A Big Bang Writing/Art Challenge for the Thomas Sanders Fandom.
Posting in August!
Mods: @the-princey-pie, @thecrowslullaby, @polarisbees, and @prince-rowan-of-the-forest
Don’t worry, if you’re interested in being an artist, you can still sign up as a pinch hitter! We need extra artists on board in case anyone needs to drop out!
Hi, everybody! Were you interested in being an artist for the TSS Big Bang, but missed the signup? Well don’t fret- we still need pinch hitters! If we have any artists who need to drop out, we’ll need someone to take their place for that story-and that’s where the pinch hitters come in! If you’re interested, you can sign up here!
Sometimes life happens and artists have to drop. Pinchhitters are the angel artists who step in to create art for a writer's story when thei
Don’t know what the Big Bang is? You can check out our FAQ here! (Or here, for mobile users!)
Yes, a discord is necessary to participate as an artist in this event! The discord is used for all communication within the event, both with the mods and the assigned teams, so it's unfortunately impossible to join without having a discord.
Writer signups close at midnight PDT! If you want to participate, now is your last chance to get signed up!
We hope to see you there!
Sign-Ups for Artists for the Storytime Big Bang 2026!
The sign-up period for writers ends on the 15th of April.
Artist sign-ups close on th
Artists, your signup doesn’t close until May, but it’s never to early to hop in if you’re interested in signing up! And we can always use beta readers too!
Not sure what the Big Bang is? Check out the FAQ here! (Or here, for mobile users!)
Don’t forget, you have one week left to sign up as a writer for this year’s Big Bang! Artists, your signup doesn’t close until May, but it’s never to early to hop in if you’re interested in signing up! And we can always use beta readers too!
Not sure what the Big Bang is? Check out the FAQ here! (Or here, for mobile users!)
Ready to jump in and sign up? You can do so here!
Looking forward to seeing all the stories this year!
can you still beta read if you don't have a discord?
Not in an official capacity, unfortunately. Writers and Betas are not officially matched as part of the event, instead writers seek out betas via requests made on the server. So it's not possible to be an official beta reader without joining the server as you wont be able to access these requests.
However, if you have a friend who's planning to write for the event who you want to beta for, there's nothing in the rules that prohibits such an arrangement.
First writer check-in on April 30th has a 2k word requirement
Second writer check-in on May 18th has a 4k word requirement
incest, pedophilia and underage sex are not allowed. Please be aware that if your stories contain sensitive content, they’ll be harder for us to match to an artist
The Basics of the Bang
What is a Big Bang?
A Big Bang is a challenge that encourages writers to create long stories (15k minimum) within a certain time frame and artists to create works to pair with those stories. Basically, the fandom gets a lot of long stories and awesome art all at the same time! Every writer gets fanart, every artist gets inspiration, and everyone gets to enjoy the final product.
Is this Big Bang limited to a certain pairing, genre, or rating?
No. Most ships (except incest) and gen stories are welcome. Likewise, AUs, crossovers and fusions, all genres and all ratings are also welcome, including NSFW fic and art.
Only adults (18 or older) may work on M+ or unrated works. NSFW works must be clearly indicated as such so that no one ends up partnered with someone whose work will make them uncomfortable) So long as the primary focus of your story is Thomas Sanders and/or the Sanders Sides, you are good to go!
How do I sign up? Will there be an email or a message so that I’ll know that I’ve actually gotten through?
You can sign up via the Google Form linked at the bottom of the pinned post! It’s via google forms so you should receive a confirmation message on the site once you hit submit. We’ll also post a list of everyone who has signed up about a week before sign-ups close.
Roles
I am both a writer and an artist, would I be able to sign up for both or should I just sign up for the one I’m more interested in?
You can absolutely sign up for both if you think you can finish both! You can even sign up for more than one story as a writer if you think you can finish more than one.
Can I sign up as both an artist and a beta?
Absolutely! You can sign up for all three things if you think you can manage them!
I want to participate but am not a writer or an artist. What can I do?
Please consider signing up as a beta or offering to cheerlead creators you follow. Writers and artists need and appreciate all the support they can get!
Writing Requirements
What’s the minimum word count?
15,000 words.
This is a six-month challenge, from Feb 1st to August 1st, and you should use all the time available to you. So start writing as soon as you sign up, and make the most of all the time you have!
Writers must have a minimum of 2k words by April 30th. Writers must have at least 4k by the time they are matched with artists on May 18th.
Can I write more than one story?
You may, but please note that the deadlines and word counts hold for each story you submit.
