Welcome to who_guestfest (originally on LJ as dw_guestfest), the ficathon for minor/guest characters from any part of the Doctor Who universe!

2019 Schedule & Info:

* Leaving prompts - From Wed 13 Mar 2019 (until posting begins).
* Sign-ups/prompt-claiming - Sat 16 Mar 2019 (until ficathon closes).
* ficathon opens for posting - Sat 13 Apr 2019
* Ficathon closes - Sat 11 May 2019

There is a collection on AO3 & we hope you will also consider archiving your fic at A Teaspoon and an Open Mind.


This is (hopefully) a low-pressure, traditional ficathon! Just assign yourself to a date in the sign up post, write a fic of at least 500 words (no maximum) for a minor/guest character (using a prompt or not) and post the story or a link to it to the comm on your claimed date.

If you want your fic to double up for some other challenge or fest that's fine (provided, of course, it's also allowed by the rules of the other challenge/fest).

Finally, please, play nicely with other folks & no bashing of characters etc..


Why?

I collated a guest characters masterlist of fic for Classic Who and realised how many of those had come via prompts and fests like this one, and since the demise of the excellent who_like_giants annual ficathon, nothing similar was available = much less fic for the fascinating one-off and minor characters who crop up all over the Whoniverse. Something had to be done - hence a ficathon!

Besides, in this fandom, who hasn't fallen in love with a one-off character somewhere along the line? This is the chance to share that love with others!


What counts as a minor/guest character?

Someone who is a one-off or semi-recurring character - i.e. not one of the main characters. (So, no Doctors, Companions or regulars from any medium.) This isn't strictly rarity-based, however. (There are some one-off/recurring characters who have more fic than some companions and even Doctors, especially in other media).

All of the Doctor Who universe is included - Torchwood, The Sarah Jane Adventures, Class, audios, novels, webcasts, comics etc. etc. Mostly, though, as long as the central character isn't a Doctor, companion, incarnation of the Master, UNIT regular, or otherwise a main character, you'll be good. Bonus cookies, though, for anyone writing someone who's never been written for before!

Obviously, this being Doctor Who, which is a big ball of wibbly-wobbly-timey-wimey stuff generally, there isn't even really a definitive list of companions that everyone can agree on, and what constitutes a regular as opposed to a semi-regular/recurring character is another grey area. Hopefully everyone here is queuing up here to write more about Emma Grayling, or Count Scarlioni, or that second extra to the left over there, but if you are in any doubt about whether or not your chosen character counts, please just comment here to ask the mod.

As to excluded characters - they are only excluded in terms of being the focus of the fic. You can absolutely include anyone you want in supporting roles, part of a ship with your chosen character(s), and you can also write crossovers, if you wish.


Do we have to leave/claim prompts? What if I have an idea already?

You don't need to leave or claim any prompts. Some people work better using prompts, so they're there for inspiration, and also the prompt-leaving allows non-participants to also have a chance to play and influence what gets written.

To claim a prompt, include it when you sign-up. Again, there's no necessity to use one of the prompts provided. Just sign up and write your own idea, that's absolutely fine.



Brief list of some borderline characters
Please note this list is solely for the practical purposes of running this fest and is not in any way your mod's attempts to define a companion! (There just is no way to do this that doesn't make quite arbitrary inclusions and exclusions. *mod's head implodes*)

Currently excluded (as being companions/regulars/versions of main characters etc.): Katarina, Sara Kingdom, Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart, The Master (all incarnations, including the War Chief), Mike Yates, Sergeant Benton, Kamelion, The Valeyard, Mickey Smith, John Smith, Mels, Mr Clever, Ganger Eleven, Nardole.

Currently included: Ander Poul, Kiy Uvanov, Davros, Henry Gordon Jago, George Litefoot, Rachel Jenson, Allison Williams, Ian Gilmore, Kadiatu Lethbridge-Stewart, DI Patricia Menzies, Jackie Tyler, Pete Tyler, Harriet Jones, Adam Mitchell, Francine, Clive, Leo, & Tish Jones, Lucy Saxon, Sylvia Noble, Wilfred Mott, Astrid, Lady Christina, Jackson Lake, Rosita, Adelaide Brooke, Jenny Flint, Madam Vastra, Strax, Brian Williams, Courtney Woods, Osgood, Kate Stewart, Alan & Chrissie Jackson, Celeste Rivers, Haresh & Gita Chandra, Carla Langer, The Trickster, The War Chief (if he's not the Master), Danny Pink, Ashildr/Me.


If you have any further questions, please comment to this post!

If you want to sign up but don't have a Dreamwidth account, anon commenting is on, you can use Open ID, or message the mod to leave prompts, sign up for a date and link me to your fic when posted and I'll make a link from it to the comm for you.