Fandom Snowflake 03: resolutions

[karanguni]

So I'm trying hard to make each of these snowflake_challenge posts a little bit useful or broadly interesting. Resolutions are a pretty hard one! I've found, ironically, that the major times I've been able to keep up new habits are under extreme duress (schedule is too full, running on empty, head on fire, heart in pieces) or extreme boredom. Funny how that works.

Fandom-wise, pretty much the only time I've been successful at writing at the last couple of years has been with challenges. yuletide and notprimetime aside, anyone have favourites they want to share?




Fandom:

• Write 75K in Useful Exposition, fic, or original work
• Actually, seriously, really complete Executive Reform
• Make more fandom friends! Co-writers especially!
• Read three new books by three new authors per quarter

Non-fandom:

• Get passable at swimming
• Gym twice a week, minimum
• Pick up a new hobby or class to meet people
• Be more at peace about immigration things

Comments

[extrapenguin]

I run space_swap, an annual exchange for space fandoms! We're currently revisiting the rules for 2017 before getting started. Exchange-wise, I'd also suggest looking at fandomcalendar, where most exchanges advertise.

Bookswise, if you want recs, I'd suggest looking at Startide Rising/Uplift saga (David Brin), Spin State (Chris Moriarty), Stealing Light (Gary Gibson), something by John Scalzi, David Weber's Honor Harrington series has some of the same feel as the Vorkosigan saga but Weber's politics are silly, Proxima + Ultima (Stephen Baxter), and The Long Earth (Terry Pratchett & Stephen Baxter).

[yhlee]

I definitely second Spin State. I also liked the second book, whose title I'm blanking on, although still haven't gotten to the third due to eternal tardiness.

[extrapenguin]

Spin Control! The third book, Ghost Spin, isn't quite as good, but still decent.

[pensnest]

These are good goals. I can definitely advocate for getting into the gym habit—I've certainly noticed improvements in my body. And I do like your idea of three new books by three new authors. Perhaps I shall try to incorporate that too.

[karanguni]

Yeah, I've got some PT I need to do but in general it just feels much better. I just have NO SELF DISCIPLINE; I get on the treadmill and I'm like, uhhhh, five minutes is exercise, right guys?

[crookedspoon]

I seem to remember you having looked for co-writers last year already. How has that been working out for you? And how do you plan on making that work? I'd love to try this out eventually, when I have a bit more confidence in my writing ability and a bit more brainspace to do research and/or review canon.

Also, branching out in terms of authors is always a great idea. I've also seen someone put one straight, white, male authors on their Never-To-Read(-Again) list every year to reduce the amount of books she might want to read one day.

Good luck for all your goals! :D

[karanguni]

I have a wonderful co-writer who I've written with for upwards of a decade at this point - we're RP partners, but honestly most of what we write is pretty much original fic at this point that happens to be bounced back and forth between two people. I don't write much fic at all anymore because, er, between the two of us we churn out roughly 50K a month. /o\ So my search for fandom writers who will co-write actual fic with me hasn't gone on at all, haha!

Usually what happens is I'll write something and someone will like it or vice versa; I picked up all my previous co-writers on DW back when commenting culture was a bigger thing. And then on tumblr, wonderful people like risingoflights have (!!!) drawn entire doujinshis for my work. So that's what I'm hoping to do this year - just produce a lot, and find people through commenting again and being more out-there.

Sometimes it's as easy as just, idk, picking a bingo or committing to writing something super short together? I might throw together a tiny little worldbuild back-and-forth post, like - here, someone START with the idea of... "how would space taxis work"? And then we pass it down the line via comments or something, essentially co-writing that way. Interested?

(Also, eliminating authors to read is such a good idea...)

[crookedspoon]

Holy --, 50k a month? That's amazing! At least you don't have to worry about atrophying writing muscles, haha!

So, do you decide on some kind of endpoint together or some points you think would be cool to hit along the way, or do you just wing it all the way through? Do you ever take a finished product and post it somwhere as a complete work, so readers don't have to slog through hundreds of comments? Basically, I wonder how editing would work in that case because you and your co-writer are likely to have different styles. Idea ping-ponging is my jam, though. So, yeah, I'd be interested!

[karanguni]

I think it could go many ways! It might be fun to just start a monthly post and have comment threads for like "write on this random idea or topic" and people just go back and forth, and then if anyone gets into a rhythm with someone else - I think that's when you'd step back and be like, "let's do something with this."

[crookedspoon]

That sounds like fun! Not sure if I'll be any use before mid-February though. Let's see if I survive until then, hah!

