Post by Bannanachair on Dec 1, 2018 10:33:28 GMT -4
i. Intro.
Welcome back to the event that was supposed to be annual, but kinda didn’t happen last year. Oops. That’s right folks, it’s Secret Santa time. Welcome to Secret Santa 2018! We’re going to do things a bit differently this year, namely, impose a more organized system in hopes that the event is a bit less chaotic.
This year, in addition to stories being gifts, art will also now be accepted. So, if you’re someone who is more inclined to draw and would prefer to submit art over a story, that is now an acceptable medium. When names and prompts are being sent out, you will be asked whether or not the gift you will be submitting will be art or a story. Or both, if you’re up for it.
ii. Guidelines.
All submitted stories must have a minimum of five hundred words (although one thousand is preferred). Want to write more? That’s great! You can write as much as you want, so go ham, as long as the story is completed by the final deadline. Submitted art must be fully inked and coloured. No sketches, sorry! The medium is really up to you and your preferences, whether traditional or digital. If your gift is traditional art, please make sure you either scan it or take a high-quality picture.
Also, this should be obvious, but try not to make your gift NSFW. Stray away from stories and art that lean into the explicitly sexual territory. Gore, blood, and other themes will likely depend on the person. PG-13 is fine. Oh, and let’s not write shipping fanfic about the people here.
‘Surprise me’ will not be an acceptable response to the question ‘what do you want’ this time around. Last time, almost everyone asked to be surprised, which is quite frankly, a daunting task. So this year, we’ll be asking you to fill out a simple signup form. If you put ‘surprise me’ in your form, you will be asked to change it otherwise you will not be accepted into the exchange.
Remember how we didn’t impose strict guidelines last time and some people didn't get gifts? Yeah, that sucked. With that in mind, we’re changing things up and will do our best to make sure that doesn’t happen this year. After names are assigned, you’ll have about two weeks to complete your gift. A check-in will take place after the first week, on December 14th, which will inquire about your continued interest in the exchange and the progress you’re making with your gift. At this point, you are able to withdraw from the exchange if you chose to do so, although you may not receive a gift. This year, we’ll also be introducing a feature called backups. More on those later.
For example, let’s assume something like this happens. Say Bob decides they want to drop out (or is dropped), their assignment will then be assigned to a back up. Alexander Hamilton, who had Bob's name will be informed that they are no longer required to make a gift for Bob, who dropped out but may finish the gift or submit it if they want too. Regardless of Alexander Hamilton's choice, Alexander Hamilton will still receive a gift.
Gifts are due December 20th. If your gift is not yet complete you may request an 2-day extension. However, in order to qualify for an extension, you must be able to provide a WIP of the gift. Stories must have at least 350 words and demonstrate some sort of plot while art must be sketched or partially lined. If you still haven’t completed your gift by December 20th, you will be dropped. A backup will then take over your assignment.
iii. More info.
Congratulations, you’ve made it this far! So, let’s talk about what a backups is and go over what ‘prompts’ are in more detail. In the future, this category will likely expand to include answers to questions that you guys have asked, in relation to the exchange.
Backups. So, what is a backup? Basically, it’s an opt in/opt out role. If you agree to be a backup, you may be asked to complete an additional gift in the event that someone withdraws or is dropped. You will not be asked to complete more than two gifts. It’s a completely optional role, and if by the first check in you decide ‘Ehh, maybe I don’t want to be a backup after all’ you can opt out of it. In order to be a backup, you must first have your first gift completed and submitted by the deadline. If you do not, your name will be taken off of the list of possible backups. Keep in mind, if you’re called to be a backup, you will likely have less than two weeks to complete your second gift, maybe around five days to a week. You will have to start over the gift from scratch, regardless of the progress the first participant made on the gift.
