china_shop

Introduction

fan_flashworks

fan_flashworks

What nobody tells people who are beginners — and I really wish someone had told this to me... is that all of us who do creative work, we get into it because we have good taste. But there is this gap. For the first couple years you make stuff, and it’s just not that good. It’s trying to be good, it has potential, but it’s not. But your taste, the thing that got you into the game, is still killer. And your taste is why your work disappoints you. A lot of people never get past this phase. They quit. Most people I know who do interesting, creative work went through years of this. We know our work doesn’t have this special thing that we want it to have. We all go through this. And if you are just starting out or you are still in this phase, you gotta know it’s normal and the most important thing you can do is do a lot of work. Put yourself on a deadline so that every week you will finish one story. It is only by going through a volume of work that you will close that gap, and your work will be as good as your ambitions. And I took longer to figure out how to do this than anyone I’ve ever met. It’s gonna take a while. It’s normal to take a while. You’ve just gotta fight your way through. - Ira Glass

1. Have fun. Flail. Squee. Love. Be nice.
2. Draw, manip, write, vid, meta, bake, graph, poll or otherwise create your works to the current prompt within the challenge period.
3. Follow mods’ cues and requests.
4. Post your work to the comm (no fake cuts!) and do not post it anywhere else until we close the round. (Crossposting by linking back to the comm is totally cool though!)
5. Use cut tags, hide NSFW images, rate NC-17 content and include content notes (warnings, kinks, etc) when relevant.
6. Keep the file size of uncut images below 100kb. Use thumbnails where appropriate.
7. Post only completed works to the comm.
8. Don’t lock your posts.
9. Be proud of your achievements, be they creative or feedbacky.

Location

fan_flashworks

Schedule

General Community Rules

1. This community is made of win. (Yes, that is a fact.)


2. All members and non-members are encouraged to participate, have fun, squee and make creative works.


3. There are no sign ups.


4. Feedback is strongly encouraged! Tell people how much you enjoyed their work and hopefully they will make more of it! \o/


5. Be kind when you leave feedback. No exceptions.


6. If you have a concern regarding the rules, a member, a comment, a submission, etc. please get in touch with a mod.


7. If you have suggestions about the running of this comm, do not hesitate to voice them. We’re ready to listen to everyone’s ideas. Not all of them can be accepted, but it’s always awesome to have many to choose from.


8. Anonymous comments will be allowed unless the mods feel (for whatever reason) the need to screen them. If you do not have a Livejournal or Dreamwidth account but still want to play, please read the explanation here on how to do that.


9. OT posts are not allowed.


10. Any wank, bashing, hateful or derogatory comment will get you banned without notice.


11. Please read through all relevant guidelines before posting. Any post that says "Mods, you can delete this if it’s not allowed..." will be deleted automatically.

The Challenges

1. On the 1st, 10th and 20th days of each month (PST time), a mod will close the previous challenge and post a Challenge Announcement Post with a new prompt.


2. As soon as the Challenge Announcement Post is live, you can post a challenge entry.


3. The Challenge Announcement Post is the place for suggesting new prompts, squeeing and contacting mods. OT threads are allowed so long as you don’t have a hundred comment long conversation about your cat’s shedding problem. If that happens, a mod will step in and kindly steer you towards a good vet.


4. The Challenge Announcement Post is not the place for comment fanworks (e.g., comment fic). Challenge entries must be in separate posts, so it’s easy for us to find and index them.

Submissions and Posting

1. All challenge entries must relate to the prompt. However, you are encouraged to interpret the prompt in wildly creative ways. In fact, that’s what we’re hoping for. We want fanfic authors, fanartists, fanvidders, fanbakers, faneveryone to respond to the prompts however they see fit. If you can explain how you got from the prompt to your work in a way we can follow, we want you to submit it to the challenge. And we welcome all sorts of convoluted logic: so as long as it makes some kind of sense, it’ll probably be okay.


2. Fanworks can be gen, slash, het, femslash, threesomes, moresomes, or a mix of these.


3. Works can be for any fandom, large or small, and while the community is fandom-focused in the most part, original works are also welcome.


4. Submissions in all ratings are welcome. The default community settings say, “This journal should be viewed with discretion.” So we ask you to make sure you rate your NC-17 content. R or lower ratings don’t need to be specified as long as you keep the default age setting in your post. If you would prefer not to rate adult material, we would like your post to say “Not Rated” in the header info, before the cut.


