Snowflake challenge: 5, 6

[antuhsa]

Challenge 5: Interact with someone new

I've interacted with a few people in my fandom who were new to me, and joined a new Discord server. However, I feel like this challenge is a work in progress throughout the whole Snowflake challenge, so while I did the challenge, I'm not done with it yet.

Challenge 6: Make a list of things you wish existed in your fandom

It took me a while to think of something, because I'm actually quite happy with what's already there. The HP fandom is so big, and my favourite ship (Harry/Snape) is one of the most popular pairings in it, so I don't feel as if I truly miss anything. I can still think of a few things I'd like to see more of, however.

- More fannish arts and crafts, and I'd especially like to see more comics. I've only come across a few fancomics over the years, but I loved all of them, so definitely wouldn't mind seeing more!
- More rec lists! It seems as if long, detailed rec lists are a thing of the past, but I found them very helpful and used them extensively when I was new to my ship. I still use the old rec lists, but they only have older fics in them. Those older fics are still great, honestly, but I'd love to see rec lists with more recent fics too. 
- More fics that show why Snape/Harry absolutely wouldn't work, ever. It is a bit of a ridiculous ship after all, one that would never happen in canon, and I love it when writers acknowledge that. I've read a few fics in which Snape and Harry tried to make a relationship work, but had to break up because they discovered they weren't that compatible after all, or because Snape's feelings for Lilly got in the way, and I've devoured every single one of them. I can understand why it's a niche, because neither people who ship Snarry nor people who don't would be excited to write fics like that, but I still wish there were more. 

Comments

[muccamukk]

I also miss rec lists. A few people on my reading list do them, but not often in fandoms I read. Yuletide's good for that, at least, and some people have been doing Reccing Friday as a weekly meme.

[antuhsa]

So all fandoms are dealing with a lack of rec lists then? That's such a shame. I've seen more people ask for rec lists in this Snowflake Challenge though, so maybe we can all make it happen together!

[luthien]

I love that Snape/Harry is still popular. I was one of the first half-dozen or so people to write it, and I remember when it really took off, around the beginning of 2002. It's a long time since I was involved in HP fandom, but I wish you luck in getting more of those things on your list!

[antuhsa]

Hi! I know about your past involvement with Snarry and I've read (and enjoyed!) your fics from that time, so it's wonderful to see you here in my journal!

Snarry is still going strong, for sure. There are still fests and comms for it. However, it's very different from how it was in the early days. The characterisations and themes are straying further and further away from canon. I suppose that makes perfect sense, but I personally prefer fics from before canon closed.

Anyway, thank you for your comment. I hope you'll get some of the things on your list as well!

[paulamcg]

I’m glad to find one more active HP writer, and eager to add you if you don’t mind! Myself I write almost exclusively about the Marauders, but I’ve often thought that Snape is probably the most fascinating character in canon.

I also wish there were more reccing of HP fic. Perhaps a DW community for that could be founded? And I find it exciting what you say about it-doesn’t-work Snarry. (Before my hiatus, in 2003 – 2010, when a big part of my fanfic was post-OotP and lost-years Remus/Sirius, I often felt it was a niche which neither Wolfstar people nor those who didn’t like Wolfstar could easily choose to read.)

[antuhsa]

Hi! Sure, add away! I love meeting new people in the HP fandom, especially if they write about other characters and ships. I'm not an active writer at the moment, however, but I have some ideas I want to work on and hopefully I'll have the time for it soon. Are you working on anything at the moment?

Ooh, you've been away for a while then. Glad you've returned! You're actually one of the first people I met who also enjoys anti-ship fics (not sure what to call them). Are there many of those for Wolfstar? As for fic reccing, I know a few comms and users you might be interested in. I'll comment on your journal in a bit to give you some links.

[paulamcg]

Yay, friends! And thanks! I’m glad to be back, and perhaps in this changed HP fandom there can be, after all, some of those features I enjoyed in my earliest fandom days, on a small forum, where it was natural to interact with people who wrote about other characters and ships than I did.

The very first readers of my borderline gen/slash Remus and Sirius stories were people who were not very interested in Wolfstar or even aware of its existence (if you can imagine such a place and time in fandom). On Live Journal (where I entered in early 2005) it became clear to me that people interested in reading about these two characters’ relationship preferred at least happy moments (preferably hot sex), in memory scenes, if the fic was set in 1982 – 1994 or after summer 1996.