[elanya]

I think Jukebox might be my favourite exchange - its for fic/art/podfic based on songs and music videos, and Morbane runs it. I like the culture around it, but some people are less keen because it is a lot closer to writing original fic (as opposed to working with known characters/settings). I find it is an interesting challenge, because you do have some constraints to work with. There is a huge variety of stuff nominated, a ton of really interesting prompts, and it is fun to pick up new music as well! If I recall, signups are late march and reveals early June? The collection on AO3 is worth perusing, anyway.

[extrapenguin]

+1 I loved jukebox_fest last year, and am definitely signing up this year.

[karanguni]

I've heard many good things now! I usually err to my bigger fandoms, but it's time to TRY NEW THINGS /flexes arms and goes to put it on my calendar

[yhlee]

Tell me more about the cowriter thing! I've only cowritten a couple things (one in Legend of the Five Rings fandom, which is deeply obscure) and I loved both the experience and the story that came out of it, but I don't know how you go about looking for that kind of partnership.

[karanguni]

crookedspoon asked about it up top, so here's the link: https://karanguni.dreamwidth.org/171193.html?thread=1401273#cmt1401273

But more generally, I've had a LOT OF FUN writing with friends (or watching in awe as art friends draw things for me) over the years. The longest not IRL or I-talk-to-someone-over-IM-everyday collaboration was when I wrote a ridiculous FFVII/XII stock market AU with Nyx. THAT was very cool, because we had an LJ community that was locked to just us, and we were both so busy that what we did was just email each other with HUGE LISTS OF IDEAS or spam the LJ comm with LARGE BLOCKS OF WRITTEN TEXT.

It was really, really interesting because while we respected each other's 'barriers' - she primarily wrote the XII characters and I the FVII - we would actually go in and retool entire sentences/paragraphs that the other had written to try and make things flow. And then we'd repeat, over and over again, until I honestly don't know where the lines being and end. Then we'd also write whole chunks entirely independently.

At the end of the day I think it's about finding a book-sized or bigger idea of AU or sandbox that's just like, oh, this is super cool. The other collaborations I've had have all been the same way - crossovers, or fusions. The thing I've got the most art for was a Pacific Rim/FFVII crossover, in large part because I think people are just fascinated with the bigness of the idea - oh, cool, giant robots. How do we draw those for X universe without making it look just like PacRim or, say, Gundam? How do they work? What's the culture around them?

IT'S SO FUN.

Here from Snowflake Challenge

[lebateleur]

I also find I'm a much more prolific writer with a looming challenge deadline to motivate me. I'm partial to AO3's International Fanworks Day drabble fest in February, and Small Fandom Fest and Rare Pair Fest come at good points throughout the year too.

Re: Here from Snowflake Challenge

[karanguni]

/waves hello!

I shall take a look at both Small Fandom and Rare Pair! I have so *few* fandoms these days that it's sometimes hard for me to sign up for anything other than yuletide, eek.

[reeby10]

I'm a little addicted to doing exchanges/challenges, so I definitely have some recs! I actually keep a spreadsheet that I check at the beginning of each month to decide what I'd like to sign up for lol

Here are some suggestions, most of which I've participated in at least once: chocolateboxcomm (sign ups open now), yjfest (sign ups open now), smutswap, intoabar/intoabar, myoldfandom/myoldfandom, ficmountain, unconventionalcourtship, slashorific/slashorific, wipbigbang/wipbigbang, everywoman, whitedwarfrabbithole, fic_corner, mm_rares, tagyourfic, fandomgrowthexchange, trickortreatex, multifan_gift, and holly_poly.

(I also second rarepairfest and smallfandomfest.)

These are in vaguely chronological order, though no promises since sometimes dates change year to year. I left out most of the fandom specific ones, but I can see if I can suggest some of those based on what you're into if you like. I've got lots of MCU and Harry Potter specific ones on my list, for example, among others. I also left out big bangs, but I can rec some of those too if you want.

Good luck with your goals!!

[karanguni]

Oooooh, I shall look at ALL the things!

DO TELL ME MORE about big bangs - I've never done one, but it looks at once both like a lot of fun and TERRIFYING.

[reeby10]

\o/

Big bangs are basically where you sign up to write a story of your own choosing (usually about 10k+ I think, for whatever character or ship or theme the bang is for) in whatever the time constraints are. Usually artists sign up and you get art for your fic too, which is a lot of fun.

I generally write for exchanges bc generally I like writing shorter fic and writing for someone, so I don't have a lot of experience doing them, but they're a lot of fun. A lot of pressure for some ppl too, but a lot of fun lol Let me know if you'd like me to rec some though! I did include wipbigbang on my list bc it's based on finishing WIPs rather than writing new fics and it's smaller than most other big bangs. Plus I run it, so I'm a little biased about how great it is lol