dear Yuletide writer

[watch this space]

Hello, new friend! I'm so happy you're here! (And thank you so much for your patience while I had a particularly difficult autumn. As of November 9 I think I'm coming to a place where I can disembark from the struggle bus. Let's keep our fingers crossed.)

I love Yuletide, and you will have an easy time pleasing me and a hard time disappointing me. Fear not. Let's have a great time together.

The fellow fan and Yuletider who knows me best is ellen_fremedon (fremedon), who has agreed that you can ping her if you need insider info.

My general DNWs as I listed them in my signup (did I? I should have. I usually do.) are these:

• character bashing, which I define more or less as giving characters negative traits that are not evident in the text—making nice people mean, mainly, because all the rest is just variations on that (making thoughtful people selfish, for example; it's all the same) (I used to say "making smart people stupid" as another example, but the older I get, the more I leave that kind of thinking behind, I think.)
• 2016+ U.S. politics, because I am here for escapism

That's it. Those are the DNWs. Other than that, I don't have a lot to add to ( my requests: )

If I have further thoughts, I will return and post them here, but like I said, you can also approach Ellen if the signup/this letter leaves you stumped and you need insight.

As we have also been asked in the past to affirm that treats are also welcome, let me assure you: Treats are also welcome! In fact, all the opt-ins you could ever opt in to are also great. Go wild. ❤️

Have a great time and happy Yuletide!