FAQ
I did Blue Christmeth last year. Will it be any different this year?
Not really! It seemed like it all went pretty well last year, so we're not making any changes. It's intentionally later than most other holiday fic exchanges in the hopes that people might have more time to work on their fanworks, and also so that our collection should open well after Yuletide crashes AO3 ;)
Where do I sign up?
AO3 sign-ups are here and will be open November 17-29th, 2014.
I want to write a fic! How long does my fic have to be?
Just 1000 words! That's not long at all, right? There's no maximum, so feel free to write a 20,000 word epic if you so desire, as long as you can finish by the deadline!Can I do art instead of fic?
Yes! The types of art that are allowed are drawings/paintings/illustrations (digital or traditional) and vids. Fanmixes, icons, and manips are not accepted, however. If you have an idea for another sort of art, you can email the mods at bluechristmethmods@gmail.com and we'll talk about it.Wait, you say art is allowed? I don't want to receive art, I only want fic!
Then, I'm sorry, but we’ll have a Blue Christmeth without you. Blue Christmeth is open to both artists and fic writers, and we cannot promise what type of gift you will receive.
Where's the signup for artists?
There's just one signup form for both artists and authors! We don't ask you to specify if you'd rather write or draw, because we're not taking that into consideration for matching. If you're a multi-talented individual, you can wait and see what prompts you get assigned and see if you'd rather write or make art for your recipient!
What sort of requests are allowed?
Blue Christmeth is open to all Breaking Bad characters and pairings! (But not to RPF.) You can make four requests total. Three of them can be any pairings you like, but one of them must be gen (meaning no romantic pairings). This is to ensure you can be matched.
Your requests can be as simple as “Baby Holly’s first Christmas” or “Jesse/Walt, hurt/comfort” or as elaborate as “Breaking Bad steampunk AU” or “Hank/Marie, AU where Hank is the one who cooks meth and Marie helps him hide it from Gomez and the rest of the DEA. Skyler is suspicious, and Walt starts a homebrewed beer empire” or anything in between. However, keep in mind that the minimum requirement for fic is only 1000 words, so your author may not be able to fulfill a more elaborate prompt given the time restraints.
Also, please keep in mind that you may get art as a gift, and think of your prompts in terms of art.What if I only want to request one pairing?
You are welcome to have your three non-gen prompts all be for the same romantic pairing. So, you could make three Walt/Jesse ship requests, and then have your fourth request be a gen Walt & Jesse request. You are also welcome to make four gen prompts for the same character or characters.Is there a way to get in touch with my gifter/recipient?
Gifters and recipients can't contact each other directly until the fest is over, but feel free to make a "Dear Blue Christmeth Dealer" post on your LJ/DW/Tumblr that outlines what you like and dislike a little more firmly. ( Here's an example letter.) This is not a requirement, but if you have one, there’s a place for it on the signup form.Does my work have to be Christmas themed?
Not at all! If you want to request a Christmas/Hanukkah/Solstice/Atheist Kids Get Presents Day themed fic, feel free! But it’s by no means a requirement.What if I have to drop out?
There's no penalty! If you can't finish your assignment for whatever reason, don't worry about it! Things happen, we understand :) But we'd appreciate it if you let us know as soon as possible so we can get a pinch-hitter lined up for you.I'm interested in participating, but I don't have an AO3 account!
That's not a question, but we'll let it slide. The mods have AO3 invites. If you need one, please comment here with your email address or email bluechristmethmods@gmail.com to request one. Don’t worry if it’s your first time--AO3 is pretty easy to get the hang of.Ooo, my recipient's prompt fits in really well with a work in progress I've already started posting. Can I just write them a new chapter of that?
Sorry, but no. The stories for Blue Christmeth need to be new. You can't dedicate your WiP to them or add a chapter to a longer fic to fulfill your end of the exchange.I have a really good idea based on one of my recipient's prompts, but it's too long to finish in time!
Sorry again, but we ask that you please come up with a truncated version or write something else. All stories submitted for Blue Christmeth must be complete. You can still write your epic idea, but you'll have to do it in your own time. If you submit a story that's not complete, you will be defaulted from the challenge and a pinch-hitter will be found to replace you.I'm almost done and the deadline is in an hour, but I don't think I can make it! Can I have an extension?
AO3 will automatically default anyone who doesn't have their gift uploaded by 11:59PM EST on Saturday, January 10, 2015. If your gift truly is only a few hours away from being complete, contact a mod at bluechristmethmods@gmail.com, but chances are we'll still assign a pinch-hitter and your recipient will be lucky enough to get two gifts.
I'm done. How do I turn this in?
Post a new work in AO3, and under "Associations" where it says
"Does this fulfill a challenge assignment," check the box under "Open Assignments" for "Blue Christmeth 2014". When you post it, AO3 will keep it anonymous for you until the mods reveal the collection.
I think I might be able to pinch-hit if there's a need. Can I sign up for that somewhere?
Yes you can! Sign up here!This all sounds great! But I have a question you didn't answer!
Feel free to ask in the comments of the LJ comm, as a Tumblr ask, or email the mods at bluechristmethmods@gmail.com.
The mods would like to thank the mods of secret_mutant for their guidance and for letting us adapt their rules and FAQ for our purposes!
