Rules

The IWSC has five schools, five headmistresses, two admins, and over fifty students. It’s a fun-filled community where teamwork and creativity are key.

Each school’s goal is to reach the finals and win the competition. Every student’s objective is to help make that happen by writing incredible stories and having a good time.

TEAM STRUCTURE AND RULES

  • Year 1
  • Year 2
  • Year 3
  • Year 4
  • Year 5
  • Year 6
  • Year 7
  • Exchange
  • Exchange

TEAM RULES

This is a list of rules for teams to follow within their school chats and within the competition.

  1. Respect all members of your team
  2. Beta for others when you are able
  3. Take issues you have to either your Head or Deputy

POSITIONS

Headteachers Duties

  • The Headteacher will monitor their school.
  • The Headteacher will check in with students on a weekly basis.
  • The Headteacher will monitor and update school chats or school forums that are created for that school alone.
  • When needed, a Headteacher will enforce the rules of the competition.
  • A Headteacher will answer any questions that arise and will do so as soon as possible.
  • The Headteacher will PM new players (A letter of acceptance from the Headmistress)
  • They will set a good example, and follow the rules, reinforcing them within their school.
  • They may send reminders of deadlines to players.
  • They will deal with issues brought to them by members of their school — or bring them to the attention of other mods if needed.
  • Encourage, inspire, and motivate the School.

Deputies

Each team will have one student who acts as a Deputy for their Headmistress. A Deputy will have several roles within the school chats and will help to keep the team organised. Some Deputies and Headmistresses may have arrangements that differ slightly from the guidelines below, which are mainly suggestions. Unlike last season, Deputies will not be placed in a specific year; this is due to the new sorting system.

Deputies still write stories each round, but they have extra tasks, such as:

  • Weekly check in’s to ensure that students are on track with their stories and having a good experience with the competition
  • Representing the team as the ‘speaker’ when choices need to be made, e.g. no duplicates in prompts, special rule choices, etc.
  • Will report any issues to their Head
  • Encouraging beta reading and taking part in extra challenges
  • Guiding new students with uploading, submitting stories, general FanFiction protocol, and Forum rules
  • Communicating regularly with Headmistresses, including updating on story progress
  • Helping Headmistresses recruit and communicate with students when a position needs to be filled
  • Asking teammates about judging feedback, need for rejudging, or offering support and a second opinion on a story

YEAR STUDENT

This position is the same as the old ‘full-time student’ role.

  • Will write one main story every round
  • Should partake in extra challenges where possible
  • Beta teammates’ stories
  • Follow all forum rules
  • Complete an extra challenge if not writing a main story

EXCHANGE STUDENT

This role is similar to previous years; however, we have now decided that Exchange Students MUST complete one of the three challenges below when not covering a Year Student:

  • Review challenge
  • Creative Corner Challenge
  • Writing School Challenge

Story Rules

WRITING RULES

  1. A Maximum of 4 Writing School stories should be submitted per school.
  2. Rejudging procedure should be followed each round:
    1. SPaG issues should be taken to the Headmistress who will check these errors and adjust points accordingly.
    2. Queries on judging should be taken to the Headmistress who will address issues with the judge to give further feedback.
    3. Full Rejudge should be sent formally to the competition email within 48 hours of feedback being released. (This means regardless of timezone this can be acted on as soon as possible, email is due to lack of PM alerts).
    4. Email the Competition at [remove spaces] wizarding school championship (@) gmail (dot) com
  3. No student should write another student’s submission.
  4. No student can use a shared account due to the possibility of a team getting extra writers and therefore an unfair advantage.
  5. Word Counts must be adhered to:
    1. 1000 min – 3000 max normal round
    2. 1000 min – 3500 max bonus round
    3. You have a leeway of 100 words above or below min and max – normal round
    4. You have a leeway of 50 words above or below min and max – bonus round
  6. For increased fairness, each judge will judge a school year. This will be on a rota basis, meaning all Year One writers will have the same judge, while Year Two writers will have another and so on.
  7. Refusal to partake in 2 or more consecutive rounds will give a school the right to seek a replacement or place an exchange in a full-time position
    1. Exchanges who consistently (2 consecutive rounds) do not partake in any way (additional challenges) will give their team the right to find a replacement
  8. If you are writing an AU, this should be explained within the narrative AND an AU tag in the A/N.
  9. All stories should be T rated (see rating specifications below).
  10. Offensive and inappropriate topics should not be used. If you are unsure, consult with your Headmistress or Deputy.
  11. No stories can be submitted that were written before the start of the round.
  12. No stories can be edited once they have been submitted to the Forum. You may edit a submission once you have received your judging.
  13. Stories can be written in British/American/Australian English only.
  14. All stories must be ‘stand-alone’ and be posted in a single chapter.

