Fandom Snowflake Challenge (Day 2)

[talkingtothesky]

Day 2

In your own space, share a favorite memory about fandom: the first time you got into fandom, the last time a fanwork touched your heart, crazy times with fellow fans (whether on-line or off-line), a lovely comment you’ve received or have left for someone.

Oh gosh, so many memories! The one that springs to mind re. crazy times with fellow fans offline is the Life on Mars Manchester meetup. Six of us (from multiple countries) arranged to rent a flat for a week. We walked a ridiculous amount, searching for filming locations, and visited the police museum, and went second-hand cosplay shopping, and it was just. Awesome. I'm so, so lucky to have been a part of that. So many in-jokes! Such a sense of belonging and friendship and SO much laughter. I'm still in touch with some, have lost track of others. I dearly hope that wherever you folks are, you remember that week as fondly as I have. 

Last month, I sent fannish greeting cards to my friends and they responded by taking a photo of their card and describing how happy they were to open it, and that is the bestttttt feeling. 

Since 2015, I've been keeping a gratitude list in a spreadsheet and I record all my favourite comments there. If you're a writer, I really recommend doing this. When you feel less than confident about your writing, you can read through that list again. It helps. It really helps.

Comments

[jainas]

Wow, that week sounds like it was very awesome! Such a good memory!

A gratitude list sounds fabulous, it's such a great idea! I'm not sure I'm organized enough to pull it off, but it makes me want to try! :)

[talkingtothesky]

Amaaaazing memory.

Please try! When you get the email notification from AO3 is a good point to stop and go wait hang on I'm gonna copy/paste this. Although I guess that only works if you're on PC, not mobile, when you read it.

[jainas]

I started one! We will see if I can keep it up!
Thank you for the inspiration! <3

[avon7]

Wow, a week get-together! That must have been fabulous. I'm still trying to pick a favourite memory to write about but GTs would be right up there.

[talkingtothesky]

It was my first and to-date only holiday with friends instead of family. Sooo much fun. :D

Good luck choosing your memory!

[jadesfire]

Good heavens, that's such a cool thing to do. Sounds like you had an amazing week!

[talkingtothesky]

Thank you, we really did! Imagine a group of slash fans watching tv making smutty jokes every five seconds. In person. It was bonkers and I loved it.

[inkstone]

Oh wow, that gratitude list is a fabulous idea!!

[talkingtothesky]

Thank you! I started it when I was feeling low, then just kept doing it. It ensures I remember the good things.

[pensnest]

Ah! You are the first person I've heard about who does Camp Sparkle and isn't a Camp Sparkle person - by which I mean, I've been part of a group of fans who started having a holiday together in a rented cottage about, hmm, I think our first one was back in 2007. We've been doing it every year since - though it's less about our original fandom now, more about getting together, doing many silly things and some sightseeing, and having a good time. A wonderful experience.

[talkingtothesky]

Camp Sparkle? What a fantastic name! :D

[smallhobbit]

That sounds like a great week. It really is fun going somewhere fandom relevant with fandom friends. (When I finally post I shall include visiting the Reichenbach Falls with Sherlock Holmes fangirls.)

[talkingtothesky]

visiting the Reichenbach Falls with Sherlock Holmes fangirls.
!!! Ohhhhhh my goodness <333

[spikedluv]

That sounds like a glorious week!!!

Oh, that spreadsheet sounds like a great idea!

[sunlit_stone]

Oh, wow, that sounds like a lot of fun! Not to mention really cool.

I've saved some comments that have meant a lot to me pretty haphazardly, but it hadn't occurred to me to put them in a spreadsheet. That's a great idea!

[hyperfocused]

What a great trip experience! And the spreadsheet is genius. I’ve tried haphazardly to keep my favorite feedback collected, but never thought to do it so efficiently. (If I had, I wouldn’t have had to spend an hour yesterday trying to find that one comment I wanted to share for Snowflake. (I couldn’t remember which story it was on, or if it was on my LJ or a comm.)

[little_cello]

COME ON MEN!!! JOLLY SHOWERS!!!!

I'm so glad I'm not the only one still thinking back to that week with fond memories. ♥ It triggered a lot of things, and (as with the first time we visited Manchester in 2013) I remember thinking, "will I maybe end up living here one day?" - and now that almost four years have passed and I look back on the time spent then... Ahhhh it fills me with a lot of feelings. It was a glorious week, and I'm glad we managed to get it all together before the fandom went to sleep. :')

[mf_luder_xf]

Wow, how fun! I've always wished I could do something like that, so thanks for sharing your experience.