Finish Your Sh*t

The fic I'm writing is actually multiple fics, but all part of one cohesive story. Is that accepted in the event?

Submitting fic in a series/interconnected fics under one idea is perfectly fine. When it comes time to do art claims, you can submit snippets from either the new fics you wrote or the ones you already finished, and then you and your artist can decide whether you want art just for the new fics or the project as a whole.

Is a co-written piece allowed (i.e.: a piece that is currently in-progress, co-written by two or more authors, that otherwise fits all the other criteria)?

Absolutely! The way we essentially want co-authored fics to work is this: when you sign up, you use one primary email address and pick one check-in ID to be used by both of you for the event. We're trusting if you co-author a fic together that you will talk to each other regularly, so we don't need both/all authors' emails, but if you want to give them to us I can make a note of it in the spreadsheet. (but please do let us know you are co-authoring a fic so we can let your artist be aware they will be communicating with two authors instead of one when we get to that point...you can give an artist specific info when you both contact each other).

The check-in ID and email will be used every time you fill out a form requiring them, and only one of you has to fill it out for each form (so you're only submitting your info once that way). If you have to contact us via mod email you can use either author's email, but either way you must include the check-in ID so I can look up your info by check-in ID instead of email.

Is there any way to enter the bang anonymously? Like would it be okay to put our work in an anonymous collection on AO3 or something?

There is a way, apparently, that you can anonymously post a fic to AO3 and if you want to go that route you may. However, the collection that we use to collect works each round is not anonymous, and there are the bragging posts that you post on your posting day, which you would have your username on whichever platform you use, and you do have to post bragging rights to complete your participation in the event. But if you want to, you can email the bragging rights to the mod email and we can post them on Tumblr and Dreamwidth on your behalf, which would give you anonymity on the bragging rights end as well.

I was just wondering whether I'm sworn to secrecy on which projects I'll be finishing up, or if I can shout it out to the world?

No one is sworn to secrecy once they’ve signed up (aside from posting new parts to fic that’s already up somewhere…we ask that you refrain from doing that until at least July 1st)! You can post snippets to your audience as you write them and you can talk about the specifics of your WIP wherever you want. When art claims for WIPBB and fic claims for WIPRB come around, you can advertise for your fic or art project by using specific tags for the fandom/characters/ships for your project on Tumblr posts with the links to the claims lists and you can post the link to claims in Discord servers outside of our Discord server or wherever else you can advertise with the specific info for your project..

We also have a Discord server where you can chat with other current and former participants, and we occasionally run writing sprints, where you can add more to a fic in a certain amount of time. We also have a channel for being able vent in, where you can complain or ask for help or whatever else you feel like talking about when it comes to struggling with a fic. Once you sign up (either as someone trying to finish a WIP project or someone making art for WIPBB or writing a fic for WIPRB), you can use the link at the top of this page to join the Discord.

What do you mean by minimum word count to enter the WIP Big Bang? Can an outline count towards those first 500 words that are needed at sign up?

This is a WIP Big Bang, therefore we ask you to have at least 500 words of your story drafted when you enter. You can have it written out and posted to a fic site of your choice or just have it stashed in a file in your computer, either option is fine as we're not asking for proof at sign-up. We have also admitted work on an outline before so yes, if your outline is fleshed out enough to cover a 7,500 word+ fic, we’ll allow it.

Is there a minimum word count for the finished fics?

7,500 words for each finished fic, but the sky's the limit, right?

I see that the fic minimum is 7500 words and that published WIPs are acceptable - but what if the WIP I’m considering is already more than 7500 words? Is the expectation to add an additional 7500 to it?

No. You can add as much or as little as you need to finish the story, though we do expect at least 1,000 or so new words if your WIP already meets the word count.

What happens if an author finishes the fic they signed up with but it’s less than 7,500 words? The intent was to go over the minimum but once they got into it the story was shorter than they thought and stretching it out would make it less good. Do they have to drop out at that point?

If your WIP is under 7500 when you finish you can drop out of the main Big Bang and, if you would like, post it during the Mini Bang in January/February, but it won’t get art.

What about fics that are already posted on AO3 in part? Do those qualify for the bang?

It's okay if you have posted a few chapters of your fic already (you never know when the muse deserts you, after all), we just require you to refrain from posting more until posting begins here. All we ask is that you not post any public updates to the fic until August 1st (or July 1st with the mod’s okay). We don’t want you to lose kudos and comments so don’t worry about pulling the fic down, just hold off on updates for now.

