c_im_bigbang | 2020 Cap-IM Big Bang Guidelines for Writers

Guidelines for Writers

Remember to read through our General Event Policies and Big Bang Guidelines for All Participants, as well as the writer's guidelines outlined below.

Completed stories must be a minimum of 25,000 words. There is no upper limit, but stories can’t be a work-in-progress at the time of posting.

Your story must be an self-contained story written specifically and exclusively for the Cap-Iron Man Big Bang and therefore can't be a sequel to an existing story or a part of an existing WiP that has been posted online. If you have an unposted WiP that has not been shared (in full or in part) anywhere, then it's eligible as a Big Bang entry if it fits all the other requirements.

You can sign up alone or as part of an writer team (minimum word count remains the same).

Participants can submit stories still in progress for claims, but all final stories need to be complete and ready for posting by your team’s posting date.

There is no penalty-free dropping out after your summary has been claimed by an artist.

Even if you finish early, do not post your story or any portion of it anywhere before the posting date. Doing so will disqualify you from the Big Bang.

As you're working on your story, please keep in mind that summaries are posted anonymously during claims (see the Claiming Process section) and we urge you to be tactful during the pre-claim period.

If you don’t have an idea for an entry yet, you might want to check out our Prompt Post and browse the ideas that people are interested in seeing. We also invite you to make use of our Creator's Workshop posts, and be on the lookout for the Discord chats we will be hosting. Additionally, mods will be posting inspiration posts on the

cap-ironman Tumblr throughout the creation period.

Draft Requirements and Submissions

To officially enter the 2020 Big Bang, you need only submit a draft tocap.im.events@gmail.com at any time from now until submissions close at the end of Wednesday, September 23rd (what time is this for me?)

Submitted drafts must be at least mostly complete when you sign up. The draft must include an outlined ending so that after claiming, your artist has a clear idea of where you’re taking the story. By sending us a draft, you are committing to being ready to post a completed story on a November posting date.

As a rough guideline you should have about 80% of your drafted story written by September 23rd, but the important thing is that you feel confident you can finish the story in time.. Drafts need to be at least 20K of the required 25K word count. Drafts of less than 20K will not be accepted. It is fine if you have skeleton scenes, parts that still exist in outline form, or scenes that are not more than a sentence in your outline as a placeholder, but the majority of your draft needs to be prose. Remember, your artist will read and work from your draft, and needs something to go on.

We are expecting a rough draft that you are still working on; it doesn't have to be perfect. However, we do encourage that writers have their stories beta read before posting, so it might be a good time to check out our list of active Steve/Tony beta readers after you submit your draft to us.

Because this is a collaborative event, there is no penalty-free dropping out after your story is claimed. If you run into trouble let us know as soon as possible; we'll see what we can do. If you need to drop out, you must do so before Saturday, September 26th (the claiming date); dropping out after your work has been claimed will be considered defaulting on the challenge and will result in a temporary ban from some Cap-IM events.

You do not need a title at this time. Titles won't be used in the claiming process.

To submit your draft, email us at cap.im.events@gmail.com and write "BB 2020 ROUGH DRAFT" and the username you want to sign up with as the subject line. Don't forget to attach your draft file. We prefer .ODT, .DOC, .DOCX, or .GDOC formats, but we can handle just about anything. Please name your draft file to include your username.

In the body of your email, include the following information:

Please keep the length of your summary to a maximum of 200 words. It can be as detailed or spoilery as you like. Be honest and straightforward; artist claims will be based entirely on summaries. If you're unsure how to write a good summary for the matching, we have a How to Write A Big Bang Summary Guide.

Be clear and thorough about trigger and content warnings so that artists know what they are signing up for. You must put any and all warnings in this version of your summary, even if you choose to use an "author chooses not to warn" label later. We don't want anyone to be unhappy with the match, so please warn for common triggers like noncon, dubcon, excessive or graphic violence, underage sex, incest, character death, or anything else that might be potentially problematic for a reader.

Claiming Process

After you submit your draft and it's been approved by the mods, it will be available for claims on September 26th. Claims are done anonymously. Artists will be claiming stories based solely on the summary and details you provide for your story. Out of fairness to all participants and stories, please don't advertise which story is yours. We don’t allow pre-formed teams, and we expect all participants to be open to working with new people.

If claims go quickly, a second round of claims will be opened to give more artists a chance to participate. This means that your BB story will potentially be 'double claimed'—claimed by two writers—and you'll be coordinating with two partners. If you'd like to opt out of having your work double claimed, please let the mods know when you submit your draft.

We cannot guarantee that every story will be double claimed.

If you are double claimed, you will collaborate with two artists as a team of three that posts on the same day. The artists can work independently of each other or choose to co-produce artwork, but that's up to them, and there must be a minimum total of two artworks created for your story.

We understand that if you are double claimed, you may enjoy working with one of your partners more than the other. However, if you cannot value them both and recognise their works equally in public, we respectfully request that you do not put your work up for double claiming.

Creation Period and Posting

Once your work has been claimed and you've been teamed up with an artist, all that's left is to finish your BB story and keep in touch with your partner(s)! The posting period begins in November, and mods will be in touch before then with instructions on how to claim a posting date and post your entry.

Writer FAQ

What kind of stories qualify?

This challenge is run by the

cap_ironman community and this is a Steve/Tony fest, so we’re looking for stories with a focus on the relationship between Steve Rogers and Tony Stark in any context and in any setting or continuity you can think of.

In pre-slash stories, secondary pairings should be kept to the background and the focus should be clearly on Steve and Tony and their interactions, relationship, friendship, etc.

If there is romance, then the focus should be clearly on the Steve/Tony relationship. Relationships that feature a character who is neither Steve or Tony are not allowed to be the main focus of your work. For example, Steve/Tony/Tony is allowed to be the main dynamic in your work, but secondary pairings, a relationship that features Steve or Tony, or Steve/Tony/other character are not allowed. If other pairings are included, they should also be in the background.

Other Steve- and/or Tony-pairings can all feature in the background or during the set-up of the story, but should not be the focus of the story’s main plot. The Steve/Tony content and the Steve/Tony pairing/pre-slash/gen relationship should be the main point of your story and the “endgame” relationship.

What does "endgame" mean?

Does it mean they have to be together at the end? Not exactly. If Steve and Tony's relationship is the only dynamic explored in your Big Bang story, then they do not have to be "together" at the end of your work. However, if your story features multiple relationships, then the endgame or "goal" of your story should be exclusively Steve/Tony.

For example, the following type of story would not be allowed in the Cap-Iron Man Big Bang:

A story where the first 90% is Steve/Tony and their breaking up, only for them to end up with other characters as their true loves.
A story where the main relationship at the end is Steve/Tony/other character.

The following types of story would be allowed in the Cap-Iron Man Big Bang:

A story where 100% of the story concerns Steve/Tony and their breaking up and subsequent unhappy ending.
A story that ends with Steve or Tony dying, and the other is left to pine and grieve for his one true love and regret missed chances.
A love triangle or break-up story where Steve and Tony finally realize they are the only ones for each other and the romantic trouble gets resolved as Steve/Tony, with Steve and Tony's relationship at the forefront of the story.

If you have any questions, they may already be answered in our Big Bang FAQ post or the Cap-IM General Event Policies page. If you have any further questions, feel free to contact the BB mods at cap.im.events@gmail.com!