Rules and Guidelines

The purpose of RAC Challenge! is to have fun and to exercise creativity. Participants pursue these goals through their construction of a chapter in an ongoing story written in the tradition of super-hero comics. RAC Challenge! is based on DC Challenge!, a now defunct title which operated according to a similar rotation of authors.

For legal reasons, no characters used in RAC Challenge! may exist in established (copyrighted) super-hero universes. Authors may create parodies of those characters or create entirely new super-heroes to inhabit their stories. Furthermore, authors may also incorporate characters they use primarily for other creative endeavors (such as the Legion of Net Heroes) or the RAC characters of legend (ie Suicide Squid and Paul). Authors incorporate existing heroes at the risk of having those characters put through the ringer by subsequent writers.

When an interviewer asked Abraham Lincoln how long he believed a man’s legs should be, the President responded, “Long enough to reach the ground.” Similarly matter-of-fact, the length of chapters of RAC Challenge! should simply be long enough to fulfill the content requirements. In other words, no strict rules apply.

In his or her chapter each author must seek to accomplish three main tasks. First of all the author must resolve the cliffhanger left to him or her by the previous writer. Secondly, the author must incorporate the assigned title into the chapter in as believable a manner as possible. Finally, the author must end his or her chapter with a cliffhanger even more challenging the one he or she inherited. Furthermore, each author is resonsible for composing a title for the next chapter (more about this in Rotation of Authors). Beyond that, anything goes!

Upon completion, each chapter of RAC Challenge!, including the trailer for the next issue (more about this in #6) should be posted to Rec.Arts.Comics.Creative. At this point I see no need to e-mail chapters to participants, but if anyone has difficulty accessing RACC, let me know.

Upon completing his or her chapter, each author shall write a trailer for the next issue. The trailer shall include the name of the next author (refer to Appendix A - Order of Authors) and the title of the next chapter. Creativity with regard to the formulation of titles is one of the most important aspects of RAC Challenge!. Coupled with the cliffhanger you leave for the next writer, the zany title creates the challenge.

It would be considerate for the author of the recently completed chapter to alert the next author via e-mail.

Once a chapter is posted to RACC, the next author has four days to complete his or her installment. This is a flexible deadline. As long as the author maintains contact with the moderator, me, and has a legitimate reason for any delay, there should be no problem.

Additionally, if time commitments make those particuliar four days extremely inconvenient, the assigned author may choose to pass to the next author. In this situation, the author who passes will be placed at the bottom of the list. Don’t be a weenie and pass just because the cliffhanger and/or title make your chapter challenging! After all, that’s the name of the game.

As moderator, I will monitor RACC closely. If no chapter follows after four days, and if I receive no e-mail from the assigned author, I will notify that author that he or she has forfeited the chance to participate. I will also notify the next author on the list that he or she must take up the reins. This author’s four day time limit starts when I receive confirmation that the new writer has received the assignment. I do not want to be a stickler for deadlines, but I do want to assure that RAC Challenge! proceeds steadily.

The title of the first chapter was assigned by Daniel Sikorski, the last person on the “Order of Authors” list at the time of my first posting of the “Rules and Guidelines.” Since that time I have added several names to the “Order of Authors” list.

If you would like to write an installment of RAC Challenge!, send e-mail to Henry R. Broaddus. Previous chapters are also available upon request. If anyone enjoys the experience enough to want to write another chapter for RAC Challenge!, let me know. I will space out chapters by repeated authors as much as possible.

RAC Challenge! has entered its final phase, the RAC Challenge! Annual. As far as I know, it’s too late too become involved as a writer…for this series.

How long will the whole saga run? That depends on how long it takes for interest to wane. Conceivably, RAC Challenge! could run indefinitely. I reserve the right to be the author of the last chapter when and if it is required.

Bring back a character killed off in a previous chapter. Introduce new characters. Change the focus of the story. Take the plot in new and exciting directions. There are very few rules (you’ve already read them all!), and the only limit is one’s imagination.