More about Fests, and More Fests

[paulamcg]

Almost all the works at HP Ace Fest have been posted, and they are in the AO3 collection, here, still anonymous. There's a delightful crowd of asexual HP characters, and some other queer HP characters, too. A wide variety of pairings and genfics as well. Some complete AUs, some fics more closely related to canon and set in eras when asexuals weren't known as ace and for cake. One of the asexuality fics is mine, and this time it's not a sad story, I can say without revealing too much, as the whole fest is about eventually happy relationships and/or identities.

HP Creatures Halloween Fest will start posting in five days. I did decide to participate, and I'm looking forward to having my fic revealed soon in this AO3 collection, even though I can't expect much feedback: the fic is a bit unusual and not about a popular pairing, and it won't be anonymous. In any case, you can expect to see all kinds of uncanny stories in this fest.

There'll be a fic by me in the Sirius Black Fest 2020 collection, too. In the end, I signed up – only after sending the fic, which I enjoyed writing and am quite happy about, to my beta a few days ago. That's another non-anonymous fest, and since I'm not active at Tumblr and still haven't managed to enter any Discords, I won't be surprised if I feel like an outsider this year, too.

I wonder why I'm still interested in writing only for fests. The only exception since last year has been the slow, still ongoing process of rewriting a short story from 2004.

Today I've written the double drabble for HP Halloween. I'll still have time to fix the word count back to 200 in case my beta finds something I need to change. There's no exchange this year, and you can sign up until the 17th of October, and need to send your drabble to the mods by the 25th.

I've written a 100-word drabble for each of the prompts since joining neville100. It's been fun to do it almost at the last moment before the new prompt.

I still haven't started my fic for Wolfstar Games, but I'm confident I'll manage to write it by mid-November.

My Hoggywartyxmas assignment looks like a bigger challenge than I expected and although I've got some ideas, I'm unusually nervous about this task. The deadline is the 5th of December.

Besides, I've signed up for R/S Fireside Tales (where you can still claim a prompt until the 12th of October, and the deadline is the 22nd of January) and Marauders Fest (with claiming open until the 19th of October, and deadline on the 18th of January).

This is partly just a list to help me not forget any deadlines. But feel free to comment if any of these fests interest you, or if you could rec some others to me!

Comments

[digthewriter]

Writing only for fests that especially advertise on tumblr and ao3 - is a great way to get a following. It might be slow but eventually, people will know your name b/c you do fests.

[paulamcg]

Thank you for your encouraging comment! I think I end up doing several fests that advertise on Tumblr because Remus/Sirius is my OTP, and Wolfstar people seem to be active mainly over there? Perhaps I should just go on commenting on their fest fics (while it seems to me that commenting is getting less and less on AO3 at fests, too) and hope they'll pay attention to my name and eventually give a chance to a fic by me, too.

[digthewriter]

The best way to develop a following is to show love and support to others! ♥

[paulamcg]

I know it would be kind of me to give more attention to other people's work, and I want to get a bit better at that again – and to be patient, too, and not to expect anything in return. Around last winter when I focused more on reading and commenting, I got disappointed by the lack of reciprocity. In any case, love and support will never go wasted. ♥

[digthewriter]

I totally get that feeling of not getting a lot of intention no matter how hard you try. When I started I got like no traction and when I did - I got like spag criticism, lol and i was like fresh new who didn't know what they were doing.

But - you are doing wolfstar which is super popular so eventually people are gonna come by and message ♥ It's a slow road but as long as you're writing and having fun - know that there are people who read your stuff but never kudos or comment. I was shocked to meet someone (online) and found out they read everything but never left a comment.

[paulamcg]

Thank you for still replying! It means a lot to hear that you can relate. I do admire you for not giving up back then – and for participating in the fandom in various ways which give so much joy to other people!

It's too bad, though, that the first attention someone gets could be spag criticism! Back in what I'm tempted to call the good old days, there was public constructive criticism on forums and archives like FictionAlley for writers who asked for it, but I thought that if anyone gives such feedback now, it would be private and together with positive comments.

I wish there were more fic-related and ficwriting-related discussion on journals, but I've tried not to make posts about my yearning for feedback – or just for having my stories received, and about my frustration when they barely get hits. I had some conversation on this after the winter holiday season, and writers in small fandoms and/or of rare pairings say that kudos accumulates gradually and I must be patient, but also that I should find readers more easily because my fandom and my OTP are popular. It is true that my rare-pair (eg. Amelia Bones/Tonks or Remus/Luna) and gen fics get even fewer hits than my Remus/Sirius, but perhaps because there are so many Wolfstar fics posted daily, the latter usually remain unnoticed, too. I suspect there's a community of writers on platforms which I've chosen not to use (because I find them confusing or too fast-paced to suit me).

Interaction with other writers and readers is the reason why I write fanfic. But I've noticed that if I try too hard – comment on a lot of fic and can't help hoping that someone clicks to see what I've written myself – I end up disappointed and have less fun when continuing to write my stories.

[digthewriter]

Interaction with other writers and readers is the reason why I write fanfic. But I've noticed that if I try too hard – comment on a lot of fic and can't help hoping that someone clicks to see what I've written myself – I end up disappointed and have less fun when continuing to write my stories.

I feel this in my bonnesssss... lol and feel free to tell me to stop replying to you. LOL.

