A bit lost on where to start, but you don’t want to stay a Big Bang lurker?
At a loss on how to expand your idea further?
Feeling like you need a life-preserver?
Dreading the upcoming deadline because there are so many more words to write?
Crying tears of frustration because your scenes aren’t tying in right?
Do you need some help to make your fic see the light?
Please don’t give up on your fic!
As this post comes up on your dashboard, there are still six and a half weeks left until the rough drafts for the 2018 Cap-Iron Man Big Bang Challenge are due. We recently put out this short survey asking writers to gauge their progress, and have been delighted by the responses so far.
But we’re also aware that writing a long fic can be a daunting process, especially if you’re isolated from feedback or in a bit of a creative rut.
Don’t despair! Below, we have suggestions for places to get inspired and find help. We’d also like to remind everyone that your event mods are open to helping in any way that we can, so please direct any questions that you have to cap.im.events@gmail.com
Lastly, we want to stress that if you don’t get your draft in on time, or you start working on a fic but don’t feel like having a posting deadline would help you, or you end up with a fic that’s under 20K but you think it’s done … it’s okay! Not participating in the Big Bang doesn’t make you any less worthy as a writer, and it is super brave of you to try to start such a long piece of writing in the first place. Maybe this year is not your year, but there’s always next year! Or you can continue to work at your own pace and publish when you prefer.
You can always leave your fic ideas in one of the prompts posts that we have running for someone else to fill!
So you’re stuck for an idea?
The Cap-IM community has got regular posts in which people can share ideas, give prompts, or ask for advice — and as we keep anonymous comments turned on, you don’t even need a Dreamwidth account to participate!
If you’re looking for an idea, or you’d like to give one away, here’s the latest Donate-A-Prompt post we made. You can also look at the tag to see past posts once you get there.
We’re making some cool new inspiration posts in preparation of this year’s Big Bang, but there are also previous years’ and other events’ inspiration posts at your disposal — and all are easily findable on Tumblr!
You’ve got that elusive idea, but now comes the other hard part — Writing the Thing. Where can you go to for help?
You might need brainstorming help, someone to bounce ideas off and get you motivated to write that next scene, as well as be there for you to rant at and pour out your frustrations. Perhaps you’d like a cheerleader (or alpha-reader) to get you through the writing and keep you upbeat and looking on the positive side of things as you work on the fic. You definitely desire a beta-reader to go over your draft.
Maybe you need more than one person?
Having brainstorming and cheerleading buddies can be incredibly important, both for the progression of your fic and for your morale. If you’ve already entered the fandom and posted a work or two, you might have a group of online folks that you regularly chat to — or you might have a really amazing commenter who leaves long and involved reviews on everything that you post. If you feel comfortable, reach out to this circle of acquaintances and let them know about what you’re writing! One (or more!) of them is sure to be willing to cheer you on as you write, or keep you on task. Surrounding yourself with people who care about you and your fic is a great step to ensuring that your fic ideas come to fruition.
Try the Cap-Iron Man community — we exist on Tumblr, Livejournal, Dreamwidth; even Twitter! Find someone who’s also active or following the comm with interests that match yours and get in touch. Fans are also congregating on Discord servers, so if you’re part of one of those, reach out and say hi! Someone is sure to be online and happy to talk at any given time.
We encourage anyone who is interested in cheering or betaing a fic to reblog this post to let everyone know! You can also follow the instructions in this post and send an email to cap.im.mod@gmail.com with your details to update your beta-reading profile or put yourself on the list!
Captain Neverever 