The Party's Over, but I'm Still Dancing...
I've been pondering something the past few days (though the seeds have been germinating for several months). So how do I put this without sounding whiny...?
Is LJ dead?
Is fandom dead?
Or is it just me.
I have to wonder, because only about 1% of my F-list ever comments on my posts these days. I'll admit I'm notoriously bad about lurking and not commenting myself, and if things were always this way I wouldn't care. But it's the noticeable decline in feedback that concerns me. The posts that do get more of a response seem to be the highly reactionary posts where I'm raging about something. So maybe it's the fan-stuff nobody's interested in anymore?
That's the thing though. I'm not a blogger. My Facebook exists mostly so I can lurk other people and occasionally post links and such that are mostly sociopolitical. I've never even been to Twitter or Tumblr. I don't think anyone's interested in every detail of my personal life, and I don't want to share it with them anyway. As far as fandom goes, I've always worked hard to keep Cynchick a separate identity for various reasons. This journal exists for Cynchick's fanworks. So I don't see myself ever using this as a real blog. I have lots of other interests in TV, movies, manga, etc. But would anyone care to read about it? I don't know.
I know that quite a few people dropped off when I started focusing more on KakaSaku. But that's fine, it's MY OTP and it's what I want to do. Nobody is obligated to ship what I ship just because they like the way I write/draw. But there are plenty of people who DO ship what I ship, and they seemed to have disappeared as well.
I don't write/draw/etc for the attention - else I'd do something much more popular, like HP or Twilight or slash. But I also don't do it for nothing. I don't think anyone honestly does it just for themselves, or they wouldn't bother to share it with other people via the interwebs.
I'm not going to quit my fic. I would never do that, even if only five people are reading at the end, because I want to see it through. But I don't feel particularly inspired to spend hours and days of my time creating illustrations that only a handful of people seem to appreciate. I guess you could say I write for me, but I draw for "you."
Some people might read this and think "You're being silly, Cynchick. You're popular. My fanfic only got __ reviews and no one knows who I am, what are you whining about?"
Trust me, I'm aware that this whole post might come across as entitled or Diva-ish. But it's like this: Say there's a fairly popular TV show, and it's a hit for a while. But the second season pulls in fewer viewers, and the third season it drops again. There are still a lot of loyal followers, but quite a few have stopped watching, and nobody new is tuning in. So it gets cancelled.
I kind of feel like that TV show. And I don't think I'm alone. I think fandom really is in its death throes. There are lots of other authors/artists on my F-list -- have you noticed this as well?
From the beginning, I knew that Will of Fire would be my last fanfic. Maybe I'm just pouting because it's my personal favorite, it's the one I've worked hardest on and (I believe) it's my best writing both technically and story-wise. I'm very proud of my fanfiction "opus," and I want other people to love it as much as I do. I guess I wanted to go out with a bang.
So there it is.
This post is open because I want open and honest responses. If you've lost interest, tell me why. If it really is a case of everyone being a neglectful lurker, tell me that as well. Talk to me, F-list -- let me know you're still out there.
Is LJ dead?
Is fandom dead?
Or is it just me.
I have to wonder, because only about 1% of my F-list ever comments on my posts these days. I'll admit I'm notoriously bad about lurking and not commenting myself, and if things were always this way I wouldn't care. But it's the noticeable decline in feedback that concerns me. The posts that do get more of a response seem to be the highly reactionary posts where I'm raging about something. So maybe it's the fan-stuff nobody's interested in anymore?
That's the thing though. I'm not a blogger. My Facebook exists mostly so I can lurk other people and occasionally post links and such that are mostly sociopolitical. I've never even been to Twitter or Tumblr. I don't think anyone's interested in every detail of my personal life, and I don't want to share it with them anyway. As far as fandom goes, I've always worked hard to keep Cynchick a separate identity for various reasons. This journal exists for Cynchick's fanworks. So I don't see myself ever using this as a real blog. I have lots of other interests in TV, movies, manga, etc. But would anyone care to read about it? I don't know.
I know that quite a few people dropped off when I started focusing more on KakaSaku. But that's fine, it's MY OTP and it's what I want to do. Nobody is obligated to ship what I ship just because they like the way I write/draw. But there are plenty of people who DO ship what I ship, and they seemed to have disappeared as well.
I don't write/draw/etc for the attention - else I'd do something much more popular, like HP or Twilight or slash. But I also don't do it for nothing. I don't think anyone honestly does it just for themselves, or they wouldn't bother to share it with other people via the interwebs.
I'm not going to quit my fic. I would never do that, even if only five people are reading at the end, because I want to see it through. But I don't feel particularly inspired to spend hours and days of my time creating illustrations that only a handful of people seem to appreciate. I guess you could say I write for me, but I draw for "you."
Some people might read this and think "You're being silly, Cynchick. You're popular. My fanfic only got __ reviews and no one knows who I am, what are you whining about?"
Trust me, I'm aware that this whole post might come across as entitled or Diva-ish. But it's like this: Say there's a fairly popular TV show, and it's a hit for a while. But the second season pulls in fewer viewers, and the third season it drops again. There are still a lot of loyal followers, but quite a few have stopped watching, and nobody new is tuning in. So it gets cancelled.
I kind of feel like that TV show. And I don't think I'm alone. I think fandom really is in its death throes. There are lots of other authors/artists on my F-list -- have you noticed this as well?
From the beginning, I knew that Will of Fire would be my last fanfic. Maybe I'm just pouting because it's my personal favorite, it's the one I've worked hardest on and (I believe) it's my best writing both technically and story-wise. I'm very proud of my fanfiction "opus," and I want other people to love it as much as I do. I guess I wanted to go out with a bang.
So there it is.
This post is open because I want open and honest responses. If you've lost interest, tell me why. If it really is a case of everyone being a neglectful lurker, tell me that as well. Talk to me, F-list -- let me know you're still out there.