Person of Interest Fanworks Community

Schedule: Note new dates!
Nominations: March 16-20
Signups: March 21-April 11
Matching/Assignments: April 12
Fanwork Creation: April 12-June 6
Fanwork Reveals: June 13
Creator Reveals: June 20

Tumblr: https://exchange-of-interest.tumblr.com/
Dreamwidth: https://poi-fanworks.dreamwidth.org/

Find the collection here: Exchange of Interest 2020

1. What’s a fanwork exchange?
A fanwork exchange is where a group of authors and artists sign up to create fanworks for one another. Participants will create at least one fanwork and receive at least one fanwork.

2. So what’s this exchange about?
This exchange celebrates all characters and relationships in the Person of Interest fandom, whether the pairing is canon, non-canon, or sheer crack.

3. What would be required of me, if I decided to participate?
You will sign up to create one fanwork (fanfic, fanart, fanvid, podfic, remix). This exchange will be run entirely through Ao3, so you must have an Ao3 account to participate. If you don’t have an account, contact a mod for assistance.

• All fanfics written for the exchange have to be a minimum of 1,000 words. There is no maximum word count. Fics cannot be part of a series – they must be able to stand alone.

• Art can be computer or hand drawn and must be complete. Manips are allowed as art, but must be complete and not simply a screenshot with a filter on it.

• Fanvids must be either one complete song, or a medley of songs lasting at least one minute.

• Podfic: When requesting a podfic, please choose an existing work which is less than 5,000 words in length. If you'd like a podfic of a work you have written yourself, add the 'Podfic Welcome' tag to those fics so your podficcer knows which to choose from. Mention that you have done this in your signup, alongside any prompts. Please note: by adding the 'Podfic Welcome' tag for the purpose of this exchange, that counts as permission without further notice. This is an alternative to a blanket permission statement. which makes all your works open for transformation. Because the exchange is anonymous, it's difficult for podficcers to contact authors to ask specific permission to record. Bearing that in mind, if you're requesting podfic of a work that someone else has written, please make sure the author is comfortable with their stories being recorded before you make that request.

• Remixes: What is a remix? When requesting a remix of an existing fic, please choose a work which is less than 5,000 words in length. Please ensure that you are truly happy for your work to be rewritten by someone else. If the author is not you, make sure they are happy to have their works remixed before you make that request. In your signup, you can provide ideas for how you would like works to be remixed, e.g. "I'd like to see this scene from Carter's POV instead", but your creator does not have to follow those prompts exactly if they have other ideas. However, they must respect and avoid your list of Do Not Wants. When creating a remix, please be respectful in your author notes (i.e. don't say: "the original was out-of-character so I fixed it").

4. Okay, so how do I create a fanwork? How do I know what to create?
The exchange has six stages:

4-1. Signups: March 21-April 4
You must have at least three requests and three offers. Each request should be for a unique character/relationship. Each offer should be for a unique character/relationship. However, your requests and offers can overlap, e.g. You may request AND offer Reese/Finch, but Reese/Finch can only be one of your three requests. You may also give multiple ideas per character/relationship in your prompt. Please note that while the box will be labeled “Relationships”, you will also need to place your character requests/offers here. See the nomination section for notes on formatting.
In your sign up, please go into some detail about what you would like; this helps give your assigned creator ideas. You can put this information in the Ao3 signup form, or in a letter on a third party site linked through the form, or some combination of both.

Here’s an example:
Root/Shaw: I really wish they could have hooked up for real once before the series was over. I'd love to see them spending a night together -- whether tender or rough!
Other good things to mention in your sign-up include: general likes, rating restrictions, prompt ideas, squicks/triggers/do-not-wants, or anything else you’d like the writer to know. Make sure you list things you definitely do not want. Authors and artists are absolutely forbidden to ignore squicks and triggers. Otherwise, the only guideline of your prompt they are unequivocally beholden to is the requested pairing/character, though they are encouraged to take your preferences into consideration.

4-2. Matching: April 5
After sign ups are completed, the mods will match people based on their interests. You are guaranteed to have a match by April 5th. If you do not have a match by then, please contact the mods.
Once matching is complete, you will receive an email with your assignment. You will be assigned to write or draw for someone who requested at least one of the characters/relationships that you offered to write or draw for.

