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

[rileyc]

May 11, please!

[aralias]

great! it's yours - and we're filling up early(ish) may nicely.

[thisbluespirit]

I hate you just a little bit now. I went looking through summaries to see if I ended up writing something, much as you suggested, but unfortunately this morning was not the best time (though that bit is entirely my fault of course) as I had been dreaming about Public Eye all night and kept putting Frank Marker/Helen Mortimer in the summaries and and thus completely killing any element of romance/action/actual story they might once have possibly held, until I found this:

78) Between Strangers – Linda Conrad

rescuing a stranded mother and baby from a raging blizzard hasn’t been part of Frank Marker’s plans. Yet he couldn’t abandon Helen Mortimer. And ended up getting snowed in with her, tasting those fiery kisses. She was all wrong for him, so why did she feel so right in his arms?

Which I have now written most of in rough, but is utterly pointless of me. /o\ (Also there are NO FIERY KISSES. Honestly, people. Nappy changing, yes. Fiery kisses, no.) Because in 1947 Britain had one of its worst winters, and Helen Mortimer was canonically a single mother with a baby and a selfish bastard of a future husband who didn't marry her till four years later when it was convenient for him. (I don't know what Frank was doing, but as of now in my AU he is rashly attempting to sell encyclopedias in a snowstorm, in a car that last worked properly in 1935.)

In short, give me May 2nd please. Or shoot me before I burden your fest with utter obscurity and lack of romance. Whichever you prefer. /o\

I saw one that would be great for Dayna and Tarrant, but the fic-writing brain is an unruly thing and will not go where you point it sometimes.

[aralias]

<3

there's nothing wrong with encylopedias rather than fiery kisses. i like that you can get plenty of different things out of a romance novel ficathon - not just more romance novels.

[thisbluespirit]

Thank you. I am glad of that, because if romance novel-esque fic was actually required for the fest, I would never be taking part. :-D

Also, this 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.

Clearly needs to be a saga of complaining to the mail order company about their careless delivery habits. "Wife arrived, but was slightly damaged in post. Will not be using service again. Do not advise others to do so."

[jessalae]

Could I also go on May 26th, please?

[evandar]

May 30th for me, please, with prompt #1

[wbaillie]

May 5th sounds dangerously close suddenly, but yeah, I'm going to aim for that :) I really like how my last UC story turned out, so I'd like to try again :)

[katemacetak]

Could I have May 6?

[augusta_brie]

This looks like a ridiculous amount of fun!

I'd like to sign up for May 30th. May I be assigned two prompts?

Thank you!

[aralias]

yes, of course.

[aralias]

great! and hooray for choosing the first prompt :D

[aralias]

hooray! let's fill up those final spaces. thanks.

[aralias]

yes! and that means there's only one day unclaimed...

[aralias]

yes - and how are these:

HACKLED BY DIAMONDS

by JULIA JAMES

Mills & Boon Modern Romance

Draped in diamonds

Wearing the rare and priceless Levantsky diamonds is one of Anna Delane’s most prestigious modelling assignments. But when the precious gems go missing, Anna is left at the mercy of the Greek tycoon Leo Makarios…

Blackmailed into this bed…

Leo believes that exquisite Anna is nothing more than a common thief. And he will do anything in his power to get his jewellery back! So, having taken her to an exotic island, Leo puts his ruthless plan into action; as the sun sets Anna will become his, and as it rises she’ll be free to go…By then, her debt will have been repaid!

and/or

Pride After Her Fall- Lucy Ellis

The secrets behind her smile… Bankrupt, homeless and alone, Lorelai St James is an heiress on the edge. Yet she hides her desperation behind her glossy blonde hair and even brighter smile. Getting lectured on her driving by a hot-tempered – and ridiculously attractive – stranger will not be what shatters her carefully crafted façade! Legendary Australian racing driver Nash Blue knows a thing or two about pride and sees straight through Lorelai’s polished front. Her vulnerabilities play havoc with his concentration and, never shy of a challenge, he begins his biggest yet: unwrapping the real Lorelai St James…

[jessalae]

Yay! Now, to decide which awesome summary to use as a prompt... :)

[theladyscribe]

I'll take May 7, please (I can't stand the empty slot!).

[aralias]

hooray! thank you.

[neurotoxia]

The 31st and the prompt sound great, thank you!

[john_amend_all]

... Can I have a second date, too? Prompt 87 bit me hard.

[aralias]

:D i've given you may 22nd. let me know if you want a different second date.

[spikesgirl58]

It's great to be here. This is such a fun and invigorating challenge!

[mara]

Well, since there's at least one person for every day, I'm going to randomly pick May 16 :)

I can't decide whether to do the Power Rangers idea or the Blood Ties one...whee!

I'm so glad Mithen mentioned this challenge, because I needed something to cheer me up :)

[john_amend_all]

The 22nd's fine, thanks. Except somehow I'm now up to three fics. Can you put me down for the 14th as well?

(I think this ficathon may need a warning sign. It's dangerously addictive.

)

[aralias]

i'm glad too - and please do keep spreading the news!

may the 16th is yours.