Frequently Asked Questions
HORROR BINGO: FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
(Adapted from the FAQ at dark_bingo, with thanks and praise.)
What exactly do you mean by "horror"?
We have a post on the horror genre and horror writing here, to help clear that up.
What kind of work is accepted?
What isn't allowed?
I know that this is different to other bingos - but given that this is horror bingo, where the characters in the works have a tendency to be killed/tormented/otherwise traumatized…it isn't allowed. Writing stories about killing or hurting an actor/person who actually exists IRL is too much of a minefield. For a darker style of bingo that does accept RPF, try dark_bingo.
Why does my work have to be in English only? That sucks.
It's - unfortunately - the only language I speak! Which means that I can't communicate with members or moderate works unless the work/communication is in English. If any multilingual horror fans want to volunteer to be a mod, however, this could change - if this is the case, drop the mods a line.
What are the rules for fan/original mixes?
1. Mixes are a minimum of ten songs. They must be uploaded to mediafire, or another long term hosting site. Mixes must be in a zip/rar file.
2. The mix must include at least once piece of cover art, plus a track list with an explanation of how each song fits your horror prompt.
3. When posting to the comm, do not link directly to the download. Link to your own DW/LJ post with tracklisting and download links.
Serial Killers? Creepy Mirror Universes? Evil Stuffed Bunnies? I don't know if I can handle this.
If you find any of the prompts too triggering or creepy, that's okay! There's two avenues you can take to work around it:
Sure! However each story within the series must have a clear beginning and end. A single story in a series can't be used to fill more than one prompt - unless you're doing a bonus, of course.
Can I write, vid, etc. as part of a team?
You can sign up as a team but you cannot split the prompts between you. All fills in a bingo must be co-created if you sign up as a team.
Can I combine my horrorbingo fill with a fill from another challenge?
Sure, as long as:
Absolutely! As long as the fills are labeled for horrorbingo when posted, they will be accepted for bingo.
Do I have to post everything I've made for the bingo to the community?
Quite the contrary - you're only allowed to post your work to this community after you've achieved a bingo/extra combination, with the links to individual fills to the community (see: the posting template). If you try to post a single fill to this community, it will be rejected.
However! The mods are aware that you may lack a place to post your single fills, especially if you're part of a fandom without a fic community or you're writing original fic. For this purpose we have created a sister community, darkenedlibrary, where single fills can be posted. Head over there and read the posting guidelines, if that's something you'd like to do.
Do I even have to play the bingo? Can't I just have a card for prompting purposes?
You sure can! Specify in your sign-up whether you are competing in bingo or not - if you'd prefer not to, the mods will still give you a card to prompt you. You can post any stories resulting from your prompts to darkenedlibrary, if you're in need of an audience.
I dislike my card and want a new one, can I request it?
Are you competing in the bingo? If so, you need to make at least one bingo on your card before you can request a new one.
If you aren't competing in the bingo, you can request a new card at any time - but being given a second card without completing a bingo disqualifies you from the bingo round, so be really sure that you don't want to compete before you make that second request.
I've submitted a line bingo and now want to do a blackout on the same card, can I just fill the missing squares?
No, sorry. You'll have to write new stories for the squares you've used in the previous bingo. You can reuse the square however many times you like, but only if you fill it anew every time. If you do that we'll count points both for your previous bingo and your blackout.
I've completed a bingo but I don't want to ask for a new card, I want to continue playing with this one. Can I do this?
Sure! As long as you're making new fills for the previously used prompts.
Can I make a fill that covers several squares at once?
Unless you're doing extras, no. Even if your fill answers two or more prompts at once, you still can only use it to cover one square.
Can I use multiple fandoms in a bingo?
Sure! You can even use a combination of fanfic/original fic - or anything else you can think of. If you're unsure of what's allowed, just ask the mods.
Some of the prompts on the prompt list look suspiciously similar.
They are - the prompt list contains both broad prompts (brainwashing, apocalypse, virus) and specific prompts (zombie apocalypse, flesh-eating disease, "everyone is affected but me"). This is just…a strategy to whet your creativity in different ways? Sure.
What the hell does this prompt even mean?
Some of the prompts in the prompt list are linked to webpages that explain the prompt in detail - so if you don't understand the prompt, check out the prompt list first. If you still don't understand a prompt, just ask a mod - we'll be happy to talk it out with you.
Hey! The FAQ is over. but you didn't answer my question!
If you have a question that isn't in this FAQ (or the rules or scoring pages), just ask the mods. :)
(Adapted from the FAQ at dark_bingo, with thanks and praise.)
What exactly do you mean by "horror"?
We have a post on the horror genre and horror writing here, to help clear that up.
What kind of work is accepted?
- Any kind of creative work that you can think of. There are some examples on the scoring page - but if you don't see your preferred kind of creation there, contact the mods to tell us what you're doing and we'll usually be happy to include it.
- Any fandom, except real person fiction.
- Original content
- All ratings
- All pairings
- Crossovers/Fusions
- Original characters
- Etc. If you want to include something in the bingo, but aren't sure if it's allowed, just ask!
What isn't allowed?
- Real person fiction.
- Works in languages other than english.
- Works that have been posted elsewhere previously, either in-part or in full.
