A Secret Santa project for rock band slash
These were the guidelines for the first annual(?) exchange. F.A.Q. subject to revision for next year...
Exchange Timetable (Winter 06/07 edition):
1. Tuesday, October 17, 2006: Pairing/fandom nominations opened
2. Tuesday, October 31, 2006: Pairing/fandom nomination deadline
3. Thursday, November 2, 2006: Participation sign-up opened
4. Thursday, November 9, 2006: Sign-up deadline
5. Friday, November 16, 2006: Story assignments mailed out (if not sooner)
6. Friday, December 29, 2006: Story submission deadline (11:59 PM EST)
7. Friday, January 5, 2007: All stories posted.
8. Friday, January 12, 2007: Authors revealed
(Why these dates? The posting will occur on Twelth Night, and this avoids
overlapping with yuletide and some of the other fic exchanges that
occur in December.)
How the Exchange will work
1. Pairing/fandom nominations
During these two weeks, nominations will be accepted for what pairings, in
what rock fandoms, will be eligible for the fiction exchange. This process serves
three purposes:
i. To limit the number of requestable pairings to those of genuine interest
ii. To allow the moderator to rule out any pairings that don't fit the particular
theme of this exchange
iii. To get folks thinking about what pairings from the nominations list they
might be willing or interested in writing.
An official post will be made on October 17 opening nominations. Participants
will be allowed to comment with up to 8 pairings they would like to see
eligible for the exchange. The requests should be made in the following format:
Band Name (Character A full name/Character B full name)
"Crossovers" will be allowed, and the format for requesting
them should be: Crossover (Character A full name, Band/Character B
full name, Band)
Individual artists are eligible as well, just list them under crossovers. For
example,
Crossover (Character A full name, Band/Character B) For instance, one
person's nomination list might look like:
The Beatles (John Lennon/Paul McCartney) The Beatles (John Lennon/George
Harrison) The Who (Pete Townshend/Roger Daltrey) Crossover (Pete Townshend, The
Who/Roger Waters, Pink Floyd) Foo Fighters (Dave Grohl/Taylor Hawkins) Crossover
(Mick Jagger, The Rolling Stones/David Bowie)
The moderator will respond to your comment either accepting or ruling out each
submitted pairing. Once a pairing has been submitted once in a comment for the
eligibility list, it does not need to be suggested again by any other
participant. If any of your suggestions are not accepted, you may submit a
request again, up to 8 accepted suggestions.
Nominations will end on October 31.
2. Participation sign-up
Official sign-ups for participation in the fic exchange will be opened on
November 2. A complete list of eligible pairings will be posted on that day. You
do not have to have participated in the nomination process to sign-up, and you
are not limited only to the pairings you nominated yourself. You are only limited
to the pairings on this list.
Sign-ups will be accepted as screened comments on the sign-up posting,
viewable only to the moderator. You must comment with all of the following
information in order to participate:
*Name/pseudonym *lj username *email contact address *requested pairings to
receive *pairings you are willing to write
You must request 3 or preferably 4 pairings you are interested in receiving.
They cannot all be from the same band. We want to make sure there are enough
possible matches available, and to accomplish this all participants must be
flexible in both their wants and their willingness to write.
You must be willing to write at least 4 pairings from the eligibility
list. You can, and are encouraged, to offer to write as many pairings as you
realistically think you know well enough to write. This will make the assignment
process easier. If you are willing to write ANY pairing in a particular pairing,
you can do so as well, just list
Band name (ANY) in your sign-up. This will count for however many
pairings had been nominated for that band. We still, however, strongly encourage
participants to offer to write in at least 2 different bands.
The mod will acknowledge receipt of your request and/or if any necessary
information is missing. Sign-ups must be received by November 9. This will give
the moderator enough time to make sure there are matches for everyone and work
out assignments. If by some chance no one is available to write the pairings you
requested, we may have to ask you to add more requests to what you are interested
in reading. Hopefully this will not be an issue. To increase your odds of a
better match, we suggest that your requests include at least one more common
pairing/fandom, and not all obscure or rarer ones. And get your friends and
writers in your favorite band fandoms to sign up!
3. Story assignments mailed out
Story assignments will be mailed out by Thursday, November 16. You will receive
your assignment via email.You will then have five weeks to write a story that
meets the requirements listed below. To preserve the "Secret Santa"
aspects of the exchange, please do not talk about the specifics of your
assignment publicly, such as in your livejournal or in comments here.