Perhaps I also gave up – or my Remus and Sirius couldn’t resist each other. Back when I started my Sirius-loving Remus’s story, I thought it might have been so tragic that Sirius became his lover only during OotP, but later I “found out” that their relationship had been sexual, albeit problematic, pre-Azkaban, too.

After my hiatus, since February 2019, I’ve written mainly Wolfstar fics set in 1975 – 1979. And that’s what I’m working on at the moment. More exactly, I’m in the process of writing a R/S fic set in their seventh year at Hogwarts (for Remus Lupin fest, although I’m not sure if I’ll submit it there) and a (some kind of R/absent S) post-canon (and canon-divergent-after-the-fifth-book) fic for HP Golden Age. Both – as well as everything I’ve written in fandom – belong to the same story about Remus’s life I’ve been writing since 2003.

Would you like to tell me anything about your ideas for your next fics? And thank you so much for commenting on my journal, too. I’m trying to catch up with my replies.

[antuhsa]

Yay, glad to have you as a new friend! Hope you're able to find the HP fandom you're looking for here on DW.

That fic you're writing about Remus' life sounds very ambitious. I might take a look at it later, because I'm very curious about it now. I'm certainly interested in learning more about how Remus got his lycanthropy and how he learnt to accept it. Also, I had no idea there was a Remus Lupin fest. That's the great thing about making new friends in fandom: they'll tell you about parts of fandom you didn't even know existed!

I do crafting as well as writing, so I'm working on multiple different projects at the moment. I study bookbinding and like to make fandom inspired books, because I love the idea of having physical copies of my favourite fanfics on my bookshelves. I've already bound two fanfics and am currently working on a third. For writing, however, there's one fic I really want to write. I haven't worked out all the details yet, but the fic itself will be an exploration of what Snape means to the wizarding world. It's fairly ambitious and that's why I've found it difficult to really go for it. I can't get the story out of my head though, so I think 2020 will be the year I'l finally be going for it.

[paulamcg]

Thank you for this lovely reply! Perhaps I’ll somehow manage to be part of the change I want and, together with some of the wonderful people I’ve recently met, make a corner of fandom into an inspiring place for us. Now I have some hope it can be on DW, as I’ve seen some others mention that they’ve missed the journal type of discussion.

I hope you’ll get started with writing your Snape fic. Or do you need to do a lot of planning and maybe discussing your idea before actual writing? The idea does sound ambitious, and I’d be happy to hear more. I am no expert on Snape, however, although I’ve often thought that he’s the best, most fascinating character JKR’s written.

I’ve seen some posts about your bookbinding projects, and the books look amazing in the pictures. After I’d completed the long chaptered fic and stopped writing (only for eight year – but I didn’t know it back then), a friend of mine offered to me as a gift that he’d pay for having my fic printed, and I loved the idea to have it as physical books – the novel, and all the one-shots as a collection of short stories – to keep in my bookshelf and hold in my hand. But I never got the text files, the cover etc. arranged for the printing. But what you make is, of course, something different: beautiful pieces of art as such.

Remus Lupin Fest is on Tumblr – and that’s one reason why I’m not sure I’ll submit my fic. Every time I go over there, I feel lost and confused. I’ve got the impression that a lot of Wolfstar fandom is over there, perhaps because this pairing appeals to younger fans. But I think that my take on Remus and Sirius’s story and my writing style are somehow unusual – or don’t comply with popular fanon and common preferences. After getting back to writing fic last February, I surprised myself by managing to go on for months without any feedback. Now that I’ve found some interaction again but still very little comments on AO3, I think I can decide not to change the way I write – or to enter platforms where I don’t feel comfortable – so as to try to find readers and fellow writers of the same ship.

Oh, I don’t think my story of Remus’s life was originally an ambitious project in the way your Snape fic is. I started posting a chaptered post-OotP fic as a WiP on a small forum as soon as I’d discovered fanfic in September 2003, and I didn’t have an outline for a novel. But I soon became ambitious, as I started developing as a writer and deepening the characters and expanding their world as well as both the current plot of defending part-human and non-human creatures’ rights and the backstory (with no Greyback there either but a different, gradually unfolding story of the werewolf who bit Remus). Since then I’ve been so hopelessly addicted to this reality that I don’t want any of my new short stories to contradict any of it. (If you are interested and have the time for taking a look, you’ll find links through my profile, but you can also ask for a rec, telling me what kind of fic you’d like to see first.) But now this comment’s got inordinately long! Sorry!

