Fandom Poll and Discussion: The Fundamental Fanfiction Exchange Thread

[themostepotente]

Since fanfiction exchanges seem to be so big in fandom, I thought I would do a huge discussion to gauge everyone's opinions on them. The two biggest Potterverse exchanges -- merry_smutmas and reversathon -- were huge successes and this year will mark the third round of merry_smutmas, now in full swing.

First off, I'd like to start by applauding the efforts of gmth hostess of merry_smutmas, fluffyllama hostess of reversathon, lysrouge and lizardspots hostesses of hpvalensmut, starrysummer hostess of hp_springsmut, and underlucius hostess of the first annual harry_holidays. I know it can be very time consuming, and without the cooperation of its participants, quite hectic I'd imagine.

I, for one, am a big fan of fic exchanges and have participated in four since I joined fandom. I regret passing on this year's reversathon, but I hope to participate next year and happily enjoyed the entries of those that did.

And this year's merry_smutmas looks to be the biggest and baddest yet!

So without further adieu, I bring you the ultimate fan fiction exchange thread: part poll and part discussion. Looking forward to everyone's thoughts and input!

[Poll #561327]

And what's a TMP discussion without a few essay-type questions? *G*

1.) Are you generally satisfied or unsatisfied with the fics you submit? Explain.

2.) How do you think the drop-outs (last minute or otherwise) and the complainers (those who are unsatisfied with their assignments and bitch to the hostess) should be handled?

3.) What are your thoughts on pinch-hitting? (Writing a last minute emergency fic)

4.) And lastly, what has been your favorite fic exchange and why?

--P

Comments

[happiestwhen.livejournal.com]

1.) Yes. I really think my best fic is the stuff I write under the pressure of a ficathon. When I know I am writing for a specific person's request, it gives me more incentive to do work hard on it. That's probably why I get workng on my assignments so early. I usually take a good week or two just to plot/outline/figure out characterizations, and then I write, and edit, and try to get my betas to be as brutal as possible. I am a lot tougher on myself when it comes to challenge fics, because they're not just some cracky idea I'm writing on a whim some night. Those are the things I write just for me, and I am surprised when people read and like them too, because I'm not expecting it. But with ficathons, I know that at least one person will be reading, and they'll probably be hoping for something good, and I want to do my best to give them a satisfying story. :D

2.) Like F said, I really don't have an issue with people who drop out because of family emergencies, or whatever. That is excusable, because their real-life issues are more pressing than some fandom event. However, I do take issue with the people who e-mail the mod the night of the deadline and say "sorry, I just didn't have time/couldn't think of an idea/lost my beta", because... most of these ficathons give the writers a month or more to complete their assignment, and really, if you wait until the last minute to brainstorm and write your idea, then it's your fault you couldn't think of anything, and that's no excuse. I also think that if you know you're not going to be able to participate from the get-go (if you're in school and you *know* that the fic deadline is your week of exams or something), then don't sign up. I know the ficathons are all very tempting, but it's not fair to the mod or the other participants if you drop out at the last minute. This probably bugs me more than it would other people because I am so anal retentive about getting my stuff in by the deadlines. XP

Re: complaints, if it was the mod's fault (ie, they didn't read your specified squicks or whatever and gave you a crappy assignment) then as long as the writer/artist approaches it tactfully and doesn't wank the mod or something rude like that, then complaining is all right. I've encountered this issue just once, but it was resolved easily and I just switched out my assignment with another participant. I've always been very surprised by my assignments, as they're hardly ever my first choice for prompt/pairing. But, well, if you're a writer with a decent imagination, you should be able to write something for whatever you're given, even if it's not in your 'safe zone'. That's why it's a fic challenge. All of the fics I've written for ficathons weren't things I would write on my own, but in retrospect, I'm really glad I received the assignments I did. So unless there's some really big issue, like, if I received an assignment to write Albus/Stan fluff, then I don't see any reason why I would complain. The mods do a ridiculous amount of work in pairing people up and sending out assignments and just generally running the fest. It just seems dumb to bitch, especially in cases where it's just like "well, my assignment wants 7th year h/d, but I wanted to write 6th year," or something.

3.) God do I admire people who can whip out something good so quickly, especially if it's not something they would necessarily have wanted to write.

4.) I think that, so far, reversathon. There was so much variety in the pairings and genres in that exchange, and the concept was just so cool and well-executed. Also, I think it was probably the largest exchange I've been involved in, and in this case, bigger is better. I also really liked the nevillosity exchange, which was probably my first 'big' challenge of any kind (am not counting quadrashag because that was pretty small, and J's the mod, so she would have probably have let me get away with things if I begged nicely XD), and I loved all the Neville fic that came out of that exchange.

[themostepotente.livejournal.com]

Dayum, Snoy, you wrote me a novel! *G*

So unless there's some really big issue, like, if I received an assignment to write Albus/Stan fluff, then I don't see any reason why I would complain.

If anyone could write this pairing, you could. With a side o' Stawkes I might add :-)

[happiestwhen.livejournal.com]

I know, I ramble leik woah. *headdesk*

Hahaha, oh, but Albus/Stan is on the list of pairings that are Not Allowed. Because a) Stan is spotty hate, b) his accent is hard to write, and c) something like 'Spotted Beard' really doesn't have enough pizazz to be a good ship name. :P

[themostepotente.livejournal.com]

Your Albus pairing names slay me, Snoy.

Slay. Me.