4. Story submission deadline
All submissions are due on or before December 29, 2006 by 11:59pm Eastern
Standard Time. Submissions must be received via email to
sidewinder72@earthlink.net. Please keep them in plain text (.txt) or rich text
(.rtf) format only. Email subject line should read "Secret Santa
Story" so that I can assure all stories are received and not filtered into
junk mail.
There will be no extensions. We must enforce this deadline so that, in case of
anyone defaulting and not submitting a story, we have time to attempt to get a
replacement story ready for the recipient now left without a gift.
5. Stories posted!
The archive of stories submitted will be opened on January 5, 2007, at a URL
given upon that date. You will be able to browse all stories by recipient name
and by fandom.
6. Authors revealed
On January 12, 2007, the names of the authors of each fic will be posted in this
LJ as well as in the archive.
WRITING REQUIREMENTS
What are the story requirements?
The story you write must be at least 1,000 words in length. Of
course, it can be longer than that as well. It cannot, however, simply be several
shorter unconnected pieces (for instance, ten 100-word drabbles would not be
acceptable.)
Your submission must contain the requested band fandom and pairing as the main
focus of the story. Other characters or bands can be included, but please try to
keep the primary storyline about the characters your recipient requested.
We also request that your story meet basic standards of English grammar,
punctuation, and spelling. We strongly recommend the use of a beta-reader or
editor to review your story before submitting it. The moderator will NOT
proofread or edit submitted stories for you, but may ask you to edit your
submission if it is not up to basic readability standards that we would like to
see for the exchange.
Does the story have to contain graphic sex?
No. Certainly you are welcome
to include erotic content, but it is not required. However, please don't submit
simply a "gen" story - there should still be a slash relationship
featured as this is a slash fiction exchange.
Can I request a story without
offering to write one?
No. This is an exchange process. If you want to receive a story, you have to
be willing and able to write one yourself.
Can I request femmeslash, or het?
Femmaslash (F/F), yes. Het (M/F) fiction? No. This is a slash (same-sex
relationship) fiction exchange only.
Can I write more than one story?
We may need "pinch hitters" willing to write more than one story if
any participants pull out or fail to submit a story on time. Just watch the
community for any requests for additional stories to see if your help is needed.
Can I request a specific storyline or idea, along with my pairing?
You may suggest certain things you'd like to read, but your author
will not be required to include anything beyond the specific band and
characters you requested. Suggestions can be placed in a "Dear Santa"
post that will be opened after assignments are given out.
Can I request that a story NOT include certain elements? I really don't like
stories that include X, Y, or Z.
If you have particular strong likes or dislikes (rape, deathfic, schmoop),
you may include them in your "Dear Santa" responses. We will encourage
authors to take these points into consideration, as certainly no one wants to
receive a gift that is more upsetting than pleasing.
GENERAL QUESTIONS & RULES
Who can participate in this fic exchange?
Due to the mature content to be expected in much of the fiction, this
exchange is for adults only. By signing up to participate, you are confirming
that you are 18 years of age or older.
What bands and artists are eligible for this fic exchange?
This exchange is for rock music bands and artists, both new and classic.
Basically, if it's an artist you'd hear classified in general as Classic Rock,
Modern Rock, Alternative Rock, Hard Rock, Indie Rock, Punk Rock or Heavy Metal,
then your suggestion will probably be accepted. Pop/dance/Top 40 artists will not
make the cut.
In other words, The Beatles? Yes. Backstreet Boys? No.
The moderator will have the final word on whether a nomination will be accepted,
though suggestions can be opened for discussion or debate during the nomination
process.
I signed up for the exchange, but I'm not going to be able to complete my
assignment.
If this is the case, please let the moderator know as soon as
possible. We will attempt to find a substitute writer to fulfill your
assignment, but the more time we have to do this, the better.
If you default, please be aware that you will not be allowed to participate in
the fic exchange if offered next year.
I hated the story I received!
Unfortunately, sometimes we receive a gift that we do not care for. Common
courtesy, however, dictates that in such situations the polite thing to do is
accept the gift graciously and leave the matter at that. Please do not flame or
trash the story you receive, even if it is not to your personal taste. If,
however, you genuinely feel like your gift did not meet your basic request or
satisfy the basic requirements of the exchange, you may discuss the matter with
the moderator.
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