(no subject)
It's been how long since I last updated my LJ? Really? No, really? Oops. :D I don't even have a really good reason, I guess I just haven't had anything interesting to say.
However! It's yuletide season once again, and since sign-ups have now closed and assignments will be going out soon, here is this year's Dear Yuletide Author letter:
I'm going to start by just c&ping my entire Dear Yuletide Writer letter from two years ago, because I think it still sums up everything that I want from Yuletide:
Dear Yuletide Writer,
Here's what I want you to do. I want you to take the fandom and the character(s) I've requested, and write a story that you want to write. Seriously. I've offered more information for each of the fandoms on what I think would make an interesting story, and if that gives you ideas for what to write or if you're someone who counts on having something concrete to work with then that's fantastic, but don't let it limit you if you've got something else in mind. Some of my favourite stories are stories that I didn't know I wanted to read, and Yuletide is supposed to be fun so don't kill yourself to write a story that you might not be suited to. What I really want, more than anything else, is just a story in any one of those fandoms.
This year more than most my requests seem to be very world-based rather than character-based, which isn't to say I don't love character-centric pieces, I'm just not as focused on specific characters in these canons as I am interested in the interaction between characters and the unique worlds they inhabit. Generally, I enjoy stories of all ratings and all types. I'm a slash fan who also enjoys het and poly relationships, or no relationships beyond friendship at all. I like fluff and angst, humour and solemnity, short and long, traditional narrative and experimental, and most of all I just love reading about people in all their wonderful complexity.
I just have one very specific request for you: please don't include descriptions of allergic reactions in the story, or use them as a plot point. I know this sounds strange, and it probably would never have even occurred to you to do that anyway, but just for my own peace of mind I'm saying it. It can sometimes trigger a psychosomatic reaction for me, based on my own past medical issues, and that's something I just don't want to have to deal with during the holidays if I can manage to avoid it. :)
And now, for the specific fandoms!
Fandom: Archie
Request: I don't even care what, just do something to dirty those teenagers up. Drugs, alcohol, gay scandals, teenage pregnancy, a deep-seated desperation to get the hell out of Riverdale. Really, anything to subvert the sweet and innocent tone of the comics. I want them to feel like real people facing real struggles. I'm not necessarily aiming for angst, just something that feels like real teenagers.
Yes, Archie comics. I think this request doesn't really need any expansion, but here's a little story anyway. Last year during the holidays I was visiting my mother and we were going through some boxes of my brother's old books, and in them were piles of Archie digests. He and I used to read those all the time growing up, and to this day one can usually be found in the bathroom of my mother's house. As I thumbed through them I got to thinking about what they would read like if they really represented the kinds of teenagers I grew up with and know in real life. And thus, this request was born.
Fandom: Community
Request: What I really want is some Abed fic, no matter what direction it takes you in. I would definitely not object to some Abed/Troy, but if that's not your thing I totally value their awesome friendship just as it is.
This show came out of nowhere and made me love it, even though I didn't even intend to watch it at all when I first heard of it. Abed's my favourite, but the truth is that I love all of them and wouldn't be unhappy to see any sort of story about any of them, particularly if it's ensemble.
Fandom: David Bowie - The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars (album)
Request: Not only is the world going to end in five years, but everyone knows it. I'm more interested in the state of that world, the youth culture it breeds, and the effect Ziggy has on it rather than a Ziggy origin story (whether your position is Ziggy as Martian or Ziggy as avatar for the starmen), but there's just such a huge and fascinating (and sometimes contradictory) mythology surrounding this album that I'd be happy with any fic and any interpretation.
The main thing I want to say about this one is that I'm not married to any one interpretation of the album and the songs, and I know there are multiple interpretations out there. Go. Wild. Go with your gut. I'm just so excited that this fandom exists in the world. Write anything. Seriously. (I viewed the album as a single entity for the purposes of this request (including other songs that exist in the Ziggy canon but aren't on the album), but if you want to focus on any one song, feel free to do that as well.)
Seriously, don't feel bound by anything. Make shit up. Create your own interpretation. Go with what feels right to you. I'm really that open on this one.
Fandom: FlashForward
Request: What I'm most interested in here isn't the mystery of discovering how it all happened but the reality of the lives of people who saw six months into their future, and the social structures that evolve as a result of it, like Mosaic (and the ripple effect it's had globally in all kinds of interesting ways) and like the Blue Hand. So I'd love to see something from the perspective of a secondary character or even an original character, just to explore this universe in general.
This one too probably doesn't need much further elaboration. I just love to see the changes in the world, and in people, as a result of the flashforwards, both in large ways and in small ways. Sometimes it's the things that you don't at first think about that make for the most interesting stories, like the way dating habits change, or the way legal systems may need to adapt. Feel free to go way further afield than the show has explored so far, or work within the information that the show has given us so far if that's what inspires you.
I've probably just given you way more information than you need. It's possible I rambled a little. :) Take from it what you find useful, and just let the rest be background noise. Have fun!
