thefourthvine | Poll: Yuletide! Yay!

Man, I really wish I could do stuff like that, because it makes me so happy to read the fic that results from it. But I can't. Any kind of deadline abruptly makes my fun fandom writing seem like un-fun obligatory homework.

I can totally see that. It's also a tough time for anyone who is in school; I'm not sure I could've handled Yuletide + finals for some of my semesters of college.

Hmmm. I'm trying to think about why I love Yuletide so much, and it's actually - when I first signed up, I imagined the writing would be agony, but I didn't realize what the Yuletide gestalt would be like. Yuletide just makes me happy, I guess. Even if the writing is kind of terrifying. (OMG will my recipient like it? OMG can I even do this?)

(In truth, Panic is also part of my Yuletide process. As is Despair. There are times when I am quite, quite sure my recipient will hate my story. But then, for me, part of what's so great about Yuletide is that I have to push through and finish the story anyway, instead of giving up, which is what I'd normally do. You don't seem to have a finishing/posting dysfunction, so I can see why it'd be less tempting for you.)

*nods* Possibly, sometime in the future, I'll be ready to try a ficathon again, and I think Yuletide sounds like the most fun. (My one and only participation at a deadline ficathon was in Ocean's 11 fandom -- I finished my story, albeit a few days late, but the writing process was so stressfully unsatisfying that I haven't wanted to try again.)

Absolutely not while I'm in school, though; you're right about that. Maybe next year at South Pole, which is pretty much the textbook definition of "most low-stress environment possible, short of actually being dead." ;-)

Maybe next year at South Pole, which is pretty much the textbook definition of "most low-stress environment possible, short of actually being dead."

DO NOT SPEAK TO ME OF WORKING AT THE SOUTH POLE. IT MAKES ME SICK WITH ENVY.

(That said, though, Antarctica seems like the perfect place to start with Yuletide. You'll be bored, you won't have new TV canon - a perfect time to try writing something in a mutant old fandom! Although you'll have to be cautious about signing up for things, and maybe pack with Yuletide in mind, since you will have the textbook definition of "difficulty getting access to canon" for a lot of fandoms.

I am making a mental note to pester you about Yuletide next year. Although, I have to warn you - for me, anyway, sweating blood is part of the process.)

I haven't decided for sure if I'm participating this year. I'm actually freaking out a bit about whether or not to sign up and which fandoms to ask for and which to say I'd be willing to write. I mean, Homicide, yes. The others? I just don't know.

You could do Hard Core Logo for sure. And maybe, like, the Wire? Is that a rare fandom? You talk about it sometimes, so...

My point: I'm sure you could come up with something - you cannot seriously look at that list and tell me that out of 1500 fandoms you can't write three. And just think, if you do, that's potentially as many as two more Homicide stories. (And, okay, potentially zero more Homicide stories, but you can't tell me you don't have two other bitty fandoms you'd love to see stories for.) Right now, there are 4 Homicide requests and 9 Homicide volunteers, and you'd make 5 and 10!

*tempts*

Well, yes. I mean, technically. I do adore The Wire, even if the idea of writing in it intimidates me. And I do have a list that I've been winnowing down of possible requests/offers. And I probably will sign up. And then I'll be freaking out, big time, but it will probably be a good thing. Probably. And I probably will sign up.

*embraces you*

*cheers you on*

I know you can do it. I mean, yes, sure, freaking out, but that's just part of the Yuletide process. (But, oh - such sweet relief when you actually finish your story, and it is done, and OMG posted. It is magic.) And I will be freaking out, too; always nice to have company.

I'm not really a fic reader but I was wondering do you know of a group that does vid yuletide? I would join up for that!

I don't believe there is. It would be an interesting idea, though, apart from the fact that vidding can be a slooow process for some of us. By which I mean me.

I get what you're saying but we still have 2 months! If there isn't a group there isn't. :(

Hmm. But - perhaps for next year? Or maybe some other designated time?

I personally was thinking of arranging a vid feedback challenge, kinda like an advent callender of feedback, only distributed to different people. And perhaps with a key day, or a scaled back version, for people who don't want to participate fully. Like a national (fandomional?) day of vid feedback. But that's not quite the same thing.

That does sound like an excellent idea but not quite the same as what I had in mind...

*pops head in*

atlantis_vids was asking about doing an SGA one but, as far as I recall, the organisers asked about interest and then never even bothered to reply to comments so... who knows what's happening there. But it might be worth going as asking them about it if you're interested.

I think a vid yuletide would be really hard to organise because of the source footage issue. I mean, if you have a VAST DVD collection it might be ok, but small fandoms are hard to get hold of by torrenting because, well, the smaller the swarm the slower the torrent. I mean, I speak as someone who has been painstakingly torrenting source for a multifandom vid for frelling months, and Blake's 7 and Starsky & Hutch are not even really small fandoms! Just old ones!

So vidding is a pretty exclusive fannish activity anyway, but add in the need for source footage, quickly, and the restriction of small fandoms, and hosting issues, and the time limit, I think the pool of potential participants would be pretty small. But it would be *fun*...

Oh, it would be fun. They wouldn't have to be full 3 minute vids, after all. I could knock up a minute, minute-thirty vid in a weekend, so apart from organisy stuff it wouldn't be TOO much of a time comittment. And there'e DownTube and Podtube for footage too. Really CRAPPY footage but one can just work that into the vid. And Ubuntu Linux have released their open source editors now so vidding really IS more accessible... We'd need a site, though, and, dammit, a spreadsheet *weeps*.

I'll do a search through LJ for an existing community and just check there isn't one already. Get back to me if you want to do one. You'll have to be front-facing though - I don't know vidderland and it frightens and confuses me. *codes in the batcave, in the DARK :):):):)*

SGA is not one of my fandoms so that makes atlantis vids a non starter. I like the idea of vidding small fandoms and of course they wouldn't have to be full vids. Source might be a problem but I would have thought most people have a minority interest dvd somewhere in their collection. I think organising it would be a major headache. I was looking for something already up and running where my appalling organisational and interpersonal skills would not be apparent. I couldn't organise a piss up in a brewery!

I love Spooltide for a name though. :D

Ah *spreads hands* Oh well! :)

An yes, I'm with you. Well, I'm ok at organisation but I'm hopeless at people. I have a tendency to get frustrated and flail and shout things like "pathetic" and "trivial" and "ridiculous nonsense" . *g* None of which are very endearing or helpful words, really. *facepalm*

I think Spooltide is such an excellent idea. Have you considered maybe posting on

vidding to gauge interest? Or I'd be willing to post a poll on my LJ, since I don't think you can run a poll on

vidding itself, if you would help me haul vidders out of their dusty remote wildernesses to answer it. (I'd also post a link on

vidding, of course.)

And for source, you could probably do the requirements like this:

One fandom from a list (determined by poll) of Biggish Fandoms.
At least one small fandom that you own/can get the source for.
Only one small fandom that you can't get the source for.

(I assume you'd offer, like, three music requests for each source.)

Then the mods could act as a go-between. I mean, a YSI/sendspace upload is anonymous, if the link is sent to the mod to be forwarded to the vidder who needs it.

Or you could just allow people to email you with their source needs, and then post a (members-only) thread where people could provide links to uploaded source.

There are many ways it could work! And it would be so cool. I would volunteer to be an elf, if elves were needed, even though I know zip about vidding. (Although it'd be fairly small, so elves might not be needed.)

*excited about this*

I love, love the idea of spooltide and I think your suggestions are great but sadly I don't think I'm up to running it. Not this year anyway... maybe next?

If you want to do a poll to see if there is actual interest out there then go for it!

I think it's a wonderful idea, too, and Spooltide is a great name. I don't vid, but I'd elf for that.

Yes! I am also excited. And I think you can post polls to vidding, although perhaps it might be helpful to take advantage of your flist-y resources as well.

I totally agree about the options, because it would make things easier. We could ask people to sign up just to help with source, perhaps. And we could have a locked post/email service, depending on security levels, with links to episode sharing comms for more common source (like SGA or SNP or VM or whatever).

I believe it is possible to set up your webspace so other people can upload to it? I think? Anyway, I can look into it and then volunteer some hosting, so that it is more reliable. And it would be anonymous. I say this because I just signed up with Dreamhost and now have 2048 GB of bandwidth and 20300 MB of space, so. (I'm excited! You may have noticed.)

I could cover the hosting, if it ever happens. It does sound kinda cool, although I agree there would have to be some kind of restriction, or possibly 'you can request if you can deliver the source'. Although that would make it less secrete. Perhaps people could request it, and for obscure stuff mail source to third party volunteerers in their area, who could send it out... *head goes boom*

I can't spell. :( That should be secret & volunteers.

Well, people could participate as sourcers too, maybe. You could pair up a sourcer and a vidder. Like, I don't have a vast DVD collection but I do have an 8mb connection (and a hacker partner who writes me bots to crawl for torrents \o/), and there's always YouSendIt. And single episode vids would be perfectly acceptable, I think. So... maybe it would be a kind of Social? Spooltide: The Vidders Fling. Pair a vidder with a viewer somehow- they could collaborate as much or as little as they wanted - beta-ing...hmm.

I think the only way it would work would be to expand the pool of participants somehow. Maybe a buddy system *would* work - it'd be a great way to get more people into/involved in/included in vidding, actually - short vids, guaranteed audience, built-in-beta, a mix of experienced vidders and newbies... I could throw together a guide to free and open source vidding software no problem and the organisers would have to be open to doing some technical support but that's ok. I have long since come to terms with my duty as tech support for the world at large. *g*

Hmm. Yes. Maybe if we got people to make several requests, like Yuletide, but ask that at least one is for something well known/easy to get hold off, as a fallback if vidders can't get source/inspiration.

And I'm sure people would be interested in helping out even if they weren't vidding! Like arranging sorce, or betaing or whatever.

And there'd definetly be interest from newbies.

Spooltide is a fantastic name. :)

I would be willing to help organise it, but my vidding knowledge is only beginning to move into 'intermediate' from 'ok, I've opened the program! ...now what?' so I'd be of limited help there.

