Finish-a-thon

[kerravonsen]

Announcing... the finish-a-thon!
Remember all those poor, neglected plot bunnies that have been starving from lack of attention, because all those ficathons kept on having higher priority? The stories you wish you could finish, if only you could find the time? Well, fear not, the finish-a-thon is coming to the rescue!

The finish-a-thon is a ficathon, with all the ficathon-like things like deadlines and fellow volunteers to encourage you, but with this ficathon, you write your own ideas. But since part of the encouragement of a ficathon is writing things for other people, what we're going to do, is vote for which story ideas people should write.

The way it works is this:

1. Sign up here, with a comment.
   In your sign-up comment, list a short description all the plot bunnies, unfinished stories (apart from other ficathon stories) and vague ideas that you are putting up for voting on. Say what universe(s) it's in, a very brief description, and some idea of what rating and type (gen,het,slash) you think it will be, to give people a good idea of what they'd be voting for.
2. A poll is made, each "question" consists of the potential stories of one participant.
3. We vote for which story we want each person to finish. The winning story in each section is the one which that author has to work on.
4. Each writer works on their winning story, and finishes it by the deadline. They then put it up on the web somewhere, either in their journal, or on a website.
5. I will post a master-list of all the stories, so that people can find them.
6. Everyone rejoices!

Dates:

Sign-ups begin: today!
Sign-ups end: 25th November 2005
Poll is put up: 27th November 2005
Voting ends: 2nd December 2005
Stories finished: 28th January 2006

(that's 8 weeks to write in)

Note that these dates are Australian time, so basically take away a day for those in the US and UK.

Sign-up Template:

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Name:
Livejournal:
(new!) Voting Preference: participants only OR all interested parties

For each plot-bunny...

Fandom(s):
Description:
Type: het/gen/slash
Rating:

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Questions:

What do you mean, not other ficathon stories?

Unfinished stories from other ficathons already have a ficathon for them. This is the Home For Lost Plot-Bunnies (and unfinished stories) that don't have a ficathon of their own.

What if I want to use this story for fanfic100?

(or crossovers100 etc)

Well, this is supposed to be for stories not associated with other ficathonish things... but if it so happens that after you've written it, you find that it fits into your Big Table, well, those challenges aren't averse to using stories from other sources, are they?

Are there any restrictions? This isn't an anti-slash thing, is it?

No restrictions. They're your own ideas, hence, your responsibility. Just let people know, in the descriptions, what kind of story you think it will be, so that they can vote wisely.

What about sequels? Can I include bunnies for those?

Sure. Just give a link to where we can find the previous story or stories.

Is there a minumum number of bunnies required?

Yes. Three. We need something to vote on, after all.

Is there a maximum number of bunnies allowed?

Yes. Ten. Otherwise we'll never be able to decide. Just pick the bunnies you most want to write.

What if I don't finish my story?

Then post what you've managed to write so far, indicating that it isn't finished. Warts and all. No hiding. If you didn't finish... well, we don't want this to drag on, do we?
On the other hand, if it's only a day or two late, then do finish it first. Especially if all it needs is a beta, get it beta-read first.

What if I don't know what story to vote for?

Try. It is possible to not answer a poll question. But please do try to pick one story from everybody if you possibly can.

What about my own stories? Do I pick one of mine as well?

Nup. The point is to find out what other folks here wish you to write.

What if there's a tie in the votes? Which story would I write?

Toss a coin. If you can't toss a coin, I'll toss one for you -- just ask.

Is there a minimum length requirement?

Well, it seems a bit pointless to waste an 8-week ficathon on a drabble. But I don't want you to be sweating over length requirements. Stories have natural lengths; try to pick story ideas which would naturally fit into more than a drabble.

Is there a maximum length requirement?

No, but do remember you've only got 8 weeks.

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Edited To Add: IMPORTANT QUESTION!

Question: Who gets to vote on what I write?

