Oft-Posited Queries
I know, I'm clever. Beware my cutting wit or you'll bleed hysteria and entertainment all over everything, or something to that effect.
Anyway! This is the FAQ post, which we're going to link on the Tumblr once it's done. All of the questions we've answered publicly on the Tumblr will be here, since it'll hopefully be easier than scrolling through at least four pages of asks to see if someone's already asked a given question.
Obviously, we don't discourage any questions, but in the interest of not repeating ourselves ad infinitum, we encourage you to look through the entire FAQ post before commenting with a question. If you do and post something and it turns out it has been asked, though, we aren't going to come after you with fire, though. It's nowhere near that big of a deal, haha.
Questions and answers under the cut!
GENERAL QUESTIONS
"What exactly is a 'super-bang'?"
A superbang is simply what we decided to call what we wanted to do for a couple of reasons:
Basically, the superbang will work the same way as most big bangs work, namely: people write fics, and then artists pick fics to make art for. The difference here is that we have three options for writing participants:
The word counts for each option are separate, though. So if an author chose to write both a big bang and a minibang, the count for the minibang wouldn’t go toward the count for the big bang.
So tl;dr, a superbang (at least, the way we’re using it) is both a big bang and a minibang, where authors can do either or both options.
"Can we sign up as both an author and an artist? (Most big bangs don't allow it, but I saw that you guys are allowing authors to do both big and mini bangs, and I thought that since the artist's job doesn't start until the stories are finished that it would be do-able to write a story, and then do art for another.)"
Participants who are willing can in fact sign up as an author AND an artist should they choose to do so.
The only rules we have regarding signing up for multiple parts in the challenge are: that people who want to do that would have to sign up separately as a writer and an artist; people who do so are not allowed to make art for their own fic entries. We hope that this way, participation can be increased but still consistent for fic and art.
"Why only one week for sign ups? I know I'd personally like to be allowed to make up my mind *after the finale*. When we sign up, do we have to decide right away if we're doing the bigbang or the minibang? Or is it possible to switch later on?"
We decided to do one week this time around so that people would have something to look forward to immediately after the finale and going into hiatus for who knows how long. We have received a number of comments regarding the sign-up period, but since the original timeline we put forth has gotten the attention it has, we’re keeping the sign-up periods the way that they are, and we have made a new timeline for Round 2 with longer sign-up periods. [Note: We do have a finalized schedule that we will be following with NO further changes that can be found HERE. Round 2 will have its own schedule post that will have taken into account all of the helpful comments and advice we've received over the past several weeks.]
We would prefer that you already have it decided whether you’d like to do the big bang or the minibang when you sign up. However, if something goes wrong (or right!), then as long as you give us ample warning (since we mods will be the only ones up until claims who will know who picked which route), there shouldn’t be a problem. Switching will be entirely up to the discretion of the writer, since switching from a big bang to a minibang and from a minibang to a big bang are very different processes.
"Do I need an LJ to participate? Because I don't have one."
To keep everything streamlined and as organized as possible, we are asking that all people who want to sign-up have a LiveJournal account.
HOWEVER! The only thing you are required to do with your LiveJournal is sign up and, if you want to be an artist, participate in the claims, which will also be handled through LiveJournal.
We aren’t requiring that you use your LiveJournal exclusively for the Teen Wolf Superbang. As long as you inform us of where you intend to post it when the time comes, and then make a post in the community when it’s been posted, you can post your work wherever you like. :)
If you would like to do that (host your work somewhere other than LiveJournal), then all we would require is an email with your LJ username and where you plan to post your work.
"Can we sign up to be a writer and a beta? (Obviously not beta-ing our own story.)"
Yes! Just make sure that you sign up separately as a writer and as a beta reader, so that way we can keep track of everyone. :)
Beta reader sign-ups are at the same time as artist sign-ups, and can be we are accepting beta sign-ups both on LiveJournal AND on Tumblr!
"The link to the superbang isn't letting me in, it said my access is denied."