Early Story Reward

To motivate students to post their main stories early, we’ve decided to offer a reward. All students who post their story within the first week of the round (before the WWN issue comes out) will receive a review from the IWSC for that story.

Our judges have a lot to do, and it makes their lives much easier when stories are posted early, but this new reward isn’t an invitation to rush your writing. Never sacrifice quality.

Disqualification

  • If your word count is over or under by more than 100 words or 50 words (bonus)
  • Lack of connection to the Wizarding World at all
  • Crossovers unless specified
  • Stories over T rating
  • Cheating
  • Stories spread over more than one chapter.
  • If someone is found to be using more than one writer within one account

Additional Challenges

All Writers can gain extra points in the following challenges:

  • The Review Challenge
    • 2 points per review and each review should have 1 positive and 1 constructive point, at least.
    • Each review should be a minimum of 100 words
    • 5 reviews for 10 points.
    • Maximum 10 points per round.
  • Creative Corner Challenge Fan Art submission
    • 3 points per submission.
    • Max 1 submission per student per round.
    • Max word count: 100 per submission.
    • General art submission: Max 1 per round.
  • Trivia and Puzzles
    • 1 winner will be drawn from all who submitted correct answers and gets 5 points.
  • Dear Aunt Molly
    • 1 point per submission.
    • Max word count: 100 per submission.
    • Max: 3 submissions per student per round.
  • Writing Q&A With Ash
    • 1 point per submission
    • Max: 3 submissions per student per round

Bullying

Bullying is not allowed, and we have a zero-tolerance policy here at IWSC. Any harassment will result in an initial warning, and repeat offenders will be immediately expelled from the school.

In the instance of bullying, you should report to your Headmistress or Deputy. If you are unable to do this, you can message Headmistress Verity, and it will be resolved between the Heads.

Allegations of bullying will be thoroughly investigated, and if this is happening privately, messages should be shared via screenshots with a Headmistress. We will not ask a person to leave the competition without evidence.

If you follow the rules below, there should be no issues with regards to bullying:

  • Respect all others and their views.
  • Name-calling is not allowed.
  • Harassment is not allowed.
  • Being overly critical of someone’s work in a harsh and personal manner.
  • Criticising or making fun of someone for their personal ships and fandoms.
  • Do not make personal digs on fellow students, even if you feel it is in jest.
  • Intentional exclusion of one or more members of the team or competition.
  • And any other forms of bullying.

When partaking in the competition, you should respect others in regards to time and effort also: this can mean not taking advantage of one person for purposes of beta’ing, and respecting time zones when contacting other players.

Please remember and consider that other people interpret actions and words differently, so think about how your messages are worded and how actions might be taken.

Honeydukes: Competition-Wide Server

Last season, we introduced a competition-wide server. We have not had any issues with the server, but as always, we would like to give some guidance on how this is to be used to prevent misunderstandings and hurt feelings.

  • All participants are to communicate in a respectful manner (see bullying).
  • Conversations should be kept to their relevant threads.
  • Announcements will be made on both the forum and the Honeydukes server.
  • For general questions regarding themes, prompts and comp rules/regulations, please post on the server to allow as many students to see the answer as possible.
  • Personal issues should be sent directly to your Head or Deputy, and not placed in the server.

Points

Point Allocation

  1. Theme – 4 points
  2. Mandatory prompt – 2 points
  3. Additional prompt – 2 points (1 additional prompt in a normal round 2 in a bonus round)
  4. Storyline – 4 points
  5. Characters – 3 points
  6. Pacing – 3 points
  7. Description – 2 points
  8. Technical Skills – up to -2 points
  9. Special rule – 3 points (bonus round only)
    1. Total normal – 20 points or 25 points – with a JP
    2. Total bonus – 25 points or 30 points – with a JP

Theme Incorporation – (4 points)

This is about how well the theme of the overall storylines up with the theme given to the school. A theme should encompass the entire story in one way or another, and the story will be judged on how well that lines up with the theme guidance given.

