Welcome, Premise, Dates to Remember, and FAQ
Hello, and welcome to ides_of_april! This is a yearly Shakespeare fanfic exchange, focused on Shakespeare's Greek and Roman plays and poems.
Premise and Guidelines
The premise of this fic exchange is that each participant receives at least one fic of at least 1000 words, and each participant also writes at least one fic of at least 1000 words. To become a participant, you will need to send the moderator an e-mail containing three things: your lj name, your requests (for fics that will be written for you), and your writing parameters (for what kinds of fic you will or will not write). You must make at least two requests; you may make as many as four. The moderator's e-mail address is Anne_from_Xanth AT yahoo DOT com; replace AT with @ and DOT with . Once you have submitted your e-mail, you will be considered 'signed up.' (You can also sign up to be a pinch hitter; more on that in the FAQ.)
A few sample sign-ups are here:
________________________________________________________
LJ Name: pinkfloralarmor
Requests (should take the form of play/poem, character(s), and suggestions for plot; if there are any themes/kinks/what-have-you that you do or don't want to see, say so):
Troilus and Cressida AU fic; I don't care what kind of AU. Maybe you could put it in the Cold War, or maybe you could make it into a marriage comedy--whatever. I'd like for you to focus on the romantic element if possible, but nothing sexual.
Timon of Athens humor fic. If you could focus on the minor characters, that's really what I want to see. Nothing over PG-13.
Writing Parameters (tell me what plays/poems you will or will not write, what kinks are encouraged or not okay, what kinds of ratings you will or will not not write):
I want to write for Troilus and Cressida or Antony and Cleopatra--epic pairs for the win? I'm okay with writing a little violence, but no slash, and nothing over PG-13.
________________________________________________________
LJ Name: pinkfloralarmor
Requests:
Coriolanus fic, Coriolanus/Aufidius. I really want slash, but if you just want to do a thinky piece with Aufidius, that's fine, too. I'm also fine with minor characters, so include anyone else you want--so long as Coriolanus and/or Aufidius have starring roles. It's also okay if you want to do a historical AU or put them in space or something; I like that kind of thing. Stories rated G through NC-17 are fine.
Titus Andronicus fic, something about Aaron's backstory. Het, slash, and gen are all good. I'd like the Goths included, too, but don't feel pressured to put them in if the story you have in mind doesn't work out that way. NO SEX, PLEASE. Violence okay, so long as it's got a point in the plot.
Writing Parameters:
I will only write Coriolanus, Julius Caesar, and Antony and Cleopatra fic. DO NOT give me prompts for comedies; they are not my thing. I will write G through NC-17, but nothing kinky.
________________________________________________________
Your moderator will attempt to match requests and parameters as neatly as possible, assigning each participant one writer whose job is to fill at least one of the 2-4 requests with a fic containing no fewer than 1000 words. You may fill more than one request, if you like. Once you have completed your fill and edited it to your satisfaction, you will e-mail it to the moderator. This will help to preserve your anonymity until the big reveal.
Once we reach the submission deadline, and all recipients have received at least one fill, remaining open requests will be released to the general community; participants will have the opportunity to fill requests with fics of 100+ words. These should also be e-mailed to the moderator, to preserve the authors' anonymity.
Finally the moderator will post all of the submitted fics to the community, with the recipients' names listed but the authors' names omitted. Those authors' names will be revealed one week later.
Important Dates to Remember
Deadline to sign up for ides_of_april: midnight, Eastern Standard Time, on the Ides of March (March 15); assignments go out then.
Deadline to submit your finished fics of at least 1000 words: midnight, Eastern Standard Time, on April 10; remaining prompts open up to the general community.
Deadline to submit fills for remaining prompts: midnight, Eastern Standard Time, April 12
Date that all submitted fics are posted to the community: the Ides of April (April 13)
Date that all authors are revealed: April 20
FAQ
What counts as a Greek or a Roman play?
What counts as a 'Greek' or a 'Roman' play will be determined inclusively, and in the interest of making this as welcoming a fanfic exchange as possible, we will be accepting submissions from all plays with any claim to Greek or Roman identity. A list of plays that have definitely been cleared is below; however, if you think you can make a good argument to include another play, please recommend that it be added to the list.
A Midsummer Night's Dream
Antony and Cleopatra
Comedy of Errors
Coriolanus
Cymbeline
Julius Caesar
Pericles, Prince of Tyre
Timon of Athens
Titus Andronicus
Troilus and Cressida
Two Noble Kinsmen
Once again, please feel free to suggest that we include any play that has been forgotten!
So I can write or request fanfic for the poems, too?
Yes--works like The Rape of Lucrece and Venus and Adonis are perfectly acceptable source texts.
Can I make a request without writing a fic?
No, you may not. In this exchange, you must give in order to receive.
Can I write a fic without making a request?
Yes, you may. Keep an eye on the community after midnight on April 10, and you will be able to write a short fic for one of the prompts that has opened up to the community. You can also become a pinch hitter.
What's a pinch hitter, and how do I become one?
Sometimes, despite our best intentions, we don't quite manage to fill the request we've been assigned. Possibly the requests don't inspire us, or possibly a personal crisis occurs; these things happen, and it's nothing to be ashamed about. However, since we don't want even one participant go without a fic, we need a pool of people who are willing to pick up a set of requests that (for whatever reason) has been dropped. These people are the pinch hitters. You can either say in your sign-up e-mail that you would like to be a pinch hitter as well as a regular participant, or you can send an e-mail in which you sign up as a potential pinch hitter without making any requests of your own. I will send any dropped requests to an e-mail list of all pinch hitters, and the first person to reply and claim these requests will be assigned to fill said requests.