Does my story have to be completed by the end of the Big Bang? Is it okay if I get past the 15k mark but by the time August rolls around it’s still going?
The story you upload in August should be complete on its own. You can definitely write a sequel and continue to explore the characters and the setting in future stories, but the one uploaded for the challenge should have a beginning, middle, and end and have its main plot threads resolved.
I’ve started a fic that I’d like to turn into a submission. Can I do that?
All works should be created specifically for this challenge. However, if you are working on a prequel/sequel piece to something you have already written, that is acceptable, as long as you link to the piece it comes before/after in your submission and it can be read and understood on its own.
That said, so long as you have not posted any of your fic, you may use it for the challenge (this means don’t post chapters or large portions on your tumblr/AO3/etc. until your posting date. You can use your usual feedback methods so long as it’s not open to people you’re not personally conversing with).
Can the work be chaptered, or does it necessarily have to be a very very long oneshot?
We strongly recommend you chapter your work, however you will not be disqualified if you prefer to keep it as a oneshot. Be sure to meet the word minimum and have the fic complete and posted in its entirety by your posting date.
Does the work need to be a 15k words chaptered story or can it be several short stories set in the same universe following a loose timeline? Or just oneshots unrelated to each other but with something in common for each one shot?
It should, if possible, be one story. Several snapshots from the same universe that have a unifying theme and follow a timeline would qualify under that—it’s all part of the same life story—but unrelated oneshots would not.
Does my story have to be beta read?
It’s highly encouraged, but not a necessity. However, there will be a list of betas you can ask to beta your fic and we will include any beta readers you are working with in your team channel on the event Discord server.
Art Requirements
I’m an artist, not a writer. How do I participate?
In May, artists will get to choose among anonymous summaries the writers submit. They will be posted about halfway through the challenge and artists will be given time to read through these and submit their top three choices. Once they have their assignment, they should work with their writer so that the finished product is something they both love.
Does the art for the project have to be digital or regular? And how massive of a piece is it?
The piece of art does not have to be digital or traditional - so long as you can get traditional art scanned, you can definitely use pencil/pens/markers/paint/etc.
As for how massive, you should expect to do one or more illustrations for the story you end up with. If you’re creating a large full color painting - either digital or traditional - you’d only really be expected to do one. If you’re going to create uncolored lineart, maybe two or three, etc.
The art should be commensurate with the level of effort the writer is putting into the event.
You’ll also be working with your writer directly, so you can coordinate with them once you’ve been assigned to each other to see what will work best for both of you!
What exactly do they make for the story? Can it be anything, like for example a comic of a scene in the story, or like a ‘cover art’ for the fic?
Basically, yes. You’ll work directly with your writer, as they’ll need to give you access to their rough draft and plans so you can gain inspiration, so the two of you can work together to see what would fit best and is most exciting for both of you. But you can do any of those things. A comic, cover art, a single scene illustration, chapter headings, character portraits, whatever most inspires you and moves you!
The artist sign-ups are for drawings, paintings, and likely more if you can make a convincing argument to us and your writer! Writers are also indicating if there’s any kind of art they don’t want to receive you can be certain the person you’re paired with is more than happy to get your type of art for their story!
Beta
Are beta readers assigned to writers, or would the writer have to reach out to them?
There will be a list of people who offered to beta with details of their preferences so you can contact them directly or ask for someone in the discord. If you’re having trouble finding someone, you can reach out to us and we’ll do our best to match you. However, we do want to avoid matching up everyone individually.
Do beta readers work exclusively with one writer or are they expected to beta multiple works if multiple writers reach out to them?
That’s up to the individual beta! If you wish to work with only one person, you can let us know once you have arranged things with them and we’ll take you off the list. If you wish to work with multiple people, you can do that, too. Just remember not to stretch yourself too thin!
Can we have our friends edit and look at our story if they are not a part of the Big Bang?
Absolutely! You can use any beta/editor/cheerleader you’d like. Just be sure the story itself isn’t up for general viewing until your posting date. But someone doesn’t have to sign up to be an event beta to help you edit. The beta sign-ups are to help writers who don’t already have someone to look over their work. It’s also a great way to make new friends :D
Communication and Check-ins
Communication: Discord and Tumblr
All announcements will be made on Discord first. We will cross post to Tumblr, but Discord is the place to be for the latest information. After you have signed up as a writer, artist, beta readers, or a pinch-hitter, you’ll get the link to the Discord.
We ask that all participants join the event Discord server.
What does check-in mean?
