Revenge of the Exchange Bears

[rheasilvia]

I have now identified the five characteristic phases of my fanworks exchange experience. The process has been the same in all documented cases, so I consider it established fact.

Phase 1: False Confidence.

This seems doable! Sure, so far I have no ideas (and no time to write, either). But, hey! What could possibly go wrong?

Phase 2: Mad Writing.

Annoyingly, time keeps on passing. But no worries: I have an idea! And who needs sleep, anyway. It will work out - it's going to be a short story, after all.

Phase 3: Dramatic Despair!

WHY IS THIS NOT A SHORT STORY. WHYYYY.

Phase 4: A New Hope.

New plan: We're going with an entirely different story! And this one will be short!! Honest! I really mean it this time! (*insert crazed laughter here*)

Phase 5: Ohmygod Look At The Time.

It is done!! Is this story fit to be read and enjoyed by human beings? I have no idea! Is it short? Uhm, kind of? Where will I find the time to edit it? Muahahahaaaa!


Does this sound familiar to you? Or are you among those enviably organized creators who master exchanges with minimal BEARS, and might even juggle several exchanges at the same time?


(This post brought to you by the fact that my sundial_exchange assignment is due on the 18th - this Saturday! Fortunately, I should be able to edit it for another week after I've added it to the AO3 collection, so the situation isn't as dire as it could be. But still.)

Comments

[akk]

I hate the thought of posting a story that could have been exactly what I wanted it to be, if only I'd had more time.

If only the prompt had been about the interaction of side character C & D instead of pairing A and B... ;)

prompts don't necessarily have to appear in the context of an exchange

So true, but if a fandom has become very, very quiet that's often the only place where prompts sometimes still come up. I admit, I often browse prompts but then decide just to write them without participating in the challenge, thus taking the time restriction off. I have too much deadlines when writing research papers already. ;)

[rheasilvia]

If only the prompt had been about the interaction of side character C & D instead of pairing A and B...

Oh, this would not work for me at all - if I only want to write about side characters C and D, then I will enter the exchange with everyone agreeing that I will only write about C and D. :-)

Fortunately, all exchanges I can remember off the top of my head allow creators to specify what exactly they want to create. There's no sense in forcing yourself to write about people you have no interest in.

I often browse prompts but then decide just to write them without participating in the challenge

Oh, I do that too! I suspect everyone does. :-) It's still different when you are in an exchange, because then you will not automatically gravitate towards the prompts that immediately appeal to you. I've written stories that I consider among my best works to prompts that I would not initially have chosen.

[akk]

You misunderstood me.

I can get a prompt about characters A & B and accept it to write about A & B, but then the story progresses in my head and the result is that C & D turn out to be much more interesting and A & B are just bland, everyday dish. For me, stories evolve from a starting point - and the evolution is what I explore. Unfortunately, evolution is NOT orderly, hence it seldom complies with prompts. ;)

One type of exchange I used to love is short(est) fics (drabble or double-drabbles), in which you have to fill a prompt with a complete story in 100 (or 200) words. Those were fun and the plot bunnies didn't get enough time to be bothersome. Sadly, once a fandom grows slower, those tend to disappear.