Welcome to the Het Big Bang!!
The HetBB is an opportunity for authors and fanworkers to create stories and fanworks, from any fandom, for any het pairing!
General Information
What is a Big Bang?
A Big Bang is a writing challenge that prompts authors and fanworkers to work together, to create a story and fanwork that go together! The HetBB focuses on any heterosexual (male/female) pairing, from any fandom and original works are also welcome!
We have two word goal options: 10,000 for the Big Bang and 5,000 words for the Little Bang! Big Bang stories are guaranteed to receive a fanwork, if the author chooses. Little Bang stories are not guaranteed to receive a fanwork, but mods will do their best to ensure that all authors that want a fanwork get one.
Stories and fanworks must be posted, in their entirety, before the end of the Amnesty Period. (Check the
Schedule for when this is!) Chaptered posting is now allowed, it will work by allowing authors to start posting on October 16th, and they have until their chosen posting date to have their work posted in its entirety. Posting before October 16th is not allowed.
What is Allowed for the Het Big Bang:
Any het pairing, any fandom! Any genre, any rating!
Crossovers, fusions, and alternate universes are all allowed, so long as the focus is on a het pairing! Want to write a story with Harry Potter in a relationship with Wonder Woman? Excellent, please do! Want to write Harry Potter and Hermione in a relationship and joining the Justice League in a Harry Potter/DC Comics crossover? Great! Want to write Batman and Catwoman in a relationship, in a Harry Potter AU fusion? Feel free to write that story!!!
More than one pairing, het or otherwise, in a fic is also allowed. Slash and femslash pairings can be included, so long as they are secondary and not the focus of the story, such as a story about Tony Stark/Pepper Potts, who happen to hang out with their good friend couple, Clark Kent/Bruce Wayne. Characters in the het pairing do not have to be strictly heterosexual, either! Mentions of past relationships with the same sex are fine, such as a story about Buffy Summers/Spike, and Buffy mentions a past relationship with Willow, or Buffy having an interest in women is fine, so long as the focus of the story is not Buffy's desire to get with another woman.
Threesomes or moresomes should not be the focus of your story. Gen fic with a hint of ship also doesn't qualify for the Het Big Bang and while we aren't going to psychoanalyze how "shippy" your fic is, we ask that you use your best judgment. Remember, we're here to celebrate het pairings!
Original Works, genderbent characters to make a het pairing (such as Tony Stark genderbent to a woman and paired with Bruce Wayne, or Thor genderbent to a woman AND Jane Foster genderbent to a man), and RPF (real person fiction) are all allowed!
Mod Contact Info:
If you have any questions or concerns, here is the
Page-A-Mod Post. You can also contact the mods at thehetbigbang@gmail.com or by messaging LuciferxDamien or JesterLady on the
HetBigBang Discord Server.
General Guidelines
--Be kind to each other! We all like different things and rudeness for disliking a pairing, characters, any canon, genre, or kink, etc. will not be tolerated! We want everyone to feel welcome and supported here!!!
--Please provide us with an email address that you frequently check. The mods need a good email address in the case that contact is needed, such as during story/fanwork claims, or for clarification purposes. All important announcements are sent out via email, as well. In the event that you change your email during the duration of the Het Big Bang, it is your responsibility to update the mods! Your email address will ONLY ever be used for official Het Big Bang business.
--Please keep in contact with the mods and your author/fanworker partner, if you're working with one! If something comes up and you need to drop out at any stage, that's okay! Just let the mods know! Needing to dropout before the final default date is not a bannable offense, and even if the default date has passed, please let us know, so we can work something out. You can contact the mods at any time via email at thehetbigbang@gmail.com.
Author Info/Story Requirements and Guidelines
General Author Information:
--Authors can work with a co-author or a group, just make sure to sign-up all authors on the sign-up sheet and have everyone join the comm if they wish.
--WIPs are allowed, so long as it has never been posted. If you have never posted the story anywhere, it qualifies for this Bang, even if you started writing it 10 years ago!
--Authors can sign-up to do two stories. Both times for the Big Bang, or both times for the Little Bang, or one Little Bang and one Big Bang! To sign-up twice, fill out the sign-up form twice!