If you have any further questions that I have neglected, please ask them in comments, and I will add them to the FAQ.
Premise and Guidelines
The premise of this fic exchange is that each participant receives at least one fic of at least 1000 words, and each participant also writes at least one fic of at least 1000 words. To become a participant, you will need to send the moderator an e-mail containing three things: your lj name, your requests (for fics that will be written for you), and your writing parameters (for what kinds of fic you will or will not write). You must make at least two requests; you may make as many as four. The moderator's e-mail address is Anne_from_Xanth AT yahoo DOT com; replace AT with @ and DOT with . Once you have submitted your e-mail, you will be considered 'signed up.' (You can also sign up to be a pinch hitter; more on that in the FAQ.)
A few sample sign-ups are here:
________________________________________________________
LJ Name: pinkfloralarmor
Requests (should take the form of play/poem, character(s), and suggestions for plot; if there are any themes/kinks/what-have-you that you do or don't want to see, say so):
Troilus and Cressida AU fic; I don't care what kind of AU. Maybe you could put it in the Cold War, or maybe you could make it into a marriage comedy--whatever. I'd like for you to focus on the romantic element if possible, but nothing sexual.
Timon of Athens humor fic. If you could focus on the minor characters, that's really what I want to see. Nothing over PG-13.
Writing Parameters (tell me what plays/poems you will or will not write, what kinks are encouraged or not okay, what kinds of ratings you will or will not not write):
I want to write for Troilus and Cressida or Antony and Cleopatra--epic pairs for the win? I'm okay with writing a little violence, but no slash, and nothing over PG-13.
________________________________________________________
LJ Name: pinkfloralarmor
Requests:
Coriolanus fic, Coriolanus/Aufidius. I really want slash, but if you just want to do a thinky piece with Aufidius, that's fine, too. I'm also fine with minor characters, so include anyone else you want--so long as Coriolanus and/or Aufidius have starring roles. It's also okay if you want to do a historical AU or put them in space or something; I like that kind of thing. Stories rated G through NC-17 are fine.
Titus Andronicus fic, something about Aaron's backstory. Het, slash, and gen are all good. I'd like the Goths included, too, but don't feel pressured to put them in if the story you have in mind doesn't work out that way. NO SEX, PLEASE. Violence okay, so long as it's got a point in the plot.
Writing Parameters:
I will only write Coriolanus, Julius Caesar, and Antony and Cleopatra fic. DO NOT give me prompts for comedies; they are not my thing. I will write G through NC-17, but nothing kinky.
________________________________________________________
Your moderator will attempt to match requests and parameters as neatly as possible, assigning each participant one writer whose job is to fill at least one of the 2-4 requests with a fic containing no fewer than 1000 words. You may fill more than one request, if you like. Once you have completed your fill and edited it to your satisfaction, you will e-mail it to the moderator. This will help to preserve your anonymity until the big reveal.
Once we reach the submission deadline, and all recipients have received at least one fill, remaining open requests will be released to the general community; participants will have the opportunity to fill requests with fics of 100+ words. These should also be e-mailed to the moderator, to preserve the authors' anonymity.
Finally the moderator will post all of the submitted fics to the community, with the recipients' names listed but the authors' names omitted. Those authors' names will be revealed one week later.
Important Dates to Remember
Deadline to sign up for ides_of_april: midnight, Eastern Standard Time, on the Ides of March (March 15); assignments go out then.
Deadline to submit your finished fics of at least 1000 words: midnight, Eastern Standard Time, on April 10; remaining prompts open up to the general community.
Deadline to submit fills for remaining prompts: midnight, Eastern Standard Time, April 12
Date that all submitted fics are posted to the community: the Ides of April (April 13)
Date that all authors are revealed: April 20
FAQ
What counts as a Greek or a Roman play?
What counts as a 'Greek' or a 'Roman' play will be determined inclusively, and in the interest of making this as welcoming a fanfic exchange as possible, we will be accepting submissions from all plays with any claim to Greek or Roman identity. A list of plays that have definitely been cleared is below; however, if you think you can make a good argument to include another play, please recommend that it be added to the list.
A Midsummer Night's Dream
Antony and Cleopatra
Comedy of Errors
Coriolanus
Cymbeline
Julius Caesar
Pericles, Prince of Tyre
Timon of Athens
Titus Andronicus
Troilus and Cressida
Two Noble Kinsmen
Once again, please feel free to suggest that we include any play that has been forgotten!
So I can write or request fanfic for the poems, too?
Yes--works like The Rape of Lucrece and Venus and Adonis are perfectly acceptable source texts.
Can I make a request without writing a fic?
No, you may not. In this exchange, you must give in order to receive.
Can I write a fic without making a request?
Yes, you may. Keep an eye on the community after midnight on April 10, and you will be able to write a short fic for one of the prompts that has opened up to the community. You can also become a pinch hitter.
What's a pinch hitter, and how do I become one?
Sometimes, despite our best intentions, we don't quite manage to fill the request we've been assigned. Possibly the requests don't inspire us, or possibly a personal crisis occurs; these things happen, and it's nothing to be ashamed about. However, since we don't want even one participant go without a fic, we need a pool of people who are willing to pick up a set of requests that (for whatever reason) has been dropped. These people are the pinch hitters. You can either say in your sign-up e-mail that you would like to be a pinch hitter as well as a regular participant, or you can send an e-mail in which you sign up as a potential pinch hitter without making any requests of your own. I will send any dropped requests to an e-mail list of all pinch hitters, and the first person to reply and claim these requests will be assigned to fill said requests.
If you have any further questions that I have neglected, please ask them in comments, and I will add them to the FAQ.