Sophinisba Solis (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
sophinisba) wrote2007-05-09 07:01 pm
sophinisba) wrote2007-05-09 07:01 pm
Entry tags:
LJ and fanfic
Here is a new meme also inspired partly by this post by ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
elanorgardner and partly by some other stuff. It's about writing, posting, reading, and commenting on fanfic on LiveJournal. I am even more long-winded in this post than in the previous one! (It probably would have been better if I'd put this time and energy into writing about naked Frodo!) Also, I tried my best to stick with "This is what I do" but veered a little into "This is what I would like to see more of" and even "This is how I think things should be." I hope I don't offend anyone, and please feel free to share wildly divergent opinions in comments or in your own version of the meme if you decide to take it up.
1. Why do you write fanfic? Who are you writing for?
I agree with Elanor and others who've said that writing "just for the feedback" is not a good idea. The feedback will never be as much as one would like and that can be frustrating and disappointing. On the other hand, phrases like "I write for myself" or "I write because I must" or "I write because I'm driven to write" don't really work for me either. I enjoy writing but I don't often feel driven to write. It's great that some people do, but I wouldn't get many fics done if I depended on that feeling all the time.
claudia603 said something similar to "write for yourself" that resonated more with me: "I firmly believe that a person is happiest while writing the kind of story that she would like to read." I don't enjoy reading my own fics as much as I enjoy reading other people's, but I do, for example, write about the characters and scenarios and themes I like in the hope that I can make a connection with someone else who has similar tastes, and maybe encourage them to write more of that kind of thing as well.
Hearing back from readers is a big part of the reason I work on finishing things to post them. I don't think in terms of writing what's popular in The Fandom at Large, but I do think a lot about what people I'm friends with would like to see. Writing with one specific reader in mind is often really helpful for me, especially if they've given me a request. It gives me a direction to go in when my own ideas are diffuse. Once I post, I can feel satisfied if I've made that person happy, even if I don't get a lot of comments from others.
2. Do you always have your fic betaed before you post?
No, not always. I'm more likely to if I'm writing for a challenge or a fic community and if I'm writing about hobbits, where I know my regular beta readers will probably enjoy looking something over. In general if it's a fic I care about more then it's more important to me to have someone else's suggestions, and I'm also likely to need more hand-holding to get me to post. :)
I also use betas less now than I did at first, partly because I've gained confidence and partly because (I hope) I've gotten better at correcting my own mistakes. In my first few storieslilybaggins had to talk to me over and over about commas going inside the quotation marks. I have a stronger idea now of how I like to do things, which Rules I want to follow and which I choose to ignore. I know that I still make mistakes and there are still a lot of things that I could improve about my writing, but sometimes it's more important to me just to get the thing posted.
I am a reader with strong feelings about grammar and punctuation, but I don't tend to notice a strong correlation between whether a fic is betaed and whether it satisfies me in that way. Some writers know exactly what they're doing and do things the way I like, even without a beta reader. Others have beta readers who share their opinions about commas, which are very different from mine and make the fic difficult for me to read.
I hope this comment doesn't seem anti-beta! Betas are awesome! Check out this great postschemingreader just made about some of the things betas do.
3. Do you post works in progress?
Ack! I change my mind about this a lot! It is one of the few areas where I've actually made Rules for myself, but then I go back and break them. :) But if I decide not to post a WIP, that is usually for selfish reasons (I need to be certain of where things are going first, or I'm afraid of losing momentum if I get disappointed by the reception). As with the beta thing, if I care about a fic a lot then I'm more likely to try to finish the whole thing before I post any of it.
As a reader, I love it when people post WIPs. I like following along and commenting and speculating. Also, I'm generally in favor of having more fanfic out in the world. Some of my favorite reads ever are unfinished or abandoned stories. I am really glad those authors decided to post what they had even though they weren't finished. Now I will tell you a secret: I tend to enjoy resolutions and endings less than the angsty and seemingly hopeless parts in the middle of a fic. Sometimes I stick with a fic for tens of thousands of words and then lose interest just before the end. This must be very lame for the authors because it means I either left fb on early chapters and then dropped out, or that I didn't leave any fb at all (especially if I read it at their website). I'm sorry for this.