The reason you can’t see the post is because you need to join the community. So go ahead and log in to your livejournal, go to tnwolfsuperbang.livejournal.com and click “join this community”. Membership is unmoderated, so all you have to do to join the community is click join!
"Out of curiosity, if we end up changing our mind for pairings and stuff for the superbang, do we let you guys know? And if, say, sign up for a superbang and then find that you'd be much more suited to a minibang, could we change if we notified you guys first?"
Yes, if you want to change anything from your original information when you signed up, all you have to do is let us know! You can do it either through Tumblr or on LiveJournal, and as long as you let us know and it’s before the claims start, you’re pretty much free to do as you please!
"When will prompts be made available?"
Artist claims will begin November 22nd, and the first round of claims will go until the 23rd. During the first round of claims, each artist will only be allowed to pick one summary, so that everyone can get one. After that, the second round will be a free-for-all.
If you’re talking about prompts submitted to teenwolfkink [Note: teenwolfkink made a special prompt post for us that can be found HERE; the accompanying announcement we made on Tumblr is HERE.], those are up for grabs as soon as they’re posted!
And if you’re talking about general prompts, you get to choose what you want to make into a fic as a writer!
"Just curious, is the Superbang limited to one story per writer? What if I want to submit two separate stories?"
The Superbang is not limited to one story per writer; that’s why writers can elect to write both a Big Bang and a Minibang. The two don’t have to be at all related, and can be submitted as separate fics.
If you’re talking about writing more than one Big Bang or more than one Minibang, then…if you think you can do it, then we wouldn’t turn you down! But that would be entirely up to you.
"Is Teen Wolf RPF allowed?"
RPF (real-person fic) is totally okay by us.
WRITER-RELATED QUESTIONS
"I've never done anything like this [the Superbang] before. Do we publish [our fics] as we write or wait until it's complete and submit it for you guys to publish?"
Basically, writers will think of their prompts and then when they go to sign up, all they have to do to register is follow the format in the sign-up post on LiveJournal! [Note: The writer sign-ups closed on August 15th, but the ARTIST and BETA READER sign-ups are still running, and will be running until November.]
After that, writers don’t publish anything until the posting date. The only thing people will get to see before the fics themselves are posted will be the summaries when they get posted for claiming.
Once the posting date comes around, writers post their stories on their own personal journals and then make posts on the TWSB LiveJournal with the summary, word count, warnings, etc., along with links to the fic and to the art.
"To what extent should we keep our superbang fics secret? Are we allowed to talk about them so long as we don't post anything, or should we keep it all under wraps until the end?"
You can talk about your fics as you’re writing them; we ask that you don’t post the summaries as you intend to post them when claims start, or parts of the actual fic itself.
We also ask that you use your own discretion when discussing your fic. Obviously, we aren’t going to stalk your blogs and keep you from giving away anything, because it’d be an exercise in futility and because ultimately, it’s your fic.
Just…don’t give away any of the good stuff, y’know? That’s what adds to the anticipation and excitement of the whole thing!
"[Regarding drafts.] What exactly do they have to entail and how long should they be? Is it just a general idea but fleshed out or a scene-by-scene or...?"
For draft submission, all we are asking is that you submit a draft that proves that the fic is completed (having a beginning, middle, and end) and meets the minimum word requirements - 20,000 words for a big bang and 10,000 words for a minibang.
When you submit your draft VIA EMAIL, we ask that you include in the body of the email information that we can put up for artist claims: a summary, word count, rating, pairing(s)/relationship(s), and any warnings you think the fic necessitates. We also ask that you include somewhere in the email (preferable in the subject title) your author handle, the name you signed up for the challenge with. We will post the summaries in a numbered format, which means that YOUR NAME WILL NOT BE PUBLICLY ATTACHED TO YOUR FIC DURING CLAIMS. We are only asking for your name for our own record-keeping/organizational purposes.
ARTIST-RELATED QUESTIONS
"Hi there! I'd like to join in on the fun as an artist, if I may. Is there anything in specific I would need to do to do so?"
