Fandom Snowflake: Challenge 9 Brag

[ysabetwordsmith]

Challenge #9

In your own space, brag about yourself. Tell us what things you've done that you're proud of; the things that make you the wonderful person you are. Leave a comment in this post saying you did it. Include a link to your post if you feel comfortable doing so.

Rec YOUR work, YOUR fic, YOUR art, YOUR meta, YOUR anything! Maybe you host a challenge, or maybe you have lists of resources that you've lovingly curated that you'd like to share. Or maybe you . . . whatever you do, we want to hear about it!!




In the finest Viking tradition, whose literature gave us the cast list of The Hobbit, I raise a drinking horn of muscadine grape juice -- shut up, Thor, I like it better than mead, get your own damn horn -- to the Aesir, Vanir, and Disir who believe that every person should take pride in their own accomplishments. Ladies, gentlebeings, and lokigendered, let us BRAG!

I will begin with my fannish accomplishments, which is what my fellow Snowflakes are likely looking for, and move on from there.


I am a wordsmith by talent, profession, and vocation.

My most popular fannish series is Love Is For Children (The Avengers), in which the team forms a family of choice to take care of each other and make up for their variously crummy childhoods. 468,573 words, 60 works. (I oopsed some books again.)

Next after that is probably Frankenstein's Family. Victor is trans and in a queerplatonic relationship with Igor; they built a son together, Adam. There are also werewolves, vampires, and now a mummy. This series is Gothic fluff, and also genderfic because I've read the feminist annotations of the original canon.

The Crossover Content page of Schrodinger's Heroes contains a lot of my miscellaneous fanwriting where I've only done a piece or two in a given canon. There are a couple of longer series, though: Schrodinger's Hulk (crossed with Hulk) and Herolock (crossed with Sherlock). Do you like cats? You want to check out LOL_HEROES (do not read with mouth full). The Original Content page contains several series, including the Orange!verse by chanter1944.

My newest fanwork, courtesy of snowflake_challenge:
"Why Harley Quinn Loves Unicorn Food" -- now with gorgeous cover art by Isabellerecs! \o/ Many thanks.


I write a lot of original material too. In many cases, I have mined fanfic for what people love most and then loaded it into my original canons. Fire broadsides! Do you want to read...

My most popular series by a landslide? A world that actually functions well and isn't a garbage fire? Lovable characters? Problems that can't be solved by hitting? --> Polychrome Heroics (superhero fantasy)

All the neurodiversity, and also some genderfic? --> An Army of One: The Autistic Secession in Space, Damask (at the top of Polychrome Heroics, superhero fantasy)

Asexual / Aromantic spectrum? --> Kung Fu Robots (Chinese science fiction), The Origami Mage (Asian historic fantasy), Path of the Paladins (gritty fantasy), Schrodinger's Heroes (quantum science fiction with multiple diversities, see especially The Alpha Vector)

Darkfic? Heed The Warnings? --> Diminished Expectations (dystopic science fiction), Tripping into the Future (dark science fiction)

Disabilities? --> My Characters with Disabilities, Clay of Life(Jewish historic fantasy), Diminished Expectations (dystopic science fiction), The Moon Door (werewolves and a women's chronic pain support group), One God's Story of Mid-Life Crisis (spiritual fantasy about addiction), P.I.E. (urban fantasy / mystery / romance)

Dragons? Allegorical mockery of the uber-rich? --> A Conflagration of Dragons (apocalyptic fantasy)

Earthquakes? --> The Big One (superhero fantasy)

Ethnic and cultural diversity? --> The Blueshift Troupers (science fiction with multiple diversities), Clay of Life (Jewish historic fantasy), Fiorenza the Wisewoman (Italian historic fantasy), Hart's Farm (Swedish historic fantasy), Kung Fu Robots (Chinese science fiction), The Ocracies (every governmental system except McMonarchy), The Origami Mage (Asian historic fantasy), Polychrome Heroics (superhero fantasy, all the diversities everywhere), Schrodinger's Heroes (quantum science fiction with multiple diversities, see especially Don't Try This at Home), The Steamsmith (black British genderqueer steampunk engineer)

Family or found family? --> The Blueshift Troupers (science fiction), Cuoio and Chiara (superhero fantasy / mob romance), Danso and Family (superhero fantasy / black family life), Monster House (suburban fantasy), The Moon Door (werewolves and a women's chronic pain support group), Schrodinger's Heroes (quantum science fiction)

