Unconventional Courtship Sign-up and Rules

[aralias]

Three things make a post, and 14+ interested parties make a fest! Let's do this thing.

Welcome to 'Unconventional Courtship 2014'!



'Unconventional Courtship' is a panfandom fic fest where you write and post a 1000w+ fic based on a M&B/Harlequin plot. Fics will be posted to this community, staggered through May 2014 (from the 1st to the 31st).

How to play:

It's as simple as:

1. Sign up! All you need to do is comment on this post with the day you want to post your fic. You can tell me which summary/pairing you're going with, but you don't have to. You can also ask me to assign you a summary, if you want. (You don't need a Dreamwidth to play - just comment with OpenID. You will need to ask me to post your fic on the com, though. If you are on DW, please follow the community!)

2. Choose a M&B/Harlequin summary (or two etc) - we have a few suggestions here, but there are literally thousands. You can write more than one fic if you want. You can also combine prompts, if you like.

3. Replace the names (and pronouns if necessary) with the names (and pronouns) of the pairing of your choice. Any any all fandoms and pairings are welcome in this fest.

You can also replace place names and jobs as long as you keep to the spirit of the prompt. So, if you want to write Kirk/Spock, but you don't want to write a modern day AU, you could replace 'the Sahara desert' with 'a desert planet' and Kirk wouldn't need to be the boss at a law firm, he could be the boss... in the sense that he's the captain.

4. Write a fic based on your altered summary. You can take the prompt seriously or use it as an improbable basis for lols.

4.5. Pimp the fest far and wide. I'm only going to post to coms that I'm already a member of this year, as I was rejected from so many last time, so it is up to you - the players! I've re-uploaded the make-your-own banners and of course you can use any that I've already made. But please do pimp where ever you think would be appropriate.

5. Post the fic to this community on your assigned day. Use the header provided.

You can also post to our AO3 collection, but please post to the com whatever you do, and please post to the com first.

We ran this fest last year, so you can see some examples of Unconventional Courtship fic by looking through the collection, or earlier in the com.

6. Profit! Fics for all! I'll post a masterlist once all the entries are in. Crossposting is encouraged.

Any questions? Leave a comment or PM me or email me at heroic.tendencies@gmail.com


Rules:

1. All fics must be over 1,000 words long.

2. You must use a modified Mills & Boon and/or Harlequin summary.

3. You don't have to use a beta, but it is strongly advised.

4. Please use the following header (or similar) when you post to the community:

<b>Title:</b> <b>Author:</b> <b>Fandom:</b> <b>Pairing/Characters:</b> <b>Rating:</b> <b>Length:</b> <b>Summary:</b> <b>Notes:</b> <b>Link:</b>

5. Please post on your assigned day. If you can't for whatever reason, please let me know either by PM or email heroic.tendencies@gmail.com

6. You can use this fic for another challenge i.e. trope_bingo

7. You can sign up for any day you like, but if it is possible for you to sign up for a day that nobody else is interested in then that'd be best of all.


May 1st: thisbluespirit, mara
May 2nd: liadt
May 3rd: merryghoul
May 4th: john_amend_all
May 5th: wbaillie
May 6th:
May 7th: theladyscribe
May 8th: mithen, haeceity
May 9th: honeynoir, lilly_c
May 10th: spikesgirl58, aralias
May 11th: rileyc, katemacetak
May 12th: bendingwind
May 13th: samuraiter
May 14th: sabinetzin, john_amend_all
May 15th: ljgeoff, AngelOfTheMoor
May 16th: mtxref_fic
May 17th: celeste9
May 18th: killaurey
May 19th: trista_zevkia
May 20th: ljgeoff, joyfulfeather
May 21st: straightforwardly, gingayellow
May 22nd: crookedspoon, john_amend_all
May 23rd: roseargent, theladyscribe
May 24th: joyfulfeather
May 25th: silver_galaxy, clocketpatch, bellamortis, rubberglue
May 26th: thequipkid, jessalae
May 27th: thinkatory, lastfaerietales
May 28th: rubylily, scribblesinink
May 29th: badass_tiger, reindeerprincess
May 30th: random_nexus, evandar, augusta_brie
May 31st: wendelah1, neurotoxia, coneyislandbaby

If you have questions, feel free to ask! And/or consult the FAQs from last year.

Comments

[wendelah1]

May 31st. The 30th if the 31st is taken.

I'm giving my prompt combo from last year another go. I am not having sciatica--so far--so I think I've got a decent chance of finishing this year.:D

By special request, it's gender-swapped. The X-Files RPF. Pairing is David Duchovny/Gillian Anderson.