To sign up as an artist, the only specific thing you’d need to do is sign up via LiveJournal on the artist sign-up post we’ll provide; we recently extended the sign-up period to go until November 13th.
"Do the artists read the fic before it's posted or do they make the art after the fic is posted?"
Artists, aside from Devaun, the writer’s beta(s), and I, are the only people who get to read the fic before it’s posted.
What happens is when an artist claims your summary during claims day, you and that artist have to talk to each other, exhange emails, etc. You’ll then give a copy of your rough draft to the artist and THAT’S how they decide what art they want to do.
"Do artist claims work on a first come first serve basis? Or is the order randomized? Or is it somehow worked out so that everyone (or as most as possible) gets one of their top choices? Or what?"
Yes, once claims come around, they work on a first-come, first-serve basis.
Because of the multitude of prompts we’re expecting, we’re going to have a 24-hour preview of the prompts for artists who can then prioritize which prompts they want, and even pick multiples in order to cut down on the stress of choosing and maybe not getting the first prompt they want. However, there will be no claiming during the preview period.
Furthermore, there will be two rounds of claims, the first going for three days, the second for one day. During the first round of prompts, artists will only be able to claim one prompt, so once we’re sure that every artist has at least one prompt claimed, we’re going to open it for people to take on as many as they like.
This way, it may be that more people will get at least one of their top picks before the free-for-all.
BETA-RELATED QUESTIONS
"I definitely plan on signing up as a Beta for this, but there aren't any rules listed for that particular group. Is there anything big we need to know besides the fact that we're beta'ing? I know that's fairly straight forward, but I like having everything squared away."
Just know that beta sign-ups are the same time as the artists. However, we are accepting betas from both Livejournal AND Tumblr. The only difference is, signing up as a beta doesn’t guarantee that you’ll actually be beta-ing. The reason for this is a lot of writers actually prefer their beta to be someone they know and that they’re comfortable with.
The reason we’re having people sign up, though, is that sometimes writers need a second opinion to their second opinion, or they might not have anyone they know available to beta for them, or their beta might be gone and they really need one. So basically what we’re having you guys do is sign up for us to be “on call”: there will be a list of everyone available to beta and the writers can use it at their discretion. It’s just a lot less stressful on the writers when we don’t force people on them!
"If I have a beta do they have to sign up for the challenge as well (in your beta post) or can I just credit them when due?"
The beta reader sign-ups are a voluntary resource; we don’t require that anyone and everyone who wants to beta or who is asked to beta by a writer register with the competition.
If you have a beta already, then that’s perfectly okay, and you can credit them when you post your work! :)
"If my friend has signed up to be a writer and she wants me to be her beta do we have to make it "official" or does it matter?"
Nope! If a writer approaches you and asks you to beta, you don’t have to register with us. We run beta sign-ups as a voluntary resource for writers to pick from; that’s why we only require a name and an email!
Other than that, we facilitate a writer finding a beta or getting into contact with one if we’re asked. Everything else is between the writer and the beta!
"You've answered a question about writers who already have their betas, but what about those of us who don't? Are we supposed to wait until someone picks us (like with artists), or can we ask a beta directly?"
You don’t have to wait at all! Once we get more betas signed up, we’ll have a list of people who’ve signed up as betas. [Note: That list has been composed and posted HERE.] It’ll either be their Tumblr URL or their LJ username-if you decide on someone, you can ask them directly by messaging them on Tumblr or DMing them on LJ.
We’re doing it this way because people aren’t comfortable sharing their email publicly. So when you find someone to beta for you, you can ask/DM them and tell them that you’re a writer and that you’d love for them to help you, and then they can share their email with you then.
"Is there going to be any kind of meet and greet sort of thing where writers can go "I am writing x type of story and need a beta that is especially good at fixing grammar or characterization or whatever" and betas get to go "oh I am good at that would you like me to beta for you?" or would the beta be assigned at random?"