5. All genres (crack, scifi, regency...) of fanwork are welcome, including kink and porn of all kinds. Please label kink as such. Crossovers are loved and cuddled.


6. All works submitted should be new, never before posted in a public place and specifically created for the challenge.


7. Sequels/prequels to previously posted works will be accepted as submissions only if they can stand alone as creative works.


8. You can combine challenges on this comm with other challenges as long as that complies with the rules of the other challenge. For example, you can use a fic you wrote for this comm for one of your bingo squares. Or use our current prompt to write a charity auction fic you owe someone.


9. All works should be posted to the community exclusively (either on Livejournal or Dreamwidth, but not both) and not anywhere else until the round is closed. (The only exception is hosting platforms for art, vids, podfic, etc.) You can, however, link from your journal or other communities to your post on this comm. Once the round is closed, you are free to post your work elsewhere.
   
   We understand that most people want to keep their work in one place (their own journal or website) but we are counting on this rule a) to draw more people to the comm, in the hopes that they’ll poke around, and maybe even stay and play and b) to ensure that all fanworks posted to the community will always stay accessible to everyone.


10. If, once the challenge has closed, you archive your work to archiveofourown.org (AO3), you can add your work to our fan_flashworks collection there.


11. All posts should be unlocked, no matter the rating. If you would like to make a member-locked post for some reason, please consult with the mods first.


12. Content notes include warnings, kinks and potential triggers. Warn for any text or imagery that might reasonably be considered disturbing for readers and never post that kind of content outside a cut. If you would prefer not to use warnings, we would like your post to state that you’re choosing not to warn for the content of your work. Do not warn for slash.


13. If your work requires special formatting that can’t be hosted on Livejournal or Dreamwidth, and you need advice about hosting, please contact the mods. They will help you find appropriate hosting space.


14. Always use the default font type and color in your posts. Fancy coding that looks good in the community will not look so fancy in other people’s reading pages or the community’s Livejournal feed. However, we do not mean to stifle anyone’s creativity. You can go nuts once you get to the part of your post that’s under the cut. Glitter text FTW! As long as it’s under the cut!


15. If you’re copy/pasting from MS Word or similar and accidentally carrying over its default font, then paste your text into the html tab of the posting box. That will remove all previous formatting. After that, you can go back to the Rich Text tab and format it to your liking. Or you can do your own formatting using the codes in the basic coding section of our guidelines.


16. One fanwork per post, please. If you have two unrelated works, post them one by one. However, if you have fanart to go with your fic (or two related pieces of any kind of fanwork), you can (should!) post them together.


17. Post your work in one post. Livejournal has a character limit of around 65,000. Dreamwidth’s is 300,000! So unless you write an epic, it’ll probably fit into one post. (Let us know if you did write an epic -- we'll figure it out!)


18. Try not to post more than one fanwork a day. If you have five ficlets written for the current challenge, spacing them out might be a good idea.


19. Your fanwork needs to be complete when you post it. You can, however, submit one part of an ongoing series, so long as that part can stand alone.


20. If you're looking for a beta for your fanwork, check out the comments on our Beta Hook-Up posts on Livejournal and Dreamwidth.


21. We encourage you to use our subject line template when you post:
    Fandom: Fanwork Type: Fanwork Title or Content

    Examples:
    Bandom: Fanvid: Never Without My Cake
    Hikaru no Go: Fanart: 17 Icons
    White Collar: Fanfic: Piece of Cake
    Supernatural: Podfic: The Last Slice of Hellcake
    
    For amnesty rounds, the subject line template includes the original challenge prompt:
    Challenge: Fandom: Fanwork Type: Fanwork Title or Content
    
    Examples:
    Self-Portrait: Stargate SG-1: Podfic: The Ghostly Galleon
    Five Things: Coffee Prince: Fanfic: Eat Your Words

22. Tagging will be done by the mods, so you don’t need to worry about that.


23. Always use a cut tag. You can post small thumbnail images (below 100kb) outside of a cut where appropriate, but all fanworks should be cut-tagged.


