5th Wave: Frequently Asked Questions
Welcome! I'm thrilled to reopen the Harry Potter and Ginny Weasley Fic-A-Fest to the public. I hope that you and your friends join the H/G ficafest and look forward to your brilliant H/G fanfiction and artwork.
To take part in the fic-a-fest, join the community, claim a challenge, and write or create your own H/G fic or artwork! The guidelines are located on the user info page.
FAQ
How do I become a community member?
On the user info page, it says, "To join this community, click here", and you can click on the hyperlinked words "click here". Or, you can click on this.
I don’t see any challenges that I think suit me, but I still want to write and/or draw for the H/G ficafest. What do I do?
Look over the challenge instructions. These challenges are fairly open. As explained in the Challenge Guidelines, you can combine prompts within specific challenges (ie. Seven Deadly Sins, The Divine Comedy). If you do have another suggestion that fits the overall idea of the Heaven and Hell theme, comment in the claiming challenges post.
What if I still have plot bunnies and you've already posted the Challenges?
Hold on to them if they're not related to the Heaven and Hell theme. If they are, read the question above and comment in the claiming challenges post.
How do I submit my ficafest entry?
First, you must be a member with posting access. Then, you can add an entry like you normally would to your LJ but instead, post it to hpgw_ficafest instead of your personal LJ. Your entry will be reviewed by a moderator before being posted in the community.
How long will it take for my challenge entry to show up in the community?
From less than 5 minutes to 48 hours. I need to make sure that your entry follows the guidelines and on top of that, I have RL obligations so I truly appreciate your patience and understanding.
I just LOVE H/G. Can I write or create more than one fic/artwork?
ABSOLUTELY! The more, the merrier. Just finish your first fic or artwork and submit it before the deadline and before claiming another challenge.
What genre of fic will you be accepting?
Everything! We love all categories including comedy, tragedy, fluff, angst, smut, and romance.
I’m not a LiveJournal member, but can I still join?
Everyone’s welcome to join, but you need to be an LJ member to post an entry. It’s free to have an LJ and you can click here to join.
What’s with the "fic-a-fest" term? Why not "ficathon" or "fuh-q-fest"?
When I started to organize this fanfiction challenge, I realized that most ficathons had "fic requests" while fuh-q-fests had "challenges". With the purpose of providing challenges rather than fic requests and to not concentrate on just smutty fics, I thought merging the two terms would work best. In addition, while the "fic" indicates the fanfiction part of the community, the "a" stands for "art". ;)
So...if I think I want to do this now, but change my mind later, can I back out?
If you decide to claim a challenge but then realize that you're not able to finish it, just reply to your original claiming comment and I'll arrange it so that challenge is available to other authors and artists. No hard feelings. :)
Does joining the community mean I definitely have to do this?
To join the community doesn't necessarily mean to claim a challenge and create a fic or artwork, though I hope the people joining will participate.
Do we have to submit a plot bunny in order to claim one later?
Nope! There is usually post before opening the ficafest that allows everyone to give suggestions for plot bunnies or challenge prompts. Anyone can suggest prompts and not claim a challenge, just as a writer and artist can claim a challenge without suggesting a challenge prompt.
I know people are posting NC-17s - What about femslash? It's central to the story, even though the story is still H/G.
As long as the main ship of the fic is Harry/Ginny and there are proper warnings, then femslash or any type of slash is okay. Please remember to add warnings since some members prefer not to read slash. Thanks!
Is it allowed to join two challenges into one fic?
Only if it's within the same prompt topic. Read the Challenge Guidelines for more information.
Where are the rated NC-17 challenges? Is there an age restriction?
For the 5th wave of challenges, there won't be any specifically rated NC-17 challenges. If you want to write or draw a NC-17 entry, you're welcome to do so. You must provide your birthdate in the Claiming Challenges post, and you will need to be at least 18 years or older to submit an entry. **Please don't lie about your birthdate -- it's really not cool and no one wants the ficafest to get in trouble. :(
I've submitted my entry, but now I'm getting flames. :( What do I do?
Unfortunately, some trolls pass through with no real agenda other than to annoy people. It is possible to ban members so contact a moderator, but unfortunately, anonymous posters cannot be banned. For that reason, this community records anonymous member's IP addresses. In addition, since you are posting the challenge submission entry, you also have control over the comments replied to your entry. You can delete them, freeze them or screen them.
