coalcube: (Default)
coalie ([personal profile] coalcube) wrote in [community profile] coaltide2021-09-04 07:45 pm
  • Add Memory
  • Share This Entry
Entry tags:

The Coalies Are Back In Town

Friday night they'll be dressed to kill
Down at Coaltide Bar'n'Grill
The receipts will flow and wank will spill
And if the coalies wanna fight, you better let 'em
That jukebox in the corner blastin' out my favorite song
The nights are getting longer, it won't be long
Won't be long 'til Yuletide comes
Now that the coalies are here again

Nominations: Mon 20 Sept to Thurs 30 Sept
Sign-ups: Fri 15 Oct to Sat 23 Oct
Assignments out by: Mon 25 Oct
Default deadline: Sat 11 Dec
Assignment deadline: Sat 18 Dec
Reveals: Sat 25 Dec

Yuletide Discord and Exchanges After Dark Discords for Namespace drama 18+ discussion. Google Group for PHs. F_F wiki for history. Universal App for all past Yuletides and any other exchanges (donate).

Page 35 of 56

Threaded | Top-Level Comments Only

Re: Letter Bingo

(Anonymous) 2021-10-06 01:30 pm (UTC)(link)
If you don't want any sex, don't want any references to sex, sexual situations, sexual preferences, or sexy things, don't want any non-sexual scenes that could be broadly interpreted as kinky (i.e., bad guy tying up protagonist for plot reasons), and you want a writer who obsesses over things like "was that reference to them wearing nice boots too close to something that someone would call kinky," then go for it!

(The odds that a recip who DNW'd kink actually will be upset at a loving description of someone's badass Docs = low. The odds that a recip who complains that they got boot kink despite a 'kink' DNW will be backed up by the mods/the anon chorus = ?????

And of course if you the recip actually didn't want edge cases, then the mods ruling the DNW is too broad to enforce is also bad!)

Re: Letter Bingo

(Anonymous) 2021-10-06 01:39 pm (UTC)(link)
Also, dewclaws person is guaranteed to respond to the dewclaws DNW by just upping the crazy beyond what you could possibly imagine, not by actually writing something reasonable.

Re: Your Yuletide Writing Traditions

(Anonymous) 2021-10-06 02:25 pm (UTC)(link)
I get stuck on canon review forever and ever. I've matched on book series in recent years, so canon review DOES take time . . . but not as long as I drag it out.

Re: Letter Bingo

(Anonymous) 2021-10-06 02:35 pm (UTC)(link)
The odds that anyone who would write you an unrequested Holocaust AU could write you a good fic if only you DNWed "genocide AU" are zero, though.

At that point you're better off just receiving the Holocaust AU so you can reject the gift and never think about it again, rather than struggling through 3000 words of awfulness and then trying to come up with a civil comment about it.

Re: Letter Bingo

(Anonymous) 2021-10-06 02:52 pm (UTC)(link)
+1000. Someone who's more interested in writing whatever the hell they want than in giving you a gift you're going to like can't be stopped by DNWs, no matter how many you have or how carefully you think through your phrasing. IME, it's better to focus on communicating your preferences as if your assigned writer is going to be a conscientious participant who's going to try their best to make you happy - like 95% of the time, that will be true, and you'll be happier if you just write the other 5% off as a loss instead of spending a lot of time agonizing over how to prevent it from your end, when the problem's on the other end.

Re: Your Yuletide Writing Traditions

(Anonymous) 2021-10-06 03:12 pm (UTC)(link)
I've already started writing. I had my eye on the fandom already and the person who nominated it, and I spotted them admitting they plan to request, so I've started a fic for them that I think they'll like based on last year's letter and what they've already written for the fandom. I'll adjust of course if something comes up in their letter (or if they change their mind entirely).

Normally I'm a "you have to finish your assignment before you can do treats" writer so I feel like an outlaw, it's very exciting!

Re: Letter Bingo

(Anonymous) 2021-10-06 03:30 pm (UTC)(link)
I mean, these wtf cases are split basically between - a) someone who has a moral! issue! with you or your DNW, and is going to figure out a way to show they don't approve (poly lecture person, run over by ambulance person) - that case you're probably safer without the DNW at all; b) someone who doesn't think yuletide is about tailoring a gift specifically for you, it's just about matching on a fandom, in which case they will probably follow DNWs more or less but you probably still won't get your perfect fic; c) someone who legitimately thinks they are writing a story you will like and just has absolutely no theory of mind (dewclaws).

In none of those situations is making your DNWs broader or more extensive going to get you the writer you wish you'd gotten. (They're just going to increase the chances the writer you'd wish you'd gotten will take one look at your DNW list, go 'too much hassle', and default.)

(Anonymous) 2021-10-06 03:52 pm (UTC)(link)
They said only two people nominated.

Re: Your Yuletide Writing Traditions

(Anonymous) 2021-10-06 04:20 pm (UTC)(link)
- I start jotting down ~thoughts as soon as I've got my assignment, but then there's usually a gap where I let things percolate and generate/refine an outline, before I actually start writing. I tend to end up close to the danger zone, though I've always been able to complete a bus pass I would be happy with on time, and have never had a bus pass go live.

- I put a song on repeat, find a Youtube LP I've already watched and let it run while I'm working, or google up a white noise generator. I've also sometimes used one of those ten-hour loops of ambient Star Trek sound effects.

- Always sober, often tired. Other than that, depends where I am when I figure out how to approach the next part of the fic, and whether I have internet access. I've worked on Yuletide fics in the early morning, in between other tasks at work, during my lunch break, through the night before the deadline ...

