Formatting:
So that your fanfic is readable to everyone, please follow these rules when composing the work:
Keep it to 70 characters per line (any longer will wrap or run off some screens)
Use a text format that preserves line breaks (MS-DOS with line breaks)
Single space your text
Left justify your text (as opposed to right, center, or full justification)
Cutting-and-pasting into your regular email program usually works as well, as long as you are careful with the line length. AOL users must keep all lines under 70 characters for their stories to come through uncorrupted.
Try not to send your posts as attached files -- use cut-and-paste if you can. But you *can* send attached files if that is the only way you can move a large file. E-mail me if you have any problems ElyssaNYC@hotmail.com
Writing the Information
Title:
Author:
E-mail:
Distribution Statement:
Genres:
Relationships:
Content:
Keywords:
Rating:
Spoilers:
Summary:
Disclaimer:
Genres (choose only one)
Vignette: Vignettes are mood or character reflection pieces, which generally contain only one or two short scenes and no plot. Also known as sittin' and thinkin' fan fiction.
Story: A piece of fiction which contains a plot and is between 1K and 150K in length. 'Contains a plot' means that something happens during the course of the story--that due to decisions and actions on the part of the characters, something changes.
Novel: A piece of fiction that is usually long and complex and deals with the characters' experience though a connected sequence of events. A story that is over 150K in length. If you are not sure of the length your story will be in text format, please label it a story. The archivist will correct it if needed.
Drabble: A story of exactly 100 words. Other stories with a set number of words are also archived under this genre.
Poetry: A composition in verse, chosen and arranged to create a specific emotional response through the meaning, sound and/or rhythm.
Filk: A subset of folk music that is practiced in, by and for the science fiction and fantasy community. They are composed by either writing new lyrics for existing tunes, or creating songs that are both original in music and lyrics (a wee bit hard to convey in text format.) Sub-genres (multiple selections are allowed)
Romance: A creative work which focuses upon a romance or romances between two or more characters. The romantic pairing(s) are indicated in the relationships field.
Crossover: A creative work which involves characters from one or more outside universes. The other universe(s) are indicated in the content field.
Humor: A creative work that is or designed to be comical or amusing. If the piece is also parody, that is indicated in the content field.
Angst: A creative work which involves a character suffering great emotional or physical pain.
RELATIONSHIPS:
Relationships are the way to let readers know what type of pairings they will see in your story. Using them will also allow your fiction to be listed in the Relationships section of the archive. Multiple pairs are allowed. If a same-sex sexual relationship is included, Slash should be placed in the content field. Authors are not required to state which relationships are featured in their stories, although we encourage it.
Character/Character sex. The relationship noted includes sex, but no romance. Should be used for non-romantic PWPs (Porn without Plot; Plot, what Plot?)
Character/Character romance. The relationship noted is romantic in nature.
Character/Character UST. The relationship noted involves Unresolved Sexual Tension.
Character/Character friendship. The relationship noted is platonic in nature (friendships.)
Note: Character/Character includes all reoccurring characters from the television show (characters that appear in more than one episode.)
Character/other sex., etc. Same defintions as above.
Note: other includes characters that occur in only one episode, original characters, Mary Sues, etc. The name of 'other' will not appear in the relationships field.
CONTENT:
Content refers to content descriptors and content warnings--basically to descriptions that expand upon other fields or warn about content that may not be appropriate for all readers. Authors are not required to use either content descriptors or warnings, but are strongly encouraged to at least consider using content warnings should their story call for them. Content Descriptors
Pre-episode: The story takes place before an episode, but strongly relates to that episode. The episode should be noted in the spoilers field.
Missing scene: The story takes place during an episode and is either a character's reflections about a scene or a new scene (fill-in-the-blank). The episode should be noted in the spoilers field.
Post-episode: The story takes place after an episode and strongly relates to that episode. The episode should be noted in the spoilers field.
Show/{} crossover: Names the crossover universe(s).
Slash: The story contains a same-sex romantic or sexual relationship.
Parody Content Warnings
Violence: Excessive violence, far in excess of what is used on the show.
Rape: A character is raped; should be used for anything beyond a brief mention.
Character Death: Major character dies.
KEYWORDS:
Basically, keywords are everything else. They are descriptions that don't really relate back to other fields, but are types of stories that people like to write and read. Please only use these keywords if your story actually falls into that category.
Contemporary: Stories which take place during the show timelines
Alternate universe: Stories which take characters outside the show's defined universe.
Script format: Stories written in screen play format.
Pre-series: Stories which take place before the series began.
RATING: Although this list is completely open for *all* forms of fanfic, it is important that you include a rating for your work. You must rate your work correctly if you want it to be posted! We use the US movie rating system:
G appropriate for all ages.
PG nothing graphic, but not appropriate for young readers.
R contains sex, violence or language and is not appropriate for anyone under legal age.
NC-17 contains *graphic* sex, violence or language and is not appropriate for anyone under legal age and some adults.
SPOILERS:
Spoilers are references to particular episodes, which would spoil a reader who has not seen those episodes.
We request that you only list the latest episode your story spoils, since that will encompass all episodes prior. If your work is a pre-episode, missing scene or post-episode, please list the episode that it relates to in the spoiler field.
SUMMARY:
A summary is a brief description (150 words or less) TV-Guide like synopsis of your story. Do not include editorial content (references to yourself and your reasons for writing the story) in the summary--that information belongs in the author' s note if you want to include it. Also, do not use abbreviations in the summary.
A correct summary:
Summary: Max and Logan discuss what happened with Lydecker.
Anonymous Posting
If you are concerned about your identity on the Internet, please understand that you can still share your fanfic with us and protect that identity through anonymous posting.
Using an email account that doesn't give out your real name is one sure method. You can obtain such an account through a variety of ISPs, including the following:
http://www.hotmail.com
http://www.yahoo.com
If you don't want to create a whole new account, you can still post anonymously by having the work forwarded to the list by someone else, and then having feedback sent through the forwarder rather than to you directly.
PLEASE DO NOT PLAGIARIZE!
If you are unsure of the format check out the already posted fics and match your formatting to one of theirs.
