Curious about Fanfiction, Fanart or sharing your Fan creations with others?

 

(Image above is the social media post to go with this blog. It is a notebook with written words and doodled arrows in it. Circled text reads: Curious about fanfiction? An arrow points to more text that reads: Want to try fanart or share a fan playlist? An open arrow with lines inside points to the words: Check out our newest blog post. There are doodles on the right side of the notebook and the PCSockmonkey Writers Est 2009 logo with Polly Esther and Pierson is in the lower right corner.)

Hello Sockmonkeys!

I know of a few in our midst that write fanfiction in various fandoms. Fanfiction can be a fun way to get started on a story or to make a story with a character you liked (or loved) end in a way you enjoy more. It can also be a way of learning new fiction writing techniques without having to come up with all the characters and background details first. 

Others have written more about it and probably explained it better than I could, so here is an article on Writer's Digest that explains a bit about fanfiction and a number of the acronyms and shorthand referred to in posts related to works of fanfiction.

While I am not familiar with all the sites where fanfiction is posted, I found out from another Sockmonkey writer about an event on one of them called fandomgiftbasket. This is where members of the community requested works in specific fandoms with the hope that someone else would gift them a work in that fandom before the end of the gifting period. Now, because some entries either have explicit words in what they DNW (do not want) or in what they want, it is marked as 18+ and you must click to let them know you are of age before you're allowed to see the event post or any of the listings. It is too late to request stories in your chosen fandoms but there's still plenty of time to work on filling other people's request if you so choose.

You do not need to have an account to take part or to post, although that will limit the replies you can post and you'll need to complete a captcha with each post. Accounts are free, though, if you choose to join to avoid these limitations. Be sure to check out the initial rules post and have fun writing or creating other fan works!

Gift postings started on July 3rd, but are allowed until September 14th, so you still have plenty of time to search the tags for a fandom you enjoy and work on something. Click here if you're interested in learning more and be sure to check out the rules and FAQ's post first.

If you already write and share your fanfiction online and you'd like to let other Sockmonkey Writers know about it, please email your fanfiction link to the Sockmonkey gmail and I can add it to the sidebar of the blog for others to find.

Have you written fanfiction before? Are you thinking of participating in this gifting? Do you participate in something like this on a different fanfiction site? Please, tell us about it in the comments!

March 2024 Update and Stepping Down as ML

 

 

Posting this here so that every Sockmonkey in the region can see it, whether or not they are signed up to the NaNoWriMo website. The text of my most recent regional email is below:

 

3/26/2024 - Editing to add: I apologize if this comes through to your email twice, but I wanted to be sure it was sent by the site. I sent the first draft of this via the site 5 days ago. It was posted to our regional chat box, but I never received it in my inbox even though I have received other emails from NaNoWriMo HQ since my first attempt to send it, so I am attempting to send it again. Also added a content warning for one link and a sentence in the postscript.

Hello Sockmonkeys!

I realize this is a bit out of the ordinary, but we have finally been given more details on how HQ and the Board plan to move forward after the events I mentioned in my December regional mail. Again, I realize not everyone in our group participates in NaNoWriMo and probably few of those who do were even aware of what happened on the forums outside of my mails because they don’t visit them, even during the off-season, but this new course of action from HQ is why I decided to write to you now.

Although it was a hard decision, I currently feel I cannot ethically move forward with NaNoWriMo as an organization. I have decided to step down from my volunteer role as Municipal Liaison for the Tacoma & Pierce County region after 6 years as a result.

If you’re not familiar with the ongoing forums situation I mentioned earlier and would like to know more, feel free to visit the Board threads on NaNoWriMo’s main forums, especially the summary posts from NaNoWriMo’s Board. Leadership failed to communicate well and participants got increasingly frustrated with how HQ was conducting itself so things continued to escalate, which is what led to the Board stepping in and shutting down the forums. If you’d like a non-site summary of events put together by some other volunteers (rather than wading through those very long forum posts) you can read this NaNoWriMo 2023 controversy summary document - but that is not required. (TW: CSA allegations)

Like a number of other MLs, I had concerns about what the coming year would look like, but I was waiting to see what the regrouping efforts, particularly with MLs, would be. I hoped there would be an honest effort to right the ship, but what I have seen in the new process for moving forward and the draft of the new ML agreement are some requirements and restrictions I do not feel comfortable committing to and do not have the free time for. (A link to a copy of the agreement, as well as a brief summary of the highlights can be found near the end of the controversy summary document linked above - although some changes and concerns about legal language are being looked into by a lawyer and the final language may change.)

I currently have no idea who, if anyone, will step up as new ML(s) for the region. I leave that up to the organization.

Your regrettably former ML,

Kyrthanna Elvendahl (she/her)

P.S. This does not, however, mean that the Sockmonkey Writers as a group is going away. Only our officially/non-official affiliation with NaNoWriMo as an organization is ending. We will still be here to support you as you tackle NaNoWriMo or any other writing challenge. Please join us on our Regional Blog and/or our Discord for updates and for links to our other social media if you’d like to get connected with other writers in the Tacoma/Pierce County area. And, while this will also be sent out separately, if you have a few moments, please fill out this form to let me know what sort of things you’d like to see as part of the Sockmonkey Writer’s Group in the future.