Hello everyone,

Can you believe we’re only a day out from posting fic for the Artistic April Challenge Month?
We know a lot of our authors and readers are excited to get started (and that includes the mods!) so this post serves as a final Q&A for the event.

This post should cover everything, but if there's a burning question you have or something else you're curious about, please let us know in the comments and we'll get back to you ASAP. There's a lot of information here, so grab a bite, get snuggly, and prepare to learn about all the amazing things happening in April...

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

As soon as you see that box, you're free to post. If your story 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 April. 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.

How do I find the stories that are being added to the challenge?
Besides the note in the story summary, challenge stories will have a little artist's palette and brush next to the title:



This will make it easy to spot challenge fics. Also, don't forget that you can browse the site events page where you can view all the stories from previous site events, and all Artistic April Challenge month fics can be located here.

I didn’t sign up, but I still want to participate. Can I still join in on the fun?
You most certainly can. The banner master list still has a bunch of challenges and art that are currently unclaimed. Fence sitters can still sign up to claim one of these beauties right up until the 25th of April. That’s the cut-off date to allow for authors to get something written (and posted on the site) prior to the end of the month and the close of the event.
To claim a banner contact Amy via email at: angelic.amy.fic@gmail.com 

You can also write for a standard site challenge, as in previous years. Find all of our site challenges here!

What happens to any unclaimed banners and challenges?
Banners and challenges unclaimed by the end of April revert back to artist ownership. Artists may choose to add their challenge(s) and the accompanying art to the site challenges page if they wish, but this is at the artists' discretion.

Do I need to credit the artist who created my banner?
Yes! All artists must be credited for their wonderful works, and this is done simply through the Summary section when uploading your fic. The following text should be added to the end of all summaries that are part of this event:
Written for the Elysian Fields 'Artistic April Challenge' Month. Banner #00 by [artistname].

Here's a fictional example of what it should look like:
Summary: Willow endeavours to teach Angel how to people. This is thwarted when Angel discovers Buffy and Spike have registered at Bed, Bath & Beyond. Written for the Elysian Fields 'Artistic April Challenge' Month. Banner #0 by Holly.


Do I have to link to the challenge specifics?
Nope, this is not a requirement. However, if you wish to prepare your readers on what they can expect in your fic, you can do so by linking to the banner master list with this URL: https://dark-solace.org/elysian/2021challengemonth.php
Alternatively, you could copy and paste the challenge specifics into the Story or Chapter Notes of your fic.

How do I get my banner personalised?
Authors, if you’re ready to post on the 1st of April, don’t forget to reach out to your artists for banner personalisation. How to do so was emailed to you during the banner confirmation process. If you have not been able to make contact with your artist, or forgot to contact them, please let Amy know and she'll put you in contact with each other.

How do I add my banner to my story?
To add the banner to your story, you can upload the banner to your account in the Your Images section of your account info page, or to an image sharing site (imgur.com, etc...) . Enter the image URL (which should end in .jpg, .gif or .png - nothing should be after the file type) into the line marked "Banner URL"

What about betas?
If you have a beta that you worked with as part of your challenge story, you must credit them in your story notes OR your summary in order for them to be counted as having participated in the event. If they aren't listed in your story notes, we have no way of identifying that they were part of the event.

Is there an event skin?
Yes. The Challenge Month skin has been switched back on if you want to make it your default. If you want to keep it, make sure you change it in your preferences page. And if you haven't seen it, the skin looks like this:

Will you be featuring regular stories while the challenge is going on?
There won't be any mod-chosen featured stories in April. In the area where we usually have featured stories, we're going to highlight stories written as responses to challenges listed on the site and responses to this event. 

This challenge celebrates the amazing authors and artists at Elysian Fields, but what about the readers?
Come on, we couldn’t forget about you guys. If you write at least 15 comments in April that contain at least 5 words (for any stories here on EF, not just the challenge ones), you'll meet the requirements of the commenter 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.

Besides an amazing sense of pride, do we get anything for participating in the event?
Of course you do! The April awards that match our Challenge Month skin made by Amy have been tweaked for this year's Artistic event. As always, there will be awards for participating authors, artists, betas, and commenters:
   

That about covers it. Please let us know if there's any additional questions.
And get ready for some amazing new stories!