coaltide | The Coalies & Other Stories

I will not read them in a Canon-Divergent AU.
I will not read them in Third Point-of-View.
Not in a Crossover! Not in Genfic!
Not in Shipfic! You let me be!

I do not like them in Fanart.
I do not like them even in the Fic of My Heart.
I will not read them in fic of my NOTP.
I do not like them with my OTP.
I do not like them here or there.
I do not like them anywhere!
I do not like my DNWs!

Sign-ups: Friday 16 October to Monday 26 October

Assignments out: between 26 & 28 October

Default deadline: Friday 11 December

Assignment Deadline: Friday 18 December
Collection Opens: Friday 25 December
Author Reveals: Friday 1 January, 2021

Mini-Challenges:
YuleSwaps | Interactive Fiction | Wrapping Paper | Seasons Treatings
Yuleporn | Make the Yuletide Gay | Femslash Festivus

YuleBuilding | Two for One | Crueltide | Misses Claus | Cheftide

Yuletide Discord for Hippos. Google Group for PHs. F_F wiki for history.

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For those on the fence.

Currently I have: 2 requests I know I want, and a 3rd request I also want but where it's so much more popular than the first two that if I include it it seems guaranteed that's what I'll get, which feels weird. Having more requests might help balance that out, but my possible 4th request is for a canon I've consumed about 2/5 of, and a fifth request is for a canon I've consumed in full but not for a very long time. Also, I've promised another fic to a friend by the end of the year. I enjoy Yuletide usually, but I'm not sure I need to do it this year.

Had a massive freakout of inadequacy last year while writing and after posting, there's so much tempting me this year but I don't want to risk it again, especially because it's very hard for me to write at all in the first place.

That really sucks. I'm sorry you feel that way.

+1 million. I feel you, coalie.

I'm a newbie and I have 2 canons I desperately want and like 18 canons I wouldn't mind getting but... would be disappointing to receive, when there's the possibility of the canons of my heart. But the chance of getting those two means I really want to sign up! But I don't know what else to request...

The general advice for when you don't want a canon as much as the others is to drop it, but when that means not signing up at all it kinda sucks to say.

You could try to find a fandom that no one's offering (difficult to tell, given bucket offers don't show up) or request a set of characters people are unlikely to offer together while requesting Any in the two canons you really want, but even then you might get someone who offered Any.

You'll have to decide if signing up is worth the gamble. One year, I got fic for a fandom I realized I should have dropped because I was definitely disappointed when gifts were revealed, but it wasn't the end of the world- just a bummer.

I'm thinking I'll sign up with a fandom I'll be least disappointed in getting from my other choices, but I've been kicking myself over not nominating my third one-man-fandom-of-my-heart that I genuinely WOULD have loved to get something for.

I guess there's always next year...

Yuletide newbie - where do I see offers?

Read the rules again and look at the signup summary in general.

https://archiveofourown.org/collections/yuletide2020/signups/summary

You can try to game it but as other coalie says there's no way to guarantee with requests.

One way to at least increase your chances is to sign up now with a fake third request (preferably a big-for-yuletide fandom with multiple requests so no one is disappointed when you drop it). On the last day change the third request to one of your 18 options which has no visible offers. Even better if there's no offers and no other request beside yours. Greatly lowers the chance someone will see it and offer it. But still, there could be bucket offers which aren't visible, or you could always end up on the pinch hit list where everyone will see your requests and could pick up your assignment based on your least-desired fandom.

It's a risk but if it's one you're willing to take then go for it.

If I were you, I would go for the rarest, most obscure of those 18 canons. You might not want it more than the others, but at least you might get a warm feeling out of helping to contribute to a rare fandom. Just try to prepare yourself for getting the fandom.

Normally when I sign up for Yuletide it's because I'm really enthused about getting a gift in my fandoms as well as writing. This year, not so much. I have a preschooler, I've been pretty fandom-detached all year, and I'm just really tired. I could always sign up with the kind of minimal-details signup I've never liked getting, or pick some five-minute fandoms - but getting enthused about topics, figuring out how to phrase my DNWs (because authors keep finding ways to hit my embarrassment squick despite my best efforts at begging them not to) and finding things to offer and request just sounds exhausting right now.

I should probably just treat, but I kind of hate to take this year off - last year was my first one back after a hiatus.

I feel the same, but that’s why I signed up.

This is YMMV because I’m a ‘good egg’ that people go out of their way to please, but I picked more than the minimum of fandoms. They’re none I’m in love with but odds are someone will write tropes I love that’ll make me happy. In the meantime, I’m really excited to treat. I’ll probably game hard to get an assignment that is no stress, but if you can reuse a letter then there isn’t much downside to signing up if you know you’ll write at least one fic.

The Coalies & Other Stories

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