Archive of Our Own (BETA)

Otter and Ferret is an annual Hermione Granger/Draco Malfoy gift exchange. Participants submit prompts and create a 1,000+ word story tailored to one or more of another participant's prompts. Gifts are created anonymously, and then shared with the community. Authors are revealed one week after gift reveals. Otter and Ferret 2012 will run from January - May 2012.

What is the Otter and Ferret 2012 schedule? (See profile for Expanded Schedule at otterandferret)

January 15 - January 30: Sign-ups open
February 9: Assignments sent on or before this date
April 5: Default deadline
April 16: Works due
April 28: Works revealed
May 5: Authors revealed

What are Otter and Ferret Mini-Fest and Otter and Ferret Forever?
See Otter and Ferret Mini-Fest & Otter and Ferret Forever at otterandferret

What is required to participate in this exchange as a gift-giver and recipient?

1. You must have an AO3 account and sign-up before the sign-up deadline. You can request an AO3 invitation at this post on otterandferret.
   


2. Once signed up, you must produce an original to the exchange, non-WIP story of at least 1,000 words which incorporates at least one of your recipient's prompts, and submit it to the Otter and Ferret collection by the submission deadline.
   


3. You must have your work remain anonymous, exclusive to the Otter and Ferret AO3 collection, and you must not reveal the name of your recipient. After author reveals, you may reveal all of the above and post your work elsewhere.
   


4. Once works are revealed and you have received your gift, you must comment on it and thank your gift giver within one week after works are revealed.

No, a Dreamwidth account is not required. If you'd like one, you can create an account, but you don't need one to participate or follow-along.

What is required to participate in Otter and Ferret as a reader?

Absolutely nothing other than being able to click a link to the collection on AO3 at some point after the works are revealed. No stories will be locked from public view, and no age-registration is required.

What is required to participate in Otter and Ferret as a reviewer?

An email account. Comments on AO3 do not require an AO3 account, but do require leaving an email address, similar to commenting on a Wordpress blog. Kudos can be left without an email address, and Kudos left without being signed into AO3 will be registered as 'from a guest.'

If you would like an AO3 account, you can request an AO3 invitation at this post.

If you would like to recommend a story, in the upper right-hand corner of all stories are a series of links. Click 'Share' and a box will pop up with pre-formatted HTML text, which allows you to easily copy and past all the relevant information into a post. See some of my links to Short Fiction Examples at otterandferret for slightly modified forms of the HTML 'Share' code.

Is constructive criticism allowed?

Courteous constructive criticism is welcome as part of Otter and Ferret, as is critical creation of fanworks.

Some General Thoughts on Critical Creation

Critical creation involves considering and aiming not to perpetrate stereotypes, tropes, and other structural injustices when creating fanwork. Racism, homophobia, and sexism are some of the things which are not welcome at Otter and Ferret. In character statements, such as Draco being racist about Muggles, are fine. Authorial statements/narration, such as stating being gay is morally wrong, are not fine.

I'd like to participate in Otter and Ferret as a pinch-hitter. What should I do?

1. Make sure you have an AO3 account or request one at the request post on otterandferret, so that you can post your finished pinch-hit to the collection.


2. Sign-up for the pinch-hitter mailing list.

Click here to sign-up with a Gmail address or Click here to sign-up with a non-Gmail address

3. If you claim a pinch-hit assignment, be sure that you can deliver it in time. While pinch-hitters can default, since life happens, and there are no penalties for pinch-hitters defaulting, it's preferable that this not occur.

Right now, Otter and Ferret does not accept fanart. AO3 does not currently offer fanart hosting, but once AO3 offers this service, Otter and Ferret will open to fanart. AO3 promises fanart support 'soon,' which is why references to fanart are in the FAQ.

I want to take my fanwork down from the archive/Can you delete my fanwork?

Otter and Ferret cannot delete stories, as AO3 stories are under the control of their posting author. Additionally, we sincerely request that authors do not delete or take down their stories from Archive of Our Own. While we have no ability or desire to have the authority to stop authors from doing so, we would like authors to remember that these stories are gifts to someone else, and removing an Otter and Ferret story from Archive of Our Own is akin to taking it away from the recipient.

Archive of Our Own: About Orphaning

Archive of Our Own offers an option for authors who no longer want to be associated with a story or their work to 'orphan' their works, thereby permanently disassociating the work from the author's account and attaching it to Archive of Our Own's Orphan Works account. What orphaning a work will do is remove the author's name from the work and remove the author's name from all comments the author has left on the work. Existing links and bookmarks will remain intact, allowing others to enjoy the work afterward, and works will be credited to 'Anonymous'.

We sincerely request that any authors who wish to disassociate themselves from their work do so through AO3's orphaning option, rather than permanently deleting their work from AO3.

How do I promote Otter and Ferret?

Promotion Banners at otterandferret

Other FAQ Resources

A Quick Guide to Using Archive of Our Own (AO3) at otterandferret

Art Resources at otterandferret

Writing Resources & Short Fiction Examples at otterandferret

Otter and Ferret Mini-Fest & Otter and Ferret Forever at otterandferret

Other Dramione or Dramione-Friendly Collections on AO3 at otterandferret

Penalties and Permanent Bans at otterandferret

Why does Otter and Ferret look like Yuletide?

Otter and Ferret looks almost exactly like Yuletide because the mod thinks that Yuletide has come up with a very good system of rules and practices for running a fanfiction exchange. Yuletide is an annual small-fandom fanfiction exchange whose sign-ups usually start in October/November, and the mod heartily encourages people to check it out!