Secret Santa in July

[ooo]

So, I had this idea, and scarlett_ohara2 agreed with me ( ), and it kind of snowballed from there.

Essentially, a forum Secret Santa (or Kris Kringle, or whatever you call it in whatever part of the world you're from!). Yes, in July. Because I said so.

You'd come up with a couple of prompts/ideas for fics you'd like to see written, and be matched up with someone who'd write them for you. In return, you'd write a fic for someone else. I'll do my absolute best to give you something you're comfortable writing, and if you're still not we can sort it out, so don't stress. There will probably be a minimum word limit, but nothing dramatic, just to make sure no one writes a novel and gets half a paragraph in return.

This is just a post to see who's interested - if enough people are, I'll get organising soon!

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UPDATE: Thanks so much for all the interest, guys! You can sign up officially by PMing me your form before the 27th of July. See post on the second page (here) for details

[blush]

I've never posted a fic to the forum, so something that could force me to break out of my shell and also entertain someone else sounds great! I'm excited already. 

[27jj]

I am SO in!!! What an exciting idea:)

[Kiwifruit]

Sounds good to me So we wouldn't know who wrote the story for us or who we were writing for...? I'd definitely be happy to join Good idea! btw - I don't know if this happens in the northern hemisphere, but down under it's not unusual to celebrate (informally ) "midwinter Christmas" in July since, for us, Christmas is in the middle of summer.

[ooo]

that people are interested in this!

blush, that's definitely part of why I decided to do this so I'm really glad you're up for it!

Kiwi, I'm thinking you'd know who you were writing for (to make it easier for the writers), but not who was writing for you. And hehe, I'm Down Under-ish too, and we just had a Christmas in July party the other night which is partly what inspired this I think the idea actually comes from Up North, though - I think the idea is to gather the family together while it's warm. Or at least all my English-heritage friends seem to think so!

[Lady Blessington]

That's an awesome idea! I'm going out of town tomorrow and I won't be back until the 28th, and I'm not sure if I'll be online in between, but if that doesn't present a problem, count me in. Maybe I'll come back on before I go and give a prompt just in case I'm gone for that part. Or if lateness is not cool and I don't get to play this time I totally understand.

Whee!

[ooo]

That's an awesome idea! I'm going out of town tomorrow and I won't be back until the 28th, and I'm not sure if I'll be online in between, but if that doesn't present a problem, count me in. Maybe I'll come back on before I go and give a prompt just in case I'm gone for that part. Or if lateness is not cool and I don't get to play this time I totally understand.

Whee!

Hey, no worries, I'm sure we can work around it I'll send you a PM in a minute!

[Sneesee]

I would like to join in! I love doing stuff like this!!!

[BlueRandom]

That's a great idea!

But I have very few specifications as to what I'd like to read, so if someone had a lot of suggestions, they could maybe send me them and end up with two fics? If that made sense.

Is this just a SPN thing?

[everest]

I'm in. This sounds fun! Also, like BlueRandom said, I'm curious as to whether this is strictly Supernatural or not. I'm cool with it either way, just wondering.

[Kiwifruit]

Erm, if it IS just a Supernatural thing, then I'm out. I've never watched any of it

[ooo]

Side note: it's 3am here, so if this post ends up not making much sense, that would be why.

Definitely not just an SPN thing! Part of the reason there are so many SPN people showing up is that I put a link to this in my (Supernatural) fic in the hopes of attracting more people. But we're definitely hoping people will be able to write and receive a variety of fandoms and/or originals

Thanks for the interest, everyone!

[obsessed]

Oooh, perhaps. You think you could send me a PM with more details?

[Tarkus]

I wouldn't mind giving it a try It sounds fun and I havent done one before so...

Bring it!

[Sneeze999]

Sounds very interesting, count me in too!

[ID2006]

I'd like to... would there be a time limit on when they had to be finished. I think I could still manage, but having a new baby has made juggling things a little tough, but I did just start working on another fic so I think I could handle it.

[Blah!?]

I'd rather like to get in on this too. On the other SF forum, we've done this sort of thing for the past two years, and based on how it's done over there, I'd like to make a suggestion, in case you haven't thought of it already.

Before pairing everyone up, have everyone who wants to participate fill out a form with all their likes, dislikes, favorite fandoms, preferred gender, and above all, the things that they really don't want to see. That way, everyone will get something they enjoy, and it'll be able to set up based on interests.

[Jazz]

I would love to be a secret santa

[SweaterWeather]

Count me in! This sounds really kewl!

[telltale]

OOH. This is an awesome idea!

I won't be signing up, because I write even slower with a deadline than I do the rest of the time, but I'm super pumped to see what everyone comes up with!

[scarlett_ohara2]

I'd rather like to get in on this too. On the other SF forum, we've done this sort of thing for the past two years, and based on how it's done over there, I'd like to make a suggestion, in case you haven't thought of it already.

