The 2012 Rules and Sign-ups Post: "What are the red pins for, again?": fkficfest

brightknightie in fkficfest

The 2012 Rules and Sign-ups Post: "What are the red pins for, again?"

May 05, 2012 15:56

Today, May 5, 2012, is the twentieth anniversary of the premiere of Forever Knight, “Dark Knight,” on Tuesday, May 5, 1992, as part of CBS’s “Crimetime After Primetime” rotation in the US. Let’s celebrate!

Sign-ups for the 2012 fkficfest/

fkficfest ficathon are now open! Let’s bring each other some fantastic, fresh Forever Knight fanfiction and fun! Please read the rules in this post and think over your prompts. To sign-up, comment on this post (on LJ or DW) by May 25 (11:59 PM Pacific Time). Once you post your prompt slate, it is final; please do not edit it.

(Comments are screened. I will unscreen any questions and answer them for all to see. Sign-ups will remain screened. Please ask any questions separately from your sign-up.)

What’s new for 2012? (1) We'll post our stories directly to the AO3, and announce them on LJ/DW. (2) Stories have no maximum length, if on the AO3. (3) You may post your own announcement to the LJ/DW queues, or leave it to the mod. (4) Visual artists are welcome. (5) Brightknightie is the sole moderator.

Timeline | Mod | Rules | Posting | Signing Up

Timeline

5/05: Sign-ups open.
5/25: Sign-ups close.
5/28: Prompt assignments sent.
6/28: Deadline to drop out without any penalty.
7/28: Stories due.
7/29: Pinch-hitter assignments sent.
7/30: Stories begin revealing.
8/06: Pinch-hitter stories due. (This date may shift.)

All deadlines are 11:59 PM Pacific Time.

No stories will be revealed until all stories are in. Stories will be revealed one per day up to ten players, and two per day above ten players. Stories will release in an order determined by the mod to help maximize readability and share the fun. (For example, very long stories will be released singly on weekend days, and stories released on the same day will be of different types/ratings when possible.) Release order may or may not reflect submission order.

Meet Your Mod

[2012 Update!] Your mod is brightknightie (Knightie Amy). You may know me from the PSU email lists in days gone by, or from LJ and DW more recently. All official ficathon statements come from me. For the fastest answers, all official ficathon questions should come directly to me at my LJ or DW accounts, or my personal email address (which is the same one I’ve used on the FK lists for over a decade; it’s available on my profile to my f-list only). The FKFicFestMod account/address may or may not be used this round.

amilyn (NatPacker Amy) retains the community passwords and permissions in case of an emergency.

Rules

- Game Play Summary -
Each player (1) submits a slate of three prompts, (2) receives in return a slate of three prompts submitted by someone else, (3) writes one story of at least 1,000 words (or draws a picture of at least 500x500 pixels) to fulfill any one of the three prompts received, (4) receives one story (or picture) that fulfills one of the three prompts submitted, and (5) FK is celebrated and a wonderful time is had by all.

[*2012 Update!*] Each day of the festival, the mod will (1) reveal two stories from the community’s AO3 collection, and (2) announce those two stories on LJ and DW.

- The Rules FAQ -

So that's three prompts, but only one story/picture?
Right. Each player submits and receives three prompts, but writes only one story (or draws one picture). Writing more than one story is permitted, but is not required, expected or typical.
What are the three kinds of prompts?
Each player must submit one gen, one pairing, and one wildcard prompt. This gives the writer/artist options. Here, we use these definitions:
- "Gen" is primarily about anything except romantic and/or sexual relationships or activities. So stories that are primarily about building a friendship, solving a crime, strengthening a family, finding a cure, saving a life, taking a life, getting a haircut . . . all these are "gen." (Yes, romance and sex may be mentioned in gen stories. But in a gen story, those must be minor elements.)
- "Pairing" is primarily about romantic and/or sexual relationships or activities. So stories that are primarily about finding love, losing love, forbidding love, having sex, missing sex, adapting sex, getting married . . . all these count as "pairing." (Yes, by all means, mysteries may be solved, themes explored, and haircuts gotten in pairing stories. Pairing stories are not necessarily "plot, what plot?"! Although they may be, if you think your recipient would like that.) M/f, m/m and f/f pairings are all equally allowed, rated and respected in FKFicFest.
- "Wildcard" may be anything you like. You may list another gen prompt, or another pairing prompt, or something combining the two. (This would also be the place for a threesome or moresome request, rather than under "pairing.")
Please note that an ampersand ("&") designates a gen combination, and a slash ("/") designates a pairing combination. (For example, "Nick & Lacroix" is a gen, Cousin-of-the-Knight prompt, while "Nick/Lacroix" is a pairing, Unnamed Faction prompt.)

