Creativity
When we try to address the question of "where to get started," we have to address all of the things we've just addressed, but also the issue of "creativity." Why? Because interest has a tendency to shift for members. Writing stories is the activity we put the most effort into, yes, but if the stories are the same, day in and day out, or members don't feel like they're having much freedom with those stories: they can get bored and restless. Therefore, it's your duty (along with that of your command staff) to try and continually address the issue of "interest" in the squadron. This is addressed through creativity, of course!
Let's look at a couple of examples, shall we?
What you're probably going to do as a fresh squadron, right off the bat, is try to put together a squadron story. Great! Now, in doing so, you want that story to have a very basic background and plot so that you can work off of that in just about any direction the mind can come up with. If you try to plan the story and tell your flight members what to write: the story will stagnate and people will probably lose interest. If you leave it open, though, you can encourage a lot of creative writing. Don't be horribly phased if someone writes something that stretches our sense of "reality," because the FL and other members (at least they ought to) will probably talk to them about it. Either way, within the story frame-work, you want to encourage people to be creative about how they tell stories, what they tell stories about, and how they interact (character-wise) within those stories. Also, from your end, you can vary the settings of those stories, the lengths, and the over-all kind of story. Do you want to make it more character driven? Or do you want to dedicate a week to a straight-up battle? Try to be specific with your goals whenever possible, but be open to changes in the story as they arise.
Another example would be in the realm of activities. Take a look around- is the VE sponsoring any kind of activity? Perhaps there's a battle of the reply? Or a run-on story going on somewhere? If there isn't something going on- can you come up with a game or mini-competition? Also, besides putting together a story within your squadron alone, have you considered writing a story with another squadron? Or how about setting up a story with an Army squad? Is there any kind of gaming you can do? Ask around and see what games your members play; maybe you can set up a match between members of your group and members of another fighter group. Perhaps you could dedicate a week to a wiki profile for your squadron? Give rewards to those who put in the most time and effort?
The ideas are limited only to your creative will-power. Ultimately, the activity level will tell you, as well as your superiors, how effective you've been in keeping the interest alive within the squadron. If you ever need help with coming up with activities or ways to change-up your story writing: speak to your WC. Or, for that matter, any other vet or high-ranking naval member; these folks are usually more than happy to help and will assist you as best they know how.
Don't worry, you're almost done!
Go back on page to: Squadron Staff
Or- back to the beginning: SC Basics
