yuletide -- not just for fandom anymore!

[sab]

Oh, right, yuletide. I promised I'd say something, and here we are a day away from the end of the sign-up period (that's 9pm, Eastern time, Monday the 10th).

So. Yuletide is this marvelous online institution set up as wish fulfillment for a holiday present. Here's how it goes:

To the people who read Eating Hard Candy Alone but aren't part of fandom, per se, people who have never written fanfiction though you are aware of its existence, or people who are on the fringes of fandom and just don't know how to get involved, Yuletide is a great place to do this.

In general, "fandom" refers to two things. First, a group of people involved in the practice of being fans, ie, "we met through fandom" or "we're going to a conference to speak about fandom", or, second, a specific group of people and their stories, art, etc, focused on a single object of fannish interest, ie, "there are some crazy people in Doctor Who fandom," or "I like House, but I'm not really in the fandom." Either way, it's a noun. Does that help?

Yuletide, on the other hand, doesn't restrict itself to the second definition, isn't organized around any specific fandom or even "fandom" in the first definition. It's not a commitment to fannish practice -- again, it's a present.

There are many, many, many "fandoms" listed, though they're not necessarily "fandoms" at all. Here you'll find the books of the Bible, Greek Mythology, Aeschalus plays, shows like Scarecrow and Mrs. King or movies like Lost in Translation. Go give [this list] a lookover.

In many cases, creative works on that list have little or no "fandom" surrounding them; they're just books or plays or movies people would love to see a sequel to, or a look at from a different point of view, or offscreen "missing scenes" or happy endings. And in many cases -- most cases -- these works are listed and screened by the moderators, with a profound focus to make sure the project sticks to those works that don't already have stories written about them. Sticks to the non-fandom works.

What you do is go through [the big list] and see if there's anything out there that piques you. Sometimes it takes seeing it in writing to remember that you've always wondered if the Scarecrow and the Tin Man had sex while Dorothy was off with the Wicked Witch, or that you always wanted to know what Horatio does after the play is over, or how Mary Magdalene dealt with her boyfriend's death.

If you see something you like, or several somethings, give it a thought and ask yourself whether you could write a story based on one of these works. Then ask yourself what you'd request from a gift-giver. You can be specific in your requests -- "I want a story where Antigone has a lesbian affair and then goes into suspended animation and wakes up in the 20th century looking for the descendants of her lost lover" -- or you can be much more general -- "I'd love anything set in the Robert Jordan Wheel of Time universe" -- there is room for all things in Yuletide.

Then, if you're excited about the project and are already anticipating both the finished present (that another writer will write at your request) and the prospect of writing a story in a cool universe or arena that you've always loved, first read the [faq] -- the dates on the schedule are wrong -- and then [go sign up].

The close date for signups is tomorrow (Monday, for Americans) at 9pm Eastern Time (that's 6pm Pacific or 2am Greenwich and other times in other time zones for which I am incapable of doing math). You've got over 24 hours to think about it, read the big list, read the faq, ask me questions here or your other friends who may have participated in Yuletide before.

yuletide is brought to us by the combined genius of elynross and astolat and their crack team of supersoldiers. It's been going on for at least five years to thunderous applause, and with each passing year more and more people participate, and more and more new "fandoms" (for svv of fandom, as I said above -- creative works is a more apt description) show up. The more people who participate, the better chance you have of getting matched with a writer who shares your interests, and the more presents at the end!

In sum: read this post. Then read [the big list], then give it some real thought, then read the [faq] and the rest of the [website], and then take a deep breath, think about what you want to receive from another writer and what you're interested in writing yourself, and then [go sign up].

#

I think the idea of Yuletide is one that extends beyond fandom proper and extends to anyone who has an old, favorite book or ever wondered "what if?" after a movie. I love the idea of bringing it out into the larger world, where people who don't consider themselves fannish/people who don't know that they've got a fan deep down inside/people who have a more mundane or academic relationship with texts and creative works can come and enjoy a cool holiday experience, write something new and exciting, and at the end, get an awesome present (as well as the opportunity to read all the awesome presents everyone's got). We're already at 1272 participants. The more, the better for all of us.

Comments

[livii.livejournal.com]

This is a really interesting way of looking at Yuletide. It certainly holds true for a lot of what's listed. There are some small fandoms in there - my British flist is all over Merlin but it's not big enough yet, Terminator: SCC has a devoted fandom but very little fanwork produced - but it also has all those other possibilities, and I never thought of approaching it from the non-specifically-fannish perspective.

[thingswithwings.livejournal.com]

oh, great post! I'm already signed up, of course, but I'm glad you saved me having to say all of this myself. Now I can just link to you, hurrah!

[copracat]

Wow. Yuletide as pimping for the fandom of fandom. That's an amazing idea.

[mydwynter.livejournal.com]

I went researching yuletide last week, wondering if it was something I thought I could do. And I'm still unsure.

I've never done any sort of fic swap. Of all the creative pursuits, I don't really consider myself a writer. I'm not horrible--I've read some truly terrible fic in my time--but I'm also not brilliant. And so I've been reticent to participate, always worrying that mine would be the worst one out there, or, even more fearsome, that I would get 3/4 into it and get stuck on something.

But I read the list of "fandoms" last week, and I drooled all over myself. (The Mabinogian?! Ohholycrap...) So I'm been chewing on the prospects, and asked for feedback on my friends list (only got one response, and that was "Hells yeah!"), but still need some more...something.

Any advice, especially taking into account my two main worries?

[iamsab.livejournal.com]

I saw this post too late! But I will tell you -- there are crap writers EVERYWHERE, that never stopped anyone from Yuletide. Also, as far as this challenge is concerned, I tend to think that niche stories, things with singular approaches and things that address works that have never been fanficced, such as it is, are what makes Yuletide great.

If your participation means we get a cool Mabinogian fic where previously none existed - SCORE!

As for finishing a story on time, that is important. Near the end days of Yuletide there's a chat room open 24-7 to support and cheer on people who are finishing up their stories, you can get a beta reader or a cheerleader there, which helps. But committing to this challenge DOES mean promising to get 1000 words in by the due date, so it' often a good idea to outline your story first and see if you've got an ending for it!

I hope you put your fears aside and went and signed up. It is one of my all-time favorite things to be part of.

[cyborganize.livejournal.com]

could anyone sign up this time? in the past you had to have participated in yuletide previously or written a stocking stuffer to do it. interesting.