In any case, I’m glad to have you as a new friend, too – and to see your beautiful posts.

[antuhsa]

Yes! It seems like a lot of people are wishing for a similar fandom experience on DW as we do, so I think it should be possible to turn DW into an even better space!

Thank you! I actually already have a pretty good idea of where I want to go with the fic, but the problem is that I keep questioning myself. Every time I think I have the plot fully figured out, I start wondering about some detail and become insecure about the rest of the plot too. If I give myself the time to really sit down with it, I'm sure I'll be able to figure it all out in a few days, but I need to find the time to do that.

Oh, it's amazing that someone wanted to print your fic for you! Having your own/ a favourite fic in physical form really is something special. I hope it will still happen for you one day!

Ah, yeah, I understand. I also stay very far away from Tumblr. I don't even have an account there, because I don't like the format. If you're looking for other Wolfstar fans, there are a few in the Reddit community I mentioned to you last week. However, I think it's great that you discovered your internal motivation for writing and can continue without having constant validation from others. It's very useful and valuable to be able to do that!

That's honestly the best approach; starting with a small, short story, and expanding on it as you go along. I'll admit that I rarely go looking for fic with Remus in it, but I'm open to reading some! I'm not a fan of mpreg, forced bonding, a/b/o and those type of tropes, but I love sad, angsty and/ or bittersweet fics. So if you have one of those, rec away!

[paulamcg]

Yes, I’ve enjoyed interaction on DW this past month when – first thanks to st_aurafina’s friending meme, then thanks to Snowflake – I’ve got to add new people, to see varying contents on my Reading feed, and even to talk more to those with whom I feel I share something essential in common. Still, I feel it’s a pity that our fanworks are primarily not right here on our journals or on DW communities in the way they used to be on our LJ accounts and on LJ communities. Our fanworks are obviously the core of our participation in fandom, and I’d like to see more discussion on them. Now it’s another step to go to AO3, and any potential discussion there doesn’t come to the attention of our DW friends.

Now I’ve been intending to take the step and comment on your gorgeous bookbinding fanwork.

I really hope you can soon get started with writing that fic. I can’t help thinking that you have it all figured out quite fully enough. Some details are bound to change in any case during the writing process. But, of course, you know best what is the right approach for you.

I haven’t got a Tumblr account either. (It wouldn’t be necessary for submitting a fic to that fest.) Oh yes, Reddit… Thank you for reminding me. But I’m not sure that seeing Wolfstar fans would make me more inspired to write my stories (story).

My first fic didn’t actually start as a short story but as a first installment of Chapter One for a novel-length story , because (back then I’d read only one short Chapter One for a Harry’s-sixth-year fic, and) that’s what I thought fanfic was supposed to be – like JKR’s novels. I just boldly published it, and for a long time I didn’t know more than my Remus knew at any point what was going to happen next, but it all miraculously worked out.

And I’ve thought I’m some kind of a perfectionist, too – a different one from you, obviously! I’ve never written outlines (except once a very rough list of issues I needed to wrap up in the final chapters of the novel) or character charts. I just write slowly (although now less slowly than fifteen years ago) and polish my text painstakingly, but hardly ever make big changes after completing a scene.

Oh, I’d never write anything like those dislikes you mention. And my fic is all rather sad, angsty and/ or bittersweet. Perhaps you’d like to have a look at the chronologically first piece (so far, and with the exception of some memories included in the novel) of the story, a 2800-word Sirius-pov fic, written last February. A Stranded Wizard If Ever There Was One is about Sirius running away from home, and there’s implied reference to childhood sexual abuse. Or you could choose anything else on my AO3.

[antuhsa]

Sorry for my later response, I've been very busy recently and will be for a while :/. Either way, I'm very impressed by the amount of fics you've written! And all of them in English too! English isn't my native language either, so I know how hard it can be to write in it, which makes me extra impressed when another non-native speaker is able to use it so well.

Yay, I'm happy to hear we have a similar taste! Thanks so much for the rec. I'm looking forwards to reading your fic when I have a bit more time again! I've added it to my 'marked for later' list on AO3, so it will be right there when RL becomes a little less demanding. Take care!

