A Gift! And Fests

[paulamcg]

After more than a full month's break, I just have to make an entry – so as to share a gorgeous gift ficlet I've received!

Good Morning Starshine by torino10154 (Luna, G, Gen, 200 words)

Go and read it on DW, or on AO3, where you can also see my more extensive squee.

In September I continued to enjoy reading and discussing brilliant, unusual stories (mainly) by eldritcher (and receiving kind, inspiring feedback on my old stories). I posted no fic at all, only some pencil drawings , after I'd taken a page from mywitch's James's sketchbook :) and tried to learn to draw portraits.

Today I've submitted a pinch hit for Wolfstar Games. That fic was written in August, but as the deadline is only on the 24th of October, I didn't even ask for beta until a week ago. Because I usually want to keep my fest fics short, I often wish fests had tighter schedules.

However, I've been worried about both snapecase and hoggywartyxmas, partly because they are famous for excellently-written stories. To my surprise and relief, I've already managed to complete a fic for the former event, and even to polish it so carefully that I could soon send it for beta, but I still haven't got any proper ideas on the basis of my Hoggywarty assignment.

hp_halloween welcomes exact double drabbles based on the requests also from anyone who hasn't signed up. I don't know if I'll come up with more than the single gift I've offered to write. Today I've sent my 200 words to be checked by justtoarguewithyou.

I've just heard that self prompts, too, are accepted at Sirius Black Fest. If I don't focus fully on worrying about Hoggywarty, it's still possible that I'll compose a more or less sirius piece and sign up at the end of this month, perhaps only a day before the deadline. There are a couple of other fests I can consider.... Oh, tomorrow's the last day for claiming a prompt at RS Fireside Tales. At hprarepairfest the claiming is open until the 5th of December.

I'll be looking forward to seeing what you, my DW friends, among others, write about Halloween (or autumn or spooky things), Snape, Hoggywarty characters, and rare pairs. I'm not going to see many of you at any Wolfstar fest, am I?

Comments

[torino10154]

Thanks so much! So glad you liked it.

Good luck with the writing!! :)

[paulamcg]

I'm also glad that my prompt led to a piece which others, too, enjoy and admire.

Thank you! (It looks like I'm motivated to write only for fests, even though in most fests, too, I get little feedback.)

[lee_bella]

I've finished my hp_halloween assignment. There are a few other requests I would like to write for.

I've also signed up for rarepair_shorts's Halloween Monster Mash, and I'm still thinking about what to write...

I have an idea for Sirius Black Fest, though there might not be enough time for me to finish something before the deadline. Are you planning on signing up for RS Fireside Tales? I'm not signing up, but that fest has so many inspiring prompts that I'm tempted to create something based on them.

[paulamcg]

Thank you so much for commenting! I'm glad to hear that we've got one fest and perhaps more in common. :)

I haven't even read all the other requests at HP Halloween. (There seem to be too many of them in this AO3 version of the fest.) And I've been scared to sign up for the Monster Mash. :) Perhaps I should look at the rules more carefully. I'm afraid spooky is not my strong suit.

I've thought that the scenario I wrote last time for Fireside Tales is the only somehow spooky one that fits my Remus and Sirius's story. Since eldritcher has pointed out that there is psychological horror in some of my stories, I've still considered the prompts... I wish I had an idea before the claiming closes.

In any case I must focus on a piece for Sirius Black Fest first. All the prompts that would work for me (those that aren't clearly AU and don't contradict the single continuity I want to stick to) are about situations I've already written. Perhaps I'll end up writing something strange that nobody's needed. :)

[walgesang]

I finished my hp_halloween drabble but I think I may skip on treats so I can try to treat in some other fests that I didn't manage sign-ups. I've been somewhat inspired to just write a standalone fic (not part of any fest), which I haven't done in a long time!

[paulamcg]

Thank you for commenting and sharing your thoughts about treating and other writing! <3 Maybe I, too, will skip on treats at HP Halloween – so as to take part in more fests. :)

Ever since I found some interaction after the first nine lonely post-hiatus months in 2019, I've hardly written outside fests. An exception (significant to me) was the rewrite of a story from 2004. In 2020 I posted almost all my pre-hiatus fics on DW and on AO3, and that confirmed my conclusion that there's more hope for some attention (also after the fest) if a fic is part of a fest collection. I also love all the interaction with other writers at fests, and at some journal fests there's still a community feel.

Best luck for your standalone fic! It's wonderful that you've found such inspiration.