Dear Yuletide Author

[Assignments went out earlier than I expected, so this isn't quite finished. Please check back in a day or two. Sorry for being flaky!!!]

[Update: Okay, it's ready now!]

First, thank you! I'm looking forward to this so much, and I hope you'll have fun writing.

As for what I like and don't like, there are very few things I would say a flat-out no to: graphic torture; prolonged graphic violence; incest; rape. What I really don't like to see is violence and cruelty normalized or justified. My attitude about explicit sex depends on the fandom, as noted in the prompts. In general, I prefer sex not to be the raison d'être of a story.  

Things I especially like:

• backstory, for both characters and setting
• underdogs
• outsider perspectives
• characters being in character
• appealing but flawed protagonists
• a setting that feels rich and real
• unexpected or incongruous friendships
• romance that goes against gender and/or sex stereotypes
• actually, anything that goes against gender and/or sex stereotypes
• non-sentimentalized parent-child relationships
• people working through difficult problems together
• respect for the original source (which can include being critical of it)
• slice of life stories
• endings with a sense of forward motion
• good grammar and spelling
• things I wouldn't think of myself (like what? I don't know!)

Most of all, I hope you write a story that you like and feel excited about.

Notes on specific prompts:

I know I put "see dear author letter for more details" on each prompt, but in fact I don't have a whole lot to add. I hope the above guidelines give you enough to work with.