted to the BBC before their deadline.
ALSO, (PAY ATTENTION HERE!!) I'm going to post the Rewrite Challenge in Writing Class from now on. That way it won't get lost somewhere on page 3 of the F&F board.
[This message has been edited by djvdakota (edited December 30, 2004).]
Posted by MaryRobinette (Member # 1680) on :
Hot diggety!
Posted by Beth (Member # 2192) on :
That sounds fun. I'm going to try!
Posted by djvdakota (Member # 2002) on :
Someone who speaks legal-eze better than me, tell me what this means as far as the author's rights.
Is this contest worth it? Does it take away potential future earnings? If they took my story and made a movie out of it, would I get any of the proceeds? Should I revert back to Laocoon for January?
???
quote:Submissions will not be returned and will become the property of BBC America upon submission. However, copyright in the submission will remain with the writer, subject to a perpetual, royalty-free, non-exclusive license to BBC America to edit, publish, make available, distribute, assign, sublicense or otherwise exploit the submission throughout the world by means of any media, whether now known or hereafter invented.
Posted by Survivor (Member # 213) on :
If BBC takes your story and publishes it in any form, you get nothing from them but your name on the cover. But you still hold the rights, and if anyone else wants to do a version they have to go to you.
This is pretty standard for BBC, especially in this kind of contest. They don't want to wrangle with people claiming ownership of every new series produced by the BBC, and BBC can hardly take the standard defense and send everything back unread in this case, can they?
There is an interesting weasel here, since the BBC has no intention of actually referring anyone to the losers of this contest when a popular show is picked up by someone else. And of course, when you tell other potential buyers that this story is already a contest loser in the BBC competition, not only will they think that your story is crappy, they will also know that if it turns out to be a hit BBC retains a license to publish and sell as many copies as they like without paying you or anyone else a dime.
So basically this means what it says. Don't send your story to BBC unless you're okay with us taking it for our own use.
Posted by Survivor (Member # 213) on :
Note, you only get your name on the cover if they publish it unedited, if they change it then someone else's name will be on the cover.
Posted by djvdakota (Member # 2002) on :
Thanks Survivor!
OK. Now I need some votes. Do we use this contest for the January Challenge?
Yes or No?
Posted by dpatridge (Member # 2208) on :
it would have been indeed interesting, i was really looking forward to doing a rewrite of one of those tales in particular... but i definitely do not like the idea that there is a possibility i won't even be recognized for it. i can go without being paid, but i at least want my name on it.
that doesn't mean we can't do this anyways. but mine will not be going to the bbc at all.
Posted by MaryRobinette (Member # 1680) on :
I think the Canterbury Tales is a great Challenge idea and people can decide on their own if they want to send them in to BBC.
Posted by mikemunsil (Member # 2109) on :
What the mad puppeteeress said.
We're big enough to make our own decisions, especially when they're as well informed as this one is. Thanks, Survivor.
Posted by mikemunsil (Member # 2109) on :
By the way, Chaucer can get fairly ribald by our standards. Please make sure that every potential reader understands that and warn some of them off.
Posted by djvdakota (Member # 2002) on :
You really think I need to warn people about Chaucer?
Doesn't everyone already know how 'edgy' his works are/were?
Posted by mikemunsil (Member # 2109) on :
They're a lot more explicit than what I submitted that caused a ruckus, and although I don't agree with that level of repression, I'm sure someone will be glad to scale that moral mountain (without oxygen).
I'm sure that MOST people haven't read Chaucer, or if they did, it was in English Lit in High School and they didn't read those parts. Which is inherently bizarre, isn't it? Given that we were supposed to be receiving an education?
Posted by dpatridge (Member # 2208) on :
i have decided not to do the rewrite challenge this month. there are other things that are demanding my immediate attention.
i'll do the next one though, at least i expect i will (if it's grecian myth, like it was going to be before for this month, i'll find a way to squeeze it in!)
Posted by Robyn_Hood (Member # 2083) on :
I always look forward to the re-write challenges -- they keep me writing, even if some of it is drivel. Since I don't live in the US, I don't qualify for the contest anyway, but I like the idea of doing a Chaucer re-write.
Here is an interesting bit of trivia about the Tales, there were supposed to be a lot more of them, and each narrator was supposed to do two stories -- one about the pilgrimage to Canterbury and one about the trip home.
Posted by yanos (Member # 1831) on :
Are we definitely doing the Canterbury Tales? The thread is a little vague over whether the final decision was yes.
Posted by mikemunsil (Member # 2109) on :
Edited so as not to look more stupid than I have to. mm
[This message has been edited by mikemunsil (edited January 05, 2005).]
Posted by djvdakota (Member # 2002) on :
Official decision here:
We'll maintain the challenge as The Canterbury Tales. So if anyone still wants to submit to BBC they have this challenge to help them out.
Laocoon will be next month.
Yanos' choice of a Thai tale will be in March.
Keeley (If memory serves) will pick an Arabian tale for April.
Mikemunsil has sent me a link for a Chilean tale that will come into the line-up in May.
Wow! I actually made a decision!
Posted by Keeley (Member # 2088) on :
Just a note to say that I'm not sure if I'll be able to join in the Re-write this time around. Might not be able to do it next month, either. A family member needs my attention for the next few weeks and I'm getting stretched too thin.
Things should be fine by March, though.
Posted by HSO (Member # 2056) on :
I can't get the site to work properly, i.e., none of the stories will come up. Have the stories been taken down? Anyone have another link? ... help, please...
Posted by djvdakota (Member # 2002) on :
Which site, HSO? The Canterbury one? Or the BBC one?
I just checked the Canterbury one. Seems to be working fine. Are you navigating through the stories using the navigation window on the left side of the screen?
The Canterbury one... no matter what tale or options I select from the navigation panel, nothing comes up, it only loads the same start page over and over. No joy. I've tried it in both Netscape and I.E... No joy.
And it's not like I'm computer-stupid. I know my way around pretty well and have even designed sites. So, ?
I asked if it were taken down because the ELF site, which you can navigate to through the canterbury link, seems to be gone: http://elf.chaoscafe.com/
I wasn't sure if the stories were coming from there or not...
But I'll try the new links you've posted... Thanks.
HSO
Posted by Robyn_Hood (Member # 2083) on :
It seems to be working for me. If you let me know which tale you would like, I can copy it into Word and e-mail it to you as an attachment.
Also, for those who are getting bogged down in the middle English or the poetry, I found a site that gives some pretty good study notes and synopsis. If you are looking for a source to help you decipher things, it may be helpful.
All I've got is a rough draft. I have no plans on sending it to the BBC so it's over the word limit. Can I post it anyway?
Posted by djvdakota (Member # 2002) on :
I don't have any trouble with exceeding the word limit a bit. Go ahead and post.
Remember, it's in Writing Class this time.
Posted by Keeley (Member # 2088) on :
I'm still working on it, so I'm not sure how far over it's going to be. I'll go ahead and put the first thirteen lines up tonight anyway.
Thanks for the go ahead, Dakota.
Posted by Robyn_Hood (Member # 2083) on :
That's great Keeley! I don't think I'm going to get anything together this month. I know which tale I want to tell, I just can't find the characters or the voice to do it. Oh well, there is always next month, and the next month and the next month...Maybe I can work it as a combination story.
