01. FAQ/Explanation
This'll probably get changed around a little, but deal with it, I'm new!
Basics
1. This is a fan fiction based community, involving Korean idol group, MBLAQ.
2. This is an exchange, meaning it is not just for the general posting of fan fiction. Stories posted here are responses to assignments provided and given to writers who choose to commit to the exchange.
3. This will be an anonymous exchange. Please try to maintain and respect that aspect of the exchange.
4. There are deadlines for this exchange. I will explain the proposed schedule in a bit, but please consider your other obligations (both other fic exchanges and RL obligations) before signing up!
5. All submissions must be beta-read.
General Information
The purpose of this community is to generate more MBLAQ fanfiction as well as fulfill all requests made. Memes are nice, but they don't guarantee that you'll get your prompt/fic written. (And at this point in time, MBLAQ memes have not yet gotten off the ground.)
Here, writers will submit a form stating certain preferences, including pairings that are preferred to write and/or receive, pairings that are absolutely DO NOT WANT!, and so on. The mods (because there will be than one) will make assignments based on those preferences. Please note that I will try my best to make the assignments, but under no circumstances do I guarantee that you will be 300% satisfied with your assignment. That's why this is also a challenge. Flexibility is one of the qualities that is required in this exchange- if you set out with very limited preferences, you'll just narrow the pool for yourself. There will be a part in the application about other writing preferences and will be explained later.
FAQs
What can I request?
Anything! Let's try that again- anything that involves interaction between the boys of MBLAQ as the main focus of the story (Rain is the one exception). Romance and general fics are fine. Just remember that this will most likely lead to a lot of slash and such, so keep that in mind when you sign up! Another note is that Non-MBLAQ characters and pairings are allowed as long as they ARE NOT the main paring. Main pairing MUST be between two MBLAQ boys (or with Rain).
Please remember - this is not a place for you to dictate an entire plot to a writer. Try to be flexible - it's fair to say you do not want to read certain pairs or certain situations. It's a little ridiculous to say you only want to read a story where Joon and Mir end up living in a tree with Seungho as a crazy merman who fell in love with GO, who is Sanghyun's pimp. You might as well write it yourself, mm?
Will there be sex in my fic?
Asking for sex does not guarantee you will receive it. You will have the option to list a rating preference, but this is mostly for those who prefer to keep things on the tamer side. It's not fair to ask writers to go that far out of their comfort zone for this exchange, so if your assignment asks to keep things PG-13, you MUST honor that request. However, if your assignment can take up to NC-17, you are NOT obligated to write sex/smut if you do not want to.
How are the assignments made?
You fill out a survey and I match writers up. Hopefully there will be a wide pool of writers joining, so we'll be able to accommodate with no problem. But since this is new, please try to be more open/flexible with your preferences?
Oh no! I signed up but then (insert scenario here) came up and now I can't do it! What now?
First, let me know as soon as you realize you won't be able to fulfill your assignment! And if this happens, I'm going to try to implement a system of pinch hitters, who are writers that volunteer to pick up assignments at last minute (maybe a week within deadline?) for emergencies. You will be asked on the writers' survey whether you can/will pinch hit or not. As with the assignments, I'll try to match the request with a proper pinch-hitter.
Although, as I mentioned, please don't sign up on a whim, especially if you know that you have 10 exams during deadline week.
What is the minimum word count for the fics?
I'm looking at 1500 words. Doesn't seem like that much, does it? I'm not going to pore over every submission and be a totalitarian about it, but please try to reach that number. You are free to write much much more if you want, however - the fic must be complete upon submission, even if it's a 10,000 word epic!fic.
I have a question for my assignment. How do I contact him/her?
YOU DON'T! Sorry for the epic caps but, due to the exchange being anonymous, if you would like clarification on your assignment, contact the mod. The mod will act as an intermediary to maintain the anonymity of the exchange.
Where do I get a beta reader?
The survey will ask other participants if they would kindly volunteer to be a beta reader for the purpose of the exchange, so just let me know and I'll connect you to one! You can also just go to your regular beta, as long as s/he is not your assignment ~_~
Yay, I'm done! Where do I send my fic?
Writers will not be posting their own fics - due to the anonymous nature of the exchange, the mods will post the fics in lieu of the writer. See below regarding contacting a mod.
When you send your submissions via email, they must include all HTML tags. I will simply be copy+pasting from the file I receive. Writers might want to try previewing their fic on LJ (as in, paste your story into a new LJ entry and then hit the 'preview' button to see how it will appear) to see how it will look when it is posted.
Can I post my submission on my personal fic comm/LJ?
For the sake of the anonymity of the exchange, all submissions should not be posted to any other journal, fic comm or personal, until after the designated reveals and 'free for all posting' date. Once I have an idea of how many submissions there will be, those dates will be announced.
Can my community affiliate with mblaq_exchange?
Sure, if it's relevant enough. Just contact a mod (see below).
How/where do I contact a mod?
You can send an email to jetromod(at)yahoo(dot)com or PM jetro_mod.
The Schedule
Here's my proposed schedule for this exchange:
January 8: sign ups open
January 22: sign-ups close
January 25/26: TENTATIVE assignments are sent out
January 28: Assignments are finalized
March 6: Fics due
March 13/14: Posting begins
TBA: Reveals and free-for-all posting
Feel free to ask more questions and I'll update this as we go.