I offered further (vaguely incoherent) ideas for source connections in Spooltide here (http://thefourthvine.livejournal.com/64503.html?thread=2483447#t2483447). It's such a cool idea, and I think it would be totally possible next year.

Maybe even this year, especially if you made the deadline at the end of January. (It doesn't have to be on Christmas day just 'cause it's called Spooltide, right?)

Maybe a buddy system *would* work - it'd be a great way to get more people into/involved in/included in vidding, actually - short vids, guaranteed audience, built-in-beta, a mix of experienced vidders and newbies.

If you do this, I totally want to be a buddy. (Although your problem would likely be finding vidders, not buddies.) And I would also help with whatever stuff I could. Which is not much, admittedly.

I really like the idea of the buddy system.

*stumbles back into thread*

(I started thinking about what sort of resources we'd need and then I started thinking "why don't I have a resource page, and then I was totally writing a huge resource page for my vid site omg. *pants*)

hihihi! *g*

Right, gosh. OK. I have a pass/fail calculus exam at the end of January and so I'm not volunteering to run a vidding extravaganza then. However! I will totally do it next year, or possibly for another holiday thing, like Valentine's Day (Dinner and a Movie!) or Spring Equinox or May Day or...something! Maybe even this year for Twelfth Night if...wha..I dunno. Sorry. Am bozeyed.

I like the buddy/pairing idea. We should do that. It would be all friendly and yay.

Er, I mean to say, if *you* want to run it then I will help (I'll write a site etc) but I'm not leading it because omg exams.

Hmmm why am I not getting notified of lj messages?
Anyway! I still love this idea for next year or for Valentine's or for any other holiday but I don't know where I would begin running it. Like I said before, I am useless being an organiser. I will be up for helping out in any way I can but I can't be the one in charge. I just know I will be completely sucky at the job...

Maybe we should poke

thefourthvine and get her to make a poll to see if there is much interest generally?

PS. Also, we could call it Spooltide. I'll do almost anything for a bad pun. *g*

serenity_santa was/is a mono-fannish holiday exchange of wallpapers, icons, vids and fic. (the current mods are looking for new mods, it may or may not return this year).

It's the only "secret santa" project that I know of that included vids, although it is possible that there was a QAF(US) one too.

Vid Yuletide (many obscure fandoms) sounds ... complicated to organize. (I had a lot of difficulty matching up feedbacker's with vid fandoms once forr a fb challenge).

A mono-fannish or linked fandoms (e.g. jossverse) or otherwise strictly defined set of fandoms (SciFi? Movies only? New tv shows only?) might be do-able.

Of course, Yuletide used to encourage people to list every rare fandom they could think of. The switch to "suggest 6 fandoms: three to request, three to write" and limiting the suggestions to people who were actually going to participate should create a list or potential fandoms that is more easily matched.

I did find a spn santa and a veronica mars one but they didn't really seem geared towards vidders it was all fanfic.

Oh well maybe next year! I've got a ton of other stuff to be doing anyway.

I don't know of one, no - there are some single-fandom communities where vids can be part of the gift exchange, but that's about the closest I can think of. And that isn't really very close.

I tell you what, though; that would be excellent for next year, if you could find enough people who want to do it. (You'd have to start earlier, though. Like maybe September. And possibly allow vidlets.)

It's actually kind of sad that vidders don't have much in the way of holiday exchanges. Do artists? I know you make gorgeous icons and wallpapers and so on.

Hmmm. I've never really looked beyond story exchanges. Must ponder.

*ponders*

I am not really into the art side of fandom... I make the arts but I don't really get involved in the whole "community" deal. So, not sure what exchanges they have going on there.

Maybe a vid exchange will be be something to consider next year. *ponders*

If you do any kind of exchange, this year or next, please let me know. It's exciting! And I'd want to tell everyone about it! Unless you said not to!

If I do find something then I will let you know. :D

I don't know how I missed this thread. I really like this idea. Obviously, as already discussed, it would be a bit more difficult to organize. I would be willing to help out if there is interest in a vid exchange. Another idea for requesting might be to include large fandoms, but only for minor or under vidded characters. That way more vidders might already have the source they need. Just a thought.

As far as volunteering goes: I don't volunteer for *everything* I know canon for, but I also volunteer for stuff that I only have a passing familiarity with canon but would need to do further research to write, if it's potentially interesting enough to me! Last year I was strict with myself, and only volunteered for stuff I was pretty sure I'd really LIKE to write. (Which included "I Capture the Castle," one of my favorite books ever, which I wound up getting! I had to do a re-read, though, before I could tackle writing a story.)

*stares*

You...you wrote a story for I Capture the Castle? And I have not read this story? Curse you, Yuletide archive, for being gone for two months just when I discover this!

*shakes tiny fist at Great Yuletide Archive in the Sky*

I don't volunteer for *everything* I know canon for, but I also volunteer for stuff that I only have a passing familiarity with canon but would need to do further research to write, if it's potentially interesting enough to me! Last year I was strict with myself, and only volunteered for stuff I was pretty sure I'd really LIKE to write.

Interesting. Now I wish I'd also asked how people's strategies change from year to year. Like, I know that the first year, I just picked the first three on the list I knew the canon for and went back to bed. (I was sick, too sick to look through the list. Lesson learned: don't sign up for Yuletide with a fever. It worked out okay, sure, but...it could've been bad, is all I'm saying.)

Last year, I felt I was being intensely brave; I offered 22 fandoms, including one that I was willing to write any character for. This year, I offered 30, and half of those were any character fandoms. I consider this part of my overall Yuletide Growth. (Although I am of course terrified that it's going to bite me on the butt. What if I get something I can't write? Oh. Wait. That happened to me last year, and the year before, too.)

But now I want to know how other people change from year to year. Wah.

Huh. Although the archive is down, I think you can still read it here (http://www.yuletidetreasure.org/archive/18/traveldocuments.html).

Anyway, I think my strategy has matured a bit now that I've had multiple goes at the whole yuletide thing; I long to challenge myself, but I *don't* want to promise something that I can't quite deliver.

I'm being smarter about NOT offering things that a simple revisiting of source material would be insufficient for the *fandom*, if you get what I mean -- like, there's a difference between "nonexistent" and "established-but-rare" fandoms, and quite honestly I'd rather tackle the nonexistent fandoms than the ones that may have all sorts of fanon that I'm unfamiliar with.

I long to challenge myself, but I *don't* want to promise something that I can't quite deliver.

This is my terror. Last year, I was sure I'd done precisely that - I volunteered for Mr. and Mrs. Smith because it has that bantery, dialog-intensive style to it that I'm most comfortable writing.

And then my recipient wanted porn. And I totally wanted to give it to her, but I wasn't sure I could. It was very scary. (She liked it, though! Or she said she did, anyway.)

(Side note: the coolest thing that has ever happened to me, Yuletide-wise - last year, when I wrote my Dear Santa letter, the recipient from the year before commented on it to say how much she'd liked the story I wrote for her. I - I honestly almost tear up thinking about that even now, because I was so touched. The only thing I really, really want to do every year is make my recipient happy. And that's so hard to do, and you can never be sure you have. Except, if someone makes the effort to say thanks again a year later? You pretty much can be sure. It was the best thing ever, especially since I've never been very confident about the story I wrote for her; I was new to Yuletide that year, and I was really panicked, so hearing that was cool beyond measure.

Hmmm. Possibly I should let my writers from the last two years know I liked their stories again. *makes mental note*)

I'm being smarter about NOT offering things that a simple revisiting of source material would be insufficient for the *fandom*, if you get what I mean -- like, there's a difference between "nonexistent" and "established-but-rare" fandoms, and quite honestly I'd rather tackle the nonexistent fandoms than the ones that may have all sorts of fanon that I'm unfamiliar with.

Oooo! Smart. This is something I had in mind when I was picking fandoms, but I didn't quite articulate it; it was just kind of subconsciously there, that I'd prefer a nonexistent fandom to a rare one. (Only two of the ones I volunteered to write are rare, and I'm familiar with both of those fandoms, so the fanon, etc. won't be a problem.)

But I wasn't sure why I was veering away from the rare and new fandoms (as opposed to the nonexistent ones) until you made this comment.

*admires your sleek and shining mind*

And I totally wanted to give it to her, but I wasn't sure I could.

See? Yay, yuletide makes you stretch and WIN at it. I think most people feel that way when they get their assignments, I know I do.

And... honestly, it's not like I'm all about the getting, but the story I got last year makes me CRY EMO BUCKETS everytime I so much as think about how wonderful it is, and how personally for ME. It turns out it was written by a good friend whom I pimped into the fandom in the first place, but of course on release day I had no idea, I just knew that the universe loved me far more than I deserved, and I got the BEST STORY EVER.

(Also, my mind is nowhere near sleek and shining -- more like drunk and timid. But, hey! Looks like I can fake it.)

I think most people feel that way when they get their assignments, I know I do.

I hope - I mean, that sounds bad, but you know what I mean - that most people do, but every year I'm vaguely demoralized by the people who post, on assignment day, "OMG best assignment ever! I can so totally write this! Writing it RIGHT NOW!" I'm happy for them, of course, but at the same time I am sick with envy.

Of course, those people mostly are much better, more practiced, and more confident writers than I am, and usually they post more than a story a year, which really helps with the whole writing process, I think.

the story I got last year makes me CRY EMO BUCKETS everytime I so much as think about how wonderful it is, and how personally for ME.

The story you got last year is excellent beyond anything. I love it to bits, and I am still vaguely envious that it was written for you.

Also, my mind is nowhere near sleek and shining -- more like drunk and timid. But, hey! Looks like I can fake it.

Actually, your mind is a perverse and twisty maze filled chock full of mutant goodness. And I love it for that.

