The 2021 Claims Post!
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originalfictionchallengeWe have 6 written works by our excellent creators, all looking for art (all mediums welcome)!
Claims will be open until Sunday, September 5th. All challenge dates and info are on![[tumblr.com profile]](https://www.tumblr.com/favicon.ico)
originalfictionchallenge (or on originalfictionchallenge if you prefer). Be sure to read them before claiming a work - life happens, but you should only claim a story if you think you'll be able to complete your accompanying work in time for posting in November. You are expected to create at least one finished piece of visual or auditory art to go with the story, which will be posted along side it, as agreed upon by you and the creator of the work you've claimed. The creators are putting a lot of work into their stories, and accompanying works should reflect that.
As these are all original stories, if you claim a work, you are expected to work closely with the creator and respect their vision in your accompanying work. If either of you encounter any difficulties, please contact originalfictionchallenge@gmail.com and I can help mediate.
To claim a work, fill out this form with a ranked list of works you would like to claim (please only list works that you would actually like to claim). I will do my best to match you to one of your choices - though if multiple people claim the same work, it will be first come, first serve. All matches will be sent out at the beginning of September or earlier.
Without further ado, here are the stories! If you have any questions about any of them, consider submitting it to tumblr, so the creator can answer the question publicly, or you can contact the mod at originalfictionchallenge@gmail.com if you would like the question to be sent to the creator privately.
1. Christmas on Main Street
Creator: J. R. Hart (http://jrhartauthor.com)
Rating: General Audiences
Genre: Holiday contemporary romance
Expected length: Novella (30,000 words)
Summary: Nolan's floral business is failing miserably this winter. A few more cancelations and he'll have to close his doors for good. Of course, the coffeeshop across the street has no problem drawing in business. Too bad they're more about the aesthetic than the product. Kory, the owner there has a plan that might save Nolan's shop... if only he can overcome his attitude about Kory, his coffee, and the too-perfect Instagram feed curated to sell his drinks.
Contact the mod for a link to the first few chapters.
2. The Stars' Reflection
Creator: Amari Amson
Rating: Teen and Up
Warnings: Traumatic childhood and implications of child abuse (no details given)
Genre: Sci-fi / opera, YA
Expected length: Novella (roughly 30k words)
Summary: In a far-flung future where Earth has become a barely-remembered cultural myth, the healed planet becomes a safe haven for anyone trying to escape the strict bounds of a galactic authoritative government. Ratchet has lived there for decades. He keeps to himself, and fully intends to remain that way until he eventually dies -- until a child arrives at the spaceport and elusively slips past all security.
The trouble is that Ratchet might be the only person who can convince the child to come out of hiding, and the very LAST thing Ratchet wants is to accidentally become a parent. He knows all too well what sorts of things out there can damage children so thoroughly, and he knows all too well how his self-control will crumble in the face of those haunted eyes.
... But if the child insists on hiding within a den of thieves and criminals... well, then maybe Ratchet can teach him what he needs to know to survive, and survive well.
Little does Ratchet know that this decision will result in one of the most infamous phantom thieves in the history of the galaxy.
Additional Notes: Hoping for visuals, but open to any medium! The two main characters are Ratchet, a pale man who is Too Old For This Shit and so very exhausted, battle-hardened and rough and difficult to read; and the child, roughly 10-12 old, green eyes and brown skin, balancing on a precipice between shattering completely and hardening into diamond, who grows into a genderfluid gentleman thief -- suave, quick-witted, and manically resourceful.
3. Shelter
Creator: S. Guellouz (https://archiveofourown.org/users/thesadchicken/pseuds/thesadchicken/works)
Rating: Teen and Up / Mature Content
Warnings: Mild hallucinations, period-typical homophobia, internalized homophobia, war
Genre: Historical, LGBT+
Expected length: 25k to 40k words
Summary: England, 1914. Clyde Everly has a wife and a successful career, but he is haunted by the ghost of a past relationship. Unable to come to terms with his own homosexuality, he drifts, half awake—until World War I erupts.
Clyde becomes obsessed with one thing: joining the war as a soldier. However, the sudden and unexpected arrival of the gardener’s son, Victor, brings a halt to Clyde's plans. Home on leave, Victor wants to escape the horrors of war. Clyde falls in love with him, and through their love learns to accept himself.
The story also follows Clyde's wife, Helen, on her own journey of self-discovery and acceptance.
Snippet: Here
4. Swaddle Me in Blue
Creator: Timothy Maxwell
Rating: Teen and Up
Warnings: Major Character Death
Genre: Speculative Fiction
Expected length: Short story collection
Summary: A collection of stories across different genres, all featuring a trans man as the main character.