Some people get real satisfaction out of a tight plot and a smart resolution to a story and very disappointed when a writer doesn't finish a WIP. I can understand that too, even though it's not as big a thing for me. I really regret that when I started posting my first multipart fic I said things like "I will finish it, I promise!" Why did I think I could promise something like that when I hadn't finished it already? I have a less guilt (though still some) about other fics I've abandoned because I didn't make any promises with them, and most people realize there are no guarantees when they start reading a WIP, especially one by an untrustworthy person like me. If they prefer to read only finished fics, that is cool, but I don't think that preference by some readers should keep people from posting.
4. Do social relationships with other writers influence whether you read and give feedback?
Yes, they influence what I read. I often read fics by people I haven't had any personal contact with, especially in other fandoms. This experience reminds me of my lurker days and can be very pleasant. I'm not a lurker anymore so if I'm reading on LJ I almost always leave a short comment and if it's a website, eh, I will probably send them an e-mail at some point (more on my love of LJ comments below).
But if I'm friends with someone then yes, that makes me more likely to read their new fic. It also sometimes makes me more likely to enjoy the fics, since I recognize their love for the characters and their kinks and their familiar turns of phrase. What's very difficult for me is to read fic by someone that I've had negative experiences with. (It is just too difficult to concentrate on what she's saying about Frodo when I'm thinking of that thing she said about my friend!) I always try to be honest about what I like, and I don't think someone being unpopular would keep me from leaving feedback on a fic I've enjoyed. But I do admit that someone's personality can keep me from enjoying the fic or wanting to read it in the first place.
5. Do you like LiveJournal as a place to post fic?
Why yes, I love it!
I like that LJ is so flexible and easy to edit. I like that a basic account is free. I like that people can customize their LJs to look the way they want, but if I don't want to look at the big pictures or the fancy lettering I can zap it with a style=mine to make the fic easier to read. I like having the date of when a story was posted so, if I'm reading a lot of fics by the same person, I can see how her work has changed over time. I think an f-list is a great way of keeping up with people's new writing. Putting up a fic on LJ so that anyone who wants to can see it is a lot more comfortable for me than sending out an e-mail announcing that I have something new.
I've also noticed, going through and fixing broken links at![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-community.gif)
lotr_fic_recs and other places, that LJ links tend to remain stable while places like fanfiction.net change their organization systems and other websites and archives disappear altogether. When somebody posts on LJ, the entry usually stays there unless/until she makes decides to lock or delete it.
I've only been writing fanfic for two years and LJ is the only place I've ever posted it, so I can't compare it to other formats. I understand that some people would prefer to get all the fic in one place rather than have it mixed in with people's other posts, and I can see where they're coming from on this. I suppose if everyone kept separate fic and personal journals one could have a separate reading filter or f-list just for fics. It would also be nice if more of us posted to fic communities. This is just not a big priority for me so I haven't strongly considered setting up a fic journal myself. Do you think I should? Do you think I should try to get posting access at west-of-the-moon.net?
6. Do you like LiveJournal comments as a form of feedback for fic?
Again, yes! Very much so!
I like that leaving comments on LJ is so easy. I know some people say that sending an e-mail is just as easy, but I am just not comfortable sending an e-mail to say "I really liked this!" whereas I frequently leave that as an LJ comment. In an e-mail I feel pressure to put in salutations and other little formalities of a letter and to have something substantial to say about the fic. You might think I should feel pressure to say something substantial about the fic, but... well, I disagree. (We can talk about it in comments if you want!) :D
Reading other people's comments on a fic often helps me appreciate the fic more. Once in a while I'll respond to another reader's comment if I have a similar feeling or just as a way of saying hello to two people at once, but I wished this happened more. Sometimes it's nice to see who's reading a fic. If I notice that something doesn't have a lot of comments from people I know but I think they would like it, that might make me want to rec it.
