2009 Harry/Draco World Cup FAQ
Welcome to hd_worldcup 2009!
We're back, stronger than ever! We've listened to your feedback regarding what worked and what didn't work last year and have made some changes. Below is the updated FAQ.
What is the hd_worldcup?
In the vein of snarry_games, the hd_worldcup will provide a place for Harry/Draco authors and artists to go "mano a mano" against each other. You vote, you decide. Last year, the fest was anonymous. This year, we've decided against anonymous*. Your work, your name. Pimp and let the competition start!
*we will ask that until your work is posted that you keep mum on your prompt.
So what are the details of the teams?
Team EWE: Epilogue? What epilogue? We don't need 19 years later, thank you very much. On team EWE, you can go for fanon or canon characterisations. DH compliance is required but this team ignores the Epilogue.
Team Epilogue: The motto here is "Keep the Epilogue, we can write around it". Fanon or Canon characterisations that must adhere to the Epilogue.
Team AU: Want an alternate reality? Want an alternate Sixth Year? Want to resort them all? This is your team.
What's the team structure like?
We have decided to make the hd_worldcup more like an actual Quidditch World Cup. There are four positions in Quidditch and each type of participant will be assigned a position with one exciting new change!
Chasers: Chasers control the Quaffle and score goals. There are more of them on the team than the other positions. Thus, all authors that accept the challenge to write a story for the hd_worldcup will be Chasers for their team. There are 15 active participants and 3 back up positions per team. A total of 45 active writers and 9 back-up writers will be in the fest.
Beaters: Beaters keep the Bludgers from their team and require good physical strength and balance. All artists that accept the challenge of the hd_worldcup will work to keep the bludgers away while batting one at an opposing team all while creating a perfect balance of light and shadows. There are 4 active participants and 1 back up participant in this category. A total of 12 active artists and 3 back-up artists will be in the fest.
Keeper: Keepers are the anchor person to the team. They protect the net and lie in wait to amaze you with their genius. The vidder will be this position. There will be one vidder on each team. If the vidder drops, he/she will be replaced by an artist. A total of 3 active vidders will be in the fest.
Seekers: Should the Seeker capture the Snitch in a Wizarding game of Quidditch, they win 150 points for their team. Here, one artist Seeker and one author Seeker with the best individual point averages will have three perfect 10s added into their total points (one for each question) as their Snitch. There will be two Seekers elected by each team, one artist and one author. The identity of the Seeker must remain anonymous or the point doubling will be voided and the participant will revert to either a Chaser or Beater position.
The Seeker identities will be revealed at the end of the World Cup.
Team Captain: The team captain can be any of the above positions. This captain will assist in team communication and adherence to deadlines. The team captain will not take the place of the moderation team and is not expected to deal with any issues that may crop up. The team captain position will be voted on by the members of the team.
Will there be collaborations between artists and authors?
We will not be accepting collaborations as we want each piece of artwork and fic to stand on its own and be scored individually.
Is this only open to BNFs?
Heck no. We welcome everyone that wants to apply.
If more people apply than there are spots, how are you planning on choosing who gets on what team?
Each applicant will be assigned a number. A random number generator will be used to pick participants until all team positions have been fulfilled.
Last year, you didn't offer extensions. Has this changed?
Yep. We will offer 3 extensions per team. However, there's a catch. The team will decide who gets the extension.
What happens if I don't meet the deadline and my team didn't give me an extension?
You will be removed from the team roster and a pinch hitter will take your place.
What happens if the extension period passes and the person defaults?
The team will not field an entry for that prompt so use your extensions wisely.
I missed the deadline last year. Can I participate this year?
Sure thing!
How long do the stories have to be?
All stories must be at least 1500 words long. Artists, please note that your works should have an equivalent amount of time put into them.
One of the concerns last year was the sheer number of words produced (well over a million words). The suggestion was that we institute an upper-word limit. We are not, at this time, going to make an upper-word limit mandatory. However, we are going to strongly encourage that fics remain less than 20-25k.
Why is this important? Last year - stories with over 25k were, on average, voted on about 100 times less than stories that were under 20k. The story with the most votes was approximately 8k. The more votes, the higher the likelihood of scoring a winning goal for your team.
How's the voting thing going to work?
