Original Fiction Ficathon

2000 Word Check Point

Thu, 14 Feb 2008 03:18:03 GMT

Heya Ficathoners,

First off, let me thank those who have already turned in their 2000 point checklist. You're all awesome.

This checkpoint is from: 13th February - 20th February.

As stated before, You do not need to have the 2000 words posted on Fictionpress or wherever you are intending on posting the story, but you will have to e-mail it to the Original Fiction Ficathon e-mail address: officathon@gmail.com. However, if you'd prefer to comment here with a link to your 2000+ words you can do so.

It would be helpful if you put this in your email/comment:
Name:
Challenge:
(for comments only) Email:

PLEASE NOTE THAT THE 2000 WORDS YOU SUBMIT WILL IN NO WAY BE CONSIDERED THE FINAL VERSION, NOR WILL IT BE JUDGED. WE JUST WANT TO SEE PROOF THAT YOU'RE WORKING ON YOUR CHALLENGE. ☺

Much love,
Your Mod's

List of People Who Have Submitted 2000 Words
Mika
Ashley
Kyra G.
Calybe
K.B. Hanna

Back-Up Writers

Mon, 11 Feb 2008 01:04:14 GMT

First of all, a big thanks goes out to all of you who managed to turn in your challenges on time. Unfortunately, some of you did not. Because of this, we are looking for 11 back-up writers. Because of the short amount of time, the back-up writers only need to write 2000 words by the deadline.

Those of you who already have a challenge may apply to be a back up writer, but both challenges must be submitted by the deadline.

If you are interested, please fill out the following form:

Name:
Email:
First Preference:
Second Preference:
Third Preference:

Example:
Name: Abby Johnson
Email: jabby07@email.com
First Preference: 3
Second Preference: 10
Third Preference: 23

Challenge 2

Genre: Humor/Romance

Rating: Teen/Mature

Likes: High-school aged characters, X-box, caffeine, and insomnia.

Dislikes: Mary-Sues, rape, and pregnancy.

3 Quotes/Phrases: "Give me a fuckin' cookie!", "I hate five dollar bills. They remind me of rainbows.", "I wonder if bacon bits would taste good with apple pie...They probably would. Bacon bits taste good with everything."

Challenge 4

Genre: Romantic Comedy

Rating: Anything

Likes: Older career woman, younger man (at least college aged)

Dislikes: Stereotypical desperate housewife

3 Quotes/Phrases: 'She's my lover' 'No booty calls' 'I'd like to see you out dance me'

Challenge 5

Genre: Fantasy

Rating: T

Likes: creativity in the different types of characters in the story and action scenes between characters in a fight

Dislikes: most of the characters with a dominant nature and too much detail that the story gets boring

3 Quotes/Phrases: "I don't see why I have to be like you- I am just like everyone else," "Please tell me they did not just go there," "Why can't you understand I do this for your own good?"

Challenge 13

Genre: anything

Rating: T+

Likes: anything

Dislikes: porn

3 Quotes/Phrases: dilemma, mystery, confusion

Challenge 16

Genre: Humor/Young Adult

Rating: Any

Likes: An obese main character that maintains that weight, sadism, anarchy. A character that acts like Dr. Phil to solve his/her own problems.

Dislikes: Characters proclaiming their love for each other after the first 5 chapters. Common, teenage drama. Using the word emo, prep, jock, bad boy, etc... Vampires, Werewolves, etc... Inner conversations battling over whether the guy is hot or not. Ex: "OMG, he's so sexy. Wait, did I just say that. Shut up brain. He's not sexy. Not sexy. Not sexy. Not sexy."

3 Quotes/Phrases: Finkelstein. "It tastes like a woody." Person One: "I love you." Person Two: "I just vomited in my mouth."

Challenge 18

Genre: Romance/ Humor

Rating: T

Likes: Cliché, Strong female main character (strong as in not timid or shy), A motorbike, A food fight

Dislikes: , A love triangle, A car crash, Football/soccer games

3 Quotes/Phrases: “Don't call me stupid, stupid!", "Oh please! He's so gay he makes Elton John look straight." "Look! Over there! A flying purple pig!"

Challenge 22

Genre: anything

Rating: anything

Likes: Interesting characters, fantasy in a medieval setting

Dislikes: clichés, (should you choose to put in romance) 'love at first sight'

3 Quotes/Phrases: "I don't think that goes there", "need help getting up?", fractious

Challenge 23

Genre: Young Adult/Romance/Humour (doesn't have to be all three)

Rating: T

Likes: A bland character surrounded by quirky people who s/he thinks s/he's too good for. A realisation that the character is not as good/amazing as they think they are and them doing something about it. People who can be both mean and nice, teachers (note the plural!) who are good at what they do and well liked. Most importantly: 3D characters.

Dislikes: 2D characters, sluts, sex, evil bitches who have no other job than having talons and clinging to some boy, purple prose, bad use of clichés and too much profanity, mistaken identity, a platonic relationship turning into 'something more', stereotypes, horror

3 Quotes/Phrases: "Forgive her, she seems to think stupidity equals originality." "I'm thinking about thinking about something." "Alice? As in Alice in Wonderland? Wicked hot man!"

Challenge 29

Genre: fantasy-romance

Rating: T

Likes: something totally unexpected, otherworldly, completely out there! creative is the key!! lol

Dislikes: the same romantic cliche of badass guy meets shy, reserved girl.... gets on your nerves when you see the same thing again and again, however well-written the stories might be. you can have those kind of characters, as long as its....unexpected circumstances, or something.

