missy_fest | Missy This Fic: Schedule, Rules & FAQ

What is "Missy This Fic"?

Missy This Fic is a remix challenge for fanfic set in the wider Doctor Who universe, and the point is to remix a fic into a new work that will be focused on Missy in some way. The challenge will be run through DW and AO3. Participants sign up to write a remix story of at least 1,000 words based on another person's Doctor Who fic.

That sounds interesting, but what is a Remix?

Basically, in a remix, you take a story written by another participant and write your own, new version of it. The idea is to keep the basic plot, cast and pairings of the original story, but rewrite it as your own stand-alone story, the way you would have written it if it were your story. For example, you could change the style, change the point of view, focus on a minor character or of the original story, or put a surprising spin on things. Have you ever read a story and thought, if you had written this, you'd have done it differently? That is what remixing is all about.

(Probably the best known remix challenge around is Remix Redux, a multi-fandom remix challenge that has been running for a few long years now at

remixers_lounge. Check it out for further info!)

How is Missy This Fic different from a normal Remix?

It's all about Missy! Because everything's better with more Missy.

In a "normal" remix, it's completely up to you which character you focus on as long as the basic plot of the original is in some way preserved. For Missy This Fic, your mission will be to write a story that is in some way focused on Missy. For example, you could:

take a story that already involves Missy and remix it from her POV, or strengthen her role in the plot

take a story that has another regeneration of the Master and explore how it would have gone with Missy instead

take a story that doesn't involve the Master at all and explore where she was, what she might have done behind the scenes, what she would have done to change things if she'd been there, or simply have Missy direcly bursting in on the story to interact with everyone else

It's up to you to make it all about Missy!

The Schedule

Sign-ups: 1st to 10th August
Assignments: 13th August or earlier: check your email!
Writing period: write a remix of 1000 words
Deadline: 10th Sepetember
Posting: starting 15th September
Author reveals: 30th September

Detailed Rules and FAQ

(rules inspired by Remix Redux,

camelotremix and

public_call)

Who can sign-up?

To sign up for this fest, you must have written at least three remixable fics of at least 500 words each for your remixer to choose from. To count as "remixable" these three fics

must be set in the same version of Doctor Who canon - for example, New Who, Old Who, Torchwood, Sarah Jane Adventures, Class, ...

must be posted publicly and must be easy to find for your remixer (have a link to a masterlist of your Doctor Who fic ready if you don't post your fic on AO3, please)

must be complete (no works in progress)

can't be crossovers or fusions with non-Doctor Who fandoms

should stand on their own (one shots that form a series are fine, as long as they can be truly read and remixed on their own merit)

should not be co-written with anyone, or previously written remixes of other people's work

You'll have the option of designating one "safe story" that cannot be remixed. This story won't count toward the three fics you need in order to qualify. (You can qualify in multiple Whovian fandoms, of course!)

Note: Crossovers and fics of less than 500 words are fair game for remixing even though they don't count toward the eligibility requirement. This is only to make sure that your remixer will have at least a minimum of three remixable fics with at least some bare bones of plot to choose from that are set in a universe they are familiar with.

To participate, you must have an Archive of Our Own (AO3) account. If you don't have an account at this time, you can easily request one here.

Sign-ups

To sign up, you must specify:

which Whovian fandoms you qualify in (i.e. you've written at least eligible 3 fics in)

which pairings you qualify in, and (for gen) which characters you qualify in (i.e. you've written at least eligible 3 fics for)

your safe story, if you want to designate one

which Whovian fandoms you'd like to write your remix in

which pairings and/or characters you're willing to write ("any gen", "any m/m", "any f/f", "any m/f", "any poly" are also allowed, if you're feeling adventurous!)

which pairings and/or characters you'd rather avoid

whether Missy may be put into a sexual/romantic relationship with characters in your story (potentially turning a gen fic into shippy fic, or a pairing fic into poly - no ships from the original fic may be broken up)

AO3 will initially match on fandoms, and we will hand-match assignments after that to make sure everyone receives an assignment they can work with.

Please keep in mind your remixer may remix any of your Whoniverse stories (other than your safe story and your WIPs), not only your qualifying stories.