On the other hand, if these are really just negative constructive criticism (concrit), you might want to reconsider how you handle these reviews. Some authors would do anything for concrit, negative or positive, while others don't want any at all. If that's the case, I would suggest adding a note in your entry to ask for no concrit.
What rating system are we using?
As of now, just continue using the same system as before: G, PG, PG-13, R and NC-17. It's not like we own that popular system, but I assume that everyone is familiar with it and so it's the easiest one to use.
Is there a way to help pimp the ficafest?
Why, yes! This post holds the current information on how to upload images and link our lovely banners and icons to the ficafest, created by hrhobo.
Can I pimp my very own community/fanfiction/artwork or post other random things in this community?
NO. And please don't try to. Don't pimp your drabbles or say that the writers need to finish their fics now (OMG!!11!!!). It's a waste of my time as a moderator since I go through every post. I've been nice in the past about replying when clicking the "reject" button to delete your post from the moderation queue, but I won't make that effort anymore.
I do appreciate your attempts to create discussions on interesting topics like characters and ships, but there are many other Harry/Ginny communities and forums that provide an outlet for those topics.
LJ won't accept my whole fic in one entry. Why is that and what do I do?
LJ has a limitation on the number of characters in an entry (same thing goes for subject line, comments, and polls) and you can read that information in their FAQ. Basically, according to LJ, only 65,535 bytes or characters in one entry.
If LJ won't accept your long entry, just split it in half and submit them separately. Don't forget to use the same format for the additional entries. Once the entries are posted, you can return and edit it to add a link to your different chapters or parts.
Why is the deadline January 31st and not later?
Because all good things must end at some point. XP And if I didn't give you a deadline, would you ever feel pressured to submit it?
Why do some links keep sending me to "hpgw-ficafest.livejournal.com" when it says it's for the FAQ or Claiming Challenge entry?
Because as I was trying to edit all these entries, I used that link as the default. Comment below to let me know where you still find that link and I'll fix it. Thanks for helping me troubleshoot.
Why did you screen or delete my comment?
As stated in the Claiming Challenge entry, only comments about claims, birthdates and unclaims are allowed. I am not receiving comments by email because of the volume, and so I have to go through everyone's comments. I know others are also reading these comments to skim the claimed challenges so not having these extra comments will make this flow smoother and more efficiently.
My question’s not answered here, what do I do?
You can comment below and ask your question and I will try to respond in a timely manner.
Thanks in advance for all your hard work and participation!
To take part in the fic-a-fest, join the community, claim a challenge, and write or create your own H/G fic or artwork! The guidelines are located on the user info page.
FAQ
How do I become a community member?
On the user info page, it says, "To join this community, click here", and you can click on the hyperlinked words "click here". Or, you can click on this.
I don’t see any challenges that I think suit me, but I still want to write and/or draw for the H/G ficafest. What do I do?
Look over the challenge instructions. These challenges are fairly open. As explained in the Challenge Guidelines, you can combine prompts within specific challenges (ie. Seven Deadly Sins, The Divine Comedy). If you do have another suggestion that fits the overall idea of the Heaven and Hell theme, comment in the claiming challenges post.
What if I still have plot bunnies and you've already posted the Challenges?
Hold on to them if they're not related to the Heaven and Hell theme. If they are, read the question above and comment in the claiming challenges post.
How do I submit my ficafest entry?
First, you must be a member with posting access. Then, you can add an entry like you normally would to your LJ but instead, post it to hpgw_ficafest instead of your personal LJ. Your entry will be reviewed by a moderator before being posted in the community.
How long will it take for my challenge entry to show up in the community?
From less than 5 minutes to 48 hours. I need to make sure that your entry follows the guidelines and on top of that, I have RL obligations so I truly appreciate your patience and understanding.
I just LOVE H/G. Can I write or create more than one fic/artwork?
ABSOLUTELY! The more, the merrier. Just finish your first fic or artwork and submit it before the deadline and before claiming another challenge.
What genre of fic will you be accepting?
Everything! We love all categories including comedy, tragedy, fluff, angst, smut, and romance.
I’m not a LiveJournal member, but can I still join?
Everyone’s welcome to join, but you need to be an LJ member to post an entry. It’s free to have an LJ and you can click here to join.
What’s with the "fic-a-fest" term? Why not "ficathon" or "fuh-q-fest"?
When I started to organize this fanfiction challenge, I realized that most ficathons had "fic requests" while fuh-q-fests had "challenges". With the purpose of providing challenges rather than fic requests and to not concentrate on just smutty fics, I thought merging the two terms would work best. In addition, while the "fic" indicates the fanfiction part of the community, the "a" stands for "art". ;)
So...if I think I want to do this now, but change my mind later, can I back out?
