FAQ
Below is a list of Frequently Asked Questions (Updated January 2022). Hopefully this will cover most of your inquiries but if it doesn't, feel free to leave a comment below or contact the mods at aftercamlann@gmail.com with additional questions.
You can find the schedule here. Please direct any inquiries about the time table to that post.
What is a Big Bang Challenge you ask?
It's a fandom festival that pairs awesome writers with amazing artists in order to create EPIC fanworks inspired by the characters from the BBC show Merlin. Each fic must be a minimum of 25k to be eligible for posting to the collection.
Does the BB name 'After Camlann' mean that only stories set after the show's finale are allowed?
Absolutely not! The name of the Big Bang has nothing to do with the content allowed for the actual projects. Any setting/storyline you can imagine is welcome!
I need to rant, flail and/or whinge about my creative process to likeminded people. What do I do?
There is a support community camladerie and Merlin Chat for artists and authors to do exactly this!
We also have a discord community over at The Tavern (18+ only).
How does anonymity work for ACBB?
If you plan to participate in author-artist matching, your fic MUST remain ANONYMOUS until you have been matched with an artist. This is to ensure the artists do not know which summary belongs to which writer and can choose based on the summary alone.
Anonymous means that you do not share your title, snippets, summary, or plot with anyone until after artist matching is complete. If you use writer-bot on discord, you may not use your fic’s title while keeping track of word count. We suggest using something like After Camlann (acbb) as your title until after artist matching is complete.
Who runs this BB?
ACBB is run by ext_4137531 and slantedknitting. If you have any questions, please email us at aftercamlann@gmail.com as soon as possible. (Email preferred)
Are there any restrictions on the content of my creation?
No. As long as your fanwork focuses primarily on characters from BBC's Merlin then it's all good. Any genre, era, pairing(s) (or no pairings-Gen works are gleefully accepted!) and rating is welcome.
This also includes any crossovers or fusions with other fandoms, just make sure that at least one of your main characters is from Merlin.
What about RPS/RPF? Can I write RPS using the cast from Merlin?
Sorry, there will be no RPF accepted for this BB.
How do I figure out the rating for my work?
For this challenge, we'll be using the US movie rating system. (G, PG, PG-13, R, NC-17) For more information, see here
What timezone do you use?
Everything where any time will be mentioned will be GMT, so that it will be easy for you to count how much your own timezone is early or late compared to it. The timezone will be mentioned in every post where the situation calls for it (i. ex. claiming). You can check your standard time zone from here by searching your home city. STZ can be found after you click the name of the city to the next page.
Can I sign up as an artist as well as a writer?
Yes. Just please watch your schedule and don't bite off more than you can chew! It's never cool to be the artist/writer left behind when someone overextends themselves.
I'm neither a writer nor an artist but I'd still like to participate. How can I do that?
Wonderful! Every Big Bang participant needs support and that's where you can help. Please consider signing up as a beta or a hype reader. We also encourage you to watch the community to stay up-to-date with everything that's going on at After Camlann and to comment on posts to support the artists and writers throughout the challenge.
Do I have to have a beta?
Yes. All fic and art must be reviewed by a beta prior to posting. A Big Bang is all about making the Best Fanworks we can and a beta plays an important role in making sure our work is just that-the best it can be!
If I finish it, can I submit a WIP I've been posting on AO3/Tumblr/FF.net/LJ/Dreamwidth/Pillowfort or other social media?
No. All works for this challenge must be new, meaning they can not be posted anywhere before your assigned posting date.
Can I submit a sequel to a story I've already posted?
Yes. As long as the sequel can stand alone (meaning a reader does not have to read the original story for the sequel to make sense) and doesn't end with a TBC and meets the other requirements for the challenge..
Can writers collaborate on a story?
Yes. As long as your fic meets the requirements for submission. Note: this means one cohesive story per writing team to be paired with one artist.
Is there a word minimum for the rough draft?
Yes. You must submit a completed rough draft (that means a beginning, middle and well-made plans of the end) of at least 15,000 words or 60% of your final story. This is to ensure that the artists aren't making art for a story that won't be completed by the deadline. When the claiming results come in artists have to have a good base to start with their own works.
What if I can't finish a draft by the deadline? Can I still participate in the BB?
Yes, however you will not be eligible for artist matching. If you cannot submit a 15k draft in time for claiming but still wish to be part of the challenge you must check in via email with the mods to let us know you are still participating. If you want art for your story, you will be responsible for finding your own artist and WILL be required to submit a final draft as scheduled.
What warnings are required for my story/art?
For this challenge we will be using the same required warnings as kinkme_merlin. Please see the LIST of REQUIRED WARNINGS HERE
You might also take a look at their suggested warnings when deciding how to tag your fic but those are optional and up to each individual creative.
How do I submit my story/art?
There will be a post with details on submissions later on so don't worry about this right now. However please note that your rough draft must be turned in as an attachment or a link. DO NOT paste it into the body of your email.
Can I turn my story in before the deadline?
Absolutely! Send your completed, beta'd draft, a summary and a final title and any required warnings to: aftercamlann@gmail.com. A post with more details will be coming later on.
Can a writer turn in more than one story?
Yes. If you can manage it, you can do it. Sadly, you will not be eligible for artist matching on your second story. However, you may seek an artist for your second story on your own.
How does claiming/artist matching work?