Except, if someone makes the effort to say thanks again a year later? You pretty much can be sure. It was the best thing ever,

That's why I always make a point to re-feedback if I re-read story (deliberately, as opposed to re-reading it merely because I didn't realize I had already read it until I was halfway through), because I figure that, "Yeah, you made cry. AGAIN." never really gets old, no matter how many times I say it. Indeed, I'll even resort to e-mail for that sort of feedback, whereas otherwise I tend to very rarely comment outside LJ.

Wow. I am impressed. I have a hard enough time sending feedback the once; twice is so far out of my league I can't even imagine it.

But that is an excellent and cool thing to do; writers must love you for it.

Just, wow. (Yes, it's worth two wows.) Sending feedback twice. If I did that for everything I re-read, feedback would become my full-time job, and I would so suck at it.

*awed*

I've played in holiday fic exchanges before, but I'm not playing this year. Last year was too hard with the job I've got. Still have that job, and I still haven't figured out how to balance work and writing. (which is just an excuse, really. I mean I've not been working for over two months now, and how much have I written? Two six word fics, thank you)

I'm still tempted by Yuletide. I've *always* wanted to play, but keep missing it.

Maybe next year.

Sounds like you're not quite up to making the committment, which is not a surprise; you've been going through quite a lot of changes (I'm trying to be, you know, vague, since this is not your LJ), and you never know from one week to the next how you'll be feeling or if you'll even be able to get out of the house. So, yeah, might not be the best time to embark on Yuletide.

I will say, though, that there is no perfect time. I was scared to death the first year I volunteered, and in fact had a Secret Pinch-Hitter lined up in case I couldn't write a story. (I am quite sure the mods would frown on Secret Pinch-Hitting, but I had to have some reassurance I wouldn't default in case of a water landing.)

I've *always* wanted to play, but keep missing it.

I don't want to push you to do something you're not ready to, but you still have 4 days to decide if you're ready this year. And if not, there'll always be next year, the Yuletide Mods willing and the internets don't die.

I'm in UR commentz, explaining my reasonz.

Bwahahaha. :D

I wish I could do Yuletide. I've even chosen not to sign up for fandom-specific exchange events this year, and I'm not doing NaNo, so I have the time, but... it's confusing! And a tad intimidating! I have trouble using Yuletide's search feature, let alone actually signing up for it. :(

Sounds like you're ready, in terms of planning your year-end obligations.

The sign up stuff looks daunting, but isn't, really; all you have to do is go here (http://yuletidetreasure.org/get_requested_fandoms.cgi), make a list of the stuff you want (up to four) and the stuff you're willing to write (at least three), and then go here (http://yuletidetreasure.org/signup_page1.cgi) and start filling in fields.

So, yeah, it is a bit intimidating - I was scared as hell (and, um, feverish) the first time I signed up - but it's worse than it looks. And if you have specific problems, there are the folks at

yuletide to help out. Or, you know, you could always ask me.

Don't be scared away by the menu with 1500 options. Really! Not so scary! *is supportive*

I signed up for a slender 16 fandoms this year, and I am quite proud of my restraint!

There are many, many reasons to love Yuletide. One is that I genuinely love the challenge combined with the joy f writing for someone else. The other is that you get so caught up in writing, you forget that you get OMG five hundred presents on Christmas morning! Eeeeee!

I signed up for a slender 16 fandoms this year, and I am quite proud of my restraint!

*applauds*

I signed up for 30 and am quite proud of my bravery. We'll see if that bites me on the butt in, oh, a week or so.

(But I am insanely proud of fandom as a whole. Have you seen how many gold and green fandoms are on that list? We have, collectively, volunteered our asses off. You name it, we've got someone who can write it, pretty much.)

One is that I genuinely love the challenge combined with the joy f writing for someone else.

That's it for me. Reason one is probably the excitement, but it's neck and neck with the challenge and joy of writing for my recipient. (The excitement wins only because I'm always afraid I'll fail my recipient.)

The other is that you get so caught up in writing, you forget that you get OMG five hundred presents on Christmas morning! Eeeeee!

I forget until the night before. And then, inevitably, I stay up all night, hitting refresh like a trained rat on crack until the archive goes live. It is magic.

Also, as a data point, I wrote in fandoms I didn't sign up for -- the first one,she'd asked for an incest pairing in the fandom I'd signed up for, and in the second, she wanted this one fandom SO badly that I figured I'd help her out.

Wow. You win at Yuletide graciousness. (And, yikes, incest pairing - that's one of my big fears. I try hard to adjust my sign-ups so that it can't happen, but with "any" it's always a risk. I figure in that case, I will have to accept that I'm going to disappoint my recipient a bit, and just write gen. *hand gestures of helplessness*)

I'm actually considering co-writing (with Best Beloved, believe it or not) a story for a certain rare fandom whether I get assigned to it or not, just because I happened upon the Santa letter of the person who requested the fandom last year, and she sounded so nice and she so wanted this one pairing. And didn't get it last year. If she doesn't get it this year, either, we're going to write it for her.

I volunteer for a) things I know the canon for well enough to write, and b) things I wouldn't mind getting to know the canon for well enought to write. I *don't* volunteer for: things I don't have access to canon for (like video games), things it would take to long to learn (like TV series I don't know yet) and thing I don't particularly want to live in for two months. And I, um, didn't count how many that turned out to be, but it was lots.

And I picked two seasonal challenges, but that's only if NaNo counts as one. :P

And I have a list of fandoms that I'm going to keep asking for until I get 'em, but every year one drops off the list, so by now there are a few that I'm willing to swap around.

I volunteer for a) things I know the canon for well enough to write, and b) things I wouldn't mind getting to know the canon for well enought to write.

Wow. So how well do you have to know the canon to sign up for it? Like, "Oh, I've read that and liked it - I'd have to read it again, but that's fine," or, "Oh, I know what that's about and I wouldn't mind reading it, so that's fine"?

(I'm awed by your courage, there. You sound ripe for the Extreme NYR challenge, invented by I-forget-who: when the random NYR script goes live, go to it, hit refresh three or four times, and that's your challenge. Learn canon as necessary and write a story.)

And I have a list of fandoms that I'm going to keep asking for until I get 'em, but every year one drops off the list, so by now there are a few that I'm willing to swap around.

Likewise. I have a mental list of fandoms I want, and although there is one guaranteed slot (until I get it, anyway - and I'm not expecting that to happen), the others can be swapped around pretty painlessly, especially since two have dropped off the list now.

Well, it depends on the fandom. Like, if I kind of know the canon, but have no strong feelngs about it, but I get the impression that there's people out there who know it *really* well and love it, I might give it a pass (Like, say, Dorothy L. Sayers.) On the other hand, if I see the name and go, "Wow, that book's in my to read pile, and I didn't know anybody else had even heard of it", I will almost certainly sign up (Like "Biting the Sun".)

Also if somebody did a really awesome story in a marginal fandom last year, I'm less likely to sign up for it this year and see my poor contribution look pitiful next to it. (Like, say, the Robot Series.)

Also if somebody did a really awesome story in a marginal fandom last year, I'm less likely to sign up for it this year and see my poor contribution look pitiful next to it. (Like, say, the Robot Series.)

*whimpers sadly*

Last year's story was indeed wonderful - Dorinda never fails to deliver awesomeness in job lots - but, but, as soon as I saw it, I was afraid.

*selfish mode ON*

Because, see, that's the one fandom I request every year no matter what. But the pairing I want is Powell/Donovan from the I, Robot short stories, and I think I'm the only person on earth who wants that. So I keep requesting it, and after last year, I was really afraid no one at all would even consider the Robot series, even though there is still a perfectly good pairing waiting to be written.

*pathetic mode OFF*

But the great part is, there's always next year. By next year, the aura of awesome will have worn off a bit. And in the meantime, I have three other equally wonderful requests in. I mean, wonderful to me. There's a small chance (okay, 98%) that whoever gets me will cry when she gets my list, because I think I came off as both manic and very much the bad kind of crazy in the details area, but stories in any of the four fandoms will make me SING WITH JOY, because I came up with the best fandoms ever this year.

*insanely excited mode ON*

I volunteered for any fandom where, even if I can't remember the names of the characters right off the top of my head, I have access to the complete canon and can reasonably expect myself to be able to binge, hum a few bars, and fake it.

Ditto. This is my program also.

I repeat what I said to Min, above: you are awe-inspiring, volunteering that way. I mean, you're kind of scary, too, but the prevailing emotion is definitely awe.

Well, you only have to write one of them, and for "have access to," I mean, "own," and I generally only own things I've read multiple times.

*thoughtful*

Okay. I'm willing to move you back to the Sane List.

But I will keep my eyes peeled for further evidence of crazy bravery.

(Although, you know, there were lots of fandoms I own - which means the same for me as for you - that I didn't sign up for. Like the Wimsey novels, for example - what are the odds I could actually write for that? In other words, a lot of the stuff I own I love so much I'd be afraid to sign up for it.)

Wow. I am profoundly impressed. Every year, I struggle to write a story with canon I already know very well; I can't even imagine learning a canon and writing a story in it between now and December 15.

You should totally do the Extreme NYR Challenge that someone-I-forget-who came up with last year: when the NYR random request script goes live, hit refresh on it three or four times and make that your challenge set. Learn canon as necessary to fulfill at least one of the requests.

*awed*

Site is back up yay!

Last year I offered two dozen fandoms; this year I offered only ten. This time I didn't offer any of the ones that I feel like I can write for without an excuse. (Last year I got a great assignment in a fandom I'd never written in, and I enjoyed that. I want to make sure I have something like that again.)

Last year I did three seasonal story exchanges; this year I'm only doing Yuletide. Partly it's because I have a long story in progress that I want to be able to concentrate on, and partly it's because I expect to be quite busy with other things during the next two months.

Site is back up yay!

Yay, indeed! I've been doing my regular reloading thing again, and I'm all agog because we're one person away from equaling 2004's participant total. Yowsers.

*unreasonably excited*

Last year I got a great assignment in a fandom I'd never written in, and I enjoyed that. I want to make sure I have something like that again.

