Fandom Snowflake: Challenge 13 Resources
Jan. 25th, 2021 12:12 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ysabetwordsmithChallenge #13
In your own space, tell us about 3 fandom resources you use or enjoy. (One or two is fine, especially if you're in a smaller fandom!) Leave a comment in this post saying you did it. Include a link to your post if you feel comfortable doing so.
The Oxford Dictionary defines fandom as being 'the state or condition of being a fan of something.' Which is a fancy way of saying that fandom doesn't exist in a vacuum and is based on something else.
Even if you're not a creator, there are many things that enhance your enjoyment / knowledge of your fandom, or fandom in general.
This challenge is interested in those supplemental things. What supplemental things do you enjoy, read, use as research, connect with fellow fans on? We're looking for anything that adds to your enjoyment of your fandom(s). Wikis, web sites, videos, software, games, books, people... anything!
There are some great fandom resources out there and we'd love to see what they are.
As an information dispensary, I am happy to share some favorite resources.
Dreamwidth Communities
I invite you to my communities:
![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
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.
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 will be on "Darkness and Light." Currently running, the Rose and Bay Awards honor excellence in crowdfunded projects and patrons.
These are some others I like:
access_fandom has links and resources about disability and fandom.
addme is a friending community.
asexual_fandom is for ace fans and ace-friendly fandoms.
![[site community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/comm_staff.png)
dw_community_promo offers a place to find new communities.
fandom_on_dw and fandomcalendar list fanac.
justcreate is about making things.
sunshine_challenge is the summer counterpart of Snowflake.
transmediaclub is a place to explore trans and other gender-variant works.
what_ho_library offers resources for writers of early 20th century England and the United States of America.
Sample Online Community Parameters -- if you can't find it, found it. See also What Makes a Community Successful (or Not).
Resources for Fans
The Aromantic and Asexual Characters Database is a reference for acefic of all kinds.
Archive of Our Own is one of the biggest archives of fanworks online.
Examining Poetry takes a look at poetic techniques. See also The Poets Garret for a guide to forms.
Fanlore is a wiki about fandoms and fannish motifs.
Helping an Online Friend in Difficult Times is handy for dealing with fannish squabbles.
How to Accommodate Special Needs While Attending an Event, How to Manage Your Energy at Conventions, and Working Around Microphones are important convention references.
How to Build Community explains ways of cultivating connections between people.
Master List of Interview Questions for Writers gives you ideas if you get a chance to interview a favorite creator for a fanzine, blog, or other venue. But don't use these face to face if you're trying to make friends with famous people; let them pick the topic. You will probably be the only person doing that, and they are sick of talking about The Book or The Movie or whatever, so they will appreciate it.
Resources for Creators
The Aspecting Characters Exercise is something I wrote for folks who enjoy genderbending, racebending, and otherwise riffing on canons by altering key details.
Building a Fantasy World and Worldbuilding II: Answering Questions are setup tools for creating solid settings.
Character Name Resources offer ideas beyond Tom, Dick, and Mary.
Convention Panel Moderator’s Guide and Tip Sheet -- If you do panels at conventions, print this out and take it with you every time. Even if you don't need it, somebody else will. I always like to make a recommended reading/viewing list. People love handouts, it spurs conversation, and you can put your blog or other URL at the bottom so people remember you.
Crowdfunding is a framework for inspiring, buying, and selling creative goods and services directly rather than filtering everything through middlemen. This primarily relates to original work, but sometimes people use it for fanworks to raise money for worthy causes. In any case, it lets you create precisely what your fans want to consume.
Cut to the Core discusses what makes a story good.
The Fiction Writer's Silent Partner has all kinds of helpful lists and clusters of information on plot, characterization, setting, and more.
Five Moments of Intimacy is a new fanwork format for you to explore.
Gender Identities started as a reference for my characters, but all the sex/gender configurations I could find are in there.
Google Advanced Search Operators improve the power of this popular search engine. They help you target the sites you really want to find and filter out irrelevant ones.
How to Build a Novel from Themes and Symbols is a fun construction kit.
