Challenge 10th Annual (2016) Winter Holiday Fic-Gift Exchange | Complete Index on First Page

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Hello all and Welcome to the 10th Annual Winter Holiday Fic-Gift Challenge!

Ten years! I can’t believe it! I started this challenge 10 years ago, long before I was a mod and was still a noobie (heck, I still am a noobie compared to so many) because I thought it would be fun to have people request a story that they wanted and it would be given as a gift from another writer (hence the name fic-gift). I’ve loved hosting this challenge and facilitating people getting a gift that you really want! Nothing makes me happier when I send the request and I see an author get excited about the story they are going to write, or to see the recipient get excited about the story that was written for them. It makes it completely worth the work! So thank you all for a great 10 years, no matter if you've participated every year or only one year!


If you are new around these parts you may be wondering what the heck I’m talking about, that’s okay! Read on and you will understand!


To Participate:

Send me, mavjade a PM with:​

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1. Three things you would like in your fic-gift​

2. One thing you don’t want in you fic-gift​

3. The main characters you want in your fic-gift (No more than three)​

4. A Character you don’t want in your story (New for this year!) ​

5. The era in which you fic-gift should take place​

6. The era(s) for which you would like to write.​

Example PM:​

I would like a story in Saga (OT or ST) or Beyond Legends with:​

1. The phrase “I know you are but what am I?”​

2. A fight that ends in a hug​

3. Han and Leia slow dancing on the Falcon​

I don't want Luke in the story​

I don’t want: anyone dying​

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Characters: Han, Leia, R2​

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I will write in Saga (Prefer OT and ST) or Beyond (Canon or Legends)​

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Having new era classifications changes things a bit, please read!

This year, it becomes a little more complicated because we have new movies and now the Saga encompasses so much more! But I’m going to do my best to get everyone not only the fic-gift they want, but a story that they would like to write.

In order to do this I need everyone to be as specific as possible, but also flexible. So...

• If your request is in SAGA please indicate if it should be in PT, OT or ST as defined by the era classifications for stories (in the spoiler tag below). If your story could be in multiple parts of saga and you want to allow the author to choose what part of saga they story takes place in, please put those eras in your request, as shows in the example above.

Spoiler: saga eras

PT- Stories that take place from The Phantom Menace up to A New Hope
OT -Stories that take place from A New Hope up to The Force Awakens
ST- Stories that take place from The Force Awakens through Episode 9

• If you are writing in Saga, please feel free to tell me which parts of Saga you would like to write in (PT, OT, ST) and I’ll do my best to stick with that, but it may not always be possible.

• If you state you want the story or you want to write for Beyond, it will be assumed you mean NuCanon. Since we don't know when episode 9 will end, but we can assume it will be within 10 years of Episode 7, Beyond stories should be placed more than ten years from TFA and anywhere into the future.

• If you want the story in the old expanded universe, now known as Legends, or the video games you need to include Legends in your request. So your request should say: Before Legends, Saga Legends, or Beyond Legends.

--It is very difficult to trade fic-gift requests once they have all been sent out, so please think carefully about what era’s you agree to write in. If there is a character(s) you refuse to write, let me know, but please do so sparingly.



So I’ve sent my request, now what happens??

After the deadline for requests passes, I will send you someone’s request and you will write the fic-gift for them. Another writer will be sent your request and they will write your fic-gift for you. Your request will not necessarily be given to the person for whom you are writing, but is has been known to happen from time to time.

In order to keep it a secret from the person who is writing their fic, if you have a question about the request I ask that you send your question to me and I’ll ask the person and get the answer ASAP.

Once you’ve finished writing, you post the fic-gift in the story boards for the person to ‘open’ and read.


Deadlines/Posting:


Fic-Gift Requests: Need to be PMed to mavjade by 7am PST Wednesday, December 7th 2016

Final Deadline for your fic-gift to be posted: 11:59pm PST Monday, January 9th 2017


~ When you post your fic-gift, please put in the title bar “Fic-Gift for ____” and then post a link and who the fic-gift is for here in this thread.

~ Please post the story in it’s own thread. This is so that the person can easily find the story written for them and can easily find it again in the future. It also makes it more like a gift for them and not just a story you wrote. You may link to it in a short stories thread if you have one, in the prolific writers thread, or post it anywhere else you post your fanfics.

~ If you have not posted your fic-gift approximately two weeks before it’s due, you will receive a PM from me just checking in and as a reminder.

~ I can always use pinch-writers to write a fic-gift that someone can't fufill. So if you want to do this once you've posted your story, please let me know!

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FAQ

Can I include more than three things I want/ three characters I want in my request? Less than three? Do I have to include a character I don't want?
You may include as many things and characters as you want, but the author is only required to use three of them. If you put more than three, the author is allowed to pick which three (or more) that they want to use. If they want to use them all, they are welcome to do so as well.

You may pick less than three things/characters, that just means the writer has more control over what happens.

You don't have to include a character you don't want, but I was noticing a lot of people saying they'd rather not a certain character, so I thought I'd include it this year for people who have a character they don't like as much.



Does my request have to be holiday related?
Nope! This is whatever you want, it doesn’t have to have anything to do with a holiday unless you want it to.


Can I request a fic-gift with my Original Character?
You may, but if your request has an Original Character (OC) in it, please provide with your request a character description and character traits as well as a link or two to stories with your character in them. But please realize that the person writing may not have read your OC (and is not required to do so) so they may not write the character the way you want.