That makes sense. That's pretty much my default experience for Yuletide; there's never any chance I'd write a story in any of the fandoms I volunteer in without Yuletide there to prod me. (But I've been lucky with my requests, too. So far. *crosses fingers*) But if you'd normally write at least some of the fandoms on there - which is much more likely, since you're actually productive when it comes to FF - it makes sense to tailor your sign-up so you're only writing something that will really feel like a Yuletide story (as opposed to just a story written at the end of the year).

Partly it's because I have a long story in progress that I want to be able to concentrate on, and partly it's because I expect to be quite busy with other things during the next two months.

Ooo. Am I allowed to ask the fandom of the long story? (I'm assuming dS, which is always exciting, but it could be something else, too, and I want to know what I'm awaiting.)

And, yeah. I've only ever done Yuletide, even though so many of the other challenges look tempting, because I figure no matter how crazy RL gets - and last year at this time RL was, quite frankly, both crazy and deeply horrible - I'll be able to carve out the time for one story. (Unless I'm, you know, unconscious somewhere or something, in which case a pinch hit is pretty much inevitable.) But more than one seems dicey.

I'm all agog because we're one person away from equaling 2004's participant total.

And we have smashed that barrier! Woo!

You're exactly right about why I'm limiting my fandoms to unusual ones. That's why I chose not to offer Wilby Wonderful, Hard Core Logo, or Canadian RPF - I have written in them before, can do those anytime, and know that I have a readership. (But I'm looking forward to seeing any stories written in those small fandoms.) On the other hand, I'm offering another related fandom, just because I haven't written it (other than a few drabbles the other day) and because it's genuinely even smaller than those. I was tempted by Heroes, another fandom I've only d(r)abbled in, but I can see that it's going to be a big fandom, and I want to keep to the genuinely tiny ones, not just the tiny-because-just-beginning. There is one other fandom I'm offering that I've written in before, but I haven't done so in a long time and I feel I need the jumpstart to write in it.

Most of what I'm offering are things that I have (or can get) the source, but I had never thought fannishly about before. And then I looked at the fandom list and thought, "oh, cool! That might be fun!"

Last year I wrote a Northern Exposure story that rekindled my love for the show and its characters. (And the recipient apparently liked it too, because she made artwork for it!) This year, I'm not offering it again - but I'm requesting it!

I'm only offering to write in one of the fandoms I'm requesting a story in - and that's a 'fandom' that as far as I know has zero fanfiction! But what's really cool is that one other person has requested it, so maybe we'll get lucky this year.

Ooo. Am I allowed to ask the fandom of the long story? (I'm assuming dS, which is always exciting, but it could be something else, too, and I want to know what I'm awaiting.)

Aw, how kind of you to ask - I didn't think my writing was on your radar screen. Yes, it's dS, it's a sort of genderfuck bodyswap thing (Hi! I have an oeuvre!) and it's currently just over 22,000 words and something like 2/3 done. I hope.

Which, tangentially in a ps, do you still use your other lj at all? I originally friended it rather than this one because of complex reasons having to do with preferring to avoid rec journals (yet being interested in what you have to say otherwise) but then you haven't posted there in over a month, and you're posting interesting meta over here more frequently, and oh! the dilemma!

And we have smashed that barrier! Woo!

And how. We're at 629 as of my last compulsive reload. Yow.

I feel like I should send flowers to the Yuletide mods or something. I mean, I'm excited, sure, but I don't have to wrangle 630 participants.

I was tempted by Heroes, another fandom I've only d(r)abbled in, but I can see that it's going to be a big fandom, and I want to keep to the genuinely tiny ones, not just the tiny-because-just-beginning.

I know. Looking at Heroes' stats on the fandoms list, I realized that I really need to get Best Beloved some downloads of the episodes, because there could be a real fandom there before long, and it sounds like just my sort of thing.

Most of what I'm offering are things that I have (or can get) the source, but I had never thought fannishly about before. And then I looked at the fandom list and thought, "oh, cool! That might be fun!"

Pretty much exactly my strategy, except I also subtract anything that makes me think, "Oh, cool! That might be fun!" and then, "But OMG it could be very scary, too."

I am not a brave Yuletider. Or, okay, I am, but my bravery consists of signing up at all.

And the recipient apparently liked it too, because she made artwork for it!

That is the best Yuletide response ever. Whoever she was, I love your recipient from last year.

But what's really cool is that one other person has requested it, so maybe we'll get lucky this year.

*eyes you*

Now I am intensely curious. I am so asking you what that fandom was after this is all over.

(Actually, I'm kidding myself. I have a hard time remembering what day it is; remembering that for two months is really unlikely.)

Yes, it's dS, it's a sort of genderfuck bodyswap thing (Hi! I have an oeuvre!) and it's currently just over 22,000 words and something like 2/3 done.

Hi! I LOVE YOUR OEUVRE TO PIECES! And, um, is it done yet?

How 'bout now?

How 'bout now?

Okay, seriously, I will stop my imitiation of a small child on an interstate car trip, but - I cannot wait. Just the words "dS genderfuck bodyswap" make my heart sing. Although I maintain that that's true of pretty much anyone. I mean, show me someone who isn't excited by dS genderfuck bodyswap, and I will show you a person who is missing out.

Which, tangentially in a ps, do you still use your other lj at all? I originally friended it rather than this one because of complex reasons having to do with preferring to avoid rec journals (yet being interested in what you have to say otherwise) but then you haven't posted there in over a month, and you're posting interesting meta over here more frequently, and oh! the dilemma!

At this point, I would totally merge the two LJs - the original reason for having two was secrecy, which it turns out I totally suck at. I would much rather have everyone in the world know I write mediocre FF than have to log out and log back in to answer comments. But it's not easy to see how to merge them, especially when I'm sometimes posting RL rants and suchlike; those things really don't fit here.

So. I can't help you, exactly, except to say:

Recs + Meta + FF rants + all polls (since I can't do those anywhere but here) =

thefourthvine
My own FF + RL rants + the very occasional meme + random crap =

littera_abactor

Um. Does that help?

Basically, I see TFV as my real LJ. LA is my satellite LJ, for the stuff I don't feel comfortable posting here, for whatever reason. As I grow more comfortable posting stuff here, less stuff goes over there, although stories and memes will always go there. But I have to warn you: the primary content of this LJ will probably always be recs, so if you want to avoid them, maybe LA would be the better fit for you.

So I guess the short answer is: I don't know. I mean, if I understood my own posting strategy and boundaries and hang ups and so on, I wouldn't have to have LJs all over the place. *hand waving gestures of helplessness*

I volunteered for every fandom where I own the canon (after last year's mad dash to get a DVD!) and feel fairly confident that I could write something in that style. This got rid of a lot of witty comedy! Some of the canon I didn't know by heart, but I'd re-read or re-watch before writing anyway.

So excited!

I volunteered for every fandom where I own the canon (after last year's mad dash to get a DVD!) and feel fairly confident that I could write something in that style.

Yes. Owning the canon is key for me as well. Last year, I wrote a Mr. and Mrs. Smith story, and the movie didn't come out on DVD until the end of November. I spent quite some time biting my fingernails waiting for it to arrive so I could get started writing.

This got rid of a lot of witty comedy!

I tend to be very heavy on the banter-intensive, dialog-heavy canons, since my natural writing style is, well, rather banter-intensive and dialog-heavy.

So excited!

I know! Eeee!

And, wow, cool: we just surpassed 2004's record number of participants! We have 539 right at this moment! *bounces with glee*

That's my rule too. Even if I haven't seen/read the material in a few years, if I own it (and can locate it!), I signed up for it. The ones I'm praying for are beloved favorites that I haven't seen/read in a while and want the excuse to do so again.

That said, I didn't sign up for a fandom if a previous Yuletide story knocked my socks off. If you can count on your fingers the number of Ferris Bueller fics out there, why would anyone want to compete with "Skip"? I figure one of the benefits to Yuletide is that you can help define a non-existent fandom; if I'm going to do that, I don't want my story looking pathetic in comparison to somebody else's masterpiece.

I accidentally signed up twice a couple of years ago, but it turned out okay, I finished both stories.

And I tend to choose fandoms that I think I can write AND that I want to write--I usually knock out ones I've already written, because my attention span is THAT short.

And I tend to choose fandoms that I think I can write AND that I want to write--I usually knock out ones I've already written, because my attention span is THAT short.

*nods*

I usually don't re-volunteer for fandoms I've already written, but this year I had a sudden uncontrollable attack of story ideas while I was making my sign-up list. I ended up signing up for several fandoms I normally wouldn't have.

(And, damn. It occurs to me that I should've asked about re-volunteering as well as re-requesting. Ah, well. No poll can cover all the bases.)

I want to do yuletide, but I have my nano *g* See icon. That's my plot, pretty much.

plus ds_seekritsanta. And invunikdotcom challenge. I still have fics to write for getfraserlaid (...I'm writing them, I swear), and I think I promised two people fics in some ficexchange in a journal that started with an A. and that is all i remember, so I may be screwed there.

So, um, I think it would be STUPID for me to sign up for yuletide. I keep almost doing it though. *facepalm*

*looks at your icon*

*giggles*

plus ds_seekritsanta. And invunikdotcom challenge. I still have fics to write for getfraserlaid (...I'm writing them, I swear), and I think I promised two people fics in some ficexchange in a journal that started with an A. and that is all i remember, so I may be screwed there.

Wow. I'm awed by people who can do more than one challenge at a time. And you've got this whole added layer of difficulty because of the Hunt for the LJ Starting with A. (I assume you've already asked your friends list? Because if so, I will be sad; it will be a refutation of the Friends List Knows Everything principle of LJdom, and I like that principle. A lot.)

If I had your challenge load, I wouldn't be able to sign up for Yuletide; I'd be too busy whimpering and rocking in a corner somewhere. (Of course, this is why I only do the one: I am, yes, rather limited in my ability to handle challenges, but I do know what my limits are. Mostly. That's a good thing, right?)