Since the sign-up period is quite long, there will be regular check-ins to be sure anyone who signed up way back on Feb 1st both still remembers signing up and is still interested in participating. This is a long challenge and people do move fandoms/have life things happen.
What if I’m not available/busy during a check-in?
With the exception of the minimum 2k word count in April and the 6k word count by the end of artist sign-ups, you don’t have to have a particular amount done by a check-in. It’s simply to let us know you’re still working on it. We’ll also create a post and send out messages/asks about a week before the check-in date as a reminder—both on tumblr and on discord - so as long as you’ll be able to shoot a quick “yes, I’ll be ready to post in August!”, you’re good!
You can also check in early, it’ll be done in the same manner as the sign up—via google forms that are posted about a week in advance of when the check-in is due.
Collaboration
What if there was an uneven number of participants like 40 artists signed up but 80 writers. What would happen then?
Initially there will be more writers signed up than artists but by the second check-in some of those writers will duck out (quack) which usually evens things out a bit.
That said, in some years, several artists have volunteered to create art for more than one story, and we will put out requests for more if it’s incredibly unbalanced. There will also be pinch hitters to jump in in case we need to replace an artist later into the event.
Alternatively, if we have many more artists than writers, multiple artists will be assigned to the same story. No matter what, every writer who finishes will receive art!
What’s a pinch hitter?
An angel. 😇
Someone who is willing to jump in to create something they otherwise wouldn’t have because someone else backed out. In a Secret Santa, these will usually be people willing to write a story if one of the participants doesn’t, for example. In this case, we will likely ask for people who would be willing to be ready to jump in as artists if a writer’s partner isn’t going to finish, or disappears, or something like that. Hopefully they won’t be needed, but their willingness to step up makes a challenge of any kind run much more smoothly!
How much should you share with your partner?
You’ll share your draft with your artist and your beta reader, but not with anyone else. You should be ready to show them everything you have once they get assigned to you, and to send them updates—that way they’ll be able to gain inspiration from all parts of the story. Many teams use Google Docs and Drive to make it easier to collaborate.
In May, we’ll post the summaries writers supply for the artists to choose among, but those should just be two or three paragraphs at most, basically what you’d read on the back of a book to get you to buy it.
Is a title required for the summaries that will get posted for the artists?
Nope! If you have one, it will be posted with the summary, but no worries if you don’t - and no worries if it changes between then and posting!
Posting
How will the works be posted?
There will be a schedule for the month of august for when which works will be posted so that all works are spread out and get the attention they deserve without overwhelming people. Works can be posted on AO3, on your own tumblr, or wherever you feel most comfortable. The work should be posted in full somewhere. If it’s on tumblr, just @ this blog on your post(s) so we can reblog it here, if it’s exclusively somewhere else just @ this blog on the post with the link.
Can you post all of your fic on one site, but post it at different dates for another? For example, could I post the whole thing on AO3, but then post daily chapters on Tumblr?
Sure! As long as the full fic is available online on your posting date and not before, you can post it in another place however you like!
As writers, are we allowed to post teasers of our stories on our blogs to let our followers know what we’re working on, or do we have to hold all the content until the very end?
So long as it’s just a teaser and doesn’t go up until after the summaries have been claimed and artists assigned, yes. Summary claiming is anonymous to be sure everyone’s story gets the same chance among all the artists so please don’t indicate which summaries is yours/what you’re working on in detail before that publicly.
What About AI?
This event is by Fanders for Fanders. The use of generative AI to create your stories or visual art defeats the purpose and is an attack against the very heart and soul of fan events.
Generative AI may not be used to create your submissions for this event.
We run a Discord server for artists and writers and beta readers to collaborate. Fanders are here for each other.
Chat.ai, chatgpt, Dali, CoPilot and all the rest are here to steal human ideas and make a buck.
Additionally, Google has updated their terms of service to permit them to scrape and use content added to Google Docs. We recommend writers use Ellipsus (https://ellipsus.com) for collaborating with beta readers and sharing outlines, character info, and drafts with artists. Their statement on (against) Generative AI is here (https://ellipsus.com/generative-ai). It’s short and well-worth a read.
Now that this event is over until next year, we're already starting to plan for next year, and this time that comes with us opening up applications to find a new mod for this event!
If you're interested in applying, check out the Google form:
Heya everyone! Thank you for clicking on the form link, we're excited that you're interested in becoming a mod!
We're looking for new mods f
And if you have any questions, please shoot us a message on the blog or open a ticket if you're on the event discord!
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