The Sentinel Big Bang

Author Checkpoint #2

2010-06-21T19:18:43Z

This is the second author checkpoint.

It's a week late and I apologise for that. I've had some family drama going on and had to let my internet commitments slide for a few days. All is okay now and I'm back on track.

These checkpoints are completely optional. If you've signed up to write a story and just want to get on with writing it, that's perfectly fine. So why bother? The checkpoints are here for a couple of reasons:

To help writers pace themselves in writing.
To let the writers drop some hints about their stories - this lets everyone watching get excited about the stories to come, but it also gives our artists a chance to consider which stories they're interested in.
To let people compare their progress with others, ask for help, offer help etc.
And to remind everyone that the challenge is still happening :)

If you're pacing your writing to fill the timetable of the challenge, you should have written about 4,000 words or about a two-fifths of your story by now. It's fine if you're not there yet! That's just the count to aim for.

Feel free to share some details about your story, maybe a summary or some hints, but please don't post extracts. There'll be a post for that as we come toward the end of the challenge, but this is too early.

Please comment using the template below to let us know how you're doing.

Name:
Story type:
Current word count:
What I like about the story:
What I don't like about the story:
Anything else (e.g. Need any help? Lacking inspiration? Want to rant a little?):

There's a handy copy/paste version of the template here:

Name: Story type: Current word count: What I like about the story: What I don't like about the story: Anything else (e.g. Need any help? Lacking inspiration? Want to rant a little?):

Handy Links: Challenge Schedule | Big Bang Rules | Big Bang FAQ

Contact me: if you need to contact me for any reason (questions, problems, comments), the best way is via private message on LJ, because I can access that from anywhere (except lately LJ has stopped sending me notifications, damn them. Better stick with email - morgan at morganbriarwood dot net).

Please note: If you're an author or an artist and you want to drop out of the challenge, you don't need to notify me unless you want to be removed from the mailing list. When we get to the deadlines, if you don't submit a story (authors) or claim one for art (artists), I'll consider that a drop-out. Until then, no pressure, either way.

Comments turned off at Dreamwidth. Please comment on the LJ post.

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TS Big Bang Cheerleader Assignments

2010-04-27T18:04:58Z

All cheerleader assignments have now gone out, via email. Both authors and cheerleaders have been copied in. If you didn't receive an email, please let me know.

medusamuse - I got an error message from your email addy. Could you please double check I have the right address for you?

Everyone else's went through...as far as I can tell.

Just a few words about this cheerleading thing:

I think for most of us, this will be the first time cheerleading or working with a cheerleader. There's no super-manual on how to do this, and we'll all learn as we go along. The basic idea of having a cheerleader is for writers to have someone to encourage them to keep writing and meet the final deadline. For some writers, a regular "nag" might work; for others that will be plain annoying. Some writers might need story help; others may just want a cheerleader to be a sounding board. How it works best is something for each couple to figure out between them.

I hope everyone will have fun with this, and find ways to work together that will result in some brilliant fiction. But if there are any troubles, you can always contact me and I'll help if I can.

[Comments disabled on Dreamwidth. Please comment on the livejournal post.]

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Cheerleader Update

2010-04-26T20:52:49Z

You guys are absolutely amazing!

In just three days I've gone from "Oh no, I'll never be able to find a cheerleader for everyone" to "Oh no, if one more person signs up I won't have enough stories for all the cheerleaders"!!!!

So...as matters stand I have 17 cheerleaders for 18 stories, and no stories unclaimed. I'll need to ask one person to cheerlead for two fics, but that's all. So I'm going to close the post to new claims now, while things look good.

Cheerleader assignments will go out via email, tomorrow. I've done my very best to give everyone at least their first or second choice; I'm afraid I may not have succeeded perfectly because a couple of the stories were so popular.

Thank you, everyone who signed up to cheerlead. You guys are amazing!

[Comments disabled at Dreamwidth. Please comment on the livejournal post.]

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Cheerleader Claims Post

2010-04-23T18:27:31Z

How this works: Cheerleading is all about encouraging writers to keep on writing. It's about being positive, helping out by reading parts of the WIP, or maybe brainstorming ideas or just being a sounding board for the writer when she gets stuck. A cheerleader is not a beta, but you can offer to be a beta too, if you like.

So being a cheerleader could take up a chunk of your time. Because it's a commitment, I don't expect anyone to cheerlead if they're not at least a little excited about the story they'll be helping with. That's why this claims post exists: I need you to look through the list and let me know the stories that look good to you, the ones you're excited to see happen.

