But you know, I had a whole post written about how I've become a convert of the kudos system and then forgot to post it, and anyway I really do think it's a great idea and it's been great for me, but I don't think it's enough, especially when it comes to genuinely wanting something out of a fandom you're in. I think if you can have the time to write four solid paragraphs in your LJ about how there just isn't enough of *insert particular kind of fic here* then you can scrounge up the time to leave actual worded feedback for the authors who ARE writing the stuff you want to read.
This bugs me too, but there's no way to go about discussing it without sounding like "Wahhhhhh no one likes my fics wahhhhhhh!" (or art or whatever). But every fandom has those people complaining "There's not enough X" and then when there is X no one says anything. Or they complain no one comments to their stuff but they don't comment on anyone else's stuff either.
Yeah, I know. And then you get accused of being entitled. But I'm 80% over it by this point (though a part of me still cares about not coming off like a total bitch).
Despite my inner attention whore, who wants feedback by the truckful, I do acknowledge that I am not owed feedback by putting my work out there, and that applies to everyone all across the board. But once you put want on the table, then it's a supply/demand thing, but people don't seem to understand that it's a two-way street. It's not just "if I demand, then surely somebody will supply." It's "I should supply an environment of demand". All the whining isn't going to do you any good if you're not making yourself heard through the appropriate channels.
Re: Oh look, it's a drive by comment...draycevixenMarch 25 2012, 17:35:29 UTC
When I stopped writing for one of my oldest LJ based fandoms I received a bunch of e-mails and PMs from fen asking me to start writing for it again because they loved my stuff so much and yes, I'm sure you can guess where this is going, from fen who'd never left a single comment on any of my stories
( ... )
Hope neither you nor Angstbunny mind me butting inredfiona99March 25 2012, 19:57:24 UTC
Re: your last paragraph - I've seen people complain about that before (in particular fandoms, I am looking at you Gundam Wing and TRC) but never people upset.
Well, the flip side is that my mamma taught me that if I don't have anything nice to say, not to say anything.
I read a lot of POI fics that just don't work for me, for whatever reason. Usually it's being wildly out of character (for example, Reese tries to talk to the bad guy instead of just shooting him already...) or not bothering to fully develop a story that isn't obviously PWP (Hi, had a bad day, let's talk a little and then a blowjob will make everything all better!). And while I may not like a writer's current story, that doesn't mean I might not like the next thing they write, and I don't want to discourage anyone. Because I had some horribly critical fiction professors in college, and I still remember how much it hurt to listen to them tear apart stories in class. One of my classmates had a story that we all loved, and the prof just shredded it. We were all like, dude, how can you not like that story?!? One particular jerk was so harsh that he probably set my writing self-confidence back by at least decade. I don't
( ... )
I have never been so allergic to PWP or NC-17 fics as I am in POI than ever before (granted, those are not what my usually go for to start with). Basically Reese and Finch are just unslashable for me to put it bluntly.
I totally hear ya. I've fled other fandoms and never returned to read again when people started slashing characters that I just couldn't see together.
However, I will note that while I don't really see Finch and Reese together in my head, I've been able to enjoy quite a few of the POI slash stories that I've read. We've got some really phenomenal writers in the POI comms here on Live Journal.
But it could be that I just loves me some smutty writing too. ;-)
I have a really difficult time reading NC-17 for Reese/Finch, and they haven't reached a point in fandom development where I could read PWP for them since I need the set-up too much.
There is one person on my flist who NEVER comments on anything I make, yet continually I'll see one of her massive updates and she'll say "read good fic where Zedd did x" and I know it's mine and IF YOU CAN PUT IT IN AN UPDATE WHY CAN'T YOU COMMENT.
/whining
AO3 has actually been enormously good for my ego. Bitches that are too lazy to comment leave kudos because they only have to click one button, and I sit here all shocked at how many people actually read things because I suddenly have an indication.
Yeah, that's happened to me, and it frustrates me so much. Or conversely, people going, "but where are this pairing fics???" and there I am, having written mountains of it, but apparently it's not good enough for them, and I'm like, "... so what am I? Chopping liver?" Sometimes it REALLY burns when they add something along the lines of "I'm so desperate, I'll read anything! Even shitty fics lol!" I know it's not like they're deliberately hating on me specifically (or maybe they are!) but it's like, thanks, that makes me feel good about myself.
I've become a total convert to the kudos system. I was dubious at first, but now I'm a believer. Though I still hold firm that if you want a specific type of fic badly enough, a click of a button is not good enough.
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But you know, I had a whole post written about how I've become a convert of the kudos system and then forgot to post it, and anyway I really do think it's a great idea and it's been great for me, but I don't think it's enough, especially when it comes to genuinely wanting something out of a fandom you're in. I think if you can have the time to write four solid paragraphs in your LJ about how there just isn't enough of *insert particular kind of fic here* then you can scrounge up the time to leave actual worded feedback for the authors who ARE writing the stuff you want to read.
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Despite my inner attention whore, who wants feedback by the truckful, I do acknowledge that I am not owed feedback by putting my work out there, and that applies to everyone all across the board. But once you put want on the table, then it's a supply/demand thing, but people don't seem to understand that it's a two-way street. It's not just "if I demand, then surely somebody will supply." It's "I should supply an environment of demand". All the whining isn't going to do you any good if you're not making yourself heard through the appropriate channels.
/lots of feelings
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I read a lot of POI fics that just don't work for me, for whatever reason. Usually it's being wildly out of character (for example, Reese tries to talk to the bad guy instead of just shooting him already...) or not bothering to fully develop a story that isn't obviously PWP (Hi, had a bad day, let's talk a little and then a blowjob will make everything all better!). And while I may not like a writer's current story, that doesn't mean I might not like the next thing they write, and I don't want to discourage anyone. Because I had some horribly critical fiction professors in college, and I still remember how much it hurt to listen to them tear apart stories in class. One of my classmates had a story that we all loved, and the prof just shredded it. We were all like, dude, how can you not like that story?!? One particular jerk was so harsh that he probably set my writing self-confidence back by at least decade. I don't ( ... )
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However, I will note that while I don't really see Finch and Reese together in my head, I've been able to enjoy quite a few of the POI slash stories that I've read. We've got some really phenomenal writers in the POI comms here on Live Journal.
But it could be that I just loves me some smutty writing too. ;-)
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There is one person on my flist who NEVER comments on anything I make, yet continually I'll see one of her massive updates and she'll say "read good fic where Zedd did x" and I know it's mine and IF YOU CAN PUT IT IN AN UPDATE WHY CAN'T YOU COMMENT.
/whining
AO3 has actually been enormously good for my ego. Bitches that are too lazy to comment leave kudos because they only have to click one button, and I sit here all shocked at how many people actually read things because I suddenly have an indication.
Reply
I've become a total convert to the kudos system. I was dubious at first, but now I'm a believer. Though I still hold firm that if you want a specific type of fic badly enough, a click of a button is not good enough.
Reply
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