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Day 15
In your own space, write a love letter to Fandom in general, to a particular fandom, to a trope, a relationship, a character, or to your flist/circle/followers. Share your love and squee as loud as you want to. Leave a comment in this post saying you did it. Include a link to your post if you feel comfortable doing so
I had been thinking about this all day yesterday and flip flopping on what to write. Part of me wants to write a love letter to a character because that's easy. Another part of me wants to thank some people who have meant a lot to me over the last year in particular. So I finally thought, let's do both.
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( Dear people who comment )
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( Dear Smokescreen )
(no subject)
14 January 2018 12:22
Day 14
In your own space, create your own challenge. Whatever your challenge is, and have fun with it! Leave a comment in this post saying you did it. Include a link to your post if you feel comfortable doing so.
My challenge is a more personal one but important.
Take care of yourself. Take your meds. Get the sleep you need. Eat breakfast - whenever you wake up and whatever you want it to be. When you're ready wash your face, take that shower. But most important, take your meds. Don't let the little voices tell you that you don't need them. The voices are going to lie to you.
Day 13:
In your own space, set some goals for the coming year. They can be fannish or not, public or private. Leave a comment in this post saying you did it. Include a link to your post if you feel comfortable doing so.
This is really simple. I want to do better this year than I did last year. I want to write and post more. The second is particularly important, because I actually wrote quite a bit last year and allowed the little voices to convince me that everything I had written was crap. So, I plan to write and post more than I did last year. Since i managed two things last year and kind of posted one thing already this year I'm a third of the way there already!
In all seriousness though, my main goal this year is to do what I can to ignore the damned voices that keep telling me that I'm not good enough. I'm also going to pass that on to others by commenting on fics more instead of only leaving kudoes. Sometimes all we need is that one person telling us that they enjoyed our work to keep those damned doubt voices at bay.
And lastly, I am planning on reading more, be it fanfiction or audio books or the actual reading of a paper or electronic work. And I am going to broaden my horizons. I noticed that I had one or two key pairings or characters that I gravitated toward last year and I would avoid everything else, and I think I did myself a disservice. After all, I got into Avatar: The Last Airbender because someone suggested a fanfic to me and I loved it so much I needed to see the source material. And this also applies to non-fanfic. I've decided to break away from fantasy and science fiction and horror only and start ready various other genres - especially mysteries and romance. If I ever plan to write the book that I have in my head (a book that is a variety of everything) I need to know the genres that I will be incorporating.
So, that's it. Four goals. Write more. Comment more. Read more. Broaden my horizons.
Day 12
In your own space, create a fanwork. Make a podfic, an icon, a sketch, a meta, or a rec list. Arts and crafts. Cross stitch. Draft an essay about a particular medium. Put together a picspam or a fanmix. Write a review of book you love, a ship manifesto, a you-should-be-listening-to-this-band essay. Create something. Leave a comment in this post saying you did it. Include a link to your post if you feel comfortable doing so.
Title: Pickman's Model
Fandom: Fallout 4
Rating: M (?)
Warnings: Violence, Dark themes, Serial Killers
Relationships: none
Characters: Sole Survivor - female, Pickman
Summary: What if the Sole Survivor had been a serial killer before the war? Is Pickman a potential student or a rival?
A/N: This is the first thing that I have written in a long time and I am rather pleased with it, even though it needs to be edited and cleaned up a little.
( Pickman's Model )
Day 11
Share a book/song/movie/tv show/fanwork/etc that changed your life. Leave a comment in this post saying you did it. Include a link to your post if you feel comfortable doing so.
So I've been thinking about this one and I think that I'd have to go with Deep Space Nine. I love dark and political stories and DS9 was full of both. I think that this was the first show that was consistently dark and gritty and where there were consequences. In every other Star Trek everything was resolved in one or two episodes and there were very few long term consequences. I think this was the first time is seen this sort of thing consistently on TV and I absolutely loved it.
Thinking back on it, I suspect that my love of dark political tv and movies has influenced my writing and my various plot bunnies.
Day 10
In your own space, share your love for a trope, cliché, kink, motif, or theme. (Or a few!) Tell us what makes it work for you, and why it appeals to you so much. Talk about what you like to see in fanworks featuring that theme most. Feel free to include recs and examples! Leave a comment in this post saying you did it. Include a link to your post if you feel comfortable doing so.
I adore friendship fics. Just quiet gen friendship fics. It's so easy to write pure PWP (and I do love some good PWP) or have a long and epic stories that don't take time to have those quiet moments. Sometimes the best part of a story are those quiet little moments when two friends just talk about something that has nothing to do with the plot.
