All right, we seem to be nicely settled in. A few more structural adjustments to make, but I think we're about done. Know what that means? Iron Fic time!
For those of you new to the forum, or who never check the general section, I'm going to start with the basics: What the fuck is Iron Fic?
Iron Fic was my attempt, four years ago, to reverse what I saw as the decline of TFF and to get us writing again. I suggested that we hold a writing contest with nothing but bragging rights on the line, and the response was universally positive! The first Iron Fic contests had only a few responses, but participation was steady and a good time was had by all. Every year since then IF has returned in the summer and kickstarted the imaginations of writers and brought terrific stories to the internet!
The basic format of Iron Fic is simple: I post a prompt or SECRET INGREDIENT at a pre-established time, usually 11AM Pacific Standard Time/7PM GMT, which contestants have FOUR(4) HOURS to respond to. Once time's up, myself and volunteer judges read and grade the fics along a rubric measuring a story's individual merits, literary merit, use of the theme, grammar and punctuation, and other (usually how much we like the story). The person with the highest total points wins.
It's not complicated, and some fan-fucking-tastic stories have come out of IF over the years. I'd post my favorites, but that would be showing bias.
Ladies, gentlemen and zomg!TENTACLES of TFF, it is with great pleasure that I officially announce that the fifth season of IRON FIC will begin Saturday the 25th of May at 6PM GMT! Adjust your clocks and check your timezones!
To address the long standing issue of late submissions, the following change will be made to the official rules: Late submissions take a 2-point penalty to the "Other" category for every hour of tardiness, subtracted after the official score is given out. So the judge will fill out the rubric and then apply the penalty. This means that there is a ten hour window in which you can submit an entry after the contest, but with a penalty. Iron Fic is still a FANFICTION contest, I'll see about an original fiction segment after we get the section set up.
And yes, we might do prizes this year. I've got stuff on Steam that I could let people pick from. I'd also allow donations to this stockpile.
That is all I have to say! Except, wait for it...
HAAAAAI-YAH!
For those of you new to the forum, or who never check the general section, I'm going to start with the basics: What the fuck is Iron Fic?
Iron Fic was my attempt, four years ago, to reverse what I saw as the decline of TFF and to get us writing again. I suggested that we hold a writing contest with nothing but bragging rights on the line, and the response was universally positive! The first Iron Fic contests had only a few responses, but participation was steady and a good time was had by all. Every year since then IF has returned in the summer and kickstarted the imaginations of writers and brought terrific stories to the internet!
The basic format of Iron Fic is simple: I post a prompt or SECRET INGREDIENT at a pre-established time, usually 11AM Pacific Standard Time/7PM GMT, which contestants have FOUR(4) HOURS to respond to. Once time's up, myself and volunteer judges read and grade the fics along a rubric measuring a story's individual merits, literary merit, use of the theme, grammar and punctuation, and other (usually how much we like the story). The person with the highest total points wins.
It's not complicated, and some fan-fucking-tastic stories have come out of IF over the years. I'd post my favorites, but that would be showing bias.
Ladies, gentlemen and zomg!TENTACLES of TFF, it is with great pleasure that I officially announce that the fifth season of IRON FIC will begin Saturday the 25th of May at 6PM GMT! Adjust your clocks and check your timezones!
To address the long standing issue of late submissions, the following change will be made to the official rules: Late submissions take a 2-point penalty to the "Other" category for every hour of tardiness, subtracted after the official score is given out. So the judge will fill out the rubric and then apply the penalty. This means that there is a ten hour window in which you can submit an entry after the contest, but with a penalty. Iron Fic is still a FANFICTION contest, I'll see about an original fiction segment after we get the section set up.
And yes, we might do prizes this year. I've got stuff on Steam that I could let people pick from. I'd also allow donations to this stockpile.
That is all I have to say! Except, wait for it...
HAAAAAI-YAH!