*impressed with your Menu o' Challenges*

I look at it wistfully (oh, how I would love some fic for my tiny fandoms!) but as I have only just begun to feel capable of writing things, I don't think I am particularly dependable and so have refrained from committing myself. I did however sign up to pinch hit, as that way I figure I can know if I feel up to writing for a prompt before I commit to it. Still! I am excited by the whole thing, even if I don't wind up writting anything. And I may write something as a NYR.

Well, if it's any encouragement - the first year I signed up, I had written, I believe, two stories. Total. I didn't feel capable of writing things at all. But I so wanted to do it - I mean, I love small fandoms, so Yuletide is kind of my holy grail. And Best Beloved and several friends were very supportive, and so I did it, although I was still mostly convinced I was insane.

But! I wrote a story! And my recipient seemed to like it, even!

So it can work out. I'm not saying you should push yourself beyond your comfort zone, of course (although that's kind of what Yuletide is about, but that's a whole different story), and it is really scary when someone else's request - their Yuletide request - is relying on your writing ability. But I think you'll do fine. And pinch hitting is a perfect way to get a feel for the challenge. (Advice for pinch-hitting: stay on top of your fannish email address and commit fast. Last year, pinch hits seemed to get snapped up in, like, seconds.)

I think I might sign in to msn and get email notifications that way. I'm not sure if living in a seperate time zone is an advantage or not...

Ah. Right. With typical Amero-centrism, I never even considered that factor.

Hmmm. Looking at the emails from last year (ah, Gmail, where it's more trouble than it's worth to delete *anything*), Ellen seemed to send the notices out mostly in the daytime - but all over the map, from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m or so, her time, which is -5. Melbourne, where I think you are, is +10.So I guess you should check your email before you go to bed and when you wake up in the morning?

In any case, the big flurry of pinch hit requests comes right after the due date (the day after, last year), because that's when the non-notifying defaulters become obvious, so it'd be a good idea to check pretty often then.

Hmm. Well, probability probably is on your side re people being from America, although I find the issue of location in fandom interesting (it's global! but not global!).

*hugs you* That is awesome, thanks! I am indeed in Melbourne! (Lovely city!) And it pains me to admit I already do that (I went though a period of time when my incentive for getting out of bed in the morning was to check my email, but that was getting a bit scary so now I have breakfast first. See! I am balanced!)

And yes, I shall stalk my email then. (My god, there are squillions of pinch hitters! It is heart warming, except for how it will be a bloodbath.)

And! Very exciting! I had thought that Matthew Reilly's Scarecrow series was a fandom (or at least a ~~good writing~~ slash fandom) of 2! So even though I got

delurker to request it for us, I was not expecting much! But *someone has volunteered to write it!* Eeeeeee! It has turned green! *bounces* I'm not sure what's more exciting - that there might be a story in it (a story! a real story in my tiny tiny fandom!) or that *someone else is a fan*! There is no bad here!

The only slightly sad thing is that now that Yuletide is off google to discourage spam, it is not the first thing that appears when you google yuletide, which always gave me a warm glow. Because I liked the idea of people looking for christmas traditions and finding one of ours.

*reads post* *waves at icon weakly*

I love yuletide so much. It's one of the best things about this season, for me.

The proper answer to What is the single biggest reason you do Yuletide? is probably "peer pressure," but the excitement really does play a big part!

Also I really am hoping I don't end up writing for someone I know in either yuletide or dwnoga -- I got

astolat two years ago and

merryish the year before that, and while I'm all about making my friends happy, the lying and dodging really goes against my essentially honest and forthright personality...

I love yuletide so much. It's one of the best things about this season, for me.

Yes, totally. Yuletide basically is the magic of the season for me.

The proper answer to What is the single biggest reason you do Yuletide? is probably "peer pressure," but the excitement really does play a big part!

It stands to reason that your peers would want to suck you into Yuletide. I heartily salute them, and support them in their pressuring endeavor. I would sign a petition for this, even, so it's just as well you're prepared to go quietly.

Also I really am hoping I don't end up writing for someone I know in either yuletide or dwnoga -- I got astolat two years ago and merryish the year before that, and while I'm all about making my friends happy, the lying and dodging really goes against my essentially honest and forthright personality.

Yikes.

makesmewannadie and I actually coordinated requests one year, just to make sure we wouldn't get each other, because it would be hard to hide your request from someone who is, for example, usually one of your beta-readers. I would probably end up letting it slip no matter how much I tried not to. And that would suck.

*joins you in hoping for a recipient who is a stranger*

*grins* True story: I wrote a few thousand words of a fake-out story with a different pairing to distract Merry with while I was writing her actual story. Then I strategically left town and went offline until the reveals. But I would prefer not to have to do it again, you know?

That is the best exchange story ever. Oh, god, I love it so. The true spirit of holiday exchanges is writing a fake story and then leaving town so as not to ruin the surprise.

...But now I'm curious. Did you ever finish the other story?

No, I never did -- I ran out of steam, and now it just sits all forlorn in the popslash corner of my WIP folder, being severely dated in its canon references, poor thing.

You know, I never considered how, with RPF, the whole overtaken-by-canon-events thing would go to a whole new level. I mean, it's a lot easier to say, "c. season two" and have people mentally hit skip until they're back before ascension and so on, than it is to say, "c. 2002" and have people mentally erase the intervening years of blind items and interviews and CDs and massive fanon speculation and so on.

Or, hmmm. That could just be the way it looks to an outsider. Perhaps someone in RPF could easily say, "Ah! Set in 2002, before-" and, wow. I fail at even being up on what was happening in 2002, RPF-wise.

But possibly my point is clear anyway. (Or quite possibly it is not, but I don't think clarity is going to be my deal today, so it's as good as it's gonna get.)

I think it depends on the fandom -- I don't know much outside of popslash, but actually, yes, you can say "Germany era!" or "NSA tour!" just like you could say "season three!" or "AU post-episode whatsit!" in another fandom. But for me, at least, that works better if you know at the point of writing that you're taking a left turn from canon, and have a specific reason for choosing that point in time.

But I suppose I could always revamp it and make all the references current, project it into a new hypothetical near-future, the way it was supposed to take place in a hypothetical near-future back then that has now been severely jossed by life. *g*

Reason? aLL teh kewl kidz R there!

(Side note: my hat icon joins me in saluting the excellent hats in your icon.)

Reason? aLL teh kewl kidz R there!

That aspect kind of terrifies me, actually - I mean, hanging with the cool kids is scary. But I would feel insanely left out if I didn't do Yuletide, all writhing in envy as other people got their assignments and started their OMG Yuletide posts. I would probably whine and stuff, and it wouldn't be pretty. Better just to hang out with the scary cool kids and hope they don't notice me.

*sidles over to the other end of the gym*

That aspect kind of terrifies me, actually

Oh, me too! I live in dread of getting a recipient of whom I am in awe and knowing from word one that nothing I write could possibly be close to good enough.

But stay home and babysit and not even go? Uh, no.

P.S. From my side of the gym, you are one of the cool kids! :)

(my only other hat icon, but it seems to fit well)

(And here is my crown icon. The parade of iconified headgear continues!)

Oh, me too! I live in dread of getting a recipient of whom I am in awe and knowing from word one that nothing I write could possibly be close to good enough.

Oh my god yes so much.

The first year we did it,

makesmewannadie got

daegaer. In one of the fandoms daegaer is famous for, no less. I was so so so glad not to be her. (To her credit, MMWD was not fussed, and wrote a great story. But - OMG! Daegaer! In Hitchhiker's Guide! I was all faint with horror on MMWD's behalf.)

And I remember last year, right after assignments went out, one of the people on my friends list posting with just the words, "Oh, Lord, I am not worthy."

*shivers*

But stay home and babysit and not even go? Uh, no.

Precisely!

From my side of the gym, you are one of the cool kids!

Thank you! Although, um. Given that earlier today, while answering comments on another post, I got so over-excited that I dropped a piece of celery dipped in ranch dressing into my bra, I'm not sure I can qualify as even on the same continent as cool. But I am more than willing to fake it.

*preens, or whatever it is that cool people do*

Can I just say how completely boggled I am by all these people who offer every fandom that they're familiar with, or at least that they like, and are totally confident that they will be able to come up with inspiration and write a story for any of them? And it's not like they're delusional; they are able to come up with inspiration and write a story! It just gasts my flabber every time. I'm almost at the point where I only want to offer fandoms that I already have story ideas in, for fear that I won't be able to come up with anything. (Yes, people give prompts sometimes, but last year I panicked and couldn't think of anything to do with the prompt that wouldn't have taken at least 15,000 words and six months to write.) Flexible people, I salute you! HowTF do you do it?

::goes with icon appropriate to the season we're in, and completely inappropriate to the season we're discussing. clearly, I need pumpkins with Santa hats::

Can I just say how completely boggled I am by all these people who offer every fandom that they're familiar with, or at least that they like, and are totally confident that they will be able to come up with inspiration and write a story for any of them? And it's not like they're delusional; they are able to come up with inspiration and write a story!

I know. They impress the hell out of me, too. I'm always terrified that I'll be unable to write my request, and I surely don't offer every fandom I know.

*equal parts awed and envious*

clearly, I need pumpkins with Santa hats::

Or a Nightmare Before Christmas icon. That would bridge the seasons nicely.

Speaking as one of those people: I suffer from an *excess* of inspiration. It's really a nice change to get a yuletide prompt where I have a chance to write a story in a fandom that I *don't* already have dozens and dozens of backlogged ideas in. I'm constantly telling myself 'No, stop thinking up new fic ideas! You have too many already!' And with a new yuletide fandom I have an excuse to sit down and spend an evening thinking up new ideas without feeling guilty about all the ones I haven't written yet!

A few elucidations:

- I don't specifically set out to ask for a new batch of fandoms every year -- it just kind of happens, as my fannish interests shift. One of my four requests was the same as last year: same fandom, same characters, slightly different detailed request.

- I spend the entire year figuring out what I'm going to ask for when Yuletide comes around. I think this year is the first year that I requested exactly what I'd been planning to request.

