Rules and FAQ
Welcome to the 2014 Serial Killer Big Bang; a Big Bang all about the serial killers that we love, hate, hate to love, or love to hate in all media forms! Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) and the Rules for the 2014 challenge are below!
Your Killer Mods-
sirenofodysseus
robothor1111
loveconquerallx
Rules for authors (Big Bang/Mini Bang)-
Authors MUST be within 500-1000 words of the word count requirements. Warnings for the piece (regarding spoilers, content, etc…) need to be CLEARLY labeled at the head of the fic.
Rules for artists-
Artists MUST create two (2) works for a Big Bang and one (1) for the Mini Bang. Banners, fanmixes (minimum of ten songs), fanvideos (minimum of two minutes), photo manipulations, etc…count as a single piece of artwork. If there is something you want to do and you are not sure if it is allowed, please ask one of your killer mods!
::::
Miscellaneous Rules-
+ There’s absolutely no maximum word count on the Big Bang, because long fic is beautiful and we love creativity! However, the Big Bang needs to be over 10,000. On the other hand, the Mini Bang has a minimum and maximum word count amount! The minimum for the Mini Bang is 5,000 and the maximum is 10,000!
+ You can write any genre/subgenre/pairing you’d like, and this year, we are allowing Real Person Fiction (RPF) for this challenge. The only rule to writing Real Person Fic is that you are not allowed to use the person’s children in any form. Your fic, however, does need to revolve around a serial killer. If it’s not revolving around a serial killer, then why in the world are you here? ;)
+ If you’d like to co-author a fic, you may! If you’d like to co-author and write a fic by yourself, you may do that too! No triple-authoring though!
+ In regards to Works in Progress (WIP), we’re asking that you use the honor system here. If you want to use a WIP, please follow these guidelines:
- If the WIP is posted anywhere online, please take it down. If it isn’t taken down, you can’t use it.
- If you are writing a Big Bang, the WIP must have less than 3,000 words already written.
- If you are writing a Mini Bang, the WIP must have less than 1,000 words already written.
If your WIP fails to meet those guidelines, please don’t use it. While we really can’t tell if the WIP has 1,000/3,000+ words already written, your mods would appreciate the honesty!
+ On or before the mandatory check-in day (July 15th), your mods do request that you send us a copy of your “rough draft”. Don’t worry though! We don’t read these “rough drafts”, but we do use them to make sure the piece meets our check-in word count requirements.
- If you are writing a Big Bang, you must have 5,000 words written by July 15th.
- If you are writing a Mini Bang, you must have 2,500 words written by July 15th.
Our reasoning for having the rough drafts emailed? Aside from helping us to keep track of who is and who is not participating, this act also (hopefully) prevents any last minute dropouts.
Frequently Asked Questions -
When you say serial killer…? -
The definition of a serial killer, according to Wikipedia, is “a series of two or more murders, committed as separate events, usually, but not always, by one offender acting alone.” So, you can have one serial killer, two serial killers, a group of serial killers, etc. as long as you follow the “two or more murders, committed as separate events” rule. Some sites do say that three murders need to be committed first, but really, we’re leaving the number of deaths up to you!
If you’re unsure on the serial killer aspect, you can always PM one of the mods!
How long does it have to be?
- A Mini Bang has a minimum length of 5,000 words and a maximum length of 10,000 words.
- A Big Bang must be a minimum length of 10,000 words, but beyond that, you have no maximum word count.
Can I change from a Mini Bang to a Big Bang?
Of course! If your story turns out to be longer or shorter than you expected, you may change categories! You have up until July 15th to tell a mod!
Can I write more than one fic?
Like serial killers have multiple victims, you can write more than one fic! If you’ve signed up for more than one fic and it suddenly becomes a bit too much, you can always talk to a mod.
Can I write about a serial killer from a book?
Certainly! You can write about serial killers in any media format.
Do you have a support community, where I can rant or get support?
We certainly do! You can join and friend skbbsupport! Fun things will happen if you do, trust me! Note: you will need to have signed up as an author, artist, cheerleader or beta-reader in order to join this community as we do queue membership until a mod reviews and approves it. In addition, if you joined/friended the community in 2012, you will need to friend/join the community again as I’ve purged the system to keep things clean.
Do I need a beta reader?
Yes, you do. If you have your own beta, that’s wonderful! If you need a beta, you can always find one here! If you need help finding a beta, you can always PM one of the mods and we’ll help you!