I have a fic I wrote a few years ago, but only the first couple chapters are posted on AO3 because I was never happy with the rest of it and knew it needed major revision. Is that something I could use for WIP Big Bang? The entire fic has been posted, but only on one platform, and it would be rewritten for AO3 and WIPBB.

I think revising a fic for posting would work, as long as you have at least 500 words done, will have 7,500 words at a minimum when it’s done, and are planning to add more to the fic. Simply rewriting what you have would be a gray area, but if you’re going to take stuff out and add new scenes, either in the old scenes place or on its own, you should be fine.

Are multi-chapter fics allowed?

Yes, multi-chapter fics are allowed and even more so encouraged if your fic is lengthy.

What's the etiquette around OC-centric stories? Ones that are set in a well-known fandom and use several characters, but still lean a lot on original characters? Are they discouraged, or fine?

Based on my own personal experience making art for a story that had a heavy OC presence, it’s not something we discourage at all, but be forewarned when it comes to the art accompanying your fic your artist may not be able to incorporate the OCs into your art. Not everyone makes art of a hand-drawn or digitally drawn nature, so it helps if you have people for face claims ahead of art submissions, and you and your artist communicate regularly. You can also end up with art not featuring the OCs at all, just the canon characters, which is not necessarily a bad thing.

Your other options are to bring in an artist you trust with your vision of your OC or to make your own art (we do allow that, we just need to be told during the check-in before art that you’re bringing in your own artist if you go that route, or that you’re doing your own art…there will not be a need to sign up in the artist’s sign up, however), or to opt-out of art entirely. So there’s plenty of options to call on when it comes time for art.

What is the minimum requirement for the WIP Reverse Bang?

We’ll allow an outline of what you want to create or a rough sketch if you have it for digital/traditional art, and at least 15 seconds of fanvideos or filk (fic songs) recorded, or an outline and notes. Fanmixes can be partially finished with either some of the music picked or some of the art made/a combination of the above.

What do finished products for the WIP Reverse Bang look like to be considered complete?

Art must be fully drawn and at least shaded, if not fully colored. Filk and fanvideos must be at least one minute long and fully finished to the fanartist’s vision. Fanmixes must have a front and back cover and at least 8 songs picked out, and there must be an available playlist on Spotify, YouTube or for download.

Can I swap out a fic/piece of art if my muse abandons it again?

When you sign up, you give us the information on the potential fic(s)/art piece(s) you want to finish. If, say, one piece isn’t working but one you didn’t sign up for is, you can switch them out as often as you desire. It is absolutely okay to switch fics all the way up until snippets are due. By then, we hope you’ll have however many fics you plan on doing to at least 80% completion since rough drafts are due not much later. You only need to let the mods know if you need to change a check-in ID you used; in that case, just drop an email to the mods at [email protected] with the new information (title, fandom, etc.) as well as what your old check-in ID is and what you want your new check-in ID to be.

What are 'check-ins’?

These are a way for us to see what you've been up to and for you to make sure you're still on track. It will give you a little nudge/reminder if you need it, but they are not compulsory. Basically a form is posted that you fill out with your check-in ID (unique for each fic) and a checkbox to let us know you’re still participating, plus a section for any notes for the mods.

How are the check-in IDs used?

They are solely for the organizational purposes of the mods, which is why we ask you use a unique check-in ID for each project, especially if you're doing multiple projects in WIPBB or WIPRB or participating in both events. Each ID being for a separate project allows us to keep all the information you submit during check-ins and for snippets in one line on our spreadsheet. You don’t have to share your check-in IDs with anyone else if you don’t want to.

How much progress should authors be making between each checkpoint? (Percentage-wise from our estimated total wc, I guess?)

Ideally, with each check-in, you should be at least 25% closer to finishing. The end word count for fic only really matters in that the fic needs to be at least 7,500 words when done, so it’s more your progress towards finishing that should be measured, not so much the word count.

What are 'art claims' and ‘fic claims’?

The claims are when anonymous summaries of the story go up for artists to choose from for WIPBB and fic writers to claim for WIPRB. Artist sign-ups and art claims are the same thing, as are author sign-ups and fic claims for WIPRB; we use one form each for both things, and that way the artists and authors don’t have to sign up for an event they may not end up participating in. However, as the event has expanded much more than we ever could have dreamed when we started, we can no longer guarantee every fic will get a piece of art/every art project will get a fic. Mod Ragna will usually try and claim at least one project from every participant in the WIPBB for art, but that is not always feasible.

