Welcome to the first Dimension 20 Cake Picnic Party! Join a group of fellow writers having a picnic on the hill—cake and refreshments appreciated!
Relevant information below!
WHAT IS IT?
A cake party! You ever heard the age-old phrase “two cakes” in regards to fanfic? This is a way to celebrate how hard writing fanfic really is, while still fostering the community of fanfic writers and support.
SO WHAT IS IT REALLY?
A three month event that concludes with a cake party on a cliffside!
WHAT’S THE GOAL?
To create a sense of community that comes from writing longer fics. The minimum word count is 10k to bring a cake, but there are other things you can do to help the party if writing that much isn’t your jam—and everyone is invited regardless!
HOW DOES IT WORK?
Starting on at the beginning of the event, you will have three months to write a 10k+ fic. You can start with an outline and help bring refreshments if you’d like, or you can jump straight into writing the fic itself. There are different levels and tiers depending on if you split it into chapters or just do a one shot, and there is a separate tracker for total number of words written across the event that will help specify the essentials if you’d like to help dress the picnic up more.
SPECIAL NOTE: If you are someone who writes, then deletes and rewrites things as well, fear not! The total number of words written will not decrease—you put the time and effort in, and even if you don’t use the words they still helped you make progress. It may be easier to track how many words you write per day if this is the case, but if not, let a mod know and they can keep track for you!
WHAT KIND OF CAKE?
Cake flavors are dependent on what kind of fic you write. Once the piece is finished, mods will determine and assign a flavor to the fic and at the end of the three months, there will be a menu provided!
WHAT IF I WRITE MULTIPLE 10K FICS? WILL I WIN?
There are no winners or losers! Everyone is invited to the party, whether you’re just here to bring chips (comment), assist with the baking of cakes (beta reading/constructive criticism), bring loads of cakes (write multiple fics), or just bring one involved fic (multi-layer cake and/or tiered cake). The idea is not to race to the finish line, or to never finish at all—what we want is to create a community of people putting extended time into fic ideas, with the intention of making sure they’re appreciated and engaged with.
WHY A CAKE PARTY?
Because every fic is a treat!
WHAT IF I HAVE DIETARY RESTRICTIONS?
The menu will denote specific allergies and ingredients (characters and tags). You will absolutely still be welcome! And we will make sure to provide things everyone can enjoy a taste of.
WHAT IF I START SOMETHING AND DECIDE NOT TO FINISH IT?
Not a problem! Just let a mod know—any amount of effort to the event, even if unused, will count towards the party total. And you’ll still be invited and welcomed!
WHAT IF I HATE CAKE?
That’s okay—not everyone likes the same things. If you prefer drabbles or shorter fics, the mods have plenty of recommendations for collections, and you’re still invited to the party.
WHAT IF MY QUESTION ISN’T LISTED HERE?
Reach out to a mod and feel free to ask!
Want to bring a particular kind of cake? There are certain types of cakes that have been assigned to different genres/tropes found commonly in fics—they will be determined and listed in the menu at the end of the event.
you had rage you didn’t know how to control. you had gotten punched earlier in the day, by some guy with a lot of bravado who ended up in detention with you. you’d been told for the second time that day that your rage needed to be controlled and that violence is never the answer, except maybe it was, because these corn cuties were taking down your whole group of misfits one by one, and it seems like the world was working against you in cosmic ways you didn’t understand. (surely it was an accident. surely you were meant to succeed. right?)
you were fourteen. you were attacked by a corn gremlin, and you laid on the floor as the rest of the detention members also went down.
you were fourteen. you were the first one to die.
you didn’t die alone. you went to orc heaven—your own hell—alone, but you were brought back, and the same kid from earlier who told you violence was never the answer looked at you with disillusioned eyes and confusion. it was your first day.
you were fourteen. it was your first day, and you died.
…
you’re seventeen now.
you’ve got a house that’s a boat that’s not as cool as the van that’s a boat and you’re steering it through a storm that wants you down and a crew of dragons that wants you dead.
you’re not alone. there’s a pilot kid, but he doesn’t matter. there’s the werewolf turned guidance counselor turned best adoptive father to like, half of your party, but he doesn’t matter.
there’s a saint. she matters.
do you remember when we died?
she’s a force to contend with, a godless cleric, the saint of the goddess of mystery, the chosen one of another goddess.
she was fourteen, and it was her first day of school. you didn’t know her then, but you know her now.
i shouldn’t be up here! she cries, blood dripping from her mouth, but she’s got a manic look in her eye.
do you remember when we died?
it might happen again.
..
you were fourteen. she was the first person who showed you kindness. and hours later, you died together.
you’re seventeen. together, you’re heroes.
her clone is pregnant. may cassandra help you all.
