Hello, readers and authors! It is my great pleasure to announce to you the Fanfiction of the Month thread! In this thread you will find a featured fanfiction chosen by a selected Panel of members here on the VTM forums! On November 1st, we will celebrate our very first fanfiction of the month! Check back on November 1st to find out which fanfiction has been chosen. There will be a short description of the story as well as a link to the story itself. Feel free to use this thread to discuss the featured fanfiction as well as the author's feedback thread.

A few FAQs that will appear before each feature fanfiction thread:

Q: What are the criteria to follow in order to be considered for fanfiction of the month?

A: The Panel searches through a vast number of stories, and the ones that they consider for fanfiction of the month are all of excellent quality. They contain impeccable grammar, spelling, plot line, characterization, and superior story-telling ability. For these reasons, we highly recommend enlisting a beta editor to read through your fanfiction to spot any mistakes and to give you general suggestions regarding your story. You can find volunteers here, in the beta thread. I suggest reading through the featured fanfictions to see how they tell their story to give you an idea of what we're looking for. Stories with cursing, netspeak, poor grammar, and misspellings will not be considered.

Q: Who is on the Fanfiction Panel?

A: A hand-selected group of 8-10 members are on the fanfiction panel. They will remain anonymous for several reasons, one being that I do not want them hassled by authors demanding that their fanfiction be considered for fanfiction of the month. The second being that I do not want anyone claiming that these people only pick their friends fanfictions. They are a wide variety of members who vary in interests and ages, so please rest assured that they do not discriminate when picking a story.

Q: What are the benefits to being the author of a fanfiction of the month?

A: There are a few benefits. We hope that this will serve as an incentive for everyone to get creative and get writing! The author of the fanfiction of the month will have a prominent spot that will give him or her more visibility for the fanfiction, and hopefully that will spur readers on to read other works by that author. The fanfiction author will receive the option to use a specially designed image in their signature, indicating the honor.

Q: How will I know if one of my stories have been chosen as fanfiction of the month?

A: You will receive an Owl in the mail from a staff member (Head Auror or Wizengamot). It will detail when you are being considered and also make any suggestions to you on your fanfiction - such as fixing a spelling error or capitalization. You will be notified no sooner than one week in advance.

Q: How many fanfictions will be featured each month?

A: One a month, either a chaptered or one-shot fanfiction.

Q: How do I use this thread to discuss the Featured Fanfiction?

A: We will provide you with a couple of general starting questions to consider. These might or might not be story specific, and you can feel free to add to them. Discuss the characterization, the plot, the author's style, etc. Anything you wish, but please do not be overly critical in your posts. Any abusive flaming of a featured fanfiction story or it's author will result in your post being deleted and a warning from a moderator.

Q: What happens to the Featured Fanfiction after the month is over?

A: The Featured Fanfiction will be merged and moved into a thread for all past Featured Fanfictions. This thread will be locked, so any feedback you have after the month should be directed to the author's feedback thread.

Q: How can I help?

A: Write, write, write! In the future, we might be hand-selecting a few fanfiction scouts, and if you are chosen, you will receive a PM from me. If you're not chosen at this time, just hang in there! It is likely that we will need new people from time to time as schedules get busy and time does not allow. In the meantime, the best thing that you can do is to continue writing fanfictions and improving their quality!


Do not contact any staff member or regular member who posts in this thread about featuring your fanfiction! Posting in this thread does not indicate that the staff member of regular member is on the fanfiction panel, and any owl you send them complaining of the fanfiction of the month or requesting to be considered for the fanfiction of the month will be ignored. If you have any legitimate questions or concerns, please contact me directly.

Please check this thread in a couple of days as we unveil our November Fanfiction of the Month!

EDIT: February, 2008, is the last month that we will be featuring both a chaptered and a one-shot fanfiction. Starting in March, 2008, we will be featuring either a one-shot or a chaptered fic. Sorry for any confusion or disappointment. I hope to see more people getting involved and reading and supporting the authors here on the VTM forums! Thanks.