Female leads? Heras? Superheras? --> Fiorenza the Wisewoman (Italian historic fantasy), The Origami Mage (Asian historic fantasy), Path of the Paladins (gritty fantasy), The Moon Door (werewolves and a women's chronic pain support group), P.I.E. (urban fantasy / mystery / romance), Schrodinger's Heroes (quantum science fiction), The Steamsmith (black British genderqueer steampunk engineer), Walking the Beat (contemporary romance)

Free love? --> Hart's Farm (Swedish historic fantasy)

Hurt/comfort? --> The Moon Door (werewolves and a women's chronic pain support group), Officer Pink (superhero fantasy), One God's Story of Mid-Life Crisis (spiritual fantasy about addiction), Pain's Gray (superhero fantasy), Shiv (superhero fantasy)

Kink? --> Pain's Gray (superhero fantasy), Schrodinger's Heroes (quantum science fiction)

LGBT+++ ? --> Genders in My Characters, QUILTBAG Characters list, Romantic Orientations in My Characters, Sexual Orientations in My Characters, Antimatter and Stalwart Stan (superhero fantasy), Calliope (superhero fantasy with a trans lead), Schrodinger's Heroes (quantum science fiction), Walking the Beat (contemporary romance), The Adventures of Aldornia and Zenobia (fantasy, on Serial Poetry page)

Time travel? --> The Time Towers (Jenga science fiction on the Serial Poetry page), Tripping into the Future (dark science fiction)

Two boys kissing? Wish that somebody had handed Charles/Erik or Clark/Lex a copy of The Joy of Gay Sex? --> Antimatter and Stalwart Stan (superhero fantasy)

Live happy lesbians? Still fuming about Willow/Tara? --> Walking the Beat (contemporary romance), The Adventures of Aldornia and Zenobia (fantasy, on Serial Poetry page)

Soulbonding? Also transgender? --> Calliope (superhero fantasy)

Sword and Soul? Why hasn't anyone made an evil fantasy race based on Caucasian features? --> Kande's Quest (African historic fantasy, on the Serial Poetry page)

Wings? --> Feathered Nests (first contact science fiction), Fledgling Grace (spiritual fantasy)


You can find more of my writing collected in my Serial Poetry page (some series are book-length), Books Written (the conventionally published ones), and my AO3 Works page (more fanfic).

Still want more? Drop by any of my open prompt calls and ask for what you want. Nobody writes your thingie, or they do it wrong? I'll write you a thingie! The Poetry Fishbowl is the first Tuesday of each month (next up: Feb. 2 on "Cultural Differences") and the crowdfunding Creative Jam is the third weekend (now running "Darkness and Light").


Come and play with me. My transformative works policy is here.

I have at least three fans writing book-length work in my settings, along with various folks doing shorter stuff.

dialecticdreamer writes fanfic of Polychrome Heroics (superhero fantasy), Schrodinger's Heroes (quantum science fiction), Frankenstein's Family (Gothic fluff), and also posts original writing. Catch her prompt calls: Magpie Monday (varying themes) and Feathering the Nest (always nonsexual intimacies). She is looking for new readers, so if you visit her blog and say hi, you can get free fic; and if you mention that I sent you, I get some too. She posts daily.

siliconshaman writes fanfic of Polychrome Heroics (superhero fantasy) and also posts original writing. He posts periodically.

chanter1944 writes the Orange!verse in Schrodinger's Heroes (quantum science fiction), posting occasionally.


Looking for inspiration? My gift to fandom is these open-source fandoms:

The Blueshift Troupers
Envision a television show where actors of color get total representation, with a different ethnicity featured each season. The Blueshift Troupers is a science fiction show about a team of shapeshifters who travel the galaxy solving problems. The characters remain the same, but they take on new forms to match the local planet's prevailing race.

If you like writing scripts, making vids, acting, characters of color, teamfamily, etc. then The Blueshift Troupers is a good fandom to explore.

Schrodinger's Heroes
Imagine a fandom for a television show that doesn't actually exist. It began when Dreamwidth user Melannen used a frame for "101 Asexy Sex Scenes" with attention to character orientations. I created a description and some other materials for the apocryphal television show Schrodinger's Heroes and its imaginary fandom. After I wrote some poetry and fiction, other folks joined in. Enjoy quantum mechanics, meet cool people, and save the world!

