lazy staycation is lazy...and rejuvinating
I've pretty much stayed in my house. It's been lovely. I forced myself to go out Tuesday because I needed groceries (and I hit Target for half price wrapping paper etc.) but I've been in pjs pretty much ever since. Yesterday I took out the trash and got in two days worth of mail and that was it. I'll probably stay inside today and just deal with the trashcan and mail tomorrow morning before heading in for my half day at work.
I have answered two email work questions and talked to my mom on the phone a couple of times but otherwise it's been so quiet and lovely.
I've spent most of the time reading fics with sports in the background. Big 12 is 2-0 so far in bowl games and Baylor's basketball team squeaked by last night to stay unbeaten. KU plays tonight at the same time as the Baylor bowl game but that's what the "last" button on the remote is for.
I made chili last night and I've eaten my raisin walnut bread with no harmful effects. Tonight I'm making fried rice for the first time, using dad's "recipe" (which is really just his method). Next week is dieting, undecorating the house and writing a sermon on Mary Magdeline but his week is just laziness and eating favorite foods.
I have written a couple fics--sadly did not write anything for Yuletide Madness because, by the time I got through all the prompts, I was ready to fall asleep on the couch. I did pick three I'm going to try for New Year's Resolution and I have twenty-five fandom stockings to fill this weekend, too.
I have my three ships fic nearly done--due tonight--and I have a couple others due by the 31st I hope to write today. I've moved off the couch to the dining room table where it's easier to type and there's no games on until 4:30 today so I should have time to get those fics finished.
I've been following the slight kerfluffles in Yuletide with a bit of sadness. I must admit that I read the one fic in question and enjoyed it for what it was, and was a bit surprised by the recipient's response until I learned what the requests were and how they had been ignored and the recipient was very polite about it. Still, anons chiding the recipient and the author were both wrong. I don't know the other cases that apparently exist but, really, it's a gift. We don't always get what we want but being gracious doesn't hurt anyone, and sticking your nose into someone else's gift and giving is just wrong. I don't get why anyone would give concrit on a gift exchange either, especially where it's rare fandoms and people are coming at them from all different directions, styles of writing and levels of ability. Not everyone writing Yuletide is a great writer but they chose to put themselves out there and share and we should appreciate that.
While I try to write to my recipient's optional details--and got really lucky this year--they are optional. All you're required to do is write the characters requested. Recipients don't even have to give optional details or write a Dear Goat letter, though both make it much easier. All a recipient should expect is a fic with their fandom and characters of at least 1000 words. Anything else is gravy!
On another note, there's been discussion of the etiquette of commenting on your gift, with a lot of people saying you should say something pretty much right away or place your name on the "i'm away" post.
I have issues with this, some of which stem from my concern for people that desperate for feedback (as I used to be that person and I know how harmful that was to my own ego and made me quite a bitca in fandom back in the day until I got bitchslapped and wised up). One of my gifts was quite long and I didn't get to it until about 48 hours had passed. I tend to read short fics first. That's my nature. If I'd been working, it might have taken me even longer to get read it.
Anyway, I have like 150 tabs of fic open in Firefox and most of them are over 10K. In another community, a gift fic was posted for me this past Saturday right when I was crazy busy. It got lost in the open tabs and holiday stuff and I stumbled over it last night. I hope the author wasn't worried I hated the fic, but...that can't be the reason you write a fic, even if you're writing to the specifics of someone else for a gift. If you like it, it really needs to be enough, because there are people who will never comment and there will be people who don't like it.
A couple Yuletides ago I never did get feedback from my recipient--who never wrote a fic so they defaulted. I have no way of knowing if they ever read the fic, read it and felt too embarrassed to comment, or what. It didn't bother me, I didn't let it. I liked the fic, other people read it and liked it. It's like how I love giving holiday cards. If no one sends me one back, that's FINE. It's the giving that makes me happy.
Back to the comments that you should feedback as soon as possible etc., there are no requirements that you comment on the fic you receive. There are no requirements you put up a "I'm away" post or write a goat letter or join either the regular Yuletide LJ comm or the admin comm.
The only requirement for Yuletide is that you write a fic of at least a thousand words in a requested fandom with the requested character(s). The mods ask that you be polite in any comments, but, again, there's no way they can control that, and, really I agree completely with them on that which is why I don't give concrit ever and if I don't have anything nice to say, I don't say anything at all, though I would always thank my giftee as I do believe that's the polite thing to do, but not everyone does.
So, while I did comment positively on my gifts, that was my choice. I also received positive feedback from my recipient, but, if they'd never commented or waited until a later date, I'd be okay with that.
Because I really like what I wrote and so did some other people.