- I have a sort of complicated algorithm for figuring out what to offer. I offer fandoms when I know the canon; when I could comfortably write genfic about any of the major characters; when none of the most plausible/fannishly probable pairings horrify me; and (most importantly) when, at the time of signup, I feel like writing something in the fandom. This still resulted in 30 fandoms offered this year, mostly because my motto can be described as, "Write what you know, and I know a crapload of embarrassing teen movies, reality shows, and pay cable dramas."

- New features on the website mean new sources of squee. When I saw that certain fandoms had more than one requester and more than one offerer, there was chair-bouncing and squealing.

I don't specifically set out to ask for a new batch of fandoms every year -- it just kind of happens, as my fannish interests shift. One of my four requests was the same as last year: same fandom, same characters, slightly different detailed request.

Interesting. My requests mostly stay the same, because most of my requests are from canons I've loved for a very long time, and my love for them (and my complete inability to understand why other people don't love them OMG) doesn't change from year to year, even though my other fannish interests do. It's just a question of putting down the one I always do, then picking three others from the larger list of Yuletide wants that I keep in my head.

I do sometimes add to the larger list, though.

I spend the entire year figuring out what I'm going to ask for when Yuletide comes around.

Ha! I had a question about that on the poll, but I cut it, for reasons of not inducing total exhaustion in poll-takers. Because I keep a list all year, adding and subtracting and considering, and sometimes turning to Best Beloved and saying, "Yuletide fandom! Remind me!" And I know MMWD has known what she would request for Yuletide this year since Jan 2. So I was wondering how other people worked it.

Oddly, I assumed that people whose requests were all new each year were less likely to keep a list. I'm not sure why I assumed that, now.

I offer fandoms when I know the canon; when I could comfortably write genfic about any of the major characters; when none of the most plausible/fannishly probable pairings horrify me; and (most importantly) when, at the time of signup, I feel like writing something in the fandom.

This is remarkably similar to my own algorithm (which, coincidentally, also resulted in me offering precisely 30 fandoms this year). I do try to eliminate fandoms where I'm not comfortable with the likely pairings, but sometimes I have a hard time figuring out what the pairings might be.

When I saw that certain fandoms had more than one requester and more than one offerer, there was chair-bouncing and squealing.

Oh my god, I know. Although for Certain Fandoms, I wanted to be able to, like, get the names of all the people who offered to write them, and then promise them my first born or something if they'd just please write a story now OMG.

It's remarkably cool, though, being able to see for sure what's been requested, and how many people have requested and volunteered for each one. I am in love with the new site features.

*goes back to refresh the fandom list again*

This will be my third year of Yuletide and I can't ever see myself not participating. It and Remix Redux are the challenges I look forward to most. I have always been extremely pleased with the stories I wrote, especially last year when I wrote a pinch hit for Seinfeld. It was something I never would have chosen on my own because the chances of failing to nail the tone just right are so high, but once I committed to it, I just put on some DVDs (I had gotten season one for Christmas the year before, so I didn't have to scramble for them) and sat down and wrote it and it ended up being a real hit with the recipient and the few others who were willing to give it a try. The comments all said how it felt just like an episode of the show, which is pretty much the highest praise I can think of.

Last year I did four challenges (five fics, because of the aforementioned pinch hit), but this year I dropped the Star Wars and LotRiPS ones and am just doing Yuletide and Harry Potter, though I did volunteer to pinch hit for the LotRiPS one and signed up for the Yuletide pinch hit list, too.

For requesting, the first slots go to films or books I've read during the year and felt needed fic. If there's one or more empty slots left, they go to stuff I requested and no one wrote last year. I made sure to make LJ posts and tag them when I was reading books and had ideas, so I could remember them when Yuletide came around. This year it was Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell, His Dark Materials, and Everything Is Illuminated. The fourth slot went to I ♥ Huckabees, which I requested last year and no one took up, and for which I know of only three fics, two of which are by me.

For volunteering, I pretty much choose everything I am familiar enough with to write. I chose 28 fandoms this time, 12 of which I specified characters or pairings for. There were a couple others which I felt I could write, but I didn't really see fic possibilities in them myself, so I didn't check them, but I think there were only two or three like that. I did indeed volunteer to write all the fandoms I requested, and to be honest, I'd be happier if I got to write them than to read them. They're all fic ideas I'd write on my own eventually, but something like Yuletide would spur me on to do so.

The main reason I do Yuletide is to write cool fic in small fandoms and actually have a chance of it getting read. I also love writing something that the recipient really, really loves. I wouldn't mind at all if I didn't get any fic in exchange.

Wow! You wrote the Seinfeld story last year? Best Beloved loves that one. (I haven't read it. Apparently you'd need to know the canon to get it, and I don't even know what the canon is about, so I haven't looked at it even enough to know who the writer was.)

For requesting, the first slots go to films or books I've read during the year and felt needed fic.

Oh, interesting - it's cool to see how you decided to request what you requested. I do almost the reverse of what you do; I tend to volunteer to write canons I've recently encountered that I think need stories, but for requesting, the new canons have to queue up behind the ones I've loved forever and wanted FF for basically since I got into fandom. First come, first served is apparently my brain's policy on Yuletide fandoms.

There were a couple others which I felt I could write, but I didn't really see fic possibilities in them myself, so I didn't check them

*nods*

I had that problem with a few canons, too. Some canons are just very, very closed; there's not a lot of room to work stories in around the cracks. So there were a few fandoms I stared at for several long minutes and then deleted from my sign-up spreadsheet on the grounds of total inability to even imagine a story in them.

I wouldn't mind at all if I didn't get any fic in exchange.

Me neither. I mean, I love getting a story, and it is amazingly joy-inducing to have stories in some of my favorite tiny or non-existent fandoms, but it's a lagniappe, almost - the excitement and writing are the big deals.

Of course, it's a really great lagniappe, so I'm very happy I do get a story. But I would still gladly do Yuletide if I didn't get one.

Wow! You wrote the Seinfeld story last year? Best Beloved loves that one. (I haven't read it. Apparently you'd need to know the canon to get it, and I don't even know what the canon is about, so I haven't looked at it even enough to know who the writer was.)

Eeee! You have officially just made my day. :D Wow, I don't know that I've ever had anyone say "omg, you wrote X?". It's very exciting!

And yeah, I think to fully appreciate it, you'd have to be familiar with the characters. It might be somewhat funny even without that, but I think a lot of the fun of it is that I did manage to make it feel like it could be an episode of the show (certainly the situation is one I'm amazed never happened in canon).

So there were a few fandoms I stared at for several long minutes and then deleted from my sign-up spreadsheet on the grounds of total inability to even imagine a story in them.

Yeah, and there were also a few where I could see what would be requested, but am utterly unable to see it in canon myself, so didn't think I could write it convincingly.

Eeee! You have officially just made my day.

Yay! You made Best Beloved's day, too, with that story; I got the whole thing explained to me, with much helpful backstory about the Seinfeld characters and the canon, and all I can say is: Seinfeld is complicated. But apparently the story was just right for the canon and a perfect fit with the canon's style, and that is really tough to do, so I congratulate you.

Yeah, and there were also a few where I could see what would be requested, but am utterly unable to see it in canon myself, so didn't think I could write it convincingly.

I'm never sure what might be requested. I know what I would want from a given fandom, but I'm very aware it's not the same thing. Like, I took one fandom off my volunteer list because - okay. It's a funny YA series about a family, and I would love to write something for it. But then I realized: the recipient might not want gen. And since every potential pairing would be incest, and I can't write incest, I took it off.

OMG. I just thought of one pairing in that fandom that wouldn't be incest. And it would destroy my childhood, and yet it would be so awesome I might have to request it next year.

*inexplicably fascinated*

If you're thinking of what I'm thinking of...omg! I signed up for that fandom and now I'm wondering if I'll have to write some incest. Oh boy.

Hmm, I haven't played the last two years, but I've seen three mentions on f-list this week of the Yuletide sign up, and It's Worn Me Down. (So, basically it's your fault.)

I've chosen a few less obscure fandoms I already know I can play in, and some very obscure fandoms that I just happen to have read/watched - now, let the roulette wheel spin.

So, basically it's your fault.

I am very proud.

now, let the roulette wheel spin.

I'm in the bouncing up and down OMG roulette wheel spin NOW phase. I want my assignment so I can start taking long walks and hashing out a plot!

*impatient*

ok ok you convinced me! *arm twisted behind back* now i have to wait for them to add the fandoms that i want to request that aren't on the list yet. *grumble* always have to be different/cause trouble */grumble*

Oh, whoops! Sorry - I didn't mean to be confusing. Fandom nominations are closed now (they were last week), so you're limited to just the fandoms that are already on the list. But there's almost 1500 of them, so that's a lot to choose from! (And you can always nominate the fandoms that aren't on there next year; if you friend the comm, you'll see when they start gearing up.)

ahha

Oh, God,

yuletide, I've been vacillating about joining or not. >_<; I mean, I saw the list of unfulfilled requests las year and I wept for the fandoms I loved that weren't picked, and it was terrible. >_<;

OH GOD VAGRANT STORY....*facepalms*
Tempted, so god darned tempted.

*nods*

This is what Yuletide is for: it tempts you. Just think - you could make the difference between a new Vagrant Story story (that phrasing sounds weird, but you know what I mean) and no new one.

*joins Yuletide in being tempting*

*jumps up and down*

I'm so glad the site is back up! The new shiny colored list is the best thing ever.

*refreshes AGAIN*

And I know what you mean about the phases. First there's the wibbling and the writing down and erasing of fandoms. Then there's the waiting for the assignment. Then the getting of the assignment and cries of "OMG what was I thinking?

So far, my favorite/most terrifying Yuletide experience is when I wrote a pinch hit in one day, frantic beta'ing included. Whew.

The new shiny colored list is the best thing ever.

I know. I secretly fear I crashed it because I could not stop reloading.

First there's the wibbling and the writing down and erasing of fandoms. Then there's the waiting for the assignment. Then the getting of the assignment and cries of "OMG what was I thinking?