Points Breakdown

  • 0 P: the theme was not used
  • 1 P: the theme was used but is not significant and is present for very little of the story
  • 2 P: the theme was significant to the plot but present for very little of the story
  • 3 P: the theme was significant to the plot and present throughout most of the story
  • 4 P: the theme was integral to the plot and present throughout the entire story

Mandatory Prompt – (2 points)

This is how well the mandatory prompt is integrated into the story, how significantly it is used. We can also acknowledge how originally it’s used.

Additional Prompts – (2 points)

Additional prompts should be no less significant than the mandatory one.

  • 1 additional allowed during a normal round
  • 2 additionals allowed during a bonus round

Points Breakdown

  • 0.50 P: the prompt was used
  • 1 P: the prompt has some significance to the plot, character development, OR setting of an important scene
  • 1.50 P: the prompt is significant to the plot, character development, or setting of an important scene
  • 2 P: the prompt has great significance for at least two of the areas detailed above

Storyline – (4 points)

The points awarded for the story content. How well the story communicates to the reader, clarity of ideas within the narrative.

Points Breakdown

  • 1 P: the story is unoriginal and/or very difficult to understand (the author struggles to convey their ideas in a clear and concise manner)
  • 2 P: the story shows creativity but is not easily understood
  • 3 P: the story combines two of these three categories very well: creativity, readability, and engagingness
  • 4 P: the story is creative, engaging, and easy to read and understand

Characters – (3 points)

How well a canon character is written in relation to their canon selves and/or how well changes in characterisation are explained within the narrative and leave an impact on the canon storyline.

The well-roundedness and originality of original characters, and how well they stand up next to canon characters.

Points Breakdown

Canon characters:

  • 1 P: the characters do not behave as they do in canon and no explanation is given as to why
  • 2 P: the characters are out of character, but a minimal explanation is given as to why OR the characters are mostly in character but experience a small moment of OOC that is not explained
  • 3 P: the characters behave as they do in canon OR the characters are OOC but an in-depth explanation is given within the narrative (and a brief note in the A/N)

Original characters:

  • 1 P: the characters are two-dimensional—they either have no depth, or they’re clichés
  • 2 P: the characters are more unique and rounded but still require development and originality
  • 3 P: the characters are well-developed—they’re creative and rounded and have as much depth as canon characters

Pacing – (3 points)

This includes: paragraph length, sentence structure, odd word choices, the transition between ideas/scenes, rushed segments, drawn-out segments, awkward dialogue, etc. Anything that affects how the story flows and how every word, idea, and scene affect the readability and atmosphere of the story.

Points Breakdown

  • 0 P: there’s a major problem in terms of pacing within the majority of the above categories. There are major issues with the story’s overall structure and rhythm.
  • 1 P: overall, the story has issues with the flow in a few of the above categories. There are minor issues with the story’s overall structure and rhythm.
  • 2 P: the story flows well, but there are minor issues in one or two of the above categories. There are minor issues with overall structure and rhythm.
  • 3 P: the story flows very well in the majority of the above categories. Overall story structure and rhythm is also very good.

Description – (2 points)

How well detail and description are used in the story. Does the reader feel immersed? Do they understand and know what things look and feel like? Is the story vague? Does the description add to the atmosphere of the story?

Points Breakdown

  • 0 P: the story includes little to no description. Everything is told rather than shown (telling: “they were cold” VS showing: “they shivered”). There is little to no atmospheric description
  • 1 P: the story includes some description and is mostly shown rather than told, but the reader is not immersed, either because the descriptions are not detailed enough, are awkwardly formulated, or are placed at the wrong moment in the story. There is some atmospheric description, but it includes issues due to its timing or the way in which it was used
  • 2 P: descriptions within the story are vivid and detailed enough for readers to picture everything effortlessly. The story is shown rather than told. Atmospheric description is used in the story

Technical Ability – (- 2 max)

A student can be deducted 0.5 points per error category:

  • Tense/POV – for 2 or less errors, deduct 0.25, for 3 or more – 0.5
  • Spelling/Potterwords – for 2 or less errors, deduct 0.25, for 3 or more – 0.5
  • Punctuation – for 2 or less errors, deduct 0.25, for 3 or more – 0.5
  • Grammar – for 2 or less errors, deduct 0.25, for 3 or more – 0.5

Special Rules (3 points)

A Special requirement added to some rounds.