Public comments are also a nice way of seeing how the author interacts with her readers and get clues as to what kind of comments are wanted. If I notice that a writer is really enthusiastic in her replies to comments, I might put more effort into my feedback and I'll be more willing to put myself out there by talking about what I liked. Important: I am not saying there's anything wrong with short or formulaic responses!! I don't even get upset (anymore, heh) if they don't respond at all, but it's good to have an idea of how that's gonna be before I comment.
elanorgardner and partly by some other stuff. It's about writing, posting, reading, and commenting on fanfic on LiveJournal. I am even more long-winded in this post than in the previous one! (It probably would have been better if I'd put this time and energy into writing about 1. Why do you write fanfic? Who are you writing for?
I agree with Elanor and others who've said that writing "just for the feedback" is not a good idea. The feedback will never be as much as one would like and that can be frustrating and disappointing. On the other hand, phrases like "I write for myself" or "I write because I must" or "I write because I'm driven to write" don't really work for me either. I enjoy writing but I don't often feel driven to write. It's great that some people do, but I wouldn't get many fics done if I depended on that feeling all the time.
claudia603 said something similar to "write for yourself" that resonated more with me: "I firmly believe that a person is happiest while writing the kind of story that she would like to read." I don't enjoy reading my own fics as much as I enjoy reading other people's, but I do, for example, write about the characters and scenarios and themes I like in the hope that I can make a connection with someone else who has similar tastes, and maybe encourage them to write more of that kind of thing as well. Hearing back from readers is a big part of the reason I work on finishing things to post them. I don't think in terms of writing what's popular in The Fandom at Large, but I do think a lot about what people I'm friends with would like to see. Writing with one specific reader in mind is often really helpful for me, especially if they've given me a request. It gives me a direction to go in when my own ideas are diffuse. Once I post, I can feel satisfied if I've made that person happy, even if I don't get a lot of comments from others.
2. Do you always have your fic betaed before you post?
No, not always. I'm more likely to if I'm writing for a challenge or a fic community and if I'm writing about hobbits, where I know my regular beta readers will probably enjoy looking something over. In general if it's a fic I care about more then it's more important to me to have someone else's suggestions, and I'm also likely to need more hand-holding to get me to post. :)
I also use betas less now than I did at first, partly because I've gained confidence and partly because (I hope) I've gotten better at correcting my own mistakes. In my first few stories
lilybaggins had to talk to me over and over about commas going inside the quotation marks. I have a stronger idea now of how I like to do things, which Rules I want to follow and which I choose to ignore. I know that I still make mistakes and there are still a lot of things that I could improve about my writing, but sometimes it's more important to me just to get the thing posted.I am a reader with strong feelings about grammar and punctuation, but I don't tend to notice a strong correlation between whether a fic is betaed and whether it satisfies me in that way. Some writers know exactly what they're doing and do things the way I like, even without a beta reader. Others have beta readers who share their opinions about commas, which are very different from mine and make the fic difficult for me to read.
I hope this comment doesn't seem anti-beta! Betas are awesome! Check out this great post
schemingreader just made about some of the things betas do.3. Do you post works in progress?
Ack! I change my mind about this a lot! It is one of the few areas where I've actually made Rules for myself, but then I go back and break them. :) But if I decide not to post a WIP, that is usually for selfish reasons (I need to be certain of where things are going first, or I'm afraid of losing momentum if I get disappointed by the reception). As with the beta thing, if I care about a fic a lot then I'm more likely to try to finish the whole thing before I post any of it.
As a reader, I love it when people post WIPs. I like following along and commenting and speculating. Also, I'm generally in favor of having more fanfic out in the world. Some of my favorite reads ever are unfinished or abandoned stories. I am really glad those authors decided to post what they had even though they weren't finished. Now I will tell you a secret: I tend to enjoy resolutions and endings less than the angsty and seemingly hopeless parts in the middle of a fic. Sometimes I stick with a fic for tens of thousands of words and then lose interest just before the end. This must be very lame for the authors because it means I either left fb on early chapters and then dropped out, or that I didn't leave any fb at all (especially if I read it at their website). I'm sorry for this.