Prompts. This year, we’ll be requiring you put down at least three prompts when you sign up. These can be anything; maybe tropes you like or genres you enjoy. Hell, it can even be character archetypes that you love. Just make sure to explain if something isn’t clear. Really, the sky’s the limit on this. This is to give your Secret Santa something to go off of. When creating the gift, you are not required to use all of the prompts listed, only one. The variety is there so you are able to pick and choose, depending on your strengths. You are allowed to mix prompts, but only one must be prevalent in the gift.
iv. Sign up Sheet.
Prompts: (3-5)
What do you not want to see?:
Do you want to be a backup, if needed?: (Yes/No)
Other:
v. Example.
Prompts:
What do you do not want to see: Romance. Blood. Lengthy amounts of exposition. (Optional)
Do you want to be a backup, if needed? Yes.
Other: N/a. ( Optional. Write n/a if not applicable. Basically, any other thoughts you have in relation to the event, or questions. )
vi. Closing
Oh, wow... This post was longer than we expected it to be. But, there you have it. Secret Santa 2018. If you have any questions, post them below and we’ll do our best to answer them. This year, we thought we would try something a little bit different with this year’s Bannachair Exchange. Here’s to hoping it all works out.
vii. Timeline.
1/12-7/12. Sign-ups open.
8/12-8/12. Secret Santas assigned. Names and prompts handed out.
15/12. Check-in. Participants must provide an outline or proof that they have been working on their gift. Withdrawals will be accepted. Backups may possibly be assigned.
20/12. Gifts due. [ May be submitted beforehand. ] Extensions given. Unresponsive participants dropped. Backups may possibly be assigned.
22/12. Late gifts accepted. Still-late participants dropped. Backups may be assigned.
23/12 Backup check-in.
24/12 Backup gifts due.
Christmas: Gifts revealed.
In the event that a backup does not submit a completed gift by the 24th, a new backup will be assigned.
Secret Santa 2018
Organized and managed by Bannanachair
Written by Pawzkat
Reviewed and edited by Insomnian (Pawzkat’s friend)
Welcome back to the event that was supposed to be annual, but kinda didn’t happen last year. Oops. That’s right folks, it’s Secret Santa time. Welcome to Secret Santa 2018! We’re going to do things a bit differently this year, namely, impose a more organized system in hopes that the event is a bit less chaotic.
This year, in addition to stories being gifts, art will also now be accepted. So, if you’re someone who is more inclined to draw and would prefer to submit art over a story, that is now an acceptable medium. When names and prompts are being sent out, you will be asked whether or not the gift you will be submitting will be art or a story. Or both, if you’re up for it.
ii. Guidelines.
All submitted stories must have a minimum of five hundred words (although one thousand is preferred). Want to write more? That’s great! You can write as much as you want, so go ham, as long as the story is completed by the final deadline. Submitted art must be fully inked and coloured. No sketches, sorry! The medium is really up to you and your preferences, whether traditional or digital. If your gift is traditional art, please make sure you either scan it or take a high-quality picture.
Also, this should be obvious, but try not to make your gift NSFW. Stray away from stories and art that lean into the explicitly sexual territory. Gore, blood, and other themes will likely depend on the person. PG-13 is fine. Oh, and let’s not write shipping fanfic about the people here.
‘Surprise me’ will not be an acceptable response to the question ‘what do you want’ this time around. Last time, almost everyone asked to be surprised, which is quite frankly, a daunting task. So this year, we’ll be asking you to fill out a simple signup form. If you put ‘surprise me’ in your form, you will be asked to change it otherwise you will not be accepted into the exchange.
Remember how we didn’t impose strict guidelines last time and some people didn't get gifts? Yeah, that sucked. With that in mind, we’re changing things up and will do our best to make sure that doesn’t happen this year. After names are assigned, you’ll have about two weeks to complete your gift. A check-in will take place after the first week, on December 14th, which will inquire about your continued interest in the exchange and the progress you’re making with your gift. At this point, you are able to withdraw from the exchange if you chose to do so, although you may not receive a gift. This year, we’ll also be introducing a feature called backups. More on those later.
