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SUBMISSION GUIDELINES FOR
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If you wish to try your hand at writing a story based upon the Planetary Alignment we have established, you are invited to play in our playground. There are a few rules we have set up, and they must be followed. If you need some background information that has not been shown in any form on the website, feel free to ask me. We'll try to help you out with information as much as we can.
New! I am now accepting fan-written submissions of stories using the Blue Horizon ship and cast of characters. If interested, you may use any version of the ship and crew from the four seasons in the Library. I will be taking a close look at the character usage to make sure they are not used out of character (acting or reacting in ways that do not fit each specific cast member), and will work with the writers on any details that might be needed. These fan-written tales will not be considered canon, but they should be written with the original series in mind; the guidelines and rules from the Project Notebook and the Other Horizons guidelines below still apply. I am curious to see what you may come up with. If what you have written is approved, I will post it in the Blue Horizon library in the Other Horizons area and then you will have my authorization to post your story on your own website if you want. (However, I must stress that unapproved tales will be opposed and forbidden to be posted elsewhere.) If you have an idea on what you would like to do, feel free to write to me and pitch your story proposal on what you have planned. I can help you over any rough areas and then you can work on your adventure. Below are a few rules and guidelines for you to follow when working on your own stories. Make yourself familiar with the Project Notebook, as well as the currently established stories. Anything written that involves our material (i.e. the Planetary Alignment) must be approved through me (Ted) before it can go online anywhere (whether on our official site or your own). Permission is automatically denied to anyone writing or posting a story using our material that is not first approved. You may put the stories you write on your own website too, only so long as the story has first been officially approved. You may write your stories in chapters, but I would prefer you not send in your story until a first draft (at least) of the entire tale has been completed. If I agree to put your unfinished story online in individual chapters, you must make an effort to continue writing succeeding chapters in a timely manner until the tale has been told. After all, other readers will be waiting for your tale, and if you take over a year between chapters, they may be removed as an unfinished project. No excessive profanity. There are plenty of other ways to get your point across without offending the reader. My personal preference is not to use them at all. No graphic sex. Sexual situations can be alluded to, but not graphically depicted. (See the information in the Project Notebook for more on this.) No excessive violence. Violence of any kind must have a purpose in the story, not placed there solely for shock value. No elements of total fantasy (no magic or other forms of sorcery, including psionic elements), and no time-travel or alternate realities / parallel universes. Stories dealing with the supernatural are borderline and will be dealt with on an individual basis. Before you begin writing, please submit a synopsis of your idea to me so I can help you smooth out any rough areas which might conflict with something else that you might have missed. When you send in your manuscript, do not double-space it, please. I can accept documents in .doc, .rtf and .txt formats. Please do not send your submission within the text of an email message -- send it as an attachment. If you wish to format a Microsoft Word document to match what I use myself, use these settings so I dont have to reformat what you send me:
Your story cannot contain any plots which would counter anything already established (i.e. you cannot destroy another planet, change a world's primary government, bring another planet into the PA, develop a super-weapon to threaten the entire PA, etc...) Your stories may focus on another vessel (freighter, cruise ship, private craft, etc.) or they can be self-contained solely on one of the PA worlds (they don't even have to have anything to do with outer space travel). You are free to make up your own names for places and things, just so long as you don't counter what's already been written. Use your imagination and have fun. Some of these may sound a little strict, but with the exception of those set up specifically for outside submissions, these are rules Steve, Eileen and I have used when writing our own stories. If you can work within these few guidelines as we have, you are invited to give it a try. If you cannot abide by these standards, approval will not be granted and will be adamantly opposed. We would prefer you work with us to the enjoyment of all. If you have questions about our playground that have not shown up anywhere else (notes, guidelines, stories, etc.), feel free to ask me. I will try to give you what we can. Please realize that some things have not been specifically detailed anywhere (such as each world's social structures in every region), so if you ask about something we haven't made up yet, we'll probably have to make it up on the spot. We want to give you the opportunity to enjoy yourself and tell your own tales within the Planetary Alignment. We're looking forward to seeing what you come up with. Have fun! --Ted R. Blasingame |
OTHER HORIZONS: Tales of the Planetary Alignment "The Long View" by Sam Spaniel "The Fall & Rise of a White Tiger" by Quantel Eastland
Blue Horizon Copyright ©1996-2009 Ted R. Blasingame 20080423 |
