Sign-Up Post: A Ficathon Walks Into A Bar
A Ficathon Walks Into A Bar
Signups: 15 February to ETA 11:59 PM CST, 24 February (When is that?)
Prompts Distributed: By 28 February
Stories Due: 31 March
Masterlist Posted: Early April
FAQ
How does this work?
Here's what you do:
1. Pick a character, any character.
2. Pick up to four fandoms that you feel comfortable writing in; the fandom your character comes from can't be one of them. (ETA: If you list more than four, I'm just going to throw out the extras, according to my whim. Be advised.)
That is all you need to do. What I will do, using highly scientific methods (and by that I mean Wikipedia and my bag of dice), is pick a character from one of those other fandoms to meet your character in a bar. You will then write a story of at least 500 words about it.
What?
Okay. Let's say you sign up. You pick Kara Thrace, and you feel comfortable writing in House, Blake's 7, SGA, and Phoenix Wright.
I roll the dice, and through my magical methods, decide that the other character is Teyla Emmagan. So your prompt is, "Kara Thrace walks into a bar and meets Teyla Emmagan," and you need to write 500 words about it.
But wait! Where is the bar? What if the characters are from completely different worlds? What if they're from different timelines? Oh god!
It's cool! How you choose to get the characters into the same location is totally up to you. AU, fusion, nexus point between universes, whatever- as long as the characters act like themselves, you can change anything else that you want.
Do the characters have to, y'know, do it?
No! You can write gen, het, slash, porn, fist fights, love at first sight, old drama, side pairings, side cars, whatever you like.
Does it have to be a bar?
Not necessarily. Any sort of (semi-)public area where people congregate for leisure activities is pretty much fine. Inns, taverns, onsen, rejuvenation centers, parks, rec rooms, frat parties, what have you.
ETA: Does the character necessarily have to walk in?
No! All forms of locomotion are equally acceptable. Triple points for brachiation.
Can I pick a character someone else has already picked?
I don't see why not! But you definitely won't get the same second character as they do.
What fandoms are allowed?
Anything fictional, pretty much. If there's a problem, I'll let you know. If it's a fandom with a really huge canon, try to narrow it down some, for both our sakes. For example, signing up for Justice League International is better than signing up for DC Comics; signing up for Star Trek XI is better than signing up for all of Star Trek.
Is RPF allowed?
Yes and no. The character you choose to walk into the bar can be a real person, no problem. But you cannot choose any RPF fandom for the other character to come from, no matter whether or not your first character is real. (It's a logistical issue; I can elaborate in the comments if anyone's concerned.)
Can other characters be involved?
Why the hell not? Just as long as the interaction between the two characters you're assigned is the focal point of the story.
What if I don't like/can't write the character I get assigned?
If you have a legit reason, like, "I never watched the season with this dude in it," let me know and I'll fix it. Otherwise, well, you signed up for it.
Okay, smart ass, what if I pick a fandom that's connected to the fandom my first character comes from (eg. picking John Sheppard and only asking to write SG-1; picking the Tenth Doctor and only asking to write Torchwood)?
That would be what we in the business call a dick move, since it goes against the spirit of the challenge. If you do it, don't be surprised when I assign you somebody who showed up one time in season 6 and was never heard from again.
I have this prompt for this other ficathing! Can I combine it with this and just write one story?
Doesn't bother me. Check with the other comm, though- for example, you couldn't use this challenge to fulfill a kink_bingo requirement, because they don't allow that type of thing over there.
What happens if I can't finish in time?
Nothing! It's a very low key sort of thing. If you have to default, for whatever reason, that's totally cool.
I wrote a thing! What do I do with it?
You can post it as soon as you're done with it and wherever you like. Once you're done, leave a comment in this post with a link and basic information about it (title, what your prompt was, pairings, rating/warnings, wordcount). ETA: If you're writing your story in a language other than English, make sure to give your warnings and title in both English and the language of the story.
Oh noes! I only have the Dreamwidth! Do I need the Livejournal?!
No! This ficathon is running concurrently on both sites; if you only have a DW account, go here to sign up. If you have accounts on both, you only need to deal with one or the other; there's no reason to double comment. The masterlist will be posted in both places and include entries from both sites.
ETA: How many times can I sign up?
Just the once, I'm afraid. But that's good! It's only because we've had so many signups already.
ETA: Do I have to write in English?
No! You can write in whatever language you like, as long as you give me your headers in English and whatever language you write in.
Be advised that your intrepid moderator only reads English, Spanish, French, Nahuatl, and K'iche', so if you need to ask a question in another language, you may have to wait a bit.
I am totally on board! Sign my ass up!
Hot damn! Fill out this form and comment with it:
Username:
Who walks into the bar?:
What fandom are they from?:
What other fandoms can you write?:
An example:
Username: greencanary
Who walks into the bar?: Kara Thrace
What fandom are they from?: Battlestar Galactica
What other fandoms can you write?: The Sentinel, Futurama, Lucky Number Slevin, Blake's 7
Please, pass it around! The more the merrier!
ETA: That's all she wrote, folks! Signups are now officially closed. Assignments will be distributed by the 28th- please be patient!
ETA: All the assignments have been distributed! Your prompt should be in a comment right underneath your original signup. If you haven't received yours yet, please contact myself or kisa_hawklin as soon as possible!