3 Quotes/Phrases: "See that _____ (fill in with whatever) over there? That, my friend, is your destiny." Words - obsidian, gyrate (its a verb, so you can change its form or whatever).

Challenge 31

Genre: suspense

Rating: M

Likes: Violence. Plot twists. Suspense that makes the reader want to know what's happening. Application of current events.

Dislikes: Sappy love story. Cliché.

3 Quotes/Phrases: "I'm dying." "Fuck you bastard, I m dying. can't you see?" "Secrets are best kept safe; if shared, well then you can say, "Good bye to your fucking life."

Challenge 33

Genre: Horror/romance

Rating: T+

Likes: psychotic bad boys, biting, mystery, lust, dyed hair, spray painted words on the wall, boarding school, spoiled kids with troubled lives, murders, dark humor etc.

Dislikes: vampires, FLUFF, cliché sayings, bad boys who go soft in the end, predictability, and so help you god if you use 'your' instead of 'You're'. I will FIND you!! :P

3 Quotes/Phrases: "Yeah, it was the saddest thing. They say he just got tired of living. I heard they never found the pineapple." "Kiss me, I'm Irish." "Fugly".

Thanks for all your cooperation!
The Mods

ATTENTION!

Fri, 18 Jan 2008 06:25:42 GMT

To those who completed the 1000 word checkpoint, CONGRATULATIONS! You lot are amazing and absolute stars. Next up, 2000 word checkpoint on February 10th - February 17th. :P

Sadly, the following people have not submitted their 1000 words. If your name is on the list and we do not receive the 1000 words from you by the 20th of January you will be blacklisted from the next session. E-mails have been sent out as well.

People who have NOT submitted 1000 words

Shiegra
BARRISTER DISASTER
Andrew G. Torrence
Hazel
Topaz
Keshia
Persephone
Rachel
Tiffany
Zuleika
Reshma E.
Kaileigh
Maja
Effect
Total: 14

Also we are looking for a back-up writer for Challenge #17. Back up writers will not have to do the 1000 word checkpoint. If you are already doing one challenge and would like to do this challenge as well, you are allowed to do so. However, both challenges will have to have the same priority (ie. 2000/+ words by the 10th of February). If you have any other questions/concerns about being a back up writer please comment on this post.

Challenge 17

Genre: Romance/Horror/Suspense

Rating: T-M

Likes: Originality, unexpected plot twists, not necessarily told in a linear fashion.

Dislikes: Any run-of-the-mill clichés, crazy villains without real purpose or reasoning, an angsty loner protagonist.

3 Quotes/Phrases: (1)“Do you know what the snow is?…Racist!” (2)“I’m a peach!” (3)“Sometimes I look in the mirror and I think...blaaaah!”

1000 Word checkpoint

Thu, 10 Jan 2008 05:42:45 GMT

Hello there writers!

I (calybe) had made a mistake in the last post, the 1000 word checkpoint actually starts from the 10th of January, not the first week of January. I'm really sorry about any stress & trauma I might have caused by that. Nevertheless, thank you to the people who submitted their 1000 words already, you guys are stars!

This checkpoint is from: 10th January - 17th January.

As stated before, You do not need to have the 1000 words posted on Fictionpress or wherever you are intending on posting the story, but you will have to e-mail it to the Original Fiction Ficathon e-mail address: officathon@gmail.com. However, if you'd prefer to comment here with a link to your 1000+ words you can do so.

It would be helpful if you put this in your email/comment:
Name:
Challenge:
(for comments only) Email:

If you're having problems with your story/time management, now is the time to voice these concerns! We will be appealing for back-up writers soon.

PLEASE NOTE THAT THE 1000 WORDS YOU SUBMIT WILL IN NO WAY BE CONSIDERED THE FINAL VERSION, NOR WILL IT BE JUDGED. WE JUST WANT TO SEE PROOF THAT YOU'RE WORKING ON YOUR CHALLENGE. ☺

Much love,
Your Mod's

List of People Who Have Submitted 1000 Words

Candid
Ashley
Mika
Shruti
Yumegatari
Lara
Wolfie Star26
Calybe
Kayla
Jenn
Mishiemia
Kadie
Nona
Silver Eyed
McKenzie
Inky-Angel
xtotallyatpeacex
K.B. Hanna
Mawa
Emerald

Total: 20

Happy Holidays!

Tue, 25 Dec 2007 10:42:17 GMT

Happy Holidays to everyone.

This is just a reminder that the first week of January will be the 1000 word checkpoint. Make sure that you at least have 1000 words ready by then!

You do not need to have the 1000 words posted on Fictionpress or wherever you are intending on posting the story, but you will have to e-mail it to the Original Fiction Ficathon e-mail address: officathon@gmail.com .

If you have any questions please check the FAQ's first, otherwise please comment here.

Challenge Help

Sun, 16 Dec 2007 05:01:38 GMT

First of all, if you still haven't confirmed that you have received your challenge, please do so here. It is very important that you do so.

Secondly, if you have any questions/concerns about the challenge you received please comment to this post in the following format:

Name:
Email:
Challenge Number:
Question/Concern:

We will then relay your questions/concerns to the person who issued the challenge and get back to you.

All comments are screened.