--Authors can switch from the Little Bang path to the Big Bang path after sign-ups have ended, but before Story Claiming, if they so choose. Big Bang stories are guaranteed an accompanying fanwork, if the author wants one! Authors can also do the reverse and switch down to the Little Bang from the Big Bang, with the understanding they will no longer be guaranteed an accompanying fanwork, though mods will do their best to ensure all that want a fanwork receive one. The switch can only be done before Story Claiming takes place in mid-July. Please contact mods if you wish to switch, it will not be done automatically for an author signed up for the Little Bang that qualifies for the Big Bang!
What requirements are there for stories?
--All stories must focus on or revolve around a het pairing of your choosing!
--All stories must be completed and posted by the end of the Amnesty Period. Please check the schedule for when this will be.
--Rough drafts are due at the end of June and Story Claiming will take place in mid-July and stories are expected to be about 80% complete in order to qualify for Story Claiming. The minimum word counts we will accept are 8k for the Big Bang and 4k for the Little Bang. Authors that do not want to be paired with a fanworker do not need to turn in a rough draft, but need to let us know they’re going solo!
--All stories must be beta read. This is not an option! We suggest finding a beta sooner rather than later, and the
het_banghelp support comm and
HetBang Discord server will be great places to start seeking a beta. If you want to have more than one person beta read your story, that's fine, too!
--All stories must be posted to Ao3, to the
HetBang 2022 Collection! Stories can also be posted anywhere else the author chooses. The Ao3 Collection is where mods will be checking that stories have been posted!
--Stories cannot be posted before October 16th! Chaptered posting is allowed, and once it is October 16th, authors that wish to post chapters one at a time can start on October 16th, versus posting the complete work all on the same day. Authors have until their chosen posting date to have their work posted in its entirety. Posting guidelines will go live in late September, before the Date Claiming Period begins.
The Big Bang
--The minimum word count for the Big Bang is 10k. There is no maximum word limit, but please be aware of time constraints and obligations if you’ve chosen to be paired up with a fanworker. IE don’t try to write a 100k story and choose to be paired with a fanworker if you’re not certain you can finish it on time!
--Stories at least 10k in length can choose to be paired with a fanworker during the claiming process on the comm, and have an accompanying fanwork created for that story! Stories that are over 10k in length can opt out of receiving a fanwork, if the author does not want the pressure of working with a fanworker!
--Authors that choose to be paired with a fanworker have an obligation to finish that story, or face consequences for dropping out! If something major comes up, please do let us know and we will work it out. We won’t punish authors that contact us!
--Authors that choose to go solo are not obligated to post their story and are free to drop out at any point, even after posting has begun. Please just let us know you’re dropping out! Not letting the mods know you’re dropping out can be grounds for a 1 round ban.
The Little Bang
--The minimum word count for the Little Bang is 5k. There is no maximum word limit, but Big Bang stories are guaranteed an accompanying fanwork, while Little Bang stories can still go through the claiming process, an accompanying fanwork is not guaranteed.
--Little Bang summaries will be posted after Big Bang stories have all been claimed.
--Little Bang stories can be switched to the Big Bang, if they meet the word requirements when rough drafts are due. Contact mods if you wish to switch your story to the Big Bang path and the guarantee of a fanwork, this will not be done automatically for stories that reach the minimum word count!!!
--Authors that choose to be paired with a fanworker have an obligation to finish that story, or face consequences for dropping out! If something major comes up, please do let us know and we will work it out. We won’t punish authors that contact us!
--Authors that choose to go solo are not obligated to post their story and are free to drop out at any point, even after posting has begun. Please just let us know you’re dropping out! Not letting the mods know you’re dropping out can be grounds for a 1 round ban.
Fanworker and Fanwork Requirements
--The minimum amount of accompanying fanworks per eligible story is 1 piece. If you are a fanworker and choose to claim 3 stories, that means you will need to create 1 fanwork for each story, 3 total. Please do not take on more stories than you can handle!
--Fanworkers can claim as many stories as they are reasonably certain they can handle. Please do not take on 5 stories to create a fanwork for unless you are reasonably certain you can finish all 5 fanworks!
--Fanworkers that sign-up are not required to claim a story. Claims are a few months off from author sign-ups, and we understand that life can happen and you may not be able to claim a story as planned, this is totally fine! Just let us know that you’re dropping out and you’re good to go!
--All fanworks must be completed and posted by the end of the Amnesty Period. Please check the schedule for when this will be.
--Fanworks cannot be posted before October 16th! Posting guidelines will go live in late September, before the Date Claiming Period begins.
What are the minimum requirements for fanworks?
