Bending the Submission Rules
Here are the collected guidelines, rules and bent rules since June 2002.
Bending the Rules > Version 2.0
- Companion Fics [CF]
- 18 Nov 2004 - Updated by xJAYMANx
- Regarding Scottishlass' fic "Serenity" and Centaur's companion fic "The Morning After", I have a tiny disagreement with Centaur's note to "get the original author's permission before you write a companion fic". After all, no one can really stop you. Besides, I doubt that any of us authors have truly obtained the Wachowski's or Warner Brothers' permission in writing our fics.
- Hence, our use of disclaimers. Please review our Submission Guidelines. As the Goddesses admit: "But yes, fanfiction is more or less illegal, so if you wish, slap a disclaimer on your fic." This includes companion fics.
- However, if you do decide to write and submit your companion fic to this site, exercising courtesy to the original author is very much appreciated.
- Role-Writing Fics [RWF]
- 17 Nov 2004 - Updated by xJAYMANx
- Based on my fond memories of The Hardline, I'm also toying with the notion of introducing Role-Writing Fics [RWF] in its own category, subject to the same spelling, grammar and stylistic standards, plus some additional as-of-yet-undetermined criteria.
- I coined the term RWF as a full-fic version of the Role-Playing Game [RPG]. Without the restrictions of boards, pieces, charts, points, or dice, the RWF involved multiple writers, a designated fic director, a decent plot, and the power of human imagination.
- Looking back, some of my best on-the-fly dramatic writing was born in an RWF.
- Works In Progress [WIP]
- 15 Nov 2004 - Updated by xJAYMANx
- Contrary to the Goddesses' Version 1.0 guidelines below, I'm currently juggling the notion of accepting Works In Progress [WIP] in its own category, subject to the same spelling, grammar and stylistic standards, plus some additional as-of-yet-undetermined criteria.
- Clearly, such works would have to exceed an arbitrary standard of excellence, with a style or weight or revelation worthy of The Construct. After all, there are some damn good fics out there that provoke the mind or stir the soul, despite the unfortunate perhaps unavoidable status of being incomplete.
- In fact, that this fanfic site exists reflects the unending WIP of the infinite Matrix universe.
Submission Guidelines > Version 1.0
- So. You found our Matrix fanfic haven and now you want in, eh?
- Good for you. The submission guidelines for The Construct are on this page. But before you read those, here are the ground rules:
- This site is run by Rae, MTS, and Centaur. We wanted to become goddesses of the universe, but that didn't work out so we struck a deal and settled for goddesses of this website. But we're qualified goddesses. No, we're not Pulitzer winners or poet laureates, but we do know how to write.
- And we are frustrated by the fact that there's no good Matrix archive online anymore. We want a place where people can come and easily find what they're looking for; a library of everyone's wonderfully fanfic-ized ideas. So we want your fics.
- But there are rules (come on, we're goddesses, we have to assert our authority somehow). Please read this before submitting -- it will only take you a minute.
- Submission Guidelines, Terms Of Use, and General Stuff You'll Want To Know
- 1) Our goal is to produce an archive of only high-quality Matrix fanfiction. Therefore, we will not post every story submitted to us. However, unless your submission breaks guideline number 3 (see below), we will not flat-out reject it. If you're going to take the time to try to write a good fic, we'll take the time to tell you why it still needs work. If your submission is rejected, it will be returned to you with brief comments from the three of us. We encourage you to use our comments to rework your piece, and then to re-submit.
- 2) If we ask you to rework your fic and re-submit, whining and moaning about it won't make us change our minds. In fact, it will just annoy us, and we really don't want fics by annoying authors on our site. You do the math. If we say rework and re-submit, then that's what it's going to take to get your story archived.
- 3) Lists, outtakes, and MSTs (Mystery Science Theatre skits) are not fanfiction, so we don't want them. Don't even try. We don't care if God herself thought your MST was hysterical -- it will not be posted on this site.
- 4) Completed fics only. We don't want to deal with harassment because you ended chapter 3 in a monstrous cliffhanger and then abandoned your story. If you want help with your work-in-progress or if you really want to post it somewhere, we will hopefully set up a messageboard where you can do just that. But works-in-progress will not be archived. Give it to us when it's done.