[*2012 Update!*] How long must/may a story be?
All stories must be a minimum of 1,000 words. There is no maximum length for stories posted directly to the AO3.

However, any stories posted to LJ/DW (instead of directly to the AO3) remain subject to the previous maximum of five total posts (which, on LJ, is the maximum permitted in a paid community’s queue from a single poster). LJ posts may be up to 65K bytes in size (roughly 65K characters), and DW 300K (roughly 300K characters). Note that this includes formatting code as well as text. The more formatting you use, the fewer words you can fit.

What about beta-reading?
Please have your story beta-read before posting! Please revise and edit! Please show off your great ideas to their best advantage with good spelling, grammar, punctuation and knowledge of canon!

There will be a post to help beta-readers and writers to find each other. Your mod is not able to individually match beta readers with writers and is officially unavailable for beta-reading purposes -- although she may, or may not, individually volunteer when the time comes just like everyone else.

CANS O' WORMS! What is forbidden?
- Underage Sex. No character who is, or who appears to be, under the age of eighteen may be depicted "on screen" in sexual activity with anyone. If a plot requires such activity to have happened, it must take place "off screen." (For example, sex scenes with Divia are prohibited.)
- Human Incest. No characters with human family consanguinity within the third degree may be depicted "on screen" in sexual activity with each other. If a plot requires such activity to have happened, it must take place "off screen." (For example, Richard/Natalie is prohibited.)
- Crossovers. No crossovers. However, you can bring in other works the way canon did, if needed. Emily Weiss of "Stranger Than Fiction" is analogous to Anne Rice. "Curiouser and Curiouser" is all over Alice in Wonderland. The Hound of the Baskervilles originates in "Blind Faith." Nick and Lacroix both quote classic literature, and Nick and Natalie watch old movies. (For example, Schanke meeting Major Nelson is prohibited, but Schanke watching I Dream of Jeannie is allowed.)
- Real People. No real private individuals. But public figures may play roles in your story consistent with their accepted roles in history and the example of canon (for example, Saint Joan in "For I Have Sinned," Rasputin in "Strings," Hitler in "Jane Doe," Jack the Ripper in "Bad Blood," and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle in "Blind Faith").
- Trolling or Flaming or Offensive Prompts. If the mod believes that you have trolled or flamed, you will be banned. This community is pro-Forever Knight, diversity, tolerance, kindness, respect, truth, justice, and the Canadian Way … okay, yes, that's just the Knightie Creed. But you know the drill! Constructive criticism is fine. Bashing is not.
What if I have to drop out?
Sometimes, Real Life problems get in the way of fannish commitments. However, dropping out means that we have to scramble for a back-up writer. That's not fair to your recipient or the back-up. Thus, the game has deadlines and penalties.

If you know you are going to drop out, please do so by one month before the due date. The deadline to drop out without any penalty is June 28, 2012. However, if something unavoidable comes up in the final month, talk to the mod as soon as possible! Don’t just vanish! Your mod will want to work something out with you if possible, but she can only do that if you get in touch and stay in touch. (Seriously, do not provoke your mod by surprising her. She hates surprises.) Anyone defaulting will not be allowed to participate in future FKFicFest ficathons.

When can I post my story elsewhere?
Please wait until after the last story is revealed in the ficathon before also posting your story to fkfic-l, your blog, or elsewhere. We're hoping that people will come to the community (via LJ, DW or the AO3) to read your story, and stick around to read others' stories, too! So if you feel like it, by all means, please do point out your story when it is revealed in the community collection, so your friends can find both your story and the rest of the ficathon.