For example, let’s assume something like this happens. Say Bob decides they want to drop out (or is dropped), their assignment will then be assigned to a back up. Alexander Hamilton, who had Bob's name will be informed that they are no longer required to make a gift for Bob, who dropped out but may finish the gift or submit it if they want too. Regardless of Alexander Hamilton's choice, Alexander Hamilton will still receive a gift.
Gifts are due December 20th. If your gift is not yet complete you may request an 2-day extension. However, in order to qualify for an extension, you must be able to provide a WIP of the gift. Stories must have at least 350 words and demonstrate some sort of plot while art must be sketched or partially lined. If you still haven’t completed your gift by December 20th, you will be dropped. A backup will then take over your assignment.
iii. More info.
Congratulations, you’ve made it this far! So, let’s talk about what a backups is and go over what ‘prompts’ are in more detail. In the future, this category will likely expand to include answers to questions that you guys have asked, in relation to the exchange.
Backups. So, what is a backup? Basically, it’s an opt in/opt out role. If you agree to be a backup, you may be asked to complete an additional gift in the event that someone withdraws or is dropped. You will not be asked to complete more than two gifts. It’s a completely optional role, and if by the first check in you decide ‘Ehh, maybe I don’t want to be a backup after all’ you can opt out of it. In order to be a backup, you must first have your first gift completed and submitted by the deadline. If you do not, your name will be taken off of the list of possible backups. Keep in mind, if you’re called to be a backup, you will likely have less than two weeks to complete your second gift, maybe around five days to a week. You will have to start over the gift from scratch, regardless of the progress the first participant made on the gift.
Prompts. This year, we’ll be requiring you put down at least three prompts when you sign up. These can be anything; maybe tropes you like or genres you enjoy. Hell, it can even be character archetypes that you love. Just make sure to explain if something isn’t clear. Really, the sky’s the limit on this. This is to give your Secret Santa something to go off of. When creating the gift, you are not required to use all of the prompts listed, only one. The variety is there so you are able to pick and choose, depending on your strengths. You are allowed to mix prompts, but only one must be prevalent in the gift.
iv. Sign up Sheet.
Prompts: (3-5)
What do you not want to see?:
Do you want to be a backup, if needed?: (Yes/No)
Other:
v. Example.
Prompts:
- Zombie apocalypse
- Time travel
- People fighting against vampires
- Fallen heroes, either as the protagonist or as the primary antagonist
- Cats that are actually shapeshifters hiding from monster hunters in a cat cafe.
What do you do not want to see: Romance. Blood. Lengthy amounts of exposition. (Optional)
Do you want to be a backup, if needed? Yes.
Other: N/a. ( Optional. Write n/a if not applicable. Basically, any other thoughts you have in relation to the event, or questions. )
vi. Closing
Oh, wow... This post was longer than we expected it to be. But, there you have it. Secret Santa 2018. If you have any questions, post them below and we’ll do our best to answer them. This year, we thought we would try something a little bit different with this year’s Bannachair Exchange. Here’s to hoping it all works out.
vii. Timeline.
1/12-7/12. Sign-ups open.
8/12-8/12. Secret Santas assigned. Names and prompts handed out.
15/12. Check-in. Participants must provide an outline or proof that they have been working on their gift. Withdrawals will be accepted. Backups may possibly be assigned.
20/12. Gifts due. [ May be submitted beforehand. ] Extensions given. Unresponsive participants dropped. Backups may possibly be assigned.
22/12. Late gifts accepted. Still-late participants dropped. Backups may be assigned.
23/12 Backup check-in.
24/12 Backup gifts due.
Christmas: Gifts revealed.
In the event that a backup does not submit a completed gift by the 24th, a new backup will be assigned.
Secret Santa 2018
Organized and managed by Bannanachair
Written by Pawzkat
Reviewed and edited by Insomnian (Pawzkat’s friend)
