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A. The blackraptor fan fic page is an index; a listing of Magnificent Seven fan fiction actually hosted on the blackraptor website. Stories posted on webpages at other sites - and there are hundreds - are not listed.
Q. Can my stories be linked to the blackraptor main page?
A. Only if they are actually on a blackraptor webpage. (This means that their URL begins with http://blackraptor...)
A. Please read the Submission Guidlines
Q. What types of stories are acceptable?
A. blackraptor accepts all genres of fiction, with the following guidelines applying:
- Absolutely no erotica involving children under 17. This includes supernatural beings (vampires, werewolves, aliens, immortals, cyborgs, cylons, d.a.r.y.l.s, replicators, etc) who have the physical appearance of a child, regardless of their age or whether or not they are a biological life form.
- No 'actor fic' (for example, stories about Chris Larabee and Vin Tanner will be accepted - stories about Michael Biehn and Eric Close will not).
- Please obtain permission before using characters and material created by other fan fic authors.
- No crossovers with written, published works such as novels or comic books that have not been relegated to film.
- 'Songfics' must contain some original work. Not more than 1/4 of the text should be lyrics. The writer of the song(s) must be credited.
- ALL stories must feature one or more recurring Magnificent Seven canon characters as the main character(s). This means the story is about them. Original characters are fine, but M7 characters should not play supporting roles to their "lead." (An exception will be made for stories that involve multiple fandoms, but it is still expected that M7 characters will have significant roles).
Q. Why do you change British spellings?
The characters are Americans, and, therefor pronounce certain words differently from folks in the UK (or Australia). For example, words such as learnt, leant, spillt, etc. are not pronounced with a "t" sound at the end by American speakers. Therefor, those spellings are often changed to end with "ed" to closer reflect how they would actually sound.
Q. Are crossovers and "alternate universe" stories allowed?
A. Yes, so long as the following guidelines are followed:
- In any crossover, Magnificent Seven characters must play a role that is equal to, or larger than, those of characters from the other series.
- No "closed" A/Us in which all other writers will be forbidden to participate - if you bring your toys to the blackraptor sandbox, be willing to share them. Creators of A/Us do, however, have the option of establishing guidelines regarding how the A/U will be presented. (An exception will be made for 'closed AU' stories that are rescued from dead websites).
- The following Alternate Universes are open for use by all writers, and permission is not required to use them (the creator is listed in so that you may acknowledge them if you wish to do so):
- ATF (mog)
- Little Britches (J.K. Poffenberger) (NO erotica!)
- MCAT - tannertexaslady
- Las Vegas - LunaDey and Lisa S.
- Dungeons and Dragons (Nettie Roe)
- RNLI - KT
- SG-7 / SGA7 - various
- Seven Investigations (Bunny)
- Star Trek (Nancy & Winter)
- Star Wars (Linda T.)
- WWII - Misfits (Winter)
- WWII, Vietnam, and other historical eras, are public domain
- "Universes" established by other series may be used by anyone.
Q. What disclaimers and warnings do I need on my story?
A. Fan fiction is technically blatant copyright infringement, and disclaimers to the contrary have no legal merit.Writers are welcome to include them as a courtesy, but they are not required.Many readers appreciate being "warned" of mild slash content (in general-audience fic), excessive violence and most especially if the story is a "deathfic." "Deathfic" is defined as a story which deals with the death of a canon character and generally does not apply to original characters (however, the death of a child or companion animal is often disturbing to many readers). Warnings are not required, although, if an author fails to include one, they should be prepared for the possibility of negative feedback..
Q. Do I have to put my name on my story?
A. No. You may use an "alias" or you may omit your name, and/or your e-mail addy, entirely. We cannot, however, collect and forward feedback for you if you choose not to leave an e-mail link on your story.