[*2012 Update!*] What if I don’t have an AO3 account?
If you do not already have an AO3 account, ask the mod for an invitation. She has one for every FKFicFest player! The AO3 is very easy to use, and using it gains our ficathon many advantages. (However, if you have a personal reason for avoiding the AO3, you may still post to LJ or DW as in years past.)
[*2012 Update!*] How will the “announcements” to LJ and DW work?
In 2011, some stories posted to the community on LJ, and some on DW. The mod posted an “announcement” on LJ for each story posted on DW, and vice versa. These announcements provided the story header information and a link to the story. In 2012, authors will post directly to the AO3, so we need announcements on both LJ and DW.
- Please do write your own announcement in the format given below, and post it to the community queue on LJ, DW or both.
- The mod will release your announcement(s) on LJ and DW after she releases your story on the AO3.
- If you do not create an announcement for LJ or DW or both, that’s okay; your mod will create and post them for you.

[*2012 Update!*] How will visual artists participate?
As part of signing up, all players will state (1) whether they wish to play as a writer or as a visual artist, and (2) whether they prefer to receive a story or a picture in answer to their prompts. (These preferences are for the mod’s eyes only. Most people will receive stories, regardless of preference, because most players will be writers.)

All rules (including content rules) apply to visual artists exactly as to writers, with these medium-specific variations:
- The picture must be created from scratch, not from screenshots. That is, all forms of drawing and painting (whether by hand or by mouse) are eligible, but manips and collages (which begin with existing images) are not eligible. (Your mod makes manips and collages herself. This is not a slam at those art forms, but a parameter for the good of the game.)
- The image must be at least 500x500 pixels. There is no maximum.
- The image must be hosted on the artist’s own webspace, somewhere the mod can see and confirm it in advance, but where it will not draw attention in advance and spoil the reveal. (LJ and DW scrapbooks are okay.)
- Using an “img” tag and an “a” tag, the AO3 post should display/embed a thumbnail that links to the full-sized image. (People do this with vids all the time. No reason we can’t do it with stills.)
- Please note that comic strips and animation drawn/painted from scratch are eligible, but vids from existing footage are not.

What's with all the jargon? -or- Help! I don't know the factions!
Faction/affiliation names and other jargon from the PSU lists and the show itself are some of the joys of FK fandom! However, our special FK language has evolved through generations of fans. We may want to translate for each other, to define "Immortal Beloved" or "IB" as "Nick/Janette," for example. For more information on factions, check out the detailed "Factions" entry on the FK Wiki. Or … ask!

Posting

[*2012 Update!*] Post your story directly to the AO3. Posting directly to our community collection on the AO3 gives us many advantages, including the downloading in ebook format, consolidating story queues, and ducking potential technical problems on the journaling communities. Perhaps the most popular advantage, however, is that authors are able to edit their stories while they sit in the queue! If you find a last-minute typo, or have a last-minute inspiration, you can get right in there before your story is released!

When you finish your story, please post it to the 2012 FKFicFest collection on the AO3. It is very important to add your story to the collection when you post! If you do not add it to the FKFicFest collection, your story will be visible to everyone immediately, instead of veiled as a “mystery story” until its turn comes. Please note that the parent FKFicFest collection is permanently closed; stories should always post to the applicable annual sub-collection (2010, 2011, 2012).

Steps:

Click the “Post New” button.
In the “Tags” block, select a rating and set any applicable warnings. Enter Forever Knight as the fandom and identify the correct category (gen, m/f, etc.). Further tagging (characters, relationships, etc.) is recommended but not required.
In the “Preface” block, enter your title and identify yourself as the author. A summary and notes are recommended but not required. (Note that clicking one of the two checkboxes for notes locations opens the text box for notes content.)
In the “Associations” block, enter “2012_FKFicFest” for “Post to Collections / Challenges.” THIS IS VITAL! Then enter your recipient’s AO3 username for “Gift this work to.” Select any of the other options that apply; don’t forget the “This work has multiple chapters” option, if applicable.
In the “Work Text” block, paste your story. Note that you may work in “plain text with limited HTML” or click the “Rich Text” button.
In the “Post” block, consider using “Preview” before posting. Then post! Your story will be visible to you and your mod, but everyone else will see a “mystery work” until the reveal.

