old drabbles, 2 of 3

[betweenthebliss]

old drabbles crossposted from killerbeautiful. here we've got Harry Potter, Labyrinth and Narnia.

Comments

[nickhornby]

Squee! Though my foray into HP fic was what feels like ages ago (mainly in the never-ending break between books 4 and 5, but then I felt like I had too much trouble keeping apart canon from the unfurling world of so many other combined imaginations, and chose to, mainly, shut myself off (much like a decision I made with the films)), I will always, always, always hold a giant place in my heart for Snape-Hermione. Always. Especially if the fic is epic in length and/or in scope. My heart will be forever broken that Pawn to Queen went unfinished, though I completely understand why.

Man, this takes me back. I absolutely commend your dedication to fic (of so many genres!), and I certainly don't consider myself some sort of holier-than-thou "purist" for the decision I made. Just something I felt had to be done, lest I let myself become totally consumed.

All my self-absorbed ramblings aside, you write in a fantastically descriptive, articulate, and detailed manner. I won't even say I'm surprised--just pleased. Enormously pleased by how much talent you clearly have. Thanks for sharing.

[betweenthebliss]

hehehe omg yeah, the fact that pawn to queen was never finished still makes me die a little. i loved snape/hermione for a long time too, and that's the one fic for the ship that i always really wished had gotten finished. >.>;;; i totally understand your quitting while you were ahead though, lol. i ultimately stopped caring about hp fandom because it was too big and unwieldy-- there was SO much drama and ridiculous wanky bullshit that it stopped being fun-- i mean actually i was never really IN the fandom except in the sense that it was the only fic i read for like, uh, three years or so? and i followed a lot of the big-name writers on LJ, but i never knew any of them terribly well, and i certainly never wrote anything of substance. it got me into RPing on LJ, for which i'm grateful, but as a fandom i'm really glad to be shut of it.

it's funny that you talk about dedication, because until this week i'd never really written anything longer than these little pieces, all of which (in all 3 of these posts) were given to me by someone else's prompting. people who get like, epic ideas for fanfiction still kind of boggle me-- like, not only to have that impulse but really, that's what i'd call dedication, to write a long fic of chapters and chapters... and then of course if it's slash it gets me onto my soapbox of "please don't write novel-length slash fanfic, write a fucking novel with gay characters so there is more exposure and visibility for it in the world"... i mean not that i want there to be less good fic in the world either, lol, but at the very least i would love to see writers who are really talented to get PAID for their writing! *puts soapbox away*

but really the most important part is weeeeeeeeeee, i'm so glad you read and enjoyed these! :} a lot of this is pretty old, too, like dating back to 2005, and so i'm glad it's not just my own nostalgia that makes me reread it and think it's worth letting other people have a look at. <3333333333

[nickhornby]

"[P]lease don't write novel-length slash fanfic, write a fucking novel with gay characters so there is more exposure and visibility for it in the world"... i mean not that i want there to be less good fic in the world either, lol, but at the very least i would love to see writers who are really talented to get PAID for their writing!

I so hear you. I think one of my frustrations that turned me off of fic (and realize when I say that, I've been extremely limited to only HP fic)--even though there are so many talented writers in the world and so few of them can ever be published--is that these wonderfully talented people end up playing in a universe which someone else has created, and, therefore, their characters and stories can't end up getting out there in the big bad (sometimes profit-making!) world and change some lives.

I'm completely not trying to discredit all the hard work that goes into writing fic ("playing" seems like a really bitchy thing to say, I realize), but it often, when it's sustained over a period of years, it seems like wasted talent. Not, of course, that I'm trying to say that getting published is easy, or that writing is easy (pfft!), or that fic writing isn't a useful use of time or energy for some, or that it can't be a great set of training wheels for folks starting out, or that it can't be a fabulous way to unwind and step away from your own original work...but if you've got it in you to write something epic, please, go do it! And hopefully in something that I can pick up in actual pen-and-ink form and wrap my hands around it and consume it again and again. I've never quite been able to translate the magic tactile experience of cracking into a book by reading text on screen, I have to say...

