#fic writers retreat UK

[thefastestqueeralive]

Hey there! I bet you're not the only one who'd like a fic retreat in the UK. There's no one to petition about this. You could even plan one yourself! This is not a big event...the most we've ever had is about 22 people. All there really is to it is to pick a date that works for you and then make it happen. Even if it only gets a handful of people, it's worth it. First year I did this one (2016) there were 7 of us...but we made some memories and started a community.

Maybe you were just idly wishing, which is absolutely fine, but if you think you might like to take this on, you can definitely hit me up for more details about how I do this one.

Certainly not an idle wish at all!

If someone would be so kind as to point me in the direction of where to start I would love to meet other writers and just fanboy about my headcanons with likeminded people

[thedogsled]

Do you ever just read Christmas movie titles and think how much better the films would be/how much more fun they’d instantly be if they were queer stories? I do. It’s my hobby. In fact it’s probably the only thing that gets me through the holiday period. Christmas films are typically terrible anyway and they’ve made so much trash now that UK freeview has a whole channel that just plays trashy Xmas films round and round, so why not examine this phenomenon with some examples, and share the dubious fun and inspiration of my holiday habit. (Quality of original movies is not under interrogation, mind, and some of these actually sound like fics I’ve read, but I’ll get back to that in a minute...)

Here goes. Imagine your OTP, I guess?

A cynical TV executive accidentally knocks herself out while railing against the disappointments of her life. She wakes up to find herself in another world, where she is married to another woman and they have two children. As she comes to realise she is not dreaming, she must decide which life she wants to live.

This next one is the plot of Bride Wars but I beg you to imagine it rewritten as a crossfandom story with your two OTPs please. The Rainbow Wedding Show Down. Anything you can imagine would be miles better than this movie anyway.

Two lifelong best friends discover their weddings have been scheduled on the same day and at the same venue. Neither is prepared to back down, so a bitter rivalry ensues as years of friendship are cast aside in the struggle to sabotage each other's big day.

I haven’t seen this one, and it’s got Shatner in it, so the version in my imagination is already much better. Also it’s the 6000th retelling of a Christmas Carol to nobody’s surprise ever. WHY? I just imagine the Hallmark execs sitting their writers down and saying “Right, we need at least ten new Christmas Carol based movies this year, we need unique new suggestions, but don’t say ‘except that she has a girlfriend’ or you’re insta-fired.”

A professor is torn between staying in her hometown and marrying the woman she loves or travelling across the country to pursue her dream job. One night, a mysterious coachman offers her a chance to travel three years into the future to see how her decision pans out. 

I am 100% sure I’ve read the fic. If not, someone should write it for me anyway.

A New York teacher prepares to bring his new boyfriend, a diplomat from a small European nation, home to meet his parents at Christmas. However, he gets a shock when he learns that said boyfriend is secretly the heir to his country's throne - and his parents do not approve of their relationship.

Oh my god the fluff /suffocates underneath the cotton softness of this prompt. I’d imagine my OTP, but, you know, one of them is afraid of flying...

A single father invites a flight attendant to spend Christmas with him and his daughter after he misses his connection.

*pteradactylBisexual screeching noises* Or maybe this is a polyamory story WE JUST DON’T KNOW.

A woman is thrilled after her boyfriend invites her to his family's lake house for Christmas, but is disappointed when he spends all his time working. She befriends his assistant, but is unaware that she is secretly in love with her until a twist of fate leaves them alone together.

The heterosexualness is genuinely killing me by this point, I’m suffering for all of you. Also I’m changing the gender of this one because all the romance stories are about sad lonely white women. Gee, better wish for a man to come and save you from your miserable empty lives, ladies! HAPPY CHRISTMAS!

A man loses his job, his flat and his boyfriend just before Christmas - all thanks to his mischievous pet dog. A co-worker invites him to come and spend the holiday with him on his farm, and the experience leaves him torn between pursuing a new life in the country or trying to rebuild his old city life. 

If you read the next one without heteronormativity goggles on it’s already gay. This one could go so many ways. In the straight version I imagine the boss is a harpy and the designer destroys his existing relationship... /Googles for a second. Oh wait, I’ve seen this one. Yes. That is what happens, to absolutely nobody’s surprise. Nothing’s more Christmassy than this bitch, amirite? It would make an amazing polyamory story, I really wish that was what I’d watched instead.

An aspiring designer impulsively kisses a man she meets in a lift, only to discover he is her boss's boyfriend. She is given the task of decorating his house for a lavish Christmas party, but begins to fall in love with him - while he does not remember their previous encounter.

The next one leaves me in a weird position because I’ve watched the “queer” version already /bitter noises about 2007. The only difference is that this one is actually a romance, because presumably the two of them slowly realize that they do love each other, and that, my friends, is one of my favorite fanfic tropes ever, so...

