What's a remix?
So what exactly is a remix? This post has some more details and suggestions about what remixing usually means as well as some guidelines for what we expect in this challenge.
Basics
The biggest remix challenge that people have been familiar with in the past is Remix Redux, an annual multifandom challenge that was run by
musesfool and co-mods on Livejournal from 2003-2015. Here are a couple excerpts from their explanation of what a remix is:
Ever read a story and think, wow, what a fascinating story, but if I had written it, I would have... Well, now here's your chance to do just that. Rewrite someone else's story, tell somebody else's tale. Take the work of another person and wrap it up in your vision and style, just like a remixer does to songs.
...You can do whatever you like to the story - change POV, dialogue, mood, characterization, make it longer or shorter, whatever - except for two things: pairing(s) and the basic plotline.
Another common explanation of remixing is that you're writing a fanfic of a fanfic.
Some people have referred to remixing as "fixing" or improving on someone else's fic. At Camelot Remix, we like to think of remixing as writing or making art that is a complement to the original. A story or piece of art that will stand up on its own, but will also be interesting to someone who's already read or viewed the original fanwork you are remixing.
Often, a good remix will give the reader a new way of appreciating the original by filling out the background, giving another character's view of what's happening, or explaining the characters' motivations in a different way.
What are some ways to remix?
There are many ways to remix. But below we have listed some of the most popular ways people remix fanworks:
- changing the POV
(perhaps the original work is a fic from Merlin’s POV, but the remix is a fic from the POV of a potted plant in Merlin’s office, as in
mk_emrys’s remix It Started with A Cream Bun of
polomonkey’s Twice as Sweet As Sugar)
- writing a sequel/prequel/missing scene
- change the tense
- change genre, or focus
Other changes?
- change the style or structure
(perhaps you can tell the story in a different order, in a series of drabbles, letters, or texts? Perhaps you could use a 5 things format?)
- change the time-period
(canon to modern or vice versa?, as
clea2011 did with a Chivalry and the Modern Alpha (The Elemental Love Remix) which was a modern au remix of
aeris444’s canon era Elemental Love. Or you could change a future or apocalyptic AU to past or historical AU, or vice-versa?)
- change the focus
(choose a minor event and make it the main focus)
- change the AU or trope
(change the career? ABO? fairy tale AU? non-magic?)
- remix art if you're a writer, or words if you're an artist
(if you love an artist's work, maybe write the story that the visuals inspire? Or draw, paint, sketch, etc. your favorite scene from an author's fic)
What should I NOT do for a remix?
- don't change the pairing (or lack of pairing)
(it's okay to bring a background pairing from the original into the foreground of the remix, or focus on other parts of the story so the remix is more gen, but if a fic is about Angel and Katie getting together don't just go and replace Angel with Emilia. Don't turn a het fic into a slash fic or vice versa)
- don’t alter the 'feel' of a work
(e.g. if in the original work Arthur is a nice guy, please don't turn him into a cheating douche in your remix)
- don't change the basic plotline
(it's fine to change some details, but keep the essential action the same. If the original is about Bradley and Colin going on a road trip together, you can give them some different adventures along the way but don't turn it into a story about them sharing a house)
- Don't remix a story that's off-limits
(as mentioned in the FAQ, you may not remix an unfinished fic, one that's co-written or is a remix itself, or your remixee's designated "safe story")
Expectations and etiquette
- Please be respectful of other challenge participants
Regardless of your own shipping preferences, or kinks, etc, don’t make fun of, or criticise their stories. This is a challenge to write the story your way, so getting assigned to someone who doesn't tend to write something that like you gives you more room to be creative, not less.
- This is an anonymous challenge
So please keep your assignment and the details of what you're writing secret until after we reveal all the authors names.
- Please remember to thank your remixer!
A remix is different from a gift exchange in that the point is not to write something your recipient/remixee will like, but rather to write the story your way. However, that said, the remixee is usually the person who knows the original story best and has the best perspective to appreciate the remix. Most writers are eager to hear what their remixee thinks of the story, and it is common courtesy that you would read and acknowledge that someone has engaged with your work as part of this fest. If you can't think of anything positive to say, consider something like "Thank you for remixing my story."
Further reading
Want to read more about remixing? Check out Fanlore's Remix page!
For a lot of people though, the easiest way of understanding remixing is to read a few examples, so check out our Camelot Remix collection on AO3 to see what people have done previously.
Discuss!
What about you? What are your questions, your worries and doubts? Link us to your favourite remixes or favourite remix meta posts.
If you've done this before, what was especially awesome or especially challenging? What advice would you give someone remixing for the first time, or someone still deciding whether to sign up?
Your first time remixing? Check out our very first Remix discussion thread when we ran the fest for the first time to see how people felt and how they approached the challenge here!