Points Breakdown

  • 0 P: the special rule has not been used
  • 0.5 P: the rule has been used in a minor way but feels like an afterthought
  • 1 P: the rule has been used in a minor way and fits well with the story
  • 1.5 P: the rule is significant and fits within the story, but improvements can be made on both accounts
  • 2 – 2.5 P: the rule is important to the story but disrupts the narrative
  • 3 P: the rule is very important to the story and flows well with the narrative

Judges’ Picks

Each year will get a judge’s pick. This will eliminate ‘overall JP’ as one school can get multiple JPs and therefore more points.

We made this change for a couple of reasons:

  1. Having one judge for each year group means every school gets every judge, every round, so it’s fair across the board.
  2. Students are not in competition with the rest of their team for a Judges Pick

Late Deductions – ( – 0.25 every 15 mins for 2 hours)

Late deductions have changed for season 3. A story will receive a small penalty based on how late it is submitted. The thread will be locked, allowing no more submissions after two hours. Deductions based on time will go as follows:

  1. Up to 15mins late – 0.25
  2. From 15mins to 30 mins late – 0.50
  3. From 30 mins to 45mins late – 0.75
  4. From 45mins to 1 hour late – 1
  5. From 1 hour to 1hr 15mins late – 1.25
  6. From 1hr 15mins to 1hr 30 mins late – 1.50
  7. From 1hr 30mins to 1hr 45mins late – 1.75
  8. From 1hr 45 mins to 2 hrs late – 2 points

Prompt Support

Prompts are worth up to 2 points each, so using them well is very important. To ensure that we are all on the same page, we’re giving you the same prompt guidance that our judges receive, just take a peek below.

[Action] This action MUST appear in your story. To gain full points, it should be significant to the story, happen at an important moment, or highlight an important moment.

[Character] This character must feature heavily in your story or be its main character. They must be recognisable as that character. Side characters will not get you full points.

[Colour] A colour prompt can be used in many ways. It can be the colour of an important object, or the meaning of the colour (which will be provided) could be significant to the plot for example, yellow would mean cowardice.

[Dialogue] This dialogue must appear in your story and be significant to it. Punctuation must be exact, as must the wording; pronouns and tenses can be changed.

[Emotion] This emotion should be a defining part of your story. If the emotion is depression, your story should feature a character that is currently experiencing it. You can also deal with that theme within the story. To gain full points, the emotion should be integral to the plot.

[Event] This event must take place within your story. It can be something that has already happened or is upcoming if it influences the plot of your story significantly.

[First Line/last line] This should be the first line or last line of the story, depending on which one is stated. The story should work with the prompt and the prompt should help to set the tone, or aid in wrapping up your story. It should be significant to the whole story, even though only used once.

[Genre] The genre should be consistent throughout the story and should feature some commonly accepted elements of the genre. Not committing 100% to the genre (side genres being used, or only hinting at the genre), would mean you do not get full points.

[Image] The image or the concept of the image should play a key role in the story. This may include referencing the picture, or using the key themes of the image to underpin your story. The image or its themes must be significant to the story to gain full points.

[Negative Pairing] A negative pairing can be any kind of relationship that ends badly or is antagonistic throughout the story. For example, it could be a romantic relationship that breaks down, a family tie that fractures, or a friendship that ends. It can also be about a relationship like Harry and Draco’s: a rivalry where there has never been anything positive. The prompt should be the primary pairing in your story to gain full points.

[Object] This object must be included in your story. To get more points, the object should be significant to the plot; it should be highlighted and not just a throw-away mention.

[Platonic Pairing] A platonic pairing has no romantic elements; the characters are just friends and there should be no hint of anything else. The friendship should be the main pairing in your story in order to gain full points.

[Plot point] This is a topic or theme discussed or taking place in your story. It can be interpreted similarly to the event prompt and be shown in something that actually happens, or it can be something of importance in a more abstract form.

