Friday open thread: Yuletide

[dolorosa_12]

Another week has passed, and it's time for another Friday open thread!

I still have a lot of prompts remaining from your suggestions, but I thought, given sign-ups have just opened and I've seen a number of Yuletide letters appearing among my circle, today might be a good day to do a Yuletide open thread.

Please interpret this topic as broadly as you'd like. If you are planning to participate this year, you might want to talk about your requested fandoms and why you're choosing them, whether you have any ideas (obviously don't provide specifics) for gifts/treats already based on the letters you've seen so far, your own writing goals this time around, or any other topic.

If you're not planning to participate this year (or ever), is there a reason? Are you going to sit this Yuletide out but maybe write some treats or pinch hits?

Basically, use this open thread to ramble away about anything Yuletide-related in the comments.



Yuletide is pretty much an exchange geared towards how I do fandom. I read and write fic almost exclusively in tiny fandoms — the idea of doing so in a megafandom is stressful and overwhelming. This makes participating in fannish activity a rather solitary affair — until Yuletide comes around, and suddenly everyone is writing and reading fic in the types of fandoms that interest me!

I don't think I've ever requested fic in what was a 'big for Yuletide' fandom — generally it's tiny microfandoms of the heart — and over the six years I've participated so far, I've been delighted with the gifts I've received in those tiny fandoms. Writing fic for similar fandoms is also incredibly liberating — it may be something that only interests a single person, but if you put in some effort and get things right, the happiness brought to that person is far, far more satisfying (in my opinion) than writing something read by thousands of people.

This year my requests cover two dear old favourites, perennial requests of mine that I've been seeking year after year, and this year's shiny new-to-me fandom. None are what you would call big, even by Yuletide standards — they have 80, 23 and 6 fics on AO3 respectively (and in the latter case three out of the six were written by me!). I'm really happy with my choices, and the idea of a gift in any three of these fandoms fills me with delight.

As far as my own goals for Yuletide, they remain similar to in previous years: I aim to write a minimum of four fics in total (i.e. the main assignment, and at least three treats), and to comment on at least fifty fics in the main collection and at least 20 in Madness. I try to be a good Yuletide citizen, and that, for me, means doing more than the bare requirements of the exchange. December has the potential to be extremely busy and disruptive for me this year, so we'll see how realistic those plans are when 25th December rolls around...

Comments

[lirazel]

This is my eleventh or twelfth year doing Yuletide, and I've never written the same fandom twice, which is what I love about it. Yuletide for me is much more about the writing than the receiving--I usually enjoy my gift, but I never get the kind of THIS IS THE FIC OF MY HEART feelings that a lot of people do. And that's just fine, because, like I said, it's about the writing.

I always offer only fandoms I've never written before, but this year I'm going to offer for The Queen's Thief, which I wrote for several years ago. Since we just got the last book, I have a feeling there are a lot of people who are going to be requesting it, so I'm happy to offer to do it, especially because I just reread the entire series.

I'm requesting Queen's Thief, too (either Costis and Kamet or minor characters like Sophos's sisters, Gen's parents, etc.) as well as Fiddler on the Roof, where I'm hoping for Hodel/Perchik fic. If I get someone who doesn't want to write the ship, sister fic would be nice too. The last fandom I know I'm requesting is the kdrama Crash Landing On You, where I'm asking for something focused on the second female lead, Seo Dan. I'd love a shippy rewrite of the ending, but if not, something character-focused.

I'm waffling about whether to ask for Benjamin January fic this year, but no matter what I decide, I definitely intend to ask for it (and offer to write it!!!) next year.

I haven't been through the tag set yet. Of course I'll be doing that to find out which fandoms I want to offer to write for, but in the process, I might find one or two more I want to request as well. I love when that happens--you're going through the fandoms and see something it never occurred to you to request but that you would love fic from.

[dolorosa_12]

Oh wow, you've been participating for more than a decade! I find that extremely impressive, especially given you say you've written different fandoms each year. I've slowly expanded the number of fandoms in which I've written, but I have a handful of reliable old standbys to which I keep returning — which is something that I enjoy about Yuletide.

I've loved all the fics I've received (and two of them are definite 'fics of my heart'), but I love the writing part as well.

I'm not hugely familiar with any of your three fandoms (apart from vague memories of the plot of Fiddler on the Roof), but I know enough by osmosis to suspect that a lot of Yuletide authors would be extremely happy to write them.

I've seen at least two requests for Benjamin January fic apart from my own — hopefully it will be a reasonably popular Yuletide fandom.