Just when Evie Cabrera Dr. David Duchovny thinks his blind date can't get any worse, his insipid dinner companion pulls out a gun. Suddenly Evie David is drawn into the middle of a terrorist plot. On the brink of a scientific breakthrough, Dr. Hannah Zachary Duchovny was now running on borrowed time. He had knowledge that dangerous men would kill to possess. His only protection is Jude Curran, Gillian Anderson, an agent with Tactical Executive Security. He desperately needed to trust someone, and Dr Agent Tyler Anderson was it. But Evie David senses that Jude Gillian is keeping more secrets than she's revealing. With his life in chaos, can he trust the secret agent?

[aralias]

great! and quick sign up :D thank you.

[merryghoul]

I'm crazy enough to take May 3rd.

[aralias]

hooray! you've got it.

[random_nexus]

I would like May 30th, please, seeing as how Wendelah1 asked for the 31st already.
My last UC fic turned out pretty good, so I'm optimistic this one might, too.

Thanks! :D

(PS: Will be pimping UC out like a boss!)

[aralias]

:D excellent. 30th is yours.

[thinkatory]

I'm gonna go with May 27, and I'm going with #129 :D

[aralias]

done! thanks.

[sjh2009]

I would love to take part but, unfortunately, it's running at the same time as SGA Reverse Bang which I am already commmitted to.

I can't see a deadline for signing up, is there one? If not could I just jump in at some point if I do get my Reverse Bang story completed and post it whenever I can, providing I do post it by 31 May?

I had such fun taking part in this last time.

[aralias]

sorry - i hoped this might be slightly late enough that it was ok for you!

but yes, in answer to your question: you can indeed sign up at any point you want.

[roseargent]

May 23rd please. :)

[aralias]

done!

[badass_tiger]

I shall the 29th of May! We can request that you assign us a summary, right? I'm so wild about all of them, I'd love it if you could do that!

[aralias]

yes! welcome to being the first person to volunteer to be assigned. (if this isn't going to work at all, let me know and i'll choose you another one).

101) Montana mail-order Wife – Charlotte Douglas

Rancher Wade Garrett’s mail-order bride turned up with a huge bump on her forehead and a case of amnesia. Rachel O’Riley didn’t know who she was let alone that she’d agreed to a marriage in name only! But handsome Wade certainly aroused her interest.

[samuraiter]

May 13th, please, and I think it's going to be Prompt #18.

[aralias]

great! added.

[alassenya]

I'm not participating (because deadline + me = disaster) but I wanted to say how wonderfully nostalgic I feel seeing the Mills & Boon covers. I spent many a happy hour reading them during some stressful times when I was younger, and I never quite managed to transfer that affection to Harlequin.

[aralias]

the cover's are really well designed in that they are so recognisable - you know what you're getting! but there is the possibility to vary the picture from book to book. i really enjoyed making the banners, because almost everything looks silly in that context, even though fanfic and M&B are not all that far apart in their goals.

if you do want to casually write something, even if it happens after the end of the fest, feel free to add it to the collection.

[killaurey]

May 18th, please! Can you please assign me a prompt? I can't make up my mind!

[aralias]

here you go (if it's totally unworkable let me know and i'll choose something else!)


O'REILLY'S BRIDE
by TRISH WYLIE

Sean O’Reilly had become so close to his colleague and friend Maggie Sullivan that he was beginning to imagine their friendship could lead to more. Only now, bizarrely, she’s backed off – and, even more strangely, she’s started looking for love on the internet! Well, if he can’t beat them, he’ll have to join them…

Maggie can’t let herself get close to Sean. Not now. Not when she’s discovered something that will break all his dreams of happy ever after. But she has no idea how much she hurt Sean – nor how much she has just fuelled his determination to make her his…by any means necessary!

[rubylily]

This looks like fun. I'll take May 28th, please.

[aralias]

great! it's yours.

[silver_galaxy]

Can I get May 25th? Thanks :)

[aralias]

done!

[crookedspoon]

Can I have both day and summary assigned? :)

[aralias]

do you want a late date? if so - may 22nd is free.

how's this for a summary? let me know if you want another one.

BREATHLESS PASSION by Emilie Rose

Struggling to get her business off the ground, Lily West was suddenly offered a tantalising proposal: pose as millionaire Rick Faulkner’s fiancée and the pick of jobs would be hers. She was not a socialite dripping in charm, so Rick became Lily’s tutor; but how could he ever let her go?

[ljgeoff]

I'll take May 15th, if that's available. If not, give me the 16th or any other day after.

Here is my plot summary:

25)The Groom

Why does Dame Rose of the Powell Estate need to advertise for a husband? When the Doctor walks down the aisle towards this stranger, the truth is revealed - a cruel scar disfigures her otherwise beautiful features. Temporarily without his TARDIS, the Doctor finds himself intrigued by this embittered woman who wants a marriage based on convenience alone...

[aralias]

you can have both the 15th and the 20th! and hooray for some Who prompts.

[ljgeoff]

Aaaand, I'll do another one (because this sounds like a lot of fun!) Please give me a date towards the end of the month, the 20th or after.


