Fandom Trumps Hate

[cinderlite]

Had anyone else participated in fandomtrumpshate at all?

Its purpose is to bring together fandom for the purpose of charity. You place your work (fic, art, etc.) up for auction and people bid on it (and all the money goes to charity!). If they win, you create a piece of work for whatever they're looking for... within reason. You get to set what you're best at and most comfortable creating. So if you don't like Dead Dove content, then you write that in your profile and people know that that's not something they can ask for from you. You get a year to create the piece and present it to them!

I bid on someone for the first time ever this year and, somehow, I actually won! I'm going to be getting a neat Homestuck fic featuring Alpha Dave/Dirk, which is one of my favorite ships. I'm such a sucker for these two, especially based on the scenario I asked for. It was inspired by a short ficlet that I'm in love with, and I'm ungodly excited to read it when it's finished!

I'm thinking about participating myself next year. Not the bidding, though maybe that too, but more specifically creating a fic for someone based on what I'm good at -- so, like, something from Harry Potter, Homestuck, or Persona 5 is most likely. I might put other fandoms up as well, but it really depends on what I'm feeling like at the moment. I'm almost always feeling those three, though, so they're easy to default to.

I do suppose that I'm a little anxious about it, though. Generally, I have to be in a writing mood to actually, you know, write. When I'm in it, I write fic in a flurry. I either write a handful at once, or I write a chunky fic, and slap it up. I want to write more consistently, though. Knowing that I had an obligation would likely push me to finish my entry ASAP because I hate having something hanging over my head. The idea of putting it off for like 6 months sounds hellish to me.

What about you? Do you think this is something you'd ever want to sign up for? Or, perhaps, just the bidding aspect? I'd love to hear any thoughts you have on it.

Comments

[torino10154]

I've never done it though I did do several similar ones on LJ back in the day-help_haiti (bidding), help_japan (writing) and fandomaid twice (writing).

I don't know what the requirements are for fandomtrumpshate but one of the rounds I offered twelve (one a month) 500+ word ficlets, any rating because I knew that was more manageable for me than offering a fic of 5K or more. It did help that most of the people who I either bid on or won my services were friends. I did do a few though for people I didn't know at all.

[cinderlite]

Oh, that's so cool! It's neat that you were able to participate in similar events! Did you have fun with it? How did it go? Was it difficult to work with someone and then produce content for what they requested, even if they were a friend?

Wow! That sounds like it was a real experience -- a good one, too. I think if I did it, I would only offer 5-10k in words because I know at this point that I could do that. Eventually, a few years down the line, I'd like to offer 20k! First, I need to get there on my own, though.

[torino10154]

I think overall it was fun, yeah. Most of the people gave me either a pairing they wanted (two people it was the same pairing for all the months) or various pairings/prompt combo which is basically what I do all the time so it wasn't too much of a stretch.

The only advice I'd give is to be flexible but also make sure you're really on the same page with the person, you know? Real clear about what you're willing to do, what you cannot do because it will only make you dread the project if you agree to something you'd really rather not create. Again, not having looked closely at the current offers, something like promising 5K+ rather than 5-10K because that way when it's 6K they aren't disappointed. But totally agree with you that to offer 20K, you really have to be certain you can do it. Writing to someone else's specific desires can be tricky enough without also adding that pressure. Better to "practice" getting to that length fic without also having it be a custom project, at least IMO. But, on the flip side, maybe something completely new would help you get there. Only you know you.

[cinderlite]

That makes sense!

I think that's great advice! I would definitely want to be sure that the person I was writing for had the same vision in mind as I did. Also, offering less and potentially giving more sounds like a good way to please them because they're getting more than what was bargained for. I'm a little long-winded when I'm writing -- either commentary or fic, so I often end up writing more than I mean to. I think that's kind of a good thing, because it generally means I produce more content.

You're right, though. I don't want to end up stuck in a situation where I loathe what I'm creating. I had that awhile back and ultimately had to tell my friend that it just wasn't a ship I want into and didn't want to create for. That sucked. I would definitely want to avoid at all possible opportunities.

Thank you so much for taking the time to respond to this for me! You've given me a lot to think about!