- Anything that is inappropriate enough that the mods think it might upset community members en-masse, or get the community shut down by LJ. Don't stress too much about this one - the mods have an extremely high tolerance for creepiness/squick, and you'd have to come up with some really, really high-octane nightmare fuel (of a ridiculously obscene/illegal nature) to get your work rejected. To put it another way: If Chuck Palahniuk wanted to post "Guts" here, we wouldn't object. We do reserve the right to reject any work we deem unsuitable without explanation or discussion, however.
I know that this is different to other bingos - but given that this is horror bingo, where the characters in the works have a tendency to be killed/tormented/otherwise traumatized…it isn't allowed. Writing stories about killing or hurting an actor/person who actually exists IRL is too much of a minefield. For a darker style of bingo that does accept RPF, try dark_bingo.
Why does my work have to be in English only? That sucks.
It's - unfortunately - the only language I speak! Which means that I can't communicate with members or moderate works unless the work/communication is in English. If any multilingual horror fans want to volunteer to be a mod, however, this could change - if this is the case, drop the mods a line.
What are the rules for fan/original mixes?
1. Mixes are a minimum of ten songs. They must be uploaded to mediafire, or another long term hosting site. Mixes must be in a zip/rar file.
2. The mix must include at least once piece of cover art, plus a track list with an explanation of how each song fits your horror prompt.
3. When posting to the comm, do not link directly to the download. Link to your own DW/LJ post with tracklisting and download links.
Serial Killers? Creepy Mirror Universes? Evil Stuffed Bunnies? I don't know if I can handle this.
If you find any of the prompts too triggering or creepy, that's okay! There's two avenues you can take to work around it:
- Everyone who signs up can veto up to 5 prompts from the prompt list. This doesn't even have to be prompts that trigger you - it can just be prompts that bore you, are too weird, you can't think of ideas for, etc.
- If you have specific triggers and need to veto more than 5 prompts, just drop the mods a line, and we will be happy to work with you to create a card that's safe and fun.
Sure! However each story within the series must have a clear beginning and end. A single story in a series can't be used to fill more than one prompt - unless you're doing a bonus, of course.
Can I write, vid, etc. as part of a team?
You can sign up as a team but you cannot split the prompts between you. All fills in a bingo must be co-created if you sign up as a team.
Can I combine my horrorbingo fill with a fill from another challenge?
Sure, as long as:
- It's a newly created work,
- It's clearly labeled as being for horrorbingo as well as the other challenge,
- And the mods of the other challenge have to be okay with it.
Absolutely! As long as the fills are labeled for horrorbingo when posted, they will be accepted for bingo.
Do I have to post everything I've made for the bingo to the community?
Quite the contrary - you're only allowed to post your work to this community after you've achieved a bingo/extra combination, with the links to individual fills to the community (see: the posting template). If you try to post a single fill to this community, it will be rejected.
However! The mods are aware that you may lack a place to post your single fills, especially if you're part of a fandom without a fic community or you're writing original fic. For this purpose we have created a sister community, darkenedlibrary, where single fills can be posted. Head over there and read the posting guidelines, if that's something you'd like to do.
Do I even have to play the bingo? Can't I just have a card for prompting purposes?
You sure can! Specify in your sign-up whether you are competing in bingo or not - if you'd prefer not to, the mods will still give you a card to prompt you. You can post any stories resulting from your prompts to darkenedlibrary, if you're in need of an audience.
I dislike my card and want a new one, can I request it?
Are you competing in the bingo? If so, you need to make at least one bingo on your card before you can request a new one.
If you aren't competing in the bingo, you can request a new card at any time - but being given a second card without completing a bingo disqualifies you from the bingo round, so be really sure that you don't want to compete before you make that second request.
I've submitted a line bingo and now want to do a blackout on the same card, can I just fill the missing squares?
No, sorry. You'll have to write new stories for the squares you've used in the previous bingo. You can reuse the square however many times you like, but only if you fill it anew every time. If you do that we'll count points both for your previous bingo and your blackout.
I've completed a bingo but I don't want to ask for a new card, I want to continue playing with this one. Can I do this?
Sure! As long as you're making new fills for the previously used prompts.
Can I make a fill that covers several squares at once?
Unless you're doing extras, no. Even if your fill answers two or more prompts at once, you still can only use it to cover one square.
Can I use multiple fandoms in a bingo?
Sure! You can even use a combination of fanfic/original fic - or anything else you can think of. If you're unsure of what's allowed, just ask the mods.
Some of the prompts on the prompt list look suspiciously similar.
They are - the prompt list contains both broad prompts (brainwashing, apocalypse, virus) and specific prompts (zombie apocalypse, flesh-eating disease, "everyone is affected but me"). This is just…a strategy to whet your creativity in different ways? Sure.
What the hell does this prompt even mean?
Some of the prompts in the prompt list are linked to webpages that explain the prompt in detail - so if you don't understand the prompt, check out the prompt list first. If you still don't understand a prompt, just ask a mod - we'll be happy to talk it out with you.
Hey! The FAQ is over. but you didn't answer my question!
If you have a question that isn't in this FAQ (or the rules or scoring pages), just ask the mods. :)