2017/2018 Rules, FAQ, and Welcome!
Hiya folks! Welcome to the 2017/2018 round of the Glimmer of Hob fest! You may remember Sugoi Deer of last year. Well, I’m rebranding, and for the second Hobi fic fest, there’s a new name and a new format!
Instead of involving Livejournal at all, everything for the fest will be centered around Twitter/Tumblr and AO3. Prompts will be submitted via Google spreadsheet rather than in the comments of a Livejournal post. In addition, fics will be submitted via AO3 directly. Hopefully, this change will make everything more convenient for everyone involved!
Now that the change announcements are out of the way, time for some information about the fest for people just joining this year and those who need a refresher course!
Do not write a small novel as your prompt. Prompts should be succinct and open enough to give the writer room to play around. However, prompts also shouldn’t be so sparse that the writer has nothing to work with.
BAD PROMPT EXAMPLE: Hoseok and Yoongi are rutabaga farmers in the 1920s. They’re neighbors and occasionally competition with one another until a drought happens. They’re left with no choice but to join forces for survival. Yoongi moves in with Hoseok and one night during a storm that finally comes, they wind up making out. Things are awkward from there for a while until eventually they talk about what happened. They decide they’d like it to keep happening. They live together as partners in both business and romance until A comes along and threatens to buy out Hoseok’s farm and disrupt their entire way of life. The fic ends with Hoseok and Yoongi still living together and still farming and everyone is happy. (Way way too specific.)
BAD PROMPT EXAMPLE: Jimin and Hoseok are neighbors and smut happens. (Way way too vague.)
GOOD PROMPT EXAMPLE: To say Hoseok is an overachiever would be an understatement. He’s got this compulsive need to be number one in everything. So when Seokjin comes along and starts to take Hoseok’s glory at work, delegating him to number two spot, Hoseok sets a plan in motion to get back on top--and it might involve getting on top of Seokjin. (Just enough info for writers to work with without stifling their creativity.)
List your dos and don’ts very carefully. Don’t expect a writer to read your mind and know you want lots of hand-holding if you don’t specify that in your do section. If you know you wouldn’t want to read mpreg, specify that you don’t want mpreg. Not keen on angst? Specify no angst.
Don’t panic. This fest is meant to be fun, not stressful. If at any point you feel you can’t continue, let me know. It’s totally okay and because this is a fest and not an exchange, no one will even know unless they hear it from you!
There is a zero-tolerance policy regarding plagiarism. This includes works by the same author previously published elsewhere. This fest requires brand new original work. Any works found to be plagiarized will be removed and the offending party will be banned from future participation.
Follow prompts to the best of your abilities but especially follow the prompter’s “don’t” list. For instance, if your chosen prompt specifies no smut, do not add smut. Submissions that do not follow this will be removed.
Your minimum word count for this fest is 2000. No less, but certainly more if your mojo allows.
Do not use stage names as primary name. For example, if you claim a fic in which Hoseok’s an underground rapper, you’re free to use J-Hope as his stage name. Do not use J-Hope as his actual name throughout the entire fic.
If your fic contains sensitive material, make use of the trigger warnings properly. For instance, if there is a scene that involves dubious consent, put that loud and clear in the warnings. If there’s talk of rape in a character’s past, write it in your warnings. If a scene involves drug or alcohol use, say so. I will remove fics from the collection and ban authors who do not tag sensitive material well.
Do NOT publicly reveal which fic is yours before official reveals are made. You’re free to let beta readers or friends in on what you’re working on as long as they don’t spill the beans publicly, either. Writers found in violation may be banned from future participation.
Do NOT post your work elsewhere, in whole or part, before reveals are made. You’re free to post your work wherever you want beginning 2/19 however!
What is a fic fest? A fic fest is an event in which people submit prompts, writers choose prompts, and the end result is a lot of brand spankin’ new work to read!
How is this different from an exchange? With a fic exchange, you’re assigned a specific recipient and you must write prompts according to what that recipient wishes to receive. A fic fest offers a little more freedom - prompters don’t have to write, and writers don’t have to prompt. But you’re more than welcome to do both!
Can I submit more than one prompt? Absolutely! In fact, please do. The more prompts we have, the more options our writers will have. And, with any luck, more options means more participants. Hooray!
Can I claim more than one prompt? Short answer - no. Long answer - no, unless you submit your initial fic early and can definitely handle churning out a second. Should you fail to complete your second fic, though, you run the risk of not being able to participate in future fests.
Does it have to be a romantic ship? Can I request platonic ships? Yes, platonic ships are more than welcome! Your prompts don’t have to have a romantic slant to them. They don’t have to have smut if you don’t want smut. There doesn’t even have to be a pairing involved at all! The only requirement is that the fic’s main focus is Hoseok.
Can I request/write asexual/demisexual/genderfluid/transgender/etc. characters? You sure can! This fest welcomes all such interpretations as long as they’re handled in a respectful way.
Can I include other idols/actors? Sure! Crossovers are welcome. But please make sure the main focus is Hoseok.
Can I request OT3/4/+? You sure can! Just make sure you specify it in your prompt.
How will prompting work? Starting 6/30, you will be able to submit prompts to a spreadsheet. You may submit as many prompts as you’d like, but only one prompt per line in the spreadsheet.
How will claiming work? Starting 8/4, a google form will be available for you to submit your prompt requests. Your job as writer is to peruse the prompt sheet, pick out three (3) prompts that you’d like to work on, and submit them. You will be required to list your prompt choices in order from your most-desired choice, first backup, and second backup. You’ll then receive confirmation within 72 hours about which prompt you were assigned. For instance, if you select prompts 4, 2, and 1 as your top choices, but 4 was taken by another writer earlier on, you will be assigned prompt 2 instead. If 4 and 2 are taken, you will receive prompt 1. If all three are taken, I will notify you so that you can make three other choices. The spreadsheet will be kept as current as possible to minimize attempts at claiming already-claimed prompts.
6/30/17 - Prompt submission begins
7/31/17 - Prompt submission ends
8/4/17 - Prompt claiming begins
8/18/17 - Prompt claiming ends
10/27/17 - First check-in
12/29/17 - Last day to drop out of the fest
Got any questions that aren’t answered here? Want some clarification about a point? Please don’t hesitate to contact me! You can either send an ask on this here tumblr, @ the fest on Twitter (@glimmerofhob there, too!), or email me at [email protected]. Thanks for your interest, and please spread the word so we can celebrate Hobi’s birthday with a bang!
