Snowflake challenge - 4
Jan. 7th, 2020 08:04 pm
Challenge 4: In your own space, set some goals for the coming year
Personal
2017 en 2018 were difficult years, because during them I discovered that university wasn't the right place for me anymore. The Master's programme I was in was perfect for me on paper, but in reality it wasn't remotely challenging and I was bored out of my mind for the 1,5 years I was in it, until I finally dropped out. As a result, I became very depressed, which forced me to reflect on life and what I wanted from it. Figuring out what you want is hard though. It was much easier to figure out what I didn't want, and throwing those things out of my life was the theme for 2019. I got rid of a lot of things that no longer worked for me. Hobbies, clothes, books, clients, friendships. Some of it painful, some of it a relief, but I like to think that all of it was necessary. I don't think I need to get rid of anything anymore though. I feel like I've stripped my life to the bare bones already. Everything I've left, at least the things I have control over, are things I'm happy with. So in 2020 I'd like to build my life back up. I have room for new hobbies and new friendships now and I intend to actively go looking for those. To be succesful in that, my goals for 2020 are to keep an open mind and not dismiss new opportunities out of fear.
Fandom
- Writing: I've had this fanfic idea in my head for almost 5 years and in 2020 I finally want to write it, dammit. I know the concept has a lot of potential. I have loads of plans for it and I just want to get it all out of my head. I always thought I needed to be much better at writing before I could do this story justice, and that's probably true, but the reality is that I don't want to write anything else. Every other fic I've written in the past few years has been half-hearted at best, because my fingers were secretly itching to write different words. So done with the excuses. In 2020 I want to see this story on paper.
- Bookbinding: There are two books I want to make. The first one will be a collection of my favourite short fics, bound in leather and handwritten, because these fics deserve nothing less. This is going to be a ridiculously time-consuming and ambitious project, but one I'm very excited about. Unfortunately, the binding I have in mind is above my current skill level, so I won't be able to finish it until I'm more confident with leather. The calligraphy, on the other hand, I can already do. I still have a lot of planning and designing to do for this project, but I hope to get started on the calligraphy this summer.
The second book, which is a binding of a wonderful fanfic I read last year, will be much more doable. The design for this is already done; I've had it sharp and clear in my head for months. I'm going to get started on this project tomorrow and want to have it finished in April.
Snowflake Challenge: 3
Jan. 5th, 2020 10:52 pm
Challenge three: pimp your favourite comms, fests and challenges
The community I'm by far the most active in, is![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
snape_potter , a community for people who ship Snarry. It's quite big and pretty active. It has its own discord group and hosts two fests every year. In April/ May there's the Snarry-a-Thon and in December the Secret Snarry Swap. Both are prompt based, but for the Swap you have to follow the prompt more closely, because your work is meant to be a gift for the person who left the prompt. I have participated in both in the past and always had a great time. I find creating for the Swap easier, because you're creating for someone, which gives you the motivation to continue when you hit a road block. However, the Thon gives you a lot more freedom and I really like that too, so I'm just very happy that both fests exist and I can get the best of both worlds.
The community I'm by far the most active in, is
snape_potter , a community for people who ship Snarry. It's quite big and pretty active. It has its own discord group and hosts two fests every year. In April/ May there's the Snarry-a-Thon and in December the Secret Snarry Swap. Both are prompt based, but for the Swap you have to follow the prompt more closely, because your work is meant to be a gift for the person who left the prompt. I have participated in both in the past and always had a great time. I find creating for the Swap easier, because you're creating for someone, which gives you the motivation to continue when you hit a road block. However, the Thon gives you a lot more freedom and I really like that too, so I'm just very happy that both fests exist and I can get the best of both worlds.I also love
![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-community.gif){kind=small}
snapecase , which is completely dedicated to Snape. It's only active once a year, when it hosts its annual fest, but it's worth the wait, because most entries are a treat. The fest doesn't work with prompts, but with age categories. When you sign up, you have to specify whether you want to write about Snape as a toddler, or an elderly man, or something in between, and that's it. There are no limits to genre and rating. I enjoy seeing Snape's life explored, especially if it's a part of it we don't see in canon, so I'm always looking forwards to this fest. It's actually posting right now, in Snape's birthday month, so feel free to check it out if you're interested!Last, I feel like I can't leave
hoggywartyxmas unmentioned, which is a community dedicated to Hogwarts' teachers. Like Snapecase, it's only active when it hosts it's annual fest, but it's also worth the wait. The vast majority of hp fanfics focus on the characters from Harry's generation, so it's wonderful to see a completely different set of characters explored for a change. It's obvious that people spend a lot of time and thought on their entries for the fest because canon doesn't give them an awful lot to work with when it comes to some of the teachers, and I appreciate that. This fest is also posting right now, so go take a look!Snowflake Challenge - challenges 1 & 2
Jan. 2nd, 2020 06:50 pm
It's that time of year again! Oh, how time flies. Even though 2019 was intense and stressful and I'm glad for it to be over, I do have good memories of participating in the Snowflake Challenge last year. I'm looking forwards to seeing what this year will bring!