How to Deal with Writer's Block offers solutions for a common problem.
Fat and Plus Size Body Typeshas lovely instructions about constructing plus-size bodies using basic shapes, different proportions of body parts, belly styles, stretch marks, and more. These are big, beautiful, lived-in bodies. This references is aimed at artists, but also good for writers, who want more realistic and diverse characters.
How to Increase Posting Frequency offers ideas on blogging more often.
How to Overcome Artist's Block, How to Draw for Beginners with Dexterity Issues, and "How to Learn Art on the Cheap" are useful for a variety of visual arts.
How to Write Genderfic explains techniques for writing about gender issues.
Identity Literature lays out the evolution of fiction and entertainment regarding new traits or groups, which typically takes a good 20 years for most people to work through. With the map in hand, you can just skip ahead to the good part: a positive, trait-having protagonist. Don't worry about cocking it up; trait-having fans will find it, complain about any mistakes, and then you can hustle them for better references written by and for trait-having people.
The Language Construction Kit explains how to build model languages (aka constructed languages or conlangs). If you love Klingon, Sindarin, Láadan, etc. then here's how to make your own.
Nonsexual Intimacies offer intense scenes without pr0n.
Recurring Posts help keep up your blog activity with minimal effort.
The Phrontistery is an online archive of rare and unusual words. WARNING: This site is flypaper for eyeballs.
Resources for Editing Poetry, So You Want to Be a Poetry Editor, and How to Recognize Bad Poetry are for you creators and beta readers who like working in verse.
Romantic Orientations started as a reference for my characters, but all the romantic definitions I could find are in there.
Sexual Orientations started as a reference for my characters, but all the carnal definitions I could find are in there.
The Six Layers is a brilliant explanation of the creative process. Work from the core out, not from the surface in, if you want to create solid content. (For fanfic, it's "derive in, extrapolate out." Take something from canon, imagine how it got that way, then think how that could influence further action.) Read the rest of Understanding Comics too. Much of it generalizes to other forms of storytelling and even more types of creativity.
Skills Heroes Need works equally well for fiction or everyday life. So far it has the Introduction and Physical Fitness.
So Your Story Needs a Prophecy -- you can write one.
Superpower Wiki is an extensive database of superpowers and characters who have them.
TV Tropes is a vast archive of character archetypes, plot twists, objects, and other motifs. It's like The Hero with a Thousand Faces and the Stith Thompson Index, only a lot funnier.
Writers Helping Writers is my current favorite series of how-to books. They have a thesaurus format and are terrific for worldbuilding and characterization. The one I use most is The Emotional Wound Thesaurus.
Writing Exercise: Using the JerkMuse is a way to use your enemies to your own advantage. And there's not a damn thing they can do to stop you, so long as you file off their identifying details (instructions included).
In your own space, tell us about 3 fandom resources you use or enjoy. (One or two is fine, especially if you're in a smaller fandom!) Leave a comment in this post saying you did it. Include a link to your post if you feel comfortable doing so.
The Oxford Dictionary defines fandom as being 'the state or condition of being a fan of something.' Which is a fancy way of saying that fandom doesn't exist in a vacuum and is based on something else.
Even if you're not a creator, there are many things that enhance your enjoyment / knowledge of your fandom, or fandom in general.
This challenge is interested in those supplemental things. What supplemental things do you enjoy, read, use as research, connect with fellow fans on? We're looking for anything that adds to your enjoyment of your fandom(s). Wikis, web sites, videos, software, games, books, people... anything!
There are some great fandom resources out there and we'd love to see what they are.
As an information dispensary, I am happy to share some favorite resources.
Dreamwidth Communities
I invite you to my communities:
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.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 will be on "Darkness and Light." Currently running, the Rose and Bay Awards honor excellence in crowdfunded projects and patrons.These are some others I like:
access_fandom has links and resources about disability and fandom.addme is a friending community.asexual_fandom is for ace fans and ace-friendly fandoms.dw_community_promo offers a place to find new communities.fandom_on_dw and fandomcalendar list fanac.justcreate is about making things.sunshine_challenge is the summer counterpart of Snowflake.transmediaclub is a place to explore trans and other gender-variant works.what_ho_library offers resources for writers of early 20th century England and the United States of America.Sample Online Community Parameters -- if you can't find it, found it. See also What Makes a Community Successful (or Not).