Forget not the other phases, including:

Despair of Ever Writing Anything (Before the Deadline, Anyway)
Whining to Your Friends About How Your Write Is Done Broke and You Got Four Hundred Children and a Crop in the Field
Getting Stuck in the Middle and Wanting to Die
Sending the Story off to Beta and Suddenly Wanting to Live Again
Having the Story Finished Thank You God
Waiting So Impatiently for Christmas
Using up a Full Year's Allottment of Squee and Capital Letters on Christmas Morning

(I'm getting a head start on the capital letter abuse.)

So far, my favorite/most terrifying Yuletide experience is when I wrote a pinch hit in one day, frantic beta'ing included. Whew.

*stares at you*

Clearly, you are not a mere mortal. (And your beta isn't, either.) Wow.

I secretly fear I crashed it because I could not stop reloading.

Dude. Neither could I. If we crashed it, it's because 500 fans were hitting the refresh button like so many trained monkeys. *pause to hit refresh again*

I love your phases. For me there's also one that goes "Oh, there's still tons of ti-- wait. There's only one week left? Aaaaaaahh!"

Clearly, you are not a mere mortal. (And your beta isn't, either.) Wow.

Aw! Well, see, it was an absolute deadline, or I'd have begged for an extension - but I was leaving for an Xmas holiday the next morning, so, no. And also, the request was Hercules (I can see you going "Of course it was"), and for

ltlj. So I had to, because no way was she not getting a Yuletide story. I think at least three people beta'ed it, and that really helped.

If we crashed it, it's because 500 fans were hitting the refresh button like so many trained monkeys.

And now there are even more of us to hit reload! 631 OMG!

For me there's also one that goes "Oh, there's still tons of ti-- wait. There's only one week left? Aaaaaaahh!"

Last year I added a special Pitiful Post of Entire Rough Draft Plus Much Pathos to Extremely Limited Filter of Just Betas phase. I was trying to write porn, and there's a very good reason why I don't do that. (I, um. Can't, basically. Yes, this makes Yuletide a special challenge for me.) And I remember saying to the people on the betas filter something like, "Oh, god, I've written anti-porn. I've written porn that you could read at a funeral."

And they cheered me up and fixed the porn, and I moved on to the Triumphant Posting of Story phase. But, you know, I re-read the story for the first time since I posted it, and - the porn still reads like anti-porn to me, like the very definition of not at all hot. And yet the commenters almost all said it was hot. So I can't help wondering if this is just me, or if all writers find their own explicit stuff exceedingly dull.

I tell you what, though: either way, porn betas are worth their weight in iridium.

And also, the request was Hercules (I can see you going "Of course it was"), and for ltlj.

Those were my precise words. So, did you request Hercules this year? Or just sign up to write it? I take a special interest in it, of course, and I've been wondering if you're the one red or one of the 12 golds or both. (You and your One True Fandom are the cutest couple ever, by the way. At least 10% of my love of Hercules comes from your love of it, because you love it so much it's contagious.)

716 OMG!!

And yet the commenters almost all said it was hot. So I can't help wondering if this is just me, or if all writers find their own explicit stuff exceedingly dull.

Hee. I have no idea. All I know is that when I attempt to write smut, I find it excruciatingly difficult. And I'm not talking about anything more than a paragraph or two - not like, say, Komos' wonderful SG-1 stories where the sex takes up half the story and manages to be meaningful, powerful, detailed and hot. So impressive.

So, did you request Hercules this year? Or just sign up to write it?

I'd like to tell you, but I can't; the yuletide gods would strike me down and send me terrifying story requests. (Unlike the adorable and righteous

flambeau, I really like the lies and secrets part of Yuletide. *g*)

And aw, yay OTF! *beams* What a nice thing to say. I can't help being absurdly fond of my show, and I'm glad I'm not the only one.

Yuletide! This is my third year and I just love it, though writing last year's story was tough - I don't know how many plot bunnies died for that story. But it did make me go out and buy Master and Commander!

This year I went through all the fandoms, listed the ones I thought I could write and the ones I wanted myself, then choe from that list for signup. The feature that shows requests/people who signed up to write it is awesome! All of the fandoms I volunteered are game, I think.

But it's just the greatest thing to get your story, shiny and new, on Christmas morning! This is definetly one of the coolest fandom-related projects I've ever done.

(Side note: I love your icon. Wombats! And Christmas! Yay!)

This year I went through all the fandoms, listed the ones I thought I could write and the ones I wanted myself, then choe from that list for signup.

I actually turned the tab-delineated list into a table, then removed all the ones I didn't know, then whittled the list down further by removing the ones I didn't think I could write. And then I took a deep breath and signed up for all the ones left on the list. (This is opposed to the previous years, where I looked for ones I could do. The process of elimination seems to end in me signing up for more fandoms.)

I still think fondly of the year I got you for Yuletide, by the way; you were my first recipient ever, and I was scared to death. And it was such a relief to realize I could do two of the fandoms on your request list. In every way, you were a wonderful recipient.

*grins* I honestly thought of asking for another story in that fandom this year, because your story was just so awesome. I introduced my two friends to the concept of fan fiction that morning - they thought that it was an unknown story in the canon. I could just hear the actors as I read it and yes, it was just utterly wonderful. And now I get your recs and fun polls! And hopefully, one day, another story in that fandom. :) So you were a wonderful first author in every way.

That's hilarious how your process of elimination tends to work - glad it actually cut the list down this year! It's interesting to see what's up and what isn't, and to guess which fandom you'll actually get. I have one I'm particularly pulling for, and only two people have offered to write it.

Yay, wombats! They're so damn cute, especially in little Santa hats. I got obsessed with them after reading one of the Aubrey/Maturin books, imagine that. :) So last year I decided I had to make a wombaty-Christmas icon - it's totally yankable if you'd like.

So you were a wonderful first author in every way.

Awwww. Thank you. (And, wow, you even showed it to your friends. Cooooool.)

*feels glow of Yuletidy Joy*

It's interesting to see what's up and what isn't, and to guess which fandom you'll actually get.

It's totally fascinating. I keep checking my list of volunteered fandoms against the master list, and thinking, "Ooo! Three requests!" or, "Damn. Not one request. Come on, people, it's a great fandom!" I tell you, Shalott is probably really sorry she changed the script to show all that, because it makes the compulsive refreshing problem so much worse.

it's totally yankable if you'd like.

*grabs*

I will use it when the holidays draw nigh!

*excited*

My friends were the ones who got me into the fandom - we'd check out each series from the library and watch it compulsively, though once they swapped out Helens (grrrrrrr!), it was harder to watch. I so need to buy those DVDs one day. :)

Hah, we are probably breaking the server! I checked twice yesterday, and I'll probably mosey over again today. The buildup to Yuletide is half the fun itself.

Hurrah for sharing the wombat love! I so need to se a wombat at the zoo - or better yet, see one in Australia. There's a beautiful, funny children's book you'd love - Diary of a Wombat which has the most adorable illustrations.

*giggles nervously*

I had this moment of total horror when I read this comment, because I realized you requested a story for the television show, and I wrote you a book story. (I didn't even know the TV show existed!) Um. But it worked out okay, right?

Wow, do I understand why we have the type tags now.

I checked twice yesterday, and I'll probably mosey over again today.

You win for Most Restrained Fangirl in All Yuletideland. I've been refreshing a lot more like twice an hour, and up to twice a minute in critical periods, like just now, when the participant number broke 700. (OMG, 700 people! I am thrilled and just stunned that there are so many small fandom lovers among us.)

There's a beautiful, funny children's book you'd love - Diary of a Wombat which has the most adorable illustrations.

OMG you love Diary of a Wombat! YAY!

One of my Australian friends sent it to me as a gift when I was feeling down last year, as my Love of Wombats is not precisely a secret, and it is just - it is just the BEST THING EVER, is all. I have been seriously tempted, ever since I got it, to buy a scanner for the sole purpose of scanning in some of the pages, and then whining someone into making me icons.

Wombats are love.

*chuckles* The TV show was very faithful to the book, so they're almost interchangable. And you should watch it if you get the chance - it's wonderfully cast and the location is just so damn pretty. :)

I got the fandom I hoped for most! Only a few of us offered to write it and so all my "please, please, please" vibes worked! I already have a few ideas - hopefully my recipient will put up a letter soon.

Oh, if you got icons, you would absolutely have to share. Those would be so freaking adorable - I need that book! And it's so cute and cheerful that it can't help but cheer you up.

Wombats are indeed love! *wonders if there's a marsupial appreciation society on LJ*

I only do NYR, becaue I have finals and two fandom-specific Christmas exchanges, and I can't handle three fic deadlines within a few weeks. But I write more than one NYR story!

Wow. You are truly blessed with Good Yuletide Karma, doing more than one NYR story. If you ever sign up for Yuletide proper, I am sure the Yuletide Gods will smile upon you.

(And if I still had finals, I don't think I could Yuletide even without the other two exchanges. Your organizing skills must be fearsome.)

Your organizing skills must be fearsome.

AHAHAHAHAHAHA. I wish.

I can handle the multiple NYR stories because I can do them over a period of months, and the two christmas exchanges are for my main fandoms (Pirates of the caribbean and lotrips), so I can usually tweak a story I've already had percolating. (last year, for

vo_xmas, was the exception; I remain fiercely proud of myself for that story because the prompt was the single hardest one I've ever gotten.)

(last year, for vo_xmas, was the exception; I remain fiercely proud of myself for that story because the prompt was the single hardest one I've ever gotten.)

Wow. Am I allowed to ask what the prompt was?

so I can usually tweak a story I've already had percolating

Ah. Good point. I hadn't thought of that, because I've never done a single-fandom exchange.

Actually, thinking about it, I've never done any exchange but Yuletide. That's - weirdly unfannish of me.

*looks nervously around to see if she will be drummed out of fandom*

Yes, yes, you may: "new zealand fic, viggo and orlando really like each other, and are in love pretty much, but one problem... orlando is not at ALL sexually attracted to viggo. at all. awww. it kind of frustrates the both of them. and it gets solved in the end, somehow..." (punctuation original).