I haven't been through the tag set yet. Of course I'll be doing that to find out which fandoms I want to offer to write for, but in the process, I might find one or two more I want to request as well. I love when that happens--you're going through the fandoms and see something it never occurred to you to request but that you would love fic from.

This happened to me last year! I had gone into Yuletide adamant I was only going to request the three things I'd nominated, and then there was so much stuff I liked in the tagset I ended up requesting the full six fandoms. This year, as you can see, my approach is very different.

[lirazel]

It's funny because, yes, I have been doing it for over a decade, but I still feel like I'm a newcomer to it! I don't feel like the old guard of Yuletide at all because it had been going on since 2003!

but I have a handful of reliable old standbys to which I keep returning

Yeah, that especially makes sense since you have mostly only tiny fandoms to begin with. To be able to revisit them for Yuletide must be wonderful.

[schneefink]

Ambitious! I'll be happy if I'm satisfied with my assigned fic. I do try to always comment a lot and also rec stories.

I haven't decided yet on all the fandoms I plan to offer, so I impatiently check the app for new letters frequently :)

[dolorosa_12]

It may be too ambitious this year, but we'll see. I try to make a public commitment to these kinds of things, in order to hold myself accountable, but this might come back to bite me...

I haven't decided on offers yet either — I tend to be very careful and clinical with my offers, checking the letters app frequently in the hope that I know exactly what I'm going to end up writing before the matching has even taken place. I try to ensure my assignment isn't a surprise, and then I can afford to be more selective about what I treat.

[corvidology]

I've always loved Yuletide but I think I've come to love it even more since my fandom experience has changed so much.

Fandom coms don't really exist anymore and I've never liked Tumblr so Yuletide is now my main experience of being part of 'fandom' if you will.

I've never avoided megafandoms, I just never seem to fall for them.

[dolorosa_12]

I can't do Tumblr either (nor Twitter, which seems to be where a lot of current fannish activity is taking place ... WHYYYYY?), so Yuletide is my main community fannish activity as well.

Occasionally I read fic in megafandoms, but that's generally as far as my engagement goes. It's not really a deliberate thing, but being in smaller fandoms suits me better temperamentally.

I hope Yuletide is excellent for you this year!

[corvidology]

The funny thing is I often fall for canons where I think they might end up pretty big but they never do. :D

[topaz119]

I never write for yuletide, because the holiday season is overwhelming enough as it is (3 kids, 10 niblings, etc, etc), but once the mad rush of opening gifts is through on Christmas day, I take a few hours before I start banging around in the kitchen for the big dinner and bounce randomly through the archive, looking for books I've read or shows that I love and read as many things as I can. It's just me and the dog and a fire, and it's sort of become a tradition.

[dolorosa_12]

That sounds like an absolutely lovely tradition! I can certainly understand sitting things out in terms of writing for the exchange, if your holiday season is that busy. But browsing through the collection with the dog, by a fire, sounds so relaxing and fun!

[merit]

I should probably spend some time picking out some fandoms... I likely will be requesting some that have zero fics on Ao3, but perhaps that will change!!

I enjoy megafandoms because there's lot of fic to read so more likely to find something to appeal. I mostly lurk however ^^

[dolorosa_12]

I think there's been at least one year where I wrote the first fic for a fandom for Yuletide, although so far I've never requested for such a fandom. I hope you enjoy whatever gift(s) you end up getting.

You're right about megafandoms, although I find it hard to wade through everything to find the stuff I like — sorting by trope and kudos can only get you so far, and it often requires a level of time and effort that I don't have.

[singedsun]

I really have to sit down this weekend and go over what I want and what I can write this year because I feel like it's rare anymore that those things overlap.

[dolorosa_12]

I almost never write in the same fandoms that I request — I think only in 2014 did I request (and receive) a fic in one fandom, and get assigned to write for that fandom too. I don't think I'll be writing in the three I've requested this year, either.

The app is so useful for getting an idea of the types of requests you're likely to match on — so helpful if you want to make a really careful choice in terms of offers!

[nyctanthes]

Never done Yuletide, though I can remember when it was just getting started (I remember the epic arguments around changing the date/name of it.) I've been tempted the last three years (i.e., as long as I've been back in fandom and writing fic) to participate. Under my own steam I've written a fair amount that fits under the Yuletide banner: tiny fandoms of the heart. But the end of the year is so busy. It's hard to contemplate writing something new and under deadline pressure in November/December.

Each year I inch a little closer. 2021 is going to be the one!

