Well I look so fine, but I feel so low

[dolorosa_12]

I've come to the reluctant conclusion that it would be a bad idea to participate in waybackexchange this year. All my nominated fandoms were accepted, but having looked at the final tagset, there is nothing I'd be comfortable writing, and I doubt anyone is going to offer anything I request. I feel a bit better about requesting unlikely-to-be-offered fandoms in bigger exchanges such as Yuletide, but the prospect of (yet again) being an unclaimed request that lingers on the pinch hit list for the duration of the exchange depresses me.

I'm also just feeling a bit burnt out and unhappy about exchanges at the moment. While I enjoyed writing last year's Yuletide fics, and liked the gift I received, I felt a lot unhappiness about things around the exchange (which I don't really want to go into detail about because I think it would sound bratty and ungrateful) and it overall wasn't a hugely fun experience, and I'm starting to suspect that's probably a sign to give exchanges a break for a while.

This the second weekend in which the UK is being blasted by a named storm — last week was Ciara, this week it's Denis. So far things aren't as wild as they were last weekend, but I'm still planning to stick fairly close to home, lounging around in my very warm Icelandic jumper, reading Benjamin January books.

This has been a slow week in general — other than seeing Birds of Prey in the cinema on Monday (ridiculous, over the top, excellent soundtrack, and a lot of fun) I've only left the house to go to work (or to go swimming before work), and it looks as if things are going to continue in this vein for next week as well.

I hope everyone else is spending the weekend doing things they enjoy!

Comments

[isis]

I saw some of the weather maps of the Atlantic storms, and they're wild. The Atlantic Oscillation is sure giving you guys what-for; in my part of the world it's contributed to a milder-than-usual winter. (Which means the skiing isn't so great! On the other hand, I've been running a lot, and it's supposed to be in the upper 40s F today!)

I got burned out on exchanges a few years ago for a variety of reasons, and took about a year off in which I signed up for very few exchanges but wrote pinch hits and treats instead, which worked well to get my head back in a happy place where I could do exchanges again. I hope it works for you!

[dolorosa_12]

Yeah, the weather has been pretty extreme — although this weekend's storm seems to have stopped in the early hours of Sunday morning, rather than raging for the remainder of the day, which is what the forecast said.

That might be a good approach to exchanges, or I just need to limit myself to Yuletide, where there are enough participants that I can always find something I want to offer, and there are enough people standing by to write pinch hits, even if the requests are fairly obscure. I'm just feeling a bit cast down, which is hardly the ideal mood with which to participate in an exchange right now.

[naye]

Oooh, another storm! That's why we're having rubbish weather. Makes sense.

And yeah, if you're feeling unhappy that's a very good sign you don't want to be doing another exchange right now.

[dolorosa_12]

I take it the storm didn't hit you as badly as it did here in the UK, but yes. Rubbish weather for the second weekend in a row.

You're probably right about sitting out a few exchanges that I'd normally do. I'm not in the right mood.

[morbane]

Sorry to hear about the exchange burnout. In case this is cheering to hear, since I've picked up your requests in exchanges several times - it was never a burden. In fact there were even a couple of exchanges where I nominated Space Demons thinking 'hey, Dolorosa might ask for that again, what a fun excuse to re-read the trilogy'.

I saw Birds of Prey with my flatmate on her sudden birthday whim, and loved it. So unexpectedly consistent.

[dolorosa_12]

Aww, that is so kind of you to say! Your Galax Arena fic is one of my favourite things I've ever received in an exchange, so it means a lot to know that you enjoyed writing it. Regarding Space Demons, it must have been for exchanges in which I didn't participate, because if I had seen it in the tagset I would definitely have requested it! I've just picked up in various places a kind of resentment about the same people allegedly holding up exchanges because they keep requesting the same unoffered fandoms and lingering on the pinch hit list. While I don't think this has ever been the case for me, I do tend to request the same things (until I receive them), and they usually go immediately to pinch hits. And there was just some other things around last year's Yuletide that clouded my experience (nothing to do with the organisation of the exchange itself, I should add — solely things relating to me), and altogether I feel I'm not in the right mood to participate in an exchange at the mmoment.

Birds of Prey was such ridiculous fun. I'm glad I saw it.

[morbane]

It is to be an exchange of compliments! I'm glad. ♥

I think I've picked up some of that talk, and I can see why it would be uncomfortable.

I hope your next exchange is delightful - whenever it happens to be.

I think I get out a bit more

[blaizedeeziere]

Hello. Forgive me for intruding. I caught you on Random Journal. I just wanted to thank you for clearing something up for me a little.

I am a writer, but I do not write fanfic. I know a lot of people that read it and quite a few that write it. I kept seeing long lists that people put on their journal, while hopping around with random journal, detailing what kind of fanfic they wanted written for them.

It seemed kind of pushy from my viewpoint to expect others to write you all that free fanfic, but I also understood their must be things about the community I did not understand. Every time I was around someone I could ask about it, I never remembered to do so.

I think I get now that it is a trade of work. If I had seen something where someone had posted what they were willing to write, also, I probably would have clued into that sooner.

Thank you for providing a little insight.

Re: I think I get out a bit more

[dolorosa_12]

Not a problem at all. Generally there's not an 'expectation' for others to write free fanfic — most people who write it are writing it for a combination of reasons (love of the characters or canonical material, the joy of writing, the sense of community with other fanfic writers and readers). The only instance in which there is an expectation or obligation is for fanfic exchanges, where someone (or a group of people) organise an event in which participants write a specified fanfic (e.g. a minimum of 1000 words, or 5000 words, or whatever) based on being matched to other participants' requests. Prior to this, everyone who wants to participate nominates canons and characters that they'd like to read and/or write about, every potential participant sees what has been nominated, and then makes offers and requests based on that tagset of nominated fandoms and characters. So what results is an exchange of gifts — or, as you say, a trade of work.

My post above was about one such gift exchange, waybackexchange, in which participants request and write for fandoms which have had no new installments for at least ten years (e.g. old books, movies, TV series and games). Other gift exchanges might be just for fanfic about Marvel film characters, or female characters, or for stories where worldbuilding is the main element, for example. But the vast majority of fanfic is not written as a gift to someone else — it's just written by people when their creativity is sparked, and if it finds an audience, that's just an added bonus. Probably what you're seeing in other people's journals are their 'Dear Author' letters for fanfic exchanges — where they can flesh out their requests beyond just their requested characters to include more details about the kinds of stories, tropes and themes they enjoy.

I hope that makes sense. There's a lot about fanfic community norms that is probably weird or inexplicable to those outside the community.

Re: I think I get it a bit more

[blaizedeeziere]

Thank you for taking the time to explain to me. It is very kind of you.

Even though even though the type of writing I do is original written and not fanfic, and I never got into reading fanfic, I have been part of fandom all my life. Impossible to not know what fanfic is. It was this specific thing that confused me. I kept meaning to ask my daughter or one of my friends about it, but it slipped my mind each time I was talking to someone that could answer.

I spent years writing stories for people who loved my character/ worlds and sending the stories to them, so I guess it is not that much different. Just more organized and on a much larger scale.

Again, thanks for the reply. I am finding it a bit of a challenge to connect to people on here, so always grateful for kind people.