Much Love & Cheers,
Your Mods

Challenges Alert

Sat, 08 Dec 2007 10:11:12 GMT

The Challenges have been sent out. If you did not receive your challenge please comment with your name and email address as shown below:

Name: Participant
Email: whatever@email.com

Otherwise, if you have received your challenge, please comment with 'confirmed'.

All comments will be screened.

Love & Cheers,
Your Mods

Challenges

Sun, 02 Dec 2007 17:15:32 GMT

OK, so the deadline of submitting your requests has finished and now it's time to send the challenges. The list has been compiled (those who hadn't submitted their requests have been assigned one by the mods), and you shall receive your challenges before the end of this week.
As a reminder:
Dates of the ficathon (subject to change):
Sign-Up Deadline: 1st November
Request (Top 5) Deadline: 1st December
Assignments Given Out: 10th December
Writing Checkpoint #1: 10th January
Writing Checkpoint #2: 10th February
Writing Deadline: 10th March

Have fun!

Loads of love and cheers,
Your Mods

Confirmation: Session 5

Sat, 10 Nov 2007 03:44:06 GMT

An email has been sent out to everyone confirming their participation in Official Ficathon Session 5. If you did not receive an email please comment on this post with (comments will be screened):

Name:
E-mail Address:

Also, a reminder that everyone has to post their preference of challenges over here, not anywhere else.

Edit: The FAQ has been updated. If you still have questions, please post them over there.

Edit 2: A new email of confirmation has been sent to everyone. If you didn't receive that one either, please comment on this post.

Much love and cheers,
Your Mods

Challenge List

Thu, 08 Nov 2007 00:20:40 GMT

Sorry for the delay, but the challenges are finally up. There are thirty-seven. For those of you who attempted to sign up after November 1st, your challenges were not accepted as the deadline for sign-ups had already passed. However, you are all still free to sign up for the next session.

Please read all of the challenges below, under the LJ cut, then select your top five choices. Fill in the following form and post as a comment. All of the posts are screened so there is no need to worry about someone else seeing your choices.

Name:
Email:
First Preference:
Second Preference:
Third Preference:
Fourth Preference:
Fifth Preference:

Example:
Name: Abby Johnson
Email: jabby07@email.com
First Preference: 3
Second Preference: 10
Third Preference: 23
Fourth Preference: 36
Fifth Preference: 7

You will have until the 1st to do this. After that time, those who have not sent in their preferences will be randomly allocated a challenge.

Not everyone gets the challenge s/he wants, but the moderators do try to be fair when distributing the challenges. Sometimes conflict is unavoidable.

Challenge 1

Genre: Horror

Rating: T

Likes: The story must be told in first person, by a female. This female is strong-willed and does not bend easily. Excessive use of the British slang 'cack'. And also, murder. Also, this CAN be a one-shot.

Dislikes: The word 'fuck'. And also, try to limit romantic encounters to slightly more than a kiss only.

3 Quotes/Phrases: "You remember when I told you I love sunsets? I take it back. I love sunsets after a good bloody episode of General Hospital.", "Hey, I'm a girl! Who'd suspect me?" immediately followed by a .... "Oh, you have no idea how many people, exactly, suspect you." IMMEDIATELY FOLLOWED BY: "Damn. Sexism never works in my favor."

Challenge 2

Genre: Humor/Romance

Rating: Teen/Mature

Likes: High-school aged characters, X-box, caffeine, and insomnia.

Dislikes: Mary-Sues, rape, and pregnancy.

Challenge 3

Genre: Humor/Romance

Rating: Teen/Mature

Likes: Skittles, cotton balls, curse words, Say Anything(the band), corny romance, a violent main character, a female lead character, and Hamburger Helper.

Dislikes: Too much sex, perverted guys, rape, pregnancy, sour cream, peanut butter, and garlic.

3 Quotes/Phrases: "I'm so tired of hearing about skittles that if I pick one up right now, I'll shove it so far up your ass you'll taste the fucking rainbow, bitch." "A mini-fridge is waaay more important than a bassist." [[stolen from guitar hero. because everyone needs a mini fridge.]] "...Why does it sound like there's an orca in your basement?!"

Challenge 4

Genre: Romantic Comedy

Rating: Anything

Likes: Older career woman, younger man (at least college aged)

Dislikes: Stereotypical desperate housewife

3 Quotes/Phrases: 'She's my lover' 'No booty calls' 'I'd like to see you out dance me'

Challenge 5

Genre: Fantasy

Rating: T

Likes: creativity in the different types of characters in the story and action scenes between characters in a fight

Dislikes: most of the characters with a dominant nature and too much detail that the story gets boring

3 Quotes/Phrases: "I don't see why I have to be like you- I am just like everyone else," "Please tell me they did not just go there," "Why can't you understand I do this for your own good?"

Challenge 6

Genre: drama/romance

Rating: T

Likes: The female protagonist attending a new school

Dislikes: slash

3 Quotes/Phrases: "Just shoot me." “What price do I pay?” “Close your eyes.”

Challenge 7

Genre: Romance

Rating: G-T

Likes: Historical society-influenced romance. (i.e. Jane Austen's Novel concerning the British society)

Dislikes: Any questionable scenes and too "good" personalities in characters.

3 Quotes/Phrases: "If I have done anything improper, please refrain from telling me." "Red Roses are the true sign of love" "Never say I can't do something, because you will be proven wrong."