We've got 18 writers who would like a cheerleader, and not enough cheerleaders. So I'm going to open this up and let you cheerlead for several writers if you want to. Also, because of the disparity in numbers, I'm not going to do this as a first-come-first served thing. That was my original plan, but I think my new plan is fairer. It works like this:

Look through the list below and pick out the stories you'd like to cheerlead for. Even if you only want to be assigned one writer, do pick out at least three stories to start with. It's okay to select a story someone else has already claimed. Then comment and tell me

Number of assignments I want: (i.e. how many stories can you cheerlead for)
Stories I'd like to cheerlead for (in order of preference): (just give the numbers from the list below).

If you're commenting anonymously - i.e. without being logged in to livejournal - please include your name and email, too.

So your comment/claim should look like this:

Number of assignments I want: Only 1
Stories I'd like to cheerlead for (in order of preference): 12, 6, 3, 9, 15

If you haven't already completed a cheerleader sign up please don't forget to do that, so I've got all your info.

If you prefer to claim via email, my address is morgan at morganbriarwood dot net - please use 'Cheerleader claim' as your subject line.

This post will be open for claims until 27 April, and I'll send assignments out by email as soon as I can after that.

The assignment emails will include contact info for your writer, and I'll let the writers know at the same time. Then it's up to you to contact each other.

( 18 stories under the cut )

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Sentinel Big Bang Update

2010-04-22T20:53:17Z

Author signups are closed - we've got a whopping 32 authors on board!

That's the good news. No, wait - it's fantastic news. Let's take a moment to enjoy it :)

Okay...the not-so-good news is that of those 32 authors, 20 requested a cheerleader, but I have only 8 cheerleaders signed up. A few people have offered to cheerlead for more than one writer, but even so, I don't think it will be possible to cover everyone.

So...if there's anyone out there who hasn't signed up yet, but might be interested in cheerleading I'm leaving that post open for sign-ups.

Here's how the next stages will work:

The cheerleader claims post will go up some time tomorrow. Given the disparity of numbers, I may not be able to confirm cheerleader assignments on schedule - my plan was to do that on the 27th, but I'll extend that if needed, but I'll get those assignments out as soon as I can.

Once the assignments for cheerleaders go out, it's up to the cheerleaders and writers to contact each other and talk over how you can best help each other. If there are any conflicts, or you need practical help, I'll be available.

Then the first author checkpoint is 18 May - if you're writing at the pace suggested in the schedule, you should aim to have about a fifth of your story, or 2,000 words done by then. But it's fine if you don't - everyone works differently and there's no problem if your wordcount is zero.

Until tomorrow, then...

Comments disabled on Dreamwidth. Please comment on the LJ post so everything is in one place.

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Plot Bunnies for Adoption Post

2010-03-29T10:11:00Z

Here's a place to suggest plot-bunnies to our struggling authors. Is there a TS fic idea you think is really cool, but you don't want to write it yourself? Suggest it here!

Any plot bunny is welcome from quick prompts to detailed plot ideas. Just remember the purpose of the challenge is to write 10,000 words – PWP prompts wouldn't be appropriate.

Authors, if you see a plot bunny you'd like to adopt, please reply to the comment to claim it. You're under no obligation – this is just so everyone can see which bunnies still need adopting.

A bunny can be claimed by more than one author.

No author is obliged to adopt a bunny – you're more than welcome to use your own ideas. This post is just for those who want a little help.

Anonymous posting is enabled. However, please do sign your posts if you're not using your LJ/DW or OpenID – it's only polite to say who you are.

If you are unable to comment anonymously you can offer your bunnies via email to morgan at morganbriarwood dot net (please note that I'll enter a comment on your behalf – your bunnies have to be public).

Comments disabled on Dreamwidth. Please comment on the LJ post so everything is in one place.

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Author Sign-Up Post

2010-03-29T10:09:41Z

To sign-up as an author, comment on this post.

You are signing up to write a Sentinel fanfic of at least 10,000 words. You can write more than that if you like! Signing up is a statement of intent – there's no penalty for failing to write a story or for withdrawing from the challenge.

There's more information about the kinds of stories you can write in the rules post (link below) but the short version is as long as it's Sentinel anything goes except Real Person Fic and under-age porn. Crossovers and AUs are both welcome.