As mentioned above I also love a good PWP, especially when it involves people discover their previously unknown kinks. Either their introduced to them or they discover them for themselves - I just love those moments of realization that lead to really good intimate moments.
My last one is a little harder to describe and I think I've rewritten this paragraph three times already. I like stories that deal with the darker aspects of relationships. Stockholm/Lima. Co-dependence. Mutual abusers. Stories that delve into how dark a character will go and how many sacrifices they will make for a cause or a friend. The problem with all of this is that it is very hard to write, and I have tried several times. It can be so easy to fall into the "rape=love" and "Draco in leather pants" tropes. It can be so easy to justify the actions of a character without making it clear that they aren't necessarily right (i.e. no one ever calls them out *cough*50 Shades*cough*). I think this all ties in with my desire for subtle villains rather than mustache twirlers. What I really want is a case of "There but for the grace of god go I". It's a story that lets you know that the situation or character or relationship is wrong or broken, and yet, you as the reader can still sympathize and see where they are coming from. And maybe see a bit of themselves in there too.
Day 9
In your own space, post a rec for at least three fanworks that you have created. It can be your favorite fanworks that you've created, or fanworks you feel no one ever saw, or fanworks you say would define you as a creator. Leave a comment in this post saying you did it. Include a link to your post if you feel comfortable doing so.
Ah, personal recs. This can be hard because it can be so easy to sit there and convince ourselves that our work really does deserve recommendations. I'm determined to get over that this year, so here are some of my favourite fics that I would like to recommend to you all:
The What Ifs and Wisdom of Solomon - I've never really been into DC Comics, but I have always found Captain Marvel/Shazam! interesting. When he was portrayed in the Justice League cartoon he came across as what a child thinks a hero should be. There's an innocent perfection there that contradicts the hard background that Billy Batson comes from. So this is my first (and currently only) foray into Captain Marvel and that dichotomy.
Rooftop Confessions - I enjoy writing more introspective pieces where I examine the mindsets of characters. In this fic I wanted to look at Smokescreen's role in Special Operations and I wanted to play with the idea that he isn't trust by everyone. And just what that can do to a person. This is far shorter than I originally wanted it to be, but I think I got the point across.
Conformity - This was written in response to a prompt on a rare pairings community: Shockwave/Elita One - Queen. I found the idea intriguing but I have never been able to think of Shockwave as anything other than completely asexual. The idea of an insidious sort of possession came to mind with this fic and I wanted to play with the idea of the control and the conformity that we see in Shockwave in the Marvel comics. I was aiming for an almost Borg-like intensity and I'd like to think that I accomplished my goal.
Embers of Memory - When Avatar: The Last Airbender ended there was a line about Azula's fate, how she was being cared for but it was never really explored. After all, it was the end of the series and Kora never came back to the character. I wanted to look at what happened to her. After all, how do you care for the world's most dangerous fire bender when she is completely and totally insane? I got my opportunity when I came across the prompt "The freedom of the wholly mad". I'm not sure if I got the prompt right, but I think that these are some of the best visuals I've come up with.
Forced Fit - This is a fic based on the 2003 TMNT tv series. I've always identified with Donatello as he was presented in the original comics and here in the 2003 series. I always felt like he was viewed as a tool by his family, to be pulled out when needed and put back on the shelf when they were done with him. I wanted to get out my own insecurities by writing them down and transferring them to someone else. That way, the characters could deal with the problems that I wasn't yet ready to face in my own life. I'm very proud of this fic because of the characterisations and the resolution of it all. It's not pat and perfect. It's more real than that.
It's All Over But The Crying - The first time I played through Fallout 4 I took the Minutemen ending and I missed a lot of stuff. That ended up leaving me with a lot of questions about the ending and I ended up having this vision of the Sole Survivor (Nora, in my case) having a complete breakdown as the reality of what she had done hit her. This ended up being an attempt at train of thought writing, and I think I managed it quite well.
Day 7:
In your own space, create a love meme for yourself. Let people tell you how amazing and awesome and loveable you really are. Leave a comment in this post saying you did it. Include a link to your post if you feel comfortable doing so. Surf the comments and find people to give love to.
I'm really not comfortable with this, but here it is. Feel free to tell me whatever you like.
Day 6
Leave feedback for a fanwork. Or multiple fanworks. It can be as simple as I liked this to a detailed list of all the things you loved about the fanwork. The key is to leave some sort of feedback.