Challenge 8

Genre: Fantasy

Rating: T

Likes: Anything with magic, emperors, empresses, thieves, wannabe ninja's and a psycho jester.

Dislikes: Destiny, All-Knowing God being picking out the main character, a thief stealing from a palace and getting away, beautiful people all over, references to cake and peas.

3 Quotes/Phrases: 1. "Life is like a cookie. You get bitten and die." 2. "You make my mind bleed creativity." 3. "The world is a depressing place because of that jester."

Challenge 9

Genre: romance and/or humor and/or young adult

Rating: T or above.

Likes: cold weather, ice cream, a couple that gets caught right before having sex (naked) without causing drama, unresolved sexual tension, a very liberal character that is someone’s grandmother/grandfather, yellow spandex, random mentions of music idols (old or recent, can be minor), I’d really love it if the story wasn’t set in the usual locations such as USA, UK, Canada and Australia. Try to be different. =], a character named after a location (country, city, street, etc)

Dislikes: too much sarcasm, a character that has the answers to everyone’s every problem, snow (snow fight, snowman, snow angels), major holidays (Christmas, Thanksgiving, so on), stereotypical characters (bitchy cheerleader, witty nerd, cool geek, etc).

3 Quotes/Phrases: reference to a Marvel Comics series/hero of your choosing (can be minor), “You’re not supposed to eat it, you know.” “I can only think of one way to get you out of this situation. Oh, wait… No, I can’t. Well, it’s safe to say you’re screwed!”

Challenge 10

Genre: At least some Romance and Supernatural

Rating: Any

Likes: A nosy main character; a guy that’s hot because of his personality more than his looks; lots of courage throughout the story; edgy, realistic dialogue and details; a take-your-breath-away moment; unpredictable decisions; a curse with no cure; and some wild traveling

Dislikes: a high school cliché; stereotypical, flat characters; and angst/melodrama; a vampire story

3 Quotes/Phrases: "Take reality in only small doses. Too much of it may lead to autism, delirium, and in some cases, heavy diarrhea ." "Are you kidding me? That was the worst kiss I ever had!" "Did you just try to bite me?"

Challenge 11

Genre: Romance/Horror/Humour/Supernatural/ maybe a bit of Fantasy

Rating: Anything

Likes: An unhinged love interest. Original plot, characters, and unexpected twists. A shaky, indecisive main character (doesn't necessarily have to be the protagonist) that slowly becomes confident as the story grows.

Dislikes: A cheesy and totally oblivious protagonist. Mary-Sues & Larry-Stues.
3 Quotes/Phrases: "What can I say? Dancing is my forte." "Do you really have to do that?" "The world owes me so fuck you."

Challenge 12

Genre: Fantasy or Mystery/Suspense

Rating: T+

Likes: Snow

Dislikes: clichés and love stories

3 Quotes/Phrases: Armageddon, bliss, abyss

Challenge 13

Genre: anything

Rating: T+

Likes: anything

Dislikes: porn

3 Quotes/Phrases: dilemma, mystery, confusion

Challenge 14

Genre: Romance

Rating: T

Likes: Good comebacks, sarcastic comments

Dislikes: Clichéd pairing, cheesy dialogues

3 Quotes/Phrases: ‘Say what?' 'You can't learn how to lead your life through a book!' 'Blasphemous'

Challenge 15

Genre: Mystery/Romance

Rating: T

Likes: Female Interpol agent. Murder or Kidnapping case. Small town. Humor (hence at least one of the quotes).

Dislikes: Clichés. Partner falls in love with partner. Females who back down when things get tough.

3 Quotes/Phrases: "Ignorance killed the cat, curiosity just got framed." "Oh… I see. Bitter rivalry with homoerotic undertones?" "Cartel as in the band, not as in drug cartel."

Challenge 16

Genre: Humor/Young Adult

Rating: Any

Likes: An obese main character that maintains that weight, sadism, anarchy. A character that acts like Dr. Phil to solve his/her own problems.

3 Quotes/Phrases: Finkelstein. "It tastes like a woody." Person One: "I love you." Person Two: "I just vomited in my mouth."

Challenge 17

Genre: Romance/Horror/Suspense

Rating: T-M

Likes: Originality, unexpected plot twists, not necessarily told in a linear fashion.

Dislikes: Any run-of-the-mill clichés, crazy villains without real purpose or reasoning, an angsty loner protagonist.

3 Quotes/Phrases: (1)“Do you know what the snow is?…Racist!” (2)“I’m a peach!” (3)“Sometimes I look in the mirror and I think...blaaaah!”

Challenge 18

Genre: Romance/ Humor

Rating: T

Likes: Cliché, Strong female main character (strong as in not timid or shy), A motorbike, A food fight

Dislikes: , A love triangle, A car crash, Football/soccer games

3 Quotes/Phrases: “Don't call me stupid, stupid!", "Oh please! He's so gay he makes Elton John look straight." "Look! Over there! A flying purple pig!"

Challenge 19

Genre: comedy

Rating: T+

Likes: birds, someone with a Sharpie marker addiction, characters over the age of eighteen, a road trip, Gummi Bears.

Dislikes: school (in any form), bad boys falling for virginal ice princesses, eyes described as being 'purple'

3 Quotes/Phrases: "Oodles of noodles", "Don't forget the apple pie" and the word 'poindexter'

Challenge 20

Genre: Horror or Supernatural

Rating: T or M

Likes: Innovative and deep characters that are college aged, ones that react realistically and defy cliché

Dislikes: cliché and angst. Minimal angst please. Also, please no main characters that are in high school.

