September 2006 Board of the Month ~ at Runboard.com

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Firlefanz
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September 2006 Board of the Month

The Board of the Month for September 2006 is...

Fantasy Writing

Congratulations, Riane!

Of course, I've sent Riane the usual questions. Riane has graciously answered them, and I believe you'll find good advice in her words.

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~~1. What made you decide to start a board?~~

At the beginning of 2003 I made my first real foray into the world of the Internet, and being a fan of Robin Hobb I quickly found my way to her website. There I found a number of other fans who were also interested in writing, and so after some searching I found Akheva (now Runboard) and started a message board dedicated to the craft of writing fantasy. We've been running now for just over three years.

~~2. What made you choose Runboard?~~

Primarily, because it was free! At the time I started the board I was a student who had little knowledge of the net (at first I didn't even know what a message board was!), so when I came across Runboard and found that it was free and easy to use I was more than happy to sign up. Since then I've discovered the myriad other benefits of using Runboard, including the high level of customisation possible and the sense of community between and within various boards.

~~3. What's your target audience?~~

As the name implies, the target audience is fantasy writers. Of course, while fantasy is our focus, we still welcome writers of all kinds, and even those who simply enjoy reading fantasy and other speculative fiction. Writers of any age and skill level are welcome.

~~4. How did you get people to join? How did you advertise your board?~~

At first our main influx of members was through Robin Hobb's official message board, which had been the launching pad for this board. After a time I also decided to submit the board to various search engines. Many of our members have also been active on other Runboard writing boards and so there has been quite a bit of cross -pollination between boards that has helped with word-of-mouth advertising.

~~5. What's the central theme of your board?~~

As the name implies, the central theme is Fantasy Writing. The subtitle of the board, 'A community for lovers of the Art of Subcreation,' is based on three important elements of the board: 1) community, which is indicates a sense of welcoming and friendliness; 2) art, which is what writing is; and 3) subcreation, a term coined by J.R.R. Tolkien to express the idea of the creation of a world from the elements of our own, which is essentially what writing fantasy is all about.

~~6. What are the board rules and how important are they?~~

Our basic rules are intended to encourage a sense of friendliness and community. The Golden Rule is primary, and the rest of the rules are designed to keep the board clean and inviting to all (that is, no spam, porn, flaming or bad language). As we're a writing board, we also have rules that relate to Copyright law and spoilers for books and movies.

~~7. How important are the look and feel of the board? Or, are content and member involvement more important?~~

The look of the board is quite important, and my primary aim in creating the current layout was to make something that would stand out but would also be easy to look at and inviting to new members. That said, the content and involvement of members is also very important because they also help to create the welcoming community atmosphere.

~~8. How do you keep interest up?~~

We have a number of ongoing projects that are designed to keep members involved and provide opportunity to develop writing skills.

The secure Your Writing forum allows regular members to post their work and receive constructive feedback to help them improve their writing.

The Short Story Workshop runs over a period of three months and gives members an opportunity to produce an entire short story in a focused period of time. There are four Workshops throughout the year, and attention is given to research, writing and critiquing during each three month session.

The RPG Realm is an ongoing collaborative writing project that allows members to practice and sharpen their writing and characterisation skills through working with other authors. The current project has drawn a readership from other board members not involved in the actual writing, which has been quite a compliment and a boost for the players.

Additionally, we have a monthly book club and a number of discussion forums with interesting conversations and debates on a wide range of topics.

~~9. What's the best feature of your board?~~

Personally, I've found that the best features in terms of developing my own abilities as a writer have been the opportunity to get constructive feedback from other writers on my own work (in Your Writing and the Short Story Workshop), and working with other writers while honing my own skills in the RPG area.

~~10. What are your plans for the future, boardwise?~~

One of my goals is to continue adding to the resouce areas of the board in order to provide as much quality information as possible for aspiring writers. Ideally I'd like to create a website that serves as a library of useful links and resources for fantasy writers, including all the gems I've come across in my research and writing adventures. In the meantime, I and other members are continually adding to the resources and discussions, and participating as much as possible in all areas of the board.

~~11. What would be your advice to a new Board owner? ~~

Atmosphere can make all the difference when you're trying to create a board that people want to keep coming back to. This includes the layout of the board, but also the sense of community and the variety of opportunities for people to participate.

One of the true advantages of Runboard is that anyone can use and customise a board without much difficulty, and by learning some coding and design basics you can come up with a good looking site that will encourage people to want to belong.

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Thank you very much, Riane.

Fantasy Writing is one of the oldest boards on Runboard, and has gone through many changes. I think the current state shows how far a board can go in terms of layout and community.

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- Firlefanz

Reading: "Lirael" by Garth Nix
Writing: Rewrite of the Unicorn Girl YA novel

Mystical Adventures

9/2/2006, 7:50 pm

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