Q. Can I send a graphic with my story??
A. Absolutely. Graphics (or "walls") are always welcome. Please note, however, that if your image is excessively large, it will be reduced in size. Not everyone has a monitor or tablet that will accommodate enormous graphics and using them will result in a horizontal scroll bar, which most folks agree is extremely annoying. The largest dimension (height or width) should not exceed 800 pixels.
Q. Can I make changes to my story after it's posted?
A. While changes can be made, it is best not to have to do so, therefore, please be sure to submit the final version of your story.
- The following circumstances will receive priority:
- Formatting errors (missing paragraphs, garbled text, etc.)
- Re-writes dictated by canon errors, or conflicts with another author's work
- Change of e-mail address (please do not use your work or school addy for your fan fic if you can avoid it)
- Changes due to minor typos and any "tweaking" done after the story is on a web page will normally be accommodated, within reason.
- Repeated "revisions" to a story are strongly discouraged. Make sure you are satisfied with it before you submit it.
- Please note, while resending the entire story is usually easier for you., doing so means that your entire story must be re-formatted, which is time-consuming. If you must make corrections, provide a detailed description of where you want them made. For example, include the entire paragraph so that it can be easily located rather than indicating something like: "The first three lines in the part after JD leaves the saloon..."
A. No. However, unusually long stories should be thought out ahead of time, so you know for a fact it really needs to be that long.
A. "Mary Sue" is an original character, nearly always female, who is either similar in many ways to the writer, or, possesses unrealistic character traits that would be unlikely in a mortal woman. Examples would be Vin's teen-age sister - coincidentally created by a teen writer - or the new gal in town who can out-shoot Vin, out-gamble Ezra, out-ride JD, etc. Mary Sues tend to have a name that is either rare or exotic, can cause her to be mistaken for a man, or is the same as the author's. She is nearly always stunningly beautiful and fleeing a tragic past, and, more likely than not, one of the Seven will fall madly in love with her (if she's not related). While hated by some readers, she is welcomed with open arms by others.
Q. What if my story previously appeared in a fanzine?
A. Fanzine stories are gladly accepted, provided that the terms regarding the length of time that the story would be exclusively available in fanzine form, as set forth by the fanzine's editor, have been met.
Q. How come some of the stories at blackraptor have graphics and illustrations and others don't?
A. This is usually done at the discretion of the author. If an author wants a certain "look" for a story, then a reasonable attempt will be made to accommodate him or her. If no preference is indicated, a "generic" webpage format will be used.
Q. Why are some stories divided into several parts?
A. blackraptor is one of the oldest fan sites in existence, established in 1998. At the time it was created, both computers and web browsers were much slower than they are now, and many internet access services had a limit on the size of file they would accept. For some users, large stories would "stall" and either fail to load completely or would not open at all. Ensuring that everyone had a successful experience using the site required breaking larger stories into smaller parts that any browser would be able to handle. Stories currently being posted are no longer broken into parts unless the author requests it.
Q. How long will my story be kept at blackraptor?
A. Fan fic will normally be removed from the blackraptor site only at the expressed request of the author. So, in other words, as long as the site is here, your story will be here.
Q. What if someone steals my plots or characters?
A. Fan fic writers must understand that fanfiction is not protected by copyright laws. If someone were to take your entire work, put their name on it, and call it their own, you would have absolutely no legal recourse. Most writers will respect your claim to original characters, and will not copy your ideas deliberately, but it should be remembered that we have "stolen" the characters from the creators of The Magnificent Seven (who in turn "stole" them from a Japanese folk tale, which in turn is based on a story from Roman mythology) and any proprietory claim on work which involves them is inherently invalid. Original characters are considered the property of the first author to post a story using them, unless that author specifically credits someone else with their creation. Titles cannot be claimed as "original" and may be used by anyone. "Universes" established by other filmed works (e.g. Stargate, Highlander, The Sentinel, MARVEL, Lord of the Rings, etc.) cannot be claimed as original, nor can "universes" based upon historical events (WWII, the Crusades, the Civil War, etc.). "Closed" universes (in which the creator claims the exlusive right to all characters and scenarios) are not accepted at blackraptor.Conflicts between authors are exactly that - in no case will we become involved in an author dispute, nor will such disputes be the basis for removing a writer's work from the blackraptor site, so please don't request that we take such actions. It is expected that writers will settle their disagreements without our intervention. "Notes" in story headers which publicly vilify another writer will be deleted before the story is posted, even if they are known to have merit.
