The Rules
This is just the rules post. The sign up post will go up shortly; do not sign up here. However if you have questions, this is the place to ask them. :)
Sign ups open: September 10 Sign ups close: September 16 Deadline for challenge: October 31
Q. So what's the deal here? How's this gonna work?
A. It's pretty simple, really, and based on a lot of other challenges. You sign up and we assign you a hit song from the 80s. Then you have roughly six weeks to write a fic based on that song. You post it before or on October 31. If you post before the 31st, we'll ask that you wait until November 1 before posting it in your personal journal.
Q. How long does my fic have to be? Is there a maximum length?
A. We'd like it to be at least 1000 words, but if you only come up with 950, we aren't gonna break into your house and threaten your cat. It can be as long as you like; knock yourselves out. :)
Q. What fandoms do you allow?
A. Any and all. If you write FPS, we want a disclaimer that you don't own the source work and if you write RPS, we want a disclaimer that it's fiction.
Q. So this is a songfic challenge? Or do my characters have to hear the song in the fic, which will be tough seeing as my fandom is _________ (any fandom with characters who weren't alive during the 80s)?
A. Nope. I suppose you could write songfic, but that isn't the idea. Nor is it the idea to have them hear the song on the radio and react, although again, you can do that. What we're looking for is something inspired by the mood or the lyrics or the feeling of the song.
Q. How are you picking the songs? Were they really hits?
A. helens78 has a list of 142 songs in an order I don't know. When you sign up, I give her a number and she assigns the corresponding song to you, so the process is totally random. And yes, trust me, if you listened to popular music at all during the early and mid-80s, you'd recognize every song on the list and probably heard it one too many times on the radio.
Q. What if I don't know my song? Or only vaguely remember it?
A. We'll upload it for you. We've got copies of every song on the list.
Q. What if I hate my song a whole lot and have since 1984? Because see it was playing when my boyfriend dumped me right after my little sister unraveled all my leg warmers and then....
A. No problem -- we'll assign you another one. Within reason! You need to request a new song within the first week of the challenge (so between Sept. 17 and Sept. 24), and you can only request one. But we'll work with you on this. (Says the mod who would probably hide under the bed if given "Turning Japanese".)
Q. Why's this being run on InsaneJournal? Can I participate even if I don't have an account there?
A. Both of us are fairly new to IJ and we thought this would be a fun way to get involved with the fan fic community there. However, we're also about being inclusive and so there's an RSS feed you can follow on Live Journal. You can sign up even if you don't have an IJ; we'll be happy to post the fic for you and you can link back to it in your LJ. And of course, as of November 1, you can post it anywhere you like.