When the fest starts, your mod will reveal one or two stories per day (depending on the number of players and the length of the stories). Many multi-fandom ficathons release all their stories at once in a great waterfall of fiction, but since we're all-FK here, we’ll enjoy a steady stream of stories and hope everyone finds time to read and comment on many of them!

Don’t use the AO3? Ask your mod for an invitation! She has one for every FKFicFest player who does not already have an AO3 account, and it’s all very easy. (If you have a personal reason for not using the AO3, you may post to LJ or DW instead, but you must let the mod know in advance.)

[*2012 Update!*] Post your announcement to LJ and/or DW. Please write your own announcement in the format given below, and post it to the community queue on LJ, DW or both. The mod will release your announcement(s) on LJ and DW after she releases your story on the AO3. If you do not create an announcement for LJ or DW or both, that’s okay; your mod will create and post them for you, based on the header information in your AO3 post.

Remember that LJ and DW use different username tags (“lj user=brightknightie” vs “user name=brightknightie”). If that’s confusing, just write the usernames in plain text.

Steps:

Give your announcement post a subject line with your title, rating and type (gen or pairing).
List at least your title, author, recipient, beta-reader, rating, and any warnings. (Any more is up to you.) The template is below, so you can copy-and-paste, and fill it in. Please note that we use the "white on white" warnings format, so that people can choose to avoid spoilers.

Title:
Author:
Beta-Reader:
Recipient:
Prompt:
Length:
Rating/Warnings: InsertRatingHere. Highlight to view: * InsertWarningHere *
After the header, type the title again, and link it to your story post on the AO3. You may want to put this link in bold, or center it on the page.
Select the applicable tags.
Check that your post is not friends-locked, and that it has the appropriate “adult content” setting if applicable.
Submit the post to the community.

The community is set to moderated posting on both LJ and DW. Your announcement post will go into the queue, and will stay there, invisible and unreachable, until released by the mod. (The mod can also delete posts from the queue as needed.)

- Example Announcement Subject Lines and Headers -
If Natalie were playing in this ficathon, her announcement subject line and header might look like this:If Janette were playing in this ficathon, her announcement subject line and header might look like this:"Cause of Life" by Natlamb (PG, Gen)

Title: "Cause of Life"
Author: Natlamb
Beta-Reader: Raven2U
Recipient: Plantsaretheanswer
Prompt: Nick & Natalie. "It ain't no sin to be glad you're alive" -- Springsteen, "Badlands"
Length: 1,300 words
Rating/Warnings: PG-13. Highlight to view: * No Warnings *
Summary: The case of a murdered baseball player gives Nick hope, Natalie an idea, and Schanke indigestion.

“Cause of Life”
"A High-Walled Garden" by Raven2U (NC-17, m/f)

Title: "A High-Walled Garden"
Author: Raven2U
Beta-Reader: Littlebear
Recipient: DarkButton
Prompt: Tracy/Vachon. Tracy's interest in past lives surprises Vachon.
Length: 3,481 words
Characters: Tracy, Vachon, Nick, Urs, Reese, Natalie, Others
Rating/Warnings: NC-17. Highlight to view: * explicit sex, explicit violence, character death *

“A High-Walled Garden”
Tip: You can post your announcement to your own journal -- set “private,” so no one else can see it! -- before posting it to the community queue. This lets you check its appearance and link.

Signing Up

To sign up for this game, reply to this post with your answers to the little form below. Please list a reasonable number of characters for your writer/artist, and remember that your writer/artist may also include any other character(s) he or she wishes to write/draw.

(There's space to state what you'd rather not receive or create. Please do not bash other characters, pairings or factions; do say clearly when they don’t happen to be your cup of Ribena.)