Unless there is indisputable evidence of a blatant act of plagiarism, stories will not be removed from the blackraptor site because of similarities to another author's work. An author's stories will be removed only if there is convincing evidence that those particular stories were plagiarized, in whole or in part.
Q. Why do I get an error message, or funny-looking characters when I try to open a page?
A. Occasionally, webpage servers go down. when this happens, none of the webpages stored on that server will open.Usually, the only solution is to try again later. However, it often happens that either the page has failed to load completely, or, your computer has "cached" a corrupt copy of the page. Try holding down your CTRL+SHIFT keys and clicking on the "Reload" or "Refresh" button on your browser screen. You may have to do it more than once, but this will usually reload the page so that it looks as it should. Please try this before reporting that a link is "broken."
Q. Why do you post <insert type of fic here>?
A. Because not everyone wants to read, or write, the same type of story. What may be offensive or ridiculous to one person might be entertaining and fun to another. Every attempt is made to ensure that readers are not subjected to something they may not wish to read. However, should that happen, it is hoped that the reader will not take it personally and will realize it's not possible to make everyone happy all of the time.
Q. How can I tell how old a story is?
A. Look at the segment of the URL (that would be the http://... thing) that immediately follows blackrpator.net/... The number in that block of characters will usually provide a general estimate of when the fic was first posted at blackraptor (some stories were posted elsewhere at an earlier time and subsequently moved):m7fic: April 1998 - June 1999
m7fic2: June - October 1999
m7fic3: October 1999 - February 2000
m7fic4: February - May 2000
m7fic5: May - July 2000
m7fic6: July - October 2000
m7fic7: October - November 2000
m7fic8: November - December 2000
m7fic9: January-March 2001
m7fic10: March - May 2001
m7fic-11: May 11, 2001 - June 18, 2001
m7fic-12: June 18, 2001 - August 29, 2001
m7fic-13: August 30, 2001 - November 28, 2001
m7fic-14: November 28, 2001 - February 20, 2002
m7fic-15: February 21, 2002 - May 4, 2002
m7fic-16: May 5, 2002 - June 19, 2002
m7fic-17: June 20, 2002 - August 17, 2002
m7fic-18: August 17, 2002 - October 29, 2002
m7fic-19: October 30, 2002 - January 4, 2003
m7fic-20: January 5, 2003 - March 15, 2003
m7fic-21: March 16, 2003 - May 14, 2003
m7fic-22: May 15, 2003 - July 4, 2003
m7fic-23: July 4, 2003 - September 5, 2003
m7fic-24: September 5, 2003 - November 30, 2003
m7fic-25: November 30, 2003 - February 7, 2004
m7fic-26: February 8, 2004 - April 22, 2004
m7fic-27: April 23, 2004 - June 5, 2004
m7fic-28: June 5, 2004 - August 10, 2004
m7fic-29: August 10, 2004 - October 25, 2004
m7fic-30: October 25, 2004 - January 10, 2005
m7fic-31: January 10, 2005 - March 25, 2005
m7fic-32: March 25, 2005 - June 9, 2005
m7fic-33: June 10, 2005 - August 22, 2005
m7fic-34: August 22, 2005 - November 8, 2005
m7fic-35: November 9, 2005 - February 12, 2006
m7fic-36: February 13, 2006 - May 21, 2006
m7fic-37: May 21, 2006 - August 23, 2006
m7fic-38: August 23, 2006 - November 12, 2006
m7fic-39: November 13, 2006 - February 14, 2007
m7fic-40: February 15, 2007 - June 2, 2007
m7fic-41: June 3, 2007 - September 2, 2007
m7fic-42: September 2, 2007 - October 21, 2007
m7fic-43: October 22, 2007 - January 27, 2008
m7fic-44: January 28, 2008 - February 12, 2008
m7fic-45: February 12, 2008 - May 24, 2008
m7fic-46: May 25, 2008 - October 15, 2008