[Quote] A quote can be used within the dialogue or narrative, or it can be paraphrased to fit with the character. It can also inspire the plot or theme of your story. Make sure it’s significant and recognisable.

[Romantic Pairing] This pairing is romantic and positive in nature. It should be the main pairing in your story to gain full points.

[Setting] This setting should be the location of the story for a good portion of the plot. If the characters are only there for the opening or in passing, you will not get full points. Similarly, if the location has no impact on the story, you will not get full points.

[Song] For song prompts, you are not allowed to copy lyrics into your story according to fanfiction.net rules. You should use the song to inspire your story, so themes from the song should be important themes in your story, too. Paraphrased lyrics can be used. The story of the song or its major themes should be evident in your story.

[Spell/potion] This involves using a spell or potion that is significant to the plot of the story—not a throw-away use, but something that has meaning in terms of the overall plot.

[Word] The meaning behind the word or the word itself should be evident in the story. Different versions of a word prompt can be used, this includes changing the tense or form (adjective, nouns, verbs, etc). The definition of the word MUST remain the same. Example: extravagance and extravagant. Repeating the word without giving it significance to the plot will not gain you full marks.

General rules for Writing and Receiving Reviews

WRITING

  • Be fair and nice when writing reviews!
  • Be honest! Don’t hold yourself back if there is something you want to critique, even concrete can be said in a nice way and most writers really appreciate you pointing out flaws in their stories.
  • Take a step back before sending your review! Sometimes personal opinions cloud your judgment so reread your review to filter any negative personal opinion out. Just because you dislike a topic or a pairing doesn’t give you the right to make others feel bad about their story. Keep your criticism neutral and be open to others’ likes and dislikes.
  • Don’t be lazy! Read the story and refer to it in your review. Name concrete points of criticism and examples, suggest alternatives. We will read your reviews and if they are lazy or mean, we will not award points so make sure to really read the stories and be honest but nice.
  • Offer something constructive! Sometimes a review simply saying that the story is good is just as bad as not receiving a review at all. Make sure you really offer something constructive in your review (see point above). This doesn’t have to be criticism per se. You can also highlight what you liked most of all and why exactly you liked it.
  • Answer questions! Sometimes the writer doesn’t understand what you mean in your review or can’t find a way to improve what you criticised. Take the time to answer questions and give them some tips and examples on how to improve their writing.
  • Ask for help with your own stories! If you think a writer could offer you help with your own stories, it is okay to request a little help. Of course, you can’t force anybody to read your stories, but some might be willing to return the favour and leave you a review as well.
  • We do NOT encourage bullying or writing mean reviews! We are not above excluding people from the forum who do not follow those basic rules.

RECEIVING

  • Say thank you! People take the time to read your story and offer their opinion, appreciate the time they spend to give you feedback. It is highly encouraging to receive a small thank-you-message for a review and reviewers are just as happy about answers as you are about the reviews.
  • Consider returning the favour! If you have time and the reviewer has written stories themselves, it is nice to have a look at what they have written and maybe leave a review in return. Most of my friendships on FFN developed exactly that way.
  • Ask questions! If you want to know more about a certain part of your story or want an explanation or example for a point of criticism, you can ask the reviewer, you can even debate (on friendly terms) and learn new things that way. The reviewer is no professional in most cases so they might learn something as well. They will also appreciate that you really read their review and are engaging with what they critiqued. If you don’t like what was written in a review, write the person about it and ask them NICELY to clarify what they mean.
  • Give the reviewer the benefit of a doubt! People are not always able to write something in a very elegant way, and on the internet, things might sound different than they are intended.
  • Get help! If you find yourself unable to deal with the person or the review, your Headmistress is there for you to talk about it.
  • Ignore trolls! There will always be people who just want to cause trouble. There’s no way to keep away from them completely so it’s best to just ignore them. If their comments hurt, talk to a friend about it, maybe ask them to leave a bunch of nice reviews to counter the mean one. It will make you feel better.
  • Don’t be discouraged! It doesn’t matter if you want to report bullying or simply feel discouraged because there were many valid points of criticism. Everybody starts at a very low point and only a few have the talent to write perfect stories. Just because you are unhappy with how a story turned out, doesn’t mean you are a bad writer and we are here to help each other improve, each at their own pace. So if you need advice, you can contact us anytime 🙂