Answer: when you sign up, say what you would prefer:
(a) other participants only
(b) all and sundry (that is, get your friends to vote so you get a better idea of what your peers want)
I will put a note as part of your poll entry as to what your preference is. If no preference is given, I will go with the default of "participants only" since that was how it was originally set up. I won't be able to enforce this, but we can hope that people will be considerate.

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Please pimp this everywhere. 8-)

Please note, the dates of this have been devised carefully to make sure that the writing period does not conflict with NaNoWriMo.

Comments

[izhilzha.livejournal.com]

Name: Sarah, izhilzha
Livejournal: izhilzha


Fandom(s): Lost/CSI
Description: "Private Ghosts." Sara Sidle was on Flight 815 when it crashed. "Sara-with-no-last-name huddled next to the fire, arms wrapped around her knees for warmth, and tried very hard not to believe in ghosts."
Type: gen
Rating: PG, probably

Fandom(s): Harry Potter/CSI
Description: The CSI team are witches/wizards, part of a new branch of the Aurors who are trained in dealing with magical trace elements, spell identification, etc. Now they’ve been assigned to investigate the scene of the battle in the department of Mysteries, to determine the exact charges against the captured Death Eaters, the culpability of any of the vigilantes who fought them, and to confirm or deny the presence of Sirius Black during the battle and his role in it.
Type: gen, though I reserve the right to hint at 'ships. Avatar fic, of a sort.
Rating: PG

Fandom(s): Firefly/The Sentinel/The Invisible Man (sorta)
Description: "Number Our Days." Blair wakes up on board Serenity. Where is he, what's going on, what secrets are his hosts/captors hiding from him--and most importantly, where's Jim?
Type: gen, with a possible side of het
Rating: PG-13.
NOTE: This is a three-part story--I'd be working on the first part, "Here, Today."

Fandom(s): The Sentinel (AU)
Description: "The Source of Forgiveness." An incident two years before robbed Jim of his mobility, and Blair of his life. In the midst of a life as paralyzed as his body, the Sentinel will be given one more chance to find healing. But with Blair not there to offer forgiveness, how can Jim forgive himself? [inspired by the second chapter of the Gospel of Mark]
Type: gen
Rating: PG

Fandom(s): The Invisible Man (2000 version)
Description: "That's a Great Idea!" Darien has a bad habit of prank-calling stuffy FBI Agent Jones when he's bored. It starts to seem paricularly bad when Darien and Hobbes fall into an ambush, and Jones may be the only one who can rescue them.
Type: gen
Rating: PG-13

Fandom(s): Firefly
Description: "The Nameless Seeker." Shepherd Book is telling a fairy tale to the children at Haven, the tale of a soldier who served dark forces, and then turned his back on them to seek out the name they had stolen from him long before.
Type: gen
Rating: PG

Fandom(s): Sandman/Alias
Description: Just before the opening of season three. Seven pivotal encounters between Alias characters and the Endless: Death and Will Tippin; Delirium and Nadia; Destruction and Lauren; Desire and Irina; Despair and Vaughn; Destiny and Sloane; Sydney and Dream.
Type: gen, I think
Rating: PG - PG-13

[fikgirl.livejournal.com]

Wow. Looks like you have a few good ones there ... I really like three of 'em a lot, so it's going to be a tough call . . .

[izhilzha.livejournal.com]

Really? I was sure that my random fandoms were going to make people either just pick whatever fandom they actually *know* or be like, "weird gen writer...." LOL.

But I like the weird ones best.

[(Anonymous)]

Well a) I'm a crossover junkie and b) I like and am familiar with 90% of the fandoms you've listed, I just don't write or read a lot of fic in them, and c) I'm a crossover junkie.

So that should give you some hint of which way my voting will lean ;->

[izhilzha.livejournal.com]

Oh, cool. Now I'm all curious as to which 10% you *don't* know about. :-)

And yay for crossovers. I tend to get ideas for those, but almost never actually get around to writing them, hence the number of xovers on this list.

[izhilzha.livejournal.com]

Just saw the added note.

"All and sundry" for me, please. I have fans (heh) and betas who won't be participating here, but might like a say.