If you are co-writing a story, only one of the writers needs to sign up, but she should sign up as a “team” on behalf of the co-writer(s).

As an author, you can request a cheerleader to help you as you write. A cheerleader will encourage you to keep writing and may help you out with the story – the details of the kind of help you need are for you to work out between you. Cheerleader assignments will go out on or before 27 April.

To sign up as an author, please fill out the information below:

LJ or DW username:
Author name:
Email where I can reach you: *
Do you want a Cheerleader for the challenge?:
If yes, how would you prefer to contact your cheerleader (email, IM etc)?:
Just to get a sense of what you might write (this is NOT binding)...
Will you write gen, slash or het?
Tell us a little about the story you plan to write:
Do you want to receive email updates so you don't need to watch the community?

An email address is required; however I recommend you give it in a mangled format (e.g. user@isp.com becomes user at isp dot com).

There's a handy copy/paste version of the sign-up info below.

Handy Links: Challenge Schedule | Big Bang Rules | Big Bang FAQ

Author sign-ups close on 21 April.

If you are unable to comment anonymously you can sign up via email to morgan at morganbriarwood dot net (please note that I'll enter a comment on your behalf – your sign-up must be public).

Comments disabled on Dreamwidth. Please comment on the LJ post so everything is in one place.

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Artist Sign-Ups

2010-03-29T10:08:22Z

Sign up as an artist by commenting on this post.

“Artist” is used as an umbrella term for creators of fanworks other than fic. “Art” could mean traditional fan art, or it might mean vids, music mixes, icons...anything that's electronic in format and can illustrate a story.

You'll be signing up to create art to accompany a story written by one of our authors. You can do art for more than one if there are more stories than artists. The kind of art you create is entirely up to you – the author can make suggestions, but the decision is yours.

How artist assignments will work:

On 17 September, when all the rough drafts are in, an artist claim post will go up in this community. You will be able to choose the story or stories you would like to illustrate. Assignments will be on a first-come, first-served basis. Assignments will be confirmed by email on 20 September.

Because artist assignments can't go out until the stories are finished, artist sign-ups will stay open throughout the writing phase of the Big Bang.

To sign up as an artist, comment on this post with the information below. If you sign up and change your mind during the writing phase, you can withdraw by commenting here again.

LJ or DW username:
Artist/Vidder name:
Email where I can reach you: *
Just to get a sense of what you might create (this is NOT binding)...
Will you make art or a vid or some other kind of fanwork?
Do you prefer to make your art/vid for gen, slash, het?
Can you make art/vids for crossovers?
Is there anything you absolutely won't make art for?
Would you be willing to illustrate more than one fic?
Do you want to receive email updates so you don't need to watch the community?

* An email address is required; however I recommend you give it in a mangled format (e.g. user@isp.com becomes user at isp dot com).

There's a handy copy/paste version of the sign-up info below.

Handy Links: Challenge Schedule | Big Bang Rules | Big Bang FAQ

Artist sign-ups close on 13 September.

If you are unable to comment anonymously you can sign up via email to morgan at morganbriarwood dot net (please note that I'll enter a comment on your behalf – your sign-up must be public).

Comments disabled on Dreamwidth. Please comment on the LJ post so everything is in one place.

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Cheerleader Sign-Up Post

2010-03-29T10:07:06Z

Sign up as a Cheerleader by commenting on this post

What is a Cheerleader?

A cheerleader's job is to encourage an author to write her Big Bang story. You'll be assigned to cheerlead for a specific author, and you'll agree between you what is the best way you can help. Basically, you're there to gently prod your writer to keep writing, perhaps read parts of the story in-progress, to help her brainstorm ideas if she hits a writers' block and generally, well, cheerlead.

Signing up as a cheerleader does not obligate you to beta-read, though if you want to beta, that's between you and your author.

Most of your cheerleading work will be done outside this community, so when you sign up it's important that you list all the ways you are able to communicate with your assigned writer e.g. email, IM, chat, LJ messaging and so on.

Because you might be asked to read parts of the story your author is writing, please remember to make a note of any themes or story elements you prefer to avoid.

How cheerleader assignments will work:

On 23 April, a 'claim post' will go up with the details of all the authors who have requested a cheerleader. You will comment on that post with your preference. If the numbers match up, assignments will be 'first come, first served'. If you don't claim an assignment, you may be given one you haven't chosen or you might not get one at all – that depends on the numbers. Your actual assignment will be confirmed by email on or before 27 April.

