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The Narnia Big Bang is a longer, non-anonymous challenge, for both writers and fan-artists.
A Big Bang is when an author writes a long piece of fic (20,000 words minimum in this case) and an artist creates a piece of art for them. This can include all kinds of artwork (fanart), such as illustrations, icons, fan mixes, fan vids and banners.
Because we know not everyone is comfortable with such a long story, we also offer the option of a Mini Bang - a story with a minimum of 10,000 words. There is still an art component to this at a similarly scaled down level. There are also prompts available for writers to choose from.
Narnia Big Bang!
What is it?
A Big Bang is when an author writes a long piece of fic (20,000 words minimum in this case) and an artist creates a piece of art for them. This can include all kinds of artwork (fanart), such as illustrations, icons, fan mixes, fan vids and banners.
Because we know not everyone is comfortable with such a long story, we are also offering the option of a Mini Bang - a story with a minimum of 10,000 words. There will still be an art component to this at a similarly scaled down level.
There will be prompts available for you to choose from if you need some inspiration. We will have a week of prompt posting - you can post and claim as many prompts as you want! Multiple people can claim the same prompt.
Story Requirements
Stories can be any genre, style, verse, pairing, rating, etc. - pretty much anything you can think of is fair game! This includes het, slash, AUs, crossovers, sequels, etc. The only exception is that you cannot submit Real Person Fiction (RPF).
As such, all entries must include appropriate ratings and warnings.
Stories must be new. This means that the piece you submit cannot have been posted elsewhere before. Works in progress (WIPs) are eligible so long as they have not been posted elsewhere; however, you must add at least 20,000 new words to your story (10,000 for a Mini Bang), as well as complete the fic. Posting a finished story is part of the point. If you have questions about this, please check with the mods at narniaficexchange@gmail.com.
The minimum length requirements for stories are:
Mini Bang
Big Bang
New fic
10,000 words
20,000 words
WIPs
10,000 new words
20,000 new words
However, there is no maximum length!
Your entry must be formatted, spell-checked and punctuated for clear reading on Livejournal. We will return stories that have multiple and/or consistent errors in spelling, punctuation, or formatting for re-editing. In particular, dialogue should be punctuated appropriately, canon capitalization and italicization of words should be used, and paragraphs should be separated by an empty line. British and American punctuation and spelling are both equally acceptable. Therefore it is strongly suggested that you have your story beta-read by someone. If you don't have a regular beta-reader, please check our beta-reader signup post.
The finished version of your submitted fic should be HTML tagged and ready to post. This means tagging italicized, bold and centered words and including scene dividers where necessary. If you are unfamiliar or uncomfortable with HTML formatting, please contact the mods ahead of time and we will be glad to help you out! We will accept DOC., DOCX, and RTF file formats.
A first draft of your story and a summary must be submitted to the moderators by the due date scheduled. This draft does not have to be beta-read, but should be at least 90% complete. This means that the story should be near or past the 10k/20k word minimum, and have a beginning, middle, and end, with no "to be continued" endings. The summary must give a good idea of the story, so that artists can make their claims based on your summary.
You are committed to the completion of your entry once you've sent the first draft. A complete, edited final copy of your story must be submitted to the moderators by the due date scheduled. When you submit your completed story, please include:
Title:
Author:
Rating:
Word Count:
Summary:
Warnings/Spoilers:
Author's Notes:
If you find that you have problems with finishing your draft or with the word count, you need to contact the mods at narniaficexchange@gmail.com prior to the deadline so we can discuss what to do next.
Art Requirements
When we receive the rough drafts of the stories, we will post the summaries for artists to claim. Each story can only be claimed by one artist, so once an artist claims a story, it will be taken off the list.
There are no limitations on the type of artwork you can do to accompany the fics! A variety of fanart will be accepted, from hand-drawn illustrations to digital art, banners, icons, fanmixes, and fanvids. If you practice another form of fanart, let the mods know so we can tailor the guidelines to your medium.
