Fragments of Sappho 2007 Challenge-a-thon

Welcome to "Fragments of Sappho 2007" challenge-a-thon, brought to you by ShatterStorm Productions.

Basically, this challenge-a-thon came about in 2006 because ariestess and shatterpath got talking about femslash and lesbian poetry, and they decided they wanted to do a ficathon/challenge of some sort involving Sappho's poetry fragments and femslash. Hence, "Fragments of Sappho" was born. And it was so enjoyable and popular, they decided to do it again.

The gist of the FoS is to use Sappho's poetry fragments as inspiration for a femslash story. It's similar to other poetry and/or lyric challenges in that respect. It also involves the idea of fandom/pairing requests, as well. Essentially, each writer will be choose a fandom/pairing prompt from the list of requests sent in, and have approximately 5 weeks to write a story based on that fandom/pairing request and a poem fragment assigned by us.

This challenge-a-thon is open to anyone and everyone who writes femslash, unless they've defaulted on a ShatterStorm Productions challenge-a-thon or calendar. We will entertain graphic artists who wish to participate with icons/wallpapers or videos. If we do get graphic artists who are interested, we'll definitely add in some rules for that form of submission.

You don't have to have a LiveJournal to participate in this. If you hear about us on a mailing list, or by word of mouth, that works as well. Just let us know how you found out, so we know!

ariestess has tried to make sure all the rules and such that were discussed are listed below. If you think of something that hasn't been answered below, let us know and we'll remedy that ASAP.

The Unbreakable Rules

1. Femslash only.
   
2. No RPS. Period.
   
3. No incest. Period.
   
4. No chan. Period.
   If they're under 18, it does not happen here. Period.
   
5. No beastiality.

FAQ

1. Can anyone participate? Or only people on LiveJournal?
   Nope, anyone can participate, with one big bad exception [see next rule]. It's just a matter of filling out the request form.
   
   
2. Who is not able to participate?
   If you have ever defaulted on a calendar or a challenge-a-thon sponsored by ShatterStorm Productions, you can't play. If you're not sure whether you fall into this category or not, please feel free to leave a comment or email us.
   
   
3. What kind of story works here?
   Any femslash pairing in a fictional setting [canon, fanon, or au] will work.
   
   
4. What fandoms/ pairings can we use?
   Anything from the following list of fandoms.
   • Battlestar Galactica
     
   • Birds of Prey [tv & comics]
     
   • Buffyverse [BtVS & Angel]
     
   • CSI [all 3 series]
     
   • Law & Order: SVU
     
   • NCIS
     
   • Nikki & Nora
     
   • Stargate [both series]
     
   • The West Wing
     
   • Xena
   
   
5. How do I request a fandom/pairing?
   Fill out the request/sign up form. You get a maximum of 3 requests for your sign up form, only one of which can be a wildcard.
   
   Note :: Wildcard is considered any fandom not listed above. If the fandom you wish to request isn't listed, use it as a wildcard. This includes crossovers. Be aware that if you pick a fandom/pairing that's obscure, it may not get picked or written.
   
   Requests/sign ups will end as of 9:00 pm PDT on 26 August 2007. No exceptions.
   
   
6. So what's this request/sign up form look like?
   Why, it looks something like this.
   Name: [can be your lj name, pseudonym, real name, whatever you want for a name]
   Email: [we need a valid email to contact you, even your-lj-name @ livejournal.com if you have a paid acct]
   
   Request One:
   Fandom & Pairing: [be specific on your fandom/pairing]
   Prompts: [up to two things you'd like to see in the story]
   Squicks: [up to two things you absolutely don't want to see in the story]
   Rating: [is there a preferred rating you'd like?]
   Spoilers: [how caught up on the series in question are you/do you want to be?]
   
   [repeat for your second & third requests]
   
   Beta: [are you willing to beta for someone else?]
   If yes, list fandoms to beta: [listed or wildcard fandoms go here]
   
   
7. How do I claim a fandom/pairing?
   The fandom/pairing requests will be posted to the dogged_by_muses community as of 12:00 pm PDT [noon] on 27 August 2007. Leave a comment [they will be screened] with the fandom/pairing request you want to use.
   
   
8. What if someone else has already picked the fandom/pairing I want to write?
   As each fandom/pairing request is claimed, we will mark them as such for everyone to see. If more than one person has attempted to claim a fandom/pairing request, we will use the timestamp of the request comments. We will also let everyone know if they have gotten their request or not by email.
   
   A good way to request a claim is to have multiple options [in your preferred order of writing them] in your claim comments.
   
   Note :: Once you have written your initial claim, you can then pick any other claims as a secondary claim. Of course, we would prefer not doubling up on the claims.
   
   
9. How do I know what my Sapphic poem fragment is?
   When you sign up and have made your initial claim, we will email you your fragment.
   
   
10. What if I don't like my fragment?
    If your fragment doesn't work for you, you'll need to contact ariestess by midnight PDT on 15th September 2007 to get a new fragment.
    
    Note :: You can only change your fragment once for each story. Period.
    
    
11. What if I finish my story and want to write another before the end of the challenge?
    Drop a comment to the claims list entry that you want another fragment and another claim. Or if you want to use the same fragment for a second [or more] fandom/pairing claim, let us know that as well.
    
    
12. How long does my story have to be?
    Your story must be 1000 words minimum, whether it's your first or your tenth.
    
    You're getting approximately 4 1/2 weeks to get your story written. That should be more than enough time for 1000 words & a beta.
    
    
13. What's this about a beta?
    A beta read is required. If you don't have a beta, leave a comment and we'll try to find you one.
    
    
14. When are stories due?
    Stories are due to be posted on 26th September 2007. If you're not able to post your story then, let us know. If you have to drop out, let us know ASAP. We understand that RL shit happens, and won't hold that against you if you let us know. If you agree to write a story, but don't post it or contact us to say it'll be late, you will be severely mocked, "branded" as a dropout, and blacklisted from participating in any future calendars/challenges/ficathons sponsored by ShatterStorm Productions. You've been warned.
    
    Please note :: If you drop out without letting us know, you will be blacklisted from participating in any future calendars/challenges/ficathons sponsored by ShatterStorm Productions.
    
    
15. Where do I post my story?
    You've got a couple of options.
    1. Join the dogged_by_muses community and post it there.
       
    2. Post to your personal/fic LJ and leave us a comment on the masterlist entry with the link. Make sure it's an unlocked post.
       
    3. Post to your website and leave us a comment on the masterlist entry with the link.
    
    Basically, post it where you want [website, journal, mailing list], just let us know so we can add it to the masterlist and add it to the websites.
    
    
16. Where will my story end up?
    Your LJ, the dogged_by_muses community journal [if you post there], & ShatterStorm Productions. And your website, of course, if you have one.
    
    
17. What kind of headers do I need?
    Title:
    Author:
    Feedback Email:
    Rating:
    Pairing:
    Fandom:
    Prompt:
    Requested By:
    Word Count:
    Summary:
    Warnings/Spoilers:
    Disclaimer:
    Author's Notes: [if applicable]
    Beta: [please thank your beta by name]
    
    
18. What about a subject line?
    If you're just posting a comment with a link in the masterlink entry, you won't need a subject line, but please list the title, link, prompt, and who requested it. That helps ariestess in updating the masterlist.
    
    If you're posting to the dogged_by_muses community, use the following ::

    FIC: "Title" [Fandom, Pairing, Rating] for name-of-recipient

19. What if my question hasn't been answered yet?
    Drop us a comment/email and we'll do what we can to answer your question.