There are five rounds in total, each divided into a number of segments (Round 1.1, Round 1.2, etc) other than the final round, which will be a head-to-head one-off between our two finalists. There are Bonus Rounds scattered throughout the contest, too.

But just to ensure everyone's clear before we get down to the nitty-gritty, this is how things will look as far as writing periods go!

Please note the following dates are fluid and may not be exact!

Qualifying Round: May 1 - May 31

Round 1.1: June 1 - June 22

Round 1.2: June 23 - July 7

Round 1.3: July 8 - July 29

Round 2.1: August 8 - August 29

Round 2.2: August 30 - September 20

Round 3.1: September 27 - October 11

Round 3.2: October 12 - October 26

Round 4.1: November 2 - November 16

Round 4.2: November 17 - December 1

Round 4.3: December 2 - December 16

Round 5: December 23 - January 16

Each round will challenge you to write a different genre, but we won't be announcing which genre that is until a given round goes live.

The first eliminations will take place between rounds 1.3 & 2.1. This means that everyone taking part in this contest will write at least four stories. Further eliminations will then take place after each subsequent round.

You should publish your Smackdown entries to a brand new story collection (give it a funky title and an awesome cover if you like, though neither of these are mandatory!) on your personal profile, and we will add all of those collections to a dedicated reading list.

SmackDown: A prompted knockout elimination contest, in which writers compete against each other writing brand new stories based on a given prompt or prompts.

Qualifying Round: Open to all. You must submit a story for the qualifying round if you wish to enter the contest.

Round 1.1, 1.2, 1.3: Open to all users who submitted a qualifying entry story.

Round 2.1, 2.2: Closed round. Only the 16 highest scoring users from the first round feature here.

Round 3.1, 3.2: Closed round. Only the 8 highest scoring users from the second round feature here.

Round 4.1, 4.2, 4.3: Closed round. Only the 4 highest scoring users from the third round feature here.

Round 5: Closed round. The final round - only the 2 highest scoring users from the fourth round feature here.