Yuletide yay!

[sailorhathor]

yuletide is starting! YAY! I've had really good experiences with it the last couple years, which makes me all excited to participate once again. Always excited to see what my writing assigment will be, and then to see what fandom I get in the story written for me. ^_^

Last year, I wrote a "Degrassi High" story and was pleased with the good reactions I got to it. The fandom is a bit more active than I thought.

Now, here's my current nominations list. This may change.

I did not nominate "Miracles" because I knew deejay would and I didn't want to waste a nomination.

Degrassi High
Land of the Lost (1974)
John Carpenter's Vampires: Los Muertos
RPF - Def Leppard
Little House on the Prairie (tv)
The Uninvited (US Movie) ((New!!))

The reason this may change is because an announcement went up that says we can nominate albums. I really want to get in on this, but I need some guidance first. So I posted this comment to a mod post and hope to get some sort of idea of what I can expect if I make an album request or offer to write albums I know:

Are there some sort of guidelines for me to read somewhere about what I could expect to read or write if I request or offer to write for a song or album?

Here's where I'm having a problem: I love the idea, but it isn't so clean cut. With a music video, you have a pretty good idea of what you'll be reading/writing - something based on the visual story. But let's say you request/offer an album. What is that story supposed to be like? While some people may want an RPF story of what it was like for the band to make that album, others may want a story of OC's based on the album's theme. Without guidelines, I'd be hesitant to offer to write for an album even if I love it, because the person may request a type of story I'm VERY hesitant to write (RPF). It takes all the fun out of offering if you have to second guess this. Any help?

The reason why I'm worrying about this is because people demonstrate all the time that they aren't paying attention (just look at all the mistakes made in the nomination list), and I'd be afraid that someone who really should nominate/request RPF will instead request an album and then put in their specifics that they want RPF related to that album. And I don't want RPF sprung on me.

The thing is, I just have a personal problem with RPF. Some people write it well, but for the most part, I don't read it much. This isn't because of a moral objection, although I think people go way too far when they write that Jensen's father beat him and his sister became a hooker (an actual story I've seen). I can't get into it much of the time because I think it's ludicrous for anyone to think they can write any actor realistically because they "know" them through their public persona. That's just what it is, a persona. And I know this is because of my own personal crap. I've had family and friends whom I thought I knew backwards and forwards suddenly turn on me and show me a face I've never seen before and never could have expected. I thought I knew these people better than anything, but they proved that I didn't really know them at all. So, when I see someone write about the goings-on in the lives of their favorite actors, I can't help but scoff sometimes. Especially when these authors get compliments about how well they "know" the actor's personalities. I'm sorry, I don't mean to insult or offend any RPF/RPS writers, but I have a really hard time getting past this. If you can't even fully know someone you know in real life, then how can you know the true personality of a person you've never met?

I know that RPF is mostly about fantasy, that this is what we WISH they were really like, and writers like to expound on cute things they hear about the actors and their relationships. And I admit that I have my own ideas of what I want these actors to be like and what I think they really are like, so when I see someone contradict this, it bothers me. So, I'm not saying that people shouldn't write it. I'm just saying that I have some personal problems with it, and wouldn't want someone to spring it on me in a request for what should be about a song or an album.

Like, for years, I've wanted to write some RPF about Skeet Ulrich. But everytime I try to formulate it in my head, I start to feel ridiculous. I don't even know him. How can I say oh, this is how he would react? It's almost like I have to create my own fictional character named Skeet Ulrich. Then I feel like a stalker, writing about what his divorce must have been like for him, when how can I possibly know that? I feel conceited even trying to wrap my head around it, that I know how he felt. I don't know if I'll ever write my stories unless I can formulate some sort of disclaimer to put at the beginning that this is more a fictional representation of the actor than the actual actor, because how can I say that I could ever know this person I've never met. Something like that. O_O Same goes for my Def Leppard RPF ideas. I was completely comfortable writing it when I was 12 (lol), but now... it's like I'd be more comfortable basing characters on the band members with different names. For the most part. (For some reason, writing a Phil/Steve/Jackie wouldn't bother me. *shrug*)

If somebody else wants to write RPF for me, if I've requested it, though, that's different! :D Because if I've requested it, then they can give me more of what I want.

Yay, somebody responded to my comment and it looks like people get that the album/song requests are about the theme of the album, not the people who wrote it. I can safely offer to write some of this stuff without worrying about RPF being snuck in on me. ^_^

Now I have to think if I want to change any of my noms. I'd like to leave "Land of the Lost" in there, but let's face it, it's extremely unlikely I'm ever getting that story. I wanted to nom Ride with the Devil again as well, but I've requested it at least four years in a row and haven't gotten the story yet. I give up. (At least this year I do.)

Anyway, I can't wait until we make our requests and offerings!