Signups: 15 February to ETA 11:59 PM CST, 24 February (When is that?)
Prompts Distributed: By 28 February
Stories Due: 31 March
Masterlist Posted: Early April
FAQ
How does this work?
Here's what you do:
1. Pick a character, any character.
2. Pick up to four fandoms that you feel comfortable writing in; the fandom your character comes from can't be one of them. (ETA: If you list more than four, I'm just going to throw out the extras, according to my whim. Be advised.)
That is all you need to do. What I will do, using highly scientific methods (and by that I mean Wikipedia and my bag of dice), is pick a character from one of those other fandoms to meet your character in a bar. You will then write a story of at least 500 words about it.
What?
Okay. Let's say you sign up. You pick Kara Thrace, and you feel comfortable writing in House, Blake's 7, SGA, and Phoenix Wright.
I roll the dice, and through my magical methods, decide that the other character is Teyla Emmagan. So your prompt is, "Kara Thrace walks into a bar and meets Teyla Emmagan," and you need to write 500 words about it.
But wait! Where is the bar? What if the characters are from completely different worlds? What if they're from different timelines? Oh god!
It's cool! How you choose to get the characters into the same location is totally up to you. AU, fusion, nexus point between universes, whatever- as long as the characters act like themselves, you can change anything else that you want.
Do the characters have to, y'know, do it?
No! You can write gen, het, slash, porn, fist fights, love at first sight, old drama, side pairings, side cars, whatever you like.
Does it have to be a bar?
Not necessarily. Any sort of (semi-)public area where people congregate for leisure activities is pretty much fine. Inns, taverns, onsen, rejuvenation centers, parks, rec rooms, frat parties, what have you.
ETA: Does the character necessarily have to walk in?
No! All forms of locomotion are equally acceptable. Triple points for brachiation.
Can I pick a character someone else has already picked?
I don't see why not! But you definitely won't get the same second character as they do.
What fandoms are allowed?
Anything fictional, pretty much. If there's a problem, I'll let you know. If it's a fandom with a really huge canon, try to narrow it down some, for both our sakes. For example, signing up for Justice League International is better than signing up for DC Comics; signing up for Star Trek XI is better than signing up for all of Star Trek.
Is RPF allowed?
Yes and no. The character you choose to walk into the bar can be a real person, no problem. But you cannot choose any RPF fandom for the other character to come from, no matter whether or not your first character is real. (It's a logistical issue; I can elaborate in the comments if anyone's concerned.)
Can other characters be involved?
Why the hell not? Just as long as the interaction between the two characters you're assigned is the focal point of the story.
What if I don't like/can't write the character I get assigned?
If you have a legit reason, like, "I never watched the season with this dude in it," let me know and I'll fix it. Otherwise, well, you signed up for it.
Okay, smart ass, what if I pick a fandom that's connected to the fandom my first character comes from (eg. picking John Sheppard and only asking to write SG-1; picking the Tenth Doctor and only asking to write Torchwood)?
That would be what we in the business call a dick move, since it goes against the spirit of the challenge. If you do it, don't be surprised when I assign you somebody who showed up one time in season 6 and was never heard from again.
I have this prompt for this other ficathing! Can I combine it with this and just write one story?
Doesn't bother me. Check with the other comm, though- for example, you couldn't use this challenge to fulfill a kink_bingo requirement, because they don't allow that type of thing over there.
What happens if I can't finish in time?
Nothing! It's a very low key sort of thing. If you have to default, for whatever reason, that's totally cool.
I wrote a thing! What do I do with it?
You can post it as soon as you're done with it and wherever you like. Once you're done, leave a comment in this post with a link and basic information about it (title, what your prompt was, pairings, rating/warnings, wordcount). ETA: If you're writing your story in a language other than English, make sure to give your warnings and title in both English and the language of the story.
Oh noes! I only have the Dreamwidth! Do I need the Livejournal?!
No! This ficathon is running concurrently on both sites; if you only have a DW account, go here to sign up. If you have accounts on both, you only need to deal with one or the other; there's no reason to double comment. The masterlist will be posted in both places and include entries from both sites.
ETA: How many times can I sign up?
Just the once, I'm afraid. But that's good! It's only because we've had so many signups already.
ETA: Do I have to write in English?
No! You can write in whatever language you like, as long as you give me your headers in English and whatever language you write in.
Be advised that your intrepid moderator only reads English, Spanish, French, Nahuatl, and K'iche', so if you need to ask a question in another language, you may have to wait a bit.
I am totally on board! Sign my ass up!
Hot damn! Fill out this form and comment with it:
Username:
Who walks into the bar?:
What fandom are they from?:
What other fandoms can you write?:
An example:
Username: greencanary
Who walks into the bar?: Kara Thrace
What fandom are they from?: Battlestar Galactica
What other fandoms can you write?: The Sentinel, Futurama, Lucky Number Slevin, Blake's 7
Please, pass it around! The more the merrier!
ETA: That's all she wrote, folks! Signups are now officially closed. Assignments will be distributed by the 28th- please be patient!
ETA: All the assignments have been distributed! Your prompt should be in a comment right underneath your original signup. If you haven't received yours yet, please contact myself or kisa_hawklin as soon as possible!