Do I need to have a Livejournal account to participate?
Yes, we do require it! Your use of a Livejournal account is, primarily, to see/post in the community on your posting day with a link to your fic! However, you do not need to post your fic(s) to your journal. You may link your community post to AO3, fanfiction.net, or any other website that you use to publish fics!
As an artist, can I claim more than one fic?
Since serial killers have multiple victims, you can claim more than one fic! We do ask though that you start by claiming just one fic. Once all artists have claimed a fic, we’ll reopen the claiming post for a second round!
Crap! I need to drop out! SOS! HELP!
It’s perfectly fine to drop out (and we do understand it), but please drop out before July 21st. If you drop out before the 21st, you will be allowed to participate in round three. If you drop out after the authors have been claimed, you will not be allowed to participate in round three.
Okay mods, I participated in this Big Bang during 2012. I had a difficult time back then for {insert reason here}, so what makes this year any better? Why should I participate again?
This year, the requirements/rules have been altered to better serve you as the writer/artist. We have also implemented this rule: if you dropped out AFTER the authors and artists were assigned in round one, you are not permitted to sign up for round two. If you FAILED to post your fic or art in round one, you are not permitted to sign up for round two.
The above rule might seem harsh (or unfair), but it isn’t unfair to those who worked hard/posted on time in round one.
We’ve also brought in a new community mod this year, which will cut back on the length of response time to PM’s/emails/etc…
Lastly, we’ve also decided on a new model for claiming dates/fics this year. This model will prevent anyone from feeling cheated at the way selections are done.
As for why you should participate again?
The 2014 Serial Killer Big Bang will knock you dead! And, we’re also allowing Real Person Fic this year!
A Note from the Mods-
We’d love some more participants this year, so please advertise!
Schedule-
Sign-ups: March 1st to April 30th, 2014 11:59 PM (PST)
Optional Checkpoint: June 15th, 2014
Mandatory Check-In: (you MUST have 3k for Mini Bang, 5K for Big Bang at this time): July 15th, 2014
Artist Claim: July 21st, 2014
Artist Check-In: August 11th, 2014
Posting Date Selection: August 18th, 2014
Posting Begins: September 1st, 2014
If you have any other questions, feel free to comment! If you want to directly ask a mod something, please PM sirenofodysseus. I’ll be more than happy to answer any of your questions!
Your Killer Mods-
sirenofodysseus
robothor1111
loveconquerallx
Rules for authors (Big Bang/Mini Bang)-
Authors MUST be within 500-1000 words of the word count requirements. Warnings for the piece (regarding spoilers, content, etc…) need to be CLEARLY labeled at the head of the fic.
Rules for artists-
Artists MUST create two (2) works for a Big Bang and one (1) for the Mini Bang. Banners, fanmixes (minimum of ten songs), fanvideos (minimum of two minutes), photo manipulations, etc…count as a single piece of artwork. If there is something you want to do and you are not sure if it is allowed, please ask one of your killer mods!
::::
Miscellaneous Rules-
+ There’s absolutely no maximum word count on the Big Bang, because long fic is beautiful and we love creativity! However, the Big Bang needs to be over 10,000. On the other hand, the Mini Bang has a minimum and maximum word count amount! The minimum for the Mini Bang is 5,000 and the maximum is 10,000!
+ You can write any genre/subgenre/pairing you’d like, and this year, we are allowing Real Person Fiction (RPF) for this challenge. The only rule to writing Real Person Fic is that you are not allowed to use the person’s children in any form. Your fic, however, does need to revolve around a serial killer. If it’s not revolving around a serial killer, then why in the world are you here? ;)
+ If you’d like to co-author a fic, you may! If you’d like to co-author and write a fic by yourself, you may do that too! No triple-authoring though!
+ In regards to Works in Progress (WIP), we’re asking that you use the honor system here. If you want to use a WIP, please follow these guidelines:
- If the WIP is posted anywhere online, please take it down. If it isn’t taken down, you can’t use it.
- If you are writing a Big Bang, the WIP must have less than 3,000 words already written.
- If you are writing a Mini Bang, the WIP must have less than 1,000 words already written.
If your WIP fails to meet those guidelines, please don’t use it. While we really can’t tell if the WIP has 1,000/3,000+ words already written, your mods would appreciate the honesty!
+ On or before the mandatory check-in day (July 15th), your mods do request that you send us a copy of your “rough draft”. Don’t worry though! We don’t read these “rough drafts”, but we do use them to make sure the piece meets our check-in word count requirements.