If you like crossovers, writing scripts, making vids, acting, characters of color, acespec, teamfamily, etc. then Schrodinger's Heroes is a good fandom to explore.

The Ursulan Cycle
The Ursulan Cycle is based on the Arthurian Cycle, a massive sprawl of stories, poems and songs, plays, movies, paintings, embroidery, and other cultural material spanning centuries. Originally the heroes were male, furnished with an assortment of heroines for love interests and occasionally antagonists.

For this project, most characters have been genderswapped, so now a majority of them are women. This changes many of the standard relationships and events. The leading themes are political intrigue, romance, adventure, and spirituality.

If you like genderswaps, genderfic, strong female characters, or Arthurian anything, then The Ursulan Cycle is a good fandom to explore.


Pagan nonfiction? I write for the Llewellyn annuals. Our coven website is here. You might enjoy Cooking Feasts or more of My Writing.

Other nonfiction? Use the tags in my blog, or see my Memorable How To entries for my most popular content.

Want to learn about crowdfunding / cyberfunded creativity? I have a whole section devoted to it.


I host these communities. I invite you to drop by and check them out.

allbingo is a high-inspiration, low-pressure community. It welcomes all fandoms and original work, all sizes and media. It hosts monthly fests on different themes. January is on Fresh Starts. Do you have a favorite fandom or other topic that doesn't get enough attention? Volunteer to host a fest about it!

crowdfunding is a community for creators, fans, and patrons of cyberfunded creativity. It hosts a mid-month Creative Jam on different themes; January 16-17 is on "Darkness and Light." Currently running, the Rose and Bay Awards honor excellence in crowdfunded projects and patrons. Do you have a crowdfunded project? Do your friends have some? Come nominate them!


Moving along to things outside wordsmithing...

Here is a review of my goals from 2020.

I cultivate community. Read about my Recurring Posts or browse the tag. You are welcome to borrow these ideas if you like them.

I like to cook. I made dozens of new recipes last year. Browse my Recipe tag. Today we're making the Pea Soup from The Elder Scrolls Cookbook (most highly recommended; we've marked about half its recipes to try, and this one's a favorite).

I garden for wildlife. My detritus food chain is 3 days to apex. Gaia plants random things in my yard, like elderberries and wild grapes. Last summer I fledged a full nest of great horned owlets. We had Baltimore orioles for a few days last spring. \o/

I am a throne of birds. One planting day I was walking outside, and a wren landed on my braid. It sang a song. Then it flew up to my hat and sang another song. Then it flew to a bush a few feet away and sang yet a third song. Sometimes, wildlife does not distinguish me from the rest of the environment. :D


Are you struggling with today's challenge? Perhaps these resources will help...

21 Proven Ways To Overcome Impostor Syndrome

Fly Your Freak Flag High

How to Care Less About What People Think

How to Deal with Writer's Block

How to Feel Less Shame

How to Take Pride in Your Work

Self-Care Links

I'm a fan. I'm a freak. My sexuality is a tesseract. And I'm damn proud of it!


Now go brag up your awesome selves.

Comments

[seleneheart]

That's . . . a lot!! I'm amazed and awed at your productivity and prodigious output!! *raises a tank of mead*

Yes ...

[ysabetwordsmith]

>> That's . . . a lot!! I'm amazed and awed at your productivity and prodigious output!! <<

Thank you! :D

Somehow, I never realize how much I'm getting done until I add it up like this.

>> *raises a tank of mead* <<

Cheers!

Re: Yes ...

[seleneheart]

And now I realize I meant a tankard, not a tank.

A tank of mead would be a lot, and I'm honestly pretty sure I couldn't even budge it, never mind salute you with it.

*raises a tankard*

[caera_ash]

You are awesome.

Thank you!

[ysabetwordsmith]

*bow, flourish* Happy to be of service.

[siberian_skys]

I always find you amazing, especially how prolific you are. I have got to learn your time management skills. They are superhuman.

Thoughts

[ysabetwordsmith]

>> I always find you amazing, especially how prolific you are.<<

Aww, shucks.

>> I have got to learn your time management skills.<<

I posted some tips about how to find time to write here for a Snowflake wish.

Beyond that...

* I use a desktop calendar to track things like my recurring posts, Poetry Fishbowl and Creative Jam events, and deadlines for the Llewellyn annuals. Do it on paper or online, whichever you prefer, but do write things down.