24. Fanworks created for or inspired by a previous submission to a challenge (such as illustrative artworks or a podfic of a fic written for a challenge) are always welcome, but must be relevant to the current prompt. (If your inspired fanwork doesn't fit the current round, save it for the next amnesty round. We’ll have amnesties every couple of months.)


25. Any kind of fanwork that meets the criteria above will be accepted to the challenge. Fanfiction, fanart, vids, podfics, fanmixes, picspams, rec sets, fancakes, graphs and charts, etc. We would say the sky is the limit, but we don’t believe it is. Go to the moon, guys. That's what we want out of this comm.


26. Read the guidelines for the type of fanwork you’re posting before you post it. If you’re unsure about something, feel free to contact the mods.

Fanfiction

1. There is no word limit for fanfiction.


2. WIPs are not allowed, because they are not very practical for a flash challenge community. If you think there will be more to your story, try making it a series. But please note that each part in a series must be able to stand on its own (up to a certain point, obviously).


3. Always spell-check your story before posting. We also encourage you to have someone beta-read for you. See the Beta Hook-Up posts on Livejournal and Dreamwidth for help finding a beta.


4. When you’re posting fic, we advise you to consider carefully before you use special formatting – even if it’s under the cut. People are always most comfortable reading with their own chosen default font. Overriding that might make them give your story a pass. Just something to keep in mind. See the general submission and posting guideslines for guidance on avoiding transferring formatting from MS Word or similar.


5. For browsing ease, we encourage you to include the following information in the header info of your fic posts: title, author, rating, content notes (ie, warnings, kinks, etc, if applicable), spoiler info, summary/excerpt, pairing, wordcount. You can use the template below, though it isn't mandatory as long as you get all the required information in there. Please keep author notes brief or put them behind a cut-tag.

   Title:
   Fandom:
   Rating:
   Length:
   Content notes:
   Author notes:
   Summary:
   
   <cut text="Story">
   
   STORY TEXT GOES HERE.
   
   </cut>

Fanart

1. All kinds of fanart are welcome; any media, type, etc. You can submit manips, wallpapers, banners, icons, lolpics, drawings, layouts, sculptures, cartoons... As long as it is fannish and has something to do with the current challenge, we want you to share it with us!


2. An icon post should have no less than 5 icons. They can, however, be different versions of the same icon.


3. Multifandom icon posts are allowed, but please remember the No Crossposting rule.


4. A picspam post should have no less than 5 pics, and may include annotations or captions.


5. Include alt text, for screenreaders and people with slow internet connections.


6. For browsing ease, we encourage you to include the following information in the header info of your fanart posts: title, fandom, rating, content notes (ie, warnings, kinks, spoilers, etc, if applicable), summary. You can use the template below, though it isn't mandatory as long as you get all the required information in there. Please keep artist notes brief or put them behind a cut-tag.

   Title:
   Fandom:
   Rating:
   Content notes:
   Artist notes:
   Summary:
   
   <cut text="Title">
   
   FANART GOES HERE
   
   </cut>



7. Please refer to the general submission and posting guidelines for detailed information on rating, content notes (warnings, kinks, etc), subject line, cut tags, and other posting requirements.

Fanvids

1. We realize that it’s hard for a fanvid to be relevant to the prompt in the way a fanfic or fanart can be, but we encourage you to try. If our prompt has inspired your vid, we’ll mostly just take your word for it.


2. Please embed your vids in your post. If you can’t embed, and you want to link to an off-site page, get mod approval before you post.


3. Do not set your vid to autoplay.


4. Warn for physical triggers (e.g. epilepsy or migraine: strobe lights, bright lights, "stuttery" cuts between 2-3 stills). You can state that you’re choosing not to warn, if necessary, but we do encourage warnings.


5. For browsing ease, we encourage you to include the following information in the header info of your vid posts: title, fandom, song, rating, length, content notes (ie, warnings, kinks, spoilers, etc, if applicable), summary. You can use the template below, though it isn't mandatory as long as you get all the required information in there. Please keep vidder notes brief or put them behind a cut-tag.

   Title:
   Fandom:
   Song:
   Rating:
   Length:
   Content notes:
   Vidder notes:
   Summary:
   
   <cut text="Embed">
   
   EMBEDDED VID GOES HERE.
   
   </cut>



6. Please refer to the general submission and posting guidelines for detailed information on rating, content notes, subject line, cut tags, and other posting requirements.