3 Quotes/Phrases: -"Oh, come on. It's called radical doubt. Ever heard of Decarte? You question what's real, you question and question, and basically what you get is this: I don't even know if you really exist." -----"I'm a history major. Don't laugh, I make more than an English major. And...um, a theatre major." "My dead grandma makes more than a theatre major." -- "just...shut up, ok? One semester of philosophy does not a philosopher make."

Challenge 21

Genre: Absurdist (this will be a toughie)

Rating: Any

Likes: A heavy dose of symbols and metaphors, exaggerated characters, one stable character, a relationship that doesn't work out, two characters that are foils of each other, and some well-inserted literary/historical allusions

Dislikes: Clichés and girls who don't worry about their appearance yet somehow manage to snag the hot guy. In fact, no hot guys. But a hot girl.

3 Quotes/Phrases: moliminous, tojours pur, acanthine

Challenge 22

Genre: anything

Rating: anything

Likes: Interesting characters, fantasy in a medieval setting

Dislikes: clichés, (should you choose to put in romance) 'love at first sight'

3 Quotes/Phrases: "I don't think that goes there", "need help getting up?", fractious

Challenge 23

Genre: Young Adult/Romance/Humour (doesn't have to be all three)

Rating: T

3 Quotes/Phrases: "Forgive her, she seems to think stupidity equals originality." "I'm thinking about thinking about something." "Alice? As in Alice in Wonderland? Wicked hot man!"

Challenge 24

Genre: Romance/Drama

Rating: PG-13/R

Likes: A quirky girl, and a boy who never thought it possible to fall in love with her.

Dislikes: Mary Sues, excessive description and dialogue, sad endings.

3 Quotes/Phrases: "Hey, we're all adults here. SHARE!!" // "Somewhere along the way, you fell in love with her without even knowing it." // "...You've got a problem."

Challenge 25

Genre: romance/humor/slice of life & optional horror/supernatural elements

Rating: preferably mature, but teen is fine.

Likes: quirky characters with a connection, surrealistic hints, something fresh & unique, new perspectives, anything out of the 'ordinary'

Dislikes: bad clichés, typical anything, high school dramas, a bad blend of immaturity

3 Quotes/Phrases: "I find it disturbing that you know what I'm talking about without either of us clarifying what it is.", "Unfortunately, immaturity doesn't discriminate. Just like herpes.", "I'm not indecisive. I just don't give a shit."

Challenge 26

Genre: romance/supernatural

Rating: T-M

Likes: a modern setting, an arranged marriage, magic, a non cliché heroin who falls for the bad guy, a happy ending.

Dislikes: a traditional damsel-in-distress situation, ANYTHING cheesy/cliched/Disney-movie-esque

3 Quotes/Phrases: kerfuffle, "So what's with all the confetti?" "You don't actually expect me to wear that, do you?"

Challenge 27

Genre: Romance

Rating: Anything

Likes: People at a locked psychiatry ward that are NOT overly obsessed with their mental illness and/or their medication.

Dislikes: Mary Sues in general. Sexual abuse used simply for the angst factor.

3 Quotes/Phrases: "Jump in, it's only fire." "Living here between reasons to live." "The cake is a lie."

Challenge 28

Genre: Romance/Humour

Rating: T+

Likes: Food, chef's hat, misplaced butcher knives, stalking tendencies

Dislikes: Aesthetically perfect characters, angst, unrequited crushes, older brother's best friend

3 Quotes/Phrases: "Fatty-fatty bom-bah!" "You rock my world like a fat kid in a canoe." "...I just want a cream cake..."

Challenge 29

Genre: fantasy-romance

Rating: T

Likes: something totally unexpected, otherworldly, completely out there! creative is the key!! lol

3 Quotes/Phrases: "See that _____ (fill in with whatever) over there? That, my friend, is your destiny." Words - obsidian, gyrate (its a verb, so you can change its form or whatever).

Challenge 30

Genre: supernatural/romance

Rating: Teen (or older)

Likes: Characters that have character. The end of a friendship. Imperfect people. Names that have meaning. A weather scene. Symbolism. Good (not forced) dialogue. Originality. Making unrealistic things seem natural. Humor. Plot twists.

Dislikes: CLICHES (plot or characters). Underdeveloped characters. Chick lit. Pages of description. Overly worked plot lines. Annoyingly happy couples. School (the characters can go to school, just don’t show them in it). Angst.

3 Quotes/Phrases: “Don’t be nice, I don’t wanna have to like you.”/ “some poor village is missing their idiot.”/ “You have no clue what the hell you’re supposed to be doing? …Join the club.”

Challenge 31

Genre: suspense

Rating: M

Likes: Violence. Plot twists. Suspense that makes the reader want to know what's happening. Application of current events.

Dislikes: Sappy love story. Cliché.

3 Quotes/Phrases: "I'm dying." "Fuck you bastard, I m dying. can't you see?" "Secrets are best kept safe; if shared, well then you can say, "Good bye to your fucking life."

Challenge 32

Genre: drama/angst/suspense, and (of course) romance

Rating: anything

Likes: dysfunctional families, adolescents, something new

Dislikes: beautiful people who hate being beautiful, long unnecessary descriptions (mainly of characters appearances), predictable couples.

