Hello Elysian Fields,

We are somehow at the end of March, which means April Challenge Month is right around the corner. So let’s review what’s new, what’s old, and what all to expect as we enter our first major site event of 2022.

If this post doesn’t answer all your burning questions, please don’t hesitate to leave a comment for the Mod team. We’re here to help.

How do I participate in Challenge Month?

To participate in the event, your story must be linked to one of the many challenges available on EF. More on how to link that below.

How and when do I post my story?

You may begin posting your stories at midnight on April 1st site time, which is currently set to GMT (you can check this under the Shoutbox). This is different from previous years, as the site time was reset by our host a couple of weeks ago during a maintenance upgrade. We are still working on correcting the site time to the standard US-Eastern, but this may not be fixed before the event commences.

In any case, do not stress about the time too much. Given the possibly (likely probable) confusion, we will be making allowances for people who slip in a few minutes early. (Just, you know, don’t take the piss.)

When you go to add a new story, you should see the following checkbox:

How do I link my story to an existing challenge?

Post the first chapter of your story by following the steps above. Then visit the Challenges page to find the specific challenge you are answering. At the bottom of the challenge details, you’ll see a link to respond to the challenge. Click that link.

From here, you will be directed to select the story that answers the challenge.

Though please make sure your stories have actual titles.

Does my story need to be complete?

No! Your story may be a WIP when you post. It doesn’t even need to be complete by the end of April. You don’t even need to start posting your fic until the end of the month if it’s not ready. So no worries if you don’t have something to go on April 1st. You have until April 30th to post any part of your fic, whether a chapter or the fic in total.

How do I know which fics are challenge fics?

All challenge fics have a little red umbrella beside the title.

You can also find them by visiting the site event page. All April Challenge Month fics can be located here.

I’m not an author. How do I participate?

Challenge Month is for all EF members, whether you’re an author, an artist, a beta, or a reader. You can be recognized as one, two, or all the above!

Authors, make sure you credit your beta reader and/or your fic artist in your story notes or summary. We won’t have any way of knowing who helped make your fic possible unless you tell us, and these folks really deserve recognition.

Readers: We will be awarding fic commenters who supply 15 comments containing 15 words or more over the month of April. Keep track of your progress by following our leaderboard.

Is there an event skin?

Yes! As a reflection of the recent administrative changes and this exciting new phase of EF, we are going to officially retire the old Challenge Month skin at the start of the month. The site default throughout April is titled kisses in the rain and it looks like this. Banner by the ever-talented kats_meow!