- 5) You are asked to write a summary for your fic, but we reserve the right to edit. Your summary must SUMMARIZE your fic. We have no defined summary length -- just make it reasonable. We don't want fic-length summaries; short and sweet is good. Please include an appropriate rating (G->NC-17) with your summary. Author notes belong in the story header, not in the summary. Rae will come after you with a spork if your summary includes the phrase "plz r&r" or any variation thereof.
- 6) Rae, Centaur, and MTS can all appreciate a good, sexy piece of Erotica, but we expect you to take the time to write such scenes with as much care as you would any other scene. We're pleased to post good NC-17 fics, but we're not interested in juvenile material-to-whack-off-to. MTS will come after you with a spork if the phrase "creamy thighs" appears in any context. A note about rape fics: many of our favorite characters are often interpreted to have come from troubled pasts. Of course, we encourage you to write realistically. However, scenes of rape or sexual abuse should never be written with the intent to arouse. Period. If we think your rape fic is inappropriate, we will tell you so, and we will not post it. If you think that we're stifling your artistry, that's too bad. In real life, women don't get raped and then think, afterwards, about how hot the sex was and how much they enjoyed it. We believe that to pretend that rape is ever enjoyable is to spit in the faces of rape victims everywhere. End of story.
- 7) And since we're on the topic of spork attacks: Centaur will come after you with a spork if you don't start a new paragraph each time somebody speaks. And spellcheck was invented for a reason, people. If your story has obviously not been run through this most basic of processes, we'll let you know (everyone forgets things, even goddesses) and then delete your story from our inbox until we have the resubmitted version. Trying to wade through obvious errors will make it harder for us to judge your work based on it's actual content, so we'd rather read it later, when our first impression can be a good one. On the same note: if you know that grammar is not your strong point, or that English isn't your primary language, a beta reader will help you. Much as we'd love to, the goddesses can't thoroughly beta-read every submitted fic. We just don't have that much time. We've set up a section of The Hardline for the purpose of matching writers with beta-readers. Have a look here.
- 8) Please, please, for the love of Trinity, spell key names and words properly. For reference: Neo, Trinity, Morpheus, Tank, Switch, Apoc, Dozer, Cypher, Mouse, Nebuchadnezzar, Choi, Dujour, Agent Smith, Agent Brown, Agent Jones, Niobe. NOT: Triniti, Morphius, Morfius, Apok, Apoch, Cyprus, Cipher, Tanks, Nebakanazzer, Troy, Niobi. Don't laugh, we've seen all of those happen, and it frustrates us greatly.
- 9) The goddesses don't like plagiarism. If there is legitimate reason to believe you attempted to pass off somebody else's work as your own, the piece in question will be taken down until the issue is resolved.
- 10) There is some information that we require to be included at the beginning of each fic. Some
of this information is just stuff that needs to be there. The rest of it is stuff that we need so we can know where to
put your fic. It won't take you long to do, but it makes our lives easier. Consider it the small cost of the archive.
Your heading should include:
- TITLE:
- AUTHOR:
- RATING: (see the Audience Rating System)
- SUMMARY: (see Rae's Article on Summaries)
- SPOILERS: This applies only if you have read a major spoiler about true The Matrix Reloaded / The Matrix Revolutions content and are choosing to use that spoiler information in your story. Not everybody wants to know what's in the sequels before they come out. Minor spoilers (for example, the introduction of a ship captain named Niobe) don't need to be marked. But if you're going to, perhaps, detail a major plot hook from one of the sequels, you need to warn that you're doing so. Especially because Centaur is trying to avoid spoilers and she gets annoyed when she stumbles across things she doesn't want to see.
- CATEGORIES: This tells us where to archive your story on the site. Choose up to two of Action, Agent, Alternate Universe, Crossover, Drama, Humor, Original Character, Romance. Novella and Adult are freebie categories -- if your fic belongs in one of those places we'll put it there in addition to your two other categories. We reserve the right to edit category selection if a chosen category seems blatantly inappropriate to the content of the story.
- AUTHOR'S NOTES: Optional. Just please don't apologize for your fic. It's your art. We want to read it. So no apologies!!!
- DISCLAIMER: Again, optional. We have a big one on the site that covers everything. But yes, fanfiction is more or less illegal, so if you wish, slap a disclaimer on your fic.
- 11) Submit your works in either text (.txt) or .html format to: xJAYMANx - Updated April 2007
- Happy writing and all that cheesy stuff,
- Centaur, Rae and MTS, your friendly neighborhood Goddesses of The Construct.
