tolkienrsb | TRSB18 FAQ Post

GENERAL INFORMATION

What is a Reverse Big Bang?

A Reverse Big Bang is literally a reverse of the Big Bang challenges you may have come across in the past (such as Hobbit Big Bang, for example). The participating artists create a piece of art, which is posted anonymously for authors to view and claim. The authors will then write a fic based on the art they chose.

What kind of artwork/story is eligible?

Hobbit, Silm, LotR, HoME, whatever takes your fancy, be it movies or book-canon ;)

This challenge is open to all characters, genres and ratings, as long as there is a clear link to Tolkien’s mythos.

OCs are welcome, although crossovers are not currently permitted.

We are not setting any restrictions on content, but please work with your artist/author to ensure that the fic turns out well for both sides; refer back to the individual’s Do-Not’s and Must-Haves before you decide to claim a piece of art!

If you create a NSFW piece of art for the Preview, we will put a SFW crop in the Preview with a link to the NSFW version.

Because this challenge is open to and inclusive of all Tolkien characters and ships, we would like to remind all participants that absolutely no shipshaming or kinkshaming will be tolerated.

Please respect each other and the all-inclusive tone of the challenge.

Long post under the cut, can also be found at https://tolkienrsb.tumblr.com/faq

What’s the time frame?

May 1, 2018: Sign-ups open

May 15, 2018: Artist sign-up closes

Monday, May 21, 2018: Art Draft due

Friday, May 25, 00:01 CET, 2018: Art up for preview

Saturday, May 26, 2018: Author sign-ups close

Monday, May 28, 20:00 CET, 2018: Claims open [What time is that for me?]

Sunday, June 3, 2018: Post-Claim Check In

July 5, 2018: Check In.

July 30, 2018: Check In.

August 17, 2018: Deadline to tell us “Help, my pants are on fire and I won’t be able to complete my story!”

August 25, 2018: Fics due.

Monday, August 27, 2018: Posting begins in the last week of August, running in staggered schedule until all Fics have been posted/reblogged.

The scheduled times and dates are not negotiable.

What’s a checkpoint?
They’re something to give you a feel on where a typical artist and/or author should or could be at in their creation process. They’re used for encouragement and motivation only. The last author checkpoint is mandatory and for us to determine what art pieces we need to find pinch hitters for. Any author who does not check in then (or if they can’t make it lets us know why) will be dropped from the challenge and a pinch hitter assigned to the art prompt.

What should my art draft look like for Preview?
It should be the equivalent of about 75% of your final artwork. That’s hard to measure, of course – basically it does not need to be a finished piece but it should give the author wanting to claim your art a good idea of what it will look like.

Time should go into it, this piece will be what the author bases their story on.

What should my rough draft look like for the Final Checkpoint?
It needs to be at least 4,000 words, or 80% of your fic. You do not need to have your fic finished by this time however, you may still work on it and get it beta-read until your final fic and art is due. We just need to be able to reasonably verify that you are going to be able to finish your fic by the due date.

How will I contact my artist/author?
We will provide an author with contact information once they are committed to an artist(email/tumblr/other - artists choose their preferred communications method when they submit their art for Preview). From there it is up to the author to communicate with the artist and create a story that would fit the art.

How do I sign up?
Sign-ups for the 2018 fest open on May 1, you can sign up via forms linked on the @tolkienrsb blog.

FAQ FROM ARTISTS

Art encompasses (but is not limited to) drawn or painted artwork (both traditional and digital), comics, and digital manips. Craft is welcome as long as the final piece can be photographed and submitted to us via email as an image. If you have an unconventional idea for your artwork, please email the mods at tolkienrsb at gmail dot com to discuss.

Artists may submit up to 3 separate pieces of art for this challenge to be claimed separately by 3 different authors. Alternatively, artists may choose to submit one piece for the preview and create more pieces as the collab continues - whichever best suits the story you and your partner want to tell!

Can I draw anything I like?
Basically, yes. However, bear in mind that you are creating something to inspire a writer. Is there an AU or a headcanon you’d love to see explored? Give your author as much information as you can in your art to capture their imagination. Just as with a Big Bang when authors try to make their summary as enticing to artists as possible, you have the opportunity to inspire a writer with your idea and to have them write a fic specifically for the art you create.

What about nudity/ships/kinks?
Bring them. Go wild. Ship it (you know you want to). This is basically your party (and we know we have some kinky writers out there, so you might find a kindred soul for yours ;) )

Bear in mind that if you DO create an NSFW piece of art as your prompt, we will put a SFW crop in the Preview and link a full version hosted on Mod Raiy’s private Imgur account for the duration of the Preview Weekend.

Do I have to finish my art before Previews?
No, but submitted artwork should be at least 75% done. We know that can be tough to gauge with art; the main thing is to post a draft with enough detail that authors can clearly make out what’s going on in your artwork.