- If you are writing a Big Bang, you must have 5,000 words written by July 15th.
- If you are writing a Mini Bang, you must have 2,500 words written by July 15th.
Our reasoning for having the rough drafts emailed? Aside from helping us to keep track of who is and who is not participating, this act also (hopefully) prevents any last minute dropouts.
Frequently Asked Questions -
When you say serial killer…? -
The definition of a serial killer, according to Wikipedia, is “a series of two or more murders, committed as separate events, usually, but not always, by one offender acting alone.” So, you can have one serial killer, two serial killers, a group of serial killers, etc. as long as you follow the “two or more murders, committed as separate events” rule. Some sites do say that three murders need to be committed first, but really, we’re leaving the number of deaths up to you!
If you’re unsure on the serial killer aspect, you can always PM one of the mods!
How long does it have to be?
- A Mini Bang has a minimum length of 5,000 words and a maximum length of 10,000 words.
- A Big Bang must be a minimum length of 10,000 words, but beyond that, you have no maximum word count.
Can I change from a Mini Bang to a Big Bang?
Of course! If your story turns out to be longer or shorter than you expected, you may change categories! You have up until July 15th to tell a mod!
Can I write more than one fic?
Like serial killers have multiple victims, you can write more than one fic! If you’ve signed up for more than one fic and it suddenly becomes a bit too much, you can always talk to a mod.
Can I write about a serial killer from a book?
Certainly! You can write about serial killers in any media format.
Do you have a support community, where I can rant or get support?
We certainly do! You can join and friend skbbsupport! Fun things will happen if you do, trust me! Note: you will need to have signed up as an author, artist, cheerleader or beta-reader in order to join this community as we do queue membership until a mod reviews and approves it. In addition, if you joined/friended the community in 2012, you will need to friend/join the community again as I’ve purged the system to keep things clean.
Do I need a beta reader?
Yes, you do. If you have your own beta, that’s wonderful! If you need a beta, you can always find one here! If you need help finding a beta, you can always PM one of the mods and we’ll help you!
Do I need to have a Livejournal account to participate?
Yes, we do require it! Your use of a Livejournal account is, primarily, to see/post in the community on your posting day with a link to your fic! However, you do not need to post your fic(s) to your journal. You may link your community post to AO3, fanfiction.net, or any other website that you use to publish fics!
As an artist, can I claim more than one fic?
Since serial killers have multiple victims, you can claim more than one fic! We do ask though that you start by claiming just one fic. Once all artists have claimed a fic, we’ll reopen the claiming post for a second round!
Crap! I need to drop out! SOS! HELP!
It’s perfectly fine to drop out (and we do understand it), but please drop out before July 21st. If you drop out before the 21st, you will be allowed to participate in round three. If you drop out after the authors have been claimed, you will not be allowed to participate in round three.
Okay mods, I participated in this Big Bang during 2012. I had a difficult time back then for {insert reason here}, so what makes this year any better? Why should I participate again?
This year, the requirements/rules have been altered to better serve you as the writer/artist. We have also implemented this rule: if you dropped out AFTER the authors and artists were assigned in round one, you are not permitted to sign up for round two. If you FAILED to post your fic or art in round one, you are not permitted to sign up for round two.
The above rule might seem harsh (or unfair), but it isn’t unfair to those who worked hard/posted on time in round one.
We’ve also brought in a new community mod this year, which will cut back on the length of response time to PM’s/emails/etc…
Lastly, we’ve also decided on a new model for claiming dates/fics this year. This model will prevent anyone from feeling cheated at the way selections are done.
As for why you should participate again?
The 2014 Serial Killer Big Bang will knock you dead! And, we’re also allowing Real Person Fic this year!
A Note from the Mods-
We’d love some more participants this year, so please advertise!
Schedule-
Sign-ups: March 1st to April 30th, 2014 11:59 PM (PST)
Optional Checkpoint: June 15th, 2014
Mandatory Check-In: (you MUST have 3k for Mini Bang, 5K for Big Bang at this time): July 15th, 2014
Artist Claim: July 21st, 2014
Artist Check-In: August 11th, 2014
Posting Date Selection: August 18th, 2014
Posting Begins: September 1st, 2014
If you have any other questions, feel free to comment! If you want to directly ask a mod something, please PM sirenofodysseus. I’ll be more than happy to answer any of your questions!