Ficathon update

[dbskyler]

So I didn't sign up for Yuletide, but instead decided to do Public Call, which is a relationship-based exchange for Doctor Who. I just got my assignment, and I had the exact same Yuletide-type thrill when I opened it, followed by the exact same "Wait, did I really say I would write this?" reaction which always seems to happen no matter how careful I am in my sign-up. I think it's the difference between the hypothetical vs. reality ("I can write this!" vs. "This is what I have to write!") But having gone through it before, I know that the nervousness will fade, and I will soon settle down to writing.

There are already a few things in Public Call that feel very different from Yuletide, though. First, it's a much smaller exchange -- according to the profile, only 15 people signed up! I mean, wow. With so few participants, I'm surprised I was even matchable, especially given the huge range of relationships in the tag set. I think most people must request and offer more than I did (I was pretty close to the minimum for both). Second, it's due a lot earlier than Yuletide, which is worrying me a little, although I think it will be good to have no excuse for procrastination. Third, the requests involve relationships, not just characters. The relationship doesn't have to be romantic, but it's dawning on me that it's not enough to write a story that simply features the requested characters; their relationship has to be centered somehow. This will be a new type of challenge for me. Finally, there's the fact that the whole exchange is based on Doctor Who. There I was, staring at my assignment, doing my usual "That's what I matched on? I know I said I can write it, but can I really write it?" when it suddenly occurred to me that look, there are a bunch of other relationships also requested, and OMG, I know those characters, too! That means if something doesn't come together for what I matched on, it's actually possible for me to switch and write one of my recipient's other requests. This is mind-blowing. In Yuletide, I have never, ever known any of my recipient's other fandoms well enough to write a request other than what I matched on. In fact, usually the other fandoms are things I've never even heard of.

Anyway, so far I am feeling pleasantly excited, nervous, and challenged. And, I'm not missing a Yuletide assignment. I think I needed a break from it this year, although once my Public Call assignment is finished, I'll definitely poke around Yuletide to see if I'm inspired to write a treat or two.

Comments

[thisbluespirit]

Good luck with Public Call! I am sorry you're not doing Yuletide, but I understand needing a break from things. I'm glad PC seems like it's going to be good fun for you - fanfic should be fun! (Only 15 people signed up, wow? That's not a lot for the whole DW fandom. Mind you, running something at the same time as Yuletide probably rules out a whole bunch of people, but still... 0_o)

[dbskyler.livejournal.com]

I'm shocked at the low participation rate for Public Call. Maybe it's because it's based on relationships? I know that put me off signing up for it for a long time; it was only recently that I realized that you weren't required to write a romantic relationship. (Although given the ship-based nature of most of fandom, maybe they'd get more participation if they did require you to make it a romance.)

I just really wasn't feeling Yuletide this year, either for offers or for requests. When I realized I was far more excited about my potential offers and requests for Public Call than for Yuletide, I decided to go for Public Call instead.

[thisbluespirit]

Maybe a combination of all those things?

Well, that sounds eminently sensible, after all. Btw, I've been working on a 4th Doctor rec set for who_at_50 and working my way through his tag on AO3, which is largely very depressing, there's nothing decent (excepting a Public Call fic) until 2013! I was much cheered however to get distracted into re-reading Fallacy Somewhere again while going through it!

[dbskyler.livejournal.com]

Ooh, a Fourth Doctor rec list, hooray! I'm looking forward to it.

Have you also checked Teaspoon? I believe there are a lot of authors who have fic there that isn't at AO3. (Well, I do, anyway, although I do try to cross-post the recent fic. It just feels so weird to re-post the older fic. "Look, something new! Ha ha, fooled you!" Maybe others are the same?)

Glad to hear you enjoyed a re-read of Fallacy Somewhere. :)

[thisbluespirit]

LOL, at the moment it has about five things on it, so it needs to imrpove before it can be a proper list. It's harder than the others - despite the recent dearth of good fic, there's so much more Four out there!

Aha, I was checking the AO3 tag out because I keep up with Teaspoon quite well & bookmark most DW fic from there (easier for Calufrax if needed), but I know that it's a lot quieter than it used to be and there's not been a whole lot of Classic Who appearing - some One and Two keeping quietly going, but not much else. So, every time I do a list like this, I think, well, silly me, this is because I've been looking on the wrong website, I shall get me over to AO3 and go through the hundreds of fics over there... and then wind up going, um, where are they? There is no good fic! All the good fic are crossposts from Teaspoon authors that I've read over there!

I expect I may sometimes be unfair, but it is quite marked, really. And DW fandom is still active on tumblr, but of course, tumblr isn't fic-centric, it's wider. Which is good - but not if you're in fandom for the whole fic writing and reading and interaction.

It had been a long time since I read FS and it made me laugh a lot all over again. :-D

[paranoidangel]

It has got a lot lower this year. It went something like 19, 21, 24, 15 sign ups for each year. I don't know what happened this year to decrease it - maybe Doctor Who not being on this autumn means people have forgotten about it.

[thisbluespirit]

You're probably right, although I don't understand DW fans being fickle. Aren't we all in this for life and possibly beyond? ;-D

It's not a large amount for the sole (as far as I know) whole-fandom general DW exchange in existence at the moment, though, even at its peak. Oh how fandom has fallen... *sighs* *feels like an internet octogenarian or something*

[dbskyler.livejournal.com]

It does feel like the DW fandom is fairly inactive at the moment -- not sure if that's due to the lack of new episodes, or another sign of the dying of LJ. If the fans have all moved to tumblr, I'm never going to know. *clings tightly to text-based fandom interactions*

[paranoidangel]

I think most people must request and offer more than I did

Possibly. I had 8 requests and 13 offers and that was after I pared it down...

[dbskyler.livejournal.com]

I had only 4 requests and 5 offers. But I matched a recipient, and I don't *think* I went out to pinch hit (although actually, I guess I wouldn't know?)

[paranoidangel]

Pinch hits go out on the LJ, so you didn't go out to pinch hit. I think it's only really exchanges as big as Yuletide that have some pinch hits at the start.

[clocketpatch]

I didn't sign-up because I'd already signed up for Yuletide and Trick-or-Treat and didn't want to take on too much at once, but now I wish I had since 15 is a very small number and the decline of fic-writing Who fandom is something that saddens me.

Does Public_Call give the opportunity to write treats?

[dbskyler.livejournal.com]

Yes, you can write treats for Public Call! From the FAQ:

"You can write treats (additional stories) for the participants whether or not you're signed up for the challenge. Everyone's requests will be visible on AO3 after the deadline.

Treats will be revealed at the very end of the fest, so you can keep writing and posting them during December."

The deadline is Nov. 20th. Stories are gradually revealed starting on Dec. 1st.

[clocketpatch]

Huzzah! A treat writing I shall go then. I remember really liking the gradual reveals on Public_Call, because it gave me time to read all of the fics without getting overwhelmed.