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So you love the female characters of Fullmetal Alchemist and would like to show your love by, say, participating in a fanfic-and-fanart exchange celebrating those selfsame characters? Well then, you are in the right place. Below is an easy step-by-step guide to participating in FMA Ladyfest!
Step 1: Sign up! You will be able to do this from Friday, June 8th to Monday, June 18th, using the Character List as a guideline.
Step 2: Receive your prompt! This will be emailed to you by Wednesday, June 15th.
Step 3: Complete a fic or artwork for your recipient. The fic should be at least 1000 words long; the art should be at least finished-looking, though it doesn't have to be in color.
Step 4: Submit! Email your fic (formatted for LJ or DW) as an attachment in .txt format, or your artwork in .png or .jpg format, to the mods at fma.ladyfest@gmail.com by midnight EST on Wednesday, August 15.
Step 5: Check the ladyfest comm from Wednesday, August 22 to Saturday, August 25 for your awesome gift to go up, along with everyone else's equally awesome gifts. Leave some feedback for your anony-author! They will probably appreciate it.
Step 6: Come back on Monday, August 27th for the author reveal!
You may say: but I still have some questions about this ladyfest thing! For any questions you're always welcome to drop us a comment on this post, or email us at fma.ladyfest@gmail.com, but we've included a few FAQs below:
So, uh, does this mean I can't have any male characters in my story/art?
Of course not! Most of FMA's awesome ladies have men who are pretty important in their lives, after all. But what it does mean is that your story shouldn't be about a guy, or about a lady's relationship to a guy. If Trisha Elric is thinking about herself as a mother and what this means for her life and her goals and interests and time, cool; if Trisha Elric is spending all her time thinking about her adorable sons and how to make them happy and how much she loves Hohenheim, less cool. Keep the central focus on the ladies, that's all.
Do I have to love EVERY LADY to participate? What if there are characters I really don't like/don't want to write or draw?
We'll do our very best to make sure you're assigned to write only the characters you willingly sign up for, and there's a space on the prompt form to list characters you really don't want to write. However, it's important to remember that this is a ficathon for celebrating ALL the awesome ladies; lady-bashing, even in a fic centered around another lady, is very much against the spirit of the challenge (we discourage bashing any characters, but the ladies especially!)
So what if I really wanted to request fic or art for Scar's mother/Shou Tucker's wife/some other briefly-mentioned or hypothetical character who is not on your character list? Why are you restricting my creativity this way, mods?
While we don't really think it's fair to make anyone write a character who doesn't have at least a few speaking lines in canon, we do provide two optional spaces on the sign-up form for you to include other requests in case one of them piques your author's interest. So if you really want fic or art about, say, Strongine and Amue Armstrong, or Ling and Mei's hypothetical empress mothers, this would be the place to ask for it! (You can also use those optional spaces for more requests involving more major characters, of course.)
. . . but seriously, you included Xiao Mei on your speaking characters list?
LOOK, SHE SQUEAKS. IT COUNTS.
Can I write/draw something for the first anime?
Sorry, but not for this ficathon. We fully support and encourage a ladyfest for the first anime too, and for pretty much any canon anyone might want to do, but this one's focused on FMA: Brotherhood and the manga.
That said, if you think of a way to create fic or art that fits your prompt and would work equally well for all three versions, hey, knock yourself out!
I signed up and I was really eager to do this, but then my cat died and my computer exploded and I had to have emergency surgery and I really don't think I can get this thing done. What should I do?
First of all: let us know ASAP. Please. We understand that these things happen, and we won't yell at you! But the sooner we know, the sooner we can get it to a pinch hitter, and the more time they'll have to work on the story. Everyone will be less stressed if the pinch hitter has three weeks rather than two days to crank out a story.
If you think you might have to default but you're not totally sure, please let us know anyway. We'd rather your recipient get two stories than none! And, again, the longer a pinch hitter has to work, the happier everyone will be.
I only know the manga/only know Brotherhood. Do I have to be able to write/draw either?
Nope, as long as you can offer one or the other. It's easier to assign you to a recipient if you can offer both, so please do if you feel comfortable doing so, but all we actually ask is one. Just let us know in the Other Notes line if you're only familiar with one or the other. Otherwise, we'll assume you can do either.
I haven't finished canon yet and I'm avoiding spoilers for the end! Can I still do fma_ladyfest?
It's a little at your own risk, but yes, you can! Again, that's what the Other Notes field is for. Let us know, and we'll try our best to not assign you a recipient whose very prompts are spoilers; let your writer/artist know in the Other Notes or the prompts themselves, and we hope they'll try to satisfy your request without spoilers.
Please be warned, though, that we cannot guarantee this. We're not going to be enforcing spoiler compliance on anyone, beyond requesting that they try to heed their recipient's wishes if possible. Also, any and all other fics and artwork in the Ladyfest may contain spoilers.
My recipient's prompts include characters I signed up to write, but I don't know if I can fulfill their specific requests. Do I have to comply to the letter?