To sign up, please comment to this post with the following information:

LJ or DW username: (If applicable)
Your name:
Email where I can reach you: *
What are your preferred genres of fiction?:
As a cheerleader, is there any kind of fic you don't feel you could help with?
What methods of communication suit you best (email, IM, Google chat etc.):
Do you want to receive email updates so you don't need to watch the community?

* An email address is required; however I recommend you give it in a mangled format (e.g. user@isp.com becomes user at isp dot com).

There's a handy copy/paste version of the sign-up info below.

Handy Links: Challenge Schedule | Big Bang Rules | Big Bang FAQ

Cheerleader sign-ups close on 21st April.

If you are unable to comment anonymously you can sign up via email to morgan at morganbriarwood dot net (please note that I'll enter a comment on your behalf – your sign-up must be public).

Comments disabled on Dreamwidth. Please comment on the LJ post so everything is in one place.

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Sentinel Big Bang - Ready, Set......

2010-03-28T12:34:12Z

Announcing the first - and hopefully first of many - Sentinel Big Bang!

sentinelbigbang sentinelbigbang sentinelbigbang

I suggested the idea in my own LJ back in January and a lot of people seemed to thing it would be worth doing. A big bang can be a lot of fun - I've participated in two others and always enjoyed the challenge. So here we are.

A Big Bang is a creative challenge that brings together fanfic writers and people who do other creative fannish things such as fanart and vids in a festival of fannish creativity. The aim is to create a collection of stories, each story illustrated in some way, for everyone in the fandom to enjoy.

The Sentinel Big Bang will be open to everyone - you do NOT need to be an LJ user to take part. You need, at minimum, web access and an email address. I will be using an LJ community to co-ordinate the challenge but I will do everything possible to make this accessible to non-LJ fans.

I've also set things up so those of you who plan on offering a story for Moonridge can combine that with the Big Bang. As long as you plan on your Moonridge fic being at least 10,000 words, it will work.

All kinds of fiction are welcome, it just has to be centred on the fictional universe and/or characters of The Sentinel. AU, crossover, gen, het, slash, fluff, angst...you name it, it's welcome.

Other creative works can be anything that will serve to illustrate a story. It just has to be in an electronic, web-compatible format. So photo manips, wallpapers, line art, music vids, cover art, chapter headers, fan mixes, trailers...you name it. If you're not sure if your kind of art will work, please ask.

To find out more, visit the following links:

Mission Statement - What's a Big Bang and how does it work?

How to combine Big Bang and Moonridge

Challenge Schedule

Big Bang Rules

and Big Bang FAQ.

Please use the FAQ link to comment if you have any questions (so as to keep everything in one place), or email me directly - morgan at morganbriarwood dot net

Signups for the 2010 Sentinel Big Bang will open on 29 March.

sentinelbigbang sentinelbigbang sentinelbigbang

And please help spread the word! Grab the banner above and tell your friends. The more people take part, the more fun it will be for everyone.

Here's a quick copy/paste text if you want to use the banner.

Small version: 400x80

Larger version: 650x130

This post mirrored on Livejournal at http://community.livejournal.com/sentinelbigbang/1556.html

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Mission Statement

2010-03-28T12:24:17Z

Sentinel Big Bang aims to bring together the creative talents of The Sentinel fandom in a fannish fiction and art fest. The first Sentinel Big Bang will take place in 2010; if successful this will become an annual event.

The sentinelbigbang community on Livejournal will be used to co-ordinate the challenge and collate all the stories and other fan works. The sentinelbigbang community on Dreamwidth will be a 'mirror' site for the 2010 challenge; next year if participants agree, we'll switch. However, the challenge is open to all fans of The Sentinel, whether they are Livejournal/Dreamwidth users or not. I will do everything I can to make the community and the challenge accessible to those who prefer not to use Livejournal and its clones.

( A Big Bang works like this... )

Rules | FAQ | Schedule

Comments have been turned off on this post. If you have questions, please comment on the FAQ post, so all the feedback and questions are in one place.

This post mirrored on Livejournal at http://community.livejournal.com/sentinelbigbang/1332.html

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Big Bang and Moonridge

2010-03-28T12:18:16Z

I have tried to set up the Big Bang rules and schedule so that those writers who participate in the Moonridge auction can sell their Big Bang story for Moonridge.

