2017 INFORMATION!!
Welcome to K-Pop Olymfics, the first team-based fic competition on this side of the K-Pop scene. We were inspired by je_ficgames, and some info has been borrowed from them (with permission, of course).
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
Participants will be grouped into three teams that each write specific genres. This isn't a competition between pairings or idol groups, but a team competition. Participants will be allowed to select three groups they would like to write for, and can write for any of the three. The aim is to have a near equal number of writers per idol group on each team. This is so that each idol group receives equal representation and evens out reader-bias among all the teams.
THE TEAMS:
Team Canon/Alternate Reality - Team Canon/AR writers work within the current reality of K-Pop. The fics are set in the reality of K-Pop as it is right now, or has previously been, with no changes. They also have the option of writing Alternate Reality, which is set in the K-Pop world as we know it, but with a (realistic!) change to real life (such as a trainee who was cut from the group line-up making it into the group, a group's break-up never happened, an unpopular group became popular, etc). Most of the events in Team Canon/AR, however, are expected to be based on fandom facts. They may take place in the past, but may not take place more than one year into the future.
Team Alternate Universe - Team AU writers may set their stories in any universe they wish (except canon or future!). These new settings and situations may be as ordinary (coffee shop, college, hospital) or as unusual (airship pirates, futuristic space explorers, fantasy heroes on an epic quest) as you want. In the AU universe, K-Pop as we know it does not exist; though idols and idol groups may exist, the story must be set outside idol group life.
Team Future - Team Future writers will take K-Pop's current reality, but fast-forward a bit. Their stories will be set at least one year into the future, and speculate on what might become of our idols in the years to come. However, though these stories may be set very far in the future, they must avoid going into science fiction territory; there are no major changes in technology (such as teleporting, holographs, idols becoming indestructible robots, etc).
Remember that you aren't in this competition alone. Don't forget that you have your teammates to back you up! Once the team lists are final, the mods will email all the participants with the names and contact details of their teammates. It is up to you how involved you want to be with your team. You can write independently and have very little contact with your team, but we encourage interaction between teammates, not only because it's an integral part of the competition, but also because it can benefit you. Your teammates can encourage you to finish your fic, brainstorm ideas with you, and even offer to beta what you've written. Your teammates, however, cannot write your fic for you. You must write your own fic yourself.
The internal structure of each team is entirely dependent on its members. We would prefer it if you appointed a "leader" or at least a point-person that the mods can contact if the need ever arises. Pinch-hitters may be called up within the team to fill in the slot for someone who is unable to fulfill their prompt, but the mods must be informed of this switch.
Feel free to ask questions in the form of a comment below if you are confused about any of the teams.
Timeline
December 18 2016 - Sign-ups open
December 28, 2016 - Sign-ups close
January 1, 2017 - Team assignments sent
January 6, 2017 - Prompts list posted
January 6, 2017 - Writing period begins
February 7, 2017 - Check-in
March 14, 2017 - Writing period ends
March 21, 2017 - Posting begins
K-Pop Olymfics follows the Pago Pago timezone.
It is important to notify the mods if you are backing out of the competition or if you are unable to complete your fic. The earlier, the better, so that it gives us time to inform pinch-hitters. Of course, you are free to inform the pinch-hitters within your team, but kindly let us mods know.
All fic for a single round will be posted in one day. Dates for fic posting are dependent on the number of rounds; the number of rounds is dependent on the participant turnout.
How it Works
Once sign-ups have closed and match-ups are sent, teams are free to interact and meet with each other through instant messaging, secret communities, locked twitters, etc. in order to discuss tactics and foster some creative synergy (or something). A prompt list composed of Kpop song lyrics, MVs and supplementary picture and text prompts will be sent to each team and writers must decide amongst themselves who will be writing what internally. Take note that you don't need to choose the song prompt of the idol group you are in charge of.
Once each prompt has been claimed, the writing begins. Team members will have until March 15th to write at least 1000 words of fic based on the prompt assigned to them and centered around their chosen idol group.
At the end of the writing period, fics will be submitted to the Olymfics 2017 collection on AO3 by the writer, or by a mod on behalf of the writer. A set of fics will be revealed anonymously every day of posting, with fic from all three teams for the same round being revealed at the same time. At that point, the fate of the teams lies in the hands of the readers. (Readers are free to leave comments on the fic if they feel so inclined, but until reveals at the end of the competition, writers are not allowed to reply.) We highly encourage that you give all fics a chance, but please do not automatically give a low rating to a fic that is about your least favorite character or most hated pairing, or automatically score a fic highly because it is the fic from your team. Rather, base your score on the following criteria.
Criteria for Scoring
Readers, upon finishing the fic, should fill out the poll linked at the end of the fic based on the following criteria:
Rate how much you enjoyed this fic (1-10)
Rate the interpretation of the prompt (1-5)
Rate how true this fic is to its team's genre (1-5)
Rate how well they explored the universe (1-5)
Additional comments?
A perfect score would be 25 points. Points per fic will be averaged, and a winner will be declared for each round. The team that wins the most rounds at the end will be crowned champion.
Any other concerns?
Feel free to comment on this post with any questions, suggestions, and concerns you may have. You can also keep up-to-date with announcements through the official Olymfics twitter. Membership to the community is closed; only the mods will be posting here, but you are encouraged to watch the comm.
