Waffling over signing up for Yuletide, I missed it.

[icarus]

I signed up for Yuletide in 2012.

I defaulted.

I never default. Backed out of my first ever challenge (the Snape FQ Fest back in 2003) because I didn't know how to do them, and one year out of eight SGA Santas I had a personal situation.

But otherwise, in ten years of Ron challenges, Blame Somebody Else challenges, SG-1 challenges, SGA Gen Fic challenges, SGA Flashfic, Percy Ficathons ... I never missed.

The engine died on Yuletide. For no reason.

No, I didn't get the impossible fandom.

No, the prompt was fine.

I drifted, completely uninspired.

Hovering around Yuletide for years, it seems like everyone else has fun. I don't know why I didn't enjoy it. After my experience defaulting ... I haven't wanted to try again unless I was absolutely sure.

But this year there was a micro-fandom I wanted to try. It was possible. When I tried to sign up though, I couldn't offer more than three. Fandom number four, there just wasn't anything I'd be willing to write.

And I had defaulted before.

I debated back and forth. Was it worth a shot this year? No one had requested my micro-fandom, so it seemed unlikely I'd get matched on it.

Dithering too long, buried under schoolwork ... I missed the deadline.

Am so disappointed. I feel like this was the one year Yuletide might've worked for me.

Feeling really down in the dumps about this. Anyone out there?

Comments

[auburn]

I'm not doing Yuletide this year. I made the decision earlier this year, feeling sure I wouldn't have the spoons to manage. I might after all but the odds were I'd end up writing the same fandom for the third time. I'm proud of both stories I did, but they pretty much cover any ideas I have for it. The few others I'd feel confident offering, I just didn't want to write. And I don't want to default; I'd make myself crazy doing something I didn't enjoy doing. Oddly, for that, I'd want to be paid money. Fandom supposed to be fun and Yuletide had reached a point where its stopped being good for me.

[icarus]

Fandom supposed to be fun and Yuletide had reached a point where its stopped being good for me.

Because of the repeats? I suppose you're more likely to be matched on the broadest fandom, though I'm still surprised. That might be how I got matched on Arthurian myth, which, it was okay, but not thrilling.

I work with a Yuletide regular, so it's on my mind every year. And I'm all hung up on Gatchaman and Battle of the Planets -- two fandoms no one's going to read if I write them outside Yuletide.

[auburn]

I think some of it was the repeats. Some of it, just the prospect of forcing a story. Because I really get your thing about not defaulting. I've only ever failed out on one challenge (Extreme Big Bang and I
finished the story, I've just never done the beta revision, and don't know that I'll ever post it.) I've never not come through for an exchange, but... increasingly I stopped enjoying them because I don't want what I write dictated.

But, you, and your micro fandom! It excites you, it inspires you, it give you all these ideas! Write it. You may find more readers are out there than you think and even if you don't, it's more satisfying to write your story. Yuletide comes and goes and comes again every year. Take your time and write your Gatchaman and Battle of the Planets exploration. I'm sure that if there is a Yuletide audience, it will find your story outside of Yuletide.

[icarus]

Jason's so hot. And violent. And sarcastic.

And Mark is so noble. And emotional. And aggressive.

You just have to love a fandom that begs for Mr. & Mrs. Smith-style erotic sparring where they rip the light fixtures out of the walls.

I've only ever failed out on one challenge (Extreme Big Bang and I finished the story, I've just never done the beta revision, and don't know that I'll ever post it.)

I hope you do post it. Your work is great, and sometimes we're our own harshest critics.

[killabeez]

I support all of this!

[killabeez]

Hiya, you're not alone! Yuletide has never worked very well for me, partly because of the timing, but mostly because after it got to be this huge thing, the pressure was too much. I tried again last year, but ended up dropping out.

Do you know about the letter post? It's not all the letters, but it can help you find someone that you want to write a treat for:

http://www.dennis-sellers.com/yuletide/index.html

I've got my eye on a few, if I get my HL shortcuts story finished early.

[icarus]

Thank you!

This is a good idea. I ... I've always wanted to do it. I hear about it from people who love Yuletide.

I feel like maybe I'm too much of a fandom monogamist to get into some random fandom I'm assigned? Even if it's one that I could read? Maybe I expect depth of fandom absorption (when I have a new fandom, I watch every ep, interview the characters) that's just not easy to do with Yuletide.

I'll keep my eye on the Yuletide treats. It's such a fandom mainstay, it's hard not to participate at least once.

[wyomingnot]

I'm out here.

And it's not the same thing, but you could hang out in the pinch hit area and snag something there. Or just do treats? Dunno.

I'm sorry you missed out on the signups. Signup period felt short to me this year, but what do I know?

[icarus]

It did feel short.

Partly a schoolwork avalanche hit, then an issue at the temple, also I was dithering.

But I had all but one of my fandom offers picked out, and a Dear Yuletide author post started. So this is a letdown.

The truth is, there's a particular microfandom I want to write ... but no one else wanted it.

[lotesse]

I almost did this - I've been having such a hard time finishing fic, and it's been a bad week, and at around 4:00 yesterday afternoon I took a look at myself and realized that I was trying to sabotage myself by waiting out the clock. I did get my signup in, though I haven't finished my letter yet, and I usually do both together. And I'm feeling really paranoid about defaulting, considering how many years in a row I've been doing this exchange.

Echoing what people have said about the letters post and writing treats maybe - it's almost exactly like writing for yuletide, really, except that you get to pick your recip instead of getting assigned them.

[icarus]

Thank you.

Gehayi linked me to the fandom request list, and one person did request Battle of the Planets. And I nominated that fandom -- so I know exactly their very limited choice of characters. (Mark. Jason. That about sums it up.)

I was trying to sabotage myself by waiting out the clock.

Oooh. That's sounds ... gulp... a little close to home.

But I don't think I was sabotaging myself. I think I knew I only wanted to write one microfandom. If I got assigned something else, I just couldn't do it.

[ursula]

I've never done Yuletide, but I do enjoy lurking on the pinch-hit list and seeing what people are thinking about.

[icarus]

Thanks to Gehayi's suggestion, I'm going to do something like that. I'm scanning the prompts to see if I can write a Treat. :)