2008 Winter Festival
Complete Rules
Read all rules before signing up!
Drabble Trade ::
Writing Challenge :: Art Challenge
What is the Winter Festival?
It is a three-part festival: firstly, it is a trading of drabbles between writers;
secondly, it is a writing of fanfics by those who seek a challenge; and
thirdly, it is a display of winter themed art. In the participant
section, there is also a place to show off winter and holiday themed
stories and art from years past.
Do I need to be a member of Little Balrog to participate?
No, silly, Little Balrog's not just a yahoo group, it's a whole big
ol' site now (and already a year old to boot!) You just need to sign up
through this site and you can come and play (though, we'd love it if you
did join us in the
gutter).
How does the Drabble Trade work?
Each participant
fills out the request form. Once all forms have been received (the
deadline to sign up for the trade is Sunday, September 14th, 2008),
each participant will be assigned to write at least three
drabbles (between 100 and 2000 words each... we are being flexible on
the 'drabble' definition) for the person they have been given.
Participants will know who they are writing for, but they will not know
who is writing for them, until the release date (Wednesday, December
24th, 2008). All Drabble Trade stories
MUST be in by Friday, December 19th! This is so that
everything can be formatted for the site in time for the release.
Drabbles will be posted as they are received; that is, stories could
hypothetically start to be added as early as mid-September.
However, the writers CANNOT post the stories elsewhere until the
deadline, as that would reveal their name and ruin the 'secret Santa'
element of the swap.
This swap is open to all Middle-earth fanfic writers, regardless of
type of fiction requested (het, slash, or gen) or characters (Elves,
Men, Hobbits, Dwarves, etc). Every attempt will be made to pair up
assignments with what everyone requests to write about.
Anyone who signs up for the Drabble Trade and does not finish will be
placed on the Naughty List, spanked by Thranduil, and not be able to
participate for the next year. (Somehow that second part isn't
much of a punishment... we're working on that.)
Requests
All requests will be paired up with a writer as best as possible.
Every writer will try their best to fulfill the request they are given,
however, do remember, what you envision as the drabbles you want may not be
the drabbles you receive. On the other hand, if you are given a request
for a romantic tale of Legolas' love for Galadriel, it should be assumed
that you aren't going to turn around and write the angsty tale of Arwen
and Erestor. If you make a request, please be sure that you are willing
to return the favor and write a request for someone else. If you
are worried that you might not have the time to finish a story, but
still want to participate, please try the Writing Challenge or Art
Challenge instead.
Word Count
Your drabble entries must be between 100 and 2,000 words in length (a
true drabble is 100 words, but some people have a hard time stopping
there). Each person must submit at least three (3) drabbles (there
is no limit on how many total, but we suggest no more than five, because
we can only promise you will receive three in return). These word counts
are in place to ensure that everyone gets something that is generally the same length.
Format
Please submit your entries as either a Word Document (.doc) or Text
File (.txt) attachment. Copy and pasting into an email is NOT
allowed.
Please name your file with the name of the person you are writing
for,
followed by an underscore and the word 'trade'. (eg:
zhie_trade.doc or
zhie_trade.txt). If sending multiple files, each should be
numbered. (eg: zhie_trade1.doc and zhie_trade2.doc). Your entry
will be archived on this part of the Little Balrog site. (You do not need to be registered at Little Balrog to participate, but there are lots of fun and exciting things to do
at Little Balrog, so you might as well join in! Fun stuff like this happens
at Little Balrog all year long!)
DO NOT copy and paste the text into the body
of an email. That's another thing Thranduil will spank you for. Entries should be sent to
zhiester@gmail.com with the
subject of the email being "DRABBLE TRADE". They can also be
transferred to jubatus_rex using Yahoo! Instant Messenger. Please
include the following at the top of each drabble:
Title:
Author Name:
Contact Email:
Beta Name:
Main Characters:
Rating:
Genre(s):
Word Count:
Summary:
Original Request:
How does the Winter Writing Challenge work?
For those who are interested in writing a longer piece, or want to do
something in addition to the Drabble Trade, the Winter Writing Challenge
does not have a length limit. It also does not add the pressure of
writing for someone else, meaning, if something comes up and the
participant cannot finish the Winter Writing Challenge, no one will lose
out on not getting a story, as would happen with the Drabble Trade.
Those participating in the Winter Writing Challenge can sign up any
time between now and Friday, December 5, 2008, and will receive between
1 and 50 words or phrases (the choice on how many is up to the
participant) that they should use in their story. These words and
phrases will have a common winter or holiday theme. Challenge
elements will be sent out within three days of receiving the
participation form. The deadline for
stories is Friday, December 19th, 2008. Winter Writing
Challenge stories, unlike the drabbles, will NOT be posted ahead of time
and will all be released on Wednesday, December 24th, 2008.
