FAQ's and Other News...
First off, thank you to everyone who's joined, this is awesome that we've got so many members and we've only been promoting for less than a day. So thank you to everyone! :)
There are a few questions going around as to posting, voting, entering, etc, so I'll try to answer as many as I can. If there are any more questions, please feel free to comment here.
Do I need to enter if I join the comm?
You do not need to enter the challenges if you are a member, however, only members can enter, so please join if you'd like to. Likewise, if you're a member, you're not required to enter all the challenges.
Do I need to join the comm to vote?
You don't have to join or even watch the community to vote.
How many entries can I submit?
It could change for future challenges but for now we're going to say only one entry per author. Also, only one author per entry, so no collaborating on fics.
What are the challenges like? Will they be difficult?
The challenges will consist of one picture prompt and one quote. You must choose one of the prompts to complete. If you'd really like to, you can try to include both. You won't get any prize for doing so except the satisfaction of being a geek & overachiever having challenged yourself.
How long must my fic be?
The challenges will always have minimum word counts.
Do I have to have my fic beta-d?
The short answer is no. But it is highly recommended you have someone look over it before entering.
Can I add art? A shiny banner?
Yes, you're absolutely free to. Just remember, this is a fic challenge, so you cannot submit art only.
Can I post to my community/journal?
Yes, please do!
Can I cross post to other communities?
Yes, feel free to post it anywhere you'd like. However, your fic mus be posted here, otherwise it will not be part of the challenge.
Do I need to post here?
Yes, yes and yes, you MUST submit your entry here, otherwise it will not be included when voting goes up. You can post the actual fic in your journal/community and cross post it everywhere. When posting here, you can just link back to the post with the actual fic (the way you would when cross posting).
What if I miss the deadline?
No worries, the fic challenges run for 2 weeks. The dates will always be posted for when the new challenge will open, when voting will go up, and when the winners will be announced. If you miss the deadline for one challenge, you can always wait for the next challenge to be put up.
How will I know if my fic has been approved for the contest? ie, that it meets the requirements?
Once the first challenge has started, you have until the deadline to post your fic. Once you've submitted it, meridianslair or I will read the entry and comment whether it meets all the requirements. If it does, we'll comment telling you it's been approved. When the challenge has ended and voting begins, we will post a follow up comment letting you know that voting started.
How will I know when voting has started?
One of the mods will comment on your fic, letting you know.
Are the fics going to be anonymous?
The fics will never be anonymous, thus, you can cross post the fic whenever and wherever you want. Voting will be done through Livejournal polls for transparency.
Can I ask my friends/readers to vote?
Yes, feel free to! Promote to your heart's content. The more voters we have the more interesting it'll be.
Can I vote for myself?
I should hope you would! You can vote for yourself, you can vote for your friend, you can not vote at all if you really don't want to.
Cheating
Cheating and plagiarism will not be tolerated in this community. Cheating constitutes as making multiple accounts and voting for yourself. Plagiarism constitutes as stealing another author's work and claiming it as your own. Don't do either, we will ban you immediately.
NOTE: Let it be known that the mods will be able to see who has voted and whom they've voted for. Paid and plus account users can see this as well. We will be checking every voter to see that nothing suspicious (meaning, accounts created on the day of voting) is going on. On that note, every voter must be at least a week old (a week from voting) with at least one public journal entry (even if it's just a 'friends only' post).
There are a few questions going around as to posting, voting, entering, etc, so I'll try to answer as many as I can. If there are any more questions, please feel free to comment here.
Do I need to enter if I join the comm?
You do not need to enter the challenges if you are a member, however, only members can enter, so please join if you'd like to. Likewise, if you're a member, you're not required to enter all the challenges.
Do I need to join the comm to vote?
You don't have to join or even watch the community to vote.
How many entries can I submit?
It could change for future challenges but for now we're going to say only one entry per author. Also, only one author per entry, so no collaborating on fics.
What are the challenges like? Will they be difficult?
The challenges will consist of one picture prompt and one quote. You must choose one of the prompts to complete. If you'd really like to, you can try to include both. You won't get any prize for doing so except the satisfaction of being a geek & overachiever having challenged yourself.
How long must my fic be?
The challenges will always have minimum word counts.
Do I have to have my fic beta-d?
The short answer is no. But it is highly recommended you have someone look over it before entering.
Can I add art? A shiny banner?
Yes, you're absolutely free to. Just remember, this is a fic challenge, so you cannot submit art only.
Can I post to my community/journal?
Yes, please do!
Can I cross post to other communities?
Yes, feel free to post it anywhere you'd like. However, your fic mus be posted here, otherwise it will not be part of the challenge.
Do I need to post here?
Yes, yes and yes, you MUST submit your entry here, otherwise it will not be included when voting goes up. You can post the actual fic in your journal/community and cross post it everywhere. When posting here, you can just link back to the post with the actual fic (the way you would when cross posting).
What if I miss the deadline?
No worries, the fic challenges run for 2 weeks. The dates will always be posted for when the new challenge will open, when voting will go up, and when the winners will be announced. If you miss the deadline for one challenge, you can always wait for the next challenge to be put up.
How will I know if my fic has been approved for the contest? ie, that it meets the requirements?
Once the first challenge has started, you have until the deadline to post your fic. Once you've submitted it, meridianslair or I will read the entry and comment whether it meets all the requirements. If it does, we'll comment telling you it's been approved. When the challenge has ended and voting begins, we will post a follow up comment letting you know that voting started.
How will I know when voting has started?
One of the mods will comment on your fic, letting you know.
Are the fics going to be anonymous?
The fics will never be anonymous, thus, you can cross post the fic whenever and wherever you want. Voting will be done through Livejournal polls for transparency.
Can I ask my friends/readers to vote?
Yes, feel free to! Promote to your heart's content. The more voters we have the more interesting it'll be.
Can I vote for myself?
I should hope you would! You can vote for yourself, you can vote for your friend, you can not vote at all if you really don't want to.
Cheating
Cheating and plagiarism will not be tolerated in this community. Cheating constitutes as making multiple accounts and voting for yourself. Plagiarism constitutes as stealing another author's work and claiming it as your own. Don't do either, we will ban you immediately.
NOTE: Let it be known that the mods will be able to see who has voted and whom they've voted for. Paid and plus account users can see this as well. We will be checking every voter to see that nothing suspicious (meaning, accounts created on the day of voting) is going on. On that note, every voter must be at least a week old (a week from voting) with at least one public journal entry (even if it's just a 'friends only' post).