SPN SUMMERGEN

Your Prompts:
You must submit at least three prompts, and may submit up to six--more is better. Tell us something you’d like to see in a fic you aren’t going to write yourself.

Try to keep your prompts relatively brief and leave room for your writer’s imagination to roam. You can get as creative and specific with your prompts as you’d like, but please try to include at least two prompts that the average Supernatural viewer would be able to write for. That is, if you’d like include a crossover prompt, feel free, but please limit it to only one, and write at least four prompts.

Keep in mind that your prompts are open to interpretation. Your writer may do something different from what you pictured with the prompt, and you should respect their artistic choices. Please remember to comment on the story written for you and thank the author for it, when the time comes.

Your Story:
It must be a minimum of 1,000 words, and there is no maximum length, except what you’re able to write in the allotted time. Keep in mind your own schedule, writing speed, and RL challenges to make sure you can honor the commitment you make to Summergen by signing up. In other words, plan a shorter, simpler fic if you’re pressed for time or write slowly. You don’t have to write your magnum opus! Although if you do have the time and are so inspired, go for it! A lot of truly great fan fiction of all lengths and genres has come out of Summergen.

You can write anything you’d like to write, as long as it is gen and there is a solid connection to at least one of your recipient’s prompts.

Go nuts. Get creative. Let your SPN-flag fly free and help your fellow fans make Hellatus into a fun-filled hiatus instead!

F.A.Q.


Q: What is Gen?

By "gen" we simply mean stories where the focus is not on romantic or sexual relationships, although those relationships may be a small component of the story, if the relationship has happened in canon. (i.e., John/Mary or Sam/Jess is allowed if it’s not the focus of the story, but not Sam/Cas or Dean/Gadreel.) If you're not sure your idea fits, comment and ask, or take a look at last year's master list to get an idea about what's appropriate.

Q: Why can’t I write stories about Sam/Dean, Dean/Cas, or other pairings in my Summergen fic?
See above. No slash is allowed of any pairing. Many, many other challenges allow or focus on slash. Summergen is for lovers of gen fic, which does not allow a focus on romantic/sexual relationships of any kind: het, M/M, femmeslash or otherwise.

Again, please note: No Wincest, Destiel, or any other pairing is allowed. Please don’t make a request for such a story or write it into your story--not even at a squint. Summergen is for gen stories only.

Q: Can I sign up if I defaulted/withdrew in a previous Summergen?

A: Withdrew, yes. Defaulted, no. If you withdrew properly (i.e. you emailed the mods to let us know you weren't able to complete your submission), no problem. If you just vanished without a trace, or you didn't contact us until after we assigned a pinch-hitter, of course you can't sign up again. Why should we trust you not to do that again?

Q: Can I request or write stories about minor and recurring characters, not just the Winchesters?

A: Absolutely, yes. Please do! Any character that has appeared on the show is fair game.

Q: Can I write stories about Jared, Jensen or other actors on the show?
A: No, RPF (real person fiction) is not allowed in Summergen. However, you may include fictionalized versions of real people that fit into Supernatural canon (e.g., a time travel story where Sam and Dean meet Abraham Lincoln, or if your story is based on The French Mistake, you can use the fictionalized versions of the actors that appeared in that episode).

If you have any further questions about this, feel free to ask.

Q: Will there be a separate sign-up post for pinch-hitters?

A: No. Instead there is a separate community for pinch-hitters, spn_genpinchhit. If you're interested in pinch-hitting, please join that community. Note: you have to join, not just watch, because all pinch-hit requests will be locked.

Q: Can I sign up if I don't have a livejournal?

A: Yes. The sign-up form asks for a link to your journal, but if you don't have an LJ you can give a link to your Dreamwidth, Tumblr or whatever. Or if you don't have any kind of online journal you can still sign up. However, you do need a valid email address and you can't sign up without one.

Q: Are we allowed to write our recipient multiple fics based on their scenarios/prompts, or only one fic?

A: You can submit only one fic for your recipient as part of the anonymous exchange. But it can be as long as you like (the minimum length is 1,000 words), can be multiple chapters, and you can mix multiple prompts in one fic if you’d like. If you really think you'll have time to write more than one fic, please sign up as a pinch-hitter. These are the people who step in to write/create for any participants who have to drop out: if you pinch-hit you'll get a new set of prompts to choose from, and you'll be a hero!

Q: Can I thank my beta in my author's notes, or is that giving away my identity?

A: That's kind of a judgment call. Don’t do it if it will be a dead give-away of your identity. Otherwise, feel free, or consider something like “Many thanks to my beta, L—you know who you are.” Beta credit can always be given later, after the reveal.

Ready to sign up? Here's the form.

Schedule and complete rules are on the user info page.

If you have any other questions, please comment or p.m. one of the mods. septembers_coda is your happy point-person and willing correspondent.