Writer Guide
Writer Requirements
Section titled “Writer Requirements”Things to Keep in Mind
Section titled “Things to Keep in Mind”Writers are encouraged to pursue an idea they have been thinking about for a while, but re-posting or using any part of a previously published work is not allowed. If a story has been shared or discussed publicly (i.e., outside of private DMs), it does not meet the Anonymity requirements and is not eligible for this event.
Fanfics must prominently feature Dragon Age characters, even for crossovers. If non-Dragon Age characters feature in the work, they must have significant interaction with canon DA characters. If a fic might be considered a “Dragon Age AU” of another fandom, it is not in the scope of this event. For example:
- Good fit: “Cullen Rutherford as a Witcher in an AU version of Thedas”
- Not for this event: “Witcher characters replace The Warden + companions in a DAO retelling.”
Longfics can be anything you like, within our sparing Content Guidelines! There is no restriction on rating or max length.
Secrecy is part of this event. To keep artist pitch ranking blind and fair, artists cannot know which pitch belongs to which writer prior to matching. After teams are formed, who is on each team can be shared, but work content is still a secret, to preserve the “Big Bang” surprise for the fandom at the end of the event.
Writers cannot share anything about their in-progress works, including non-specific allusions to fic content, outside of the spaces indicated in the chart below.
Where is it okay to talk about my DABB work?
Section titled “Where is it okay to talk about my DABB work?”| Prior to Matching | After Matching | |
|---|---|---|
| Direct Messages* | ||
| Secret Creator Channels | ||
| Anywhere in the DABB Discord | ||
| Anywhere Else |
Responsibilities as a Writer Participant
Section titled “Responsibilities as a Writer Participant”Writers agree to meet minimum checkpoint progress, and clearly communicate progress or setbacks to moderators and teammates.
All participants must follow the rules of the event. Writers must also:
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Know check-in deadlines and submission windows.
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Understand check-in requirements. Submissions must be accessible to the mods.
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Assume good intentions from the mods. We will review submissions (check-ins and final works) to assess progress but we are not judging creative choices, formatting, or process.
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Provide material to teammates and mods when requested.
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Make use of provided event resources and tutorials, as well as official documentation from AO3 or other programs/platforms used during the event.
Deliverables and Due Dates
Section titled “Deliverables and Due Dates”The full event timeline is available here.
Check-Ins will occur via forms sent to participants. Links to the forms will be available over email and in a dedicated event Discord channel. All forms will be open for several days, and the submission windows are listed below. After submission, keep an eye on your email – mods may send follow-ups after check-ins close.
Final deadlines are “End of Day” (EOD) anywhere in the world, meaning: EOD July 31 is when it is no longer July 31 anywhere in the world. Check what time EOD anywhere in the world is in your timezone here.
Sign Ups: June 1-30
Section titled “Sign Ups: June 1-30”The purpose of this check-in is to gather writer contact information, determine roughly how many artists are needed, and how many must be comfortable with NSFW content.
Information entered on this form is preliminary and non-binding. You can change direction before pitches!
The form will ask writers for:
- contact information
- a DABB Name (how the mods will tell participants apart for the whole event)
- a 1-5 sentence explanation of their fic idea
- an estimated length (25k+)
- an estimated Rating (PG, T, M/R, E/NC17)
- (optionally) a discord handle to be added to the secret writer discord channels.
Soft Check-In: July 5-15
Section titled “Soft Check-In: July 5-15”The purpose of this check-in is to make sure progress (any progress) has been made on the fic. Writers must have some writing (any word count greater than zero) done in order to submit a pitch to our artists. The writing does not need to be polished/chronological/edited/etc at this point, but it must exist!
Writers must provide:
- email address (to receive a copy of your responses)
- a current, non-zero word count (number only)
Pitch Submission: July 25-31
Section titled “Pitch Submission: July 25-31”This is an abbreviated rundown. Make sure to review the full guide to pitch writing and submission!
Pitches are how writers introduce their projects to potential team mates.
A form will be emailed to current participants on July 15. Writers will have until July 31 to submit their project pitches. The information will be posted to the DABB Pitch Site for artists to peruse and rank. After pitch ranking closes, the mods will finalize teams.
The following information is required on the submission form:
- Main Characters
- Main Pairing
- Side Characters
- Background Pairings
- Major Fandoms
- Anticipated Rating
- Estimated Final Word Count
- Content Warnings & Additional Tags
- Sexual Content Notification
- Summary (2000 characters max)
- ✨New This Year✨ Anticipated Ending Tone
- ✨New This Year✨ Desired Collaboration Level
- ✨See the Pitches & Matching page for more info.
The form is reproduced on the Pitches Guide.
A note on anonymity: Pitches must remain anonymous for the duration of matching. This means if a pitch is submitted with identifiable OC names, the mods will make them generic if possible or remove them. Read more about Anonymity here.
If you participate in the discord, there will be spaces to workshop your pitch among your writer peers. These dedicated Discord spaces are the only event-approved place to discuss your stories during the anonymous period.
