snowflake challenge #5

[svgurl]

Challenge #5:
Talk about what has improved in your life thanks to fandom.

Where to even begin? I don't know if I can say in so many words exactly what fandom has improved in my life, but it definitely has. It's exposed me to so much more than I would've ever seen or experienced, having grown up a little sheltered. It allowed me to connect with all types of people that I may have gotten a chance to interact with otherwise and those interactions, big and small, brightened my life.

I also learned skills I wouldn't have thought to. Being in fandom and writing fanfic made me a better writer, thanks to practice, and I got to learn more graphic skills, which has made things more fun. It's also given me a sense of comfort, knowing that even if I can't always give it my all or have to back off for a while, it will still be there, even if it may look a little different than when I left it.

These are the kind of questions that always leave me blanking out so I will leave it short and simple by saying that I don't know exactly how it has improved my life. It just has. I'm grateful to still be around and have a chance to be apart of it.

Comments

[ragnarok_08]

I'm so glad fandom has improved a lot in your life :)

[svgurl]

Thank you! It really has. :D

[barbaratp]

Às vezes a gente só não consegue visualizar como seria a nossa vida sem essa parte do fandom, pois é tão intrínseco do nosso ser que sem ele seríamos outro alguém. Eu amo como todos sempre falam como a escrita melhorou e se ampliou.

[svgurl]

That's exactly how I feel. It just feels so entwined with who I am for so long that I don't what I would be like without it. And same! I feel like a lot of us have gotten a chance to improve our writing and artistic sides because of the practice we wouldn't have otherwise gotten.

[kitarella_imagines]

Writing a lot definitely improves our style doesn't it. I look back at some old fics of mine and think, OMG what was I thinking? What did I mean by that? What terrible dialogue. etc. 😅

[svgurl]

It really does! And I can totally relate to cringing when reading my old fanfiction. At least it's proof that we've gotten better. :D

[kitarella_imagines]

Yes it's great to feel good about our improving style isn't it. I've often re-edited my old fics because some parts don't make sense.

The no. 1 thing that bugs me about fics is when writers don't start a new line for each new person who speaks or acts. Then I don't know who is saying and doing what and it gets confusing.

[svgurl]

It does. Sometimes, growth is so gradual that you don't really feel or realize it but it's nice to have visual proof. I get that. I think did that once when an older fic was bothering me, with characterization.

Yeah, I am not a fan when it's all clumped together either. That, and when people don't know how to punctuate dialogue. It is just too distracting.

[kitarella_imagines]

That is a good point- we can look back on our collection of fics and see our progress. That's probably a major reason I like putting them on AO3 or SW- it's like my library. I'm a bit of an obsessive re-editor, I go back every so often and make a few changes. Like chiselling at a sculpture.

Yes, things that make us stop and re-read paragraphs to work out what is going on, are not good are they 😕

[svgurl]

There's something comforting about having tangible proof like that, even if you do never go back to look at where you began. And yes, I can get that. Haha well, that's what the edit function is there for. I only use it if I find a typo but I can understand the temptation.

Nope. I know we all start somewhere, but there are just too many fanfics out there and not enough time for me to wade through the ones I need a little extra patience for.

[kitarella_imagines]

Yes it's like 'I made this.' And if the worst came to the worst, we could download the PDFs or whatever, like our bookshelf. I obviously have copies of all my fics in Word but the downloaded ones would be like actual books. I think you can download them onto Kindle as well.

That's a good and bad thing isn't it- there's a wide choice of fics, but also there are so many that some of the best fics don't get read. And there's definitely no time for wading through badly written ones, even if the story is brilliant.

[svgurl]

For sure, it is always good to have backups. I don't know about the kindle aspect but I wouldn't be surprised if you can do that there too.

True, there's something for almost everyone at least! And popularity doesn't always quality and vice versa but it really depends what people are drawn to. Unfortunately true. I sometimes am really intrigued by the plot but I just can't bring myself to scroll through it.

[kitarella_imagines]

yes I think there's an option to download in a Kindle-friendly version.

There's a fic I'm bracing myself to read because it's a Choose Your Own Adventure, and I know some of the options are sad/ violent so I can't bring myself to read it, although I want to compliment the author. I'll get there in the end 😅

[svgurl]

Now that you mention it, I have heard people downloading fics to Kindle in the past. I just didn't remember.

Well, good luck! Those are pretty cool, but you don't have to pressure yourself to read all the options. That's why there are choices.