[paulamcg]

Hello again! I postponed my further comment since I knew you’d continue to be busy. Meanwhile I’ve submitted my Golden Age fic and two fics for Remus Lupin Fest. And surprised myself by writing two small Snupin pieces (which you can find in my recent DW posts. But I'd love to see you on my AO3, too, someday!)

But now I’ve just thought about our conversation here, because while talking to delphi I suddenly started developing an idea of a DW community for bringing some of our fanwork and discussion on it right here to share.

(I’m linking to but also copying my suggestion.) https://paulamcg.dreamwidth.org/11230.html?thread=83678#cmt83678
I’m starting to get wild ideas. I don’t crave for a big community. Perhaps if there are ten or just five people who still write (also) HP fic and would like reciprocal reading and commenting, they could form a Minerva’s… no… All Owls’ Fic Club. A DW community where a member could post a (not too long, perhaps shorter than 6000-word, or 3000-word?) HP fic once a month, and there would be one or two fics every week for everyone to review and discuss in comments. The reviews could be copied and posted on AO3, too, if that’s where the writer preferred to collect all feedback. That would be closer to the interaction on my first fandom home, a small forum, where we read any genres and about any characters, than those LJ communities which were dedicated to particular characters or pairings. … Of course, some people could post and comment more seldom, and they could also post older work, anything that they’d still like to have feedback on, and if it’s a small, closed community, why not also snippets of longer WiPs so as to get concrit or ideas. Perhaps I’ll make a post about this soon.

Thank you for this, too: extra impressed when another non-native speaker is able to use it so well. Starting my Remus’s story in autumn 2003 made me into a fiction writer – in English, and since then I’ve actually not found it hard to use this language. I’ve felt that it’s perhaps an advantage that I’m aware of choosing my words with care and love, and of developing my individual fiction voice. And I’ve met several non-native speakers who stand out as excellent writers.

[malenkayacherepakha]

More recs is definitely going to be on my list too, and reccing more myself is one of my main fandom goals this year. The long rec lists are so helpful to find both new and old fics, they can be a lot easier to navigate than browsing through AO3 hoping to find something.

[antuhsa]

Awesome! If enough of us mention wanting more rec lists, then maybe we can make a difference together! Great idea to start reccing more yourself. I think I'm going to try that too!

[malenkayacherepakha]

Definitely, if we all actually do it we can really make an impact :)

[lee_bella]

"More fics that show why Snape/Harry absolutely wouldn't work, ever. It is a bit of a ridiculous ship after all, one that would never happen in canon..."

I get what you mean. I've only ever written one Snape/Harry fic because I have no idea how to make the pairing work. Here's my fic if you are interested. It's quite bittersweet, and I know not many people like sad stories. (Sorry about the shameless self-promotion.)

[antuhsa]

Hey, thanks! I hadn't expected my fannish wishes would be granted so fast :D. Shameless self-promotion is perfectly fine. Sad and bittersweet is very much my jam, especially for Snarry, so your fic is definitely up my alley. Looking forwards to reading it!

[lee_bella]

I wrote that fic in 2014, so it's not new. Sad and bittersweet is my jam too, and it's nice to meet someone who's into that.

[williamsnickers]

You're onto something with Snarry that ultimately doesn't work out. While I don't have any fics like that, I have to say that rec lists are still around, in a way... They've just transformed into individual recs dispersed here and there (following fandom itself). Comms like one-bad-man and platforms like Reddit and Tumblr have a bunch of recs, only they aren't as long and organised as old school rec lists. I think if you and I, for example, went back and streamlined our blurbs, we could easily build rec lists for fic we've enjoyed.

[antuhsa]

Yes, that's true! And I'm glad I'm folllowing Reddit and One Bad Man and get to see lots of recs there. Still, I also really like it when you find someone with a similar taste and discover they have a list of their favourite fics. Browsing those lists always makes me feel like a kid in a candy store, in a way that Reddit and people's bookmark pages on AO3, don't. But I definitely agree that the both of us could probably make a fab rec list. I've had the idea to make one and post it to my journal for quite a while, and now I think I might finally get to it.

[williamsnickers]

Doitdoitdoit! :D I'm excited to see it, whenever you post~
(I think the hardest part of it is the "review," that blurb where you write why you like it so much. Especially if it's been a while since you last read it. But you can always reread.)

[antuhsa]

Yeah, absolutely. It won't take long to figure out which fics to include, and I can always add to it later anyway, but the review bits will take some time. Oh well, the rect list can just be something I work on during the course of 2020, so no hurries at all.