|| INTERACTIVE: 30 DAYS OF FAN FIC || DAY TWENTY-TWO

[slytherincesss.livejournal.com]

DAY ONE - How did you get into fan fic?
DAY TWO - What fandoms have you written in?
DAY THREE - Favorite characters?
DAY FOUR - "Muse" character?
DAY FIVE - Pushy characters?
DAY SIX - Male or female characters?
DAY SEVEN - Fic affecting your view of a character?
DAY EIGHT - OCs
DAY NINE - Favorite Pairings
DAY TEN - Pairings and your comfort zone
DAY ELEVEN - Favorite Genres
DAY TWELVE - Adaptations
DAY THIRTEEN - Canon or Fanon
DAY FOURTEEN - Ratings
DAY FIFTEEN - Warnings
DAY SIXTEEN - Summaries
DAY SEVENTEEN - Titles
DAY EIGHTEEN - Bunnies
DAY NINETEEN - Herding Bunnies
DAY TWENTY - Baby Bunnies
DAY TWENTY-ONE - Sequels

22 – Have you ever participated in a fest or a Big Bang? If so, write about your favorite experience in relation to one. If not, are there any you've thought about doing? And if not, why not?

We welcome your participation! There is no minimum or maximum requirements for your answers -- they can be as long or as short as you'd like. I will include my answer as a comment.

Comments

[slytherincesss.livejournal.com]

Oh, I've done a handful of fests.

merry_smutmas 2006: Under the Cold, Wan Moon
serpentinelion's Glompfest 2011: Benefaction
hp_springsmut 2006: Adjudication
smutty_claus 2005: A Thousand Little Deaths
erotic_elves 2007: Heartsease
hd_canon_fest 2011: ???
hd_holidays 2011: ???
hp_darkfest 2011: ???
hd_remix 2012: ???

I think my favorite fest experience was merry_smutmas 2006 because it was the first H/D fic I ever wrote and it was well-received.

[kinky-kneazle.livejournal.com]

I've participated in lots of fests over the years and a lot of them have been completely awesome as far as gifts I've received and the amazing people I've met, but I think my favourite experience was hd_bigbang this year. Not only did I write 70k worth of fic - my longest single story to date and a huge accomplishment, I think - I joined this community because I needed motivation and ended up meeting heaps of great people right here. Also, there was a lot of interesting research and it may be among the best writing I've ever done, but that's secondary to awesome fandom people.

[exx-cecilegr.livejournal.com]

Writing long fics is difficult for me, also. I have participated in various fests and one Big Bang and... I have never enjoyed myself, to be honest. On some level, it was worth it, because I was able to accomplish longer fics and see what I was capable of. On the other hand, fandom stops being fun for me during fest participation, so I don't think I'll be doing any more. I personally have a lot more fun when I am just working from my own inspiration, following no rules, and working at my own speed.

Now that I've dumped that on you, I genuinely hope you have fun when you decide to participate in a fest! xD I do see how fests are great for invigorating fandom and I certainly enjoy them as a reader.

[freakingcrups.livejournal.com]

I'm writing my first set of fest/big bang fics right now and I'm enjoying it a lot. I find that with this sort of thing, I'm more enticed into writing longer fics, which I've wanted to train myself to do. I always had the habit of going 'Okay, I'm bored of this story now, I'm going to stop at 2k', but I find that because they are people there to encourage you and because it's one big standalone fic (and not mulitchaptered), it's made things so much easier.

[tigersilver.livejournal.com]

I'm a binge sort of person, so I flung myself into every Fest I could manage the last two years. It's been incredibly helpful in that I really focussed on writing to a deadline and usually to a quite specific prompt. Good discipline. I also had the utter pleasure of knowing better a multitude of Mods (awesome people, every one!) and often it was they that I wrote to, in the end. I hate starting things I cannot finish; I hate not following through. It's a simple matter of maintaining my ability to look myself in the mirror in the dreary morning and knowing there were Mods out there, waiting on me, and prompters who would disappointed was a huge motivator. I wanted closure and I was in charge of at least that one thing: whether I wrote or did not.
On the opposing hand, the large-fic fests can be gruelling. Holding a mood of a piece may tenuous and one ends up juggling. I struggled with my last one and am exhausted now...but I've the pleasure of knowing it was completed, ultimately. With a great deal of help from every one I could lean on! Betas are also awesome!
Fests stretch a writer, I think. Like a shark prod or a carrot-onna-stick, depending. And it's wonderful to be part of a concerted group, creating to a theme. I particularly like charity-oriented comms, tho.

[exx-cecilegr.livejournal.com]

Yeah, longer fics seem quite prevalent and popular in the H/D side of fandom. I'm in awe of people who can pump out so much story so fast! But I have to remind myself that some writers are just better suited for short fics (and/or poetry :D). I am probably one of them, and that's okay. Whatever the case, fandom is definitely the perfect place for us to experiment and get to know ourselves as writers.

I definitely hear you about needing pressure sometimes--deadlines are great for that. Good luck finding that middle ground! I think I have seen smaller fests with minimum word counts around 1000. Oh and there are sometimes drabble and/or comment!fic fests too! Now, a comment!fest is something I can genuinely enjoy. :)

[meglw0228.livejournal.com]

Yep, I've participated in four fests and I'm currently writing for three big bangs. My favourite so far would be hp_kinkfest, most likely because it was the first one I did. I loved how there were so few restrictions; you could do basically anything and there was a small word count requirement... not to mention almost two months before posting so I was able to write two stories.

[lordhellebore]

I've never done a Big Bang because I dislike the concept. I've participated in several fests, though. My favourite were definitely hd_career_fair and hp_darkfest 2009, which might have to do with the fact that the stories I wrote for those are among my onw favourites, and also with the amazing response I got and which surprised me completly.

[hpfangirl71.livejournal.com]

This was my first year doing fests and so far I have loved it... I've gotten great responses on my entries and had several of my own prompts picked up and written which I really love!! Also because of fests, I had to finally have a beta and the one rec'd to me turned to become a true bestie so I'm totally grateful for that as well!! Fests are amazing but alot of hard work and I tend to procrastinate and find myself working twice as hard really close to deadlines!! :D

[rebecca_selene]

hp_kinkfest
dysfuncentine
hp_diversity
slash_weasley
queer_fest
dogged_by_muses Fragments of Sappho Challenge Fest 2011

Current:
hogwarts_houses
hp_3forfun Big Bang
100k_supernova
hd_canon_fest
smallfandombang
hc_bigbang
journeystory

I don't have a favorite because they've all been great experiences. I do have to give credit to the hp_kinkfest for starting all my fest-happiness, though. :-)