I used to read all the drarry and comment on all the drarry - not b/c i wanted the same courtesy but b/c I was going out of my way to support EVERYONE AND EVERYTHING and realized that I quickly got burned out. And nowdays, I get comments from stories from 5+ years ago, I am like........ NO DON'T READ THAT. LOL it's bad. HAHAHA. And nowdays, I will maybe follow a fest and read a handful b/c it's not my obligation to make you feel good. LOL sounds harsh but self-care needs to be really promoted around fest culture.

I used to have the mentality that if you wanted tumblr followers, you needed to follow and interact w/ all of them and the rewards would begin but I don't have that. I think it's social media anxiety for sure that stupid voice in our heads that tells you unless you have 30 comments, you're not worth anything. Not everyone has it or not everyone has it at the same time, but it's a nagging type of voice and/or insecurity and that is never good for one's mental health.

I know what you mean about writing wolfstar that's so popular and not getting enough traction. I get this way w/ drarry for 25 days of drarry. People will literally read other people's post every day but my daily posts, I get comments like "i'll read this when the holidays are over, can't wait!" which is both positive that there's hope to lovely comments for the future and the sadness that I AM NOT GOOD ENOUGH to be followed daily. I don't let things like this bother me anymore, hasn't bothered me for years and I still write every day for 25 days of drarry - but I would be a total liar if I didn't admit that it's a thought that does pinch my heart.

Anyway, that's enough rambling for now.

[paulamcg]

Oh, I'm just glad you feel like replying and even rambling! I know it's not good to dwell on the hopes and disappointments or to make bitter posts about them, but I suppose it's a relief that we can sometimes – in the depths of private-journal comments – confess what pinches our hearts, and see that we are not alone.

I'm such a slow reader that I've always found it impossible to read EVERYTHING and SUPPORT EVERYONE, lol! But I have enjoyed both supporting young writers and other beginners, and writing detailed reviews of fics I truly admire.

Oh, those promises! i'll read this when the holidays are over, or my fic goes to someone's to-read list. It's somehow even worse than no attention. I end up waiting for a few months, wondering if the person (perhaps a writer whose story I'd admired and reviewed) has given my fic a try and found it not worth reading, perhaps embarrassingly bad, or just forgotten. While they're probably just taking care of not getting burned out by trying to make everyone happy!

I must have been right not to try to get a following on Tumblr (although I still wonder if it's possible to have readers for my Wolfstar fics without doing that). I've never expected thirty comments on anything anywhere. But I've realised that when you start hoping for more comments, you easily end up not considering any amount big enough. I've told myself that hearing from one reader proves that the fic has served a purpose. But when I go to read other fics (in the same collection), I can't help paying attention to the amounts of hits, kudos and comments, and wondering what's wrong about me and my stories.

Let us not think that we are not good enough! There are so many reasons why a fic is not noticed, read or liked by many people. I believe that the style, contents and themes of my stories are not what appeals to people who check out those collections or pairing tags, but that doesn't have to mean that I'm not... Well, in their eyes I'm not a good writer. And now I can't think how to continue this rambling! LOL Maybe... When I've done my best, and the story works for my beta, too, it must be worth something, and someone out there is likely to receive it even with love.

[pauraque]

I've always found it more motivating to write for fests. It's hard for me to finish things without a deadline, unless they're short ficlets I can write in one sitting. If I know I can just finish something "whenever", that often turns into "never" for me.

I'm signed up for a lot of fests right now too. hp_halloween is one, and the rest are other fandoms. I should have time to get everything done if I keep working at it, but there's definitely no time to procrastinate. :) Good luck with your deadlines!

[paulamcg]

Thank you for your comment, including the kind wishes! I trust that you, too, will get all your fests done without stress! And I hope we'll continue to see you active in the HP fandom among others.

In my case it's not just about finishing, but rather that I no longer get anything started without a fest. :) Maybe it's partly that I tend to be conscientious, and if I've committed myself to something or (even when I haven't signed up yet) there's a task to perform, I focus on that first. For the first nine months after my hiatus, before I made contacts with other writers again, I kept completing a fic every couple of weeks and starting a new one immediately without any outer motivation.

I'll be looking forward to reading your HP Halloween drabble! <3

[gracerene]

ALL THE FESTS!!

I write pretty exclusively for fests/challenges as I do find having that deadline to be extra motivating!

[paulamcg]

YES!!

I've noticed the great motivating effect of the deadline on the last (few) day(s) before a new prompt at a drabble community, and on the morning of the Very Harry Birthday. :) Besides, I don't even have to think about the deadline and about completing something in time. Committing myself to something – or (even before signing up) thinking that there's a task to be performed – makes me start writing for a fest, and not start writing anything else.

[chez_jae]

Ha ha! Sounds like we're participating in many of the same fests. I need to get my ass in gear and finish up my Sirius fic.

[paulamcg]

Perhaps I've learnt about some of these thanks to you? :) You write about Sirius, too – great! Yes, finish it up!

[bemused_writer]

I think fests help a lot with organization, sort of like NaNoWriMo, so I can understand wanting to do a lot of them. They also have community involvement, which can be fun. The HP Ace Fest sounds awesome; will definitely take a look!

[paulamcg]

The community involvement, yes! That was the reason why I got addicted to writing fanfic (back in 2003). When, several months after my return from a long hiatus, I made some contacts with other writers in fests again, I got renewed hope for sharing fiction. And even though I still struggle to have my stories received, I've ended up organising my writing around assignments, commitments and prompts. I'm glad you're interested in the HP Ace Fest – and I'll be thrilled if you happen to read mine among the fest fics!

[bemused_writer]

I'd love to! So glad there are neat fests like this going on. ^^