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vldtropesfest-blog · 7 years

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Fest FAQ

What's a fest? What are tropes?

A fest is a fun fandom event where writers and artists sign up to create a new work based on the theme of the fest. This fest is all about popular fandom and writing tropes (or better known as cliches). We challenge participants to create a fresh new spin on a time-honored trope, whether they are subverting their trope assignment and turning it on its head or just creating a fun new work featuring their assigned trope! Participants are encouraged to interpret these tropes however they would like. The trope assigned to the creator needs to be the main trope featured in the fic or art, but tropes can sometimes bleed into each other, and we realize that more than one might subtly make an appearance. Just keep this in mind: the main trope in the fic/art is the plot device that keeps the story going, brings two characters of a ship together, or is the main issue the character(s) face.

So it's like an exchange? What's the deal with the anonymous part?

Yes, although this fest does not have exchange gifts/giftees involved. Participants who sign up will be assigned a trope from the list provided and will create a piece to be posted anonymously during the duration of the fest. While this is not a gift exchange, this is still an event and the final work should be completely unknown for the duration of the fest posting schedule. All participants will be revealed at the end of the fest with a big masterlist full of all of the creators! For more information on this, please visit the post about our AO3 Fest Collection!

Who can sign up?

@vldtropesfest is open to ALL authors, artists, ships, characters, content, and ratings! We welcome veteran creators as well as those who are newer to writing/drawing who would like to participate in a fun fandom event.

How do I sign up?

Writer and artist sign up posts will open up on September 25, 2017 and will remain open until October 2, 2017. There will be two separate posts for writers and artists. Sign ups will be on a first come, first served basis, and we will have a writer participant cap of 50 participants. There will be no cap on artist participants. Pinch hitters and beta readers will also be welcomed to sign up at a later date. Proxy sign-ups and 24 hour placeholder sign-ups will be accepted.

If sign ups are on Dreamwidth, does that mean I need a Dreamwidth account?

Nope, not at all! Anonymous comments will be turned on when the sign up posts go live, so anyone who wants to sign up will be able to comment. Dreamwidth accounts are free if you would like to have one to make commenting slightly easier on yourself, but we do not require participants to have a DW account. We will also be accepting sign ups sent to our fest email, [email protected] once the sign ups go live.

Can I sign up to do art and fic?

Go for it! We love your enthusiasm! Be sure to submit separate sign up forms on the writer and artist sign up posts. We recommending signing up on the writer sign ups first, since there is a cap for writer participants.

Can I sign up with a partner to collaborate with?

Absolutely! Writing partners, artist-writer collaboration teams, and RP groups are more than welcome to sign up together! We just ask that you only submit ONE sign up form filled in with information for each person participating in your group (ie: usernames, AO3 accounts, emails).

How will assignments work if there are a lot of participants?

No more than 3 authors/artists will be assigned to each trope (unless we end up with a ton of sign ups, and then we may allow more creators per trope).

What about different character/ship variety with the list of tropes available to choose from?

Because this fest is open to all ships, we will do our best to not have more than one of the same ship assigned to each trope. (ie: Secret Relationship assignments: 1 Klance fic, 1 Hidge art, 1 Shallura fic) In the event that we receive a large number of sign ups there may be some repeat ships, but we will try to keep that to a minimum for the sake of variety in the tropes represented.

How will check-ins work?

Check-ins will either be through a google form or a post with screened comments on our DW community where participants can let us know about their progress.

If any content and ratings are allowed, does that mean NSFW content/ratings are ok?

NSFW is welcomed! NSFW content for this fest will only be accepted if you are over the age of 18. Attempting to submit NSFW content if you are under the age of 18 will result in a ban from this fest as well as any future fests hosted by the mods. NSFW content must be tagged appropriately and contain any relevant warnings for squicks and/or triggers.

Are there any content restrictions?

No, we allow for any content in works submitted. The only requirement is that everything is tagged/warned for appropriately to ensure that readers who would like to avoid specific content are able to safely do so. We highly encourage all characters to be depicted as 18 or older if they are involved in sexual content, but will allow characters depicted as 17 or older with the stipulation that creators tag their work with the AO3 "underage" tag and any relevant warnings. If you’re unsure if something’s okay, feel free to ask!

What counts for a submission? Can I create anything I want?

Only Fic and Art submissions are eligible for tropes fest. We will not accept graphics/edits/playlists/moodboards/etc as a submission. We will only count traditional or digital art mediums for artists.

Is there a minimum requirement for fic/art submissions?

For fic: 1500 word minimum, no upper word count limit. For art: We ask for the equivalent effort level of the minimum word count for writers. This just means that we ask for artists to submit something more thought out than very rough sketches.

Can I submit a WIP, sequel/prequel, or something part of a series I've already started?

No. Works cannot be a WIP or part of a series, submissions must be a newly created stand alone work for the fest.

Do submissions need to be beta read?

Yes, all fic submissions must be beta read. We encourage writers to utilize the @vldbetareaders tumblr directory to find a beta. We will also have sign ups for beta readers. Artists are not required to have a beta, however we encourage you to have a friend look over your work anyway when it's still in the progress stages!

What if I can't think of anything to do for my submission?

We're going to have optional prompt claiming for participants that would like to work from a prompt. We'll be opening up the prompting post and will collect prompts throughout the weeks leading up to the fest. You do not need to sign up for the fest in order to leave a prompt, and you do not need to leave a prompt in order to sign up. Once sign ups are over and assignments are sent out, we will post a claiming post with a compilation of the prompts collected for participants to claim a prompt if they would like to. Prompt claiming will be on a first come, first served basis.

What if I need a little longer to work on my submission? What if I have to drop out?

We understand how life gets. It’s ok to request an extension, or even to drop out from the fest if you need to. We hope if you do need to drop out that you’ll come back for the next round! Extension requests will be granted on a case-by-case basis. Email the mods at [email protected] with the subject line "Extension Request; yourusername". When making your request, include your draft and a timeframe for how long you think you’ll need to complete it. If you think you’ll need an extension please let the mods know ASAP so that we can work out the posting schedule accordingly.

Can I share excerpts or sneak peeks of my WIP for my submission before the fest deadline like I can with Big Bangs and Zines?

No, don’t post your entry anywhere else on the Internet for the duration of the fest until after reveals, then you are free to post it wherever you’d like. We know you're going to be super excited to share your work with your friends + followers, but because this is an anonymous fest we ask that you do not share your work with anyone except your alpha/beta readers or your collaboration team until reveals.

How will submissions and posting work?

We will have two separate posts that will explain the submission and posting process closer to the deadline. To give a brief overview of both processes, participants will submit their filled out art/fic header (which we will provide in the submission post) in an email to [email protected] with the following subject line: "SUBMISSION; yourusername; your assigned trope" along with a link to their work already posted to the AO3 collection or with their attached art file. All submissions will be cross-posted to Tumblr and Dreamwidth with a fic/art header and a link to the work on AO3 or the art embedded in the post.

Got a question for something not answered?

Send an email to [email protected] with your question! Please do not PM the mod account on Tumblr or Dreamwidth, as mods will only be checking the email account for questions and we will not receive your question otherwise. This FAQ will be updated with more information in an effort to keep the blog feed free of extra clutter.

View this post on the vldtropesfest DW communities

#!mod post #!info post #!faq #!rules #vldtf2017

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