The Doctor Who Minor Characters Ficathon

Observant community members may have noticed that we are late with the fest this year. This is because the original mod (me, thisbluespirit) isn't able to run it. However, the excellent shivver has stepped in and will be running it for this year, with the following schedule, here at the Dreamwidth version of the comm:


2018 Schedule & Info:

* Leaving prompts - From Wed 14 Mar 2018 (until posting begins).
* Sign-ups/prompt-claiming - Sat 17 Mar 2018 (until ficathon closes).
* ficathon opens for posting - Sat 14 Apr 2018
* Ficathon closes - Sat 12 May 2018


If you want to start pimping the fest, the banners are here (updated to link back to Dreamwidth). Otherwise, I'm now handing over to shivver for the 2018 fest!

We've reached the end of the 2017 Minor Characters Ficathon! Or... almost.

There are three remaining stories not yet posted and as I know that one author is hoping to be done in a few more days, I shall wait until the weekend to create the masterlist, tie everything up, and start the community import. After the weekend, the ficathon will officially close and the community will be on amnesty until next time, as ever. I'll post more info about the future of the ficathon at the same time.

(If you have a story due and you know you're not going to get it posted, please let me know - don't worry, I know life has a habit of eating us all, often with a vengeance.)

Thanks to everyone who took part in our teeny-tiny (but perfectly formed) bonus mini-round!

( Fanworks Masterlist )

Thanks again to everyone who pimped, signed up, left prompts, or read & commented! The regular edition should take place early in new year as per usual. I'll look forward to seeing you all again then.

Thanks to everyone who took part in this year's ficathon! I know rl unfortunately hit many of us this round, your mod included. So, I apologise for being barely on board this year, but it was due to being extremely ill and hospitalised in the middle of it, not any lack of enthusiasm for the fest.

Nevertheless, we still had a whole bunch of wonderful stories featuring all sorts of minor characters from across the Whoniverse, so please do take a moment to read and comment if you haven't already. I shall be catching up when I can, too.

If you post to AO3, don't forget you can add your story to the Collection there.

The comm will now be on amnesty until the next round - do feel free to post any late works if you have them. Please don't, however, pick up any new prompts - as so many of us had to fall out this time, I may run a bonus round or comment ficathon or something later on to make up for it. (We'll see.) In the meantime, here are all the completed stories:

( 2016 Masterlist )

Thanks once again to all participants!

dw_guestfest is now open for sign-ups!

Schedule:

* Leaving prompts - From 23rd Jan 2016 (until posting begins).
* Sign-ups/prompt-claiming - from 28th Jan 2016 (until ficathon closes).
* ficathon opens for posting - Sat 27th Feb 2016
* Ficathon closes - Sun 27th March 2016

How to sign up
(Sign-ups close Sat 26th March. You can also still leave prompts until posting begins, whether or not you wish to sign up.)

1. Choose a date from the below list. Try to choose an empty date if you can, so we get a good spread across the month (but it's absolutely fine for two or three people to claim the same date if that's the one that works).

2. If you would like to write from a prompt, choose one from the Prompt Post. Only one claim per prompt, please. You do not have to claim a prompt to play.

3. Comment to this post with your date, username (for wherever you're planning to post the fic), the prompt you've chosen and/or the minor character(s) you're going to focus on.

4. Congratulations! You're signed up!

Template for signing up (copy + paste into comment box):

<b>Username:</b> <b>Prompt/Character(s)/Pairing:</b> <b>Date:</b>

You can sign up for up to two characters/prompts - simply choose a second date/prompt etc., and repeat the process. (If you would like to write more as the fest continues, you can claim a third after you have posted your first fic. & so on.)


( Posting Guidelines & Template )

( Sign-up dates )

And now - have at it! Sign up and share the minor character love!

The first Doctor Who Minor Characters Ficathon at dw_guestfest is now closed! Thanks very much to everyone who joined in, whether by leaving prompts, signing up, reading fic, pimping - and of course, writing fic! I hope everybody had as much fun taking part as I did.

We had 18 marvellous fics featuring 20 minor characters from all eras, including some who don't seem to have been written for before. So, now, if you haven't already, you should definitely go read and admire and generally scatter minor character (and author) love around. ♥

The community will now be on amnesty until the next fest, so please do post any overdue fics here in the meantime. If you are inspired by any of the unclaimed prompts, please also feel free to write for them and post here at any point until next year's ficathon opens (no need to make claims now the fest is over). You can also still post them to the AO3 collection if you wish.

All being well, the ficathon should be back in Feb/March 2016.


( 2015 Masterlist )

Just a reminder that posting begins from Saturday! At that point, the prompt post will close, so if you want to leave any more prompts, go here now!

(Sign-ups will remain open until the last day of the fest however - carefully prepared fest entries = ♥, of course, but I'm equally not going to stand in the way of anyone's last minute inspiration!)

In the meantime, I hope the writing is going well! If you have any further questions about anything, don't hesitate to ask.

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Icons used in the banner made by immortalje, liadtbunny, eve11, and me - with many thanks to the other three for granting permission to use them here!

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.