* Decide what you want to do, then figure out how to do it, and set goals. These are my goals for 2021. You can see they're a mix of big and small, writing and other things. This is what works for me. YMMV.

* Study yourself. Learn what works for you. Determine what times of day and seasons of year you are most productive, then capitalize on those by doing your biggest or hardest projects then. Discover where you work best -- indoors or outdoors, alone or in company. By all means, browse other people's solutions to get ideas that you can try, but ultimately you have to figure out what helps you with the body/mind you have. Failure is data too; note it and move on to something else. Time invested in self-discovery is usually well spent.

* When you find an obstacle to research or writing, work the problem. Don't just stare at it or poke a few times and give up. Figure out WHY it is a problem, brainstorm solutions, and try them until you find what works. This is especially important with recurring problems, because they will keep bothering you until you kill them off.

* Cognitive offloading is your friend. The more stuff you can get out of your brain and onto tools, the more room in your brain for writing. I have a kitchen timer on my desk so I don't have to remember to get up and check supper.

* Read or write in slivers of time that would otherwise be wasted. Me, I read, but some other people can write a novel in 5-minute bits.

* Be assertive -- or aggressive if that's what it takes -- when it comes to defending your writing time. There are limited things for which I may be disturbed at any time ("Knight in Shining Armor Pest Control Service!!!!") but otherwise, I get cranky when interrupted, and people know this, so they rarely interrupt me. Do it when I am on deadline, and I will breathe fire at you. It is your responsibility to communicate to others what your rules are regarding writing time and interruptions, and then it is their responsibility to abide by those.

* Don't let other people rob you of your valuable time. You should get something for it, either money or family support or some other thing you value. Believe that YOU have a RIGHT to your own time, and if others want it then they OWE YOU fair recompense for it. They do not have a right to demand it for free. Screw emotional labor, tell the copper diggers to do their own damn work. You are busy: you are writing. Or whatever else is important to you.

* I actually started life procrastinating. I soon realized that I hate doing things at the last minute, so I learned to do them early instead. This delights most editors. It helps a lot with time management in general. The temptation to wait is there, but it rarely impacts my work anymore; I've established a habit of doing most things early. If instead you are inspired by pressure -- set short deadlines so you don't waste time.

* Write boldly. If you're not making any mistakes, you're not learning, you're coasting. Try new things. If you fuck it up, you can always fix it or write something new. Don't just sit there with your thumb up your ass. Write something.

* Write mass quantities. It's surprising how much difference it can make when you write big chunks for a while, and they just stop feeling big. This happened to me with writing classes for the Grey School of Wizardry -- about 10,000 words each -- and it just quit feeling like a lot of work. This allows you to capitalize on the time you have by pushing your output.

* Learn how to write when you're not at your best. If you feel crummy, but you're not so wrecked you can't get up, then ratchet. Write a section, or a paragraph, or a sentence; then read fanfic or take a break some other way to recharge. Lather, rinse, repeat until done.

* Make a place to write. Then you don't waste time hunting for your stuff. It is always there. I have a home office. I can shut the door and work even if something else is going on elsewhere in the house.

* Gather resources for whatever you write. Preferably, copy them on your computer or keep them at home so you don't have to run to the library all the time. I have lined my house with books and I have extensive notes on my computer too. If civilization fell, someone could literally jump-start it from the books in the room where I am sitting. Put your most-used books on your desk. Mine include a Rhyming Dictionary, The New Book of Forms, and The Emotional Wound Thesaurus.

* Organize things however works best for you. Doesn't matter if your desk is sloppy or neat, as long as you can find what you need immediately without wasting time. I'm a good packrat; I can find what I need, plus or minus 10%. (Around me, fairies steal things and also add random things. Welcome to my world, lady.)

* Bear in mind that wordsmithing is my dayjob. I'm not wasting 8-12 hours a day working for someone else at something that doesn't matter. I can work a 14-16 hour day on a Poetry Fishbowl and enjoy it. This is a life choice. If you want to write, prioritize it, find a way to monetize it, and build your life around it. If you want it as a hobby, that's great too; decide how much time and other resources to devote to that, and defend accordingly.

* I have selected a life partner who supports my writing, as I support his endeavors. Over the years it has swapped several times who was bringing in more money, and we're okay with that. If you shop with your crotch like most people do, you will wind up with a great lay who doesn't help you achieve your life goals. If you hang out with people who don't respect you, they will mooch your time with little or no return. This is another life choice, and it makes a huge impact on who writes and who doesn't and how much they accomplish.