Word Count
There is no word count for the Winter Writing Challenge.
Format
Please submit your entries as either a Word Document (.doc) or Text
File (.txt) attachment. Copy and pasting into an email is NOT
allowed.
Please name your file as the title, followed by an underscore and
winterchallenge. (eg: winterwonderland_winterchallenge.doc or
snowfollies_winterchallenge.txt). Your entry will be archived on
this part of the Little Balrog site. (You do not need to be registered at Little Balrog to participate, but there are lots of fun and exciting things to do
at Little Balrog, so you might as well join in! Fun stuff like this happens
at Little Balrog all year long!)
DO NOT copy and paste the text into the body
of an email. That's another thing Thranduil will spank you for. Entries should be sent to
zhiester@gmail.com with the
subject of the email being "WINTER WRITING CHALLENGE". They can also be
transferred to jubatus_rex using Yahoo! Instant Messenger. Please
include the following at the top of your story:
Title:
Author Name:
Contact Email:
Beta Name:
Main Characters:
Rating:
Genre(s):
Word Count:
Summary:
Challenge Elements:
How does the Winter Art Challenge work?
For those who are interested in creating a piece of art, the Winter
Art Challenge is for you. It also does not add the pressure of
creating something for someone else, meaning, if something comes up and
the participant cannot finish the Winter Art Challenge, no one will lose
out on not getting something, as would happen with the Drabble Trade.
Those participating in the Winter Art Challenge can sign up any time
between now and Friday, December 5, 2008, and will receive a set of
elements that they should use in their piece, which will be winter or
holiday themed. Challenge elements will be sent out within three
days of receiving the participation form.
The deadline for art is Friday, December 19th, 2008.
Winter Art Challenge pieces, unlike the drabbles, will NOT be posted
ahead of time and will all be released on Wednesday, December 24th,
2008.
What counts as art? If you create it and it's not the written
word, pretty much anything... creating a drawing, photo
manipulation, some icons, even toilet paper tube elves count.
Maybe your piece of toast looks like an image of Aragorn riding a
reindeer. If you say it's art, then we'll say it's art, too.
Adult Stories/Art
This swap is open to all ages, however, if requesting R or NC17 items
(or requesting to write/draw/create such), you agree that you are of 18
years of age or older. We cannot come to your house and check
this, so we are going on a policy of trust that if you are under 18, you
are not requesting or writing materials of a rating that you should not
be. If we find out you are, Thranduil will... give you a very
stern lecture on why you should not be doing that.
Limitations
No child pornography will be allowed. No stories with extreme
violence, rape, non-consensual sex, or bestiality are allowed.
This is a holiday swap, people! Snowflakes and sparkly things and
joy and happiness, and not stuff that isn't going to bring good cheer. Please
do not request any of these, and do not write any of these topics,
either. You will make baby giraffes cry if you do, and there's nothing
worse than a sobbing baby giraffe. Do you know how big those
puddles are?
Beta Readers
It is suggested that you have someone beta read your entries, but at
the very least, learn to love your spell checker and give it a once-over
before submitting.
And Finally...
Every attempt will be made to fill everyone's stocking with something
lovely this holiday season. In cases where the request can not be
filled, drabbles as close as possible to the original request will be
offered. The main thing is to have fun writing and to have fun reading
when the stories are posted.
Release Dates
All participants in the Drabble Trade must register by
Sunday,
September 14, 2008. This is
nearly a month earlier than the previous registration, in order to
alleviate the need for extensions. You will receive your assignment by
Wednesday,
September 17, 2008. If you drop out of the Drabble Trade, you will
end up on the naughty list.
All participants in the Winter Writing
Challenge must register by Friday, December 5, 2008. The
earlier you register, the more time you will have to work on your story.
If you drop out of the challenge, you will not end up on the naughty
list.
All participants in the Winter Art Challenge must register by Friday,
December 5, 2008. The earlier you register, the more time you will
have to work on your art. If you drop out of the challenge,
you will not end up on the naughty list.
All entries are due in by Friday, December 19th, 2008! Entries
may be turned in sooner than the last day, and it is encouraged that you
don't wait until the last minute to send your entry due to technical
errors that may occur. Entries will be available for viewing by
Wednesday, December 24, 2008.
Stories and art may not be released to other archives,
lists, or anywhere else online until December 25, 2008.
All stories and art must be new works, that is, this can't be a work you already
started prior to getting your assignment.
When filling out the form on the sign up page, use the subject line
of 'Haldir is Amazing' so that we know you actually read all this stuff
-- or at the very least, found your way to the bottom of the rules page.