It is based on a 'first come, first served' basis and artists/authors may choose up to three potential stories/pieces of art, in case their first choice is unavailable. If there are more stories than artists, there will be a second round of claims wherein artists may choose a second story to work with, and on until we have completed four full rounds (we have changed the process we use as of the 2026 round and no longer have a pinch-hitting period in order to streamline the schedule). Same goes for fic claims; we’ll do multiple claiming periods until all four rounds of claims are done. You are more than welcome to bring in an artist/fic author of your own, and we also encourage sharing the links to the summaries outside of Tumblr (which is the only platform we do advertising one right now for fic/art claims) to get more people potentially interested in claiming it.

If a fic or piece of art up for claiming is rated explicit (R, NC-17, etc.), please only claim the story if you are over 18 years of age. Some authors and artists may be uncomfortable working with underage artists or authors on explicit works. We do not verify ages in any way for the bang, so this is solely on the honor system.

What are the snippets requirements?

For the WIP Big Bang, we require you to supply one to three snippets from your fic (preferably three), between 500 – 1500 words each. The snippets will be sent to the artist after they have claimed your story. They're to help the artist match your story for artwork the best way he or she possibly can. It’s helpful to choose scenes or parts of scenes that you feel best represent your fic, but don’t feel like they have to be perfect to be submitted. Along with the snippets, we will send your artist the basic fic info and your email, so the two of you can collaborate more if you would both like.

WIP Reverse Bang snippets is the art (at whatever level of completion you are at) uploaded to an image hosting site/YouTube/an audio steaming site and you only need to upload one piece of it. We’ll link to the site in the claiming post that you use so art will be thumbnailed/snippets of video or audio will be used. If you’re submitting a fanmix, we ask for at least the back cover graphic with the song listing.

Will the three snippets per story we have to send in for WIPBB be the ones we want the artist to make art for? Or can it just be random snippets and then later the artist and I can check together to see which scenes would work best for art?

Ideally, you and the artist will be communicating once you’re each sent each other’s contact information, and you’ll give your artist a chance to read all that you’ve written at that point. That’s what happens in most cases. If your fic gets picked by an artist and they don’t work with you, then the snippets you sent will be what the artwork will be based on. It’s a good idea to know that, while most of the time the artists work closely with the authors, there are a few exceptions to that.

Can I submit snippets on a Google Doc document/Google Drive link/Ellipsus link?

Yes, if you want to go that route instead of uploading fic snippets directly to the form or linking directly to your art you may! We only ask you make the link public and viewable to all before you submit it for claims consideration. If you do not, we will give you until the end of Round 1 of claiming to fix the issue before your summary is removed and you will then not receive art for your WIPBB project or fic for your WIPRB project.

My fic is not in English. How do I get art for my fic in art claims?

If your fic is not in English and you are not offering an English translation as well, please contact the mods via the mod email so Mod Ragna can make a cover and maybe a graphic/chapter covers while working with you on pictures of characters and English translations of snippets (you would just email the translated snippets directly to her and wouldn't submit snippets for art).

If you are including an English translation, submit snippets in English for art claims, and feel free to post both the English and non-English fics to the AO3 collection as well as provide a link to both in the Tumblr/Dreamwidth bragging rights.

Why aren’t the WIPBB fic snippets posted on the claims page like the WIPRB art snippets?

Currently, we do not post fic snippets to the claims post, nor are we planning to; we send snippets privately to the artist who has claimed them. As snippets are 500 - 1500 words each and there are one to three of them submitted per fic, the sheer amount of participants precludes us from posting them directly onto the claims form for space/organizing issues. Furthermore, some snippets submitted include explicit scenes and scenes of graphic violence and we respect the fact that our participants may not want them posted publicly outside of where they’re posting their fic.

Is there a minimum/maximum requirement for my art for WIPBB?

There is no strict minimum, but we do ask artists to remember that the authors are writing a minimum of 7,500 words and your artwork should reflect that. You can do anything you like, including banners, wallpapers, icons, mixes, vids, gif sets, picspams, etc. Suggested guidelines for art are 500x500px (or equivalent of smaller pieces like banner + spacers, cover + icons, etc.) for traditional art, digital art, and manips; 2 minutes for vids; 8 songs + cover art for mixes; and 6 images for gif sets and picspams. We also ask that when you are in contact with the author, you work with them to see if there is anything specific they would like (i.e. a wallpaper, book cover, etc.). The art is your work, but having ideas doesn't hurt!

