The Rules and FAQs
This challenge is based on those schmoopy romance books we all secretly love so much. We'll give you the summaries and you'll choose one to base an SPN or RPS fic on. A happy ending proving our boys are Meant To Be is MANDATORY!
The Rules:
- All fic must be at least 1000 words.
- All fics must include at LEAST Jared, Jensen, Sam or Dean. You can pair them up with whoever you like, cross them with whatever other character or actor you'd love to see them live the dream with, whatever. Remember, it's all about true loooove.
- All genres are acceptable -- RPS, slash, het, gen and wincest.
- Art/vids/icons, etc. instead of a story is also acceptable. We encourage creativity of all kinds!
-Each prompt can be claimed by one writer and/or one artist.
The FAQs:
Q: “Does the story have to have a happy ending? Can it be ambiguous at least?”
A: “A happy ending is mandatory. That is the one hard and fast rule of the challenge.”
Q: “How close does my fic/art have to be to the prompt?”
A: “Consider the prompt a jumping-off point for you. You can make your work as close to the prompt as you want, or so tangential to it that it’s almost unrecognizable. Just give us that Happily Ever After (HEA ™).”
Q: “I have a WIP that is really in line with one of the prompts Can I finish that?”
A: “You absolutely can as long as your WIP has not been posted anywhere publicly first. These submissions should be original/brand new for the viewer.”
Q: “I claimed a prompt from a previous year, but real life prevented me from finishing. Can I still participate this time around?”
A: “Absolutely. In fact, we here are so sure your work was meant to be, you can post that finished, unpublished piece in this one in addition to any new prompt that you claim. If that previous piece was published anywhere prior to this one, please feel free to add it to the Ao3 MTB collection if you post there, but do not add it to the current challenge. We do want to keep the creations here brand new and shiny.”
Q: “Some of these prompts look interesting, but I’m not really a schmoopy kinda writer/artist. I guess I can’t enter.”
A: “You absolutely can! The only artistic requirement is that the piece have a happy ending. How you get there is up to you. Please look through the previous years’ masterlists for works by meus_venator, all_the_damned, dimpled_sammy and thursdaysisters as examples that are most definitely not schmoopy.”
Q: “Can I claim more than one prompt?”
A: “Only one claim (including pre-arranged collaborative teams) will be accepted per claiming round. Since there will be at least two rounds for claims, you will have a chance the next day when we reopen claiming to submit a second claim for fic or art.”
Q: “Do I have to have a LiveJournal account to participate?”
A: “You don’t have to, but it is strongly recommended so that you can keep track of announcements and important dates. We will be cross-posting information to Tumblr, so there is another way to follow along. But LiveJournal is the home of this challenge. We also highly recommend that you join the comm, too, so that you get notifications when information is posted here and have the ability to post your masterlist during posting month.”
Q: “So if I don’t want/have an LJ account, how do I participate?”
A: “LiveJournal allows commenting made with OpenID accounts (more info here). Also, anonymous commenting will be turned on for the sign-ups/claims . When it comes time to post your completed work, we will have a format guide to use. Fill it out and email that along with links to your story/art and a mod will make the comm post for you.”
Q: “Can I claim a prompt for someone else?”
A: “Yes, you can submit a proxy claim for someone else as long as they signed up in October for the challenge. It must be a separate claim from your own if you are also participating. Please make sure to mark "Proxy Claim" or something to that effect on your comment with their name listed."
Q: “Do the stories/art have to be posted on LiveJournal?”
A: “No, they don’t. You do need to make a master post here at the comm first with links to where people can find your work. Also, if you post to Ao3, we would appreciate it if you tagged your work as part of the Meant To Be collection there.”
Q: "Hey, that cool artist/writer_____ grabbed the same prompt as I did. Does that mean we get to collaborate together?"
A: "No, it doesn't. Artists and writers that happen to claim the same prompt are welcome to reach out to one another and respectfully ask to collaborate, but no one is expected or required to do so. Please understand that the other creator may already have a firm vision of what they'd like to do and it doesn't line up with yours (they want to do a different pairing, etc.). However, you and another person can definitely plan on collaborating and try to claim the same prompt for fic and art. Only one of you needs to make a comment, but please let us know you're a team”
Q: "My partner and I were collaborating and real life prevented them from finishing, but I did. Does that mean I can't post my part?"
A: "While it's always sad when real life tries to thwart things that are meant to be, we get it. Please post your completed creation and let your partner know there will be other chances for them to share their HEA. Keep cheering them on for all of us, because some HEAs just won't stick to a schedule. And you are always encouraged to add art to your fic, or fic to your art after the fact.”
Q: “Are we going to have check-ins where we need to send in drafts and stuff?”
A: “No, not for this challenge. We will be running polls and posting periodically on the comm/Tumblr to remind you about deadlines (and to cheer you on), ask you how you’re doing and help keep you on track.”
Q: “Does my stuff have to be beta’d?”
A: “While I think we all agree a second set of eyes can be very helpful, it’s not a requirement for this challenge. After claims go up, we will have another post regarding resources where to find betas and also make a call from the community here of people who would be willing to volunteer as needed.”
Q: “I thought I’d have enough time to finish, but the clock is ticking and I’m not quite done. Will there be an Amnesty Day like in previous years?”
A: “You’ll have about 4 months to get this done, so we’re really hoping everyone finishes on time. That being said, we know stuff happens. There have been Amnesty Days in the past and there will probably be one for this challenge, too. But please don’t rely on that.”
