Be Your Number One

Are you a grammar nerd who always fights the urge to correct people’s sentences?

Do you have a million details of OUAT canon etched into your brain?

Are you an expert in a specific subject that you never get to talk about?

Do you always spot plot holes in movies and TV shows?

Are you great at delivering patient, constructive criticism?

Do you just enjoy helping people make their work better?

If so, the role of a beta might be for you!

Betas are invaluable participants in the creative process, many writers would be lost without your invaluable work. Betas are truly the secret heroes of every big bang challenge. No story is perfect on the first draft, and writers can struggle to spot the flaws in their masterpieces. A beta’s help can make the difference between a good story and a great one. 

No job is too little, and you’re just as important to this challenge as all the creators that have signed up. So please consider signing up as a Beta and helping our amazing Writers make something remarkable.

And everyone who participates in our challenge will have access to a Discord server, where you can get to know the other participants, swap grammar tips with fellow betas, infodump about your obscure area of expertise… or just talk about Swan Queen!If you think you’d like to sign up as a Beta, click here to go to our sign-up form!

Welcome to the fourth edition of Swan Queen Winter Solstice!

We’re very glad to announce that sign-ups are now officially open from Nov 1st to Nov 27th at 11:59PM EST for writers and artists! They will stay open for betas and cheerleaders all throughout the event, but (in the case of cheerleaders) please consider signing up early to get matched with someone sooner.

There is important information about the event in the FAQ and Schedule links, so make sure to check them out before signing up. If you still have any questions, you can contact us on Twitter, Tumblr, or send an email to [email protected]. We may also be found in the Discord server.

Have you checked out the newly released Prompts List? If you're interested in signing up but are unsure of what to create, you can have a look at it and see if anything sparks your interest.

Our Discord server is also up — we send updates there as well if that’s more convenient for you. It’s also a great way to get to know other participants and to share troubles, to do writing/art sprints, and to get help from fellow creators!

Without further ado, here they are:

WRITER AND ARTIST SIGN-UPS

BETA AND CHEERLEADER SIGN-UPS

WANDAVISION 1.08 | AGATHA ALL ALONG 1.05

It’s almost time! Are you ready? 🧡

oh uh. scuse me. just a lil snail crossing your dash

I love how certain I am that I’m not the only person who stopped scrolling to let the snail finish crossing the dash.  

In fact, I would bet small sums of money that the majority of Tumblr folk do.    

Rb for the lil hops it does at the end before it finishes crossing 🥺💓

i let him cross three times because i missed the lil hop 😊💕

Another AO3 thing I’m curious about, how do yall decide if something is good enough to read? Usually I follow a rule of 1 kudos for every 10 hits. One because it’s easy math and two it’s yet to fail me. Thoughts? Do you just go for it and pray it’s good?

folks, don't do this one. do not look at kudos count. do not look at comment count. do not look at hits. you read the summary and see if it sounds like your cuppa. multi-chapter fics in particular suffer a lot from inflated hit counts because loyal fans will show up for every chapter, but only get one kudos apiece. literally just read the write-up and if it's bad, you'll know within a minute of clicking on it. give new works and chaptered works a shot

There is a 38 chapter long story that I love so much I have reread the entire thing 17 times. 646 hits on that story are from ME. A single kudos is also from me.

Read the tags. Read the summary. If it sounds at all potentially interesting, click on it. Start reading. If you don't like it, the back button is right there.

I have taken a chance on a fair few stories that weren't even my usual cup of tea but the summary hinted it might be compelling. Many don't pan out for me, but some have and I'm so glad I gave the author a chance.

my swanqueen era is coming back

Continuing our yearly tradition, the prompt submission form is open once more for both fic and art!

You don’t have to participate in the event to help out with this, and the prompts don’t have to be holiday themed at all.

We’ll compile a new list on Tumblr to help those creators that might want to participate but don’t know what to create yet. Maybe it will inspire you! 

Click here to send one (or more)!

👀

Title: we share secrets (but some we keep to ourselves) Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/53875219/ Writer: DelicatePoem Socials:

Word Count: 20k Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warning(s): No Archive Warnings Apply Summary: Pan's curse is not cast. Now Emma has Hook and Neal pining for her. She accidentally says she's not interested because she's already dating someone, and the news spreads fast.

There’s only one possible solution.

Please check out the work and don't forget to give some love to the creator — leave a comment, kudos, share it! Nothing makes a creator's day and inspires them more than knowing how much you appreciated it! 💜

Title: your arms [fanvid] Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/53230099 Artist: DelicatePoem Socials:

Rating: General Audiences Warning(s): No Archive Warnings Apply

Please check out the work and don't forget to give some love to the creator — leave a comment, kudos, share it! Nothing makes a creator's day and inspires them more than knowing how much you appreciated it! 💜

It’s no secret: Making things is hard. Working on the same project for a long time can get lonely, and a little bit of support goes a long way. That’s what cheerleaders are for!

A cheerleader can do any or all of the following:

If you think you might be able to help in some ways but not others (e.g. you’ve got an endless supply of kind words, but generating ideas is not your forte), that’s totally fine! Just let us know on the sign-up sheet, and we’ll do our best to pair you with a creator who needs the sort of help you’ll be great at providing.

That’s right: We will be matching up cheerleaders and creators. Our matchups will be based on type of support (see above), as well as ratings and archive warnings. That way, you won’t be assigned to help a creator with a project you’re not comfortable hearing about.

Everyone who participates in our challenge will have access to a Discord server, where you can hang out with other participants and chat about Swan Queen, this event, or anything else you feel like!

If you think you’d like to sign up as a Cheerleader, click here to go to our sign-up form!

A week has passed - we have 18 creators signed up so far this year!

Do you think we can beat last year's numbers?

Click HERE for writer/artist sign-ups!

'CAUSE WHEN EMMA FALLS IN LOVE, SHE'S IN IT FOR KEEPS » requested by @lorelaiileigh ♡ reblogs are encouraged!

It’s almost time! Are you ready? 💙

Title: Somewhere Only We Know

Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/45555103

Writer: DelicatePoem

Socials:

Word Count: 8k

Rating: Teen And Up Audiences

Warning(s): No Archive Warnings Apply

Summary:

Regina wishes to be sent to the same place as Emma Swan. Meanwhile, Princess Emma dreams of Storybrooke. When they meet in the Wish Realm, Emma is sure Regina is her wife - which causes great turmoil to Regina, who has spent the last couple of years trying to accept that she'll never be with Emma.

Please check out the work and don't forget to give some love to the creator — leave a comment, kudos, share it! Nothing makes a creator's day and inspires them more than knowing how much you appreciated it! 💜