Before pairing everyone up, have everyone who wants to participate fill out a form with all their likes, dislikes, favorite fandoms, preferred gender, and above all, the things that they really don't want to see. That way, everyone will get something they enjoy, and it'll be able to set up based on interests.

Thanks for mentioning that! We actually have that ready- this is just a preliminary post to see who's interested.

[Evergreen]

you can count me in. (:

[ooo]

Oooh, perhaps. You think you could send me a PM with more details?

I sure could! But I'm not totally sure what kind of details you're looking for. I'm just about to post the next set of "instructions"/info, and if you're still not sure or have questions, absolutely let me know here or by PM?

I'd like to... would there be a time limit on when they had to be finished. I think I could still manage, but having a new baby has made juggling things a little tough, but I did just start working on another fic so I think I could handle it.

Congratulations on the new baby!

We were going to have a time limit, just so that no-one misses out or is waiting for a fic forever - we were kind of thinking mid to late August depending on when we manage to get everyone matched up and organised. But if you're having problems with that deadline we can definitely work with you individually to find something you're comfortable with! It's not supposed to be a stressful thing for anyone

[ooo]

Okay! Thanks so much to everyone who's responded so far!!

Here's how we're going to do this.

PM me (ooo) your filled in form (from below) before the 27th July. I'll PM you back as soon as I get a chance to let you know I've got it - so if it's been a few days and you haven't heard from me, post here to check with me. You'll need to fill in both parts of the form, to receive and to give.

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To receive:

Fandoms you'd like to see written: If your likes are specific, let me know - for example if you can't stand anyone but Barney from HIMYM, say so; if you love RPF, say so; if you want to see any male character sneezing, say so; if you don't read fandoms and only original, say so (and if you're specific about what kind, give details).

Likes: This is to help the author you get matched with, and also to maybe help me match you up with someone who writes what you like. If your favourite is m/m, say so; if you love excessive snot, say so.

Dislikes: If you can't stand snot, say so; if stifling makes you want to throw things, say so; if you won't read anything but f/f, say so.

To give:

Fandoms/Originals you can/will write: Try to be as inclusive as possible. If you're specific about your original writing (eg, if you only write F), say. If you watch/read so many you can't list them all, try to list the ones you love writing about and let me know there are others so I can contact you if I need a writer from another fandom.

Anything you won't write: Please try to be flexible, but if there's something that's going to make you tear your hair out trying to write, this is where you let me know. Can include fetish stuff like snot, vomiting, and fandom-specific stuff like Wincest, RPF, whatever.

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After the 27th (probably that weekend, but it'll depend on how busy we are!), I'll match everyone up with an author and a recipient. I'll PM you asking for prompts within the fandoms/originals/likes/dislikes you and your author have in common. Then, I'll PM you with the prompts your recipient has come up with, and you can get writing!

There will be a date you have to post by (we'll set it once I've send out the prompts), but we'll give you lots of time and if you get stuck, we'll work around it - no stressing!

Also, please note: we're going to have a rough lower word limit of 1,000 words. If you're a drabbler, that's fine - maybe you can fill more than one prompt with a series of drabbles, or really tackle it any way you want. If you want to write more, please do! If you've got 890 words and are pulling your hair out, don't. It's fine. We don't carry weapons.

If anyone has any questions, let me know!

In case you're having trouble with the form, here's a sample one I filled out as if I were participating (which I might, not sure how that's going to work):

To receive:

Fandoms you'd like to see written: Supernatural (Dean), Firefly (Simon, or Mal), West Wing (Josh, or Sam), Originals (in most forms: I'd rather not m/m, and if it's m/f it has to be male sneezing).

Likes: I tend to find something I like in most things. I'm a big fan of urgency, build-ups, interrupting your own sentences; I'm also HUGE on caretaking and making the sick person absorb love even if they're stubborn. I'm not emetophobic and I love all forms of sickness-caretaking, not just sneezing if you're going with that angle - but I do love my defined caretaker/sick-person roles so I'm not a huge fan of contagion. Sneeze-wise, I like my male sneezes to have some force behind them (but not be ridiculously shouty as a norm).

Dislikes: Excessive snot without covering/tissues turns me off...I really don't get anything from "giant" type sneezes...

To give:

Fandoms/Originals you can/will write: Supernatural (+ RPF), West Wing, Glee, Harry Potter, Grey's Anatomy. There are probably several more I could write for that I can't immediately think of, so PM me if you need. Originals, I can probably write most things, but I won't be great with m/m just because it's not a personal preference.

Anything you won't write: I'm pretty good with just getting through most things even if I'm not personally hugely thrilled about them. I won't write for fandoms I don't know or haven't been watching for long enough.

[Sawyer]

This is SUCH a fantastic idea. I'm all jittery and excited just thinking about it! Oh god, I'm actually a bit nervous -- okay... count me in!