The minimum requirements for various media are outlined below:
Mini Bang
Big Bang
Artwork
1 piece
2 pieces
Icon sets
5 icons
10 icons
Fanmixes
5 songs
10 songs
Fanvideos
1+ minutes
2+ minutes
The term "artwork" above includes drawings, paintings, digital illustrations, banners, and other similar works. Icons should be 100x100 pixels and saved as .jpg, .png, or .bmp files. Cover art for fanmixes is not required, although it may be included if you wish!
Of course, you can always exceed the minimum requirements if you're feeling inspired!
We ask that you take the time to make sure your art goes with the story. If you have any questions, please contact the mods.
Artwork should be submitted on the due date scheduled. Please send all artwork to narniaficexchange@gmail.com, and we will post it along with the story. For fanmixes and fanvids, please send links to where these are hosted, and we will post this along with the story.
Schedule
This is the current schedule. Dates will change for future Big Bangs.
The schedule is the same for both Big Bang and Mini Bang entries. There are some check-ins where you have to email us with your progress, so mark your calendars!
Prompts posting:October 28 - November 3
Prompt claiming and author sign-ups:November 4 - 17
Beta Reader sign-ups:November 4 - January 19
Artist sign-ups:November 4 - January 19
First Check-in (current word count and basic outline due):December 15
Second Check-in (current word count and beta name due):January 26
First Draft and summaries due:February 23
Artist claiming:February 24 - March 2
Third Check-in:March 30
Final Version and Final Art due:April 14th
Posting begins:May 1
How to Sign Up
Signing up is easy! Simply comment on the sign up post telling us your LJ name, whether you plan to complete the Big Bang or Mini Bang challenge, and which prompts you have chosen (if any). For artists, comment on the artist signup post. When story summaries are posted, you will then have the opportunity to claim which story you'd like to create an artwork for. There is also a sign-up post for anyone interested in being a beta reader.
FAQs
Where can I sign up?
There will be individual posts for signups for authors, artists and beta-readers, for each round of the Big Bang. The sample schedule above gives the dates of the the signup periods.
Is the schedule different for Big Bang and Mini Bang?
No. We want as many people as possible to participate. All will have the same time for writing and creating artwork.
Are there any restrictions to what I can write?
No RPF is allowed.
Can I write crossovers, AUs, etc??
Yes, you can!
Can I write with a co-author?
Yes! Just be sure to include that in the sign up.
Can I write more than one story?
If you think you can do so in the timeframe, go for it!
Can I use a work-in-progress?
Yes, as long as you add at least 10,000 or 20,000 new words (depending on whether you are doing a Mini or Big Bang) and these new words finish your story.
What if there are more writers than artists?
If this is the case, then the artist deadline will be extended, and artists can create for more than one story, if they like.
Why so long to write?
We know that real life can get in the way of fic writing, and we know that a big chunk of the writing time is over the holidays, which can be very busy, so we wanted to make sure everyone had enough time to finish their stories.
What do I turn in for a rough draft?
Your rough draft must be almost complete - at least 90% done. It does not have to be beta-read at this point, but we need to be able to see your progress and see that you will be able to complete it by the deadline.
What if I fall behind schedule? Can I get an extension?
The reason we're giving you so much time to write your story is so that everyone can get it done on time. If you feel you will not be able to get it done on schedule, please contact the mods at narniaficexchange@gmail.com and we will discuss options with you.
Can I participate in the challenge in more than one capacity (author, beta, artist, etc)?
Yes. Just make sure to sign up for each in the proper sign up post.
Do I need to have a LiveJournal account to sign up? Can I sign up anonymously?
Yes, you must have an LJ account to sign up. As this is a LiveJournal based challenge, participants need to have an LJ they can use to sign up.
Do I have to join/watch the comm?
Joining and watching the comm are not strictly necessary to participate in the challenge. However, we'll be posting periodic announcements as well as important reminders throughout the challenge period, so watching the comm is strongly recommended.
Can I tell all my friends?
Absolutely! The more the merrier. You can even use our banner for promotional purposes using the code below:
All fic and artwork are exclusive to Narnia Bang until all stories are posted. Once posting is complete, you are free to post your fic and art wherever you like!
Contact
If you have any questions please do not hesitate to email us at narniaficexchange@gmail.com or leave a comment here for the mods! One of us will get back to you as soon as possible.