Bit of a ramble
Sign-ups are now open! *bounce* You can find more information here about the challenge!
Author sign-ups | Artist sign-ups | Beta sign-ups | Cheerleader sign-ups
OMG! Sign-ups are going really well so far. There are so many people willing to try this challenge that it just makes me so excited. I mean, I'm a bouncy dork on a normal day, as many of you know, but this has just me going :D:D a lot. So many brilliant ideas already, with everything from gen to shippy, epilogue compliant to EWE, crossovers with things like Supernatural, NCIS, Psych, XMen, and more. There's het and femmeslash and threesomes, oh my! There are also people who have signed-up who don't know what they're writing yet. We're going to be accepting prompts next week, and we have an author comm set up to help people brainstorm and get inspired, if they like interaction during the writing process. So, if you're tempted but just don't have an idea yet? Go ahead and try it! I know that I'll help in any way possible, and a lot of others will, too, since we're all crazy and trying this!
Sign-ups are open for three more weeks for authors and cheerleaders, so there's plenty of time to sign-up if you're thinking about it. I'll definitely encourage anyone to try the challenge if you're tempted. If you can't make the minimum word count by the official sign-ups, you just don't sign-up, so there's no harm done. But if you DO make the minimum word count, that's new longer Hermione fic! We definitely need betas and cheerleaders and artists, too, if you're wanting to participate but you're not a writer or you're not wanting to commit to the writing challenge.
No one has to use the cheerleaders or author comm if they like to write alone. I'm in a bouncy pep-talky mood, so forgive me rambling below. I rambled over at the comm the other day, and some of that ramble deserves to be posted here, I think! Hey, maybe I'll persuade some of you to sign-up and join me in this challenge *grin*
20K sounds like a scary huge amount, we know. Seriously, though, it's 20K over 3 1/2-4 months. Think about it like this: 20K=about 200 words a day. So, in the same number of words as a couple of drabbles a day, you, too, can particpate in this challenge and help desperate Hermione fans find quality novellas in a wide variety of pairings as well as quality creative arts that support those novella. If you don't want to do it for yourself, do it for the fans. Actually, thinking about that, you should remember that, in this challenge, you're writing for yourself. This isn't an exchange. There isn't anything you can't write (as long as it follows the rules). This is a chance to write a longer fic for your favorite Hermione pairing and know that creative art will accompany it. It's an opportunity to write that Hermione rare pair that just isn't written enough or to write that crossover that won't leave your muse alone and know that, amongst so many Hermione fans, there are people who are going to read it and enjoy it! You can even go AR and write that crazy Breakfast Club idea that came to mind or make Hogwarts a high school putting on a musical, so long as we can recognize Hermione and all the characters that we know and love/love to hate. If you want to sign-up as an author, go here!
As for artists, they're as important as the authors, even if they might not be doing anything until July! When the authors finish their project, we'll be looking to y'all to create artwork to accompany it! Whether it's traditional art, graphic banners, videos, or even soundtracks to listen to while reading, it's you creative arts people who will be putting the bow on top of the 20K gift. If you know other artists who like Hermione, recruit them! Our goal is to have at least one creative art of some type to accompany every piece of fic on the archive when we open. We're allowing a variety of creative work so that people who might be able to create a soundtrack to accompany the fic but can't draw a straight line with a ruler can still participate if they want. Also, for those traditional and graphics art people, there's a possibility for you to create something during the rough draft phase that will then have a fic written for it. That means that you can create a piece of art for your favorite Hermione pairing or for that Hermione rare pair that you really want to read but never see written or for that pairing that's a guilty pleasure and you just think there should be more of it out there, and then one of our volunteer authors will write a short fic to accompany that art in the archive when it opens. You're welcome to be inspired by a prompt given in that post once it's up or to do anything you want, so long as it has Hermione. You're welcome to do more than one, though we will say that we can't promise to have fic written for every 'rough draft' entry. If you want to sign up as an author, go here!
We'll have betas (hopefully enough!) who have volunteered to help anyone who needs them, but if you have your own betas, that's great. I have my own, so I won't be using a volunteer. We reserve the right to appoint a volunteer beta to anyone who might need one, of course, but we're definitely open about people using their own betas if they've got them. Some people won't even need a beta until closer to the official sign-ups, while others might need one immediately for the dialogue that having a beta allows. If you'd like to volunteer as a beta, go sign up here.
Cheerleaders are going to function as supportive voices of encouragement. Writing 20K is a pretty big challenge, especially for those used to writing about 5K or less (like me! LOL), so there'll be an option there for authors to get assigned someone who can give them pep talks when they need them, give them feedback if that's what the author wants, provide lots of 'you can do it!' encouragement when necessary, and generally help support the author in various ways as they go for this challenge. If you like Hermione fic and have the time and inclination to be supportive like that, go sign up here as a cheerleader! Pom poms are optional, but some authors are requesting whips to keep them on task.
I finally focused on one idea for it, I think. I'm inspired right now, at least, but I need to start writing it and see how it goes. Pretty excited about it, if it goes like it's telling itself in my head. Are you tempted but still not sure? Comment and let me try out my powers of persuasion!
I hope everyone's having a great week so far! I apologize for all the hermionebigbang posting here, but I'm bouncy and excited about it, and I want other people to join the madness, so I'll likely ramble occasionally over the next few months weeks. Forgive me? ♥!