Podfic

1. Podfic can be of any length.


2. Please get author permission before you post a podfic. (Here is a list of authors who have given blanket permission.)


3. You can host the podfic audiofile anywhere that’s convenient for you, as long as it isn’t publicly available outside the comm until after the challenge is over.


4. Please let people know if the download link leads to a filesharing site (like Mediafire) or if it is a direct link to the file.


5. For browsing ease, we encourage you to include the following information in the header info of your podfic posts: title, fandom, reader's name, author's name, link to text version of story, rating, length and file size, content notes (ie, warnings, kinks, spoilers, etc, if applicable), summary. You can use the template below, though it isn't mandatory as long as you get all the required information in there. Please keep podficcer's notes brief or put them behind a cut-tag.

   Title:
   Fandom:
   Reader's name:
   Author's name:
   Link to text version of story:
   Rating:
   Length/file size:
   Content notes:
   Podficcer's notes:
   Summary:
   
   <a href="PODFIC URL"> (direct link)



6. Please refer to the general submission and posting guidelines for detailed information on rating, content notes, subject line, cut tags, and other posting requirements.

Fanmixes

1. If the challenge prompt is an emotion/feeling/genre, fanmixes could be pretty straightforward. But when the prompt is something like "cake", then what do you do? Well. That’s what makes this a challenge! \o/ Maybe you could use a story that fits the prompt, and prepare a mix around it.


2. Fanmixes should have no less than 5 songs.


3. For browsing ease, we encourage you to include the following information in the header info of your fanmix posts: title, fandom, content notes (ie, warnings, kinks, spoilers, etc, if applicable), summary. You can use the template below, though it isn't mandatory as long as you get all the required information in there. Please keep fanmixer notes brief or put them behind a cut-tag.

   Title:
   Fandom:
   Content notes:
   Fanmixer notes:
   Summary:
   
   <cut text="Title">
   
   FANMIX GOES HERE.
   
   </cut>



4. Please refer to the general submission and posting guidelines for detailed information on rating, content notes, subject line, cut tags, and other posting requirements.

Rec Sets

1. A rec set is a list of fanworks that you think relate to the current challenge prompt—and that you have enjoyed, obviously. Sets can be mixed; you can rec stories, vids and fanart in one set.


2. A rec set can have no less than 3 recs. The recs can be fanfic, fanart, fanvids, podfic, icons... any kind of fan-creation you can get your hands on.


3. All recced fanworks should be linked to. Please do not repost the fanwork to the community.


4. All links should lead to unlocked posts. Locked journal entries or websites where membership is required to view the content are not appropriate for recs.


5. The required information for recs is the same as the posting requirements of that type of work to the community. However, if the work you’re recommending has header info at the top of the page you’re linking to and that header info covers our posting requirements, then you don't need to repeat the info in your post. Just the title will do.


6. We encourage you to include with each rec why you enjoyed that fanwork and how it relates to the prompt.


7. How a rec relates to the prompt is open for interpretation. The prompt doesn’t have to be the main focus of the fanwork you're recommending.


8. For browsing ease, we encourage you to include the following information in the header info of your rec posts: title, fandom(s), summary. You can use the template below, though it isn't mandatory as long as you get all the required information in there. Please keep reccer's notes brief or put them behind a cut-tag.

   Title:
   Fandom(s):
   Reccer notes:
   Summary:
   
   <cut text="Title">
   
   REC SET GOES HERE.
   
   </cut>



9. Please refer to the general submission and posting guidelines for detailed information on rating, content notes, subject line, cut tags, and other posting requirements.

Meta

1. Any kind of non-fiction fannish writing that relates to the prompt of the month will be accepted for the challenge.


2. Meta submissions may involve picspams.


3. There is no word limit for meta submissions.


4. Please remember to spell-check your work before posting.


5. For browsing ease, we encourage you to include the following information in the header info of your meta posts: title, fandom, content notes (ie, warnings, kinks, spoilers, etc, if applicable), summary. You can use the template below, though it isn't mandatory as long as you get all the required information in there. Please keep author notes brief or put them behind a cut-tag.

   Title:
   Fandom:
   Content notes:
   Author notes:
   Summary:
   
   <cut text="Title">
   
   META GOES HERE.
   