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
Participants will be grouped into three teams that each write specific genres. This isn't a competition between pairings or idol groups, but a team competition. Participants will be allowed to select three groups they would like to write for, and can write for any of the three. The aim is to have a near equal number of writers per idol group on each team. This is so that each idol group receives equal representation and evens out reader-bias among all the teams.
THE TEAMS:
Team Canon/Alternate Reality - Team Canon/AR writers work within the current reality of K-Pop. The fics are set in the reality of K-Pop as it is right now, or has previously been, with no changes. They also have the option of writing Alternate Reality, which is set in the K-Pop world as we know it, but with a (realistic!) change to real life (such as a trainee who was cut from the group line-up making it into the group, a group's break-up never happened, an unpopular group became popular, etc). Most of the events in Team Canon/AR, however, are expected to be based on fandom facts. They may take place in the past, but may not take place more than one year into the future.
Team Alternate Universe - Team AU writers may set their stories in any universe they wish (except canon or future!). These new settings and situations may be as ordinary (coffee shop, college, hospital) or as unusual (airship pirates, futuristic space explorers, fantasy heroes on an epic quest) as you want. In the AU universe, K-Pop as we know it does not exist; though idols and idol groups may exist, the story must be set outside idol group life.
Team Future - Team Future writers will take K-Pop's current reality, but fast-forward a bit. Their stories will be set at least one year into the future, and speculate on what might become of our idols in the years to come. However, though these stories may be set very far in the future, they must avoid going into science fiction territory; there are no major changes in technology (such as teleporting, holographs, idols becoming indestructible robots, etc).
Remember that you aren't in this competition alone. Don't forget that you have your teammates to back you up! Once the team lists are final, the mods will email all the participants with the names and contact details of their teammates. It is up to you how involved you want to be with your team. You can write independently and have very little contact with your team, but we encourage interaction between teammates, not only because it's an integral part of the competition, but also because it can benefit you. Your teammates can encourage you to finish your fic, brainstorm ideas with you, and even offer to beta what you've written. Your teammates, however, cannot write your fic for you. You must write your own fic yourself.
The internal structure of each team is entirely dependent on its members. We would prefer it if you appointed a "leader" or at least a point-person that the mods can contact if the need ever arises. Pinch-hitters may be called up within the team to fill in the slot for someone who is unable to fulfill their prompt, but the mods must be informed of this switch.
Feel free to ask questions in the form of a comment below if you are confused about any of the teams.
Timeline
December 18 2016 - Sign-ups open
December 28, 2016 - Sign-ups close
January 1, 2017 - Team assignments sent
January 6, 2017 - Prompts list posted
January 6, 2017 - Writing period begins
February 7, 2017 - Check-in
March 14, 2017 - Writing period ends
March 21, 2017 - Posting begins
K-Pop Olymfics follows the Pago Pago timezone.
It is important to notify the mods if you are backing out of the competition or if you are unable to complete your fic. The earlier, the better, so that it gives us time to inform pinch-hitters. Of course, you are free to inform the pinch-hitters within your team, but kindly let us mods know.
All fic for a single round will be posted in one day. Dates for fic posting are dependent on the number of rounds; the number of rounds is dependent on the participant turnout.
How it Works
Once sign-ups have closed and match-ups are sent, teams are free to interact and meet with each other through instant messaging, secret communities, locked twitters, etc. in order to discuss tactics and foster some creative synergy (or something). A prompt list composed of Kpop song lyrics, MVs and supplementary picture and text prompts will be sent to each team and writers must decide amongst themselves who will be writing what internally. Take note that you don't need to choose the song prompt of the idol group you are in charge of.
Once each prompt has been claimed, the writing begins. Team members will have until March 15th to write at least 1000 words of fic based on the prompt assigned to them and centered around their chosen idol group.
At the end of the writing period, fics will be submitted to the Olymfics 2017 collection on AO3 by the writer, or by a mod on behalf of the writer. A set of fics will be revealed anonymously every day of posting, with fic from all three teams for the same round being revealed at the same time. At that point, the fate of the teams lies in the hands of the readers. (Readers are free to leave comments on the fic if they feel so inclined, but until reveals at the end of the competition, writers are not allowed to reply.) We highly encourage that you give all fics a chance, but please do not automatically give a low rating to a fic that is about your least favorite character or most hated pairing, or automatically score a fic highly because it is the fic from your team. Rather, base your score on the following criteria.
Criteria for Scoring
Readers, upon finishing the fic, should fill out the poll linked at the end of the fic based on the following criteria:
Rate how much you enjoyed this fic (1-10)
Rate the interpretation of the prompt (1-5)
Rate how true this fic is to its team's genre (1-5)
Rate how well they explored the universe (1-5)
Additional comments?
A perfect score would be 25 points. Points per fic will be averaged, and a winner will be declared for each round. The team that wins the most rounds at the end will be crowned champion.
Any other concerns?
Feel free to comment on this post with any questions, suggestions, and concerns you may have. You can also keep up-to-date with announcements through the official Olymfics twitter. Membership to the community is closed; only the mods will be posting here, but you are encouraged to watch the comm.