Who is this Blink fellow, and why does he get his own week?
Well, you are new, aren't you? Blink (Kid Blink, in full) is one of the supporting characters in the Disney musical Newsies. He has his own week because he's my favorite character, and I said so.
What is the purpose of this thing, anyway?
The purpose is to try and convince people to write stories with Blink as the main character. It's a group effort for everyone to write something and post it on the same week (July 15 through 22).
"Everyone"?
Everyone who wants to participate, gen, het, and slash lovers alike! At first, it was just a plea for fics, but a couple years ago (2004) I decided to make it an official contest.
What are the contest dates (and why)?
The contest will be held between July 15 and 22. Why? Because July 15 is my birthday, and I love getting presents in the form of fanfiction. (That said, fics don't have to be written to appeal to me specifically, and anyway, my tastes are pretty broad.)
What are the categories for the contest? How do I enter?
The categories are (ahem): Best Characterization, Best Gen/Het, Best Slash, and Best Overall Fic.
Entering is easy! All you have to do is drop an email to kidblink[at]queenitsy[dot]com (that's me) and send me your...
Pen Name
Email Address
Fic Title
Fic URL
Fic Rating
Fic Summary
I prefer to get fics sent as links to a website, but if you must send it as an attachment, I will accept it.
Any other rules?
Well, as the title of the week implies, the main rule is that the fic must, must center on Blink. That said, it can be any rating (so long as you're old enough to write it), any pairing (or no pairing), any content. Just rate it appropriately, please. (I'm 23 this summer. I can read anything I darned well choose.)
The fics must be posted and emailed to me during the week of July 15-22. Why so short? Because I'd love to see a sudden flurry of Blink fics appearing, and if the dates are extended, then... no flurry. I'm giving you advance warning (a month from posting this, in fact) to get them written, so that shouldn't be a problem. If, however, you're scraping at the last minute and absolutely need more time, email me. We'll discuss.
It's not an official rule, because I plan to read/judge all submissions, but you have a much, much better chance at winning if your fic contains proper grammar, spelling, and punctuation. I'm so not kidding about this. I'm currently working as an editor, so I get picky. (If you need help, feel free to check out Fanfic101.)
Speaking of judging...
All judging is done by me. I'm objective, when it comes to basics (the afore mentioned spelling/grammar/punctuation); but when it comes to content, well, I'm subjective. I will be as fair as I can be, but ultimately it's my taste that's deciding things. However, I have tastes across the board, so there are few fics that would really disinterst me.
As for how long it takes me to judge, uh... that depends on how busy I am. The first contest, it took about a week; the next one, it took about a month. I do the best I can.
Hey, this Character Week idea is pretty neat. Do you own it? Can I use it? Which have been done?
Here's a brief history for you. Four years ago, Lute decided to hold Snitch Week, in honor of meeting Dee Caspary. I stole her the idea and created Blink Week for my birthday that year, and have continued the tradition since. That year, there was also a Specs/Dutchy week, hosted by Stage, I believe.
Since, there's been a David Week (hosted by Poison Ivory), another Specs/Dutchy Week (Stage again), a Spot Week (hosted by Frog), and two different Race Weeks (one hosted by The Second Batgirl, one by Marty). They all had varying degrees of success.
So it wasn't idea originally, I just ran with it. I don't own the concept, though I'd prefer to be the sole host of Blink Week. If you're interested in doing a Character Week of some sort, I'd encourage you to either do one that hasn't been done before, or to contact whomever hosted it previously. It's just the polite thing to do.
Good Lord, woman, you're long winded.
Duh. Any further questions/comments can be zapped off to kidblink[at]queenitsy[dot]com.