- I like ludicrously sweet chai tea that's a mix from a packet, and around the holidays, I start pouring eggnog into it, because it wasn't unhealthy enough to start with. I've written a lot of treats off the caffeine as I mainline three mugs of that stuff in a row. /o\

- I hardly ever get a beta (and I don't usually beta for other people, either). The fandoms I end up writing in for Yuletide are always so small that I have no fandom acquaintances who are into them. And most of the time, when I'm at the point where I could use a beta, I'm also at the point where my emotions about the fic are at their rawest/tenderest/most 100% convinced it's trash - showing it to a stranger then is nnnnnnot happening.

- And yeah, it's not a Yuletide fic if I don't go through two or three cycles of being sure I'm going to ruin someone's Yuletide, before I get a grip, remind myself it fits the request and isn't completely unreadable and that's half the battle, and post anyway.

(Anonymous) 2021-10-06 06:59 pm (UTC)(link)
My understanding is that two people nominated "Star Wars: Visions" as a fandom, and at least one other person nominated specific episodes as separate fandoms (which is what the mods ultimately wanted).

(Anonymous) 2021-10-06 08:30 pm (UTC)(link)
CYRT

That makes two people who picked the fandom canonical tag and the character canonical tags, not a sock army of 5+ who nominated everything the same way.

(Anonymous) 2021-10-06 08:49 pm (UTC)(link)
are you jingling your butt yet

Re: I see you

(Anonymous) 2021-10-06 10:42 pm (UTC)(link)
I wish I was your lover...

(earwormed now)

Worst evidence post you've ever seen

(Anonymous) 2021-10-06 10:53 pm (UTC)(link)
A blatant attempt to get a megafandom into YT? Someone so clueless they didn't seem to know what an evidence post was? Or something else?

Re: Your Yuletide Writing Traditions

(Anonymous) 2021-10-06 10:54 pm (UTC)(link)
Plenty of coffee and mood music. Something slow and romantic for ship fic, something creepy for horror, country music for something rustic and cozy, etc.

Re: Worst evidence post you've ever seen

(Anonymous) 2021-10-06 11:10 pm (UTC)(link)
Every single one that thinks they need an evidence post because they couldn't find a canonical tag

This is boring

(Anonymous) 2021-10-07 01:40 am (UTC)(link)
BORING
BOOORING
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOORING
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOORING
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOORING
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOORING
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOORING
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOORING
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOORING
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOORING
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOORING
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOORING
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOORING
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOORING
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOORING
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOORING
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOORING
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOORING
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOORING
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOORING
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOORING
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOORING
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOORING
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOORING

to letter or not to letter

(Anonymous) 2021-10-07 02:10 am (UTC)(link)
That is the question.

Are ya'll writing them this year?

Re: This is boring

(Anonymous) 2021-10-07 02:10 am (UTC)(link)
go jingle your butt

Re: to letter or not to letter

(Anonymous) 2021-10-07 02:16 am (UTC)(link)
This might be the first year that I don't write a letter. I just...don't really feel like it. Would it be a dick move to leave a blank signup as an experiment? I'm just curious to see what I would get with a completely blank slate. I don't want to potentially ruin a writer's experience, though, so I'll probably add DNWs and maybe some favorite tropes at a minimum.

Re: This is boring

(Anonymous) 2021-10-07 02:20 am (UTC)(link)
Jingle butt
jingle butt
jingle butt rock

Re: to letter or not to letter

(Anonymous) 2021-10-07 02:24 am (UTC)(link)
97% chance of 1k of bland canon rehash

Re: to letter or not to letter

(Anonymous) 2021-10-07 02:25 am (UTC)(link)
It's not a dick move. I've gotten blank signups and had a ton of fun writing stuff I think my recips really liked. But as somebody who's had that experience, it'd be nice to at least say either in the signup or your most findable social media that you did it on purpose so they aren't left wondering if you just don't know how to yuletide and aren't going to drop a letter in three weeks or something.

Re: to letter or not to letter

(Anonymous) 2021-10-07 02:25 am (UTC)(link)
I am because I really like them and they're fun for me to make. They get me equally excited about all my fandoms and the eventual gift I'll receive.

I hope that people do write letters because that's the best way for me to have a good "impression" of your prompts and easily reference them (the app makes this a lot easier but ending up on ao3 isn't fun) however, good prompts are good prompts. Skimming the app just doesn't have that discovery factor for me. If I check out your prompt for Fandom X, I'm not going to randomly click on Fandom C and discover it's really good too, but if I have your letter open I will probably check out every fandom if Fandom X was good. I also usually end up opening almost all the letters linked on the letters post because they are posted slow enough spurts that it doesn't feel like a lot when.

More than being worried about people not writing letters, I am worried that when people say "no letter" what they really mean is only having general likes or only having 2-3 prompts rather than 10+ problems. As one of the prolific treaters, the thing that sets the cap of who I write for and how much I write isn't my own time, it's the number of people in my fandoms who have prompts that grab me and/or who have prompts so good that I get into their fandoms to write them. Being sign-up/app only essentially rules out that I'm going to discover your fandom even if it would be RTMI if I came across it in a letter, and then cutting back your prompts lessens the odds that one of them will grab me.

I haven't been able to treat in a lot of exchanges these past couple years because of the decrease in letters in general but Yuletide I can usually surpass or graze double digits. If it starts trending towards sign up only I fear that won't be the case.

Re: to letter or not to letter

(Anonymous) 2021-10-07 02:27 am (UTC)(link)
+ 1 based on my fandoms*

* Fandoms where I remember the request being blank and then I read the fic that was posted and it sucks

Maybe use the app to find the blank sign-ups in your fandom from years past and see if requests in general and your fandoms specifically treat blank requests well or not? IME it's like throwing away your sign up but that could just be my fandoms/bias.
Threaded | Top-Level Comments Only

Page 35 of 56