Not really! It seemed like it all went pretty well last year, so we're not making any changes. It's intentionally later than most other holiday fic exchanges in the hopes that people might have more time to work on their fanworks, and also so that our collection should open well after Yuletide crashes AO3 ;)
Where do I sign up?
AO3 sign-ups are here and will be open November 17-29th, 2014.
I want to write a fic! How long does my fic have to be?
Just 1000 words! That's not long at all, right? There's no maximum, so feel free to write a 20,000 word epic if you so desire, as long as you can finish by the deadline!Can I do art instead of fic?
Yes! The types of art that are allowed are drawings/paintings/illustrations (digital or traditional) and vids. Fanmixes, icons, and manips are not accepted, however. If you have an idea for another sort of art, you can email the mods at bluechristmethmods@gmail.com and we'll talk about it.Wait, you say art is allowed? I don't want to receive art, I only want fic!
Then, I'm sorry, but we’ll have a Blue Christmeth without you. Blue Christmeth is open to both artists and fic writers, and we cannot promise what type of gift you will receive.
Where's the signup for artists?
There's just one signup form for both artists and authors! We don't ask you to specify if you'd rather write or draw, because we're not taking that into consideration for matching. If you're a multi-talented individual, you can wait and see what prompts you get assigned and see if you'd rather write or make art for your recipient!
What sort of requests are allowed?
Blue Christmeth is open to all Breaking Bad characters and pairings! (But not to RPF.) You can make four requests total. Three of them can be any pairings you like, but one of them must be gen (meaning no romantic pairings). This is to ensure you can be matched.
Your requests can be as simple as “Baby Holly’s first Christmas” or “Jesse/Walt, hurt/comfort” or as elaborate as “Breaking Bad steampunk AU” or “Hank/Marie, AU where Hank is the one who cooks meth and Marie helps him hide it from Gomez and the rest of the DEA. Skyler is suspicious, and Walt starts a homebrewed beer empire” or anything in between. However, keep in mind that the minimum requirement for fic is only 1000 words, so your author may not be able to fulfill a more elaborate prompt given the time restraints.
Also, please keep in mind that you may get art as a gift, and think of your prompts in terms of art.What if I only want to request one pairing?
You are welcome to have your three non-gen prompts all be for the same romantic pairing. So, you could make three Walt/Jesse ship requests, and then have your fourth request be a gen Walt & Jesse request. You are also welcome to make four gen prompts for the same character or characters.Is there a way to get in touch with my gifter/recipient?
Gifters and recipients can't contact each other directly until the fest is over, but feel free to make a "Dear Blue Christmeth Dealer" post on your LJ/DW/Tumblr that outlines what you like and dislike a little more firmly. ( Here's an example letter.) This is not a requirement, but if you have one, there’s a place for it on the signup form.Does my work have to be Christmas themed?
Not at all! If you want to request a Christmas/Hanukkah/Solstice/Atheist Kids Get Presents Day themed fic, feel free! But it’s by no means a requirement.What if I have to drop out?
There's no penalty! If you can't finish your assignment for whatever reason, don't worry about it! Things happen, we understand :) But we'd appreciate it if you let us know as soon as possible so we can get a pinch-hitter lined up for you.I'm interested in participating, but I don't have an AO3 account!
That's not a question, but we'll let it slide. The mods have AO3 invites. If you need one, please comment here with your email address or email bluechristmethmods@gmail.com to request one. Don’t worry if it’s your first time--AO3 is pretty easy to get the hang of.Ooo, my recipient's prompt fits in really well with a work in progress I've already started posting. Can I just write them a new chapter of that?
Sorry, but no. The stories for Blue Christmeth need to be new. You can't dedicate your WiP to them or add a chapter to a longer fic to fulfill your end of the exchange.I have a really good idea based on one of my recipient's prompts, but it's too long to finish in time!
Sorry again, but we ask that you please come up with a truncated version or write something else. All stories submitted for Blue Christmeth must be complete. You can still write your epic idea, but you'll have to do it in your own time. If you submit a story that's not complete, you will be defaulted from the challenge and a pinch-hitter will be found to replace you.I'm almost done and the deadline is in an hour, but I don't think I can make it! Can I have an extension?
AO3 will automatically default anyone who doesn't have their gift uploaded by 11:59PM EST on Saturday, January 10, 2015. If your gift truly is only a few hours away from being complete, contact a mod at bluechristmethmods@gmail.com, but chances are we'll still assign a pinch-hitter and your recipient will be lucky enough to get two gifts.
I'm done. How do I turn this in?
Post a new work in AO3, and under "Associations" where it says
"Does this fulfill a challenge assignment," check the box under "Open Assignments" for "Blue Christmeth 2014". When you post it, AO3 will keep it anonymous for you until the mods reveal the collection.
I think I might be able to pinch-hit if there's a need. Can I sign up for that somewhere?
Yes you can! Sign up here!This all sounds great! But I have a question you didn't answer!
Feel free to ask in the comments of the LJ comm, as a Tumblr ask, or email the mods at bluechristmethmods@gmail.com.
The mods would like to thank the mods of secret_mutant for their guidance and for letting us adapt their rules and FAQ for our purposes!