[kitarella_imagines]

Good point about the choices. I know some of the paths are awful, but some are cute. Maybe I'll stick to the nice, cute ones 😅

[svgurl]

That's a good idea! Fanfic is supposed to be fun and if you don't enjoy the darker themes, there's no need to force yourself. I'm sure the author isn't expecting everyone to read all of them anyway. :)

[kitarella_imagines]

So what I did was quickly read the awful paths because I was curious, then rush to find the cute, nice paths where the characters end up in love and married 💞

It is a great story though, I left a lovely comment for the clever author, I hope they return some time to read it.

[svgurl]

I get the temptation to just find out, even if you know you won't like it. Sounds like your plan worked out!

That's good you enjoyed it. And I am sure the author will appreciate the feedback.

[kitarella_imagines]

It did work out, thanks. I just got a reply to a comment I wrote one year ago, so hopefully the Choose Your Own Adventure author will return soon too😊

[svgurl]

Good! I know from experience what it is like to get backed up on replying to comments so hopefully they come back too. :)

[kitarella_imagines]

Hopefully! 😊

[tjs_whatnot]

I'm finding I'm also having a hard time articulating it, but I have enjoyed reading other people's attempts. ❤️❤️

[svgurl]

I totally get that and I am enjoying reading about other people too! It's nice to be reminded of things I forgot when I was doing this. ♥ :D

[vendettadays]

This was a lovely answer to this challenge - I feel the same way with fandom <3

[svgurl]

Thank you! It's always nice to hear from that people feel similar too. ♥ :D

[bradygirl_12]

Fandom can mean so many things to so many people. Definitely improves writing! ☺️

Creativity makes you happy. 😍

[svgurl]

It does and yes, for sure. I wouldn't have ever taken the time to do as much as I have otherwise. :D

Agreed!

[tellshannon815]

Honestly it has me blanking a bit right now, so I'm distracting myself with the 3 sentence ficathon, but determined to get to it.

[svgurl]

I totally get that. I almost left but figured I would just give it a shot. And that is a good distraction! I love that it's running again. :D

[royalblue31]

It's exposed me to so much more than I would've ever seen or experienced, having grown up a little sheltered

Ooof, you got me straight in the heart with this one! Hard agree!

[svgurl]

I don't think I realized how sheltered I was until I got to college but yeah, fandom really helps you realize it too, thanks to interacting with people from all over and in different circumstances/situations.

[used_songs]

I also learned skills I wouldn't have thought to.

That's really true. I have had to figure out how to do different things in order to get the written or visual effects that I wanted and I could do that for work or whatever, but it's much more fun and rewarding to do it for something in fandom space.

[svgurl]

I can imagine! It is definitely great to be able to use your skills in your regular work life too but so much more enjoyable when it comes to fandom. :D

[silveradept]

People and practice at skills have been pretty common answers among the people I've seen so far, which is lovely, because it means so many people have had such a good time and finding other friends and neat things to explore.

[svgurl]

That's what I've seen too and it is pretty cool! It is nice that we have this shared experience. :D

[ultra_fic]

I think your answer to this could've been my answer, if someone gave me the same question! Fandom is so wonderful for opening us up to people and things that we just wouldn't otherwise have known, isn't it? I love it, and I know that fanfiction has helped me improve my writing ten-fold at least. Glad you've found so many positives in it, as I have :)

[svgurl]

Nice! And yes, it definitely is. I'm glad that you've found so much good from fandom as well. :D

[musyc]

It's also given me a sense of comfort, knowing that even if I can't always give it my all or have to back off for a while, it will still be there, even if it may look a little different than when I left it.

Yessssssssssssssssssss! Very much so!

[svgurl]

As someone who has left and come back multiple times, I've found it to be true and I appreciate it! :D

[ngtskynebula]

Oh, I can see where you're coming from; it got me reflecting a lot, too, and since participating in the fansphere can be very diverse, it's hard to properly express oneself in regards to its relevance... food for thought. No problem in not being able to communicate your feels, though, you can just feel it and leave it at that. What's important is to take the time to think it over, from time to time!

I've also learned many things thanks to fandom. It's an incredible space for creative people.

[svgurl]

Apologies for the late response! I didn't see this comment. And that is all true. It is definitely good to reflect on, even if you can't totally write out what you're feeling. There's not always a need to. :D

It is! I'm glad it helped you too.