Basic rules came from jekpopexchange!
Basics
1. This is a fan fiction based community, involving Korean idol group, MBLAQ.
2. This is an exchange, meaning it is not just for the general posting of fan fiction. Stories posted here are responses to assignments provided and given to writers who choose to commit to the exchange.
3. This will be an anonymous exchange. Please try to maintain and respect that aspect of the exchange.
4. There are deadlines for this exchange. I will explain the proposed schedule in a bit, but please consider your other obligations (both other fic exchanges and RL obligations) before signing up!
5. All submissions must be beta-read.
General Information
The purpose of this community is to generate more MBLAQ fanfiction as well as fulfill all requests made. Memes are nice, but they don't guarantee that you'll get your prompt/fic written. (And at this point in time, MBLAQ memes have not yet gotten off the ground.)
Here, writers will submit a form stating certain preferences, including pairings that are preferred to write and/or receive, pairings that are absolutely DO NOT WANT!, and so on. The mods (because there will be than one) will make assignments based on those preferences. Please note that I will try my best to make the assignments, but under no circumstances do I guarantee that you will be 300% satisfied with your assignment. That's why this is also a challenge. Flexibility is one of the qualities that is required in this exchange- if you set out with very limited preferences, you'll just narrow the pool for yourself. There will be a part in the application about other writing preferences and will be explained later.
FAQs
What can I request?
Anything! Let's try that again- anything that involves interaction between the boys of MBLAQ as the main focus of the story (Rain is the one exception). Romance and general fics are fine. Just remember that this will most likely lead to a lot of slash and such, so keep that in mind when you sign up! Another note is that Non-MBLAQ characters and pairings are allowed as long as they ARE NOT the main paring. Main pairing MUST be between two MBLAQ boys (or with Rain).
Please remember - this is not a place for you to dictate an entire plot to a writer. Try to be flexible - it's fair to say you do not want to read certain pairs or certain situations. It's a little ridiculous to say you only want to read a story where Joon and Mir end up living in a tree with Seungho as a crazy merman who fell in love with GO, who is Sanghyun's pimp. You might as well write it yourself, mm?
Will there be sex in my fic?
Asking for sex does not guarantee you will receive it. You will have the option to list a rating preference, but this is mostly for those who prefer to keep things on the tamer side. It's not fair to ask writers to go that far out of their comfort zone for this exchange, so if your assignment asks to keep things PG-13, you MUST honor that request. However, if your assignment can take up to NC-17, you are NOT obligated to write sex/smut if you do not want to.
How are the assignments made?
You fill out a survey and I match writers up. Hopefully there will be a wide pool of writers joining, so we'll be able to accommodate with no problem. But since this is new, please try to be more open/flexible with your preferences?
Oh no! I signed up but then (insert scenario here) came up and now I can't do it! What now?
First, let me know as soon as you realize you won't be able to fulfill your assignment! And if this happens, I'm going to try to implement a system of pinch hitters, who are writers that volunteer to pick up assignments at last minute (maybe a week within deadline?) for emergencies. You will be asked on the writers' survey whether you can/will pinch hit or not. As with the assignments, I'll try to match the request with a proper pinch-hitter.
Although, as I mentioned, please don't sign up on a whim, especially if you know that you have 10 exams during deadline week.
What is the minimum word count for the fics?
I'm looking at 1500 words. Doesn't seem like that much, does it? I'm not going to pore over every submission and be a totalitarian about it, but please try to reach that number. You are free to write much much more if you want, however - the fic must be complete upon submission, even if it's a 10,000 word epic!fic.
I have a question for my assignment. How do I contact him/her?
YOU DON'T! Sorry for the epic caps but, due to the exchange being anonymous, if you would like clarification on your assignment, contact the mod. The mod will act as an intermediary to maintain the anonymity of the exchange.
Where do I get a beta reader?
The survey will ask other participants if they would kindly volunteer to be a beta reader for the purpose of the exchange, so just let me know and I'll connect you to one! You can also just go to your regular beta, as long as s/he is not your assignment ~_~
Yay, I'm done! Where do I send my fic?
Writers will not be posting their own fics - due to the anonymous nature of the exchange, the mods will post the fics in lieu of the writer. See below regarding contacting a mod.
When you send your submissions via email, they must include all HTML tags. I will simply be copy+pasting from the file I receive. Writers might want to try previewing their fic on LJ (as in, paste your story into a new LJ entry and then hit the 'preview' button to see how it will appear) to see how it will look when it is posted.
Can I post my submission on my personal fic comm/LJ?
For the sake of the anonymity of the exchange, all submissions should not be posted to any other journal, fic comm or personal, until after the designated reveals and 'free for all posting' date. Once I have an idea of how many submissions there will be, those dates will be announced.
Can my community affiliate with mblaq_exchange?
Sure, if it's relevant enough. Just contact a mod (see below).
How/where do I contact a mod?
You can send an email to jetromod(at)yahoo(dot)com or PM jetro_mod.
The Schedule
Here's my proposed schedule for this exchange:
January 8: sign ups open
January 22: sign-ups close
January 25/26: TENTATIVE assignments are sent out
January 28: Assignments are finalized
March 6: Fics due
March 13/14: Posting begins
TBA: Reveals and free-for-all posting
Feel free to ask more questions and I'll update this as we go.
Basic rules came from jekpopexchange!