Probably some unpopular opinions above but I'm old and set in my ways and I learned a long time ago to write for myself even when it's a gift for someone else because if you don't like what you've written, that's going to come across.
Okay, back to writing. :)
I have answered two email work questions and talked to my mom on the phone a couple of times but otherwise it's been so quiet and lovely.
I've spent most of the time reading fics with sports in the background. Big 12 is 2-0 so far in bowl games and Baylor's basketball team squeaked by last night to stay unbeaten. KU plays tonight at the same time as the Baylor bowl game but that's what the "last" button on the remote is for.
I made chili last night and I've eaten my raisin walnut bread with no harmful effects. Tonight I'm making fried rice for the first time, using dad's "recipe" (which is really just his method). Next week is dieting, undecorating the house and writing a sermon on Mary Magdeline but his week is just laziness and eating favorite foods.
I have written a couple fics--sadly did not write anything for Yuletide Madness because, by the time I got through all the prompts, I was ready to fall asleep on the couch. I did pick three I'm going to try for New Year's Resolution and I have twenty-five fandom stockings to fill this weekend, too.
I have my three ships fic nearly done--due tonight--and I have a couple others due by the 31st I hope to write today. I've moved off the couch to the dining room table where it's easier to type and there's no games on until 4:30 today so I should have time to get those fics finished.
I've been following the slight kerfluffles in Yuletide with a bit of sadness. I must admit that I read the one fic in question and enjoyed it for what it was, and was a bit surprised by the recipient's response until I learned what the requests were and how they had been ignored and the recipient was very polite about it. Still, anons chiding the recipient and the author were both wrong. I don't know the other cases that apparently exist but, really, it's a gift. We don't always get what we want but being gracious doesn't hurt anyone, and sticking your nose into someone else's gift and giving is just wrong. I don't get why anyone would give concrit on a gift exchange either, especially where it's rare fandoms and people are coming at them from all different directions, styles of writing and levels of ability. Not everyone writing Yuletide is a great writer but they chose to put themselves out there and share and we should appreciate that.
While I try to write to my recipient's optional details--and got really lucky this year--they are optional. All you're required to do is write the characters requested. Recipients don't even have to give optional details or write a Dear Goat letter, though both make it much easier. All a recipient should expect is a fic with their fandom and characters of at least 1000 words. Anything else is gravy!
On another note, there's been discussion of the etiquette of commenting on your gift, with a lot of people saying you should say something pretty much right away or place your name on the "i'm away" post.
I have issues with this, some of which stem from my concern for people that desperate for feedback (as I used to be that person and I know how harmful that was to my own ego and made me quite a bitca in fandom back in the day until I got bitchslapped and wised up). One of my gifts was quite long and I didn't get to it until about 48 hours had passed. I tend to read short fics first. That's my nature. If I'd been working, it might have taken me even longer to get read it.
Anyway, I have like 150 tabs of fic open in Firefox and most of them are over 10K. In another community, a gift fic was posted for me this past Saturday right when I was crazy busy. It got lost in the open tabs and holiday stuff and I stumbled over it last night. I hope the author wasn't worried I hated the fic, but...that can't be the reason you write a fic, even if you're writing to the specifics of someone else for a gift. If you like it, it really needs to be enough, because there are people who will never comment and there will be people who don't like it.
A couple Yuletides ago I never did get feedback from my recipient--who never wrote a fic so they defaulted. I have no way of knowing if they ever read the fic, read it and felt too embarrassed to comment, or what. It didn't bother me, I didn't let it. I liked the fic, other people read it and liked it. It's like how I love giving holiday cards. If no one sends me one back, that's FINE. It's the giving that makes me happy.
Back to the comments that you should feedback as soon as possible etc., there are no requirements that you comment on the fic you receive. There are no requirements you put up a "I'm away" post or write a goat letter or join either the regular Yuletide LJ comm or the admin comm.
The only requirement for Yuletide is that you write a fic of at least a thousand words in a requested fandom with the requested character(s). The mods ask that you be polite in any comments, but, again, there's no way they can control that, and, really I agree completely with them on that which is why I don't give concrit ever and if I don't have anything nice to say, I don't say anything at all, though I would always thank my giftee as I do believe that's the polite thing to do, but not everyone does.
So, while I did comment positively on my gifts, that was my choice. I also received positive feedback from my recipient, but, if they'd never commented or waited until a later date, I'd be okay with that.
Because I really like what I wrote and so did some other people.
Probably some unpopular opinions above but I'm old and set in my ways and I learned a long time ago to write for myself even when it's a gift for someone else because if you don't like what you've written, that's going to come across.
Okay, back to writing. :)