INSTRUCTIONS + FAQ
Have you ever stopped to think, "Hey! I really love all the female characters in Soul Eater, but I can never find enough decent fanwork about them! It would sure be great if there was some kind of exchange where I could request fanfic/fanart that I'd love to see and write/draw awesome lady!centric work for someone else!"
Well, do I have some good news for you! YOU HAVE COME TO THE RIGHT PLACE. Behold, Soul Eater Ladyfest 2011! Here are the instructions for participating!
Step One: Join the community, then sign up! Sign-ups are open from Monday, August 8th to Saturday, August 13th at 12 midnight CST. Make sure to use the character list as a guideline for your prompts!
Step Two: Wait to recieve your assignment! Someone else's survey will be sent to you either Sunday, August 14th or Monday, August 15th. Then get started creating!
Step Three: Submit your work! Whenever you're finished, e-mail your fic as an attachment (already formatted for LJ) in a .txt or .doc format, or your fanart in a .jpg or .png format, to se_ladyfest@yahoo.com. Fic needs to be at least 1000 words; art needs to be finished-looking, though it doesn't necessarily have to be colored. All submissions are DUE by Saturday, October 22th at 12 midnight CST.
Step Four: Check the comm between Monday, October 24th and Friday, October 28th to see your awesome gift go up, as well as everyone else's. Be sure to thank your anonymous author/artist!
Step Five: Come back on Sunday, October, 30th for the authors/artists of each piece to be revealed!
And that's all there is to it! But just to avoid any confusion/unanswered questions/pressing concerns, I've included a handy-dandy FAQ! Of course, if you don't find your answer here and there's still something you're wondering about, feel free to either leave me a comment on this post or shoot me an e-mail at se_ladyfest@yahoo.com. There's no such thing as a stupid question where I'm concerned. ;D
So exactly WHAT about the Soul Eater ladies should I be requesting/writing about/drawing about?
Anything you want! Fanwork can be about their dreams, their ambitions, their likes and dislikes and deepest fears. It can be about their pasts, presents, or futures. It can be about their relationships with each other, whether they be friendships, familial, antagonistic, or even romantic! As long as you're putting the focus on a female character or characters, you should be golden. :D
So does this mean I can't have any male characters/het pairings in my fic/art?
Of course not! After all, many of these ladies have guys in their life who are important to them. Just don't let them take the focus away from or overshadow the female characters, and please try to keep romantic fic/art from being 100% about a lady's relationship with a guy. We're trying to represent them as individuals here, after all! For example: it is totally okay to write a fic about Maka that has Maka/Soul in it, but your fic needs to be able to be summed up as "Maka thinks about her future and her fears over an upcoming battle and how much she likes the new book she's reading and also her relationship with Soul," not "Maka spends every waking moment agonizing over her relationship with Soul." Make sense?
So when you say a female character, do you mean ANY female character?
See the character list for who you can request!
But what if I want fic/art about Maka's mother/Mabaa-sama/Rachel's mother/some other briefly-mentioned or hypothetical character who is not on that list?
Never fear! While I think it would be unfair to make someone fulfill a survey made up entirely of prompts of minor characters, there are two optional blanks where you can request these characters just in case they pique your author/artist's interest! So if you want to know more about Liz and Patti's mom or the ladies in Soul's family or a briefly-seen witch in a gathering scene, feel free to include that in those spaces! (Of course, you don't have to. Those extra two blanks can be used for characters on the list, too!)
But there was CANON genderbending in the manga! Can't I request fic/art about girl!Soul, girl!Black Star, girl!Giriko, etc etc?
Sorry to crush your dreams, but I'm gonna have to say no. Let's stick to the ladies who have been of the feminine persuasion longer than a few chapters, shall we? XD;;
What about Crona?
The issue of what to do with Crona is a complicated one. Let me start out by saying that by including Crona in this exchange, I am IN NO WAY claiming to know his or her gender. Crona has NEVER been confirmed to be female or male, and don't let anyone tell you otherwise. And while it seems a little unfair to include Crona without any guidelines, it also seems unfair to exclude him or her entirely! So the rule is: you CAN write fic/draw artwork with Crona, if you adhere to these two guidelines.
1) If you create a fanwork that deals with Crona's relationship with another lady (for example, Crona's relationship with Maka, or more of the early years of her/him with Medusa), then you don't HAVE to assign a gender to him/her. You can identify him/her as female if you want! But it's not required in this case.
2) However, if you want to write a fic/draw artwork with JUST Crona, or Crona with male characters as the only other ones present, then you need to identify Crona as female. This can be as easy as simply stating in your summary then you envisioned Crona as a girl in this particular fic/fanart. No need for a big feminine gesture or anything of the sort.
