drabbles

[sophinisba]

Sometimes I angst over not wanting to look like a feedback whore, but then I think, what's the problem? Who doesn't like feedback? What is there to be ashamed of? But mostly I get embarrassed when I do multiple posts for something that isn't all that long and would fit just fine in one. I don't want people to think the reason for the multiple posts is that I want them to comment on every one, when the real reason is that the parts are separate and they just feel like they should go in separate posts. This was especially true of the Stokely set I did last summer where I wanted people to feel okay about reading some parts but not all of them. The hobbit drabbles I'm doing now, eh, I started this morning and didn't get all that far. I just haven't been writing very much lately and even 1500 words seemed somehow like too big a goal, so I determined to get the first set of three done tonight and then see about the rest in the next week or two.

Every once in a while I see someone say disparaging things about drabbles. This is usually someone I don't know commenting in a discussion in fanthropology or linked from metafandom, talking about how in the good old days people used to write epics, but now with LJ writers have figured out that they get more comments for shorter posts, so they've stopped bothering with the epics, and that is a sad thing.

There is probably some truth to this, and I am certainly in favor of fanfic epics and wish there were more of them around, but I'd also like to say that I really, really like drabbles. I like writing them (though I never seem to manage just one, always have to make sets of them) and I like reading them. They are a nice way of checking out something by an author you haven't read before. They are a nice opportunity to comment and say, "Hello, I like you're writing! It's nice to see you post!" (and then the author can say, "Thank you! It's nice to hear from you!") whereas if the author only ever adds chapters to her epic, and perhaps that happens to be an epic about a pairing you don't care for, or has more angst than you can handle, or for some other reason just can't sustain your interest, there are less chances to get to know her.

Hee, the veterans at the meta discussions where I lurk would probably be pretty disgusted with me right now. Seriously, long fics are great and sticking with them is very admirable, but for me it is nice when there are short fics too. And also drabbles can be pretty awesome in their own right as far as saying a lot with very few words. I especially like drabbles that kick you in the gut with the last line, though I know mine don't usually do that.

And then there are longish fics that are made of drabbles and I think that is very cool too, and maybe I will do one of those someday but it will have to be for a subject that fits the form well and not just because I like knowing when a paragraph is finished. I just started reading another of semaphore27's awesome Monaboyd fics, one called Lost, in which Billy and Dom are in a plane crash and get stranded on a tiny island in the Pacific. The first few chapters are all long strings of drabbles and it works really well because they're Dom's POV as he's just coming to understand what's happened and then trying to swim to shore, and the pauses between the drabbles feel a little like being on the edge of consciousness. The form and the effect reminded me of another fic I love (I can't remember if I've recced it here before), danachan's Upon a Field of Gold, about Merry taking care of Pippin at Cormallen.

Comments

[baranduin.livejournal.com]

I've always loved drabbles, especially after I got set straight on exactly what a drabble is! I'm afraid my first self-styled drabble was way over 100 words, but I didn't make the boo boo again :-)

but yeah, I love drabbles. They're like a really good amuse bouche -- one perfect bite. Doesn't take the place of longer fics, but in themselves they are such a delight. And for me these days, since I don't read all that much fic and for that reason stay away from multi-part WIPs, having the shorter stuff (whether drabble length or longer) is a real benefit for me.

[sophinisba]

Doesn't take the place of longer fics, but in themselves they are such a delight.

Yes! They do just what they are supposed to do and can really be very satisfying.

Sometimes I write something and it's, you know, 97 words or 102, and I spend an hour trying to get it to 100, and I keep thinking, Why do I do this? Why do I care whether it's exactly 100? But I keep fiddling until it is and that can feel so good. I think that's another part of why I like them, knowing that it's part of a fandom tradition. And I love that fanfic writers can rely on the readers to fill in so much of the context around those few words. Fanfic is great.

[shirebound]

There can never be enough feedback, and there can never be enough drabbles.

:D

[sophinisba]

Feedback causes happiness and encourages more fic, and those are two very good things!

[claudia603.livejournal.com]

I adore drabbles...to me I see it as a fun challenge, to get those exact 100 words just right and to pack a punch in them if possible...

But I adore epics and long fics as well! But I do have to say that the fic I got the very most feedback on was one of those "Five Things" ficlets that was probably about the length of a drabble... :-) But I'm with you -- nothing wrong with wanting feedback or wanting to express something in words and having people communicate with you about it!

[sophinisba]

I do love it when drabbles have punch! Yeah, it's true we put our heart and soul and a LOT of time into the long fics and then get more comments on something written in half and hour... But still! Comments yay! More fic yay! Fic of all shapes and sizes and pairings and genres for all kinds of tastes!

[rubynye.livejournal.com]

Every once in a while I see someone say disparaging things about drabbles. This is usually someone I don't know commenting in a discussion in fanthropology or linked from metafandom, talking about how in the good old days people used to write epics, but now with LJ writers have figured out that they get more comments for shorter posts, so they've stopped bothering with the epics, and that is a sad thing.

*swats those people from afar*

Whenever I see someone say that I have to sit on my hands to not flame them, for several reasons. Among those reasons are that they've turned a matter of taste into a matter of morality: instead of drabbles not being to their personal taste, they've made drabbles out to be Bad. Also, I still see many epics and WIPs written every day, on the fandom newsletters I frequent.

For my part, I rarely read epics; they aren't to *my* taste, usually. And I love drabbles and their allies. But I'd never discourage anyone from writing epics, just encourage them to write drabbles.

[sophinisba]

they've turned a matter of taste into a matter of morality

And that's just what we need in fandom, no? People imposing their personal tastes on us. :D

I almost never join in meta discussions with people I don't know and trust already. I tried it once and it went rather badly...

Me, I like me a good angsty novel-length fic, and there's maybe one epic that I've stuck with all the way through. But it's like Lora said, with a drabble there are different goals, and some people do really amazing things with short fics, and that is worthy of celebration as well.

[danachan.livejournal.com]

I think drabbles are great, and I used to not get them but like to think that now I do; they can do so much in such a small amount of space, and they don't have to be something you just knock off. You end up putting real effort into them, I think. But, well, that is just what I think.

Also, it is nice to have short things to read, because I am not big on WIPs, as you know, and limit my intake of them; also, short things are just nice to read!

But they don't take place of the longer pieces, and even epics have their place. But drabbles have theirs, too.

:)

That all said, drabbles are great!

[danachan.livejournal.com]

Also, I meant to say, thank you :D I still love Upon a Field of Gold. And I am glad you like it too, omg.

[sophinisba]

♥ *cuddles broken but hopeful and loving hobbits*