5. Sweet Shop Romance (working title)
Creator: sparrow.ink (https://archiveofourown.org/users/sparrow_ink)
Rating: Mature Content, Explicit
Warnings: main character using bad bdsm practices as coping mechanism/self-harm instead of going to therapy - not onscreen/references to these experiences in the text, discussions of safe/sane/consensual bdsm practices, 2ish explicit sex scenes with bdsm (contact mod for full list of warnings), cast of characters discusses being forcibly outed/references to a side character being deadnamed & misgendered(not on screen)
Genre: bisexual cis woman & bisexual gnc man romance, slice of life, if a coffeshop AU had a baby with a romcom and that baby was a fluffy bdsm idiots-to-lovers
Expected length: novella to short novel (targeting 45-60k words)
Summary: Val is a graduate school dropout looking for a job and a place to stay. It just so happens that her sister needs a shop assistant for their grandfather's off-off-beach sweet shop. Which is probably a lie but Val is not above taking her thinly-veiled charity. She expects a quiet summer in a tiny town (Only Two Hours from the Beach! as everyone there says). She discovers (or instigates, who's to say) a budding rivalry with the cafe across the street. And the absolutely-not-cute employee who runs it. Is he secretly plotting to run them out of business? Or is he simply a man with the soul of a golden retriever and the face of Michelangelo's David? There's only one way to find out. By going on multiple not-dates and a deep-tonsil investigation. Naturally.
6. Hero Watch
Creator: Avi (V Tsuion)
Rating: Teen and Up
Warnings: Discussion of past genocide
Genre: Superhero
Expected length: Ongoing series of short stories
Summary: Get the inside scoop on the heroes and villains of the three isles!
Featuring a large, diverse, female led cast of heroes and villains, with eventual LGBT+ romance.
Their stories are told by the intrepid reporters of Hero Watch.
Velequette City: A vibrant metropolis with shimmering sky scrapers where nothing is as it seems. Superheroism has been outlawed, but the heart of the nightlife is the Masquerade "Super-artistic" movement that uses heroics and villainy as a medium through which to tell stories, like an extreme immersive theater group.
Prima City: Dark and dangerous, corruption runs rampant, and the streets still bear the scars of the state-sanctioned killing of nearly all the Supers in the city a little over a decade ago. The few heroes that remain do what they can.
Silvertown: A peaceful one hero town.
Contact the mod for a snippet.
Claims will be open until Sunday, September 5th. All challenge dates and info are on
originalfictionchallenge if you prefer). Be sure to read them before claiming a work - life happens, but you should only claim a story if you think you'll be able to complete your accompanying work in time for posting in November. You are expected to create at least one finished piece of visual or auditory art to go with the story, which will be posted along side it, as agreed upon by you and the creator of the work you've claimed. The creators are putting a lot of work into their stories, and accompanying works should reflect that.As these are all original stories, if you claim a work, you are expected to work closely with the creator and respect their vision in your accompanying work. If either of you encounter any difficulties, please contact originalfictionchallenge@gmail.com and I can help mediate.
To claim a work, fill out this form with a ranked list of works you would like to claim (please only list works that you would actually like to claim). I will do my best to match you to one of your choices - though if multiple people claim the same work, it will be first come, first serve. All matches will be sent out at the beginning of September or earlier.
Without further ado, here are the stories! If you have any questions about any of them, consider submitting it to tumblr, so the creator can answer the question publicly, or you can contact the mod at originalfictionchallenge@gmail.com if you would like the question to be sent to the creator privately.
1. Christmas on Main Street
Creator: J. R. Hart (http://jrhartauthor.com)
Rating: General Audiences
Genre: Holiday contemporary romance
Expected length: Novella (30,000 words)
Summary: Nolan's floral business is failing miserably this winter. A few more cancelations and he'll have to close his doors for good. Of course, the coffeeshop across the street has no problem drawing in business. Too bad they're more about the aesthetic than the product. Kory, the owner there has a plan that might save Nolan's shop... if only he can overcome his attitude about Kory, his coffee, and the too-perfect Instagram feed curated to sell his drinks.
Contact the mod for a link to the first few chapters.
2. The Stars' Reflection
Creator: Amari Amson
Rating: Teen and Up
Warnings: Traumatic childhood and implications of child abuse (no details given)
Genre: Sci-fi / opera, YA
Expected length: Novella (roughly 30k words)
Summary: In a far-flung future where Earth has become a barely-remembered cultural myth, the healed planet becomes a safe haven for anyone trying to escape the strict bounds of a galactic authoritative government. Ratchet has lived there for decades. He keeps to himself, and fully intends to remain that way until he eventually dies -- until a child arrives at the spaceport and elusively slips past all security.