3 Quotes/Phrases: "and I could tell she was lying 'cause she used the same tone of voice she uses when she talks to her parents" "I'd run over my own mother to win the Super Bowl" "I love it how she breathes booze in the morning"

Challenge 33

Genre: Horror/romance

Rating: T+

Likes: psychotic bad boys, biting, mystery, lust, dyed hair, spray painted words on the wall, boarding school, spoiled kids with troubled lives, murders, dark humor etc.

Dislikes: vampires, FLUFF, cliché sayings, bad boys who go soft in the end, predictability, and so help you god if you use 'your' instead of 'You're'. I will FIND you!! :P

3 Quotes/Phrases: "Yeah, it was the saddest thing. They say he just got tired of living. I heard they never found the pineapple." "Kiss me, I'm Irish." "Fugly".

Challenge 34

Genre: Horror/Romance

Rating: T - M(ish)

Likes: Quirky relationships, even quirkier language, people with serious issues/obsessions, controversial tenets, strong eloquent language, definite romance (possibly even a triangle.

Dislikes: weak characters all too ready to go off into a downward spiral, really bizarre names, redundant language, immaturity, generic characters (slutty bitchy cheerleader, nerdy guy, you get the gist ;)), profanity just for the sake of profanity and really embarrassing and over the top sex scenes.

3 Quotes/Phrases: "it appears the buttons have fallen off your shirt!" "strumpet? moi?" "I think you'll find pyromania is the new kleptomania."

Challenge 35

Genre: Cliché romance/relationships

Rating: T

Likes: I'm feeling valley girl-ish, if you get that

Dislikes: thriller, historical, detective maybe

3 Quotes/Phrases: "hawt", "I want you to kiss me" (not so hype about that, it's not ABSOLUTELY necessary) and "I love you" or something to that effect

Challenge 36

Genre: Young Adult, Romance, General

Rating: Teen or Mature

Likes: friendship, celebrity obsessions, sarcasm, love, book references, an abortion (but not the main character's), real life situations, description, villains you want to root for (even though you really like the main character), a character in the summer before college/university, someone being afraid of the dark and being made fun of for it, siblings that get along but aren't overprotective, a white person and a black person in a relationship (but not the main character), people singing randomly in hallways/streets/dorm rooms/rooms/whatever and being looked at funny, making fun of myspace/facebook, cute boys, stress (but not over the top)

Dislikes: cheesy lines, romantic scenes taken over the top, Goth/Popular, Goths in general, people being depressed or "emo", stereotypical couples or characters, overly flawed characters, parents that are never around because they are too busy, abusive parents, horrible grammar, twins, bitchy ex-girlfriends, stalkers, bullies, people being ex-friends but then becoming BFF by the end of the story, love/hate relationships that have been gone on for many years, a girl with five brothers, a boy with a lot of sisters, eating disorders, really obvious hypocrites, parties in every chapter, rape, arrogance, journal/diary entries

3 Quotes/Phrases: "You are the worst liar I've ever met.", "Keep dreaming. You're never going to meet [him/her] because [he/she] is a celebrity and you're just, well, you.", "You looked me up on FACEBOOK?! What is this world coming to? I mean, I know this is Generation X or Y or maybe even Generation MyFace, but now people don't ask you for your phone number. They ask you if you're on [Myspace/Facebook]."

Challenge 37

Genre: fantasy/romance - more fantasy than romance

Rating: whatever

Likes: vampire housewives, alternative/different fantasy. other than that, do what you want.

Dislikes: fairy tales. bad spelling/grammar (I don't expect it to be perfect, but still) clichés... the usual. and please, no relationships happening in the blink of an eye. they should grow.

3 Quotes/Phrases: Person One: where is {name of guy}?
Person Two: he's stacking wood.
Person One: stacking wood? is that some obscure sexual reference of a masturbatory nature or is he literally stacking wood?
Person Two: literally. pervert.

Love,
Your Moderators

Session Five

Fri, 12 Oct 2007 05:00:44 GMT

Please read this ENTIRE post before you sign up, so that you fully understand what's happening and of course, feel free to ask questions.

Because of the lack of completion of last session's challenges, we're going to have a check point sort of system for the of_ficathon. So a month after all the challenges have been handed out we're going to check the word progress of the stories. If you haven't met the 1000 word limit at that point we'll get back up writers to do the challenge. Don't worry, there'll be plenty of warning before the check-point occurs!

Sign up is as follows: Copy the following form, fill it in and post as a comment. Comments will be screened so challenges will be totally annonymous. NOTE: You do not necessarily need a fictionpress account, it's fine if you decide to post your story on LJ or any other sites.

1. Name:
2. E-mail:
3. Fictionpress.com profile address:
4. Genre of story you'd like to request:
5. Rating you'd like to request:
6. What you'd like to see:
7. What you'd hate to see:
8. Three words/quotes you'd like to see in the story:

It's been noted that really specific challenges seem to daunt people so don't get too into it. Please don't request a story where "Mark, the boy, meets Katie, the girl, and they totally don't get along but then tragedy forces them together and they like, totally bond and then fall in love and all." It leaves the author no room to explore the concepts of a challenge.