If you run across some gray area in this, we can talk about it. I'm not trying to impose on anyone's beliefs about whether Crona is male or female! We just have to keep in mind that this is a exchange about LADIES, first and foremost. Follow the two rules above and you'll be good to go.
So do I have to be willing to write/draw ANY female character? But I hate [insert name here]!
Rest assured, assignments are not going to be made blindly. Everything in my power will be done to make sure you get matched up with someone whose interests at least somewhat click with yours, and there's a place on the survey to list characters you really DON'T want to write/draw. But please keep in mind that character-bashing of any kind is frowned upon, and will be dealt with with an iron fist.
I've only read the manga/I've only seen the anime! Is that going to be a problem?
Nope! This exchange is open to both manga-compliant AND anime-compliant fanwork! There will be a place on the survey you'll fill out to say which verse you'd prefer your fic/art to be written in, as well as a place to state whether you're only able to write for one or the other.
I'm not totally caught up with canon yet! Can I still participate?
You can, though you'll definitely have to tread with caution if you're trying to avoid spoilers. Just be sure, in both of the "other notes" section of your survey, to say how far you've gotten! If you let ME know I'll do my best to match you with someone whose prompts aren't spoilers themselves; if you let your gifter know, hopefully they'll keep that in mind when creating something for you!
But please be aware that I can't guarantee anything. I won't be marking spoilers in any of the completed works, so proceed at your own risk!
Whoa, this survey you sent me has FOUR different prompts on it! How many of these do I have to fulfill!?
Don't freak out! The reason participants are allowed to request as many as four different prompts is so that you, as their gifter, can have some choices! You only have to fulfill ONE of their prompts. Of course, if you decide you want to write/draw for more than one or if you want to combine two or more prompts together, that's totally cool too! But you're only required by the rules of the exchange to write/draw for one prompt.
How many characters do I have to offer to write/draw for? I'm afraid of getting paired up with someone whose choices I'm not comfortable with/I don't have enough experience with.
There will be a place on the survey to specify this. As of right now, you have to be able to offer to write/draw AT LEAST four characters. Of course, it will always be appreciated if someone offers to write/draw ANY characters or ANY EXCEPT [insert names here], but if you only feel inspired when it comes to a few ladies, that's cool! Just make sure it's at least four.
The prompts I received are about characters I offered, but I don't know if I can write/draw their specific requests! Does my fic/art have to adhere strictly to their prompt?
Well, it will be probably be okay, if their request is extremely detailed, to fudge a little here and there, but please, PLEASE do your best to write/draw what your recipient wants to receive! You'd want someone to do the same for you, right?
I'm totally cool with the prompts I received, but I really want to clarify something/ask my recipient a question! Is it okay to contact them anonymously?
I'll do you one better! Send me an e-mail with your question, and I'll personally act as the go-between so as to preserve your ~*~secret identity~*~.
I signed up for the exchange and was really excited for it, but something serious has come up and I won't be able to get something done in time! What should I do?
First of all, please let me know AS SOON AS YOU POSSIBLY CAN. I won't be mad! But if it will be so much easier for me, your giftee, and the person who serves as a pinch-hitter if you let me know with two weeks to go before the deadline rather than two days. Trust me, everyone will be crankier if the latter happens. :/ SO DON'T LET IT.
Also: if you think you might have to drop out but you're not 100% sure, please let me know too! That way, I can go ahead and assign a pinch-hitter just in case! And if your recipient ends up with TWO gifts instead of one, well, that's awesome for them! Which leads us to....
This survey is asking me if I want to volunteer as a pinch-hitter. What's that?
Basically, if you volunteer your services as a pinch-hitter, you're willing to step in and create another piece of fanwork if someone else ends up having to drop out. Please be aware that offering to be a pinch-hitter does NOT, in ANY way, obligate you to have to write/draw another fic/fanart. You'd just be waiting in the wings, pretty much -- and if I end up having to come to you for help, you can see if you have the time/if any of the abandoned prompts interest you. If you think you might be AT ALL willing, then please say "yes" on your survey! Trust me, you will be godly in my eyes. <333
I already sent my fic/art to you, but then I realized I made a mistake/I want to change something! Can I submit an updated version?
Sure, send it on! Just be sure to clearly state that it's a revised version of an already-submitted piece so I don't get confused.
Can I crosspost my fic/art?
Sure! Just please wait until after the reveal on October 30th! Also: try to include the fact when posting elsewhere that you originally created the piece for se_ladyfest so that people can link back here and find the other lady-centric works!
Is it okay to advertise this challenge elsewhere?