How do I sign up?

A sign-ups post will go up on 1st August, linking to the sign-up form on AO3 and providing a template.

In the AO3 sign-up form, add the fandom tags for "requests" (the Whovian fandoms you have written at least 3 eligible fics in) and your offers (the fandoms you'd like to write a remix in). Paste the template into the "Details" box for both requess and offers, and fill it out. Done!

After matching we will e-mail you your assignment, which we'll ask you to keep secret until the end of the fest.

Assignments

Assignments will go out no later than 13th August.

How do I fulfill my assignment?

You must write one story of at least 1000 words that remixes one story written by your assigned remixee that is open for remixing (i.e. not a WIP, a previously written remix, a collaboration or your remixee's "safe story"). There is no upper wordcount limit, and you can write more than one story if you feel so inclined. Go wild!

Stories must be uploaded to the Missy_Remix_2017 collection by the deadline, 10th September.

I don't like any of my remixee's stories. Can you match me to somebody else?

The short answer is no. The challenge is to remix someone else's story and make it your own. So take one of the plots and write the story that you for it. If your remixee wrote only stories that ALL hit very common triggers you share, please contact us and we'll try and find a solution.

Expectations and Etiquette

This is not strictly speaking a gift exchange. You are writing a remix that is supposed to be your own story. But please keep in mind that the person who wrote the original story will have their name attached to it and will read your story, so it should go without saying that you don't use your remix to deliberately and directly bash the original fic or its pairings, or attack the creator. Don't make fun of their stories, kinks, pairings, etc. Remember that the challenge is to write the story your way, so getting assigned to someone who doesn't write anything like you would gives you more room to be creative, not less.

Also, thank your remixer when stories go up! A remix is different from a gift exchange in that the point is not for someone to write you something you will like, but rather to write the story their own way. But they're engaging closely with your story and spending a lot of time with it, and most writers are eager to hear what their remixee thinks of the story. Courtesy demands that you read and acknowledge the remix written for your work. If you can't think of anything positive to say, consider at least saying something like "Thank you for remixing my story."

Deadline

Completed stories must be uploaded to the Missy_Remix_2017 collection by the deadline, 10th September. Once they have been accepted to the collection, they will automatically appear as anonymous "Mystery Gifts" for the remixee.

Please look at this quick guide to uploading gifts on AO3 for more information.

Do not upload incomplete stories. You can edit your story after the deadline, but this should be reserved for minor changes such as fixing typos. The mods will check all stories on the deadline, and any incomplete entries will be rejected.

Dropping out (Defaulting)

If you realise at any time that you won't be able to finish your story, please hit the "Default" button on AO3 as soon as you know. (Click "Assignments" on your profile to find the button.) This lets the mods know that you won't be able to finish your remix, and they will look for a remixer to stand in for you.

Pinch-hitting

If you don't want to sign up for the challenge, but still want to participate, or if you're willing to write more than one story, you can help us out as a pinch-hitter. You also need an AO3 account for this.

In the event we have issues matching someone, they will go out as a pinch hit right away. And if any author has to drop out, we'll also be needing pinch-hitters to step in for them.

Please comment and let us know if you can help out!

Posting Period

STarting on the 15th , stories will be revealed on AO3 one by one, and announcements will be posted to the DW community, letting people know which stories have been revealed. Remember that AO3 only sends notifications when a collection is revealed all at once, so please check back to see if something was posted for you.

Stories will remain anonymous until September 30th (at least two days after the last fics were revealed). Don't post your story anywhere else until the end of the fest. (But feel free to link and pimp to all the stories or post recs anywhere!) After authors have been revealed, you are welcome to post your fic anywhere.

Any more questions, just comment here!

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

I would be interested in signing up for the PH list! :)

Additional question: does this exchange allow for non-assignment 'treats', as it were? I don't have enough stories posted yet to sign up, but would love to write extra remix stories for other people.

Hi there, glad to have you! Any pinch-hits will be posted to this community, so keep an eye on it.

Yes, treats are allowed, under the same rules as for assignments. Good luck! :)

Missy This Fic: Schedule, Rules & FAQ

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