The Sign-Up Template:

LJ Username:
DW Username:
AO3 Username:
Email Address:
Are you playing as a Writer or as a Visual Artist?

~~~~~~~~~~
FOR YOUR WRITER/ARTIST TO SEE

Gen Request
Characters:
Prompt:

Pairing Request
Characters:
Prompt:

Wildcard Request
Characters:
Prompt:

Faction/Affiliation or Favorite Character:
Preferred Ratings Range (G/PG/PG13/R/NC17):
Five Things You LOVE To Read:
Five Things You AVOID Reading:

Optional: If you have a standing “Dear Author” letter, enter its URL here:

~~~~~~~~~~
FOR YOUR MOD TO USE

Three Things You Will NOT Create:
Three Things You LOVE To Create:

Are you willing to be a back-up writer/artist?
Do you prefer to receive a story or a picture in reply to your prompts?
~~~~~~~~~~

- Example Sign-Ups -
If Nick were playing in this ficathon, his sign-up might look like this:If Lacroix were playing in this ficathon, his sign-up might look like this:LJ Username: NBK
DW Username: not applicable
AO3 Username: NickBK
Email Address: nknight@metropd.gov.ca
Are you playing as a Writer or as a Visual Artist? Visual Artist

~~~~~~~~~~
FOR YOUR WRITER TO SEE

Gen Request
Characters: Natalie, Schanke, Nick
Prompt: “True is it that we have seen better days …therefore sit you down in gentleness” -- Shakespeare

Pairing Request
Characters: Marian/Nick
Prompt: What if Marian (from “Blackwing”) had lived?

Wildcard Request
Characters: Lacroix
Prompt: Nero, Charlemagne and Genghis Kahn

Faction/Affiliation or Favorite Character: Die-Hard (Refuse to Choose)
Preferred Ratings Range: No higher than PG-13, please.
Five Things You LOVE To Read: angst with hope, Nick regaining mortality, historical fiction, spiritual struggles, automotive trivia
Five Things You AVOID Reading: non-con, evil triumphant, Nick embracing vampirism, Valentine (Lacroix/Natalie), Lacroix inside Nick's mind

~~~~~~~~~~
FOR YOUR MOD TO USE

Three Things You Will NOT Create: non-con, humor, Nick killing people he loves
Three Things You LOVE To Create: introspection, baseball, characters who are musicians or artists like Nick

Are you willing to be a back-up writer/artist? No
Do you prefer to receive a story or a picture in reply to your prompts? Story
~~~~~~~~~~LJ/DW/AO3 Username: Rosebud
Email Address: rosebud@freenet.to.ca
Are you playing as a Writer or as a Visual Artist? Writer

~~~~~~~~~~
FOR YOUR WRITER TO SEE

Gen Request
Characters: Lacroix & Nick
Prompt: The Nightcrawler wins a major broadcasting award. Nicholas is impressed. The Enforcers are not.

Pairing Request
Characters: Lacroix/Selene
Prompt: before Divia was born

Wildcard Request
Characters: Nick/Janette & Lacroix -or- Lacroix/Nick & Janette -or Lacroix/Nick/Janette
Prompt: carved in stone

Faction/Affiliation or Favorite Character: Cousin, UF, Valentine, Faithful, Seducer…
Preferred Ratings Range: No limits
Five Things You LOVE To Read: plot, metaphor, Nicholas embracing vampirism, Lacroix winning, vampire eroticism
Five Things You AVOID Reading: fluff, Nicholas regaining mortality, Lacroix stymied, Nicholas/Natalie, mpreg

Dear Author Letter: http://www.cerk.com/rosebud/likesdislikes.html

~~~~~~~~~~
FOR YOUR MOD TO USE

Three Things You Will NOT Create: Nicholas regaining humanity, Nicholas romancing a mortal successfully, "Lite" Lacroix
Three Things You LOVE To Create: Nicholas/Janette, Nicholas embracing vampirism, historical fiction

Are you willing to be a back-up writer/artist? Yes
Do you prefer to receive a story or a picture in reply to your prompts? Either is fine
~~~~~~~~~~

Want to know more about your recipient's preferences? Check out your recipient's blog or fanfic! If you have friends in common, you might try asking them. But please keep secret from your recipient that you're the one. Your story will be a surprise gift to your specific recipient, and a treat for all FK fanfic readers.

Thanks for playing! Have fun!

Don't forget to join the community journal(s), and to watch the admin posts! All reminders will be posted on LJ and DW.

Crossposted on DW

admin: sign-ups, admin, admin: posting, admin: rules, game: 2012