Some people get real satisfaction out of a tight plot and a smart resolution to a story and very disappointed when a writer doesn't finish a WIP. I can understand that too, even though it's not as big a thing for me. I really regret that when I started posting my first multipart fic I said things like "I will finish it, I promise!" Why did I think I could promise something like that when I hadn't finished it already? I have a less guilt (though still some) about other fics I've abandoned because I didn't make any promises with them, and most people realize there are no guarantees when they start reading a WIP, especially one by an untrustworthy person like me. If they prefer to read only finished fics, that is cool, but I don't think that preference by some readers should keep people from posting.
4. Do social relationships with other writers influence whether you read and give feedback?
Yes, they influence what I read. I often read fics by people I haven't had any personal contact with, especially in other fandoms. This experience reminds me of my lurker days and can be very pleasant. I'm not a lurker anymore so if I'm reading on LJ I almost always leave a short comment and if it's a website, eh, I will probably send them an e-mail at some point (more on my love of LJ comments below).
But if I'm friends with someone then yes, that makes me more likely to read their new fic. It also sometimes makes me more likely to enjoy the fics, since I recognize their love for the characters and their kinks and their familiar turns of phrase. What's very difficult for me is to read fic by someone that I've had negative experiences with. (It is just too difficult to concentrate on what she's saying about Frodo when I'm thinking of that thing she said about my friend!) I always try to be honest about what I like, and I don't think someone being unpopular would keep me from leaving feedback on a fic I've enjoyed. But I do admit that someone's personality can keep me from enjoying the fic or wanting to read it in the first place.
5. Do you like LiveJournal as a place to post fic?
Why yes, I love it!
I like that LJ is so flexible and easy to edit. I like that a basic account is free. I like that people can customize their LJs to look the way they want, but if I don't want to look at the big pictures or the fancy lettering I can zap it with a style=mine to make the fic easier to read. I like having the date of when a story was posted so, if I'm reading a lot of fics by the same person, I can see how her work has changed over time. I think an f-list is a great way of keeping up with people's new writing. Putting up a fic on LJ so that anyone who wants to can see it is a lot more comfortable for me than sending out an e-mail announcing that I have something new.
I've also noticed, going through and fixing broken links at
lotr_fic_recs and other places, that LJ links tend to remain stable while places like fanfiction.net change their organization systems and other websites and archives disappear altogether. When somebody posts on LJ, the entry usually stays there unless/until she makes decides to lock or delete it.I've only been writing fanfic for two years and LJ is the only place I've ever posted it, so I can't compare it to other formats. I understand that some people would prefer to get all the fic in one place rather than have it mixed in with people's other posts, and I can see where they're coming from on this. I suppose if everyone kept separate fic and personal journals one could have a separate reading filter or f-list just for fics. It would also be nice if more of us posted to fic communities. This is just not a big priority for me so I haven't strongly considered setting up a fic journal myself. Do you think I should? Do you think I should try to get posting access at west-of-the-moon.net?
6. Do you like LiveJournal comments as a form of feedback for fic?
Again, yes! Very much so!
I like that leaving comments on LJ is so easy. I know some people say that sending an e-mail is just as easy, but I am just not comfortable sending an e-mail to say "I really liked this!" whereas I frequently leave that as an LJ comment. In an e-mail I feel pressure to put in salutations and other little formalities of a letter and to have something substantial to say about the fic. You might think I should feel pressure to say something substantial about the fic, but... well, I disagree. (We can talk about it in comments if you want!) :D
Reading other people's comments on a fic often helps me appreciate the fic more. Once in a while I'll respond to another reader's comment if I have a similar feeling or just as a way of saying hello to two people at once, but I wished this happened more. Sometimes it's nice to see who's reading a fic. If I notice that something doesn't have a lot of comments from people I know but I think they would like it, that might make me want to rec it.
Public comments are also a nice way of seeing how the author interacts with her readers and get clues as to what kind of comments are wanted. If I notice that a writer is really enthusiastic in her replies to comments, I might put more effort into my feedback and I'll be more willing to put myself out there by talking about what I liked. Important: I am not saying there's anything wrong with short or formulaic responses!! I don't even get upset (anymore, heh) if they don't respond at all, but it's good to have an idea of how that's gonna be before I comment.