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I have another couple of questions, this time about subcategories. My understanding at the moment is that folks are sort of making them up as they go along, and that they are going to be sorted later on somehow, and then approved by the authors, correct?

My main question is whether or not there will be official subcategories set up at all during the nominating period? I have been holding off on doing my nominating hoping that there would be, as I am just not particularly good at making up subcategories, even if I look at those done by others. I would much rather have some official choices and adhere to them. So, if it looks like that will happen, I will wait to nominate.

Thanks!

Mari

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There, peeping among the cloud-wrack above a dark tor high up in the mountains, Sam saw a white star twinkle for awhile. The beauty of it smote his heart, as he looked up out of the forsaken land, and hope returned to him. For like a shaft, clear and cold, the thought pierced him that in the end the Shadow was only a small and passing thing: there was light and high beauty for ever beyond its reach.

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Hi Mari,

> I have another couple of questions, this time about subcategories. My
> understanding at the moment is that folks are sort of making them up
> as they go along, and that they are going to be sorted later on
> somehow, and then approved by the authors, correct?

There are some mandatory subcategories. If the piece is a poem, or a
drabble, or a WIP, it *has* to go in one of those subcategories. But
you don't need to actually specify these, because you select WIP,d
rabble, or poem as the type of story.

Beyond that... well, it is hard. The nominator does have to suggest
subcategories that they think the story might fit well into, and the
staff will use those suggestions to create actual subcategories.

To give you an example, last year in Hobbits there were the following
sub-categories:

=== Drabble
=== Poetry
=== post-WotR
=== pre-WotR
=== Lord of the Rings (this was mainly gapfillers for the LOTR books)

These may seem random. Basically what happens is the staff looks at all
the entries for a certain category, looking for a common subcategory
that we can place five or more pieces in.

For hobbits, categorization is fairly straightforward. Note if it
happens before, during, or after, the Ring War. If it involved certain
key characters, that might be good to note. (For example, Frodo and Sam
versus Merry and Pippin). Or maybe note the family or region of the
Shire it deals with (Hobbiton, Tookland, Buckland, etc.) Those are
going to be the most common subcategories.

Drama (and the other genres, really) is a bit trickier. If it is set in
a certain land, that's always a good deal. Before/after/during Ring War
is also a good distinction to draw. And if there's a key character or
set of characters, you might note that.

> My main question is whether or not there will be official
>subcategories set up at all during the nominating period?

Not during the nomination season, no. You can predict what the likely
subcategories are by looking at the subcategories other people suggest
are. Here's how you do that:

1. Log into MEFA2005.
2. Click "Browse Stories".
3. Select the main category you are considering adding as your first
choice (i.e., "hobbits")
4. Scan down the list of nominated stories, paying attention to the
"Suggested SubCategories" list. If you see the same thing appearing
lots of times, we may choose to create that subcategory, and it will
give you some idea of what other people are suggesting.

>I have been holding off on doing my nominating hoping that there
>would be, as I am just not particularly good at making up
>subcategories, even if I look at those done by others. I would >much

rather have some official choices and adhere to them. So, >if it looks
like that will happen, I will wait to nominate.

I understand! I have a hard time with this, too! If you're really stuck
for this, maybe leave the subcategories blank and let the author
suggest them? (For the form to load you'll have to put *something* in
this field; when I'm not sure, I put "n/a"; others I know put "none".)
Because when a story is nominated, a staff member will contact that
author, and they'll verify that they agree with the category and
subcategory. If they suggest any subcategories at this stage, we'll
certainly consider that.

Marta
*****
On the other hand, you have different fingers.


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