That's it! After you've posted your comment, you'll be signed up, and your name will be added to the list (it'll be on this post) of authors. There was some leniency last session with sign-ups, so that if you missed the deadline, we'd still include you but this time, no. The SECOND that it hits the end of deadline day, it's closed. Sorry. You'll receive an email, at the end of the sign-up period, to confirm your participation in the ficathon. Please, before you sign up, make sure you can fulfill the ficathon requirements, and if at any point you feel that you can't, then please email the mods at officathon@gmail.com

Dates of the ficathon (subject to change):
Sign-Up Deadline: 1st November
Request (Top 5) Deadline: 1st December
Assignments Given Out: 10th December
Writing Deadline: 10th March

Remember: If more people know about this ficathon, more will sign up - which will make the challenge much more fun. So please, don't forget to tell your friends and plug this ficathon!

Also: Here are some Frequently Asked Questions, in case you're not sure about something.

Love,

Your moderators.

People Who Have Signed Up

Shiegra
mishiema
Yumegatari
Kayla
Kadie
Lara
Rhandi
Wolfie Star26
Pleione
BARRISTER DISASTER
Andrew G. Torrence
Jenn
Nona
Mika
Rachel
Cassie
Hazel
Topaz
Keshia
Persephone
Emerald
Shruti
Vivienne
Rachel
McKenzie
Tiffany
Candid
Zuleika
Reshma E.
Kaileigh
Kyra G.
xtotallyatpeacex
Maja
Ashley
Mawa
Effect
Calybe

Total: 37

Results

Thu, 06 Sep 2007 07:46:25 GMT

Don't worry of_ficathoners, this community is not dead (and neither am I)!
Although, I am very sorry for this late post...I was away in a different country for more than a month with no access to internet, so I had no time to do this. So, without further delay, the results are as such:

Best All Around Fiction [1st]
It's a tie between Euphoria and Seizing The Sky

Best All-Around Fiction [2nd]
What Superstars Are Made Of

Best All-Around Fiction [3rd]
Runaway

Best Humour
Standard Deviation

Best Romance
My Favorite Remedy

Best Plot
Stalemate

Best Characterization
Seizing the Sky

Best One-Liner
My Favorite Remedy-- “David, I’m paranoid, not psychotic.”

Best Dramedy
Romantic Drama

Best Periodic Piece
Runaway

Best Take on a Cliché
Septima

Best Fantasy
Rekindling

So, before the new session starts, if there is any suggestions for improvement please comment on this thread, and if you would like to be a fellow moderator (I just need one more person) don't hesitate to mention that as well. I could really use the help.

P.S: I was thinking on having a limit on the number of people who can join to ensure stories do get written...what do you guys think of this idea.

VOTE!

Sat, 12 May 2007 11:33:36 GMT

These are the awards:

Best All Around Fiction [1st]
Best All-Around Fictiom [2nd]
Best All-Around Fiction [3rd]
Best Humour
Best Romance
Best Plot
Best Characterization
Best One-Liner
Best Angst
Best Dramedy
Best Periodic Piece
Best Take on a Cliché
Best Fantasy

To vote:
Copy the awards (the bolded) and paste into a comment. Beside each category, enter the name of the story you wish to vote for. You don't have to vote in every category, although try to in as many as you can. All comments will be screened, and only mods will be able to see the votes. The actual number of votes will not be made available to anyone.

The stories:

What Superstars Are Made of

Septima

At A Glimpse

Romantic Drama

Substitution

A Work in Progress

My Favorite Remedy

Seizing the Sky

The Professor's Conservatory

Suffer The Little Children

Euphoria

Stalemate

Three Fathers

Rekindling

Runaway

The 8th Wonder

Standard Deviation

Coup d'état

the note:
Sorry this is so late, I have exams coming up and couldn't find time to update till now. (Oh man I hate hate hate A-Levels :[ ). Anyway, because the lateness of this poll the results will posted around 20th June-ish or earlier.

Now...get to voting people!

ATTENTION!

Wed, 28 Mar 2007 14:11:02 GMT

Official Submissions are (almost) over. We're going to go into voting soon. If you want your story to be in the polls, submit NOW. If you don't care about it being in the polls but you still want to submit your story later, that's fine. PLEASE DO ATTEMPT YOUR CHALLENGE! April 3rd is the last day for official submissions.

Haven't finished the story but written 3000+ words? Then please post the relevant details below.

Haven't reached the 3000+ limit yet? What are you waiting for? Get it done now! It's unfair to other writers who have at least attempted their challenges. Your story doesn't have to be perfect, but at least try to answer your challenge.

Remember! You don't have to do every single thing listed in the challenge (unless it is stressed upon), you can write a story based simply on most of the points stated. (especially true of challenge #24!)

Please please please please (at the very least) attempt your challenge. It is very disappointing to see that out of 29 challenges, so far only 18 have been answered.

Sorry if I've come across as bitchy, but seriously, every session there are challenges left unanswered and that just annoys me. If your challenge has been answered, the least you can do is answer the challenge assigned on you. Apart from one case, it's not like we forced the challenge on you, the challenge you were given was in your top 5 list. I always feel so bad for the people who's challenges have not been answered. It just defeats the purpose of the whole ficathon, don't you think?

I'm preparing for my a-levels (v. important!) and I still make time for things I have promised to take care of, not excluding this community. I'm sure you can find the time as well. If not, then comment below with a valid reason ("forgetting" is not valid, fyi).

end rant.

On another note, congratulations to those who have passed 3000+ words/completed their story. And those who aren't taking part but watch the community nonetheless, don't forget to vote when the time comes!