But please realize that this is all coming from someone who has never written fic herself, who greatly enjoyed reading fic in the past and enjoys reading your fic in the present, and who appreciates the time you put into it and honing your craft, overall. Again, I'm impressed--but not surprised that I'm impressed--by your writing.

[betweenthebliss]

yeah, it's hard, because no matter what fandom you're writing in, you're still working with something that can never circulate off the internet, and never among "legit" circles-- and again, obviously, not harshing on fanfiction here, but it's true-- it's not illegal, but it's not something the larger literate population of the world sees as legitimate. and it's fun to play-- i don't take offense to that word, b/c while the writing is serious, ultimately you /are/ just having fun w/someone else's world-- and it can be rewarding, as well. reading and writing fic has given me a lot of ideas for my own original writing, which is great.

i think it comes down to two things. one is the fact that trying to get yourself published under your own steam with your own words is, frankly, terrifying. and for a lot of people, i think it's way easier to stay in fandom-- also, i think there are a lot of writers who are perhaps good at the actual business of writing, but less good at plot/characters/all the other things that go into a good book. and that's fine. but i think there are an equal number of people who could write something truly amazing of their own if they had the right motivation or encouragement, but since they perhaps don't, they write fanfiction instead.

the other thing, and this is frankly part of what leads me to write fic, is that mainstream media is so focused on making money that they suppress a lot of things that could be really interesting to explore-- like i said before about seeing a genre movie with a gay main character-- so often i leave a movie or tv show feeling like there's something that could/should have been explored by the movie or show that wasn't. it's part of why i can dig slash fic so much-- i get really sick of boring het relationships in movies/tv, because so often (waaaay too often) they just stick the hero with the first available girl, or they create a girl *solely* to give the hero a romantic interest-- when oftentimes the hero's best friend/sidekick/nemesis is a way more interesting character with a lot more chemistry.

and of course there's lots of other examples that don't even have anything to do with relationships or gay characters or anything-- sometimes you just know that there's not enough room in a 2-hour movie to explore the world, and you want to see more of it, so you write it. sometimes your imagination takes you places and you just have to write them down. :D

and really, your praise is wonderful to hear, so thank you. :"} it's also good 'cause it means if/when i do ever publish the actual novel i'm writing i can safely rely on you to buy a copy. ;) ;) ;)

[nickhornby]

Not only buying a copy, but pimping your work out in the Quarterly!

I'll be thrilled when--not if--that day comes to pass.

All you've said makes good sense, and, frankly, I've spent a lot of time today thinking about getting back to reading fic, at least in my break between work ending and school beginning this summer. The issue of legitimacy you mentioned does rear its head--having a lady a good few years my senior means she sometimes doesn't get this kind of my nerdery on the internets (though she is incredibly web-savvy and message board friendly and the like). Sometimes, you just don't want to explain fic to another person, you know? 'cause of the lack of legitimacy. Though, thankfully (because I wouldn't waste my time being with someone who didn't), she does wholeheartedly embrace my generally geeked out nature.

[betweenthebliss]

well when it does you'll definitely be one of the first to know-- i can't imagine a world in which i wouldn't receive an acceptance letter and immediately want to post to LJ about it, lol. :D :D

and yes i TOTALLY know about explaining fic and geekery to people-- it's impossible to explain to someone who doesn't get what it's like to be a part of geek culture-- or at least, the part of it that leads people to think/talk/write about books, movies, etc after the fact of reading or seeing them.

and it is totally important to be with someone who accepts the geek... even if my last ex hadn't been a total psycho, idk if i'd have been able to handle being w/her forever if only for the sheer fact that she didn't understand any part of being a geek-- didn't even really understand what it meant or how it meant something other than being obsessed with video games and hacking. like, it's funny, geeks of all kinds get along no matter what it is that you geek about-- the coolest part of getting to know people who are science nerds or sci-fi freaks is that their geek base is so different from mine, and i get to learn about a whole new aspect of geekery. XD

......yeah, wow, not that i get excited about this stuff or anything. lololol. :D