About The Stranger Things Big Bang

The Stranger Things Big Bang is an annual writing challenge for the Stranger Things fandom. Authors will complete stories of 10,000 words or more over the course of five months, and these stories are claimed by artists who create works to go along with the story. Final stories will be posted over the course of one to two weeks (depending on the number of works). At the end of the bang, all story links will be compiled into a masterpost. At that point, authors and artists will be free to share their works elsewhere.

Guidelines

• All participants must be at least 18 years old.
• Stories must be finished, beta read, edited, and incorporate their art by July 5th, 2024 in order to be included in the ST Big Bang posting schedule. If you believe you cannot meet the deadline, please contact the mods as early as possible. Failure to post your entire, completed story by your assigned posting date could lead to your exclusion from the next year’s big bang.
• All ST Big Bang authors must have a an AO3 account for ease of posting and a frequently-checked email account. If you do not currently have an AO3 account, the Mods can provide you with a code. Artists are not required to have an AO3 account.
• The submitted version of your story should be complete (all chapters posted at once), beta read, polished, and include the artwork from your artist. Graphics and traditional/digital artwork should be embedded in the story; fanmixes, podfics, and fanvids can be linked in the tumblr header and/or in the notes (on AO3).
• This bang is open to canon, alternate universe, alternate timeline, and crossover stories, as long as these stories also contain a major element recognizable from Stranger Things. Sequels to previous stories are welcome as long as the sequel can be read as a standalone story and otherwise adheres to the ST Big Bang guidelines.
• Stories may contain any romantic pairings/relationships, but stories that do not focus on romantic relationships (gen) are also welcome.
• RPF (fic involving the actors portraying the characters) is not allowed in this bang.
• All stories must be beta read. If you do not have a beta, you can request help from one on the STBB discord server.
• Authors and artists are responsible for all contact between them during the course of the ST Big Bang. Artists are responsible for providing embedding links for their completed art to their author. Authors are responsible for providing story drafts to their artist and integrating any final artworks into their story before posting. If you have difficulty reaching your artist or author, please contact a mod.
• Submitting your summary to the artist claim is a commitment to finish your story. We understand that circumstances arise that can interfere with your ability to finish your story; if this happens, please contact us right away. Dropping from the ST Big Bang after artist claims may result in ineligibility to participate in future ST Big Bangs.
• While changes can sometimes happen to a story during the editing process, remember that your artist is creating artwork based on the version of the draft they received. Out of courtesy to your artist, please try to communicate any major changes to the title or storyline as quickly as possible.
• Stories and art should not be posted elsewhere until the bang is over. You can link to the strangerthingsbigbang tumblr post regarding your story before that time, but please do not crosspost your story to other communities or sites before the end of the bang.
• For more information about the format, requirements, and schedule of this bang, please refer to the FAQ or contact a mod with any additional questions.

Participant Conduct

All participants are required to treat other participants with kindness and respect. This means no harassment, name calling, bullying, or piling on; and no ship or character bashing. Stories about all Stranger Things ships and characters are welcome in this big bang. Violation of any of these rules will result in a warning or exclusion from the big bang, at the discretion of the moderator team.