If you've already left feedback in the course of a previous challenge, it totally counts. But you're free to leave more feedback.
Afterwards, leave a comment in this post with the equivalent of "I did it!" If you feel so inclined, leave a link to the fanwork you left feedback for so others can check it out.
So, today I left a comment on the following story and I'm leaving links to it here (the story, not the comments) so that others can read it:
The Terribly Doom That Came To Honeysuckle Cottage by psychomachia - This is a P.D. Wodehouse/H.P. Lovecraft crossover that I never knew I wanted. It's a perfect mash-up of the two writers containing just the right amount of horror and romance.
Just an additional thing to mention here; every time it's suggested that comments are fuel for writers someone will shoot back with "Write for yourself!!!!" And I agree with that, I really do. We need to write for ourselves and we shouldn't feel pressured to change our style, genre, pairings/characters, or kinks/lack thereof to garner more comments and kudoes. We need to remain true to ourselves in our writing.
That being said, we may write for ourselves but we post for others. That's why it's so important for us to comment. Kudoes are great, but comments are life blood. Comments mean that the reader liked something enough to do more than poke a heart on a screen. Comments can be the difference between a fic continuing and stopping. I know that that sounds bad, but the fact of the matter is, it can be be terribly discouraging to post a fic, to see that hit counter rise, and to get no response on it. And it becomes really easy to view kudoes as nothing more than pity or "it was fine but not good enough to comment on".
I know that I'm guilty of hitting the kudoes heart rather than comment, but this year I am making a concerted effort to comment as well. It's a good habit to get into because the more we comment, the easier it becomes to comment. < / rambles>
Day 5
Recommend a fannish or creative resource. Leave a comment in this post saying you did it. Include a link to your post if you feel comfortable doing so.
This is a tough one because I don't really know any fannish resources to suggest. I'm pretty much on the periphery of my various fandoms so I don't really know of any post-a-thons or guidelines for posting or such.
Now that being said, if I was speaking with a new member to the fandom who was concerned with writing for a fandom with a long history (like, say Transformers that has over 30 years of varying canon and semi-canon behind it) then the best advice I could offer is to check out the various wikias. TFWiki, Wookiepedia, Memory Alpha, Warehouse 13.wikia, etc. These sites are usually fan-run and re full of useful information if you need a catalogue of characters, episodes, expanded universe stuff, these are always a good place to start, because, let's face it, sometimes there's just too much backstory to be intimately familiar with. And sometimes you just can't remember the name of that one-off character who showed up in episode 5 of a TV series that's been off the air for 30 years.
I'm not sure if that really fits the parameters of the question, but it's what I have *shrug*
Day 4
In your own space, create a fannish wishlist. No limits on size or type of fanwork; just tell us what you’d like to see. Leave a comment in this post saying you did it. Include a link to your post if you feel comfortable doing so. And if you grant a wish, do the same thing!
I have a couple of OTPs that either no one else or very few people write.
- Transformers G1 Prowl/Red Alert
- Transformers G1 Smokescreen/Ratchet
- Transformers G1 Silverbolt/Trailbreaker
- Transformers G1 Megatron/Ratchet
I would love for more people to write these pairings. They work really well and I would love to see the love for them spread. Prowl/Red, Smokey/Ratchet, and Megs/Ratchet are rare but not unheard of, and I think I'm the only one who's written Silverbolt/TB. It gets a little discouraging when your pairings and characters of choice are so very rare.
As for other fandoms, I'm not deeply enough into The Librarians, Warehouse 13, Marvel Cinematic Universe, Fallout 4, and DC's Captain Marvel/Shazam to ask for anything there since I'm still not sure what's there.
So basically, I just want to see the love spread.
Day 3
In your own space, post recs for at least three fanworks that you did not create. Leave a comment in this post saying you did it. Include a link to your post if you feel comfortable doing so.
Every year I have recommended fanfiction, but this year I am going to spread my wings a little and suggest some excellent podcasts.
We're Alive: A Story of Survival - by Wayland Productions
This podcast is long over, but it is still an incredible listen. It is a radio drama set in a post-zombie apocalypse Los Angeles that follows a small group of survivors. Now this story doesn't offer a whole lot of answers since we only learn what the characters learn but for me that makes the whole things far more realistic. Now if you're the kind of person who needs to know what caused the outbreak, who the tattooed man is, who's keeping the power and water flowing, and what exactly is going on at the hockey arena then this might not be the podcast for you. But if you're the kind who's happy to be pulled along for the ride, then "We're Alive" is a wonderful radio drama. The podcast lasted for four seasons and 48 chapters (generally told in three episodes each) and then came back for a sort-of prequel called "Lockdown" that lasted an additional six episodes and told the story of some survivors in jail and grants some hints of what was really going on with the outbreak. They have a patreon still active so I hope that means that we can expect more from this team of creators.
