tolkienrsb | TRSB20: Updated FAQs + 1 Week Until Signups Open!

Gooooood evening, TRSB-ers!

There’s just under a week to go until we open signups. We hope you’re as excited as we are! Here is a handy countdown clock in case you want to get your signup in as soon as the forms go live.

We’ve also updated our FAQs. There’s a summary of key info and dates below but please, please read through the whole set before you commit to the Bang. We know it’s long read. We’re sorry. But this is a summer-long event with a lot of milestones; you’ll save us, yourself and your fellow participants a lot of stress if you’re armed with the right info from the beginning.

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What is the TRSB?

A Tolkien-fandom-wide event celebrating the talent of our fanwork creators, co-run by Raiyana and Narya, your friendly community mods. This challenge is open to all characters, genres and ratings, and all canons that fall under the Tolkien fandom umbrella.

This includes movieverse, lesser known works by Tolkien, and/or other works with a clear link to his life or creative output – for example, the 2019 Tolkien film, fan-made films like Born of Hope, and game canons such as Lord of the Rings Online.

No, but, Raiy, what is it specifically?

A Reverse Bang is a type of Big Bang event in which artists submit art prompts (up to 3 in total). The art prompts are then claimed by writers who will write a piece of long-ish fiction (min. 5,000 words) based on the prompt chosen.

Big Bang? Wait, are you going to make me write a novel, Narya?!

No, minimum word count is set at 5,000 words. And you have three months. Trust us, it's doable ;)

OK...what are the timings?

April 1 – Art suggestion form open

April 17 – Sign-ups open

May 10 – Artist sign-ups close

May 15 – Art Draft due. Suggestion form closes.

May 17 – Art Drafts open for previews to signed-up authors

May 22 – Author sign-ups close

May 24, 19:00 CET – Claims open (what time is that for me?)

May 31 – Post-Claim Check In – This is to ensure that our collaborators have got in touch with each other

June 7 – Art due from artists who chose the “total free rein for author” option at sign-up

June 28 – Check in. We will be asking how your collaboration is progressing

July 26 – Check in (authors should be roughly halfway through writing fics by now)

August 2 – Art due from all remaining artists; final version of the art must be provided to the author.

August 16 – Deadline to abandon your fic to a pinch hitter AND final check in. We will ask:

Whether you have discussed posting logistics with your artist (if you’re embedding art in your AO3 story, for example)
Whether you have specific posting needs re publicizing date/time frame

August 30 – Fics due in AO3 collection (unless you’re writing a last minute pinch hit, in which case we can be a little more flexible)

September 6 – Collection reveals; staggered Tumblr reblogs begin.

Alright, you've made me curious. Where can I find out more?

The full FAQs can be found here. Please read this before you make your final decision on whether to participate.

This all sounds great! Where do I sign up?

Starting from 17 April, you can sign up here (Artists) or here (Writers).

Artists should sign up using their Tumblr, DeviantArt, Dreamwidth or AO3 name, depending on which is their primary platform. Please tell us in your signup which one you have used.

Authors must have an AO3 account to participate and should sign up with their AO3 username. This is to make it easier for us to track who has and hasn't put their finished fic in the collection. If you don't have an account as at signups, don't panic - please either join their waiting list in plenty of time, or contact Raiyana or Narya, and we'll help you to get one.

I want to join in but I don't want to commit to a 5k word fic.

That's fine! We encourage treats of all lengths. If you think you might like to write a treat but don't want to commit to a full collaboration, sign up anyway so you can have access to the gallery, and then simply don't participate in claims. The signup itself is not an obligation.

You can also sign up as a beta-reader or a pinch-hitter only.

I’ve signed up; now what do I need to do?

Now it’s time to get creative! Artists, start working on your masterpieces. Why not look at our suggestion spreadsheet for inspiration? This contains lots of ideas from potential writers who might want to claim your art! Authors, if you like you can suggest a prompt to our artists until 15 May (though the sooner you do this, the more likely it is that an artist will notice your suggestion and make use of it).

Otherwise, sit back and wait for the mods to get in touch with information about claims!