And yes, I've already started a list of things I may or may not want to nominate when Yuletide 2010 rolls around. >.>
However! It's yuletide season once again, and since sign-ups have now closed and assignments will be going out soon, here is this year's Dear Yuletide Author letter:
I'm going to start by just c&ping my entire Dear Yuletide Writer letter from two years ago, because I think it still sums up everything that I want from Yuletide:
Dear Yuletide Writer,
Here's what I want you to do. I want you to take the fandom and the character(s) I've requested, and write a story that you want to write. Seriously. I've offered more information for each of the fandoms on what I think would make an interesting story, and if that gives you ideas for what to write or if you're someone who counts on having something concrete to work with then that's fantastic, but don't let it limit you if you've got something else in mind. Some of my favourite stories are stories that I didn't know I wanted to read, and Yuletide is supposed to be fun so don't kill yourself to write a story that you might not be suited to. What I really want, more than anything else, is just a story in any one of those fandoms.
This year more than most my requests seem to be very world-based rather than character-based, which isn't to say I don't love character-centric pieces, I'm just not as focused on specific characters in these canons as I am interested in the interaction between characters and the unique worlds they inhabit. Generally, I enjoy stories of all ratings and all types. I'm a slash fan who also enjoys het and poly relationships, or no relationships beyond friendship at all. I like fluff and angst, humour and solemnity, short and long, traditional narrative and experimental, and most of all I just love reading about people in all their wonderful complexity.
I just have one very specific request for you: please don't include descriptions of allergic reactions in the story, or use them as a plot point. I know this sounds strange, and it probably would never have even occurred to you to do that anyway, but just for my own peace of mind I'm saying it. It can sometimes trigger a psychosomatic reaction for me, based on my own past medical issues, and that's something I just don't want to have to deal with during the holidays if I can manage to avoid it. :)
And now, for the specific fandoms!
Fandom: Archie
Request: I don't even care what, just do something to dirty those teenagers up. Drugs, alcohol, gay scandals, teenage pregnancy, a deep-seated desperation to get the hell out of Riverdale. Really, anything to subvert the sweet and innocent tone of the comics. I want them to feel like real people facing real struggles. I'm not necessarily aiming for angst, just something that feels like real teenagers.
Yes, Archie comics. I think this request doesn't really need any expansion, but here's a little story anyway. Last year during the holidays I was visiting my mother and we were going through some boxes of my brother's old books, and in them were piles of Archie digests. He and I used to read those all the time growing up, and to this day one can usually be found in the bathroom of my mother's house. As I thumbed through them I got to thinking about what they would read like if they really represented the kinds of teenagers I grew up with and know in real life. And thus, this request was born.
Fandom: Community
Request: What I really want is some Abed fic, no matter what direction it takes you in. I would definitely not object to some Abed/Troy, but if that's not your thing I totally value their awesome friendship just as it is.
This show came out of nowhere and made me love it, even though I didn't even intend to watch it at all when I first heard of it. Abed's my favourite, but the truth is that I love all of them and wouldn't be unhappy to see any sort of story about any of them, particularly if it's ensemble.
Fandom: David Bowie - The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars (album)
Request: Not only is the world going to end in five years, but everyone knows it. I'm more interested in the state of that world, the youth culture it breeds, and the effect Ziggy has on it rather than a Ziggy origin story (whether your position is Ziggy as Martian or Ziggy as avatar for the starmen), but there's just such a huge and fascinating (and sometimes contradictory) mythology surrounding this album that I'd be happy with any fic and any interpretation.
The main thing I want to say about this one is that I'm not married to any one interpretation of the album and the songs, and I know there are multiple interpretations out there. Go. Wild. Go with your gut. I'm just so excited that this fandom exists in the world. Write anything. Seriously. (I viewed the album as a single entity for the purposes of this request (including other songs that exist in the Ziggy canon but aren't on the album), but if you want to focus on any one song, feel free to do that as well.)
Seriously, don't feel bound by anything. Make shit up. Create your own interpretation. Go with what feels right to you. I'm really that open on this one.
Fandom: FlashForward
Request: What I'm most interested in here isn't the mystery of discovering how it all happened but the reality of the lives of people who saw six months into their future, and the social structures that evolve as a result of it, like Mosaic (and the ripple effect it's had globally in all kinds of interesting ways) and like the Blue Hand. So I'd love to see something from the perspective of a secondary character or even an original character, just to explore this universe in general.
This one too probably doesn't need much further elaboration. I just love to see the changes in the world, and in people, as a result of the flashforwards, both in large ways and in small ways. Sometimes it's the things that you don't at first think about that make for the most interesting stories, like the way dating habits change, or the way legal systems may need to adapt. Feel free to go way further afield than the show has explored so far, or work within the information that the show has given us so far if that's what inspires you.
I've probably just given you way more information than you need. It's possible I rambled a little. :) Take from it what you find useful, and just let the rest be background noise. Have fun!
And yes, I've already started a list of things I may or may not want to nominate when Yuletide 2010 rolls around. >.>