Thoughts on changes at HASA or Every Idiot Has An Opinion
Signed Reviews
I should probably preface this by stating that I've only submitted one story for review (the two in the reviewed archive were submitted on my behalf ages ago), and I did not receive any comments that I felt were unduly harsh. Honest, yes - and that's my qualm about the new requirement that comments be signed. Some of the review capsules are quite specific and it's fairly easy to figure out what went wrong (or right), but some need more explanation to be helpful.
Anonymity is a favourite device of cowards, and the new rule should take care of those who speak sweetly and wield a bludgeon in secret. However, some people are simply tactless and/or thick-skinned and fail to see that their style is more hurtful than helpful. Others are just mean and call themselves 'honest' or 'blunt'. Signed reviews won't discourage either type. I believe that the old review system had a means for dealing with this: an author could lodge a complaint, and presumably, the reviewer would be sanctioned. (Obviously, given that the change was made, this was not working as it should.)
Unfortunately, the requirement that reviewers sign their comments probably means that fewer reviewers will leave comments. I think it's difficult to be honest with criticism unless you know the author is amenable to it. Some writers regard any criticism as a personal attack. In the general world of R&R, I simply don't read stories that have serious problems evident in the summary. Take, for example, an evil Thranduil/abused Legolas story. From the outset, I know this is horribly OOC for Thranduil and Legolas and quite contrary to Tolkien's work. Now, I feel confident that I could compose a fair and sensitive comment explaining this, and unless the work was utterly hopeless, I could even find something good to balance the bad. The author, however, might still feel angry and hurt, leading me to question whether it's worth it to leave any comments at all ('Will he or she do something positive with them?') and whether I want this person as a potential enemy.
This might be a bigger issue within the tiny Silm-writers community. If we don't know each other personally, our flists overlap each other, and I think it's even more difficult to be honest - particularly if you're declining a story - when the author is a friend.
Going Public
In one sense, the decision to make the general archive public is a good one, since it allows writers to publish in one location and still garner the largest audience possible. One hopes that this will not result in a mass posting of Imladris slash - there are some bad stories, but I think that the site's standard as a whole is better than that of most archives.
The bad: the review system isn't perfect, but I think HASA, like the Mithrils, occupies a much-needed niche in the Tolkfic fandom. It sets a bar for writers: this is something to strive for. It says that you've attained a certain level, perhaps only transiently, perhaps as a whole. Unfortunately, many see declination as the direct opposite of acceptance, and I imagine that the unpleasantness engendered has spurred the decision to move away from a review-oriented site. However, reasons for rejection range from genuine problems with the fic to luck of the draw, politics and perhaps the peculiar composition of reviewers within a specific genre. In other words, a rejection doesn't mean that one is a terrible writer. Submission to review really requires that we can see the proverbial glass as half full should the story be declined.
The other value of review is acknowledgement of more obscure writers. Tolkfic is a rather unique genre in fan fiction - most fictional universes provide small playgrounds with a limited number of characters and a linear plot line. Tolkien has provided us with countless fascinating characters and hundreds of plot lines that branch out, twist, change and often peter out without conclusion. As a result, although the fan fiction branch of the fandom is huge, it's highly splintered. Within the genre of Elf-fic, not only are there few who also write Hobbit-fic, but also few who write about multiple ages and locations. The more obscure the character, the fewer readers in the pool - even if the story is excellent. To give an example, take Granamyr's 'In Absentia' - a moving story, by a very talented writer, that received very few reviews. A similar story written about Aragon would have garnered far more - I would guess that a good majority of the fan fiction community wouldn't recognise the name 'Valandil' or care about his story. Certainly, the number of reviews one receives is a poor assessment of a story's quality, and any writer who doesn't recognise this is in the wrong fandom. My aim here is entirely selfish - quite often, the writers who take on obscurities and write them well are writing the stories I want to read, and I want to see them get their moment in the sun.
And now, for something completely different:
You Probably Never Thought of Denver as an Arts Mecca
As most of my flist knows, I'm not exactly proud of my country. However, I'm very fond of my state, and a huge fan of the theatre. I already knew most of this, but it's always nice to have numbers to show it: With eight theaters offering 10,800 seats, the Denver Performing Arts Complex is the second largest performing arts center in the nation after Lincoln Center in New York in seating capacity and the largest in the world under one roof... .
According to Performance Magazine, in 1997 more people attended performances at the Buell Theatre than at any other 3,000-seat or smaller theatre in the nation. Over 600,000 people paid to see productions at the Buell in 1997. The Performing Arts Complex had three of the nation’s top 15 theatres in 1997, with the Auditorium Theatre placing 8th and Boettcher Concert Hall placing 12th. And in 1998, the Denver Center Theatre Company won a Tony Award for best regional theatre.
The League of American Theatres and Producers in New York declares Denver to be the 7th best market in North America for gross revenues from touring Broadway shows after Toronto, Los Angeles, Chicago, Washington, San Francisco and Boston.
(Source: Living in Denver, CO.) It should be noted that the cities listed in the last paragraph are many times bigger than Denver - and so are Philadelphia, Houston and so-sophisticated Seattle (actually, we're number 22 in metro area population).
Deer, of course, are avid patrons of the arts.