You Must remember This by Karina Longworth
Karina Longworth is a film critic, journalist, and author and her podcast is described as a podcast dedicated to the secret and/or forgotten histories of Hollywood's first century. It is a beautiful series of season, each one focusing on a different themes ranging from Hollywood's role in World War 2 to Charles Manson's Hollywood to the History of MGM. Most recently she did a mini season on Boris Karloff and Bela Lugosi. Her work is well researched and beautifully told. She has 119 episodes (technically 120 but episode has been lost due to musical copyright infringement). Season 1 is a little all over the place with very little rhyme or reason, but the later seasons start following themes (Star Wars, Charles Manson's Hollywood, MGM Stories, The Blacklist, Six Degrees of Joan Crawford, Dead Blondes, Jean and Jane (Jean Seberg and Jane Fonda), and Bela and Boris (Bela Lugosi and Boris Karloff). If you're interested in the history of old Hollywood then this is the perfect podcast.
The British History Podcast: A Chronological History of Britain by Jamie Jeffers
Jamie is a former lawyer who now runs the British History Podcst. He is a firm believer is telling the whole of human history and not just following the Great Man version of it. This does mean that there's a lot of "we really don't know the whole of the facts here" but when that happens he turns to the archaeological record and some very clever and logical guesswork. Since Jamie wants to cover everything, the podcast is slow going -- we're at episode 263 and have only just gotten past the reign of Alfred the Great. The podcast is also entirely listener supported so you're guaranteed no advertisements for Casper or Blue Apron or SquareSpace, if that's not you're thing, and members get access to member's only podcasts including interviews with specialists, discussions about various archaeological hoards, and an attempt by Jamie to make medieval beer. Jamie is wonderfully excited about everything he covers and that makes his podcast a joy to listen to.
Day 2
In your own space, share a favorite memory about fandom: the first time you got into fandom, the last time a fanwork touched your heart, crazy times with fellow fans (whether on-line or off-line), a lovely comment you’ve received or have left for someone. Leave a comment in this post saying you did it. Include a link to your post if you feel comfortable doing so.
I've been in the Transformers fandom for a little over eleven years now but I watched the original cartoon and almost every series thereafter. I played with my brother's toys (as a girl I got My Little Ponies), and I managed to get my hands on a few of the comic books when I was little. The first issue I had was "The Transformers Comics Magazine Issue 4" (containing US Marvel Issue 7 ["Warrior School"] and US Marvel Issue 8 ["Repeat Performance"]). I think I fell in love with Ratchet then. It also contained the bio for Smokescreen, my other favourite character. I read that comic over and over again until it practically fell apart. I was thirteen, Season 3 was airing in all it's awful glory, and I was convinced that I was the only girl to like Transformers. After all, all the girls I went to school with only liked "girl things" like MLP and Jem while I was watching Transformers, MASK, and Bionic 6.
Anyway, fast forward to 2006 and I got my first private internet connection and I was able to start searching the WWW for things that interested me. I don't remember how it happened exactly, but I discovered a site called "The Padded Cell", a board that advertised itself as the only female dominated fan site. And in that moment I realized that I wasn't alone. I met other female fans, I was introduced to fanfic (before that I didn't realize that my stupid little writings weren't stupid little writings). Everything changed for me. I went to my first Botcon in 2008, I met other fans who were just like me, and a whole new world opened up for me.
So, yeah, long and rambling is long and rambling, but it all comes down to this: My favourite memory of fandom is that moment when I realized that I wasn't alone and that there really was a group of fans out there just like me.
Day 1
In your own space, talk about why you're participating in Snowflake and, if you’ve participated in the past, how the challenge has affected you. What drew you to it? What did you take away from it? What do you hope to accomplish this year? Leave a comment in this post saying you did it. Include a link to your post if you feel comfortable doing so.
This past year was hard for me; there was a lot of writer's block and self-doubt and I got too far into my own head. I'm hoping that the Snowflake Challenge will help me clean away the last year and give me a clean slate to work with. As for accomplishments, I'm going to aim low. I want to write and post more than I did last year and since I only got two things done last year, three should be doable.
If I extend myself, my aim this year is to finish a WIP I have going and get the plotting and some writing done for two additional long-fics that I've was fighting with last year.