If this is something you'd like to do, you'll need to be a bit more organised about it than if you're just doing one or the other, but it's completely do-able. Here's how it would work:

For Big Bang, the "rough draft" deadline is now the final deadline for your Moonridge story. If you can get your story to your Moonridge recipient within a week of the rough draft deadline, your recipient will have her month of exclusivity without any conflict in the Big Bang schedule. And you still get all the help and support of the Big Bang cheerleaders if you want it.

If you need just a little longer to get your story ready for your Moonridge buyer, you should let me know at the time you submit your rough draft; I can arrange for you to be near the end of the posting schedule to extend that exclusivity time...but there are no guarantees on this - you might not be the only one asking.

Don't release your story 'into the wild' the moment the exclusivity period is up. Instead, wait for your assigned posting date for the Big Bang. If you send your story to your Moonridge buyer on the same day as the rough draft deadline, this will be 2-3 weeks after the month of exclusivity is up (depending on how many stories are submitted to Big Bang). Post the story on that date, in all the places you'd usually post.

And that's it! Basically, all you need to do is have a readable story ready in time for the Big Bang rough draft deadline, instead of just a finished first draft. That allows you to keep your commitments to both the auction and this challenge.

Please note the above is based only on my understanding of how Moonridge works; please do confirm with the Moonridge admins that this is okay before making any commitments.

Comments have been turned off on this post. If you have questions, please comment on the FAQ post, so all the feedback and questions are in one place.

This post mirrored on Livejournal at http://community.livejournal.com/sentinelbigbang/1198.html

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Big Bang FAQ

2010-03-28T12:14:40Z

( Sentinel Big Bang FAQ )

( For non-Livejournal/Dreamwidth users )

This post mirrored on Livejournal at http://community.livejournal.com/sentinelbigbang/773.html

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2010 Big Bang Schedule

2010-03-28T12:05:08Z

Here is the schedule for the first Sentinel Big Bang (2010):

Signups open 29 March (Author, Artist, Cheerleader)

Plot Bunnies for adoption post 29 March

Author sign-ups close 21 April (Authors have 20 weeks to write from close of sign-ups)

Cheerleader sign-ups close 21 April

Cheerleader claim post 23 April

Cheerleader assignments sent 27 April

Author checkpoint #1 18 May (2,000 words)

Author checkpoint #2 15 June (4,000 words)

Author checkpoint #3 13 July (6,000 words)

Author checkpoint #4 10 August (8,000 words)

Author checkpoint #5 7 September (10,000 words)

Artist sign-ups close 13 September

Author Rough Drafts due 13 September

Artist Claim Post: 17 September

Artist Assignments 20 September (Artists have 6 weeks to work)

Artist Checkpoint/Final Author Checkpoint 5 October

Artist Rough drafts due 15 October

Posting schedule due 25 October

Posting begins: 1st November - 1 story per day until they are all posted.

Story and Art master list posted: Whenever all stories and art are up.

Comments have been turned off on this post. If you have questions, please comment on the FAQ post, so all the feedback and questions are in one place.

This post mirrored on Livejournal at http://community.livejournal.com/sentinelbigbang/527.html

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Big Bang Rules

2010-03-28T12:00:49Z

The mission of sentinelbigbang is to co-ordinate and host an annual fest of Sentinel fan fiction and accompanying art. Authors sign up to write a piece of Sentinel fan fiction that is at least ten thousand words. It can be any kind of plot, any (or no) pairing. Gen, het, slash, it doesn't matter. Once each story is complete, every author will be matched with a fan artist or vidder who will take the story and produce a creative work to accompany or illustrate the story. The end result is a fest showcasing the creative talents of Sentinel fandom for everyone to enjoy!

Yes, you can sign up if you don't have a Dreamwidth account but you'll have slightly tighter deadlines to meet. You can sign up as an author, an artist or a cheerleader using Open ID or an anonymous comment on the sign up post. If you want to join in with the checkpoints, you'll need to keep an eye on the community using whatever method works best for you. When it comes to posting fics and art, you'll be asked to e-mail the mod two days before your assigned posting date with the necessary info (more details on that closer to the time) so the mod can post the story announcement on your behalf. The story and art itself can be posted on any public website - LJ, Dreamwidth, FF.net, ASR3, 852 Prospect, AO3...your choice.

( The Rules )

Comments have been turned off on this post. If you have questions, please comment on the LJ FAQ post, so all the feedback and questions are in one place.

This post mirrored on Livejournal at http://community.livejournal.com/sentinelbigbang/434.html

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