We're borrowing this (with permission!) from snarry_games. Each work for each prompt will be posted against one another. There will be a poll at the bottom of each post and will have three questions:
Is the author/artist true to their team? Yes/No vote ("yes" is worth 2 points, "no" is worth 0)
How well did the author/artist use their Prompt? 1 to 9 (1 being the least)
How much did you like this story/art overall? 1 to 9 (1 being the least)
Please remember that you do not have to read every story for each prompt to vote. Each story should be judged on its own merits with the above criteria in mind.
How do I find out how well I did?
We will not announce placement of individual participants. We will also arrange the polls so that only the moderation team can see the results. This will encourage honest voting, something that we strongly encourage here.
What are the prompts?
The theme of the prompts are Wizarding phrases.
What's the definition of the prompt?
Please remember that the prompts can be used either figuratively or literally. Thus, the participant can use the prompt as an overarching plot point or an inspiration. Ie -
A Snitch in the hand is worth two in the arena. Literal interpretations could feature Harry holding on to the Snitch or it could feature a story with two Snitches in the Arena. Figuratively, it could mean holding on to what you have instead of seeking out some nebulous other thing.
The interpretation of the prompt is up to the participant. How well they do it is up to the voter.
You did invitations last year. Are people being invited this year?
We will not be inviting anyone this year. We invited a wide variety of known and unknown people last year to get things started. As we are now in our second round, this isn't necessary.
How do I apply?
The application post will go up on January 2nd, 2009 and will remain open until 11:59pm EST January 9th, 2009.
Please remember that you must be older than 18 years of age to participate.
I don't write or draw, though. How can I participate?
First, you can participate by commenting. In fact, the mods have decided to reward the commenters by picking one shining comment (based on quality of commentary) a week and awarding 9 points to the commenter's choice of team in addition to being recognized with a custom banner.
In addition, the top 5 commenters up until April 21st will be rewarded with the ability to assign 9 points to the commenter's choice of team in addition to being recognized with a custom banner.
When does hd_worldcup start?
The timeline is as follows:
Applications: January 2nd, 2009 to January 9th, 2009.
Response and team assignments sent by: January 14th, 2009.
Writing Period: January 18th, 2009 until March 17th, 2009
Due Date: March 17th, 2009
Extension Period: March 18th until March 31st, 2009
First Posting: April 1st, 2009
Voting Period Closes: May 12th, 2009
Reveals: May 18th, 2009
We're back, stronger than ever! We've listened to your feedback regarding what worked and what didn't work last year and have made some changes. Below is the updated FAQ.
What is the hd_worldcup?
In the vein of snarry_games, the hd_worldcup will provide a place for Harry/Draco authors and artists to go "mano a mano" against each other. You vote, you decide. Last year, the fest was anonymous. This year, we've decided against anonymous*. Your work, your name. Pimp and let the competition start!
*we will ask that until your work is posted that you keep mum on your prompt.
So what are the details of the teams?
Team EWE: Epilogue? What epilogue? We don't need 19 years later, thank you very much. On team EWE, you can go for fanon or canon characterisations. DH compliance is required but this team ignores the Epilogue.
Team Epilogue: The motto here is "Keep the Epilogue, we can write around it". Fanon or Canon characterisations that must adhere to the Epilogue.
Team AU: Want an alternate reality? Want an alternate Sixth Year? Want to resort them all? This is your team.
What's the team structure like?
We have decided to make the hd_worldcup more like an actual Quidditch World Cup. There are four positions in Quidditch and each type of participant will be assigned a position with one exciting new change!
Chasers: Chasers control the Quaffle and score goals. There are more of them on the team than the other positions. Thus, all authors that accept the challenge to write a story for the hd_worldcup will be Chasers for their team. There are 15 active participants and 3 back up positions per team. A total of 45 active writers and 9 back-up writers will be in the fest.
Beaters: Beaters keep the Bludgers from their team and require good physical strength and balance. All artists that accept the challenge of the hd_worldcup will work to keep the bludgers away while batting one at an opposing team all while creating a perfect balance of light and shadows. There are 4 active participants and 1 back up participant in this category. A total of 12 active artists and 3 back-up artists will be in the fest.
Keeper: Keepers are the anchor person to the team. They protect the net and lie in wait to amaze you with their genius. The vidder will be this position. There will be one vidder on each team. If the vidder drops, he/she will be replaced by an artist. A total of 3 active vidders will be in the fest.