Can I request a story or characters from Non-Star Wars fandoms? Is this open to NSWFF?
Sorry, it’s not. With so many fandoms out there it would be hard to know who is aware of that universe or characters and so it wouldn’t be fair for someone to have to do that much research. At least sticking to Star Wars, everyone is familiar with the universe.


How creative can I be writing the fic-gift?
As creative as you want, just be sure to include the things that were requested by your fic-gift recipient.


I missed the deadline to submit my request, can I still participate?
Sorry, no. I allowed for that to happen last year and things got a bit messy. If you are feeling the love for your fellow fan-ficers, though, you can sign up to write a story if someone needs to drop out.


I’m not going to be able to finish my fic-gift, what should I do?
If you find that you will not be able to finish your fic-gift before the deadlines for whatever reason, please let me know as soon as possible! This way I can find someone else to write that fic-gift. We want everyone to receive one.


Can I write a multi-chapter fic?
Sure! But please make sure to include the elements requested before the deadline.



If you have any questions, please feel free to ask here or via PM. I know things might be a bit confusing with the new era set up.


Please feel free to post that you are participating in this thread.


I wish you all a very happy holiday no matter what or when you celebrate!

*giant hugs to all*

~Mav

 

Story Index

Before Legends
Family is What You Make It by Ewok Poet for Findswoman


Saga PT
The Land of Ice by Briannakin for Kahara

From Out of the Darkness by mavjade for Chyntuck

The Jewels of ... WHAT?! by Findswoman for Ewok Poet

Cinnamon Bun Ear Muffs by Chyntuck for Briannakin


Saga OT
Always With You, Always Within You by Ewok Poet for leiamoody


Saga Legends
Hope for the Future by Anedon for mavjade


Beyond Legends
Our Situations Must Be Dire by Kahara for Anedon

 

I *am* going to do this. I can't see myself writing a super-long fic, but I'll manage something

 

Okay, so for the past few years I've sat out so I could be used as a back-up writer and not feel overwhelmed if for some reason had to step up. But since that apparently doesn't work (plus I realized I love writing these) I think I'll throw something in. Now, what do I want

 

Just a heads-up that the old EU is now called Legends, not Legacy.

 

This is a sucky question, but can there be an absolute word minimum unless it's a poem? 1K? I remember somebody asking for a word minimum and it makes sense. It does feel odd to see 300-word vignettes when somebody cared enough to make theirs of sustainable length. Like, just no super-short stuff.

Also, what jcgoble3 said. *raises her Legacy and Legacy:War fan card*

Also, you have two do-not-want things in the example request.

I would gladly apply to be a back-up writer, but I have a couple more prizes to deliver, so if I am done by those by New Year's day - which is my goal - count me in.

 

Haha... I have no idea what I was watching when I typed this up to make that mistake. But I've fixed it. Thanks!

I'll certainly think about that for next year (I don't want to change anything now), but right now I'm leaning toward not having a minimum. Most people do stories that are around 1,000 words or so, but I feel like setting a minimum forces people to either write more than the story took them, or they feel so much pressure to write a certain amount of words they just end up not writing. I'd rather someone get something short than nothing at all.

That was on purpose. If you notice in the "How to Participate" section, I've added a 'character I don't want in the story' to the requests. I've noticed a lot of people in the last year or so saying 'I'd rather so and so not be in the story if possible' so I decided to add that for this year to see if people like it.

Awesome, thanks! Just let me know!

 

Just a reminder that you have a week to get your requests in!

 

Same here

 

Okay I´m in, request send. I hope I did it right.

 

Requests are due in around 12 hours from now!
This deadline is only a hard one in that is when I anticipate getting on and starting to figure out who gets what. If I sleep in a bit, or just linger over my coffee, you may have some extra time.

If you are unsure if you want to participate, I say give it a shot. If for some reason you can't get your story written, we can find someone who can help out. (Just hopefully it won't take me the better part of a year for it to happen. )

 

Just signed up. Meep.

 

Rare as the tornado of London, on its 10th anniversary - Kahara taking part in a challenge. This will be fun!

 

Okay, submissions are officially closed. I'm going to work on who gets what and once I've sent them all out, I'll post here again to let you all know!

 

Everyone should now have received their fic-gifts to write. If for some reason you didn't, PM me.

I did my best to get everyone -even in the Saga eras- to write the era they most wanted. Thank you to the people who were willing to write in multiple eras, that makes things a lot less stressful for me.

 

I already have a vague idea for mine.

Just out of curiosity, how many of us are there?

 

A little smaller group this year, there are 8 people participating, including myself. When there's an odd number of people, I jump in to make it even, when there was an even number, I've stayed out.

 

How is everyone doing?

There's still plenty of time, but I just wanted to keep the fic-gifts at the front of everyone's mind.

 

Well, I have the beginning and know parts of the middle and end. Could be doing worse, though as usual I can't seem to get much done before next to the last minute.

 

I have a vague idea. Nothing more at the moment.

Sent from my SM-T310 using Tapatalk

 

I know what I'll be writing. Just finishing first another story that imposed itself at the front of my mind, and I'll get started.

 

I've started recently, although I don't have much until now.

 

Sounds like we're all on more or less the same track here.