HELLS YEAH. I would love nothing more! The more participants we can gather up, the more fun this exchange will end up being!
Now go forth and SIGN UP!
Well, do I have some good news for you! YOU HAVE COME TO THE RIGHT PLACE. Behold, Soul Eater Ladyfest 2011! Here are the instructions for participating!
Step One: Join the community, then sign up! Sign-ups are open from Monday, August 8th to Saturday, August 13th at 12 midnight CST. Make sure to use the character list as a guideline for your prompts!
Step Two: Wait to recieve your assignment! Someone else's survey will be sent to you either Sunday, August 14th or Monday, August 15th. Then get started creating!
Step Three: Submit your work! Whenever you're finished, e-mail your fic as an attachment (already formatted for LJ) in a .txt or .doc format, or your fanart in a .jpg or .png format, to se_ladyfest@yahoo.com. Fic needs to be at least 1000 words; art needs to be finished-looking, though it doesn't necessarily have to be colored. All submissions are DUE by Saturday, October 22th at 12 midnight CST.
Step Four: Check the comm between Monday, October 24th and Friday, October 28th to see your awesome gift go up, as well as everyone else's. Be sure to thank your anonymous author/artist!
Step Five: Come back on Sunday, October, 30th for the authors/artists of each piece to be revealed!
And that's all there is to it! But just to avoid any confusion/unanswered questions/pressing concerns, I've included a handy-dandy FAQ! Of course, if you don't find your answer here and there's still something you're wondering about, feel free to either leave me a comment on this post or shoot me an e-mail at se_ladyfest@yahoo.com. There's no such thing as a stupid question where I'm concerned. ;D
So exactly WHAT about the Soul Eater ladies should I be requesting/writing about/drawing about?
Anything you want! Fanwork can be about their dreams, their ambitions, their likes and dislikes and deepest fears. It can be about their pasts, presents, or futures. It can be about their relationships with each other, whether they be friendships, familial, antagonistic, or even romantic! As long as you're putting the focus on a female character or characters, you should be golden. :D
So does this mean I can't have any male characters/het pairings in my fic/art?
Of course not! After all, many of these ladies have guys in their life who are important to them. Just don't let them take the focus away from or overshadow the female characters, and please try to keep romantic fic/art from being 100% about a lady's relationship with a guy. We're trying to represent them as individuals here, after all! For example: it is totally okay to write a fic about Maka that has Maka/Soul in it, but your fic needs to be able to be summed up as "Maka thinks about her future and her fears over an upcoming battle and how much she likes the new book she's reading and also her relationship with Soul," not "Maka spends every waking moment agonizing over her relationship with Soul." Make sense?
So when you say a female character, do you mean ANY female character?
See the character list for who you can request!
But what if I want fic/art about Maka's mother/Mabaa-sama/Rachel's mother/some other briefly-mentioned or hypothetical character who is not on that list?
Never fear! While I think it would be unfair to make someone fulfill a survey made up entirely of prompts of minor characters, there are two optional blanks where you can request these characters just in case they pique your author/artist's interest! So if you want to know more about Liz and Patti's mom or the ladies in Soul's family or a briefly-seen witch in a gathering scene, feel free to include that in those spaces! (Of course, you don't have to. Those extra two blanks can be used for characters on the list, too!)
But there was CANON genderbending in the manga! Can't I request fic/art about girl!Soul, girl!Black Star, girl!Giriko, etc etc?
Sorry to crush your dreams, but I'm gonna have to say no. Let's stick to the ladies who have been of the feminine persuasion longer than a few chapters, shall we? XD;;
What about Crona?
The issue of what to do with Crona is a complicated one. Let me start out by saying that by including Crona in this exchange, I am IN NO WAY claiming to know his or her gender. Crona has NEVER been confirmed to be female or male, and don't let anyone tell you otherwise. And while it seems a little unfair to include Crona without any guidelines, it also seems unfair to exclude him or her entirely! So the rule is: you CAN write fic/draw artwork with Crona, if you adhere to these two guidelines.
1) If you create a fanwork that deals with Crona's relationship with another lady (for example, Crona's relationship with Maka, or more of the early years of her/him with Medusa), then you don't HAVE to assign a gender to him/her. You can identify him/her as female if you want! But it's not required in this case.
2) However, if you want to write a fic/draw artwork with JUST Crona, or Crona with male characters as the only other ones present, then you need to identify Crona as female. This can be as easy as simply stating in your summary then you envisioned Crona as a girl in this particular fic/fanart. No need for a big feminine gesture or anything of the sort.
