A Distraction at the Bus Stop

Well, I recently took part in my very first gift exchange over at acd_holmesfest. Thought I'd have a go at recording my experiences.

There were positive and negative aspects for me. I have to say that from signing up to handing over the story I found it hellishly stressful. It's been a while since I worried so much about my writing. I actually wrote my story twice - I'd written 3,500 words, done a fair amount of revising and pretty much finished the thing when I thought: this is awful. It was boring for me, let alone any potential readers. I started again from the beginning, writing the story in a different way. Cutting down on the plot and bumping up the jokes ^^

I did seriously think about asking the mods to find someone else to write for my recipient. What kept me going in the end wasn't the thought that I'd be letting my recipient down (I think thesmallhobbit would have got a better deal :P), rather it was the thought I'd be letting everyone down by not doing my bit. Some poor soul would be writing me a fic but I wouldn't have done anything to deserve it. (The poor soul was in fact methylviolet10b. I hadn't realised that, as a new girl who didn't really know anyone, a mod would be writing my gift ^^" You can find her wonderful story here.)

It can't be much fun for the mods, but I think I understand now why people sometimes drop out. It's an acute kind of stage fright - the knowledge that your work is going to be on show alongside that of seriously accomplished writers. I must admit, it was a relief to eventually discover that, though there were no poor pieces, there was a definite range of abilities amongst the participants. My fic did fit somewhere.

The part of the fest I completely enjoyed though was the commenting. I loved the camaraderie of reading, and viewing the art alongside the other members, and seeing what they thought. During the previous round I did have a bit of a go at commenting. But I was self-conscious and terrified of giving offence - so what I said was brief and stilted. This time I felt like part of the gang and was relaxed enough to be my usual self. Because I was taking part in the fest, I felt like I'd earned the right to comment on the other pieces.

And following on from that thought... It's taken quite a while but I think I'm starting to find my feet on LJ. I've followed thesmallhobbit's excellent lead and got involved in a couple more comms: I've written two pieces so far for fan_flashworks. And I've signed up to do recs for watsons_woes in December. (Just about to start work on my first fic for the comm as well.) sherlock60 is still my base but it's no longer the only place where I feel at home. I've begun having contact with people outside of sherlock60, and I think I'm teetering on the edge of becoming part of a bigger group of friends and becoming a more integral part of LJ. It's a nice feeling ^^