Seekers: Should the Seeker capture the Snitch in a Wizarding game of Quidditch, they win 150 points for their team. Here, one artist Seeker and one author Seeker with the best individual point averages will have three perfect 10s added into their total points (one for each question) as their Snitch. There will be two Seekers elected by each team, one artist and one author. The identity of the Seeker must remain anonymous or the point doubling will be voided and the participant will revert to either a Chaser or Beater position.
The Seeker identities will be revealed at the end of the World Cup.
Team Captain: The team captain can be any of the above positions. This captain will assist in team communication and adherence to deadlines. The team captain will not take the place of the moderation team and is not expected to deal with any issues that may crop up. The team captain position will be voted on by the members of the team.
Will there be collaborations between artists and authors?
We will not be accepting collaborations as we want each piece of artwork and fic to stand on its own and be scored individually.
Is this only open to BNFs?
Heck no. We welcome everyone that wants to apply.
If more people apply than there are spots, how are you planning on choosing who gets on what team?
Each applicant will be assigned a number. A random number generator will be used to pick participants until all team positions have been fulfilled.
Last year, you didn't offer extensions. Has this changed?
Yep. We will offer 3 extensions per team. However, there's a catch. The team will decide who gets the extension.
What happens if I don't meet the deadline and my team didn't give me an extension?
You will be removed from the team roster and a pinch hitter will take your place.
What happens if the extension period passes and the person defaults?
The team will not field an entry for that prompt so use your extensions wisely.
I missed the deadline last year. Can I participate this year?
Sure thing!
How long do the stories have to be?
All stories must be at least 1500 words long. Artists, please note that your works should have an equivalent amount of time put into them.
One of the concerns last year was the sheer number of words produced (well over a million words). The suggestion was that we institute an upper-word limit. We are not, at this time, going to make an upper-word limit mandatory. However, we are going to strongly encourage that fics remain less than 20-25k.
Why is this important? Last year - stories with over 25k were, on average, voted on about 100 times less than stories that were under 20k. The story with the most votes was approximately 8k. The more votes, the higher the likelihood of scoring a winning goal for your team.
How's the voting thing going to work?
We're borrowing this (with permission!) from snarry_games. Each work for each prompt will be posted against one another. There will be a poll at the bottom of each post and will have three questions:
Is the author/artist true to their team? Yes/No vote ("yes" is worth 2 points, "no" is worth 0)
How well did the author/artist use their Prompt? 1 to 9 (1 being the least)
How much did you like this story/art overall? 1 to 9 (1 being the least)
Please remember that you do not have to read every story for each prompt to vote. Each story should be judged on its own merits with the above criteria in mind.
How do I find out how well I did?
We will not announce placement of individual participants. We will also arrange the polls so that only the moderation team can see the results. This will encourage honest voting, something that we strongly encourage here.
What are the prompts?
The theme of the prompts are Wizarding phrases.
What's the definition of the prompt?
Please remember that the prompts can be used either figuratively or literally. Thus, the participant can use the prompt as an overarching plot point or an inspiration. Ie -
A Snitch in the hand is worth two in the arena. Literal interpretations could feature Harry holding on to the Snitch or it could feature a story with two Snitches in the Arena. Figuratively, it could mean holding on to what you have instead of seeking out some nebulous other thing.
The interpretation of the prompt is up to the participant. How well they do it is up to the voter.
You did invitations last year. Are people being invited this year?
We will not be inviting anyone this year. We invited a wide variety of known and unknown people last year to get things started. As we are now in our second round, this isn't necessary.
How do I apply?
The application post will go up on January 2nd, 2009 and will remain open until 11:59pm EST January 9th, 2009.
Please remember that you must be older than 18 years of age to participate.
I don't write or draw, though. How can I participate?
First, you can participate by commenting. In fact, the mods have decided to reward the commenters by picking one shining comment (based on quality of commentary) a week and awarding 9 points to the commenter's choice of team in addition to being recognized with a custom banner.
In addition, the top 5 commenters up until April 21st will be rewarded with the ability to assign 9 points to the commenter's choice of team in addition to being recognized with a custom banner.
When does hd_worldcup start?
The timeline is as follows:
Applications: January 2nd, 2009 to January 9th, 2009.
Response and team assignments sent by: January 14th, 2009.
Writing Period: January 18th, 2009 until March 17th, 2009
Due Date: March 17th, 2009
Extension Period: March 18th until March 31st, 2009
First Posting: April 1st, 2009
Voting Period Closes: May 12th, 2009
Reveals: May 18th, 2009