Each artist will get to choose the story summary they want to create art for. Writers will submit a summary and a draft to the mods, and then anonymous summaries will be posted to the comm for artists to choose from as per the schedule above. Once matched up, writers and artists are encouraged to work together so that the final, combined fanwork is satisfactory to you both. The mods will post a specific artist/writer check-in to make sure that collaborations are running smoothly.
Can an artist do art for more than one story?
Absolutely! Just please be mindful of your schedule so that each story you choose to create for receives equal treatment.
What is the minimum amount of art for a story?
Artists must produce at least 1 finished piece of art per story. There is no maximum on the pieces you work on.
What kind of art is allowed?
Generally traditional art, graphic art/photomanipulations, videos, fanmixes. But if the story inspires you to express yourself in an less common format (i.e. cake shop AU fanfiction and you'd like to make cakes that are visible in the story and take pictures of those), please talk to the mods and of course to the writer themselves about it!
Are podfics counted as an art? Can I make a podfic instead of any aforementioned art styles?
Yes, as of 2018 podfics are counted as an art. Please check the summary claimings where people will specify if they are interested in receiving podfic as their art. Or alternatively you could approach a writer individually to see if they would be interested in a pre-match, and vice-versa for any writer interested in having their work podficced. Given that the amount of time it takes to record a podfic can vary between podficcers, we do not have a specified minimum time length for podfics (we do not require the whole fic to be podficced) at this time, this should be decided between the writer and the artist when they are matched. Please note that in the future, we may decide to specify a minimum length for podfics.
Is there a size limit on traditional & graphic art?
There's no limit for height but width must be under 1100 pixels. Gifs should ideally be 10Mb or less for faster loading time.
I'd like to make a video, how long should it be?
A minimum of 1.5 minutes long. There is no maximum length.
Can I use fanart made by other artists in my video?
No. Please do not incorporate work from another artist unless it was specifically made for your video.
When I post my story, can I also use art that I or someone other than my artist has done?
No. The point of the challenge is for the writer and artist to collaborate. Bringing in an outside artist would be quite a slap in the face for your artist.
Can I give my artist direction on the art?
No. This is not a dictatorship! It's a collaboration. It would be ideal for the artist and writer to talk about the work but ultimately what the artist chooses to create for the collaboration is up to them, just as the content of the story is up to the writer(s).
Can I pre-match with an artist/writer before summary claiming?
It's perfectly acceptable for artists & writers to match up on their own before claiming. Do remember when approaching an artist/writer to be polite in your request and respectful of their decision on whether or not they wish to pre-match.
What is an artist “pinch hitter”?
A pinch hitter is an artist who will step in-possibly at short notice-when an artist already paired with an author for the BB drops out for whatever reason. The same rules apply for artist submissions but we will do our best to schedule any pinch hitters as late in the posting schedule as possible to give the pinch hitting artist time to finish.
What if I can’t find a beta?
First go through the beta sign-ups and see if you can find a beta for your story/art there. If you can't, put out a call on your flist and on the support community. Visit the discord community or chat-room and see if you can find someone to beta for you there (also visiting discord or the chat-room is a great way to experience the community!). If that doesn't work, writers can ask at merlin_betas. If all else fails, ask a mod! It's very important that your work be beta'd. Don't feel too awkward asking from the mods either! We are here to help and if you feel too shy to contact a beta we can try our best to find you one.
How will fanworks be hosted?
Hosting of the main works will be on AO3, please post your works to the After Camlann Big Bang collection. On your posting date, you will be required to make a post to the community with a link to your creation(s) and we will post a masterlist after everyone has finished posting. You will retain access and all rights to your work. Once your work is posted to the ACBB LJ we will make a promotional post for your collaboration on the After Camlann tumblr account with links to your work. If you do not wish to post on AO3 or would not like your collaboration posted to Tumblr, please contact the mods (aftercamlann@gmail.com).
I’d like to lock my story. Can I?
No. All After Camlann entries must remain unlocked. If at some point you'd like your name (as author or artist) to be removed from your entry, please contact a mod and we will make that happen.
Can I do a remix of another person's story if it meets the other requirements for the challenge?
No. Each story must be original to you.
What is plagiarism?
See Here for a definition.
It's more than acceptable to be inspired by an existing work (a television program, a movie, a book, etc) it's NOT OK to appropriate ideas wholesale and we will not tolerate it in this challenge.
I really love the art from a particular collaboration and I want to share it on my tumblr or other blog. Can I?
Sharing is awesome but please only share LINKS to any art you see that you like. DO NOT REPOST any art without explicit permission from the artist in question. It's their work and they have the right to decide where it's posted on the internet. Just because the art is posted on one publicly accessible site it doesn't give you the right to repost it to another. As of 2018 we are now making a promotional post for each ACBB collaboration, please consider reblogging that post, or a Tumblr post made by the individual artist themselves instead to share the love!
I'd like to post snippets of my fic/art to my journal or other site. Can I do that?
No. You may not publish any portion of your work to any public post prior to your assigned posting date. In the near future, there will be members-only snippet posts hosted on camladerie, our support community. Camladerie is a community just for participants in After Camlann so any snippets posted their will only be seen by other AC Big Bang participants. Please join Camladerie if you'd like to participate.
Am I required to communicate regularly with my writer/artist?
YES. After summaries have been claimed and artist/writer matches have been announced you must contact your collaborative partner within one week. After that you are required to communicate with your partner at least once every other week. If you are going to be out-of-contact for any reason (vacation, work etc) please inform your partner and ac_mod ahead of time.
We cannot stress enough just how important regular communication is to the success of ACBB. Please make the effort to talk to each other!