   </cut>



6. Please refer to the general submission and posting guidelines for detailed information on rating, content notes, subject line, cut tags, and other posting requirements.

Fanlore Wiki Pages

1. New fanlore.org wiki pages or significant edits to existing fanlore pages qualify as fanworks for the purposes of this comm.


2. Edits to fanlore are the only exception to our no-crossposting rule.


3. There is no word limit for wiki pages/edits, but edits should contain new content, not just be correcting typos.


4. For browsing ease, we encourage you to include the following information in the header info of your posts to fan_flashworks about your fanlore page: fanlore page title, fandom (if relevant), content notes, summary. You can use the template below, though it isn't mandatory as long as you get all the required information in there. Please keep your editor notes brief or put them behind a cut-tag.

   Fanlore page title:
   Fandom (if relevant):
   Content notes:
   Editor notes:
   Summary:
   
   <a href="Fanlore page URL">Name of fanlore page goes here<a>



5. Please refer to the general submission and posting guidelines for detailed information on rating, content notes, subject line, and other posting requirements.

Other Fanworks

1. If you can make something that is fannish and fits the prompt, we welcome it, no matter how unusual. A tattoo design, a song, a poem, a bonsai, a bento! We want them all. \o/


2. If you’re not sure about whether your work qualifies or need advice on how to post, say, a knitting project, please don’t hesitate to contact the mods.

Late Submissions and Amnesty Rounds

1. Late submissions are not permitted.


2. Every two months, we’ll have an amnesty round. This is your chance to dust off works you couldn’t quite finish in time.


3. The subject line of a late submission should read as follows:
   Challenge: Fandom: Fanwork Type: Fanwork Title
   
   Examples:
   Self-Portrait: Fringe: Fanart: Whither Thou Goest

Name Tags and Achievement Badges

1. When you have posted entries for three consecutive challenges, you will earn a name tag ("by: yourusername"), which the mods will apply to all your previous and future entries.


2. As of May 20, 2012, we've introduced achievement badges to provide an incentive for people to participate.


3. When you think you've earned a badge, let us know, and we'll confirm that you have and congratulate you.


4. For more information about badges, see the Achievement Badges post.


5. Please feel free to suggest more badges. We'll add them in batches from time to time, and announce them in the next New Challenge post.


6. You do not have to work towards achievement badges to participate in the community. They're an optional extra.

People who aren’t on Livejournal or Dreamwidth

1. All posts in this community and the sister Livejournal community are public to provide easy access for non-journal users.


2. If you would like to join Dreamwidth for free, let us know. We can probably hook you up with an invite code. (Please note: Dreamwidth is currently open to new account creation without an invite code!) You can create a basic Livejournal account for free without an invite code.


3. If you would like to follow this community’s posts on your Livejournal friends list, you can add dw_fan_flashwks. To watch our Livejournal feed on your Dreamwidth reading page, subscribe to lj_fan_flashworks_feed.

Anonymous Posting

1. Anonymous comments are allowed in all posts unless the mods (for whatever reason) feel the need to screen them.


2. If you would like to submit your work anonymously to the challenge, you can email it as an attachment to fanflashworks at gmail dot com. Please specify in the SUBJECT of your email that you want your submission to appear anonymously on the community, and whether you have a preference for Dreamwidth or Livejournal.


3. If your submission complies with all the rules, the mods will post it to the community for you. If not, you will get an email explaining why your submission was denied. Please make sure we can reach you through the email address you used for your submission.

Basic Coding

<em>italics</em>

<b>bold</b>

<u>underlined</u>

<strike>strikethrough</strike>

<center> align center</center>

<a href="URL">Title</a>

Title

<user name="User Name">

china_shop

<user name="User Name" site="livejournal.com">

china_shop

<cut text="Title of Your Work">

Your content goes here.

</cut>

<blockquote> Your quote goes here.</blockquote>

(<a title="Skip this Warning" href="#skip.titleofstory">skip</a>) <span title="This is a warning that is also a spoiler. Highlight to read." style="color:#666;background-color:#666;">Your spoilers go here.</span><a name="skip.titleofstory"></a>

(skip) Your spoilers go here.

<img src="IMAGE URL" alt="DESCRIPTION">

Please include a description for screenreaders and people with slow internet connections.

jerakeen

kradamadness