Well, not to the letter, but please do try to fulfill your recipient's prompt as much as you can - that is the point of a gift exchange! You only have to pick one of their prompts, though.
Okay, my recipient's prompt is cool but I have some questions! How do I get in touch with them to clarify things without DESTROYING MY SECRET IDENTITY?
Don't worry - that's what your mods are for. Just email us and we'll get in touch with your recipient for you, cunningly preserving your anonymity.
I submitted my fic/art, but then I realized I wanted to make some changes! Can I submit an updated version?
Sure! Up to the deadline. Just be sure to clearly let us know when you send in your updated version that this is meant to REPLACE an earlier submitted version. Your moderators will be busy and easily confused, and we appreciate having things spelled out clearly.
Do I need to have a beta for my fic?
We're not policing that, but we definitely encourage it. It's amazing how many little typos and bits of unclear wording a second set of eyes can catch. If you don't have someone who's willing and available to beta for you, try our beta-offering post.
Can I cross-post my fic/art?
Sure! It's yours. Cross-post it anywhere you like. All we ask is that you wait until after the reveal post. Once the authors' and artists' names are public, go for it!
We'd also appreciate it if you incorporate some mention of it being originally created for fma_ladyfest. This is for two reasons: one, we hope people might wander over and take a look at the rest of the Ladyfest works, and two, we harbor a secret hope that other people might be inspired to organize Ladyfests for other fandoms too.
So speaking of cross-posting, what's up with this LJ/DW thing?
There are a couple reasons for that, but the big one is both of us are users of both LJ and DW, it's not that much extra work for us to run two comms, and if it means that more people will feel comfortable participating, then it's something we want to do! But it shouldn't change procedures for any of the participants at all, so basically: don't worry about it! We'll take care of it. Just sign up, read, comment, etc. wherever you feel more comfortable.
I'm really busy and I don't know if I can participate, but I still want to support the ladyfest. Is there anything I can do that's not as much of a commitment?
If you don't want to commit to creating fic or art to a specific prompt, but you think you may have some time over the next few months, you might want to consider signing up for the pinch-hitters list - although you won't get anything created for you, it's a good way to grab a prompt that looks appealing if one gets sent out (and earn the eternal gratitude of the mods when they don't have to write every pinch-hit themselves.) You can also consider filling something from the list of last year's unfilled prompts! We'll happily link or fill any prompt from this comm if you tell us about it, separately from the ones that go up for the exchange. Also . . .
Is it okay if I advertise this challenge to all my friends?
FUNNY YOU SHOULD MENTION THAT. Not only is it okay, it is highly encouraged! :D If you want, you can use this banner to spread the word.
And, if you're still interested after all that, start thinking about what prompts you'd like to suggest when you sign up!
Step 1: Sign up! You will be able to do this from Friday, June 8th to Monday, June 18th, using the Character List as a guideline.
Step 2: Receive your prompt! This will be emailed to you by Wednesday, June 15th.
Step 3: Complete a fic or artwork for your recipient. The fic should be at least 1000 words long; the art should be at least finished-looking, though it doesn't have to be in color.
Step 4: Submit! Email your fic (formatted for LJ or DW) as an attachment in .txt format, or your artwork in .png or .jpg format, to the mods at fma.ladyfest@gmail.com by midnight EST on Wednesday, August 15.
Step 5: Check the ladyfest comm from Wednesday, August 22 to Saturday, August 25 for your awesome gift to go up, along with everyone else's equally awesome gifts. Leave some feedback for your anony-author! They will probably appreciate it.
Step 6: Come back on Monday, August 27th for the author reveal!
You may say: but I still have some questions about this ladyfest thing! For any questions you're always welcome to drop us a comment on this post, or email us at fma.ladyfest@gmail.com, but we've included a few FAQs below:
So, uh, does this mean I can't have any male characters in my story/art?
Of course not! Most of FMA's awesome ladies have men who are pretty important in their lives, after all. But what it does mean is that your story shouldn't be about a guy, or about a lady's relationship to a guy. If Trisha Elric is thinking about herself as a mother and what this means for her life and her goals and interests and time, cool; if Trisha Elric is spending all her time thinking about her adorable sons and how to make them happy and how much she loves Hohenheim, less cool. Keep the central focus on the ladies, that's all.
Do I have to love EVERY LADY to participate? What if there are characters I really don't like/don't want to write or draw?
We'll do our very best to make sure you're assigned to write only the characters you willingly sign up for, and there's a space on the prompt form to list characters you really don't want to write. However, it's important to remember that this is a ficathon for celebrating ALL the awesome ladies; lady-bashing, even in a fic centered around another lady, is very much against the spirit of the challenge (we discourage bashing any characters, but the ladies especially!)
So what if I really wanted to request fic or art for Scar's mother/Shou Tucker's wife/some other briefly-mentioned or hypothetical character who is not on your character list? Why are you restricting my creativity this way, mods?
While we don't really think it's fair to make anyone write a character who doesn't have at least a few speaking lines in canon, we do provide two optional spaces on the sign-up form for you to include other requests in case one of them piques your author's interest. So if you really want fic or art about, say, Strongine and Amue Armstrong, or Ling and Mei's hypothetical empress mothers, this would be the place to ask for it! (You can also use those optional spaces for more requests involving more major characters, of course.)
