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Hey, everyone! Hope you’re as excited about this as we are. Nominations open on 7 February, just a couple of weeks away.
Before we kick things off, here’s a quick summary of how the exchange will work. We’ll give more information on each step of the process later on.
Questions can be left in the comments or sent to fandom5kmod@gmail.com.
Tags for Matching:
Matching will be done by fandom, character/relationship, and (hopefully) genre. We’ll use the Character field in AO3 for individual characters (Character A), gen relationships (Character A & Character B), and ships (Character A/Character B). We’ll use the Additional tag(s) field for genre. More on how the genres work below!
Nominations: Select up to 4 fandoms and 4 character/relationship tags per fandom. Genre tags will not be open to nominations, though we are taking feedback on those now--see below.
Signups: Request a minimum of 4 fandoms, with at least 1 character/relationship tag and 3 genre tags per fandom. Offer a minimum of 5 fandoms, with at least 1 character/relationship tag and 3 genre tags per fandom.
Genre:
We’ll try to match based on genre, but if that results in an unmanageable number of initial pinch hits, we’ll just match on fandom and character/relationship. AO3’s matching functionality will still prioritize offers and requests that share genre tags, so hopefully most of you will be assigned to someone requesting a genre you offered, and if not, you’ll at least have a better idea of your recipient’s tastes.
Because we’re not guaranteeing a match based on your genre selections, you will not be required to write a fic in one of the requested genres, though you’re certainly encouraged to do so!
We’ve defined a list of fifteen genres that we hope are specific enough to give some sense of your tastes in fic without being so general as to be meaningless. We want a good range of options for individual characters, gen relationships, and ships.
This is one area where we’d like some feedback. Did we miss anything obvious? Do these need additional clarification? We’re hoping to keep the list near this size.
We discussed canon-divergence AUs but decided that genre doesn’t give a good sense of the “feel” of a story, since it could either be a fluffy fixit divergence or a horrific apocalypse scenario. Feel free to request those in your optional details!
Defaults and Mandatory Check-In:
This is important, so we’ll include reminders as these dates approach.
Midway through the writing period, we’ll have a no-fault default deadline. You may default without penalty up to 1 April. Defaulters after that date will be required to fulfill their assignment if they want to participate in the next round.
On 2 April, we’ll make a post here with comments screened, and you’ll have until 8 April to leave a comment confirming that you’re still committed to the exchange. After 8 April, anyone who has not checked in will be defaulted automatically.
Explanations and Feedback:
Most of these decisions were made because 5,000 words is a big commitment, and we’re guaranteeing a story of that length for everyone who fulfills their assignment. We want to keep initial pinch hits low and, in the event of defaults, give pinch hitters more options to choose from.
To do that, we could either increase the number of fandoms required or the number of character/relationship tags per fandom. We’ve decided to try a slightly higher number of fandoms but only require one character/relationship tag in each. We’ve also instituted the mandatory check-in period to give pinch hitters as much time as possible.
We’ll see how the first round works with these rules, and then we’ll consider changing things up for the next round based on how smoothly this goes and on your feedback. Keep an eye out for a feedback post after reveals!
Note that we’re still finalizing the list of genre tags, though, so please review that section and leave a comment if you have suggestions!
Before we kick things off, here’s a quick summary of how the exchange will work. We’ll give more information on each step of the process later on.
Questions can be left in the comments or sent to fandom5kmod@gmail.com.
Tags for Matching:
Matching will be done by fandom, character/relationship, and (hopefully) genre. We’ll use the Character field in AO3 for individual characters (Character A), gen relationships (Character A & Character B), and ships (Character A/Character B). We’ll use the Additional tag(s) field for genre. More on how the genres work below!
Nominations: Select up to 4 fandoms and 4 character/relationship tags per fandom. Genre tags will not be open to nominations, though we are taking feedback on those now--see below.
Signups: Request a minimum of 4 fandoms, with at least 1 character/relationship tag and 3 genre tags per fandom. Offer a minimum of 5 fandoms, with at least 1 character/relationship tag and 3 genre tags per fandom.
Genre:
We’ll try to match based on genre, but if that results in an unmanageable number of initial pinch hits, we’ll just match on fandom and character/relationship. AO3’s matching functionality will still prioritize offers and requests that share genre tags, so hopefully most of you will be assigned to someone requesting a genre you offered, and if not, you’ll at least have a better idea of your recipient’s tastes.
Because we’re not guaranteeing a match based on your genre selections, you will not be required to write a fic in one of the requested genres, though you’re certainly encouraged to do so!
We’ve defined a list of fifteen genres that we hope are specific enough to give some sense of your tastes in fic without being so general as to be meaningless. We want a good range of options for individual characters, gen relationships, and ships.
- Darkfic
- Angst
- Hurt/Comfort
- Fluff
- Getting Together
- Established Relationship
- Smut
- Canon-Style Plot (casefic, etc.)
- Worldbuilding
- Mundane/Modern AU (coffee shop, high school, etc.)
- Genre AU (historical, space opera, fantasy, etc.)
- Action/Adventure
- Interpersonal Drama
- Bildungsroman/Character Development
- Slice of Life
This is one area where we’d like some feedback. Did we miss anything obvious? Do these need additional clarification? We’re hoping to keep the list near this size.
We discussed canon-divergence AUs but decided that genre doesn’t give a good sense of the “feel” of a story, since it could either be a fluffy fixit divergence or a horrific apocalypse scenario. Feel free to request those in your optional details!
Defaults and Mandatory Check-In:
This is important, so we’ll include reminders as these dates approach.
Midway through the writing period, we’ll have a no-fault default deadline. You may default without penalty up to 1 April. Defaulters after that date will be required to fulfill their assignment if they want to participate in the next round.
On 2 April, we’ll make a post here with comments screened, and you’ll have until 8 April to leave a comment confirming that you’re still committed to the exchange. After 8 April, anyone who has not checked in will be defaulted automatically.
Explanations and Feedback:
Most of these decisions were made because 5,000 words is a big commitment, and we’re guaranteeing a story of that length for everyone who fulfills their assignment. We want to keep initial pinch hits low and, in the event of defaults, give pinch hitters more options to choose from.
To do that, we could either increase the number of fandoms required or the number of character/relationship tags per fandom. We’ve decided to try a slightly higher number of fandoms but only require one character/relationship tag in each. We’ve also instituted the mandatory check-in period to give pinch hitters as much time as possible.
We’ll see how the first round works with these rules, and then we’ll consider changing things up for the next round based on how smoothly this goes and on your feedback. Keep an eye out for a feedback post after reveals!
Note that we’re still finalizing the list of genre tags, though, so please review that section and leave a comment if you have suggestions!
Tags:
no subject
If we're trying to separate these from For-Want-of-a-Nail AUs and that sort of thing, "Twist" might not be direct enough, or might be interpreted as "a slight plot twist" instead of "in which everyone is an octopus"*. (This genre separation is unexpectedly challenging!)
*I'm sure that's not what you meant by "twist", but it would really make the Roman Republic interesting...