>> They are superhuman. <<

... well, yeah, I'm not actually human and the consensus timespace continuum can barely hold onto me. I do have some ulterior resources. But a lot of it is skills that can be learned and choices that can be made.

Re: Thoughts

[pronker]

Ahah, always nice to see how creators create wondrous things. LOL at "shop with your crotch"!

Re: Thoughts

[ysabetwordsmith]

>> LOL at "shop with your crotch"! <<

That drove me bats in my Women's Studies classes. ALL the baby feminists (except the lesbians) bitched about how badly their boyfriends treated them, but would not dump the useless sods. Most of them also friendzoned the nice guys. I pointed out that if mistreating women gets men laid, and treating women nicely gets men rejected, then it is counter-evolutionary to treat women nicely and most men won't do it. The ones who do will reproduce less than the assholes. So if you don't want to live on Planet of the Dicks, encourage the nice guys. If you're not attracted to one, you don't have to fuck him, but at least take him on a date or something to suggest that he's doing things right and should continue!

Whenever I say this, someone usually bites my head off, but that's not going to change how evolution works.

I, of course, mate-shopped at Friendzone and am extremely pleased with my selection. We spent 4 hours making magnificent pea soup today. He did half the work. \o/

Re: Thoughts

[pronker]

would not dump No, it's likely they wouldn't. It would be forced upon them and who wants that?

In his twenties, Eldest Brother dumped his GF after six years because she wanted marriage and a family and hey, time was ticking. They parted for twenty-seven years, met up after her divorce and married eleven years ago. They're happy as clams two states away from me and I tell people their love story as an unusual one.

Another love story regarding dumping involved a Power Couple: Longstanding Acquaintance owned a publishing company and her Hubs taught writing classes at various unis. We'd chitchat for an hour after classic movie showings on a big screen for years. Spouse and I had a family, which G-ma would babysit while we had Date Nights.

I assumed Longstanding (about 45) and Hubs (about 30) were settled into their most excellently civilized life. I was wrong. After a hiatus, Longstanding appeared without Hubs because he had ditched her. He had had a fling with someone nearer his age that turned serious because Younger Woman wanted a marriage and family and made no bones about that. As Longstanding put it, "He discovered he wanted kids and I'd already been there, done that twenty years ago. We would talk about subjects like Cordell Hull's place on FDR's Brain Trust!" She was really broken up and it was hard to see this accomplished person grieve over her serious troubles.

I never saw Hubs again, but on the drive back to G-ma's house, I thought that Hubs woke up one morning and realized his life tottered along with Longstanding and he wanted it to fly with Younger Woman. Longstanding was never going to want to have another baby and that was that. They were such an intellectual, successful couple that they intimidated me.

Re: Thoughts

[siberian_skys]

Thank you so much for the tips and links. Can I just have a clone or two? Well, no I don't believe in cloning--How about a housekeeper? I think that would solve it. If someone would keep house and cook and run errands for me I could do the rest. :-)

Re: Thoughts

[ysabetwordsmith]

Tempting, isn't it?

But really it comes down to:

* Find someone(s) in your life who will share the work.

* Just don't do stuff that isn't important and you don't care about it.

Re: Thoughts

[siberian_skys]

I think my problem is that I care about too much. There is just too much to do. My house is a mess and how to keep the mess contained and write and do everything else that needs done makes me crazy. I feel like there's not enough time in the day. I somehow managed to finish Chapter 5 of the story I'm writing today and still ran the dishwasher and found the counter tops in the kitchen. That didn't even make a dent, but it was a start.

[luthien]

Wow. I bow before your productivity and organisational skills. That's an amazing list.

Thank you!

[ysabetwordsmith]

Bear in mind, you're seeing the results of decades of concerted effort. It builds up over time.

[tsuki_no_bara]

that's some variety! and some output too, holy cow.

Thank you!

[ysabetwordsmith]

>> that's some variety! <<

I've always had a tendency to write very widely. Now that I do the Poetry Fishbowls and Creative Jams, anyone can ask me for anything. Some of my best series have been prompted by readers who wanted things that the mainstream publishing industry has failed to provide. I'm getting nitty-gritty details about traits I don't have, that aren't in "official" sources, because they're coming from trait-having people. Mostly requesting fix-its. I can do that.

>> and some output too, holy cow. <<

That's based on decades of experience and wordsmithing as my dayjob.