Resources for Fans
The Aromantic and Asexual Characters Database is a reference for acefic of all kinds.
Archive of Our Own is one of the biggest archives of fanworks online.
Examining Poetry takes a look at poetic techniques. See also The Poets Garret for a guide to forms.
Fanlore is a wiki about fandoms and fannish motifs.
Helping an Online Friend in Difficult Times is handy for dealing with fannish squabbles.
How to Accommodate Special Needs While Attending an Event, How to Manage Your Energy at Conventions, and Working Around Microphones are important convention references.
How to Build Community explains ways of cultivating connections between people.
Master List of Interview Questions for Writers gives you ideas if you get a chance to interview a favorite creator for a fanzine, blog, or other venue. But don't use these face to face if you're trying to make friends with famous people; let them pick the topic. You will probably be the only person doing that, and they are sick of talking about The Book or The Movie or whatever, so they will appreciate it.
Resources for Creators
The Aspecting Characters Exercise is something I wrote for folks who enjoy genderbending, racebending, and otherwise riffing on canons by altering key details.
Building a Fantasy World and Worldbuilding II: Answering Questions are setup tools for creating solid settings.
Character Name Resources offer ideas beyond Tom, Dick, and Mary.
Convention Panel Moderator’s Guide and Tip Sheet -- If you do panels at conventions, print this out and take it with you every time. Even if you don't need it, somebody else will. I always like to make a recommended reading/viewing list. People love handouts, it spurs conversation, and you can put your blog or other URL at the bottom so people remember you.
Crowdfunding is a framework for inspiring, buying, and selling creative goods and services directly rather than filtering everything through middlemen. This primarily relates to original work, but sometimes people use it for fanworks to raise money for worthy causes. In any case, it lets you create precisely what your fans want to consume.
Cut to the Core discusses what makes a story good.
The Fiction Writer's Silent Partner has all kinds of helpful lists and clusters of information on plot, characterization, setting, and more.
Five Moments of Intimacy is a new fanwork format for you to explore.
Gender Identities started as a reference for my characters, but all the sex/gender configurations I could find are in there.
Google Advanced Search Operators improve the power of this popular search engine. They help you target the sites you really want to find and filter out irrelevant ones.
How to Build a Novel from Themes and Symbols is a fun construction kit.
How to Deal with Writer's Block offers solutions for a common problem.
Fat and Plus Size Body Typeshas lovely instructions about constructing plus-size bodies using basic shapes, different proportions of body parts, belly styles, stretch marks, and more. These are big, beautiful, lived-in bodies. This references is aimed at artists, but also good for writers, who want more realistic and diverse characters.
How to Increase Posting Frequency offers ideas on blogging more often.
How to Overcome Artist's Block, How to Draw for Beginners with Dexterity Issues, and "How to Learn Art on the Cheap" are useful for a variety of visual arts.
How to Write Genderfic explains techniques for writing about gender issues.
Identity Literature lays out the evolution of fiction and entertainment regarding new traits or groups, which typically takes a good 20 years for most people to work through. With the map in hand, you can just skip ahead to the good part: a positive, trait-having protagonist. Don't worry about cocking it up; trait-having fans will find it, complain about any mistakes, and then you can hustle them for better references written by and for trait-having people.
The Language Construction Kit explains how to build model languages (aka constructed languages or conlangs). If you love Klingon, Sindarin, Láadan, etc. then here's how to make your own.
Nonsexual Intimacies offer intense scenes without pr0n.
Recurring Posts help keep up your blog activity with minimal effort.
The Phrontistery is an online archive of rare and unusual words. WARNING: This site is flypaper for eyeballs.
Resources for Editing Poetry, So You Want to Be a Poetry Editor, and How to Recognize Bad Poetry are for you creators and beta readers who like working in verse.