Much love,
Calybe

T H E ♣ M A S T E R L I S T

Thu, 15 Feb 2007 15:16:09 GMT

When you've either:
1) Reached your 3000-word mark
2) Finished writing your story

Please comment to this LJ post with your challenge number, your username, the story link [http://www.fictionpress.com/s/whateverthenumberis/1/] and the title of your story. We'll then transfer it to this LJ post.

We'd love it if you could link to the OF_Ficathon [http://community.livejournal.com/of_ficathon/] on your LJs or Fictionpress profiles so the ficathon can grow during other sessions, to make it as successful (if not more successful) than this session. Thank you to whoever participated in the fourth session - it's been fun!

(Note: If you'd like your link or pseudonyms to be changed on the masterlist, or if you cannot see your name there, please comment!)

If you have questions, don't hesitate to check out the FAQs, comment on this thread with your question, or email us.

Original Fiction Ficathon: Session 4 - Winter 2007

murderprotocol wrote What Superstars Are Made of for cherokeescot
Yumegatari wrote Septima for nonabugg
calybe wrote At A Glimpse for mosaicstains
Queen Beryl wrote Romantic Drama for Espionage In My Shoe
Espionage In My Shoe wrote Substitution for Queen Beryl
Strike Me Dead wrote A Work in Progress for orpheus song
mishiema wrote My Favorite Remedy for writtenreality
bleedingair wrote Seizing the Sky for hippos-anoonymus
HannahmarieWillow wrote The Professor's Conservatory for McQuinn
Spazmic Kitty wrote Suffer The Little Children for bleedingair
hotkitty wrote Euphoria for klaredelune
chocolatetuna wrote Stalemate for Rhandi
shadowhound wrote Three Fathers for shadowgryphon
L'rein Vinalo wrote Rekindling for Spazmic Kitty
nonabugg wrote Runaway for Alanna Lioness
graffitibox wrote The 8th Wonder for Katie
Rhandi wrote Standard Deviation for chocolatetuna
klaredelune wrote Coup d'état for hotkitty

Dates for Your Calender

Thu, 28 Dec 2006 03:50:29 GMT

D A T E S O F T H E F I C A T H O N
Sign-Up Deadline: 15th October
Request Deadline: 20th October
Assignments Given Out: December
Writing Deadline: March 31st 2007
Voting Deadline: April 21st 2007 (subject to change)
Awards: April 28th 2007 (subject to change)

Remember, if you haven't got your challenges yet comment in the post below this one. Also, I'm going to post up the Master List around the New Year, so if you have reached the 3000 word mark, don't hesitate to comment below to let us know (if at least 5 people have reached the word mark then I'll post up the masterlist sooner).

Also, I was wondering, for the awards, would you prefer the winners to be simply mentioned (this) or would you prefer graphic awards (this)? Or do you not mind either?

Please read the FAQs if you have any further questions, or comment below.

Thank you and Happy Holidays!

Much love and cheers,
The Mod's

Extended Deadline

Sun, 24 Dec 2006 15:09:45 GMT

This is what I have suggested about the deadline to my fellow mod:

Original Deadline: Jan 31st
Extended Deadline: March 1st

or....would you guys prefer March 31st? (Cause I know I wouldn't mind...haven't even started mine yet!)

Tell me what you think and I'll post the official extended deadline in a few days time.

URGENT: PLEASE READ THIS

Tue, 19 Dec 2006 15:17:46 GMT

Alright, in all honesty I haven't been a good mod...although the blame partially lies in the fact that the holidays were coming up and teacher's thought it would be wonderful to dump an entire workload on us.

But yeah.

We've been getting e-mails about people not receiving their challenges, which is very worrying seeing as we have e-mailed everyone their challenges. It is possible that either your inbox's were too full/the e-mail failed to be sent/other problems technology brings us...because you won't believe HOW many times I've tried e-mailing someone without successfully getting through. [/end rant]

So please comment below if you haven't got your challenge, with:

Name:
e-mail:
lj-user name/fp username: If it won't reach you by e-mail then I'll simply comment on your lj/personal message your fictionpess account with your challenge number.

Also, would you like an extension to the deadline? Or does it not matter because you do it last minute (like me) anyways?

Much love and cheers,
Zi aka Calybe

URGENT: ATTN: Nafeesah

Tue, 14 Nov 2006 17:23:09 GMT

Nafeesah:

Please contact one of the mods ASAP. We need to speak with you regarding your challenge requests, and the challenges cannot be distributed until we have done this. The of_ficathon e-mail is of_ficathon@hotmail.com

EDIT: December 16/06 People have reported that their challenges have not arrived. If this is the case with you, please check the comments below; your challenge should be there.

Thu, 26 Oct 2006 19:52:39 GMT

Didn't sign into the officathonaccount, but it's just a quick note.

All of the participants have sent in their requests now. Thanks, guys! We mods are going to get all the requests sorted and your challenges ready asap. Don't forget to check back here for updates, just in case something unexpected (like the FP upgrade) comes up.

Thanks again,
The Mods

Sun, 22 Oct 2006 04:32:15 GMT

On behalf of all the judges, can I just express heartfelt thanks to all participants? 95% of you have submitted preferences which is amazing, since the preferces post was put up only three days ago :)

If you're looking for the preferences post, please click here. You've got four days left to submit!

In case you weren't aware, the FAQs are here. You can also find a general overview of the Ficathon on the Profile page.

Have a good week, everyone!