If something else you need to know isn’t answered above, feel free to comment with those questions below, send an Ask on Tumblr or email me at phoenix1966.lj@gmail.com.
The Rules:
- All fic must be at least 1000 words.
- All fics must include at LEAST Jared, Jensen, Sam or Dean. You can pair them up with whoever you like, cross them with whatever other character or actor you'd love to see them live the dream with, whatever. Remember, it's all about true loooove.
- All genres are acceptable -- RPS, slash, het, gen and wincest.
- Art/vids/icons, etc. instead of a story is also acceptable. We encourage creativity of all kinds!
-Each prompt can be claimed by one writer and/or one artist.
The FAQs:
Q: “Does the story have to have a happy ending? Can it be ambiguous at least?”
A: “A happy ending is mandatory. That is the one hard and fast rule of the challenge.”
Q: “How close does my fic/art have to be to the prompt?”
A: “Consider the prompt a jumping-off point for you. You can make your work as close to the prompt as you want, or so tangential to it that it’s almost unrecognizable. Just give us that Happily Ever After (HEA ™).”
Q: “I have a WIP that is really in line with one of the prompts Can I finish that?”
A: “You absolutely can as long as your WIP has not been posted anywhere publicly first. These submissions should be original/brand new for the viewer.”
Q: “I claimed a prompt from a previous year, but real life prevented me from finishing. Can I still participate this time around?”
A: “Absolutely. In fact, we here are so sure your work was meant to be, you can post that finished, unpublished piece in this one in addition to any new prompt that you claim. If that previous piece was published anywhere prior to this one, please feel free to add it to the Ao3 MTB collection if you post there, but do not add it to the current challenge. We do want to keep the creations here brand new and shiny.”
Q: “Some of these prompts look interesting, but I’m not really a schmoopy kinda writer/artist. I guess I can’t enter.”
A: “You absolutely can! The only artistic requirement is that the piece have a happy ending. How you get there is up to you. Please look through the previous years’ masterlists for works by meus_venator, all_the_damned, dimpled_sammy and thursdaysisters as examples that are most definitely not schmoopy.”
Q: “Can I claim more than one prompt?”
A: “Only one claim (including pre-arranged collaborative teams) will be accepted per claiming round. Since there will be at least two rounds for claims, you will have a chance the next day when we reopen claiming to submit a second claim for fic or art.”
Q: “Do I have to have a LiveJournal account to participate?”
A: “You don’t have to, but it is strongly recommended so that you can keep track of announcements and important dates. We will be cross-posting information to Tumblr, so there is another way to follow along. But LiveJournal is the home of this challenge. We also highly recommend that you join the comm, too, so that you get notifications when information is posted here and have the ability to post your masterlist during posting month.”
Q: “So if I don’t want/have an LJ account, how do I participate?”
A: “LiveJournal allows commenting made with OpenID accounts (more info here). Also, anonymous commenting will be turned on for the sign-ups/claims . When it comes time to post your completed work, we will have a format guide to use. Fill it out and email that along with links to your story/art and a mod will make the comm post for you.”
Q: “Can I claim a prompt for someone else?”
A: “Yes, you can submit a proxy claim for someone else as long as they signed up in October for the challenge. It must be a separate claim from your own if you are also participating. Please make sure to mark "Proxy Claim" or something to that effect on your comment with their name listed."
Q: “Do the stories/art have to be posted on LiveJournal?”
A: “No, they don’t. You do need to make a master post here at the comm first with links to where people can find your work. Also, if you post to Ao3, we would appreciate it if you tagged your work as part of the Meant To Be collection there.”
Q: "Hey, that cool artist/writer_____ grabbed the same prompt as I did. Does that mean we get to collaborate together?"
A: "No, it doesn't. Artists and writers that happen to claim the same prompt are welcome to reach out to one another and respectfully ask to collaborate, but no one is expected or required to do so. Please understand that the other creator may already have a firm vision of what they'd like to do and it doesn't line up with yours (they want to do a different pairing, etc.). However, you and another person can definitely plan on collaborating and try to claim the same prompt for fic and art. Only one of you needs to make a comment, but please let us know you're a team”
Q: "My partner and I were collaborating and real life prevented them from finishing, but I did. Does that mean I can't post my part?"
A: "While it's always sad when real life tries to thwart things that are meant to be, we get it. Please post your completed creation and let your partner know there will be other chances for them to share their HEA. Keep cheering them on for all of us, because some HEAs just won't stick to a schedule. And you are always encouraged to add art to your fic, or fic to your art after the fact.”
Q: “Are we going to have check-ins where we need to send in drafts and stuff?”
A: “No, not for this challenge. We will be running polls and posting periodically on the comm/Tumblr to remind you about deadlines (and to cheer you on), ask you how you’re doing and help keep you on track.”
Q: “Does my stuff have to be beta’d?”
A: “While I think we all agree a second set of eyes can be very helpful, it’s not a requirement for this challenge. After claims go up, we will have another post regarding resources where to find betas and also make a call from the community here of people who would be willing to volunteer as needed.”
Q: “I thought I’d have enough time to finish, but the clock is ticking and I’m not quite done. Will there be an Amnesty Day like in previous years?”
A: “You’ll have about 4 months to get this done, so we’re really hoping everyone finishes on time. That being said, we know stuff happens. There have been Amnesty Days in the past and there will probably be one for this challenge, too. But please don’t rely on that.”
If something else you need to know isn’t answered above, feel free to comment with those questions below, send an Ask on Tumblr or email me at phoenix1966.lj@gmail.com.