SCP idea looking to get greenlit. The Vampiric Tampon.

SCP idea looking to get greenlit. The Vampiric Tampon.

AofManyNames 29 Dec 2019 02:51

The idea is basic. It's a tampon that continuously absorbs blood from whatever host it is in. In doesn't change in size or show any signs of being used, even after it's been absorbing blood for several hours. This means that, if you use it, you might die as a result of blood loss as it just keeps absorbing blood from your body.

Has anything like this been done? I've looked around the wiki and I can't find anything similar outside of forum posts.

Re: SCP idea looking to get greenlit. The Vampiric Tampon.

Doctor Fullham 29 Dec 2019 03:14

I mean, firstly, this just kind of seems to be going for "oh, that's gross" shock value. Despite that, no idea is unsalvageable. However, what you have currently is the "thing that does a thing" or "X that does Y" concept. An SCP article is much more than simply an anomalous item, being, place, or event. The true meat of the SCP is the story around the anomalous thing. The thing itself is a vehicle that the narrative is attached to. To give my best example from Series 1, look at SCP 093: The anomalous item itself is a rock that turns mirrors into interdimensional portals. The thing that makes this SCP shine is the story; the history of the dimension that it leads to.

I recommend reading several items on the Guide Hub:

How to Write an SCP

Clinical Tone: Declassified

Things What Do a Thing: An Essay On Anomalies That Are Things That Do A Thing

Essay Regarding SCPs, Narratives, and How They Can Share a Page

There are other guides there that can be very helpful, but these are some of the most often recommended for first-time contributors.

General Notes

We need to know more than just "it's a tampon that absorbs an infinite amount of blood." What story are you going to tell - How The Foundation found it, Who or what created it and why, did someone use it to some end? (These are not all questions that must be answered, these are some possible narrative hooks.) You need something that differentiates this as an SCP, instead of just an Anomalous Item.

I also recommend reading several (at least 10-20) of the top-rated SCPs from the last several months, and avoid reading series 1 SCPs for inspiration. Many series 1 SCPs would not last a day under current SCP standards, and a few are only still around because of their history with the wiki itself. (This does not apply to all series 1 SCPs, as you can see I mentioned 093 earlier, but many of these were written before the wiki's style had really been cemented.)

The anomalous object, while important, is not actually the main focus of the SCP. A good story, a compelling narrative, something that makes the reader feel something - that is the goal of an SCP article. What feeling do you want to evoke from the reader? Horror? Empathy? Sadness? You need to create a narrative around this object and its effects.

I am not saying this to discourage you, I just want you to understand the amount of effort that goes into creating a successful SCP.

If you can revise this idea with a story that you want to tell, we will be able to give you much more meaningful and constructive critique.

The anomalous item is the vehicle, the narrative is the person driving, the readers are the passengers. You can have the shiniest, most polished, most interesting vehicle in the world, but without the driver, the passengers aren't going anywhere. Where is the narrative taking the readers, and how is it getting them there?

Re: SCP idea looking to get greenlit. The Vampiric Tampon.

AofManyNames 29 Dec 2019 03:28

I see that and I understand, but here is my issue… I want to develop more on this. I want to share more of the narrative I have planned, but was told to post a short summary of the SCP I was interested in writing. I can't share more until it's greenlit, get cracking on the draft, and start getting proper feedback on what works and what doesn't.

And I'm not going for "oh, that's gross" shock value and have been very attentive in not making the writing gross. Or at least attempted it, I should say. The narrative I want to explore more is more akin to vaginismus and the general shame surrounding the female reproductive system. Not the "ew gross, period blood" part of it.

Re: SCP idea looking to get greenlit. The Vampiric Tampon.

Zyn 29 Dec 2019 03:32

I want to share more of the narrative I have planned, but was told to post a short summary of the SCP I was interested in writing.

Being asked to post a short summary doesn't prevent you from answering a reviewer's questions.

I can't share more until it's greenlit

Why not? The point of the greenlighting process is to discuss what works and what doesn't before someone writes an entire draft. There's no reason one can't receive "proper feedback" during the conceptualization phase.

The narrative I want to explore more is more akin to vaginismus and the general shame surrounding the female reproductive system.

None of this is going to come through if you've just described the object as a thing that steals blood until the victim dies. Part of the reason something like this doesn't exist aside from forum posts is likely because all the attempts to write something similar were discarded during the ideas phase or were deleted from the mainlist.

Last edited on 29 Dec 2019 03:33 by Zyn Show more

Re: SCP idea looking to get greenlit. The Vampiric Tampon.

AofManyNames 29 Dec 2019 03:43

There aren't any questions to answer, so I don't know where to start with the feedback if I'm being honest. But that might be me not reading into it enough. And me saying "I can't say more until its greenlit" was simply me misinterpreting the rules since they state you can't post large drafts or something similar unless it's asked for. Since it wasn't asked for, I assumed I couldn't.

I'm not used to writing in this way, but I had an idea I wanted to share and felt it was something that had not really explored. And for this, I just didn't like that a reviewer insinuated that the thing I was writing, which is based on a very real phobia of mine, was only attempting to be gross. That's why I responded a bit curtly, and I shouldn't have.

Re: SCP idea looking to get greenlit. The Vampiric Tampon.

Zyn 29 Dec 2019 04:11

There aren't any questions to answer, so I don't know where to start with the feedback if I'm being honest

Did you open the second collapsible, under "General Notes"? The reviewer asks:

What story are you going to tell - How The Foundation found it, Who or what created it and why, did someone use it to some end? (These are not all questions that must be answered, these are some possible narrative hooks.)

as well as:

What feeling do you want to evoke from the reader? Horror? Empathy? Sadness? You need to create a narrative around this object and its effects.

you can't post large drafts or something similar unless it's asked for.

This is true; however, as an author you should be able to answer questions straightforwardly rather than just presenting a draft and asking a reviewer to pick through the read for the answers (and possibly miss them entirely).

And for this, I just didn't like that a reviewer insinuated that the thing I was writing, which is based on a very real phobia of mine, was only attempting to be gross.

Keep in mind that you as the author know exactly how you want this premise set up, but reviewers only see text on a page that can be very easily misinterpreted. Rather than stating, "no it's not gross", it might be better to ask, "what about the wording made it seem like it was meant to just be gross?"

Re: SCP idea looking to get greenlit. The Vampiric Tampon.

AofManyNames 29 Dec 2019 04:23

I did not open the General Notes collapsible. I clicked it before, but I must have done it wrong because it just opened up into a dead link.

I am messing up a lot on this thread. I've been reading the wiki for years, but haven't delved into the forums at all and it's getting increasingly clear that I have zero idea of what I'm doing. There are way more rules for creating these narratives than I'm used to in my previous writing experiences, going beyond doing proper formatting and technical text.

Sorry for wasting your time.

Re: SCP idea looking to get greenlit. The Vampiric Tampon.

Zyn 29 Dec 2019 06:07

I am messing up a lot on this thread. I've been reading the wiki for years, but haven't delved into the forums at all and it's getting increasingly clear that I have zero idea of what I'm doing.

No worries—pretty much everyone starts out that way (oftentimes those who hit the ground running have lurked the forums/chat a lot).

There are way more rules for creating these narratives than I'm used to in my previous writing experiences, going beyond doing proper formatting and technical text.

Yeah, the SCP wiki's trademark style can be unusually specific and demanding. Have you poked around the Guide Hub and read some instructional pages? You can also look at other authors' ideas threads to see how they develop/edit their work and eventually move on to drafting. You can also take a look at recently-posted articles' discussion threads to see how the current audience reacts to new material.