1. What is the Wizard's Playground?
The Wizard's Playground is an archive of Harry Potter fan fiction that has been deemed suitable for children ages 6-12 to read. As my 11-year-old son has become increasingly interested in my "hobby," it has been a challenge to find good, well-written stories that would not only interest him, but would also be appropriate for his age and reading level, and I know from perusing various Harry Potter communities on the Internet that many other parents are struggling with the same problem. This site was created to meet the need for child-friendly Harry Potter fan fiction. It was designed by my sister to my specifications to provide a safe, secure site where children can peruse Harry Potter stories with minimal supervision from parents.
And for those of who you don't know me, my online name is Magnolia Mama, which most people shorten to Mags or MM.
2. How do I register?
I will register any contributing writers myself after their submission has been accepted for archiving. Please note that no submission will be accepted from someone under the age of 13; parents, if your child has written a story that you think might do well here, you must submit it (and register, if it is accepted), under YOUR name and email address.
Contributors: You will not be given a password to log in upon registration, and clicking the "Lost Password" link will send the request directly to me. While this may sound strict, the purpose is to keep The Wizard's Playground as safe as possible for kids, by preventing anyone other than the site designer and myself from adding content, such as amending a profile or responding to reviews. Rest assured, no profile will be altered without your express permission.
3. Do I need to register?
No. Registration is only required if you are a contributing writer, and in those cases I will take care of the registration.
4. How do I find a story to read?
The Wizard's Playground offers a variety of options for finding a story to read. On the main page you may choose a Category or choose a story from the Recently Updated/Added box. Stories and contributing writers are also listed alphabetically under Titles and Authors respectively. Finally, there is a Search option that you can use if you're looking for specific types of stories (such as stories featuring a particular character, or stories of a certain genre).
5. What do the different categories mean?
"Marauders" refers to stories set during the time when Sirius Black, Remus Lupin, James Potter and Peter Pettigrew (a.k.a. the Marauders) were students at Hogwarts. These stories may also feature characters such as Severus Snape, Lily Evans and Professor Dumbledore.
"Pre-OotP" refers to stories that were written before Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix was published or are set before Harry's fifth year at Hogwarts. They may include stories written about Harry's later years at Hogwarts, in which case they are known as AU, or Alternate Universe stories. They may also feature stories known as "Missing Moments" from any of the first four books.
"Post-OotP" refers to stories written after Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix was published. Some of these may be "Missing Moments" from Harry's fifth year, or they may be about his sixth or seventh years.
"Post-HBP" refers to stories written after Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince was published or set after the events in that book.
"Post Hogwarts" refers to stories written after Harry, Ron and Hermione have finished at Hogwarts (and, we hope, Harry has defeated You-Know-Who). As with the other categories, they may be about not just Harry, Ron and Hermione, but any of the characters you may have read about in the books.
6. What do the warnings mean?
On occasion I will include a warning that a story may have some violence (nothing too intense or gory, but, for example, a duel between the Order of the Phoenix and the Death Eaters in which people are seriously hurt), the death of a character, or crude language.
7. How do I leave a review?
To leave a review, you need only click on "Review." This will take you to a page with a box where you can leave your review. You may include your name, but you do not have to. You may even make up a name, if you prefer. Unless your parents give you permission, I do not recommend you leave your email address. Unfortunately, our set-up does not permit writers to respond to reviews.
8. What if I find a story on this archive that I think is inappropriate for younger readers?
If you have any concerns about a story, please contact me with a link to the story and a detailed description of your concerns. Before doing so, however, please remember that I have tried to provide stories that will appeal to 6-year-olds as well as those that will appeal to 12-year-olds, and ask yourself if the problem might not be that your younger child read a story that is more appropriate for an older child.
9. Can I recommend a story or writer?
By all means! Email me with the title, author's name and email address and a URL where I can find the story. No one knows which fics children will like better than parents.
10. How can I become a contributing author?
Email me with "Wizard's Playground Submission" in the subject line. In the body of your message provide the following information:
TITLE
AUTHOR (This will be your name on the archive if your submission is accepted; it can be a real name or a pen name)
AGE
RATING
CATEGORY (Marauders era, pre-OotP, post-OotP, post-HBP, post-Hogwarts)
GENRE(S) (Drama, Action/Adventure, Mystery, Romance, Humor, General)
WARNINGS, if necessary (violence, character death, language)
MAIN CHARACTER(S)
SUMMARY
Please also provide a URL if your submission is archived on another site. If it is not, do NOT attach or paste your submission on the email; I will decide, upon the information you have provided, whether or not I wish to pursue the matter further.
11. What sort of stories do you accept?
I accept well-written stories rated G or PG only that represent a reasonable fidelity to canon (the books, not the movies) and feature little to no "shippiness" (romantic relationships between the characters) beyond what is explicitly stated in canon. I welcome one-shots and multichaptered submissions, though the latter must be COMPLETE before I will consider them for archiving.
Submissions must have been thoroughly beta-read and proofed for spelling, grammar, punctuation and canon errors. Though a submission will not be rejected if it uses American spelling or does not capitalize spells, inconsistency and blatant errors will result in rejection.
Since Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince featured several of the characters in romantic relationships, I will accept fics that incorporate those relationships to a degree appropriate for younger readers.
12. Will you accept PG-13 rated stories?
At this time, no.
13. Why was my story rejected?
Nine times out of 10 it will be either because I felt it was not quite appropriate for my target audience or it contained numerous errors. If the latter, you are welcome to have your story beta-read and proofed and re-submit it; however, if after a second try it still is not up to my standards you may not submit it again.
14. How long does it take for a submitted story to