Five Things Make a Post

[pedanther]

1. "Listen" was a case in point for something I've often said about Doctor Who: it was never the monsters that made me want to hide behind the sofa, it was the socially awkward bits. The monster in "Listen" was interesting, but the bit that made me do the adult equivalent of hiding behind the sofa (which in my case is Casually Deciding To Go And Get A Glass Of Water And Then Hovering In The Doorway Until The Scary Bit Is Over) was the second restaurant scene.

Which is why I'm really not looking forward to this week's episode.


2. The Yuletide fanfic exchange is starting up again for another year. I participated for the first time last year, and enjoyed it, but I'm not sure if I'll go in again this year; I have more on my plate right now, and unlike last year I don't have one particular goal that I really want to achieve and have only one year to achieve it in.


3. I have a next door neighbour who I only ever seem to talk to about once a year when I'm in the backyard looking over something some yobbo's made a mess of and she sticks her head over the fence to commiserate because they've made a mess in her backyard too. It's nice to have a friendly person to talk to in the circumstances, but one could wish the circumstances were otherwise.


4. Every now and again, I'll come into possession of a foreign coin that's been floating around playing the role of an Australian coin for a succession of people who haven't looked at it closely. The latest one is the colour and approximately the shape and size of a 20 cent coin, but is actually a 20 franc coin from French Polynesia.


5. I've been growing a moustache for my role in The Duchess of Coolgardie, and it's prompted a remarkable number of unrelated people to comment that I look like Freddie Mercury.

Comments

[swordznsorcery.livejournal.com]

Looking like Freddie Mercury can only be a good thing. More people should look like Freddie Mercury. You get bonus points if you have a four octave range, and look good in tights. ;)

Have you tried (http://fandom_stocking.dreamwidth.org/profile)fandom_stocking (http://fandom_stocking.dreamwidth.org/)? So much less pressure than Yuletide, as you only need post something if you want; there's no sign ups. There is a deadline though, obviously.

Foreign coins rock. I used to collect them when I was a kid. I had a paper round, and used to come across them all the time. They always seem so much more interesting than your own!

[pedanther]

I don't actually mind the commitment; in "only need post something if you want" situations, I tend to second-guess myself and end up not posting anything. Having a commitment, a deadline, and a penalty gives me a chance of actually finishing something. (Having prompts also helps. If "no commitment necessary" isn't my writing nemesis, it's "write anything you like".)

The most difficult part of Yuletide for me is thinking of something to ask for. I got over that hump last year because, for once, I really wanted fic about a particular thing, and once I had one request I managed to come up with a few more by thinking about my favourite obscure fandoms and looking at what other people had nominated. But I don't want anything in particular this time out, and I'm not feeling any enthusiasm for recycling the leftover requests from last year.

[swordznsorcery.livejournal.com]

I quite understand! It's the main reason why I've never taken part as well, although the rigid framework does also put me off a little.

Fandom Stocking was fun last year, as there were some good prompts lying about, but vague ones aren't exactly inspiring, no!

[igenlode.livejournal.com]

I have to say that I'm not that enthused about Danny Pink: I'm glad that they're not trying to pair the Doctor off with his assistant, but a little less focus on Clara's lovelife would be nice...

(It's got to the stage now when I was really hoping in the last episode that he'd go off and have a solo adventure that week without her -- or with this stroppy new child from Coal Hill. Which is not a good sign!)