To find a beta for a specific purpose, we would suggest joining We Are the Alphas Now on Tumblr - it’s a writer/beta community where, should you need it, you could find a more specific type of beta! [Note: The blog is password protected, so follow the instructions on THIS POST to join!]
FINE-TUNING
"I know you said this isn't a crossover, but would it be okay if I took elements from another show? As in, if I took things like demon traps, and sigils, and things like that you see from Supernatural."
Yes! The inclusion of those things would make your fic an AU, which is perfectly acceptable. We just want to keep the focus on Teen Wolf, y’know? So as long as your inclusion of those elements doesn’t detract from that, you’re pretty much golden!
"Okay, I'm going to poke at the crossover's bad/fusion okay stuff, because I have an idea that kind of straddles the idea. If a story took place in another universe (specifically Stargate) and had those characters in it, but they were only minor, would that be alright? The TW crew are the focus, but it's not a fusion in the usual sense."
Technically, if you plan to include the Stargate characters in the fic, that would make it a crossover because it actually includes characters and therefore plotlines and background from more than one universe and puts them in the same fic.
However, if these characters were just part of the background and held no bearing on the plot whatsoever, that would make the fic a Stargate AU of Teen Wolf.
"What do you consider constitutes a crossover [as opposed to an] AU? For example, would having the TW gang grow up as hunters and killing things for the family business like Sam and Dean be an acceptable au or would it be a crossover and go against the rules? I was wanting to do an au that is based off an another show, but would that be a crossover?"
For the purposes of the Superbang, we’re defining a crossover as an explicit merging of two or more universes within the same fic. For example, we recently got a question about placing the Teen Wolf characters within the Stargate universe. We allowed it because there was no explicit merge between the two universes; the characters from Stargate held no bearing whatsoever on the plot that was centered around the Teen Wolf cast. It was a Stargate AU of Teen Wolf.
Now to take your example. The only way that your idea would become a crossover would be to have an explicit reference to the plot of Supernatural within the fic, such as if the Teen Wolf characters met the Winchesters, or any major character they’ve had over the past seven seasons. To have those characters from different universes meet would merge the characters, their histories, and their plotlines in the same fic: a crossover between Supernatural and Teen Wolf.
It would be different if there were simply elements of Supernatural that the Teen Wolf cast had to deal with: demons, vampires, monsters, witches, hunters, including any of that would be okay, because while it involves elements from Supernatural, there’s no explicit merger and the focus remains on the Teen Wolf cast working within this universe that happens to include elements from Supernatural: an AU.
The Superbang accepts AUs and even fusions, but not crossovers. The differences are subtle, but from what you’re describing (a Teen Wolf AU that is based off of another show), as long as there is no explicit merge between the two universes - characters, major plotlines, anything like that - it’s kosher.
Basically, the primary difference between AU/fusions and crossovers as far as we’re concerned is the focus of the fic - AUs and fusions still allow for focus on the Teen Wolf cast, which was the point of the Superbang as it begins right in the beginning of the hiatus after S2. Crossovers, on the other hand, either detract from the focus on the Teen Wolf characters or story or split that focus between two or more universes.
"Regarding the dates change for rough drafts, is it okay to send one in several weeks early? I'm going to be on holiday for most of the month of November, and while I'm pretty sure I'll have internet access, I don't think I'll have much time to write. Would it be alright if I sent my draft in the first week of November instead?"
It is absolutely okay for you to turn in your draft early. Be it for any reason, even if you just want to turn it in and relax for awhile, you can do that! All we ask is that you turn it in according to the format that’ll be posted on the Livejournal once it gets closer and send it to teenwolfsuperbang@gmail.com!
Whew, that's it for now. As I said, if you have any questions that weren't addressed here, then you can leave it here, on the welcome post, on the main LiveJournal community, the TWSB Tumblr, or mine or Zoey's personal Tumblrs. Periodically, I'll update the FAQ post itself if we receive any new questions or anything like that.
Anyway! This is the FAQ post, which we're going to link on the Tumblr once it's done. All of the questions we've answered publicly on the Tumblr will be here, since it'll hopefully be easier than scrolling through at least four pages of asks to see if someone's already asked a given question.
