Thoughts on Ficathons
There is a pretty cool ficathon going on over at jadedcynic's Live Journal -- the idea is to see what happened to all the rest of the Buffyverse characters on the day that Angel turned back? nwhepcat linked to that.
I didn't sign up, though. Why? For the most part, I don't like ficathons.
I know that probably seems a bit strange -- I mean, two of my most popular stories are the results of ficathon entries (the CYA Ficathon and the PAL Ficathon). Thing is, I like ficathons in theory but not in practice. I like the idea of a challenge or a prompt or a thought which various writers then run with. I like lots of writers working toward a vaguely-common goal. I like when the due date comes and you get a nice onslaught of fun new fics.
I hate the typical sign-up process.
Personally, I'm a writer first and a reader second. When I read something good, it makes me want to write. It's inspiring. I want to be that writer for someone else, I want to get the itch and scratch out a story which is good enough to make a reader cry or laugh or get angry or identify with the characters to the point of emotional outburst. As such, when I go to a ficathon sign-up and see the concept of the ficathon, I don't want to prompt someone else to write. My juices are already going. I want to take my idea and run with it, I don't want to share it with someone else.
That's what I liked about the PAL Ficathon -- I just signed up and started writing. I didn't have to wait; I didn't have to worry that my story idea wasn't going to work with the characters that I get assigned. I got the idea and I wrote it. Contrast that with the CYA Ficathon, which wasn't even the typical "get an assignment" ficathon: for that one, you applied with information on the type of stories you write, and people provided an assignment that was fit for your style. Still, I had to change around the idea I was bunnying on at the time.
I realize that the idea of a ficathon is to be challenged, and a lot of what I'm talking about is exactly why some people sign up for them. I've also completely lost steam on this. Fuck.
I guess I'll just post this and see if I can strike up some conversation?
I wouldn't bother responding to this -- I'm away from a computer all day tomorrow, and can't respond to any responses for about twenty-one hours (7:30pm EDT).
I didn't sign up, though. Why? For the most part, I don't like ficathons.
I know that probably seems a bit strange -- I mean, two of my most popular stories are the results of ficathon entries (the CYA Ficathon and the PAL Ficathon). Thing is, I like ficathons in theory but not in practice. I like the idea of a challenge or a prompt or a thought which various writers then run with. I like lots of writers working toward a vaguely-common goal. I like when the due date comes and you get a nice onslaught of fun new fics.
I hate the typical sign-up process.
Personally, I'm a writer first and a reader second. When I read something good, it makes me want to write. It's inspiring. I want to be that writer for someone else, I want to get the itch and scratch out a story which is good enough to make a reader cry or laugh or get angry or identify with the characters to the point of emotional outburst. As such, when I go to a ficathon sign-up and see the concept of the ficathon, I don't want to prompt someone else to write. My juices are already going. I want to take my idea and run with it, I don't want to share it with someone else.
That's what I liked about the PAL Ficathon -- I just signed up and started writing. I didn't have to wait; I didn't have to worry that my story idea wasn't going to work with the characters that I get assigned. I got the idea and I wrote it. Contrast that with the CYA Ficathon, which wasn't even the typical "get an assignment" ficathon: for that one, you applied with information on the type of stories you write, and people provided an assignment that was fit for your style. Still, I had to change around the idea I was bunnying on at the time.
I realize that the idea of a ficathon is to be challenged, and a lot of what I'm talking about is exactly why some people sign up for them. I've also completely lost steam on this. Fuck.
I guess I'll just post this and see if I can strike up some conversation?
I wouldn't bother responding to this -- I'm away from a computer all day tomorrow, and can't respond to any responses for about twenty-one hours (7:30pm EDT).