(no subject)

[the_rck]

And now I've signed up for Yuletide. I listed about 100 fandoms that I could write. I'm now looking at the list and feeling terrified about half of them. I put them on the list because I was pretty sure I could write them and either knew the canon quite well or have easy access to it for reviewing bits and pieces. It's just my standard anxiety attack combined with a fear that I'll get a request that I somehow *can't* write.

Is my knowledge of book canon X too contaminated by having seen the movie based on it? (Or the other way around?)

Do I have time to review the entire canon if I have to?

Can I write if I get an assignment in a completely real world setting with no magic, time travel, science fiction elements or other weirdness?

Can I write romance? Can I write mystery? Can I write [fill in the blank]?

Am I going to get a request for an obscure character who I don't remember?

If I get matched for a fandom with a historical setting, will I need to do more research than I have time for?

Will I actually enjoy writing fandom Y?

All the standard anxiety attack questions after a Yuletide signup. ::sighs::

The answer, of course, is that I *can* do all of it, even if I match on something I'm wibbling over. I'll still have fun (I like a challenge). Plus, I've got a bit of time to reconsider my choices. With so many fandoms selected, I hesitate to change anything just because I'm anxious. If I do change anything, I'll probably either cut back the fandoms in which I've offered only specific characters or change some of them to 'any.' Those are the fandoms that are the largest pain in the butt to redo the sign up for, after all.

Is it better to offer a lot of fandoms, including some that provoke anxiety, or is it better to offer fewer fandoms, sticking to the stuff I'm sure of? Bearing in mind that, no matter what I do, I'll always find something over which to be obsessively anxious. Generalized anxiety being like that.

Comments

[jss]

My first response is to answer each question in order with simple yes/no answers. My second is to replace that with Madeline Kahn's song from History of the World, Part I when her character is choosing her escorts. My third is to say, yes, of course you can do all of this. The answer to your "will I need to do more research" is likely "No," though you probably will want to do more since you're a perfectionist.

Generalized anxiety sucks. :-(

[the_rck]

Thanks for the reassurance and the grin your response provoked.

Generalized anxiety does suck mightily. If I could get rid of one of my disabilities, that would definitely be the first choice.

I think I can spot half a dozen things where I'm certain that I'd end up doing a lot of extra research. I may cut those simply because I'm afraid that I won't have the time to do research *and* write.

[dormouse-in-tea.livejournal.com]

one HUNDRED?

wowsa.

I'm in awe.

[the_rck]

I still may cut some.

And I actually always find myself wondering how everyone doesn't end up with a massively long list of possibilities. Maybe they just have better self-control than I do...

[merriehaskell.livejournal.com]

'Cause I don't know more than maybe six canons with the level of detail and interest that would make it plausible for me to write anything decent?

I think I offered seven this year. That's a record for me.

My thinking is that if I've never had a vague plot bunny for the fandom, I probably don't have the magic to write the story. But, I also don't often enjoy playing in others' universes, so there has to be a really strong pull for me to develop the bunny. Really strong.

[the_rck]

I can see that.

I don't generally get plot bunnies for fandoms without something stimulating it-- a prompt from someone else, a bit of pondering about what would make interesting fic in that fandom, a dream, an urge to write and having that canon handy, a conversation, someone else's fic. That means that I'm fairly confident that I can manage *something* if I know the source material and don't hate it.

Of course, I also tend to extreme poly-fannishness.

[toxictattoo.livejournal.com]

I feel you. I totally do. And even though this year I was sure to only offer fandoms that I felt really strong in (waffling over a few fandoms that fell to my cut since I was, in fact, waffling), I'm still very much anxious like you are. [grin]

[the_rck]

::grins:: I suspect that it's utterly normal.

Some part of my anxiety is due to silly things like panicking that my ability to write will suddenly disappear altogether. Not fear of writer's block so much as fear that I'll forget what words are or how they make sentences.

[retsuko.livejournal.com]

Wow, 100? Gosh. I think I could comfortably write...about 10. Or so. I'm impressed!

But I understand what you feel. It's actually the thing that's keeping me from writing more fanfic at the moment. :[ I would love to sign up for Yuletide, but it will come just as I'm finishing up the term and won't have time to do it properly. So, more power to you! If you need beta-ing again, just drop me an email. :)

[scribblemoose]

I'd say trim it some to reduce the anxiety. I only found four that I'd be really comfortable writing and I'm fine with that. Learned my lesson last year. :)