No Longer a Newbie

[harmony_bites]

I came across an old post I made on a cross-fandom group asking why HP was so different-it’s a year old. Then I look at Ashwinder and notice I became a member on 9/23/05. So I guess it’s official-I’m not a newbie. Harry Potter fandom is different in so many ways, and I thought I’d list them here before I completely forget the shock and take it for

Comments

[wolf_moonshadow]

I can't imagine anyone calling you a Newbie at this point. ;-) Even though we were in very different circle in Trek, I would have to agree with what you said, HP does have a very different feel. As you pointed out, prior to ff.net there were a lot of limitations on how fic could be posted or promoted, so I think part of it is HP was very much 'right place/right time.' But even in the newer fandoms that I've looked into, HP significantly dominates, not only in numbers and fan base, but also quality. Even though I've read some trash, quite a lot of what I've read has been of good quality, where as most of the other fandoms have only one or two universally recognized quality works - but that also reflects size again.

I've always attributed my 'culture shock' to the changes in the internet in the past 10 years, but asyou show, there really are other significant differences.

[harmony_bites]

But even in the newer fandoms that I've looked into, HP significantly dominates, not only in numbers and fan base, but also quality. Even though I've read some trash, quite a lot of what I've read has been of good quality, where as most of the other fandoms have only one or two universally recognized quality works - but that also reflects size again.

I wouldn't go so far, at least in terms of Trek, but I was active there years later than you were and left around the time the quantity and quality crashed with the end of Enterprise I did do Star Trek Recs for the hell of it on my LJ, for those few who might be Trek fans too, and came up with over 100 recs--and I seriously cherry-picked those--I didn't want to overdo the recs for certain authors. Classic Trek (the Original) predominated because I was far less well read in the other series, and because I prefer Het and Gen I wasn't that enamoured of many slash works many would consider classic, so my list is far from comprehensive. Just reflective of what I read over the 3 years I was

[droxy]

I do find comments about short stories pervasive but not insulting. Drabbles are very very popular.

[harmony_bites]

I think actually drabbles get more respect in HP than one-shots do. I've never seen a comment that a drabble isn't a "real" story or a call to expand it or "update." But that kind of comment seems all too common with one-shots. Maybe it's because there are groups like grangersnape100 where those who enjoy drabbles can read and write them. One-shots, otoh, usually compete with mult-chaptered fics for attention on archives.

[droxy]

yes and yes...there are more drabble sites than grangersnape. my one shot got 30 reviews on ffn and about 12 on tpp. Not bad for a short story.

[harmony_bites]

I would say that's excellent for a short story. I've seen few "one-shots" do anywhere near as well, including my own. But then, "Casual Wishes" is special:-)

[clare009]

Welcome to the fold Newbie *eg

[harmony_bites]

Welcome to the fold Newbie *eg*

Heh, well compared to you... I think though once you lose your Freshman status you have no right to that name ::sniff:: It would have been nice to actually have finished my first story in the ship before reaching this status.

I know being a part of the ST:Voy (J/C) in particular, I was on the very edges of the fandom. We use the yahoo groups mostly and we had the J/C fic archive which was a collection of links to stories.I was on the edges of Voy (and completely immersed in TOS) but involved enough that I knew some of the "later" JCers well--Rocky, Jemima, and Penny Proctor. Penny's "Revisionist History" was one of my intros to J/C--fantastic writer who went on to sell professionally. And though Peg and Macedon's Talking Stick/Circle was before my time, I'd still count it my fav fanfic in any fandom. I remember the JetC site--but as you said, really a set of links like Dark Sarcasm for SS/HG, not an archive the way we think of it. There was a group like that also I was aware of for J/P - Jupiter

[clare009]