4-3. Create a fanwork: April 5-May 30
After you receive your assignment, select one of the characters/relationships in your assignment that interests you and start working on your fanwork. The character/relationship does not have to be the one you matched on – if something else in your assignment catches your eye, run with it! You will have eight weeks to complete your assignment. You must honor any squicks/triggers/do-not-wants listed by your recipient.
You must remain anonymous (e.g., not let your recipient know who is creating for them) during this period. If you have any clarifying questions for your recipient, contact a mod and we'll ask on your behalf.
Need a beta? There will be a post on the Dreamwidth community where people will offer to beta read for this exchange.

4-4. Posting: April 5-May 30
All stories and art must be posted by May 30. You may continue to edit your fanwork until June 6, but it is imperative that you have a complete work submitted to Ao3 on May 30. The mods will then go through posted fanworks to make sure that they are not placeholders (e.g. garbage text, incomplete stories, un-altered screenshots, etc.). You may post your story or art earlier if you wish.

4-5. Reveals: June 6-June 13
All stories and art will be revealed anonymously on June 6. Creators will be revealed on June 13. After this point, you may post your fic or art on your own blog or other third-party websites.

5. Uh…crap. It looks like I bit off more than I can chew. Uh… can I just… not post anything?
If you think you might have to default, please do so before May 30. This is to give pinch hitters time to create a work for your recipient, ready for the collection to go live on June 6. If you default after June 6, reveals may be delayed for everyone.

6. I’m not sure I can commit to the full challenge, but I’d like to write/draw something. Is there anything I can do?
Yes! You may join the Pinch Hitter list and write fics or draw art for people whose assigned creators default. You may also sign up as a Beta reader or write treats.

7. What exactly is a treat? Who can create treats?
A treat is any fanwork created for this exchange that is not a participant’s assignment. You can create treats for anyone who is participating – you don't need to be signed up to write a treat. You can also create a treat for your own recipient if there’s two prompts that really grabbed your attention.
Treats have no minimum word count but must follow the same rules about squicks/triggers/do-not-wants.


Rules:
1. All of the nominated pairings on our list are absolutely beholden to these stipulations:

- No pedophilia (i.e. depicting children of pre-pubescent age)
- No bestiality

Aside from these rules, we don't police fan creativity, or otherwise prohibit transformative works that deal with sensitive issues like abuse, rape, and other potentially problematic adult themes. We believe that these works absolutely have merit in their own right, and we will not project real world judgment on fictional scenarios. We hope our participants can muster the same maturity.

2. That being said, we understand that not everyone wants to read stories with this kind of content. This is why we have several rules in place that hopefully protect both author/artist and audience from interacting with fan content they do not want to:

- Participants are to write down their squicks, do-not-wants and triggers in their description box or letter on their Sign Up Form. Their assigned author or artist are absolutely forbidden to cross these lines.

- Authors and artists will not be forced to create content they do not want to. The only thing they are unequivocally beholden to write/draw is one of their recipient’s requested characters/relationships. If their recipient asks for a scenario they do not feel comfortable with creating, they are free to ignore their prompt. If an author/artist absolutely feels like they cannot create a fanwork for their assigned recipient, they may contact the mods and we will come up with a solution together.

- Our participants are required to tag their work(s) appropriately, and otherwise ask us if they are unsure. This means that they are to warn for any adult themes and scenarios. As such, it is your personal responsibility as a reader to check the tags and rating of a fanwork you are about to access. We’d also like to point out that the ‘back’ button is there for a reason, and that the old axiom of don’t like, don’t read still holds water. We highly disapprove of flaming fanworks that do not pertain to your particular tastes and will take action.

3. Be respectful of all members of the community. Please realize that everyone has different likes and dislikes and that these may vary. Remember that everyone here is a person who is putting time and effort into making you something to enjoy. Please make sure you let them know you appreciate that.

4. Betas are strongly encouraged. If you need help finding a beta, please ask either of the mods for help. If your story contains excessive spelling, punctuation, and grammar errors, it will be rejected and you will need to resubmit it with the errors corrected.

5. This is an anonymous exchange. Please do not post your story anywhere else or reveal it until authors have been revealed). Please do not reveal your recipient. Post-reveals you are welcome to repost your story wherever you like.

6. All fanworks in this exchange:

- Must be created specifically for this exchange.
- Cannot have been previously posted anywhere.
- Cannot be part of a previously posted series.
- Must be standalone and complete upon their time of posting.