Obviously, we don't discourage any questions, but in the interest of not repeating ourselves ad infinitum, we encourage you to look through the entire FAQ post before commenting with a question. If you do and post something and it turns out it has been asked, though, we aren't going to come after you with fire, though. It's nowhere near that big of a deal, haha.
Questions and answers under the cut!
GENERAL QUESTIONS
"What exactly is a 'super-bang'?"
A superbang is simply what we decided to call what we wanted to do for a couple of reasons:
- There are already two other Teen Wolf big bangs, and we wanted to make one of our own that was maybe a little different from the others.
- “Teen Wolf Superbang” has a really nice ring to it.
Basically, the superbang will work the same way as most big bangs work, namely: people write fics, and then artists pick fics to make art for. The difference here is that we have three options for writing participants:
- A traditional big bang fic, at least 20k words in length.
- A minibang, consisting of at least five drabbles (that can either be standalone, part of a ‘verse, OR timestamps) that are at least 2k words each for a total of at least 10k words.
- BOTH!! (That’s what I meant when I said timestamps - if an author wants to write a big bang fic and then write a few timestamps, they can totally do that!)
The word counts for each option are separate, though. So if an author chose to write both a big bang and a minibang, the count for the minibang wouldn’t go toward the count for the big bang.
So tl;dr, a superbang (at least, the way we’re using it) is both a big bang and a minibang, where authors can do either or both options.
"Can we sign up as both an author and an artist? (Most big bangs don't allow it, but I saw that you guys are allowing authors to do both big and mini bangs, and I thought that since the artist's job doesn't start until the stories are finished that it would be do-able to write a story, and then do art for another.)"
Participants who are willing can in fact sign up as an author AND an artist should they choose to do so.
The only rules we have regarding signing up for multiple parts in the challenge are: that people who want to do that would have to sign up separately as a writer and an artist; people who do so are not allowed to make art for their own fic entries. We hope that this way, participation can be increased but still consistent for fic and art.
"Why only one week for sign ups? I know I'd personally like to be allowed to make up my mind *after the finale*. When we sign up, do we have to decide right away if we're doing the bigbang or the minibang? Or is it possible to switch later on?"
We decided to do one week this time around so that people would have something to look forward to immediately after the finale and going into hiatus for who knows how long. We have received a number of comments regarding the sign-up period, but since the original timeline we put forth has gotten the attention it has, we’re keeping the sign-up periods the way that they are, and we have made a new timeline for Round 2 with longer sign-up periods. [Note: We do have a finalized schedule that we will be following with NO further changes that can be found HERE. Round 2 will have its own schedule post that will have taken into account all of the helpful comments and advice we've received over the past several weeks.]
We would prefer that you already have it decided whether you’d like to do the big bang or the minibang when you sign up. However, if something goes wrong (or right!), then as long as you give us ample warning (since we mods will be the only ones up until claims who will know who picked which route), there shouldn’t be a problem. Switching will be entirely up to the discretion of the writer, since switching from a big bang to a minibang and from a minibang to a big bang are very different processes.
"Do I need an LJ to participate? Because I don't have one."
To keep everything streamlined and as organized as possible, we are asking that all people who want to sign-up have a LiveJournal account.
HOWEVER! The only thing you are required to do with your LiveJournal is sign up and, if you want to be an artist, participate in the claims, which will also be handled through LiveJournal.
We aren’t requiring that you use your LiveJournal exclusively for the Teen Wolf Superbang. As long as you inform us of where you intend to post it when the time comes, and then make a post in the community when it’s been posted, you can post your work wherever you like. :)
If you would like to do that (host your work somewhere other than LiveJournal), then all we would require is an email with your LJ username and where you plan to post your work.
"Can we sign up to be a writer and a beta? (Obviously not beta-ing our own story.)"
Yes! Just make sure that you sign up separately as a writer and as a beta reader, so that way we can keep track of everyone. :)
Beta reader sign-ups are at the same time as artist sign-ups, and can be we are accepting beta sign-ups both on LiveJournal AND on Tumblr!
