Did anyone notice that we're only hours away from October and the 12 Years 12 Season Challenge? We're definitely not sitting here staring at the site time clock.

In order to make sure everyone understands all that's going on, we'll try to cover everything here. If there's something you're not sure about, please let us know in the comments. There's a lot of information here, but please read the whole post in order to learn about all the amazing things happening this month...

How and when do I post my story?
Starting at midnight on October 1 (site time, which is Eastern US time-it's listed under the shoutbox), you'll see a new checkbox on the page where you add a new story:

As soon as you see that box, you're free to post. If you're adding a new story that is part of the challenge, check the box and you're good to go.

Your fic does not need to be complete prior to posting. In fact, it doesn't even need to be completed during October. So any authors stressing about the timeline, please take a breath because you have the whole month, during which you only need to BEGIN posting the story.

If you requested and received a banner, please make sure to credit the artist in your story's summary section (see the screenshot below for proper wording). If you're not sure how to add a banner, please see this section in the FAQ.

How do I find the stories that are being added to the challenge?
Challenge stories will have a dozen roses icon next to the title:

Also, don't forget that we have a site events browse page where you can view all the stories from previous site events, as well as the ones from this challenge.

Will you be featuring regular stories while the challenge is going on?
There won't be any mod-chosen featured stories in October. In the area where we usually have featured stories, we're going to begin the month by highlighting stories written in past years. Starting on the 1st, each day will highlight one year (1st-2006, 2nd-2007, and so on...), and will contain a random assortment of stories published in that particular year. Starting on the 13th, that section will change to feature a random assortment of fics that are part of the 12 Years 12 Seasons Challenge.

I'm not an author or an artist, is there something I can do to participate?
Don't worry readers, we haven't forgotten about you. If you write at least 15 comments in October that contain at least 12 words (for the 12 seasons and our 12 years), you'll meet the requirements of the comment challenge! You'll see a link to the comment challenge leaderboard on the homepage under the Members of the Month where the all star commenter list is usually located. Authors and artists who participated/are participating in the Challenge  are welcome to participate in the comment challenge as well!

Besides an amazing sense of pride, do we get anything for participating in these challenges?
Of course you do! We have some amazing awards that will be given out after the end of October. Our amazing angelic_amy created the following awards for participating authors: , artists: , and commenters: .

That about covers it. Please let us know if there's any additional questions. Stay tuned and get ready for an amazing October!