epic...
So I have this rigorous standard for the term epic being applied to a fic. And I kind of hate when the term is mis-applied.
1) Length (aka exactly how many words are on that page anyway?) - I don't actually have a set minimum word count here but pretty much any fic I can't finish in one day applies (if I had to guesstamate, any fic longer than 100,000 words).
2) Time (aka you mean they were stuck there for that long?) - A fic isn't truly epic unless it covers a long period of time. This is a minimum of six months. Oh and the fic where the main story is covered in a week and only the prologue/epilogue is any extended period so does not count.
3) Continuity (aka yeah it doesn't count if there are more than fifteen plotlines, sorry) - If you have a fic that hits several arcs it's perfectly acceptable, but only if they follow naturally from each other. And you can't cross genres too much. Putting an adventure plotline in the middle of a kink fic makes no sense whatsoever, and thus can't be epic.
4) In Character (aka if he's suddenly a woman, you're ok, if he's suddenly a woman with long flowing hair, shaved legs and an instant ability to stand on heels you're in trouble) - If they're not in character it's not a bad thing, it's just not an epic fic. Instead label it as a novel and sell it off as internet erotica.
5) Momentous (aka how exactly did our characters get here?) - An epic means things change. People change, places change, rules change. There has to be significant change on several fronts. Otherwise you're left with a dime-store novel. And I personally hate dime-store novels.
This is what I have so far. If there are additions I promise to apologize. But, but...there's so much misclassification. UGH!
1) Length (aka exactly how many words are on that page anyway?) - I don't actually have a set minimum word count here but pretty much any fic I can't finish in one day applies (if I had to guesstamate, any fic longer than 100,000 words).
2) Time (aka you mean they were stuck there for that long?) - A fic isn't truly epic unless it covers a long period of time. This is a minimum of six months. Oh and the fic where the main story is covered in a week and only the prologue/epilogue is any extended period so does not count.
3) Continuity (aka yeah it doesn't count if there are more than fifteen plotlines, sorry) - If you have a fic that hits several arcs it's perfectly acceptable, but only if they follow naturally from each other. And you can't cross genres too much. Putting an adventure plotline in the middle of a kink fic makes no sense whatsoever, and thus can't be epic.
4) In Character (aka if he's suddenly a woman, you're ok, if he's suddenly a woman with long flowing hair, shaved legs and an instant ability to stand on heels you're in trouble) - If they're not in character it's not a bad thing, it's just not an epic fic. Instead label it as a novel and sell it off as internet erotica.
5) Momentous (aka how exactly did our characters get here?) - An epic means things change. People change, places change, rules change. There has to be significant change on several fronts. Otherwise you're left with a dime-store novel. And I personally hate dime-store novels.
This is what I have so far. If there are additions I promise to apologize. But, but...there's so much misclassification. UGH!