( Challenge one: introduce yourself )
( Challenge two: talk about your fannish history )
For anyone who doesn’t yet know: I recently bound a Snarry fanfic (The Lost World by
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
perverse_idyll ) into a book and submitted it as my entry for the Snarry-a-Thon, a fest for Snarry related fic and art. The idea of sharing my work with so many people made me ridiculously nervous, but it went very well. I received a lot of incredibly positive and supportive comments. Thank you all so much! I thought of this project as an experiment, and I'd say it was a succesful one. Many people seemed to like it a lot. A few of them even asked me if I could write a step by step article on how I bound the story, and my answer to that is: of course! I’m flattered that so many of you want to know more about it! So I set to writing and here it is. Perverse Idyll has asked me beforehand if I could take photos during the creation process, so I did, and will share those here as well.Now, a lot of thought and experimentation went into this bookbinding project, so as a result, this post will be quite long, and at times even technical. Feel free to take your time reading it, or even skip some parts altogether. However, I do recommend you read ‘general info’, since that’s where I explain a few bookbinding terms I’ll be using later on. Also note that this is not meant to be a tutorial. It’s mostly a break-down of my proces, so that you can see exactly what one has to take into consideration for a project like this. If anything is unclear or you’d simply like to know more about a certain topic, don’t hesitate to ask. Otherwise, hope you enjoy!
( General info )
( Cover design )
( Typesetting & Page design )
( Printing; a story of frustration )
( The cover )
( Title & Wrap-up ) ( Photography & Aftercare )
( A few final words )
Snowflake Challenge - Days 9, 10, 12 & 13
Jan. 13th, 2019 09:43 pm
Day 9
Commit an act of kindness.
I've done a couple. However, there's one person in this challenge who keeps saying how much they want everyone to add a Transformative Works Statement to their AO3 profile, so I did :D
Days 10 & 12
Day 10: Create a fanwork. Day 12: In your own space, create your own challenge.
I've taken these days together, because the challenge I'm setting for myself is to complete day 10 and create a fanwork. I've always been reluctant to be more personal in my online life and have therefore never mentioned bookbinding in my journal before. Now that I have, however, and received many positive comments about it, I feel so inspired to make more books! So that's what I'll do :D. My personal day 12 challenge will be to bind a fanfic, just for myself, to get some experience with binding actual stories. I'm not sure which fic I want to do yet, but if the book turns out well, I'll share some pics of it here as proof that I've completed day 10 of the Snowflake Challenge ^^
Edit June 2019: It took me three months, but I finally did it and made a book! The result can be found here. My super long post with picturs and details of the binding process is here, though you must have already seen it when you were scrolling down my entries ;)
Day 13
In your own space, set some goals for the coming year. They can be fannish or not, public or private (And remember, don't wait until you've achieved your goals to be proud of yourself. Be proud of every step you take to get there!).
- Fannish: Complete day 10/ day 12 of the Snowflake Challenge
- Fannish: Figure out a good fandom/ RL ratio and stick to it. I sometimes spend way too much time on fandom, which takes away from both my offline life and my enjoyment of fandom, so I need to come up with 'a schedule' that works better for me.
- Bookbinding: I want to learn how to sew endbands and preferably try at least 3 different types
- Bookbinding: I want to get at least one step closer to fulfilling my dream of one day doing a full, traditional gothic binding. That might be by getting more experience in working with leather, practice more with rounding and backing, or experimenting with fake ribs.
- Personal: I really need another job. I'm already working on that though and even have an interview in a few days. Fingers crossed!
Snowflake Challenge - Days 4 & 5
Jan. 5th, 2019 09:43 pm
And the Snowflake Challenge continues! I'm combining two days into one post again. Day 4 doesn't actually require a post, but I'd like to write a short evaluation of my experiences with it anyway.
Day 4
Day 5
( Read more... )
Snowflake Challenge - Days 2 & 3
Jan. 3rd, 2019 11:28 pmYay, the next day of the Snowflake Challenge is upon us! I’ve decided to do the 2nd and 3rd challenge in one go, since I think they go very well together.
Snowflake Challenge - Day 2
Snowflake Challenge - Day 3
( Read more... )
Snowflake Challenge - Day 1
Jan. 2nd, 2019 10:59 pmHi all!
I thought it would be fun to participate in the Snowflake Challenge this year. I’ve seen other people’s posts about it in the past and was always intrigued, but I’ve never participated before. Since I finally have a bit more time on my hands and the challenge is running right now, I’'m going to dive right in :D
Fandom Snowflake Challenge – Day 1
In your own space, talk about your Happy Place – the things that give you joy, calm you or keep you sane.
Beautiful old books. I have always been a massive bibliophile and love everything about books. Books take centre stage in my home, my studies, my hobbies and half my daydreams. There’s very little that makes me more excited than admiring the craftsmanship of an antique handbound book. Luckily, as an old book collector, I have a few of them, so I can look at them whenever I want to!
