Oh, hi!
Hi, LJ! Long time, no see.
Yes, I've been busy at work, but I've also been busy with fannish actives, including going to Dragon*Con and winchestmidwest and volunteering for Organization for Transformative Works.
Speaking of OTW, did you know that it's celebrating its five-year anniversary right now? I remember when talk of it first started, when it became clear that fandom needed "to own the goddamn servers," and while I couldn't support OTW financially for its first few years, I could absolutely take advantage of AO3, Fanlore, and Transformative Works and Culture.
AO3 is a gimme in terms of understanding why it was useful for me, but Fanlore and Transformative Works and Cultures maybe aren't quite so obvious. I lost my job in late 2008, and when I couldn't find work, it made sense to go back for my master's. One of the concerns I had after losing my job was that my name was all over the web because I'd used it for fan fiction. There was no way to turn back the clock on that decision, so I decided to own my fannish activities with a vengeance and listed "Amateur fiction writing" as a hobby on my resume. I felt that was a good first step, but that I also needed to go a bit further, so for each class I took, I made sure that at least one of my papers or projects was related to fandom. That's where Fanlore and Transformative Works and Culture really started to help me, because they were valid sources for research and quotes and gave me some of my favorite papers.
I finally found a new job in June 2010, thanks to the contacts I made in my master's program. Although I had one paper in my portfolio directly related to fandom, my interviewers really didn't look at that. Instead, they were curious about my "amateur fiction." I explained in the interview that fan fiction had helped me become a much better writer, especially in terms of understanding audience and taking advantage of my readers' tacit knowledge. Clearly, I'd made the right decision to embrace fan fiction as a method of professional development, because they offered me the job two days later.
The OTW is holding its October membership drive right now, and all it takes to become a member with voting privileges is a $10 minimum donation. Your donation goes toward keeping the OTW financially healthy for you and for fans who aren't able to make a donation. I was in that boat for a few years myself, and I'm incredibly grateful to everyone whose donations kept the OTW going.
To find out how OTW has impacted other folks, go to http://transformativeworks.org/october-drive-celebrating-our-supporters.
OTW Membership Drive
October 13-17, 2012
Rock And Roll Ain't Noise Pollution by AC/DC from Back In Black (Rating: 0)
Yes, I've been busy at work, but I've also been busy with fannish actives, including going to Dragon*Con and winchestmidwest and volunteering for Organization for Transformative Works.
Speaking of OTW, did you know that it's celebrating its five-year anniversary right now? I remember when talk of it first started, when it became clear that fandom needed "to own the goddamn servers," and while I couldn't support OTW financially for its first few years, I could absolutely take advantage of AO3, Fanlore, and Transformative Works and Culture.
AO3 is a gimme in terms of understanding why it was useful for me, but Fanlore and Transformative Works and Cultures maybe aren't quite so obvious. I lost my job in late 2008, and when I couldn't find work, it made sense to go back for my master's. One of the concerns I had after losing my job was that my name was all over the web because I'd used it for fan fiction. There was no way to turn back the clock on that decision, so I decided to own my fannish activities with a vengeance and listed "Amateur fiction writing" as a hobby on my resume. I felt that was a good first step, but that I also needed to go a bit further, so for each class I took, I made sure that at least one of my papers or projects was related to fandom. That's where Fanlore and Transformative Works and Culture really started to help me, because they were valid sources for research and quotes and gave me some of my favorite papers.
I finally found a new job in June 2010, thanks to the contacts I made in my master's program. Although I had one paper in my portfolio directly related to fandom, my interviewers really didn't look at that. Instead, they were curious about my "amateur fiction." I explained in the interview that fan fiction had helped me become a much better writer, especially in terms of understanding audience and taking advantage of my readers' tacit knowledge. Clearly, I'd made the right decision to embrace fan fiction as a method of professional development, because they offered me the job two days later.
The OTW is holding its October membership drive right now, and all it takes to become a member with voting privileges is a $10 minimum donation. Your donation goes toward keeping the OTW financially healthy for you and for fans who aren't able to make a donation. I was in that boat for a few years myself, and I'm incredibly grateful to everyone whose donations kept the OTW going.
To find out how OTW has impacted other folks, go to http://transformativeworks.org/october-drive-celebrating-our-supporters.
OTW Membership Drive
October 13-17, 2012
Rock And Roll Ain't Noise Pollution by AC/DC from Back In Black (Rating: 0)