"The link to the superbang isn't letting me in, it said my access is denied."
The reason you can’t see the post is because you need to join the community. So go ahead and log in to your livejournal, go to tnwolfsuperbang.livejournal.com and click “join this community”. Membership is unmoderated, so all you have to do to join the community is click join!
"Out of curiosity, if we end up changing our mind for pairings and stuff for the superbang, do we let you guys know? And if, say, sign up for a superbang and then find that you'd be much more suited to a minibang, could we change if we notified you guys first?"
Yes, if you want to change anything from your original information when you signed up, all you have to do is let us know! You can do it either through Tumblr or on LiveJournal, and as long as you let us know and it’s before the claims start, you’re pretty much free to do as you please!
"When will prompts be made available?"
Artist claims will begin November 22nd, and the first round of claims will go until the 23rd. During the first round of claims, each artist will only be allowed to pick one summary, so that everyone can get one. After that, the second round will be a free-for-all.
If you’re talking about prompts submitted to teenwolfkink [Note: teenwolfkink made a special prompt post for us that can be found HERE; the accompanying announcement we made on Tumblr is HERE.], those are up for grabs as soon as they’re posted!
And if you’re talking about general prompts, you get to choose what you want to make into a fic as a writer!
"Just curious, is the Superbang limited to one story per writer? What if I want to submit two separate stories?"
The Superbang is not limited to one story per writer; that’s why writers can elect to write both a Big Bang and a Minibang. The two don’t have to be at all related, and can be submitted as separate fics.
If you’re talking about writing more than one Big Bang or more than one Minibang, then…if you think you can do it, then we wouldn’t turn you down! But that would be entirely up to you.
"Is Teen Wolf RPF allowed?"
RPF (real-person fic) is totally okay by us.
WRITER-RELATED QUESTIONS
"I've never done anything like this [the Superbang] before. Do we publish [our fics] as we write or wait until it's complete and submit it for you guys to publish?"
Basically, writers will think of their prompts and then when they go to sign up, all they have to do to register is follow the format in the sign-up post on LiveJournal! [Note: The writer sign-ups closed on August 15th, but the ARTIST and BETA READER sign-ups are still running, and will be running until November.]
After that, writers don’t publish anything until the posting date. The only thing people will get to see before the fics themselves are posted will be the summaries when they get posted for claiming.
Once the posting date comes around, writers post their stories on their own personal journals and then make posts on the TWSB LiveJournal with the summary, word count, warnings, etc., along with links to the fic and to the art.
"To what extent should we keep our superbang fics secret? Are we allowed to talk about them so long as we don't post anything, or should we keep it all under wraps until the end?"
You can talk about your fics as you’re writing them; we ask that you don’t post the summaries as you intend to post them when claims start, or parts of the actual fic itself.
We also ask that you use your own discretion when discussing your fic. Obviously, we aren’t going to stalk your blogs and keep you from giving away anything, because it’d be an exercise in futility and because ultimately, it’s your fic.
Just…don’t give away any of the good stuff, y’know? That’s what adds to the anticipation and excitement of the whole thing!
"[Regarding drafts.] What exactly do they have to entail and how long should they be? Is it just a general idea but fleshed out or a scene-by-scene or...?"
For draft submission, all we are asking is that you submit a draft that proves that the fic is completed (having a beginning, middle, and end) and meets the minimum word requirements - 20,000 words for a big bang and 10,000 words for a minibang.
When you submit your draft VIA EMAIL, we ask that you include in the body of the email information that we can put up for artist claims: a summary, word count, rating, pairing(s)/relationship(s), and any warnings you think the fic necessitates. We also ask that you include somewhere in the email (preferable in the subject title) your author handle, the name you signed up for the challenge with. We will post the summaries in a numbered format, which means that YOUR NAME WILL NOT BE PUBLICLY ATTACHED TO YOUR FIC DURING CLAIMS. We are only asking for your name for our own record-keeping/organizational purposes.