My fic had art made earlier, before I added new chapters. Can I ask for new art?

Yes, you may put your art up for art claims even if you have art previously made, as there’s a good chance new art will be including the newer stuff you’ve written.

I want to make my own art for the WIPBB. Can I sign up for someone else to make art for me too?

Respectfully, if you plan on making your own art we ask that you do not put your fic up for art claims, in fairness to people who are unable to make their own art and are up for art claims. Each fic gets one artist, and if you make your own art and request art from someone else, that would mean you have two artists, which is unfair to the other participants.

I signed up just to finish my fic and don’t necessarily need art. Do I have to have my fic claimed for art?

No, absolutely not! If you don’t want art at all or want to make your own art, all you hae to do is ignore the snippet submission portion of the event.

What do I do if I have problems or concerns about my author/artist?

Sometimes authors and artists do not get along and this may cause problems with working together. If this happens to be the case with you, please email the mods and we will try to do what we can so that everyone has a chance to have fun at WIP Big Bang!

If you have not heard from your author/artist in some time after trying to contact them, you can reach out to us via email and we will try to get in touch with them for you.

What are the rough drafts requirements?

For the rough drafts, stories or art should be at least 75% complete. You will not have to turn them in to us, just assure us that you are at that point. Anything less is at the discretion of the mods and those authors should speak to one of the mods asap.

What is, and do I need, a beta?

A beta is basically a person who goes over your work to make sure that there are no spelling/grammatical errors and they can even be of assistance in helping you with story lines, etc. It is highly recommended that a beta looks over your work before posting. If you are having trouble finding a beta, try this post.

How early can I start posting new chapters of my work?

Posting of chapters on AO3 or your own blog (or wherever you usually post) generally starts August 1st, but you can post earlier (as early as July 1st) if you let us know you have a long story.

Where can I post my fic/art?

Stories and art can be posted to your own personal journal, Tumblr, ff-net, AO3, or wherever you like. For those of you with AO3 accounts, we will set up a collection that will go live on the day of the posting. If you don’t currently have an AO3 account but would like one, you can contact the mods for an invitation code to see if they have any available. You can also add yourself to the AO3 Invites Request queue.

What does posting look like? Do we have to post the whole thing on the day, or can we stretch it out between when posting starts and our date? I’ve had a few longfics get killed by big bangs forcing posting to happen on a given day, and would prefer to avoid that if possible.

For most fics, posting to AO3/FF.net/other places will be allowed to start on August 1st and you can stretch it out as many posts as you want as long as the complete fic is up by your posting date. However, you can send us an ask/e-mail about posting as early as August if you have an extremely long fic/something with a long posting schedule. Mostly what we want is the fic to be completely up on the website of your choice by your posting date, and I know some people don’t want to overwhelm their readers. So we want to work with writers to give them ample time to post the story up to their posting date.

Now, as for posting to the communities, you get to choose which day your link to the story and bragging rights are posted. Posting will be tiered; you'll each get your own posting date that you and your artist will decide on together, and we have a range of dates from September 8th to November 30th with five stories and art projects posting a day between both WIPBB and WIPRB participants. The post with date claims will go up on August 23rd and you'll have to choose your date by September 1st.

Posting has to be finished by your chosen posting date to the comm. Projects for WIPBB and WIPRB should be posted to YouTube/Soundcloud/Spotify/Tumblr/Dreamwidth, and on your claimed posting date you will make a post to Tumblr or Dreamwidth using the Bragging Rights form. Please do not add your project to the WIPBB/WIPRB AO3 collection until the project posting is completely finished!

If you want to embed the art for your project into an AO3 post, you can do that as well. Fic should be posted to the writing site of your choice on your posting day, and art should be posted to a site where it can be hosted permanently; if you post to AO3 we’ll have an AO3 collection open for each specific year which is open to all WIPBB fics/WIPBB art projects and WIPRB art projects/WIPRB fics. You are allowed to archive lock your WIPBB/WIPRB projects as well. Art for WIPBB and fics for WIPRB will be due on the chosen posting date to the comm between the authors and the artists as well.

If you are posting your Bragging Rights to Tumblr, you can submit the Tumblr post to our blog before your posting date as well, or post to your own Tumblr and tag the WIP Big Bang blog by adding @wipbigbang in the body of the post. Either way works for us. If you are posting to Dreamwidth the post will be queued until you chosen posting date. If for some reason you can’t post your bragging rights to Tumblr or Dreamwidth, you can email your Bragging Rights to the mod email and we will post them on your behalf to both Tumblr and Dreamwidth and send you the links. Posting your Bragging Rights is mandatory.