Bookbinding. This is not very surprising after my previous ‘happy place’, but I don’t just want to look at books, I like to make them too. I’m a very crafty person and have always had lots of crazy hobbies, but bookbinding is one of the few that I’ve been doing regularly for years now. I've experimented with it on my own for a few years, but I’m currently taking lessons from a professional bookbinder to learn the techniques properly, and I’m enjoying it a lot! Now that I’ve bound a book foracid, I’m also playing with the idea to offer my services to fanfiction writers. I’m sure there are a couple out there who’d love to see their work bound. I’m not yet confident enough in my skills to accept commissions though, but maybe one day.
I love music and my taste is quite varied, so it's hard to pick a favourite song. However, if I had to, I'd probably pick Medusa by Brendan Perry, a dark, melancholic Gothic song. This is one of the few songs that I can listen to over and over again without getting bored. Brendan’s slow, drawling singing voice is just fantastic. The song is sad and hauting, but also very beautiful and I love it to bits.
Running water. I adore the feeling of water falling on my skin. Whether it’s in the shower or outside in the rain; it doesn’t really matter. I drove my parents to exasperation when I was younger because I would take forever to shower. They gave me all kinds of weird punishments to get me to be faster, but it never worked and they gave up when I was 16. Right now I try to be a little more careful with it, due to environmental concerns. However, since I was raised a vegetarian and therefore never directly contributed to the bio industry and all the pollution that comes with it, I allow myself to indulge in a super long shower every now and then.
Hiking. Going for a hike is one of my favourite things to do. Luckily I have a few friends who love it too and we regularly go out for looooong walks. I love it even more if we go on a multi-day hike and combine it with camping. Being out and about in nature and having the freedom to put your tent anywhere and wake up to the most beautiful views is the best feeling in the world!
Reading fanfic after midnight. I’m a die-hard evening person and especially love the time after midnight, when most people are in bed and I feel as if I have the whole world to myself. Reading fanfic is my favourite activity at that time. I feel very calm at night, hardly troubled by my daytime stress, so I’m in a much better space of mind to enjoy a good story than I am during the rest of the day. Unfortunately, I can’t keep this night owl schedule anymore now that I’m working and I dearly miss it. But I go back to my crazy bed times and indulge in all the fic whenever I have a few days off.
I thought it would be fun to participate in the Snowflake Challenge this year. I’ve seen other people’s posts about it in the past and was always intrigued, but I’ve never participated before. Since I finally have a bit more time on my hands and the challenge is running right now, I’'m going to dive right in :D
Fandom Snowflake Challenge – Day 1
In your own space, talk about your Happy Place – the things that give you joy, calm you or keep you sane.
Beautiful old books. I have always been a massive bibliophile and love everything about books. Books take centre stage in my home, my studies, my hobbies and half my daydreams. There’s very little that makes me more excited than admiring the craftsmanship of an antique handbound book. Luckily, as an old book collector, I have a few of them, so I can look at them whenever I want to!
Bookbinding. This is not very surprising after my previous ‘happy place’, but I don’t just want to look at books, I like to make them too. I’m a very crafty person and have always had lots of crazy hobbies, but bookbinding is one of the few that I’ve been doing regularly for years now. I've experimented with it on my own for a few years, but I’m currently taking lessons from a professional bookbinder to learn the techniques properly, and I’m enjoying it a lot! Now that I’ve bound a book for
acid, I’m also playing with the idea to offer my services to fanfiction writers. I’m sure there are a couple out there who’d love to see their work bound. I’m not yet confident enough in my skills to accept commissions though, but maybe one day. I love music and my taste is quite varied, so it's hard to pick a favourite song. However, if I had to, I'd probably pick Medusa by Brendan Perry, a dark, melancholic Gothic song. This is one of the few songs that I can listen to over and over again without getting bored. Brendan’s slow, drawling singing voice is just fantastic. The song is sad and hauting, but also very beautiful and I love it to bits.
Running water. I adore the feeling of water falling on my skin. Whether it’s in the shower or outside in the rain; it doesn’t really matter. I drove my parents to exasperation when I was younger because I would take forever to shower. They gave me all kinds of weird punishments to get me to be faster, but it never worked and they gave up when I was 16. Right now I try to be a little more careful with it, due to environmental concerns. However, since I was raised a vegetarian and therefore never directly contributed to the bio industry and all the pollution that comes with it, I allow myself to indulge in a super long shower every now and then.
Hiking. Going for a hike is one of my favourite things to do. Luckily I have a few friends who love it too and we regularly go out for looooong walks. I love it even more if we go on a multi-day hike and combine it with camping. Being out and about in nature and having the freedom to put your tent anywhere and wake up to the most beautiful views is the best feeling in the world!
Reading fanfic after midnight. I’m a die-hard evening person and especially love the time after midnight, when most people are in bed and I feel as if I have the whole world to myself. Reading fanfic is my favourite activity at that time. I feel very calm at night, hardly troubled by my daytime stress, so I’m in a much better space of mind to enjoy a good story than I am during the rest of the day. Unfortunately, I can’t keep this night owl schedule anymore now that I’m working and I dearly miss it. But I go back to my crazy bed times and indulge in all the fic whenever I have a few days off.
