The Way of the Wombat

Snowflake Challenge Number 12 says In your own space, talk about what you think the future holds for fandom. What are your hopes and dreams for fandom? Do you have any predictions about what the next five years holds for fandom?

A few minutes ago I wrote the following as a comment in lady_branwyn's journal where there were people being all sad and wistful because the Snowflake challenge reminded them that the Tolkien Fandom had a Golden Age in the past, and they miss it. It occurred to me that although it is not exactly an answer to the challenge for the day, it was what I wanted to say. It probably applies to other fandoms, too.



I apparently came too late for this golden age people look back on.

But it seems to me that there are only so many tales most people want to tell - once they've told them they may move on, or just become readers.

However there are new writers coming along with their tales to tell - and the stories those earlier writers told are, for the most part, still there to be read. Therefore the fandom actually keeps expanding as there are probably more stories available to read now than there were back in whatever year was the golden age.

It is a bit sad for those of us who only began writing in this fandom in the past five years or so to find that other people think we aren't as good as those who had already told their tales before we arrived.

Day Six said "share a book/song/movie/tv show/fanwork/etc that changed your life".

I found this quite difficult - everything I read probably makes my life a little different to how it would have been if I hadn't read it.

Finally I chose Lord of the Rings not for any of the reasons you might expect.

( Read more... )

Day 7 said create a fanwork. A drabble, a ficlet, a podfic, or an icon, art or meta or a rec list. A picspam. Something.

That was easy - I wrote a drabble for the current challenges at Tolkien Weekly - Which is here - and I'll post it on my journal when I have finished the current challenges, as it is part of a set.

Day 8 is today. This is really difficult. It says create a love meme for yourself. Let people tell you how amazing and awesome and loveable you really are.

Mu first reaction was 'Oh no, I couldn't possibly!' But the challenge also says this kind of emotional bravery is really inspiring... Sometimes it's the hardest thing in the world.

And many of my friends doing the challenge have girded their loins and posted this one on their journals.

So feel free to regard this post as my Day 8 'love meme'.

Although I still feel embarrassed asking people to tell me why they are my friends - so in true Brit fashion do feel free to skip on by! But, as just_ann_now said A word or two, please? Just so we can check the box?

In your own space, promote three communities, challenges, blogs, pages, Twitters, Tumblrs or platforms and explain why you love them.

Faerie:An Archive of Tolkien Fanfic which welcomes all sorts of stories, poetry and non-fiction writing, regardless of genre, rating or pairing.' And it has a tumblr-esque shoutbox where you can chat to other members 200 characters at a time, which makes it really friendly.

Twisting the Hellmouth is a fan fiction archive of over 15,000 Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel crossover stories. TtH hosts all genres of cross over fanfic as well as non-crossover stories from both BtVS and other fandoms by writers who archive their cross-over fan fiction there. There are crossovers of all sorts and also non-crossovers as once you post a certain amount of Buffyverse crossovers you can post other stuff. So lots of my stories are there.

tolkien_weekly is a challenge community for writers who enjoy Tolkien and who like to write about his creations. Drabbles on all of Tolkien's writings are welcome here, so long as they fit the week's challenge. Feedback and constructive criticism are actively encouraged. Proper drabbles - where 100 words means exactly that. I have found the discipline of writing drabbles to be very good for me - even helps me write stuff at work! This is a really friendly place, too, and it could do with a few more active members.