I spent three weeks whining via email & IM to my beta. It's both weirdly specific, which was infuriatingly limiting, and completely without direction, which made me tear my hair out. I suppose it didn't help that December of 2005 was smack in the middle of Depressive Crisis 2.0, which I think really influenced the eventual damn story, especially in tone, but that adds to the extent of how proud I am of myself for writing it.

Wow, now I really wish I could read the story. (I can't. I have a truly pathetic squick. I am squicked by celebrities. I can't even explain it, but I am. And yet I live in Los Angeles and read fan fiction. I know, I know. I've tried to get over this, because - so much good FF! Right there! But whenever I start thinking of celebrities as real people, as opposed to figments of entertainment journalists' imagination, my skin crawls. I have lousy facial recognition, thank god, so I'm okay even in Malibu most of the time, but when someone I'm with says, "Hey! That's [actor person, usually]!" I cringe and cover my ears and whimper and just generally act like someone is dragging fingernails down a blackboard.)

Because that's quite the challenging prompt; even translating it into fiction ("Atlantis, season three - John and Rodney really like each other, are pretty much in love, but Rodney's not attracted to John at all. It frustrates both of them. And it gets solved in the end, somehow."), I cannot imagine how I would write that. I - I just cannot even think how I'd get started, you know?

I would love to know how you did.

(And I love how we all have our old prompts ready to hand. I can still quote my most difficult one basically word for word - and it was nothing like as challenging as yours.)

Hey, I live in New York City and I used to work five blocks from Times Square -- I freak out when I'm confronted with movie premieres and the like, I duck into stores to avoid photographers when I'm in SoHo or Chelsea. I'm not throwing stones. I write RPF because I'm so aware of how little I actually know about the characters, and it's fascinating, on a writerly level, to see how I transform collective ideas -- fanon, or gossip-column stuff, especially the stuff that keeps showing up -- into my own work; what I transform, what I don't.

Which you really needed to know.

Anyway. It's an incrdibly hard prompt, yeah -- why do people play 'stump-the-fic-writer' on ficathons/challenges/exchanges? -- and I honestly don't remember writing it, and since I don't save drafts, I can't say how it developed. It's one of the more interesting stories I've ever written, actually, in terms of -- well, in that it's RPF, and there's tons of references throughout to fanon tropes and 'canon', and I'm not sure how well it could be read by someone not in the fandom or at least partially aware of it, but at the same time, I feel like it's a completely stand-alone story and has nothing to do with the fandom, because it doesn't use the usual characterizations or premises (premii?).

Your SGA prompt scares the willies out of me. I can't imagine that one (I mean, I couldn't imagine 'The Road' until I actually wrote it, either, so....), but I'm not sure how well even the way I handled it with Orlando and Viggo would work. It -- I don't know. I mean, it could, because I was (oh, god, this sounds so pretentious of me, it's not my fault, my entire family is made of academics, in much the same way Joe Flanigan is made of sexy fuzzy blankets and puppies) discussing the nature of friendship and relationship, the boundaries between, the way every relationship is different and responds to the needs of the people involved, the way that we tend to think ofa sexual relationship as neccesarily more than a platonic one. So John and Rodney could be thrown in, but the resolution would almost certainly be different. (Also, thank you for correcting the prompt -- I just c-and-p'd it, because I felt you needed the full horror of it, but the lack of capitalization makes my eyes bleed.)

Now you've got to share your prompt, you know.

Hey, I live in New York City and I used to work five blocks from Times Square -- I freak out when I'm confronted with movie premieres and the like, I duck into stores to avoid photographers when I'm in SoHo or Chelsea.

Oh, I so totally hear that. I used to work across the street from two often-used filming locations. (And by often, I mean we kept a whiteboard in the office of all the movies we were NOT GOING TO SEE - which inevitably turned into alternative suggestions, with rankings by office members who had seen them, but that's beside the point - because the venal weasels who ran our parking service always rented more parking spaces than they were supposed to to the crews, which meant that those of us with monthly parking never had anywhere to park. Plus, it added a ton of time to our commutes - there's nothing like being two blocks from your building and knowing it will take you 20 minutes to get there, thanks to the film crews, to build hostility. Also, the people who work film site security think they are gods. They are not; they are still just rent-a-cops. Um. Yes, some bitterness is coming through, here. I haven't worked there in years, but I still cringe when I see those sites in movies.)

why do people play 'stump-the-fic-writer' on ficathons/challenges/exchanges?

You know, I think they mostly don't. (Look. Leave me to my delusions.) The prompt you got gave me the impression that it was written to lead to a specific scene that the prompter wanted to read, but she could never figure out how to get to there or from there, so she could never write herself. (I, um. Study prompts quite a lot. On account of I give unbelievably shitty ones, and I'd like to learn how to give good ones.) It has that, "Please write an impossible story around the scene of my dreams" feel to it.

Could be wrong, of course.

Your SGA prompt scares the willies out of me.

Me, too. (I wondered if you'd look at it and be all, "Oh, that's totally easy" after your experience with the challenge last year, but I guess having done the impossible doesn't make it easier to do again.) And the thing is, I think Dasha already more or less wrote that story; I mean, not perfectly, but. Close.

And what I find interesting about the prompt is - change it into different fandoms and it looks different:

"Set after CotBP but before DMC - Jack and Will really like each other, are pretty much in love, but Will's not attracted to Jack at all. It frustrates both of them. And it gets solved in the end, somehow."

To me, that sounds like a humor piece, and I could write it, I think, pretty easily. But change Jacks, and -

"Set BEFORE season five - Jack and Daniel really like each other, are pretty much in love, but Daniel's not attracted to Jack at all. It frustrates both of them. And it gets solved in the end, somehow."

And you've got a tragedy and an explanation for season four, and again I could write it much more easily than the SGA version. Change Jacks again, and -

"Early bookverse. Jack and Stephen really like each other, are pretty much in love, but Stephen's not attracted to Jack at all. It frustrates both of them. And it gets solved in the end, somehow."

I believe we would call that "gen." And also "so much like the books that what's the point?" But it would be very hard to work in the frustration, because - for Jack and Stephen, that's exactly how they expect it to be; they are perfectly comfortable and indeed happy with love without sex. (I am not writing the essay that my brain wants to insert here. Not, not, not.)

This makes me want to ask people for example prompts they've gotten in specific fandoms and see if all prompts change violently if they're fandom-swapped like this, or if some prompts are truly universal.

Also, thank you for correcting the prompt -- I just c-and-p'd it, because I felt you needed the full horror of it, but the lack of capitalization makes my eyes bleed.

I thought maybe it would be less scary if I recast it in more, um, technically correct writing.

It wasn't, actually. Yikes.

Do not make me break out my 'they filmed a feature-length movie on my high school campus my freshman year and there are about 300 young women who hold a deep and lasting grudge against Emile Hirsch' stories. No, really. Don't.

You're totally right, of course -- my recipent even said in her comment something about how 'it's not what I was expecting' but she was really gracious about it; I just feel like I kind of got left to figure out what she wanted without much help. Which, hello, I am a writer, I am NOT PSYCHIC.

AHEM.

I'm actually starting to think about that SGA story now. And it -- it could work. In Pirates, I actually have more trouble, because I have such trouble with pure Jack/Will (I adore Elizabeth and refuse to write her out without a very good explanation), and it just doesn't work for my reading of Will Turner -- don't get me strated on this, I can go on for hours about my fandom. I don't know SG1 at all, so can't speak to that (except that if something like this explains some part of canon? Awesome), but the Aubrey/Maturin story...yeah. That's basically the books, minus frustration because they're Jack and Stephen and they love each other and sexual attraction isn't even part of the equation.

I would be really curious to see that comparison, too, actually. Let me think:

Ocean's 11:

"Danny and Rusty really like each other, are pretty much in love, but Rusty's not attracted to Danny at all. It frustrates both of them. And it gets solved in the end, somehow."

...who in their right mind is not attracted to Danny Ocean, pease?

Classical myth:

"Achilles and Patroculus really like each other, are pretty much in love, but Achilles is not attracted to Patroculus at all. It frustrates both of them. And it gets solved in the end, somehow."

Um. No comment.

The Dark is Rising

"Will and Bran really like each other, are pretty much in love, but Will is not attracted to Bran at all. It frustrates both of them. And it gets solved in the end, somehow."

That? Could work.

I'd also be terribly interested in what...commonalities? trends? you've picked up on in requests, because I never know what to ask for. I know what I can write, and I know what I won't write, but I feel horrible asking for a specific plot, and yet I've seen people say 'I don't know she waaaaants' to many times.

Whoops, forgot.

Now you've got to share your prompt, you know.

The only reason I didn't before is because it's nothing like your prompt. The thing that made it hard wasn't the prompt itself - almost any other writer could manage it quite easily - but me, and my limitations as a writer. It was:

Request 3: Mr. and Mrs. Smith (movie) (Jane Smith/John Smith)
Details: I want some hot het porn for that movie. :) But please, if you pick this, be as snarky and sharp as the movie was. ;)

And you're, like, rolling your eyes right now, right? But keep in mind that when I got this prompt, I:

Had never written het.
Had never written porn.
Had never written anything that could even remotely be described as hot, except for the user/computer porn I wrote in a technical manual once. (I deleted it before it went to review. But the guys in the office said it was hot. Keep in mind, though, that these were computer nerds in their early twenties; they thought everything was hot.)

I stared at this and thought, "OMG, recipient, I am so not your Yuletide writer."

But I wrote her the story anyway. And it was het, and filled with porn, and the commenters thought it was hot. So that's my Prompt Angst Triumph, but it's nothing to yours. (Also, that prompt doesn't work for fandom changeup because it's too generic; it's not a real, story-specific prompt.)

Oh, lord, do I hear you. I hate writing porn. I'm just hoping I don't get a request for hard NC-17 for any of my exchanges -- sex scenes take as long as full stories for me to write, and I don't have the time, you know?

Poll: Yuletide! Yay!

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