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Day 8:
In your own space, create a love meme for yourself. Let people tell you how amazing and awesome and loveable you really are. Nope. Not gonna do that one.

Day 9:
In your own space, talk about what surprises you about fandom. It could be a pairing or fandom you never thought you'd like.

At first, the fact that fanfic existed surprised me. I guess we all figure we're the only one, although since I have been a member of Star Trek fandom for more than 30 years I suppose I shouldn't have been.

What surprised me most was the fact that sooo many people see Snape as gay. (Not that there's anything wrong with that, heh.) In the books, he never came across that way to me. But I have to say, I've read some amazing SS/RL, SS/SB, SS/LM fic over the years. My favorite is Power Play by islandsmoke. That story is one of the best I've read and it haunts me to this day. I re-read it often. It's BDSM with dominant Lupin and submissive Snape and smoke just makes it work. Guh. It's NC-17 and very, very hot.
Another one I like is RL/BW and was written by snegurochka_lee and islandsmoke together and is called Alpha Wolf. This is Lupin/Bill Weasley, with Lupin again dominant, this time protecting his position as the dominant wolf in the pack. Also NC-17 and very hot.
I like my slash with dominants. Heh. Oh, and mind the warnings on those two. Seriously.

Overall, I think those were my biggest surprises.

Day 10:

Stretch yourself a little and try something new. Go play in a new fandom or with a new pairing. Try working in a new medium. Or check out some fanworks that are new to you.

Ohhh, I did this and to spare during the hoggywartyxmas 2014 party! There are sooo many rare pairs...there's femslash, slash, gen, het...and the stories and art were outstanding this year. I am not comfortable enough to try new fandoms. Some that interest me:

Sherlock--I am not smart enough to write Sherlock, besides, I get an asexual vibe from him and I'm much better when there's romance or a hint of romance in the tale. Oh, he's gorgeous...gods. But I don't think I could convincingly write Sherlock.

Avengers--again, I don't think I know the characters well enough to do them justice. I came to the Marvel Universe sporadically (I read mostly DC Comics--Batman FTW) through the years and only really became a fan when Iron Man came out. And, like Sherlock, I am not smart enough to write Tony Stark, Black Widow, Bruce Banner and the rest.

LOTR--another interest, but again, not confident enough to try writing in that world.

I've done Star Trek, but not online. And the OCs in the tale were the main focus of the plot.

I have done a couple of rare pairs in the HP universe:

Neville/Luna in The Morning After.
Lily/Kingsley in Just Once

If someone wants to suggest a rare pair (I prefer het) in the comments, I'll write you a drabble.

Day 11:

In your own space, post a rec for fannish and/or creative resources. Leave a comment in this post saying you did it.

Easy-peasy. My main fannish resources:

The HP books, of course.

The Harry Potter Lexicon. I have liked this website for years, I just wish the owner hadn't tried to profit off of it, because it tainted it a bit for me. But, it's still the best for detailed canon info on spells, witches/wizards, timelines, potions, beasts, etc. Every HP story I've written, I've used that site to one degree or another.

The Harry Potter Wiki. Loads of detail on that site. It includes not only the books, but the movies, Pottermore, the video games, etc. A bit more effort to search/find what you want, but still well done.

Creative resources:

I use Thesaurus & Dictionary mostly, although I do have several printed thesaurus' and dictionaries on my resource bookshelves. My HP books (all of them plus Fantastic Beasts and several UK versions) are on one shelf behind where I sit at my desk, my resource materials are on the shelf beneath them. I also use Garner's Modern American Usage.

I've also used online rhyming dictionary, online Encylopedia, & online fantasy name generator.

Whew, now I'm all caught up!