[dolorosa_12]

The busyness of that time of year can have a really strong impact on Yuletide participation, so your decision makes a lot of sense. Because my contribution to my family's holiday (Christmas) celebrations normally consists solely of cooking for everyone for the main meal, I generally have no other major commitments — and hence plenty of time for writing. But I know that's not the case for most people.

Like you, I watched from afar for quite a while before taking the Yuletide plunge. I hope 2021 is a good year for you to try out the exchange for the first time!

[bruttimabuoni]

I deeply love Yuletide - I've been in for over a decade and have written some of my favourite fics for it. I find it really freeing and fantastic fun. But I'm not really feeling fannish about anything at the moment, and that's holding me back. The only thing I'm inhaling is the novels of KJ Charles at the moment - there are lots of them nominated, but I don't really want to just request four different series of hers! And while I could offer my usual bunch of easy writes (more Wimsey, more Heyer), but I've written for those a lot now.

I also have never written a fic that I'm really happy with as my main assignment. One, on Tiffany Aching, was pretty okay, but the rest felt very write-by-numbers. It's always been pinch hits that have electrified me, and had me writing something that's really pleased me. I'm still on the pinch hit lists, so will keep an eye out, but I'm unsure about doing anything else.

I've almost never written a treat, and never a New Year challenge. I only really write for commitments and deadlines, and Yuletide really shows that up!

[dolorosa_12]

It sounds as if you've given it a lot of thought, and maybe this year it's not right for you. I haven't had a chance to browse existing signups yet — I try to go in with a good idea of what my assignment is likely to be — but I agree with you that it's not a good idea to sign up unless you feel inspired to write.

Pinch hits sound like a good idea: you're not committing to anything, but if something catches your eye, you'll have a good chance of writing something really good.

I only really write for commitments and deadlines, and Yuletide really shows that up!

Me too! Almost every fic I've written has been for an exchange. I find the task of writing to a prompt really helpful — it's like the fanfic equivalent of being a journalist writing to a brief. (I used to be a journalist.) I don't find it constraining at all, and the clear deadline also helps motivate me. That said, I find that writing treats for people works in the same way — even though I'm not required to write them, the guidance from the prompt and the clear deadline helps me to write.

I hope you have a good Yuletide, no matter how you choose to participate.

[likeadeuce]

I last did Yuletide in 2016, when I channeled a lot of my post-election angst into writing 2 stories, and then I basically stopped writing fiction for 3 1/2 years. That included defaulting past the no-fault date in 2017 so I've still been needing to write a New Year's Resolution story to be eligible. I finally got unblocked this summer, and I am on track to have an eligibility story posted by the time signups end --

So I have finally started perusing the tags and making a list of my likely requests:

GLOW (the 80s ladies wrestling Netflix series), which I wasn't planning on requesting until its cancellation was announced a few weeks ago, so now there are dangling plot threads I would like addressed!

Tuesday Mooney Talks To Ghosts by Kate Racculia, which is sort of a grownup Westing Game with queer people and magic. I had to add this one to the tags when I nominated it so I was worried no one would request or offer it but some not-me person already has so wheewww. (Not sure what I actually want to request because what I really want is Raven Cycle crossover where Tuesday becomes Blue Sargent's professional mentor and they compare notes about their witchy pasts, cute gay BFFs, and exasperating rich boyfriends, but I'll probably settle for "anything in this universe"

The Diviners series by Libba Bray, which I just finished, and which has a bajillion characters and a lot of historical context so I'll probably do another 'basically anything in this universe' prompt

Crooked Media RPF I got a friend to nominate Jason and Diana Kander, basically just because I find Jason's instagram very soothing and since he's a Crooked Media podcaster it made more sense to nominate him here than 'I'm really into Jason's very soothing instagram.'

Arthuriana (Arthurian Mythology) - this is the "help, my subs are unionizing" request and since Gawain, Lancelot, Kay, and Galahad are all nominated characters, I think I have enough to work with. .

The Tick (2017) -- again, lots of potential for hijinks. Arthur is sort of dating a boat. Maybe I want something from the boat's point of view.

[dolorosa_12]

I'm glad that you've reinstated your Yuletide participation privileges and can take part this year. It looks as if you've given your requests a lot of thought — and I'm impressed that you're going for the full six requests, with such different fandoms! I hope your return to the exchange after a few years away is fantastic!

(And as an aside, I'm so sad about GLOW getting cancelled! I really wanted to know how they were planning to wrap things up and now we'll never know outside of fic!)

[likeadeuce]

Still thinking about the GLOW request...Bash is my problematic fave but Debbie and Ruth need serious closure.