The trouble is that Ratchet might be the only person who can convince the child to come out of hiding, and the very LAST thing Ratchet wants is to accidentally become a parent. He knows all too well what sorts of things out there can damage children so thoroughly, and he knows all too well how his self-control will crumble in the face of those haunted eyes.
... But if the child insists on hiding within a den of thieves and criminals... well, then maybe Ratchet can teach him what he needs to know to survive, and survive well.
Little does Ratchet know that this decision will result in one of the most infamous phantom thieves in the history of the galaxy.
Additional Notes: Hoping for visuals, but open to any medium! The two main characters are Ratchet, a pale man who is Too Old For This Shit and so very exhausted, battle-hardened and rough and difficult to read; and the child, roughly 10-12 old, green eyes and brown skin, balancing on a precipice between shattering completely and hardening into diamond, who grows into a genderfluid gentleman thief -- suave, quick-witted, and manically resourceful.
3. Shelter
Creator: S. Guellouz (https://archiveofourown.org/users/thesadchicken/pseuds/thesadchicken/works)
Rating: Teen and Up / Mature Content
Warnings: Mild hallucinations, period-typical homophobia, internalized homophobia, war
Genre: Historical, LGBT+
Expected length: 25k to 40k words
Summary: England, 1914. Clyde Everly has a wife and a successful career, but he is haunted by the ghost of a past relationship. Unable to come to terms with his own homosexuality, he drifts, half awake—until World War I erupts.
Clyde becomes obsessed with one thing: joining the war as a soldier. However, the sudden and unexpected arrival of the gardener’s son, Victor, brings a halt to Clyde's plans. Home on leave, Victor wants to escape the horrors of war. Clyde falls in love with him, and through their love learns to accept himself.
The story also follows Clyde's wife, Helen, on her own journey of self-discovery and acceptance.
Snippet: Here
4. Swaddle Me in Blue
Creator: Timothy Maxwell
Rating: Teen and Up
Warnings: Major Character Death
Genre: Speculative Fiction
Expected length: Short story collection
Summary: A collection of stories across different genres, all featuring a trans man as the main character.
5. Sweet Shop Romance (working title)
Creator: sparrow.ink (https://archiveofourown.org/users/sparrow_ink)
Rating: Mature Content, Explicit
Warnings: main character using bad bdsm practices as coping mechanism/self-harm instead of going to therapy - not onscreen/references to these experiences in the text, discussions of safe/sane/consensual bdsm practices, 2ish explicit sex scenes with bdsm (contact mod for full list of warnings), cast of characters discusses being forcibly outed/references to a side character being deadnamed & misgendered(not on screen)
Genre: bisexual cis woman & bisexual gnc man romance, slice of life, if a coffeshop AU had a baby with a romcom and that baby was a fluffy bdsm idiots-to-lovers
Expected length: novella to short novel (targeting 45-60k words)
Summary: Val is a graduate school dropout looking for a job and a place to stay. It just so happens that her sister needs a shop assistant for their grandfather's off-off-beach sweet shop. Which is probably a lie but Val is not above taking her thinly-veiled charity. She expects a quiet summer in a tiny town (Only Two Hours from the Beach! as everyone there says). She discovers (or instigates, who's to say) a budding rivalry with the cafe across the street. And the absolutely-not-cute employee who runs it. Is he secretly plotting to run them out of business? Or is he simply a man with the soul of a golden retriever and the face of Michelangelo's David? There's only one way to find out. By going on multiple not-dates and a deep-tonsil investigation. Naturally.
6. Hero Watch
Creator: Avi (V Tsuion)
Rating: Teen and Up
Warnings: Discussion of past genocide
Genre: Superhero
Expected length: Ongoing series of short stories
Summary: Get the inside scoop on the heroes and villains of the three isles!
Featuring a large, diverse, female led cast of heroes and villains, with eventual LGBT+ romance.
Their stories are told by the intrepid reporters of Hero Watch.
Velequette City: A vibrant metropolis with shimmering sky scrapers where nothing is as it seems. Superheroism has been outlawed, but the heart of the nightlife is the Masquerade "Super-artistic" movement that uses heroics and villainy as a medium through which to tell stories, like an extreme immersive theater group.
Prima City: Dark and dangerous, corruption runs rampant, and the streets still bear the scars of the state-sanctioned killing of nearly all the Supers in the city a little over a decade ago. The few heroes that remain do what they can.
Silvertown: A peaceful one hero town.
Contact the mod for a snippet.