. . . but seriously, you included Xiao Mei on your speaking characters list?
LOOK, SHE SQUEAKS. IT COUNTS.
Can I write/draw something for the first anime?
Sorry, but not for this ficathon. We fully support and encourage a ladyfest for the first anime too, and for pretty much any canon anyone might want to do, but this one's focused on FMA: Brotherhood and the manga.
That said, if you think of a way to create fic or art that fits your prompt and would work equally well for all three versions, hey, knock yourself out!
I signed up and I was really eager to do this, but then my cat died and my computer exploded and I had to have emergency surgery and I really don't think I can get this thing done. What should I do?
First of all: let us know ASAP. Please. We understand that these things happen, and we won't yell at you! But the sooner we know, the sooner we can get it to a pinch hitter, and the more time they'll have to work on the story. Everyone will be less stressed if the pinch hitter has three weeks rather than two days to crank out a story.
If you think you might have to default but you're not totally sure, please let us know anyway. We'd rather your recipient get two stories than none! And, again, the longer a pinch hitter has to work, the happier everyone will be.
I only know the manga/only know Brotherhood. Do I have to be able to write/draw either?
Nope, as long as you can offer one or the other. It's easier to assign you to a recipient if you can offer both, so please do if you feel comfortable doing so, but all we actually ask is one. Just let us know in the Other Notes line if you're only familiar with one or the other. Otherwise, we'll assume you can do either.
I haven't finished canon yet and I'm avoiding spoilers for the end! Can I still do fma_ladyfest?
It's a little at your own risk, but yes, you can! Again, that's what the Other Notes field is for. Let us know, and we'll try our best to not assign you a recipient whose very prompts are spoilers; let your writer/artist know in the Other Notes or the prompts themselves, and we hope they'll try to satisfy your request without spoilers.
Please be warned, though, that we cannot guarantee this. We're not going to be enforcing spoiler compliance on anyone, beyond requesting that they try to heed their recipient's wishes if possible. Also, any and all other fics and artwork in the Ladyfest may contain spoilers.
My recipient's prompts include characters I signed up to write, but I don't know if I can fulfill their specific requests. Do I have to comply to the letter?
Well, not to the letter, but please do try to fulfill your recipient's prompt as much as you can - that is the point of a gift exchange! You only have to pick one of their prompts, though.
Okay, my recipient's prompt is cool but I have some questions! How do I get in touch with them to clarify things without DESTROYING MY SECRET IDENTITY?
Don't worry - that's what your mods are for. Just email us and we'll get in touch with your recipient for you, cunningly preserving your anonymity.
I submitted my fic/art, but then I realized I wanted to make some changes! Can I submit an updated version?
Sure! Up to the deadline. Just be sure to clearly let us know when you send in your updated version that this is meant to REPLACE an earlier submitted version. Your moderators will be busy and easily confused, and we appreciate having things spelled out clearly.
Do I need to have a beta for my fic?
We're not policing that, but we definitely encourage it. It's amazing how many little typos and bits of unclear wording a second set of eyes can catch. If you don't have someone who's willing and available to beta for you, try our beta-offering post.
Can I cross-post my fic/art?
Sure! It's yours. Cross-post it anywhere you like. All we ask is that you wait until after the reveal post. Once the authors' and artists' names are public, go for it!
We'd also appreciate it if you incorporate some mention of it being originally created for fma_ladyfest. This is for two reasons: one, we hope people might wander over and take a look at the rest of the Ladyfest works, and two, we harbor a secret hope that other people might be inspired to organize Ladyfests for other fandoms too.
So speaking of cross-posting, what's up with this LJ/DW thing?
There are a couple reasons for that, but the big one is both of us are users of both LJ and DW, it's not that much extra work for us to run two comms, and if it means that more people will feel comfortable participating, then it's something we want to do! But it shouldn't change procedures for any of the participants at all, so basically: don't worry about it! We'll take care of it. Just sign up, read, comment, etc. wherever you feel more comfortable.
I'm really busy and I don't know if I can participate, but I still want to support the ladyfest. Is there anything I can do that's not as much of a commitment?
If you don't want to commit to creating fic or art to a specific prompt, but you think you may have some time over the next few months, you might want to consider signing up for the pinch-hitters list - although you won't get anything created for you, it's a good way to grab a prompt that looks appealing if one gets sent out (and earn the eternal gratitude of the mods when they don't have to write every pinch-hit themselves.) You can also consider filling something from the list of last year's unfilled prompts! We'll happily link or fill any prompt from this comm if you tell us about it, separately from the ones that go up for the exchange. Also . . .
Is it okay if I advertise this challenge to all my friends?
FUNNY YOU SHOULD MENTION THAT. Not only is it okay, it is highly encouraged! :D If you want, you can use this banner to spread the word.
And, if you're still interested after all that, start thinking about what prompts you'd like to suggest when you sign up!