All About Subrosa Tennis
If you've been debating signing up and the only thing keeping you from joining is the "What is subrosa_tennis?" question, read on!
subrosa_tennis is a blind-writing competition. The current mods are following the tradition of blind_go in the Hikaru no Go fandom by hosting three activities: blind-writing, guess-the-writer/id/comment prizes, and chats.
Why Do A Blind Challenge?
Why do authors sign up?
What Is A Blind Challenge?
A blind-writing challenge is not the same as a fic exchange! How it works:
What If I Don't Write?
Come and play--we always need more readers and guessers!
Where Can I Get More Information?
The sign-up post here contains information on how to sign up and guidelines for this round's submissions. Round Six Themes here. subrosa_lounge incorporates the more social aspects, such as the Subrosa Tennis Chats. Authors' Private Guessing Games, random statistics, and other things tend to land there, too. There is also a Frequently Asked Questions post, and if your question isn't answered, post it there (can be anon if you want) and we'll answer ASAP!
subrosa_tennis is a blind-writing competition. The current mods are following the tradition of blind_go in the Hikaru no Go fandom by hosting three activities: blind-writing, guess-the-writer/id/comment prizes, and chats.
Why Do A Blind Challenge?
Why do authors sign up?
- Some do it to see if they have an easily-recognisable writing voice.
- Some authors write for the challenge of hiding their voice.
- More established authors (those with a semi-established readership) do it to see if they can write a fic that stands out from the crowd without the benefit of a brand name.
- New authors/authors coming in from other fandoms do it to break into a new fandom.
- Some authors want a low-pressure challenge where even if they drop out from RL pressures or muse strikes, no one has to scramble for a pinch-hitter, no one is disappointed by not getting the fic they want, and the moderator won't go after them with a baseball bat.
- Some like snickering knowingly as they watch other people trying to guess their fics.
- Some enjoy the guessing games and the challenge of unmasking other people before they themselves are unmasked.
- Some just do it because they like the sense of community.
- Some do it for any combination of the above; some do it for all of the above.
What Is A Blind Challenge?
A blind-writing challenge is not the same as a fic exchange! How it works:
- Authors sign up to receive an ID.
- Using their ID (e.g.[ghost]), they then write and submit fics according to submission guidelines stated in the sign-up post before the deadline. Some authors attempt to win the theme contest; others may choose to ignore it. (It's okay, you can! You just won't be eligible for theme prizes.)
- Moderators post the fics by the posting deadline with no editing done to the fics. (We strongly encourage the use of betas. It's your fic and you want your readers to find you, right?)
- Readers (authors and non-authors alike) try and figure out who wrote what fic. Some authors talk about the fics in their blogs and toss red herrings around. Some authors hint broadly. Some authors host private guessing games either for their own fics or to hunt down a friend/rival.
- Guessers post a list of guesses to the guessing post before the guessing deadline. Not all fics need to be guessed--we take the highest number of correct responses, and only resort to percentages if there are ties (there haven't been yet).
- Moderators tally the guesses and post winners (including theme contests) as well as any interesting statistics (most-guessed, most-mysterious). If we have enough prizes, we may award second/third/etc place winners too.
What If I Don't Write?
Come and play--we always need more readers and guessers!
- You can participate in the guessing game even if you don't write.
- You can come to the subrosa_tennis chats (hosted by volunteers) and meet your favorite authors as well as throw bunnies at them to see if they bite. (All chats are free-form; there is never a set topic, and you can talk about anything!)
- You can encourage people by offering to do concrit (though we strongly suggest posting a sign-up post in subrosa_lounge so people sign up for this--some authors prefer not to get concrit).
- You can try for best-commenter prizes if they are being offered.
- You can check your favorite authors' blogs to see if they're running a guessing game of their own (or wait for the guessing-game consolidation post and stalk them there).
- You can offer a prize either for your own theme challenge or for the general prize pool (I will love you forever if you do).
- You can bring your friends so everyone else comes to read--rec your favorites so the authors write more fics!
Where Can I Get More Information?
The sign-up post here contains information on how to sign up and guidelines for this round's submissions. Round Six Themes here. subrosa_lounge incorporates the more social aspects, such as the Subrosa Tennis Chats. Authors' Private Guessing Games, random statistics, and other things tend to land there, too. There is also a Frequently Asked Questions post, and if your question isn't answered, post it there (can be anon if you want) and we'll answer ASAP!