Tropefest Mid-Winter 5K

The information below was from our 2018 round.

## The Challenge

**Authors:** Write a Dean/Cas story that incorporates at least one trope in 5,000 words or fewer.

**Artists:** Create a piece of art that incorporates a Dean/Cas relationship and features at least one trope.

## 2018 Schedule

**January 5** - Sign-ups open for all participants

**March 18** - Mandatory check-in for all participants. Sign-ups close. All team members must be signed up by this date.

**March 25** - Final drafts due.

**April 1** - Open posting begins. Post your fic and/or art submit your masterpost to the challenge tumblr at any time during this period. We’ll release the posts as they come in, likely 2-3 per day (this could be higher depending on numbers at check-in).

## 2018 5K challenge rules

### Rules for everyone

* **Participants must be 18 years or older to participate in the Tropefest.** If you will turn 18 before open posting begins in April, you may register, but you cannot take part in the Discord Chat until your 18th birthday.
* There are no prerequisites for the Mid-Winter 5K. Authors and artists of any experience level are welcome, even if you've never done a challenge before.
* You (and any co-authors or co-artists) must be registered for the challenge in order to participate and post. You may register separately or together, but all partners must be signed up.
* This is an art *and* writing challenge. You may solo post as an author or artist (co-authors and artists are welcome as long as you are both registered during the sign-up window) or you can find a partner and post as an author/artist team. If you would like to find a partner, we suggest you join our discord server. We will have a channel available for people looking to team up. (The mods will not find you a partner for the Mid-Winter 5K. You will either solo post or find one on your own.)
* No part of your fic or art should be posted prior to the posting window. It’s fine if you want to complete a WIP as long as it hasn’t been published in whole or part to a fic archive. (If you’ve posted a few lines/an early sketch or talked about it publicly, that’s fine for this challenge. Any other circumstances, such as an old WIP that has been taken down, please email us.)
* Please don’t promote your fic or art on social media or your own tumblr until your masterpost has been published to the Tropefest tumblr. That includes “coming soon” teaser posts.
* For this mini challenge, we ask that it be a new story or piece of art, not part of an existing series. Once the challenge is done, you may turn your fic or art into a series. The story you submit must be complete and able to stand on its own.
* We’ll email reminders, but you are ultimately responsible for managing your own schedule and staying on top of check-in and posting dates.

### Rules for authors

* Fics must be 5,000 words or fewer to be approved for the AO3 collection and the challenge blog. No exceptions. (We can hear you longfic lovers groaning but therein lies the challenge. We believe in you.)
* You must incorporate at least one trope in your fic.
* The fic must prominently feature a relationship between Dean and Castiel (RPF is also allowed). All genres are welcome this year!
* You may write as many 5k fics as you want for this challenge and collaborate with multiple people on multiple projects. Just make sure everyone is registered. Note: Each story you submit has to be a stand alone story. No series as that would be a way to cheat the 5,000 word challenge.
* The story must be posted on AO3 in its entirety at the time of posting. No serial posting is allowed.
* You may not commission art for this challenge (this includes asking non-registered art friends to make you something--please ask them to co-register with you).
* You must warn for any of the major archive warnings on AO3.
* All underage characters involved in a sexual relationship must be able to legally consent and be at least 16 years of age.
* Beta readers suggested
* For 2018, you're in charge of your own promotional graphics (sadly, the 5k overlapped one of your mods' work deadlines)

### Rules for artists

* Artists will create at least one piece of art. All mediums welcome.
* You must incorporate at least one trope in your art.
* You may create as many pieces of art as you like for the 5K and/or collaborate with multiple people on multiple projects. Just make sure everyone is registered.
* The art must prominently feature a relationship between Dean and Castiel (or RPF). All genres are welcome this year!
* You must warn for any the major archive warnings on AO3.

## What if I need to drop out?

* There is no penalty for dropping out before the final check-in, but we ask that you send us an email.
* If you drop after the final check-in, you’ll be ineligible for our family of challenges for one calendar year.

## How to register

All participants must be registered for the 5K in order to post in April. Registration is easy and just takes a minute. If you plan to participate with a partner (eg. an artist and author combo), each team member should register separately so we have your contact information.

Register for the Mid-Winter 5K

## Questions?

Please don’t hesitate to email deancastropefest@gmail.com or ask us on Twitter.