30 Days of Fanfic - Day 22
22 - Have you ever participated in a fest or a Big Bang? If so, write about your favorite experience in relation to one. If not, are there any you've thought about doing? And if not, why not?
Oh, yes! Some of my favorite stories have been the results of "fic fests", themed challenges, and ficathons. (Are "Big Bangs" similar? I've never done one of those, so I'm not sure what the difference is.) I don't do them often because of the time constraints (deadlines tend to conflict with work), but I have had very positive experiences with all the 'thons I've participated in.
I'm not sure I could reference any particular one as my favorite. They were each different experiences, with different groups of fans, and so they were each special in their way. For example:
I wrote Life, Unfiltered for my very first ficathon, which was not only my first foray into the Whedonverse, but it was also a departure from what I actually wanted to write in that fandom - that being something Spuffy related. But when the specs came in for a Spike and Illyria fic, I found that I not only liked writing the story itself, but I adored the way those two characters interacted with each other. It was something I probably wouldn't have tackled if it hadn't been for the challenge. (I eventually did write a B/S story for seasonal_spuffy, and I liked the way that turned out, too!)
Begin the Beguine, one of my personal favorite stories, was the result of the Wash/Zoë Firefly Ficathon at wifesoup. Yet another example of how the wonderful specifications provided by another writer helped to create something that I may not have come up with by myself. (And one that's stood the test of time for me, personally. If your own story can stand up to your own scrutiny, even years later, you know it's special!)
I think, though, some of my most enjoyable ficathons and theme challenges have been in the D&DC fandom. For a good few years there, we were holding big ones almost twice annually - one at Christmas, and one in the summer. I've contributed more one-shots, ficlets, and little vignettes to that fandom than anywhere else - more, even, than I've posted here on LJ or at FF.N. (Which reminds me: I should probably track some of them down! Because they were actually pretty good!) My favorite story to come out of all that was definitely Balance of Power for one of the Christmas Challenges. Like my Firefly story, this one also continues to rank among my favorites that I've ever written.
Master List of Questions can be found here.