Art is only to be completed before the posting date (this means you have all the weeks of writing to finish it - or to make more art or sunbathe or however you’d like to spend time this summer).

See Submission Info for more details.

Can I create a crossover or fusion piece?
No, we feel Tolkien’s works are a large enough sandbox for this first round – perhaps in future we will open for true fusions/crossovers.

NB: THIS DOES NOT MEAN YOU CAN’T DO AU’s!

What happens if the number of authors doesn’t match up with the number of artists?
We will do several rounds of claiming so that EVERY piece of art has a fic in the event that the art pieces outnumber fanfiction writers. If it’s the other way, we may open up the pieces of art so that more than one fic writer is assigned to the same piece of art. Either way, everyone who wants to participate will get to participate.

Will my art be archived anywhere?
No, we will only post your art in our Preview document, which will be deleted by the end of the TRSB18 event.

NB: Art pieces created for this challenge are NOT TO BE POSTED ANYWHERE ELSE before story posting takes place.

How will art claims work?
Art will be posted anonymously to a Members Only, View Only private presentation document. Each piece will be numbered and accompanied by additional information supplied by the artist so authors will have plenty of time to peruse and choose their preferences. See Submission Info to see what info the artists will submit, and see Claims Info for how claims will work.

FAQ FROM AUTHORS

After claiming takes place, authors will have approximately 10 weeks to write a story with a minimum of 5,000 words. The fic must be original, complete, and related to the claimed art for which it is written.

We strongly recommend that the fic is beta-read, either by the artist or a third party to reduce errors.

Do I get more than one piece of art to work with?
That’s up to your artist, though we encourage our teams to collaborate throughout the process in whatever manner they see fit. There is no obligation for your artist to create additional art unless they wish to; before you begin writing, have a chat with your artist about interpretations of the artwork - bear in mind that elements of the artwork must feature in your fic.

What if the artist’s OTP is my nOTP/squicks me?
Then you shouldn’t pick that piece of art on your claims form. Elements in the artwork need to be present in your story - this means that if there is a pairing specifically shown or suggested, then that is the pairing you are claiming and promising to write for. We also encourage you to discuss any squicks before you start writing and respect each other’s Do Not Wants. (Key word here being “respect” - it should go without saying, but we will not tolerate shipshaming, kinkshaming, flaming or other hurtful behaviour.)

What type of requirements are there for a fic?
You will be expected to write a fic with a minimum of 5,000 words, based on the prompt you choose in the Art Claims post. Claims will be first come, first serve. Beta-reading is strongly advised.

How do I know what art I’m writing for? / How do I make a claim?
When the artists turn in their rough drafts, we’ll make an Art Preview. Signed up authors will be emailed a link to view the Art Preview and have a couple of days to think about their favourites. Then we will open the Claims Form where you will rank your choices by preference and we will match authors with claims on a first come first served basis.

I’ve already been writing a fic - can I use that one?
No. The fic you write must be based around the art you choose, using that as your prompt.

What if my [character] doesn’t look like my artist’s [character]?
Then you should probably have chosen a different piece of art ;)

As the entire idea of this fest is to use a piece of art as a prompt, discarding the artist’s vision for your own is pretty bad form. Pick art you like/agree with!

What genres/warnings are allowed?
You may write/create art for whichever genre of fic you choose, as well as any rating as long as your artist is comfortable with it. Remember, you’re creating the fic around the art and the artist’s original vision.

Can I write with someone else?
No, only one person may write. You may use your artist as a sparring partner or utilise the services of a beta reader(which we strongly recommend all authors do), but your story should be yours.

Will my fic be archived anywhere?
No, where the story is posted will be up to the author. We will create/reblog MasterPosts to DW and Tumblr, but the location of your fic is entirely up to you.

How does posting work?
Each author/artist team nominates their preferred posting day within the last week of August. Each team of author/artist is required to post on their assigned date to the platform of their choice(DW/Tumblr/AO3/ Other).

Each team will also be required to create a masterpost of their collaboration on Tumblr(no matter how they choose to post), including a summary and links to wherever they’ve posted their work.

If you do not have a DW account when it comes to posting time, just email your links/information details to a mod at tolkienrsb@gmail.com and we will make the post to the DW community for you.

Each Tumblr MasterPost will be reblogged via @tolkienrsb to give each team the maximum exposure we can give on their day of posting. Round-ups of all the works created for the Tolkien RSB18 will be posted here too.

An AO3 collection is available for teams to add their work: TRSB18.

See Masterpost Info for more details.

Any questions or issues can be addressed to the mods at tolkienrsb at gmail dot com, via PM on Dreamwidth, or by sending us an Ask on Tumblr. We answer all signed-in Asks on private and there are no stupid questions.

Thank you for participating,

Raiyana & Narya, your friendly community mods!.