m7fic-47: October 16, 2008 - January 19, 2009
m7fic-48: January 20, 2009 - June 1, 2009
m7fic-49: June 1, 2009 - September 26, 2009
m7fic-50: September 27, 2009 - November 19, 2009
m7fic-51: November 19, 2009 - December 30, 2009
m7fic-52: December 31, 2009 - May 30, 2010
m7fic-53: May 31, 2010 - March 22, 2011
m7fic-54: March 23, 2011 - December 3, 2011
m7fic-55: December 4, 2011 - July 12, 2012
m7fic-59: July 13, 2012 - July 29, 2013
m7fic-60: July 29, 2013 - August 6, 2014
m7fic-62: August 6, 2014 - June 11, 2015
m7fic-63: June 11, 2015 - May 26, 2016
m7fic-64: May 27, 2016 - October 12, 2018
m7fic-65: October 13, 2018 - August 29, 2020
m7fic-66: August 29, 2020 - June 3, 2024
m7fic-67: June 4, 2024 - July 15. 2024 *
m7fic-68: July 15, 2024 - July 30, 2024 *
m7fic-69: July 31, 2024 - August 27, 2024 *
m7fic-70: August 27, 2024 - September 18, 2024 *
m7fic-71: September 19, 2024 - October 2, 2024 *
m7fic-72: October 3, 2024 - October 27, 2024 *
m7fic-73: October 28, 2024 - present *
*Most stories in these folders are "Rescues" - older stories collected from defunct websites - and may have been written in the early years of the fandom.
Q. What if I send my story without having it "beta-ed" or proofread?
A. What will usually happen is that it will be posted with all the mistakes still in it. Occasionally, repetitive, easy-to-fix typos (such as consistent misspelling of the same word) will be corrected when the story is formatted, if time allows. If there are too many errors, however, the author will be asked to correct them, and then re-submit the story.
Q. Why does my story look different when I view it on another computer?
A. The stories at blackraptor are webpages, not text files, and many variables affect their appearance. These include the monitor settings, color properties (which will vary from monitor to monitor, and from browser to browser) and the fonts which are stored in the computer. For example, if you select a specific type font for your story, that font must be available in the computer you are using to view the story's web page. If it is not, then a default font will be what you see. On some sites, the screen width setting will also affect the appearance of a webpage, however, blackraptor webpages should be compatible with any screen width.
Q. I really liked <insert fic title>. Would it be okay if I wrote a sequel or companion story?
A. Always check with the author of the original story before using any elements from it in your own work. This is especially true if you are not thoroughly familiar with the show. It has happened that new writers have assumed that characters or scenarios were "canon" when in fact, they were "fanon" (created by another author). Some writers are flattered by requests to borrow their work, while others strenuously object to anyone doing so, so never assume it's okay without checking first.
Q. Does blackraptor accept stories that are not M7?
A. Fan fiction from the following fandoms other than Magnificent Seven are accepted if they are written by M7 authors:
- Forever Knight
- Lord of the Rings
- Stargate (SG-1 or Atlantis)
- Supernatural
- Leverage
- Sherlock
Fan fic based on the following series is also accepted if it features the character portrayed by Eric Close as the main character:
- Without a Trace (Martin Fitzgerald)
- Dark Skies (John Loengard)
- McKenna (Brick McKenna)
Additionally, blackraptor accepts all fan fic based on the series Now and Again.
Blackraptor does not accept original works (those based entirely upon characters and scenarios created by the author).
Do
you have a question?
m7fanfiction@gmail.com
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