Snowflake Challenge 2017: Day 12

Masterpost | Day 12

In your own space, post a rec for fannish spaces and resources - comms, challenges, twitters, tumblrs, etc. Tell us about where you hang out. Leave a comment in this post saying you did it. Include a link to your post if you feel comfortable doing so.

I don't really hang out much in fannish things anymore (apart from AO3), so it's a pretty small list.

wipbigbang: finish your fanfics with this bang!
I've known the bang for three years, but I only started participating as an artist in 2015. I’ve been meaning to participate as a writer as well but when I tried (last year), I failed spectacularly (dropped out two weeks in). But I did fanart for four writers in 2 rounds (2015 & 2016), and it’s always been a pleasure to work with them.
This bang is also a way for me to use a bit of my Photoshop skills that I don't really use as much as I would like.

 trope_bingo: I discovered it very recently (in July or August 2016).
What I love about this bingo are the tropes, obviously, and the fact that it's multifandom. It gave me the right incentive to write again: 5 (short) fanfics written in under 3 months (after 3 years of having difficulty to write). I don't have the same proficiency as before (my writing peak was 2007-2010. From 2011 on, it just trickled). So yeah, it was a good experience.

NaNoWriMo, not really fannish but super useful to me.
For those of you who don’t know NaNoWriMo, the principle is very simple: write 50k words in 30 days.
Originally, the challenge is held each November, but you can also participate to the Camps (April and July) where you can set a custom goal (instead of the original 50k).
I started participating to NaNoWriMo in 2010 and didn’t stop (except for two years where I failed epically/miserably).

I love NaNoWriMo because:

• it makes me write 50k+ in 30 days (and it’s like my yearly quota for my writing so I don’t feel as guilty not writing the rest of the year)
• the (French) community is awesome
• I’ve written some my original ideas and it feels GREAT (though I didn’t finish any of them) (yet).

 Since a couple of years, they also accept fanfictions ;) (and thesis, and scripts, and other stuff).

Yes, the challenge is about quantity, not quality. It can make people uncomfortable (you have to kill your inner editor), some might even despise it, but you could think of this challenge as a way to start good habits such as:

• writing regularly
• writing all the crappy things first in order to reveal the brilliant ideas hidden in your mind. :)

(at least, that's what I think ;))

It’s for people who plan very carefully their stories, have detailed character profiles, do research and have a solid plot (which has to be done before the actual challenge)

It’s for people who didn’t plan anything, have one or two characters, thought of a few scenes they want to write, and write as they go (which is perfectly fine to do that during the challenge).

Also, it’s very satisfying.

Snowflake Challenge 2017: Days 13 & 14

Masterpost | Day 13

In your own space, write about a moment in fandom that meant a lot to you.  Leave a comment in this post saying you did it. Include a link to your post if you feel comfortable doing so.

The first great moment in my fannish world was when I discovered Sims stories (I was 11 or 12). Kidding, it’s not a great moment (even though I loved Sims stories at the time).

No, one of the best moment for me is when I received my first review on my first fanfiction (2007). I was so nervous/happy someone read and commented something I wrote, it was great but scary. I always squee a little when I see people’s comments on my work but it will never be like that first time. It felt like an accomplishment at the time, some kind of recognition.

Another great moment in fandom life was when I joined my first fannish forum, around 2009 (a French forum Newsasia focusing on dramas - Korean, Japanese, and a bit of Taiwanese). I met many wonderful people with whom I shared the love for the same things. I didn’t write any fanfics on dramas but it felt so good to have people liking, reccing dramas and just being so nice to newbies (like me). I even met one of my favourite person in real life through this forum. I stopped going by the end of 2010, and it closed in 2012. I was pretty sad when I found out it did: I had a lot of good memories there.

For instance, I started a writing challenge. The rules were simple: you have to include 10 random words (given by the previous player) in your text, and the text had to be at least 100 words long. That’s where I met my friend, we kinda became the only two people playing this game - we created our own crazy universe with our crazy characters. I had so much fun that I kept my stories.

.:: ::.

Day 14

Go forth and commit an act of kindness. Leave a comment in this post saying you did it, tell us about it if you’re comfortable doing so.

I gave a bit of money to homeless people. So, I guess I did it.