Romantic Orientations started as a reference for my characters, but all the romantic definitions I could find are in there.
Sexual Orientations started as a reference for my characters, but all the carnal definitions I could find are in there.
The Six Layers is a brilliant explanation of the creative process. Work from the core out, not from the surface in, if you want to create solid content. (For fanfic, it's "derive in, extrapolate out." Take something from canon, imagine how it got that way, then think how that could influence further action.) Read the rest of Understanding Comics too. Much of it generalizes to other forms of storytelling and even more types of creativity.
Skills Heroes Need works equally well for fiction or everyday life. So far it has the Introduction and Physical Fitness.
So Your Story Needs a Prophecy -- you can write one.
Superpower Wiki is an extensive database of superpowers and characters who have them.
TV Tropes is a vast archive of character archetypes, plot twists, objects, and other motifs. It's like The Hero with a Thousand Faces and the Stith Thompson Index, only a lot funnier.
Writers Helping Writers is my current favorite series of how-to books. They have a thesaurus format and are terrific for worldbuilding and characterization. The one I use most is The Emotional Wound Thesaurus.
Writing Exercise: Using the JerkMuse is a way to use your enemies to your own advantage. And there's not a damn thing they can do to stop you, so long as you file off their identifying details (instructions included).
(no subject)
Date: 2021-01-25 09:31 am (UTC)Thank you for sharing.
Yay!
Date: 2021-01-25 09:35 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2021-01-25 10:06 am (UTC)I really appreciate these resources, too, because I've lost a lot of my writing skills after being without a laptop/desktop for nearly 10 years. (*groan/cry*) It looks like several of these will give me just the inspiration I need! Thank you so much.
Thoughts
Date: 2021-01-25 10:15 am (UTC)*bow, flourish* Happy to be of service.
>> I especially appreciate it because I am both disabled and an asexual bisexual male in a female body (non-transitioned). <<
Wow, that sucks. O_O
I write a fair bit about disabled characters, too, but I didn't include those in this post because it was meant to be general resources.
>> And--get this--I'm strongly considering becoming a progressive (whenever the split happens) United Methodist pastor to bring some all-encompassing love to the church! <<
Go for it! The church could use more love.
>> I really appreciate these resources, too, because I've lost a lot of my writing skills after being without a laptop/desktop for nearly 10 years. (*groan/cry*)
Alas!
>>It looks like several of these will give me just the inspiration I need! Thank you so much.<<
Yay!
(no subject)
Date: 2021-01-25 02:20 pm (UTC)Thank you!
Date: 2021-01-25 07:04 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2021-01-25 03:59 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2021-01-25 04:12 pm (UTC)*laugh*
Date: 2021-01-25 07:12 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2021-01-25 05:19 pm (UTC)Yay!
Date: 2021-01-25 07:03 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2021-01-25 05:26 pm (UTC)Thank you!
Date: 2021-01-25 06:46 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2021-01-25 05:51 pm (UTC)Thank you!
Date: 2021-01-25 06:39 pm (UTC)I'm not kidding when I say I'm an information dispensary. I have lined my house with books. If a problem can be solved with information, it's usually something I can fix.
>> a lot of the creator ones look really useful. <<
I also enjoy teaching and encouraging other people to do things, so I resources for that ready at hand. A lot of the "how to" entries are things I wrote the second or third time I got asked the same thing. It's just easier to put the answer out there and link back to it, rather than retyping it every time.
I'm happy I could help.
(no subject)
Date: 2021-01-25 06:25 pm (UTC)Thank you!
Date: 2021-01-25 07:14 pm (UTC)I only just realized that the instructions said "three" resources. LOL Bard-O-Matic LOL
(no subject)
Date: 2021-01-25 07:02 pm (UTC)Yes ...
Date: 2021-01-25 07:13 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2021-01-25 09:41 pm (UTC)Link?
Date: 2021-01-25 10:08 pm (UTC)Re: Link?
Date: 2021-01-26 07:15 pm (UTC)https://what-ho-library.dreamwidth.org/profile
Re: Link?
Date: 2021-01-26 07:46 pm (UTC)