Main post for Zombie Apocalypse Round Robin Ficathon 2010
Remember this post? I hadn't forgotten or withdrawn my idea. I just haven't gotten around to typing it all up. ;) So here's the 'official' info post!
ZOMBIE APOCALYPSE MULTI-FANDOM ROUND ROBIN FICATHON 2010.
The main idea is just to have some fun, it doesn’t matter if you want to write that your characters are such scared nervous wrecks that they just end up bashing their heads against the nearest wall for the entire portion of your section, or that they use their brains and think rational ideas to help themselves (and the world?).
You can of course use and write about any and/or all characters that have been introduced thus far (not just your own two), so people near the end of the fic might have a lot more choices of potential storylines (depending on how murder!spree previous writers have been…)
Ficathon Schedule
Fri 12th Nov to Sunday 14th Nov (Australian EDT): Claims for characters open
Late Nov: Claims and order of writing finalised.
1st Dec: Round Robin begins
10th Dec: Round Robin ends. Or depending on how many are involved a few days later Round Robin ends. With 2 days time allotted for each individual, at the moment 5 people so 2x5=10 day’s duration.
Rules and FAQ Section.
General
What’s this about?
A multi-fandom based, round robin ficathon based around a zombie apocalypse. Each ‘round’ consists of 2 days (48 hours) for an individual to write a portion of the story so far. In their sections they can introduce two characters that they have previously claimed during the claim period.
How do I get involved?
Just submit a comment to the claims post during the character claiming period and we’re in business!
Which fandom can my character choices come from?
Any fiction fandom (preferably live action e.g. TV shows or films). Fandoms do not have to be sci-fi, though they can be.
Please note we aren’t accepting RPF (real person fandom’s) during this ficathon.
How do I contact you if I need to change my date of writing, need to pull out or ask you something else?
You can post a query to this FAQ post, PM me, or send an email to weird_fin@yahoo.com just make sure you put ‘Apocalypse Ficathon’ in the subject so I don’t ignore you!
And if your turn to write comes on a day that you CANNOT get even the minimum words down, you can contact me immediately and we’ll put the next person on the spotlight and move you to the bottom of the pile, you still should get your go unless the emergency is longer term than 2 days. :)
Can I promote or pimp this?
Sure, feel free to, but don’t go too crazy we want a manageable number; your own friends list might be enough promoting. We do want readers to share the fun too so they don’t have to be able to write they can just read and comment!
Rules and info for writers
What are the minimum requirements for me to complete during my turn?
Your fic must be minimum 900 words or more.
If you want to spend 30 hours writing 20,000 words by all means go ahead (do you have a job or go to school? Seriously, you’re insane!) but it can be exactly 900 words minimum. It can be humorous, boring, random, crazy, cracky, lovefest, or plain depressive. But please end at a suitable point for any writer to take over at, i.e. not in the middle of sex. You can of course have a ‘cliff hanger’ ending and make the next writer choose if a character dies or becomes a zombie! (Please note character death question below)
I noticed a character in chapter two and I found a really funny way to kill them off, can I?
If the character is not one of your claimed characters you must send an email/PM to me before you write the death in, and I will tell you if the ‘claimer’ of those characters agrees to the death(s). This forms another interactive dimension to this round robin which should be interesting!
Please note: There is no need to tell me the details of how you plan to kill the character(s), nor do you need to ask for consent if you’re only injuring the characters (and yes taking an arm off but having a doctor patch them up is classified as an ‘injury’ -hey it IS a Zombie fic! *grin*)
I want to use ‘this’ character how do I go about claiming them?
Check back here using the ‘apocalypse ficathon’ tag/s below on the 12th of November, read the rules for claiming and submit a claim.
Preview: Basically, you'll submit 3 characters in order of preference and get given two (hopefully those first two!).
Where will this story be set?
We don’t want to put writers at a disadvantage out there, and since this is an international ficathon not everyone understands the layout of Washington DC or London, UK. So we’ll be set on ‘Earth’ but everywhere we go to will be non-specific, so people don’t get caught up in finding out how long it takes to get to the closest border in their fic! Of course you can move your story to different places, but please keep it non-specific as possible i.e. “Next door to the school there was a large laboratory with lots of chemicals...but in the end they decided to go to the police station across the road.” Of course you can be more descriptive than that!
This way it’s less daunting for newer writers and we can have an almost endless opportunity for the environment! :)
What’s the style of storyline?
We’ve decided to go with Multi-storyline -where writers can choose if they want to join the group, but must include some form of link to the main group. Some examples below, you might be able to be creative and think of some other way that fits the requirements!
Basic: Next writer makes their characters meet the previously introduced characters and have adventure
Other: Next writer uses their characters for a separate storyline but at the end of fic meets the ‘main group of characters previously introduced, leaving it up to the next writer to do whatever they want.
Other: Next writer uses their two characters separately in separate storylines; one character might have adventure with previously introduced characters while the other ventures out solo.
Characters time:
I will be randomly assigning orders (for the most part one person isn’t here until near the end so that might be as random) and most people agreed on whatever. So don’t fret about where you are or how many characters you might have to ‘deal’ with. You can be as specific, detailed; vague or crazy (kill! KILL! EAT BRAINS! -come on someone better do it. You know you want to. Chomp down on a lovely arm while swimming?) as you want.
Can I post my fan fiction contribution anywhere other than to this round robin?
Yes, but please wait for your fic to go up first as part of this round robin, and make a note wherever you post your fic that it was written for this Multi-Fandom Round Robin Apocalypse Ficathon and please provide a link to this post in your header, so anyone interested can come here to read the whole ficathon story! :)
How do I submit my section of the story?
Send it to weird_fin@yahoo.com please make sure to provide any relevant header information- warnings, ratings etc.
It is a Zombie ficathon so we DO expect gore but not everyone is comfortable with writing it so you might have a lower rating. Put your LJ name as the email’s subject, and Apocalypse Ficathon Chapter.
Most of all this is for some crazy interactive fun so please try your best to keep it that way! :D
Edited: 11/11