Sparks fly between a graphic designer and his male counterpart when they agree to a loveless marriage of convenience to help each other out. 

Next. I’m just saying if you complicate this plot a little bit with Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell it becomes a heartbreaking story of discovery and community coming together instead of just another bland romance with a 6.1 on IMDB.

A war widow and an injured soldier join forces to save the town's military museum with a Christmas fundraiser.

I could go on. This is just two days of programming, mostly on the aforementioned 24 hour Christmas channel. Girl meets boy in suffocating heterosexual repeat. But you know what? As a reader and a writer of fanfiction, it just makes me feel so lucky to be in this community where these stories DO exist, where I can click a button and read a story about a grumpy police detective who bonds with his male partner when they get trapped in a lift together on Christmas day. Cause they ain’t gonna put it on TV.

The severe lack of anything warm wholehearted and queer for any holiday makes me angry, nvm the fact that in these stories only white women experience romance, they’re only ever romanced by white guys, and having a decent job means you’re doomed to loneliness forever. So while you can tear my hideously tropey smushy hurt comfort fanfic from my cold dead hands, at least I have “And there was only one bed” to retreat back to. In the greater scheme of things, tis the season to stab Straight White Christmas in the eye for marginalizing everybody else as well HOHOHO ASSHOLES. 

P.S. Fuck you, NBC, for suggesting that Holiday in Handcuffs is a gay movie because it has a gay side character, and fuck you Hallmark Publishing, who a year ago said same sex relationships are fine, and they’d be up for making movies about the content they published, but to this day only straight (white) books have been put on the market. Nice. Well guess what, I have a greetings card for you:

[damajority]

DaMajority Fresh Article https://www.damajority.com/alvina-reynolds-launches-her-first-book/

Alvina Reynolds launches her first book

Alvina Reynolds launches her first book

Alvina Reynolds, former Minister of Health and Parliamentary Representative for Babonneau launches her first book on Wednesday December 11th at the Pastoral Centre, Marisule at 7 pm.

With her first publication, Step forward with faith, Ms Reynolds joins other Saint Lucian writers who have been contributing to our respected body of literature with their personal memoirs. These include Martha Isaac, Cornelius Robinson, Cletus Springer, Marcellus Joseph, Anderson Reynolds, Vernon Francois, David Samuels among others. This prose non-fiction genre is growing in quantity and quality alongside our well-known and internationally-recognised works of poetry, fiction and drama.

These biographies by Saint Lucians provide a valuable social and cultural history of Saint Lucia, covering all communities and across varied interests and occupations.

Ms Reynolds writes with enthusiasm about her childhood in Fond Assau, Babonneau, its neighborhoods and personalities, various dramatic adventures, her teaching career, educational studies in the UK and her life as a politician and Minister of Health. She touches on community issues: crime, abuse, diseases like AIDS and Dengue with an account of her close-up view of these and how she met the challenges as a Parliamentary Representative.

We also get an account of her travels with special attention to time spent in Kenya. 

Through the accounts and reflected in the title, we meet a woman for whom a strong Christian faith is the foundation and guide for her life’s activities and involvements. Bible quotations anchor the chapters, and form the headings of many.

Step forward with faith is a faith-devotional as well as a memoir of a woman dedicated to her home community and the people of Saint Lucia. Ms. Reynolds has in recent times extended her contributions to Saint Lucian life as host of a popular talk-show titled “Step Forward.”

  Alvina Reynolds was born and raised in the community of Babonneau in the island of Saint Lucia, where she continues to reside. She is a passionate praise-and-worship leader. She has been a Teacher, School Guidance Counsellor, and a Health and Family Life Consultant. She has served a five-year term in the Parliament of Saint Lucia as the representative for the constituency of Babonneau and was also a Government Minister with responsibility for Health, Wellness, Human Services and Gender Relations.

  Ms. Reynolds holds a Bachelor of Philosophy in Education from the University of Birmingham and a Masters of Arts (Merit) in International Social Work and Community Development from the University of East London

  Most Reverend Gabriel Malzaire, Saint Lucian Bishop of the Diocese of Dominica, has written of Ms Reynold’s new publication: “This book “Step Forward With Faith reflects the multi-faceted and multi-talented nature of the author in the midst of struggles and disappointments, fears and uncertainties, all giving way to successful outcomes through her prayerful interventions. Very evident in her exposé is the love for family and community, giving context to her personality, and indicative of the strength of her faith which has influenced her life and activities. They will ever remain as great lessons for a culture which is wanting of solid structures on which to build the present and future generations. This is her first publication written while on a recent two-month retreat in Kenya, East Africa “

  The book launch will be hosted by FICS and Ms. Reynolds’ Step Forward Publications.