FILM AT ELEVEN


When everybody is watching…

Zapped back in time by an avenging angel, Amy Pond is alone in New York. An impromptu appearance on a morning talk show to promote her new book has brought her into the spotlight. And now the brainy beauty has become a media-savvy serial killer’s next target. Even worse, the infuriatingly familiar – and very off limits – anchorman, Rory Williams, is the only one she can turn to for protection.

Though a string of suspicious accidents proved Amy was in terrible danger, forging an intensely passionate relationships with Williams seems more frightening than being found by the madman who wanted her dead. But would Amy’s fleeting minutes of harrowing fame lead to a permanent future together with Williams… or lead her straight to the killer?

[liadt]

\o/

As it's all my fault, can I have the 24th May please?

I shall go off and battle with photoshop online and amuse myself with screengrabs.

[aralias]

you can! and yes - it is indeed your fault.

[joyfulfeather]

This is awesome! May 20th, please. Haven't quite decided what summary to do - there are so many that sound fun!

[aralias]

you may!

[thequipkid]

I'd like to take May 26th for writing/posting two stories. I'm down to choosing between four different prompts but I'm definitely writing Sam Wilson/Steve Rogers and Bruce Wayne/Dick Grayson.

This is going to be so much fun! I love that I'm going to get to drsg out my old Harlequin novels!

[aralias]

great :D it'll be interesting to see how much you're influenced by knowing the actual plot. 26th is yours.

[clocketpatch]

Can I have May 25th?

[aralias]

you may indeed :D glad you decided to sign up.

[celeste9]

Okay, this looks like so much fun, and perfect inspiration for a trope bingo square I had no idea what to do with! :) I would like to sign up, can I have the 17th? I am leaning towards summary 77, Under the Tycoon's Protection...

[aralias]

the 17th is yours!

[straightforwardly]

I'm a bit hesitant (haven't been writing much lately), but I think I'll give this a shot! I'd like May 21, please. I'm leaning towards using prompt #55, but there are a few that interest me, so we'll see.

[aralias]

may 21st is yours :D and good luck choosing a prompt.

[neurotoxia]

I should be working on my thesis and here I am, signing up for yet another thing

Could you assign me both a date (a late one, if possible. I already know I'll need a while) and a summary please? :)

[aralias]

you can have this prompt and may the 31st if you like (if you want a different prompt, let me know).

A Seductive Revenge – Kim Lawrence

Josh Prentice has a broken heart and thinks there’s only one way to mend it; he plans to seduce Flora Graham, and then jilt her. But he doesn’t expect to find it so difficult to walk away…

May 19th

[trista_zevkia]

I started writing this one last night, I was so inspired, but I'd like the 19th as a posting deadline as it's a day I'll remember, but whatever works =) If I get it done, I might even try for another one. Would anybody mind mpreg, as many of the plot revolve around babies and other consequences of sex?

108) Playing the Dutiful Spouse - Carol Marinelli

‘We have made an application on behalf of Spock to exercise his conjugal rights...'
Learning that the Vulcan he's tried to forget has spent the past 6 months imprisoned on Betazoid and needs him to visit is the last thing Leonard McCoy wants. But he will play his part in exchange for Spock's signature on the confession! Except he hasn't bargained on their mind-blowing connection being as undeniable as ever. Last time it led to usually sensible Len to leaving Jim alone on shore leave. This time the consequence of giving in to their chemistry will bind him to Spock forever...

Re: May 19th

[aralias]

the 19th is yours! and yer - i feel like mpreg is ALMOST inevitable in this fest, as the prompts are either about babies or sexy bosses, or both.

[sabinetzin]

I'll take May 14!

I wrote a story last year for this challenge- is it okay if I write another story (based on another summary, of course, because we ain't exactly hurting for pirates) in the same AU, in the grand tradition of romance novel series? I'll just find something else to write if the answer's no, but just wanted to check.

[aralias]

it is definitely ok. in fact, i welcome it! may the 14th is yours.

[john_amend_all]

I'll take May 4^th, if you like. With Nyssa and Ten...

150) Relentless Seduction- Jillian Burns

Unrestrained. Unrelenting. And completely undressed! When microbiologist [Nyssa of Traken]'s best friend disappears in New Orleans, she's determined to find her. Her only lead is a bar called Once Bitten - a haven for the dark and vampire-obsessed. While [Nyssa] generally prefers science nerds there's something about the bar's tall, dark and delish bartender... Bar owner [Ten] is sure that there's more to [Nyssa] than frumpy clothes. And as they delve further into the seedy underworld of the Big Easy, [Nyssa] and [Ten] turn to each other, discovering a sizzling hunger that won't be satisfied. But will one taste be enough?

[aralias]

excellent! a nice early one :D and i don't expect you to manage as many fics as you did last year, but it would be nice! i enjoyed them all.