If you decide to claim a challenge but then realize that you're not able to finish it, just reply to your original claiming comment and I'll arrange it so that challenge is available to other authors and artists. No hard feelings. :)
Does joining the community mean I definitely have to do this?
To join the community doesn't necessarily mean to claim a challenge and create a fic or artwork, though I hope the people joining will participate.
Do we have to submit a plot bunny in order to claim one later?
Nope! There is usually post before opening the ficafest that allows everyone to give suggestions for plot bunnies or challenge prompts. Anyone can suggest prompts and not claim a challenge, just as a writer and artist can claim a challenge without suggesting a challenge prompt.
I know people are posting NC-17s - What about femslash? It's central to the story, even though the story is still H/G.
As long as the main ship of the fic is Harry/Ginny and there are proper warnings, then femslash or any type of slash is okay. Please remember to add warnings since some members prefer not to read slash. Thanks!
Is it allowed to join two challenges into one fic?
Only if it's within the same prompt topic. Read the Challenge Guidelines for more information.
Where are the rated NC-17 challenges? Is there an age restriction?
For the 5th wave of challenges, there won't be any specifically rated NC-17 challenges. If you want to write or draw a NC-17 entry, you're welcome to do so. You must provide your birthdate in the Claiming Challenges post, and you will need to be at least 18 years or older to submit an entry. **Please don't lie about your birthdate -- it's really not cool and no one wants the ficafest to get in trouble. :(
I've submitted my entry, but now I'm getting flames. :( What do I do?
Unfortunately, some trolls pass through with no real agenda other than to annoy people. It is possible to ban members so contact a moderator, but unfortunately, anonymous posters cannot be banned. For that reason, this community records anonymous member's IP addresses. In addition, since you are posting the challenge submission entry, you also have control over the comments replied to your entry. You can delete them, freeze them or screen them.
On the other hand, if these are really just negative constructive criticism (concrit), you might want to reconsider how you handle these reviews. Some authors would do anything for concrit, negative or positive, while others don't want any at all. If that's the case, I would suggest adding a note in your entry to ask for no concrit.
What rating system are we using?
As of now, just continue using the same system as before: G, PG, PG-13, R and NC-17. It's not like we own that popular system, but I assume that everyone is familiar with it and so it's the easiest one to use.
Is there a way to help pimp the ficafest?
Why, yes! This post holds the current information on how to upload images and link our lovely banners and icons to the ficafest, created by hrhobo.
Can I pimp my very own community/fanfiction/artwork or post other random things in this community?
NO. And please don't try to. Don't pimp your drabbles or say that the writers need to finish their fics now (OMG!!11!!!). It's a waste of my time as a moderator since I go through every post. I've been nice in the past about replying when clicking the "reject" button to delete your post from the moderation queue, but I won't make that effort anymore.
I do appreciate your attempts to create discussions on interesting topics like characters and ships, but there are many other Harry/Ginny communities and forums that provide an outlet for those topics.
LJ won't accept my whole fic in one entry. Why is that and what do I do?
LJ has a limitation on the number of characters in an entry (same thing goes for subject line, comments, and polls) and you can read that information in their FAQ. Basically, according to LJ, only 65,535 bytes or characters in one entry.
If LJ won't accept your long entry, just split it in half and submit them separately. Don't forget to use the same format for the additional entries. Once the entries are posted, you can return and edit it to add a link to your different chapters or parts.
Why is the deadline January 31st and not later?
Because all good things must end at some point. XP And if I didn't give you a deadline, would you ever feel pressured to submit it?
Why do some links keep sending me to "hpgw-ficafest.livejournal.com" when it says it's for the FAQ or Claiming Challenge entry?
Because as I was trying to edit all these entries, I used that link as the default. Comment below to let me know where you still find that link and I'll fix it. Thanks for helping me troubleshoot.
Why did you screen or delete my comment?
As stated in the Claiming Challenge entry, only comments about claims, birthdates and unclaims are allowed. I am not receiving comments by email because of the volume, and so I have to go through everyone's comments. I know others are also reading these comments to skim the claimed challenges so not having these extra comments will make this flow smoother and more efficiently.
My question’s not answered here, what do I do?
You can comment below and ask your question and I will try to respond in a timely manner.
Thanks in advance for all your hard work and participation!