the not!fic not!challenge

[curiouslyfic.livejournal.com]

'Sup hd_writers.

Have you discovered the joys of not!fic yet?

Want to flex the creativity a little? Got an epic you just can't make happen? Have some flail about a bunny you want to share with the world? Whether you're staring at a blinking cursor wondering where the words are or just looking for a writing exercise to try, the not!fic not!challenge might be just the thing.

What is not!fic? Not!fic is a story you tell without worrying about the actual writing element. It’s brainstorming, in a way. More to the point, it’s the wild fannish flail of brainstorming that might come out in emails to your friends or betas. The focus isn’t on meticulously laying out the scenes so much as it’s blocking them, setting a rough chain of events that form the emotional arc of your story. The emotion is key: action, dialogue, descriptions, and backstory all take a back seat to expressing the critical emotional moments you need to get your story told.

Think of it like sitting a reader down and flat telling them, in your own voice, what your fabulous idea is. Don’t worry about Britpicking or head-hopping or plot development. Don’t be afraid to have long, run-on sentences or emoticon/meme speak; it is entirely possible to understand what it means to have Harry \o/ while Ron /o\. Not appropriate for fic!fic, but totally cool for not!fic.

There are options, is all. Lots and lots of options. Take an idea you have, something that excites you—maybe an epic idea you don’t have the time or energy to write out fully—and tell it in wild flails of not!fic.

What is a not!challenge? Well, challenges in fic comms usually mean prompts of some sort, then response posting. The not!fic not!challenge is basically promptless—write any not!fic in any fandom/not!fandom you like, with any characters/pairings/genres/elements you want—and hd_writers isn’t really a comm for fic-posting, so post wherever you’d like—your own LJ? AO3? ff.net? up to you—and link your post back in the comments to this one. We’ll put a master post up at the end of the month so everyone gets a chance to see all the fabulous not!fic, but it’s a writing/creative exercise and this post will stay open for new links to posts indefinitely. Or post links in the comments of the master list post.

Er, can I have an example of this not!fic thing? Totally. There’s a bunch linked from the FanLore page here—cannot rec I refuse to dignify this with a title enough—and more at the not!fic tag on AO3, though most of those are Bandom. fire_juggler has a post on not!fic here with more recs, and kitty_fic has an example of Albus/Scorpius crossdressing not!fic here. There’s also a bit of H/D not!ficced here, but I'm betting someone(s) in this comm can do a better job of it than I did, because there is some wicked talent in this comm.

Questions? Take it to comments, we’ll see what we can do.

Now go forth and not!fic!

Comments

[kitty_fic]

I am so excited about this! I really really want HP not!fic \o/ thanks Curi!

[curiouslyfic.livejournal.com]

ikr? HP not!fic would be amazing. Any not!fic at all would be, though. I'm looking forward to reading all the things, seeing what people come up with. :)

[lettered.livejournal.com]

This is the best idea in the entire internets.

[potteresque_ire]

Do EEEEEETTTTT!!!

♥ your secret stalker :)

[lettered.livejournal.com]

Aw, thanks! I have a lot of not-fic I'd love to write, but I'm kind of H/D'ed out after hd_remix--not that I won't write it again; I just need a break! But I'm glad you're interested. I can't wait to see some other not-fic. I love not-fic; I never thought to give it a name before, but it's sort of like intravenous crack. You don't have to wait to get straight-up awesome!

[curiouslyfic.livejournal.com]

Not even kidding, lettered not!fic would make my month. I'm already excited just thinking about it. \o/

[thepretender501.livejournal.com]

I think I love this. #thatisall

[curiouslyfic.livejournal.com]

\o/

Write not!fic with me, bb! Also, your icon is ten different kinds of adorable!Andy, he is hypnotic. Seriously, nic!not!fic would be amaze and now I am dying to read it!

[potteresque_ire]

I agree with Lettered. This is one very brill idea. Maybe it can stir up the molass that is Pie!brain these days a bit!

[curiouslyfic.livejournal.com]

...whoa. This is like Matrix-breaking levels of awesome here. Maybe Lettered not!fic and maybe Pie not!fic? I should start my flailing now so my comments are coherent. You would do incredible things with this, I just know it. No. You will. How can I enable you, Pie-of-wonderful? Just let me know. <3

[lordhellebore]

And you are doing this now when I committed to not posting? Evil! Think of all the not!fic I threw at you some days ago! D:

[curiouslyfic.livejournal.com]

I know. You were not!ficcing all over the place. Still are, probably, yes? Would it still count as "posting" if you not!ficced one of your many epic ideas just to see where it takes you and pasted bits of it up on your journal?

Then again, no one says posting publicly is mandatory. The point is the creative exercise of it, so if you're getting things out of that--which I think you are, but I could be wrong--then that's all that needs to happen. <3

[lordhellebore]

Even commenting here counts. *sigh* And God, I am just not!ficcing in my mind (and writing rough plot points down in a document), a story I'm not sure I ever mentioned to you. You'd laugh in my face and sneer like Snape if I told you. But I'll write it and break your brain and heart XD

[curiouslyfic.livejournal.com]

I do not say this often and I do not say it easily, but you, Bruno, have a standing invitation to break my heart and/or brain whenever the mood strikes.

[lordhellebore]

♥ ♥ ♥

[khasael.livejournal.com]

I would totally link to/post my not!fic (because, as I have just realised, I have a LOT of it, especially H/D), but... technically, I use that not!fic as actual fic outlines, so. And given that most of the ones I have are fest/anon fics, I probably shouldn't post them XD

After my fest deadlines are up, I should go back and sort through my gdocs and chat logs with my plot!beta, and see if there's anything I've essentially got as not!fic that I'm not likely to develop into a full fic. I'm pretty certain there's some stuff in the Suits fandom like that, and likely some H/D stuff as well (because, with over 50 bunnies jotted down in HP alone, another 40+ in Suits, and another 50 in other fandoms combined, it's not like I expect to get some of that stuff actually written in fic-form for quite a while).

Also, this is an awesome idea (you have an astounding number of those, btw), and I ♥ you! *smishes*

[all-not-well.livejournal.com]

Why couldn't you do a not!fic and then fluff it out to full!fic later on? Even if you have posted it...

[khasael.livejournal.com]

Oh, I meant that I couldn't post not!fic of the things that I'm working on/have worked on for fests that have to be anon until reveals, specifically. Hard to be anon in a fest when you've basically gone "here's my entire plot, including some dialogue and narration"!

I do think I'll prob post some not!fic for things that'll eventually get fleshed out to full!fic--I'd just have to find one of the ones that isn't meant for a fest or something. I might even go back and do it for something that's already posted and been through reveals (my HD Canon Fest comes immediately to mind). Either way, it'd have to wait a few weeks, till I've got a couple of things on deadline turned in. Must focus my energy there, so as not to anger the mods!

[all-not-well.livejournal.com]

Ohhhh! Yes, I definitely see your point! :)