Updated February 2020
This entry is also posted on Dreamwidth with
comments.
Basics
The biggest remix challenge that people have been familiar with in the past is Remix Redux, an annual multifandom challenge that was run by
musesfool and co-mods on Livejournal from 2003-2015. Here are a couple excerpts from their explanation of what a remix is:
Ever read a story and think, wow, what a fascinating story, but if I had written it, I would have... Well, now here's your chance to do just that. Rewrite someone else's story, tell somebody else's tale. Take the work of another person and wrap it up in your vision and style, just like a remixer does to songs.
...You can do whatever you like to the story - change POV, dialogue, mood, characterization, make it longer or shorter, whatever - except for two things: pairing(s) and the basic plotline.
Another common explanation of remixing is that you're writing a fanfic of a fanfic.
Some people have referred to remixing as "fixing" or improving on someone else's fic. At Camelot Remix, we like to think of remixing as writing or making art that is a complement to the original. A story or piece of art that will stand up on its own, but will also be interesting to someone who's already read or viewed the original fanwork you are remixing.
Often, a good remix will give the reader a new way of appreciating the original by filling out the background, giving another character's view of what's happening, or explaining the characters' motivations in a different way.
What are some ways to remix?
There are many ways to remix. But below we have listed some of the most popular ways people remix fanworks:
- changing the POV
(perhaps the original work is a fic from Merlin’s POV, but the remix is a fic from the POV of a potted plant in Merlin’s office, as in
mk_emrys’s remix It Started with A Cream Bun of
polomonkey’s Twice as Sweet As Sugar)
- writing a sequel/prequel/missing scene
- change the tense
- change genre, or focus
Other changes?
- change the style or structure
(perhaps you can tell the story in a different order, in a series of drabbles, letters, or texts? Perhaps you could use a 5 things format?)
- change the time-period
(canon to modern or vice versa?, as
clea2011 did with a Chivalry and the Modern Alpha (The Elemental Love Remix) which was a modern au remix of
aeris444’s canon era Elemental Love. Or you could change a future or apocalyptic AU to past or historical AU, or vice-versa?)
- change the focus
(choose a minor event and make it the main focus)
- change the AU or trope
(change the career? ABO? fairy tale AU? non-magic?)
- remix art if you're a writer, or words if you're an artist
(if you love an artist's work, maybe write the story that the visuals inspire? Or draw, paint, sketch, etc. your favorite scene from an author's fic)
What should I NOT do for a remix?
- don't change the pairing (or lack of pairing)
(it's okay to bring a background pairing from the original into the foreground of the remix, or focus on other parts of the story so the remix is more gen, but if a fic is about Angel and Katie getting together don't just go and replace Angel with Emilia. Don't turn a het fic into a slash fic or vice versa)
- don’t alter the 'feel' of a work
(e.g. if in the original work Arthur is a nice guy, please don't turn him into a cheating douche in your remix)
- don't change the basic plotline
(it's fine to change some details, but keep the essential action the same. If the original is about Bradley and Colin going on a road trip together, you can give them some different adventures along the way but don't turn it into a story about them sharing a house)
- Don't remix a story that's off-limits
(as mentioned in the FAQ, you may not remix an unfinished fic, one that's co-written or is a remix itself, or your remixee's designated "safe story")
Expectations and etiquette
- Please be respectful of other challenge participants
Regardless of your own shipping preferences, or kinks, etc, don’t make fun of, or criticise their stories. This is a challenge to write the story your way, so getting assigned to someone who doesn't tend to write something that like you gives you more room to be creative, not less.
- This is an anonymous challenge
So please keep your assignment and the details of what you're writing secret until after we reveal all the authors names.
- Please remember to thank your remixer!
A remix is different from a gift exchange in that the point is not to write something your recipient/remixee will like, but rather to write the story your way. However, that said, the remixee is usually the person who knows the original story best and has the best perspective to appreciate the remix. Most writers are eager to hear what their remixee thinks of the story, and it is common courtesy that you would read and acknowledge that someone has engaged with your work as part of this fest. If you can't think of anything positive to say, consider something like "Thank you for remixing my story."
Further reading
Want to read more about remixing? Check out Fanlore's Remix page!
For a lot of people though, the easiest way of understanding remixing is to read a few examples, so check out our Camelot Remix collection on AO3 to see what people have done previously.
Discuss!
What about you? What are your questions, your worries and doubts? Link us to your favourite remixes or favourite remix meta posts.
If you've done this before, what was especially awesome or especially challenging? What advice would you give someone remixing for the first time, or someone still deciding whether to sign up?
Your first time remixing? Check out our very first Remix discussion thread when we ran the fest for the first time to see how people felt and how they approached the challenge here!
Updated February 2020
This entry is also posted on Dreamwidth with
comments.