If for some reason you miss your posting date, you have from December 1st until December 31st to post to the community, during the month of emergency posting dates. So hopefully there should be plenty of time to get a longfic up and posted to the website of your choice and our BB.

What am I posting to the Dreamwidth/Tumblr community if I’m posting the fic elsewhere?

You’ll be posting what we call bragging rights. It’s a small form you fill out and post to the community with a link to your fic. We will post a template for posting artwork and stories to the comm closer to the posting date. Once your Bragging Rights have been posted to Tumblr or Dreamwidth, you will take the link to that post and submit that link into the final check-in form to signify you finished your project before posting ends at midnight PST on January 1st. If you do not submit a link to your bragging rights, you will be banned from being a WIPBB author/WIPRB artist for one round,

Bragging Rights are mandatory for WIPBB authors and WIPRB artists, who had agreed in the posting dates claim to post their fic/art by December 31st. The Bragging Rights posted to Tumblr or Dreamwidth are how we know you completed your fic/art, and that's why the link is supposed to be to your Bragging Rights, not just the fic art. Bragging Rights are not mandatory for WIPBB artists and WIPRB authors, as they did not sign the agreement to post by December 31st. We love having them, post Bragging Rights but as they did not sign the agreement when posting dates were chosen, they are not required to post them and don't have to post anything to the final check-in form.

Can I get an extension?

Absolutely! We will try our best to accommodate you as long as they are discussed with the mods via [email protected]. Extensions when it comes to submitting snippets is a little tricky, as there's just about a week of turnaround time from when we stop accepting snippet submissions to when we put the first round of claims up; however, if you contact us via the mod email, we can accept your summary without having your snippets sent at the same time, and sometimes we can take the information after the snippets submission form has closed as well (though this is much rarer and must be done sooner rather than later).

We can definitely offer extensions when it comes to posting dates, and the entire month of December is available for emergency posting or posting if you missed your assigned date in September, October or November. Just let us know through the mod email if you need to change your date (you can also choose to post in December directly in the posting dates sign-up form).

There is no need to have extensions on our four check-ins, as they're all optional.

Can I drop out?

We have high hopes that everybody who signs up can actually finish the round and share in the joy of the reveal with us, but real life can unfortunately get in the way and we completely understand! You must drop out via sending an email to [email protected], and we would prefer you drop by before art/fic claims start (July 16th) if you want art for your fic/fic for your art project, or August 14th if you aren’t getting any art or fic. But we take drop outs all the way to December 31st, realistically.

If you are dropping your project and you have been assigned an artist/author, it is your responsibility to inform your partner that you are dropping your project. In this case, all we need for the email is your check-in ID, whatever posting date you've been assigned (if you have one) and whether you are participating in WIPBB or WIPRB (so I know which spreadsheet you're on).

If you are dropping and your project is still up for pinch hitting, give us your check-in ID (for the spreadsheet) and your fic fandom/title (for the pinch hit form) and let us know whether it's WIPBB or WIPRB.

If you are dropping and you haven't been assigned an artist/author, all you need to do is send us your check-in ID, whatever posting date you've been assigned (if you have one) and whether you are participating in WIPBB or WIPRB (so I know which spreadsheet you're on).

If you are a WIPBB artist, WIPRB author or a pinch hitter and you just can't complete your project by December 31st, let us know immediately and also inform your project partner as well, as that is your responsibility.

Is it possible to be banned?

We do have a banned users list. We hope to use this to encourage participants who are having issues to communicate with the mods. We want to help you! The way the ban works is that participants, either WIPBB authors or WIPRB artists, will be banned for dropping out without notifying a mod via the mod email account at [email protected]. This means that anyone who has signed up to post and picked a date for posting and has not posted or talked to a mod by the time the posting period ends (January 1st of the following year) will be banned. Dropping out is not in and of itself a banning offense, so please do not panic if you have to drop out! We understand that there are many reasons you may need to drop, and we want to work with you.

Bans will last one round or until the issue is resolved, whichever comes first. To resolve a ban, authors will have to finish and post the story they signed up with, and artists will have to finish and post the art for the story they claimed. Three bans will result in a permanent ban from the bang.

As of the 2026 round we have expunged the block list, so everyone who may have been banned before is allowed to try again. It will definitely be in effect for the 2027 round, however.

I have a question/concern that’s not mentioned here.