Each story a fanworker claims is required to have at least one accompanying fanwork of quality for each story they claim. If a fanworker decides to claim 3 stories, they will be required to create one accompanying fanwork for each story, so at minimum, 3 fanworks. Here are the suggested guidelines:
Traditional/Digital art: Cleaned lineart, on unlined paper, that is at least 500x500 pixels is the minimum. Additional sketchier/rougher pieces are welcomed so long as one piece of art is at the cleaned lineart stage!
Manips: Clean renders and non-blurry images that do not contain watermarks should be used for photo manipulation. Examples of the quality expected for this Bang can be found
right here on Fanlore.
Banners or Icons or Wallpaper: 5 icons, of at least 100x100 pixels. 3 banners. 1 wallpaper. More is of course always welcomed!
Picspam or Gifsets: At least 6 images, but more images, or multiple sets are welcome!
Vids: At least one minute long!
Fanmixes: At least 10 songs and include cover art (this can be a manip!).
Het Bang FAQs
Do I need a DreamWidth/LiveJournal/Tumblr/Ao3 account?
The only account that is required at this point is
Archive of Our Own. The reason for this is that all stories will be posted to the
Het Big Bang Ao3 Collection, rather than being posted to the DreamWidth/LiveJournal communities. The Ao3 Collection is where mods will be checking that stories have been posted! Stories can also be posted anywhere else the author chooses.
I have my own fanworker I work with, or I found a fanworker to work with, do I still have to go through claims?
First off, that’s great you’ve found a partner to work with! All you need to do is let us mods know that you’re already paired up and have your fanworker sign-up, if they haven’t already! You do not need to go through claims, Story Claiming is for authors that are still seeking a fanworker to work with.
Can I join this comm?
Absolutely! Feel free to join and watch the comm even if you aren't signing up!
What support communities are there for Het Big Bang?
We’ve got a few places to hang out!
het_banghelp is a community set up for members only. Every year, previous members are removed so that only this year’s participants have access. Once you sign-up, you can request to join again! Authors, fanworkers, betas, and cheerleaders are welcome and encouraged to join! This comm is for all your hand-holding, snippet sharing, and flailing. Writing and other events will be hosted on that comm, such as Snippet Days and Block Writing Events.
HetBang Discord Server is another choice if you like chat-style platforms. There are channels for sprinting and word wars, sharing snippets, asking for writing help, beta reader/cheerleader seeking, and offtopic channels for chatting! The Discord server is open to anyone that wants to chat and be supportive, whether you have signed up or not for the Het Big Bang.
What are check-ins?
Check-ins are a way to see how you’re doing on your work! Some of them are mandatory and some of them are not, so it’s important to keep track of which ones are mandatory! They’re also a great way to keep yourself on track and a time to talk about your work and let others know how you’re doing.
What is the Amnesty Period?
The Amnesty Period is a chance for participants that couldn't quite finish on time to have one last chance to post for the current Bang! If for any reason you cannot post on your chosen posting date, please get in contact with the mods ASAP!
I signed up last year, and then dropped out. Can I still sign up again?
Yes! If you let mods know you were dropping out before Story Claiming, or mods already said you would not be banned due to a circumstance that came up after Story Claiming, you’re free to join this round!
Can I drop out?
Yes! Sometimes life gets in the way or a story just doesn’t happen, and we understand that! However, there is a cutoff point, and if you do not let the mods know before this date, you can be banned from the next round. Even if it is after this cutoff date that you need to drop out please let us know so that we can discuss options. We can’t help if we don’t know there is a problem!
Can I sign up as an author AND a fanworker?
Absolutely!
Can I create fanworks for my own story?
Of course! Just send an email to thehetbigbang@gmail.com to let us know you're making your own fanwork!
What can I do if I have problems with my author/fanworker?
Contact the mods! Let us handle things as we understand that sometimes people just don’t get along. Abuse or rude behaviour toward any participant in the Bang will not be tolerated, especially for story/fanwork content. (It’s important for fanworkers to read all the warnings in a story summary, and for authors to list all warnings in their story summary!) Please just get in contact with us mods to resolve issues between participants, rather than disappearing.
Something Else?
If you have a question or concern that is not covered here, you can reach the mods at the
Page-A Mod Post. You can also contact the mods via email, thehetbigbang@gmail.com, or by messaging LuciferxDamien or JesterLady on the
HetBang Discord server. Please feel free to reach out, we’re here to help!