ARTIST-RELATED QUESTIONS
"Hi there! I'd like to join in on the fun as an artist, if I may. Is there anything in specific I would need to do to do so?"
To sign up as an artist, the only specific thing you’d need to do is sign up via LiveJournal on the artist sign-up post we’ll provide; we recently extended the sign-up period to go until November 13th.
"Do the artists read the fic before it's posted or do they make the art after the fic is posted?"
Artists, aside from Devaun, the writer’s beta(s), and I, are the only people who get to read the fic before it’s posted.
What happens is when an artist claims your summary during claims day, you and that artist have to talk to each other, exhange emails, etc. You’ll then give a copy of your rough draft to the artist and THAT’S how they decide what art they want to do.
"Do artist claims work on a first come first serve basis? Or is the order randomized? Or is it somehow worked out so that everyone (or as most as possible) gets one of their top choices? Or what?"
Yes, once claims come around, they work on a first-come, first-serve basis.
Because of the multitude of prompts we’re expecting, we’re going to have a 24-hour preview of the prompts for artists who can then prioritize which prompts they want, and even pick multiples in order to cut down on the stress of choosing and maybe not getting the first prompt they want. However, there will be no claiming during the preview period.
Furthermore, there will be two rounds of claims, the first going for three days, the second for one day. During the first round of prompts, artists will only be able to claim one prompt, so once we’re sure that every artist has at least one prompt claimed, we’re going to open it for people to take on as many as they like.
This way, it may be that more people will get at least one of their top picks before the free-for-all.
BETA-RELATED QUESTIONS
"I definitely plan on signing up as a Beta for this, but there aren't any rules listed for that particular group. Is there anything big we need to know besides the fact that we're beta'ing? I know that's fairly straight forward, but I like having everything squared away."
Just know that beta sign-ups are the same time as the artists. However, we are accepting betas from both Livejournal AND Tumblr. The only difference is, signing up as a beta doesn’t guarantee that you’ll actually be beta-ing. The reason for this is a lot of writers actually prefer their beta to be someone they know and that they’re comfortable with.
The reason we’re having people sign up, though, is that sometimes writers need a second opinion to their second opinion, or they might not have anyone they know available to beta for them, or their beta might be gone and they really need one. So basically what we’re having you guys do is sign up for us to be “on call”: there will be a list of everyone available to beta and the writers can use it at their discretion. It’s just a lot less stressful on the writers when we don’t force people on them!
"If I have a beta do they have to sign up for the challenge as well (in your beta post) or can I just credit them when due?"
The beta reader sign-ups are a voluntary resource; we don’t require that anyone and everyone who wants to beta or who is asked to beta by a writer register with the competition.
If you have a beta already, then that’s perfectly okay, and you can credit them when you post your work! :)
"If my friend has signed up to be a writer and she wants me to be her beta do we have to make it "official" or does it matter?"
Nope! If a writer approaches you and asks you to beta, you don’t have to register with us. We run beta sign-ups as a voluntary resource for writers to pick from; that’s why we only require a name and an email!
Other than that, we facilitate a writer finding a beta or getting into contact with one if we’re asked. Everything else is between the writer and the beta!
"You've answered a question about writers who already have their betas, but what about those of us who don't? Are we supposed to wait until someone picks us (like with artists), or can we ask a beta directly?"
You don’t have to wait at all! Once we get more betas signed up, we’ll have a list of people who’ve signed up as betas. [Note: That list has been composed and posted HERE.] It’ll either be their Tumblr URL or their LJ username-if you decide on someone, you can ask them directly by messaging them on Tumblr or DMing them on LJ.
We’re doing it this way because people aren’t comfortable sharing their email publicly. So when you find someone to beta for you, you can ask/DM them and tell them that you’re a writer and that you’d love for them to help you, and then they can share their email with you then.
"Is there going to be any kind of meet and greet sort of thing where writers can go "I am writing x type of story and need a beta that is especially good at fixing grammar or characterization or whatever" and betas get to go "oh I am good at that would you like me to beta for you?" or would the beta be assigned at random?"
