FAQ
Post your questions, I'll answer them.
1. What's the timeline? When is the amnesty period?
The timeline is on the profile page.
February - May 2012 : Round 2
Sign-ups start : February 1
Posting begins : February 14
Card requests end: June 1
Posting ends : June 30
The Amnesty Period begins when the current round ends and lasts until next round starts.
2. Do we have to use the same medium right the way through or can we use a mixture - like a picspam for one prompt and a fic for another?
You can mix and match or do one thing for all your prompts. If you want to write, write, if you want to do icons, do icons, if you want to do both, do both.
3. Why isn't RPF allowed?
I noticed that most bingo communities allow RPF/RPS but not original writing and art. I decided that love_bingo would do the opposite. If that's a big problem for you, you can try writing original fiction, fan fiction or go to one of those other bingos.
4. Do all the bingo fills have to be for the same pairing/fandom/etc?
Not at all. Again, go with the flow of your inspiration.
5. What is the central square of the card? What should I do with it?
The center square contains the wild card. In other words, it's your choice! Like any other square, it requires to be filled with something. You can get inspiration from the picture, find it in the love list or in your head.
Note that if you play for points, patterns including the central square score less points than those which don't.
6. Can we post the stories, icons, vids... elsewhere before posting them all together here?
Absolutely! Post your works in your journal, a community, an archive, a website... and when you have a BINGO, post an entry with all your links. They should be public posts.
7. Do all stories have to be written specially for love_bingo?
Yes, that would be better. However, if you have another prompt from a table or a bingo that is exactly the same, it would be okay for you to use that same story, as long as it's only for love_bingo and another one. Just one, not 2 or 3, just 1. How many prompts can you fit in 500 words, anyway?
8. Can I use five prompts for one story?
It kinds of defeat the purpose of the extras, where you write one single story with four prompts. However, it would be okay to use each prompt as part of a series, or a prompt per chapter as long as each part can stand alone. This would require five different links for a bingo to count.
9. Is it possible to get a card with none of the prompts having to do with a particular subject? I don't feel comfortable writing certain things.
Yes, you can get a card but no, you can't get one without prompts you don't feel comfortable writing. There are 240 prompts in the love list. A card contains 24 prompts and a wild card (the central picture), which means if you're lucky you might love all your prompts and write them all, or you might feel uncomfortable with some of them and
a. decide to try and write them in a way you're comfortable writing them.
b. If you read the rules, and I'm sure you have ;) you know that you just need five stories to yell bingo and request another card. There's a good chance you can find five prompts in a row you're comfortable writing.
I want to add that I understand where you're coming from. However, never have I said you have to write certain prompts a certain way. For instance, if you have the prompt 'one night stand' you're not required to write a character having a one night stand. You can do it differently: a mother worrying for a child being a little too wild for her taste, someone regretting a promiscuous past, someone being envious of someone else's views on sex.... Prompts don't have to be taken literally. It's the beauty of imagination.
Love bingo is open to original fiction, as well, and various medias. Don't feel restrained by the prompts, they're here to help you.
10. The rules state that RPF is not allowed. Does it include banners/icons/art centered around a real person as well?
It depends. I guess that the line gets blurry between say a picture of an actor from a movie (being a character) and a candid of that same person. So if the art you create is centered around pictures of an actor as a character, it would fall under the fanart label. If you icon a photo session of a singer/actor... it might as well be considered original art. Just keep the art
Gen or light PG and it will be okay.
1. What's the timeline? When is the amnesty period?
The timeline is on the profile page.
February - May 2012 : Round 2
Sign-ups start : February 1
Posting begins : February 14
Card requests end: June 1
Posting ends : June 30
The Amnesty Period begins when the current round ends and lasts until next round starts.
2. Do we have to use the same medium right the way through or can we use a mixture - like a picspam for one prompt and a fic for another?
You can mix and match or do one thing for all your prompts. If you want to write, write, if you want to do icons, do icons, if you want to do both, do both.
3. Why isn't RPF allowed?
I noticed that most bingo communities allow RPF/RPS but not original writing and art. I decided that love_bingo would do the opposite. If that's a big problem for you, you can try writing original fiction, fan fiction or go to one of those other bingos.
4. Do all the bingo fills have to be for the same pairing/fandom/etc?
Not at all. Again, go with the flow of your inspiration.
5. What is the central square of the card? What should I do with it?
The center square contains the wild card. In other words, it's your choice! Like any other square, it requires to be filled with something. You can get inspiration from the picture, find it in the love list or in your head.
Note that if you play for points, patterns including the central square score less points than those which don't.
6. Can we post the stories, icons, vids... elsewhere before posting them all together here?
Absolutely! Post your works in your journal, a community, an archive, a website... and when you have a BINGO, post an entry with all your links. They should be public posts.
7. Do all stories have to be written specially for love_bingo?
Yes, that would be better. However, if you have another prompt from a table or a bingo that is exactly the same, it would be okay for you to use that same story, as long as it's only for love_bingo and another one. Just one, not 2 or 3, just 1. How many prompts can you fit in 500 words, anyway?
8. Can I use five prompts for one story?
It kinds of defeat the purpose of the extras, where you write one single story with four prompts. However, it would be okay to use each prompt as part of a series, or a prompt per chapter as long as each part can stand alone. This would require five different links for a bingo to count.
9. Is it possible to get a card with none of the prompts having to do with a particular subject? I don't feel comfortable writing certain things.
Yes, you can get a card but no, you can't get one without prompts you don't feel comfortable writing. There are 240 prompts in the love list. A card contains 24 prompts and a wild card (the central picture), which means if you're lucky you might love all your prompts and write them all, or you might feel uncomfortable with some of them and
a. decide to try and write them in a way you're comfortable writing them.
b. If you read the rules, and I'm sure you have ;) you know that you just need five stories to yell bingo and request another card. There's a good chance you can find five prompts in a row you're comfortable writing.
I want to add that I understand where you're coming from. However, never have I said you have to write certain prompts a certain way. For instance, if you have the prompt 'one night stand' you're not required to write a character having a one night stand. You can do it differently: a mother worrying for a child being a little too wild for her taste, someone regretting a promiscuous past, someone being envious of someone else's views on sex.... Prompts don't have to be taken literally. It's the beauty of imagination.
Love bingo is open to original fiction, as well, and various medias. Don't feel restrained by the prompts, they're here to help you.
10. The rules state that RPF is not allowed. Does it include banners/icons/art centered around a real person as well?
It depends. I guess that the line gets blurry between say a picture of an actor from a movie (being a character) and a candid of that same person. So if the art you create is centered around pictures of an actor as a character, it would fall under the fanart label. If you icon a photo session of a singer/actor... it might as well be considered original art. Just keep the art
Gen or light PG and it will be okay.