Welcome to Sosumi: the *NSYNC Mary Sue fiction challenge.

Anyone who knows enough about *NSYNC fan fiction to be looking at this page knows a Mary Sue when they see one. The Fangirl, usually in her pre- or early teen years, hears about this magnificent world called "fan fiction", and takes it upon herself to concoct one of her own. The story begins with JC or Justin, or occasionally Lance (Mary Sue-ers, due to their narrow-minded youth, tend to have predictable and sadly self-limiting tastes). He spots the author, or a thinly veiled rendition thereof, in a club or a bar or amidst ten thousand people at a concert or something about as believable. He then proceeds to fall head over heels in love; the fact that he's never met her, never spoken to her, and she appears to be 15 years old cannot dissuade the passion her presence has sparked within his heart.

On the whole, there are Harlequin novels with more compelling substance.

Every now and then, either when a Mary Sue-er slowly begins to develop writing chops of her own, or when an established good fic writer gets in a sappier mood than usual, this form of self-promotion can be turned into a legitimate, enjoyable story. More often than not, though, the Mary Sue-er is coddled enough by the adoration of her friends that she doesn't bother progressing, and the established writer is too plagued by the stigma attached to a Mary Sue to make herself finish the thing.

This is where our challenge comes in.

Just about everybody, unless you're the most devoted of slashers, has at least vaguely entertained the idea of striking it up with your favorite Syncer; between the one-night-stands of some imaginations and the epic romances of others, these boys are the subject of enough daydreams to inundate Hollywood with script material for the next thirty years. But there's just a certain shamelessness in bringing it to life yourself -- one that most serious writers wish to avoid.

So here is Sosumi's proposition to you: a Mary Sue fiction exchange. You fill out a form, with your name and statistics -- location, occupation, day-to-day life, favorite food, anything that might make you damn-near irresistible to a pop star (which, in the Mary Sue universe, is every little detail, you stunner, you!). Pick a boy. Pick two. Pick all of them. Choose the rating, from sugar to smut (see the rules for more details on what you do and don't have to write). Decide whether you want to live happily ever after or be out of the house before sunup.

Then the information is randomly shuffled and handed to all the registered writers. (You won't necessarily be writing for the person who's writing for you.) You will be given a character ­ a fellow writer ­ and a list of boys she's willing to play soulmate to. Armed with this information, you set out to make the Syncer in question the happiest man alive.

Sound interesting? Feel like seeing the daydream you've never told anyone come to life? Want an intriguing new female lead to write opposite one of the boys? Read the rules, and then sign up!