Snagged from 9News, this was taken about
three miles from my condo after the first snowstorm.
I should probably preface this by stating that I've only submitted one story for review (the two in the reviewed archive were submitted on my behalf ages ago), and I did not receive any comments that I felt were unduly harsh. Honest, yes - and that's my qualm about the new requirement that comments be signed. Some of the review capsules are quite specific and it's fairly easy to figure out what went wrong (or right), but some need more explanation to be helpful.
Anonymity is a favourite device of cowards, and the new rule should take care of those who speak sweetly and wield a bludgeon in secret. However, some people are simply tactless and/or thick-skinned and fail to see that their style is more hurtful than helpful. Others are just mean and call themselves 'honest' or 'blunt'. Signed reviews won't discourage either type. I believe that the old review system had a means for dealing with this: an author could lodge a complaint, and presumably, the reviewer would be sanctioned. (Obviously, given that the change was made, this was not working as it should.)
Unfortunately, the requirement that reviewers sign their comments probably means that fewer reviewers will leave comments. I think it's difficult to be honest with criticism unless you know the author is amenable to it. Some writers regard any criticism as a personal attack. In the general world of R&R, I simply don't read stories that have serious problems evident in the summary. Take, for example, an evil Thranduil/abused Legolas story. From the outset, I know this is horribly OOC for Thranduil and Legolas and quite contrary to Tolkien's work. Now, I feel confident that I could compose a fair and sensitive comment explaining this, and unless the work was utterly hopeless, I could even find something good to balance the bad. The author, however, might still feel angry and hurt, leading me to question whether it's worth it to leave any comments at all ('Will he or she do something positive with them?') and whether I want this person as a potential enemy.
This might be a bigger issue within the tiny Silm-writers community. If we don't know each other personally, our flists overlap each other, and I think it's even more difficult to be honest - particularly if you're declining a story - when the author is a friend.
Going Public
In one sense, the decision to make the general archive public is a good one, since it allows writers to publish in one location and still garner the largest audience possible. One hopes that this will not result in a mass posting of Imladris slash - there are some bad stories, but I think that the site's standard as a whole is better than that of most archives.
The bad: the review system isn't perfect, but I think HASA, like the Mithrils, occupies a much-needed niche in the Tolkfic fandom. It sets a bar for writers: this is something to strive for. It says that you've attained a certain level, perhaps only transiently, perhaps as a whole. Unfortunately, many see declination as the direct opposite of acceptance, and I imagine that the unpleasantness engendered has spurred the decision to move away from a review-oriented site. However, reasons for rejection range from genuine problems with the fic to luck of the draw, politics and perhaps the peculiar composition of reviewers within a specific genre. In other words, a rejection doesn't mean that one is a terrible writer. Submission to review really requires that we can see the proverbial glass as half full should the story be declined.
The other value of review is acknowledgement of more obscure writers. Tolkfic is a rather unique genre in fan fiction - most fictional universes provide small playgrounds with a limited number of characters and a linear plot line. Tolkien has provided us with countless fascinating characters and hundreds of plot lines that branch out, twist, change and often peter out without conclusion. As a result, although the fan fiction branch of the fandom is huge, it's highly splintered. Within the genre of Elf-fic, not only are there few who also write Hobbit-fic, but also few who write about multiple ages and locations. The more obscure the character, the fewer readers in the pool - even if the story is excellent. To give an example, take Granamyr's 'In Absentia' - a moving story, by a very talented writer, that received very few reviews. A similar story written about Aragon would have garnered far more - I would guess that a good majority of the fan fiction community wouldn't recognise the name 'Valandil' or care about his story. Certainly, the number of reviews one receives is a poor assessment of a story's quality, and any writer who doesn't recognise this is in the wrong fandom. My aim here is entirely selfish - quite often, the writers who take on obscurities and write them well are writing the stories I want to read, and I want to see them get their moment in the sun.
And now, for something completely different:
You Probably Never Thought of Denver as an Arts Mecca
As most of my flist knows, I'm not exactly proud of my country. However, I'm very fond of my state, and a huge fan of the theatre. I already knew most of this, but it's always nice to have numbers to show it: With eight theaters offering 10,800 seats, the Denver Performing Arts Complex is the second largest performing arts center in the nation after Lincoln Center in New York in seating capacity and the largest in the world under one roof... .
According to Performance Magazine, in 1997 more people attended performances at the Buell Theatre than at any other 3,000-seat or smaller theatre in the nation. Over 600,000 people paid to see productions at the Buell in 1997. The Performing Arts Complex had three of the nation’s top 15 theatres in 1997, with the Auditorium Theatre placing 8th and Boettcher Concert Hall placing 12th. And in 1998, the Denver Center Theatre Company won a Tony Award for best regional theatre.
The League of American Theatres and Producers in New York declares Denver to be the 7th best market in North America for gross revenues from touring Broadway shows after Toronto, Los Angeles, Chicago, Washington, San Francisco and Boston.
(Source: Living in Denver, CO.) It should be noted that the cities listed in the last paragraph are many times bigger than Denver - and so are Philadelphia, Houston and so-sophisticated Seattle (actually, we're number 22 in metro area population).
Deer, of course, are avid patrons of the arts.
Snagged from 9News, this was taken about
three miles from my condo after the first snowstorm.