Crack the WIP

The 2023 Crack the WIP collection is revealed! Remember that the collection is open for posting through May 7, so you still have a week to finish and post your work of genius before we close for the year. And if you've best posting a WIP in chapters for the event, you can now add that work to the collection now. Just go to edit your work and put crackthewip2023 in as the collection.

I'll make another post when the collection has closed, with a roundup of all the works. Special thanks to minion and co-mod rubick, who has really kept the event going this year during my busy period! <3 <3 <3

What Is It?

Crack the WIP is a multifandom community challenge to finish your WIPs, or Works in Progress, that have been sitting around on your hard drive gathering dust. All works will be posted to our AO3 collection before or during posting week, from May 1 to 7, 2023.

2023 AO3 collection | 2023 signups

FAQ

1. How do I participate?
Just sign up at the signup post below, and tell us a little bit about what you're working on if you want! Then when it's finished, post your completed work to the AO3 collection. You can post your completed work all at once either before the collection reveals, or you can post it anytime during posting week. If you post it before reveals, then it will be hidden until the collection is revealed. You can post to the AO3 collection by going to the collection and clicking the "Post to collection" button, or just by clicking here.

On the other hand, if you would rather post your work in installments, you can post it on your own schedule starting as soon as you like and then add the completed work to the collection during posting week (by going to the Edit Work page and selecting the Add to Collection option). The work will only be approved for the collection if it's complete. This is so that we only have completed works in the collection!

PLEASE NOTE that if part of your work is already posted to AO3, you DO NOT want to add your work to the collection before the collection is revealed! This would temporarily "hide" your already-posted work and make it invisible to your readers. Wait until posting week.

2. What works are eligible for this challenge?
Anything you've started that you'd like to complete! We're not enforcing any kind of word minimum.

3. Can I submit works besides fic?
You bet! Fanfic, fanart, fanvids, and podfic are all welcome.

4. Can I submit more than one thing?
Sure! You are welcome to submit up to 10 separate works.

5. What if I sign up and then I drop out?
There's no penalty for dropping out. We know that's just how it goes sometimes. <3

6. If I've already posted part of a work, is it okay to finish it for Crack the WIP?
Yes! If part of the work is posted somewhere other than AO3, then you can finish it and post it like you would any other work, either all at once or in installments. If it's already partially posted to AO3, then you may complete it on your own schedule and then add it to the AO3 collection during reveals week. (See question 1 for more detail.)

7. Can I submit a work to both Crack the WIP and another collection (for a fannish bingo, for example)? What about if I want to gift my work to someone?
Both of those are fine! You are welcome to post your Crack the WIP work to another collection as well, and you are welcome to gift your work to someone.

8. What if I have a work that I haven't actually started yet? Can I write it and submit it to Crack the WIP?
That's fine with us! We will assume it's already a WIP in your heart. :D

9. What if I finish my fic late? Can I still post it to the collection after the posting week ends?
No, but we congratulate you on finishing!

10. Are all ships and kinks eligible for the challenge?
Almost all of them! We ship and let ship here. For example, RPF, incest, underage, and noncon works are all welcome. Original works are also welcome. The one exception is that explicit sexual content involving real people currently under the age of 18 is not allowed.

11. Do I have to sign up in order to participate?
Yes, please! That's so we know that you know what the collection is about when you submit a work to it.

12. Is there a deadline for signing up, then?
No, as long as you sign up before you submit the work to collection. :)

If you have a question we didn't answer here, you can ask by replying to this post.