snowflake challenge #4

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Challenge #4:
Since this is the start of a new year, this challenge will be to set your own goals!

I looked over the goals I set from last year to see where I was and then set them accordingly. A lot of repeats, but some amendments too. :)

Fannish:

Write fanfic again and find joy/inspiration in doing so. Last year, I wanted to participate in less exchanges and write for myself more and I ended up doing way less exchanges, but that was because I just wasn't inspired at all/slightly becoming detached from fandom. So I'm hoping this year will be more positive

Complete my ficcish obligations - there are some way overdue ones that haunt me and I would like to actually get them out of my head.

Try to write for a new fandom. I think I would like the challenge.

Be more present and active, in both my DW and in my chosen fandom spaces. I think I get tied up to one spot (I drifted off to Tumblr for a brief period) and forget about the rest and I would like some balance.

Non-Fandom:

Travel. I said this last year too, but somehow it got away from me. This year, I would like to get out of my city and preferably the state.

Get organized. Another repeated goal. I have finally started parting ways with clothes and things i don't use, and I need to continue with that.

Be a better cook. I love to bake and I do enjoy cooking what I know, but I want to try new recipes. My mom is a great cook and I need to take advantage of that and have her teach me, especially my favorite foods that she makes.

Learn a new skill. I tend to get stagnant and comfortable and I'm pretty bad about being ... bad at things/not good immediately. I'd like to test my comfort zone.

Exercise consistently. I go through periods when I'm good and then weeks where I just fall off and I want to stay active on a regular basis in some way, even if that means just taking walks around the neighborhood.

Comments

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Thanks! And yeah, it really is. The creativity and motivation hits stronger some years and then fades others. I'm hoping 2025 will be better in that sense than 2024. :D

[kitarella_imagines]

Yes, it is like an ebb and flow of a tide, isn't it. We can't control it. Please don't worry about it though, let it just come and go as it does. It's possible to get creatively exhausted, when I get like that I just read other people's fics and absorb them, to give my own brain a rest 🥰

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It really is. And that is what I'm going to do. Sometimes, I try to force it and it does work because once I get myself going without any distractions, I can focus but it isn't something I can do consistently. Reading and enjoying other people's fics is a great way to spend some time too! :)

[kitarella_imagines]

yes, I'm the same, I can't force writing except occasionally. But it doesn't go well if I do, I find it's better just to wait and live life, til inspiration comes along.

I think reading other people's fics gives your imagination a rest, doesn't it 😊

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Sometimes, I just want to or have to, when trying to meet a deadline, but yeah, not sustainable. I get waiting for inspiration to hit on its own.

It definitely does. And way less stressful.

[kitarella_imagines]

Yes sometimes I want to meet a deadline, but it's usually a deadline of my own making. I want to get the ideas out of my head and into a story, so it feels complete. Only other writers understand that, don't we.

Did I show you this? Creative rest is a thing.

The 7 Kinds of Rest You Actually Need

https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/a-different-kind-of-therapy/202212/the-7-kinds-of-rest-you-need-to-actually-feel-rejuvenated

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I get that - I want to make my own deadlines but the person running this show (me lol) has no power over myself. Usually it's exchange deadlines that keep me on my toes because I am responsible for someone and have a commitment. That's part of the reason I signed up for so many in the past (and my fandom FOMO).

I haven't seen it! Thanks for sharing! I'm looking forward to reading it. :)

[kitarella_imagines]

Oh gosh I never ever sign up for things where I have a commitment. I have far too many of those in real life, so I prefer to keep fandom relaxed, easy, no pressure, just write what I want, when I want. There are some people online who are fixated by a tight schedule of posting, running communities, pushing fics out regularly etc. Each to their own but it would turn me right off fanfiction if I was tied to a schedule, argh! I do not mean you, I just mean 'people in general'.

Hope you like that article, I have to keep reminding myself: if my writing brain is tired, GIVE IT A REST. Don't ever push it.

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That makes sense. It really depends what kind of personality you have. I totally get wanting fandom to be a relaxed experience and how the additions of deadlines and having to write for someone else would be offputting.

That's a good thing to remind yourself of for sure. :)

[kitarella_imagines]

Oh yes, everyone is different and likes different things. I seem to have spent my life looking after everyone else though, so fanfics are my place for ME and doing exactly what III want to do. Not looking after yet more people.

We need to take care of our precious imaginations and brains don't we. I'd be lost if I couldn't create stories.

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Fair enough. It's important to curate your own fandom experience and do what it takes to get the most out of it and that involves realizing what doesn't work as well as what does.

Absolutely.

[kitarella_imagines]

We do need to curate, don't we. I see fandoms as escapism, no rules, just a place to enjoy myself 😊