If you run across some gray area in this, we can talk about it. I'm not trying to impose on anyone's beliefs about whether Crona is male or female! We just have to keep in mind that this is a exchange about LADIES, first and foremost. Follow the two rules above and you'll be good to go.
So do I have to be willing to write/draw ANY female character? But I hate [insert name here]!
Rest assured, assignments are not going to be made blindly. Everything in my power will be done to make sure you get matched up with someone whose interests at least somewhat click with yours, and there's a place on the survey to list characters you really DON'T want to write/draw. But please keep in mind that character-bashing of any kind is frowned upon, and will be dealt with with an iron fist.
I've only read the manga/I've only seen the anime! Is that going to be a problem?
Nope! This exchange is open to both manga-compliant AND anime-compliant fanwork! There will be a place on the survey you'll fill out to say which verse you'd prefer your fic/art to be written in, as well as a place to state whether you're only able to write for one or the other.
I'm not totally caught up with canon yet! Can I still participate?
You can, though you'll definitely have to tread with caution if you're trying to avoid spoilers. Just be sure, in both of the "other notes" section of your survey, to say how far you've gotten! If you let ME know I'll do my best to match you with someone whose prompts aren't spoilers themselves; if you let your gifter know, hopefully they'll keep that in mind when creating something for you!
But please be aware that I can't guarantee anything. I won't be marking spoilers in any of the completed works, so proceed at your own risk!
Whoa, this survey you sent me has FOUR different prompts on it! How many of these do I have to fulfill!?
Don't freak out! The reason participants are allowed to request as many as four different prompts is so that you, as their gifter, can have some choices! You only have to fulfill ONE of their prompts. Of course, if you decide you want to write/draw for more than one or if you want to combine two or more prompts together, that's totally cool too! But you're only required by the rules of the exchange to write/draw for one prompt.
How many characters do I have to offer to write/draw for? I'm afraid of getting paired up with someone whose choices I'm not comfortable with/I don't have enough experience with.
There will be a place on the survey to specify this. As of right now, you have to be able to offer to write/draw AT LEAST four characters. Of course, it will always be appreciated if someone offers to write/draw ANY characters or ANY EXCEPT [insert names here], but if you only feel inspired when it comes to a few ladies, that's cool! Just make sure it's at least four.
The prompts I received are about characters I offered, but I don't know if I can write/draw their specific requests! Does my fic/art have to adhere strictly to their prompt?
Well, it will be probably be okay, if their request is extremely detailed, to fudge a little here and there, but please, PLEASE do your best to write/draw what your recipient wants to receive! You'd want someone to do the same for you, right?
I'm totally cool with the prompts I received, but I really want to clarify something/ask my recipient a question! Is it okay to contact them anonymously?
I'll do you one better! Send me an e-mail with your question, and I'll personally act as the go-between so as to preserve your ~*~secret identity~*~.
I signed up for the exchange and was really excited for it, but something serious has come up and I won't be able to get something done in time! What should I do?
First of all, please let me know AS SOON AS YOU POSSIBLY CAN. I won't be mad! But if it will be so much easier for me, your giftee, and the person who serves as a pinch-hitter if you let me know with two weeks to go before the deadline rather than two days. Trust me, everyone will be crankier if the latter happens. :/ SO DON'T LET IT.
Also: if you think you might have to drop out but you're not 100% sure, please let me know too! That way, I can go ahead and assign a pinch-hitter just in case! And if your recipient ends up with TWO gifts instead of one, well, that's awesome for them! Which leads us to....
This survey is asking me if I want to volunteer as a pinch-hitter. What's that?
Basically, if you volunteer your services as a pinch-hitter, you're willing to step in and create another piece of fanwork if someone else ends up having to drop out. Please be aware that offering to be a pinch-hitter does NOT, in ANY way, obligate you to have to write/draw another fic/fanart. You'd just be waiting in the wings, pretty much -- and if I end up having to come to you for help, you can see if you have the time/if any of the abandoned prompts interest you. If you think you might be AT ALL willing, then please say "yes" on your survey! Trust me, you will be godly in my eyes. <333
I already sent my fic/art to you, but then I realized I made a mistake/I want to change something! Can I submit an updated version?
Sure, send it on! Just be sure to clearly state that it's a revised version of an already-submitted piece so I don't get confused.
Can I crosspost my fic/art?
Sure! Just please wait until after the reveal on October 30th! Also: try to include the fact when posting elsewhere that you originally created the piece for se_ladyfest so that people can link back here and find the other lady-centric works!
Is it okay to advertise this challenge elsewhere?
HELLS YEAH. I would love nothing more! The more participants we can gather up, the more fun this exchange will end up being!
Now go forth and SIGN UP!