To find a beta for a specific purpose, we would suggest joining We Are the Alphas Now on Tumblr - it’s a writer/beta community where, should you need it, you could find a more specific type of beta! [Note: The blog is password protected, so follow the instructions on THIS POST to join!]
FINE-TUNING
"I know you said this isn't a crossover, but would it be okay if I took elements from another show? As in, if I took things like demon traps, and sigils, and things like that you see from Supernatural."
Yes! The inclusion of those things would make your fic an AU, which is perfectly acceptable. We just want to keep the focus on Teen Wolf, y’know? So as long as your inclusion of those elements doesn’t detract from that, you’re pretty much golden!
"Okay, I'm going to poke at the crossover's bad/fusion okay stuff, because I have an idea that kind of straddles the idea. If a story took place in another universe (specifically Stargate) and had those characters in it, but they were only minor, would that be alright? The TW crew are the focus, but it's not a fusion in the usual sense."
Technically, if you plan to include the Stargate characters in the fic, that would make it a crossover because it actually includes characters and therefore plotlines and background from more than one universe and puts them in the same fic.
However, if these characters were just part of the background and held no bearing on the plot whatsoever, that would make the fic a Stargate AU of Teen Wolf.
"What do you consider constitutes a crossover [as opposed to an] AU? For example, would having the TW gang grow up as hunters and killing things for the family business like Sam and Dean be an acceptable au or would it be a crossover and go against the rules? I was wanting to do an au that is based off an another show, but would that be a crossover?"
For the purposes of the Superbang, we’re defining a crossover as an explicit merging of two or more universes within the same fic. For example, we recently got a question about placing the Teen Wolf characters within the Stargate universe. We allowed it because there was no explicit merge between the two universes; the characters from Stargate held no bearing whatsoever on the plot that was centered around the Teen Wolf cast. It was a Stargate AU of Teen Wolf.
Now to take your example. The only way that your idea would become a crossover would be to have an explicit reference to the plot of Supernatural within the fic, such as if the Teen Wolf characters met the Winchesters, or any major character they’ve had over the past seven seasons. To have those characters from different universes meet would merge the characters, their histories, and their plotlines in the same fic: a crossover between Supernatural and Teen Wolf.
It would be different if there were simply elements of Supernatural that the Teen Wolf cast had to deal with: demons, vampires, monsters, witches, hunters, including any of that would be okay, because while it involves elements from Supernatural, there’s no explicit merger and the focus remains on the Teen Wolf cast working within this universe that happens to include elements from Supernatural: an AU.
The Superbang accepts AUs and even fusions, but not crossovers. The differences are subtle, but from what you’re describing (a Teen Wolf AU that is based off of another show), as long as there is no explicit merge between the two universes - characters, major plotlines, anything like that - it’s kosher.
Basically, the primary difference between AU/fusions and crossovers as far as we’re concerned is the focus of the fic - AUs and fusions still allow for focus on the Teen Wolf cast, which was the point of the Superbang as it begins right in the beginning of the hiatus after S2. Crossovers, on the other hand, either detract from the focus on the Teen Wolf characters or story or split that focus between two or more universes.
"Regarding the dates change for rough drafts, is it okay to send one in several weeks early? I'm going to be on holiday for most of the month of November, and while I'm pretty sure I'll have internet access, I don't think I'll have much time to write. Would it be alright if I sent my draft in the first week of November instead?"
It is absolutely okay for you to turn in your draft early. Be it for any reason, even if you just want to turn it in and relax for awhile, you can do that! All we ask is that you turn it in according to the format that’ll be posted on the Livejournal once it gets closer and send it to teenwolfsuperbang@gmail.com!
Whew, that's it for now. As I said, if you have any questions that weren't addressed here, then you can leave it here, on the welcome post, on the main LiveJournal community, the TWSB Tumblr, or mine or Zoey's personal Tumblrs. Periodically, I'll update the FAQ post itself if we receive any new questions or anything like that.