7500 Word Check-In: July 25-August 8
Section titled “7500 Word Check-In: July 25-August 8”Writers must confirm on a form that they have written at least 7500 words. Even if the fic was requested by an artist, we will not match artists with a fic that has not met the minimum 7,500 words by August 8.
This policy is to ensure that:
- Artists have access to a substantial-enough amount of writing when they’re matched, so they can begin working immediately.
- If an art pinch-hit is required later in the process, the pinch-hitter will have a substantial amount of writing to work from within their limited timeline.
If a writer submits this check-in but cannot produce a draft of 7500+ words to their teammate upon matching, the writer’s participation will be ended and the artist will be reassigned.
Team Formation & First Contact: August 16-23
Section titled “Team Formation & First Contact: August 16-23”Upon matching, Writers and Artists will be connected over email. From there, teams should decide what platform is best for their communication, and establish how often they would like to hear from their partner. Please keep in mind our privacy recommendations.
In the event that there are more artist sign ups than writers, all fics will enter a lottery for the chance to receive a second artist match (forming a Team of Three). In this event, a Team of Three consists of two artists and one writer. This is different from one artist working on two pitches.
Writers must send the latest draft of their writing to their Artist partner(s). It can be any length (7500 words+), and in any condition, but the artist needs something to go off of for their part of the Bang.
Teammates must be in contact with one another by August 23. If this deadline passes and a teammate has made no response, contact the mods. We will check-in to make sure your partner is okay - this does not get them in trouble, and helps everyone stay on track!
While your partnership is not necessarily anonymous, your work should not be shared/streamed publicly until the whole fic/art combo is posted on the reveal day!
Team Collaboration: August 16-October 31
Section titled “Team Collaboration: August 16-October 31”Communication should be frequent, and absences/silences should be communicated to Bang partners ahead of time if possible. If Writers encounter significant setbacks, they must communicate their progress & needs to their Artist partner(s) & to the moderators of the event.
Artists and Writers should especially communicate to each other if an extension, or a default, is required. Life happens! If you or a partner must drop out of the event, please see the section on defaults & extensions.
Teams of Three: Artists on teams of three may choose to brainstorm with their other Artist partner in a “triangle” of inspiration, but some artists may only wish to discuss inspiration with their Writer (a “V” with the Writer as the vertex). Please communicate your wishes clearly! Writers should work equally with their Artist partners, as the Artist’s preference allows.
Major Check-In: September 10-13
Section titled “Major Check-In: September 10-13”Writers must submit their current draft to the mods and personally evaluate their own progress. This check-in is primarily a reminder to keep up a good pace for yourself. To put this milestone in perspective, there are still 7 weeks of writing time remaining.
There is no specific word count for this milestone; after the 7500 word check-in, it is impossible to be more specific with writer requirements - word counts have historically ranged from 25k to over 100k!
Everyone works differently, so what this “major” check-in looks like depends on writing style and process. It could mean:
- the fic is fully drafted and just needs editing
- the fic is halfway done and there are still some major scenes left to write
- something else!
What the mods are looking for at this check-in:
- tangible progress beyond what was submitted at the 7500 word count check-in
- that you are not living in bullet-point and keysmash hell this late in the event
- how your current word count compares to your stated goal
What might flag mod concern at this check-in:
- a draft identical to the writer’s 7500 word check-in
- a draft that is primarily bullet points or notes
- an extremely low current word count compared to the end goal word count (i.e., 25% of the total words written or less)
Overall, the mods trust writers to know their own limits, how much available writing time they have upcoming, and to pace themselves to finish on time.
Team Submission: October 18-31
Section titled “Team Submission: October 18-31”Please check the Submission guide for exact requirements, important links, and submission steps.
Writers must add their work to the AO3 collection for this specific event, and provide information for the official Event Tumblr Promo post alongside their team’s work.
The Fic
Section titled “The Fic”The fic must be posted and published in its entirety by the submission deadline and contain their team’s art as an embedded image, with credit. The Tutorial page has instructions about how to embed art in fics.
Works will be approved in the AO3 collection if they contain the following:
- Title
- Fandom Tag
- Rating
- Pairing and/or Characters tags
- Summary
- Embed of the Artist’s Work
- Credit to the Artist
The Promotional Material
Section titled “The Promotional Material”One representative from each team must submit the material for the Tumblr promo post. Decide your team representative ahead of time and make sure your team has all the material gathered before submission. The requirements are detailed on the Submissions page.
Of Note: the mods have commissioned special banners for the Event Tumblr Promo Posts. These will be artistic and stylized, but contain the names of the fic, the author, and the artist. You can find prior examples of the event banners here and here.
Multiple options will be given for each team to choose from, and that choice will be specified on the Event Tumblr Promo Post submission form. These banners will be included in the official event promo post. However, once your promo post has gone live on the DABB blog, you are free to package and format and share your work as you please.
✨New This Year✨ The full banners will be shared prior to final submissions!