Although the challenge runs from January 1st - 15th, it's low pressure and you can come back and complete it at any time. I still have a few days to finish off myself...
01. 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.
✩ Statistically speaking, my best fic is by far my first collection of The Hobbit kink meme fills. Mostly fluffy Boffins (Bofur/Bilbo) because, well, that’s what I took away from those movies!
✩ I self-recced this one last year too, but it’s still my favourite of all the fics I’ve ever written. Come Alive (Downton Abbey), 28k. Written for a prompt on the DA kink meme: Gothic Literature AU. Thomas had to leave Downton in disgrace during S3 and take a job someplace spooky and out of the way, for a handsome man with a terrible secret.
02. In your own space, share a book/song/movie/tv show/fanwork/etc that changed your life. Something that impacted on your consciousness in a way that left its mark on your soul.
03. In your own space, set some goals for the coming year. They can be fannish or not, public or private.
✩ Exchanges! I used to love writing for exchanges and challenges, and I’m hoping to get back into that this year. I’ve signed up to a couple of challenges on Dreamwidth and the Nygmobblepot Valentine Exchange.
✩ Art! It’s been so long since I’ve put to pencil to paper. I did a few cutesy sketches last year for a sponsored post on kids’ clothing, but other than that it’s probably coming up two years now. I’m going to draw some fanart in 2017, even if it’s just a doodle.
✩ Feedback! I’ve been working on this for the last few months, but I really want to keep going with leaving reviews on fics I’ve read. It doesn’t take long and I know it means a lot to people, so even if it’s just ‘I loved this!’ I’m going to try to make the effort.
04. Comment to someone you haven't ever interacted with before or introduce yourself to someone you've interacted with and friend / follow them.
Done and dusted.
05. In your own space, post recs for at least three fanworks that you did not create.
Here are four fics I’ve read over and over again, and will no doubt continue to do so…
✩ The Jeeves Around The Corner - cosmosmariner. (Jeeves and Wooster, 15k) ‘Overcome with feelings for his perfectly perfect gentleman’s gentleman, a lonely Bertram Wooster enjoys a correspondence with a like-minded soul. What happens when he falls in love with his pen pal?’ One of my favourite tropes, executed perfectly.
✩ Hidden Depths - Susannah Shepherd. (Sherlock Holmes, 7k) ‘Watson inadvertently lets slip that his war injuries are far more extensive and crippling than he has formerly admitted. Holmes encourages him to confront his fears and find new hope.’ I originally read this on Sacrilege, the Holmes/Watson slash site back in about 2002. You can find it there via the Wayback Machine. That site basically ruined me for all these newfangled modern adaptations. If it’s not Victorian - or Edwardian, at least - I don’t wanna know.
✩ Arcadia - Sineala. (Professionals, 90k) ‘To catch an unknown assassin, Bodie and Doyle head undercover on a cruise ship, posing as a couple. Aboard the ship are many people from Bodie’s past, and any one of them could be their suspect. In the course of the investigation, Doyle discovers that there are a great many things he would never have guessed about Bodie’s former life… and about his own feelings for his partner.’ I’ll always rec this because I’ll always love it.
✩ An Uncomfortable Work Environment - Scribe. (Superman, 5k) For some reason the internet has totally overlooked the potential of Superman/Jimmy Olsen, but thankfully Scribe picked up the slack. I also love The Sweet End of the Lollipop (Some Like It Hot) and, of course, Child of the Night (Dracula).
For more recs, check out my 2016 Yuletide Recs post.
06. In your own space, create a list of at least three fannish things you'd love to receive, something you've wanted but were afraid to ask for - a fannish wish-list of sorts.
✩ All of the gifs from my obscure and older faves. Seriously, there are so many 70s sitcom moments I'd love to see in easily sharable gif format. (Alternatively, uploads of clips under 15 minutes so I can use Giphy to gif them myself.)
✩ Aca-fandom recs. I'm super interested in academic fan studies, as well as more journalistic pieces written for mainstream audiences. If you know of any, please link me up in the comments! :)
✩ Fic / art / meta for the fandoms I'm active in. I've got a few 'Dear Author' letters over on my Dreamwidth journal which cover my current areas of interest.
07. In your own space, create a fanwork.
(Make a drabble, a ficlet, a podfic, or an icon, art or meta or a rec list. Arts and crafts. Draft a critical essay about a particular media. Put together a picspam or a fanmix. Write a review of a Broadway show, a movie, a concert, a poetry reading, a museum trip, a you-should-be-listening-to-this-band essay. Compose some limericks, haikus, free-form poetry, 5-word stories. Document a particular bit of real person canon. Take some pictures. Draw a stick-figure comic. Create something.)
I rediscovered comment_fic and got typing.
08. In your own space, make a list of at least 3 things that you like about yourself.
Um... I like that I'm a fairly placid, laid back person, and that even though I do love to procrastinate I will get things done before the deadline. I like my writing style too. (Well, someone's got to!)
09. Send feedback to two fannish people — they can be anyone you want: a writer who’s made you happy, a moderator of your favorite exchange (not us!), a fanartist you avidly follow… There are so many possibilities. Just let someone know you appreciate their work.
All done.
10. In your own space, share your love for a trope, cliché, kink, motif, or theme. (More than one is okay, too.) Tell us about it, tell us why you love it, give us some examples and recs.
Talking about miscommunication, fake dating, body swaps and more over here:
11. In your own space, talk about a creator. Show us why you think they are amazing.
TBD.
12. In your own space, post a rec for fannish spaces and resources - comms, challenges, twitters, tumblrs, etc. Tell us about where you hang out.
13. In your own space, write about a moment in fandom that meant a lot to you.
Fandom - and the people I've met through it - have got me through some very dark times in my life, but it has also helped me celebrate the high points. It encouraged me to embrace who I was and the things I was interested in, even if they weren't cool or particularly mainstream. Most of all it has given me a creative outlet, a source of escapism, and an endlessly fascinating topic to study.
If I had to pick a single moment, it would probably be getting a really long email from someone who had worked up the courage to come out to their parents after reading some of my fic. Their parents were totally cool about it, they felt like a huge burden had been lifted, and I realised that even my own fannish contributions can have a big impact on the people who connect with them.
It made me stop feeling like my fandom hobby was something to be hidden, or a waste of time. Now I just enjoy it!
14. Go forth and commit an act of kindness.
Done. :)
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.
TBD.
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