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Here it is, only January 11, and already I'm days behind on
But that's the beauty of this challenge; you don't have to feel pressured. If I'm late, I'm late; in fact, there really isn't any "late."
Challenge #3 -- Pimp Your Favorite Communities, Fests or Challenges!
I've been feeling a bit nostalgic about the "old days" of HP fandom (like ten years or so ago), when so many now-defunct fests were still gloriously active, often with dozens of participants. So I thought I'd rec the first three fests I stumbled upon, just in case a) you don't know them, or b) you want to revisit them (as you should; all are well worth a reread).
HP Beholder, 2008-2013
Beholder will always be the mother of all fests for me. I was in the first flush of my HP obsession when I chanced upon Beholder in spring of 2009, and I thought I'd found paradise on earth. Here, at last, were the old and "ugly" and nerdy characters I so wanted to read about. The quality of the stories is unparalleled. I felt actual grief when Beholder came to an end after 2013.
Fest Description from the website: "This is a Fic/Art exchange created to let characters who some less-than-discerning people think are unappealing get some action. There's no smut requirement, per se, but the characters featured in your art or fiction must be shown in a relationship of some kind."
HP_Yule_Balls, 2008-2010
An HP holiday slash fest. It lasted only three years, but it offered lots of interesting rare pairs.
HP_Spring_Fling 2009-2011
One of the first fests I ever participated in (spring, 2009; over 50 entries!). I was nervous -- and I really had no idea how fests worked. I remember complaining on my LJ about the assignment I'd received, never realizing that I had violated the anonymity. Duh. Rookie error. I learned better. (Why was I complaining? My assignment didn't include any older characters as options. I hadn't been around long enough to understand just how unusual my fest requests were and what trouble they might cause mods for matching.)
Spring Fling was open to all HP pairings and eventually added gen fic to the options.
Oh, there are so many more fine fests I could rec. Over the years, I've participated in over 30 different fests and have followed many more. Luckily, the good old days are not over; some excellent fests remain active.
Challenge #4 -- In your own space, set some goals for the coming year. They can be fannish or not, public or private.
I usually suck at setting and meeting goals, and then I beat myself up over the failures. So I won't establish any hard-and-fast rules. I'm merely going to try to post more regularly to LJ/DW; maybe I'll get back in the habit of reccing fic and art. There are a lot of great old stories that deserve to be rediscovered.
Challenge #5 -- Comment to someone you haven't ever interacted with before or introduce yourself to someone you've briefly interacted with and friend/follow them.
I'm going to pass on this challenge. I often feel at my most introverted in January. But if you're someone new and want to introduce yourself, please do! I've had all my shots/vaccines, and in any case, it's been years since I bit anyone.
But that's the beauty of this challenge; you don't have to feel pressured. If I'm late, I'm late; in fact, there really isn't any "late."
Challenge #3 -- Pimp Your Favorite Communities, Fests or Challenges!
I've been feeling a bit nostalgic about the "old days" of HP fandom (like ten years or so ago), when so many now-defunct fests were still gloriously active, often with dozens of participants. So I thought I'd rec the first three fests I stumbled upon, just in case a) you don't know them, or b) you want to revisit them (as you should; all are well worth a reread).
HP Beholder, 2008-2013
Beholder will always be the mother of all fests for me. I was in the first flush of my HP obsession when I chanced upon Beholder in spring of 2009, and I thought I'd found paradise on earth. Here, at last, were the old and "ugly" and nerdy characters I so wanted to read about. The quality of the stories is unparalleled. I felt actual grief when Beholder came to an end after 2013.
Fest Description from the website: "This is a Fic/Art exchange created to let characters who some less-than-discerning people think are unappealing get some action. There's no smut requirement, per se, but the characters featured in your art or fiction must be shown in a relationship of some kind."
HP_Yule_Balls, 2008-2010
An HP holiday slash fest. It lasted only three years, but it offered lots of interesting rare pairs.
HP_Spring_Fling 2009-2011
One of the first fests I ever participated in (spring, 2009; over 50 entries!). I was nervous -- and I really had no idea how fests worked. I remember complaining on my LJ about the assignment I'd received, never realizing that I had violated the anonymity. Duh. Rookie error. I learned better. (Why was I complaining? My assignment didn't include any older characters as options. I hadn't been around long enough to understand just how unusual my fest requests were and what trouble they might cause mods for matching.)
Spring Fling was open to all HP pairings and eventually added gen fic to the options.
Oh, there are so many more fine fests I could rec. Over the years, I've participated in over 30 different fests and have followed many more. Luckily, the good old days are not over; some excellent fests remain active.
Challenge #4 -- In your own space, set some goals for the coming year. They can be fannish or not, public or private.
I usually suck at setting and meeting goals, and then I beat myself up over the failures. So I won't establish any hard-and-fast rules. I'm merely going to try to post more regularly to LJ/DW; maybe I'll get back in the habit of reccing fic and art. There are a lot of great old stories that deserve to be rediscovered.
Challenge #5 -- Comment to someone you haven't ever interacted with before or introduce yourself to someone you've briefly interacted with and friend/follow them.
I'm going to pass on this challenge. I often feel at my most introverted in January. But if you're someone new and want to introduce yourself, please do! I've had all my shots/vaccines, and in any case, it's been years since I bit anyone.