I know many who rave about it as the best show out there. Which, btw, I think sometimes hurts a fandom. Its best if its good enough to hook, but with enough holes that people want to fill them. DS9 was acknowledged as one of the best Treks, maybe THE best, and VOY one of the worse ('till ENT definitively took that title) but VOY fanfic flourished while DS9 was moribound. DS9 was too satisfying I think. Plugged too many wholes, gave too much backstory.
I think in part that is true - BSG is a lot more polished than a lot of the shows out there, although the writers do love dangling cliffhangers and UST and all that other crap that keeps us suckers coming back for more. I would have to say that the fandom (despite my non-presence *g*) is actually thriving. Also despite the fact that the show has had an unusually long hiatus between season 2 and 3. The writers did something at the end of Season two which I don't think I've ever seen done in a TV show and which made everyone go WTF and even fed my imagination during the long months of

[harmony_bites]

I do believe that a series of Novels like HP which have years between new additions lends to the atmosphere of long WIPs by the fan writers. Its hard to write a WIP if next week you get new info about your characters and extra story to have to rewrite and add in. So people tend to veer towards one shots and PWPs and the only longer stories are, by neccesity, AU.

I've heard this theory before but not quite as strikingly put. I think you must be right. That maybe it *is* the long hiatus driving the WIPs and longer works. Even the longer stories in Trek, I think tend to be written in hiatus, after a season finale hits like a ton of bricks raising questions about what happens next but before the Fall Season hits. My friend's one novel in Buffy was written in the hiatus between Season Five and Six. Voyager's "Revisionist History" by Penny Proctor, a short novel was one of the "return fics" written in the hiatus before the last season.

I was also a member of The Sugarquill by at least a few months before then (even made it to professor)

[tempest_dreams]

HP is my first "fandom", so take what I say with that in mind

[tempest_dreams]

p.s. You made me curious about how long I've been around the HP fandom. I guess I've arrived out of newbie status as well, as I searched for my original sign-up messages for Ashwinder and ff.net, and they were dated July 12, 2005 and June 29, 2005 respectively. I'm pretty sure I started reading a few months before then, but only stories that I didn't have to have to sign in to read. I knew it was before HBP that I started reading, but I didn't really think about how long ago that was!

I did drop those original accounts, however, when I tried to unify my accounts under the username TempestOfDreams and first created my LJ (where, unfortunately, someone had already taken my penname even though they don't actually seem to have ever used it). So for anyone looking at my info, it appears I've only been around for a few months. *shrug*

[harmony_bites]

I guess if we measure the end of newbie status by when we started to read, it probably was around August. My interest in HP was sparked by HBP, and I know a week or so later I started digging around the net to see what the fandom made of things. I know I was drawn into HP kicking and screaming determined NOT to be pulled in. I still was licking my wounds from Trek. I even first registered at archives in my real name, determined not to be creating some pen name. I was determined just to read, only lurk, never comment, and not write fanfic.

I can tell you how long that lasted. My first story was my WIP. It was uploaded to FFN on 9/14/05. So actually, I'm even older than I thought. So, my resistance lasted not much more than a month.

[harmony_bites]

I think a lot of it is wrapped up in your comments about HP being more international, etc. Let's face it: it's a lot easier to garner more interest if you translate things into more languages!

It's sheer size I think. Trek was aired internationally and we had some Brits, Germans, Dutch, French, and a favorite author of mine was a Swede. But the int'l contingent really wasn't large enough to support stories in their own language, so they were forced to use English.

I've also wondered if the epic issue is more based on the fact that Star Trek was originally based on TV shows - that is, perhaps subconsciously those stories are "episodes"?I've heard that theory. I really don't know the other fandoms well-enough to know if that's true. Does that pattern follow in LOTR, for instance, which is also book-based (although admittedly resparked by the movies

[misstee123]

I've been in the world of HP a little less time than you have, but this is my first fandom. Do you think that the difference in the sheer volume between the two fandoms might also be linked to the fact that the HP world is still a WIP itself? Thus meaning that when the series is complete, some of the interest will drop off.

Once JKR has all the loose ends tied up to her satisfaction, I've thought to myself that perhaps enough people will be satisfied enough with her version to bypass writing or reading their own. However, for all of us who don't get our choice of ending, do you think it will just keep chugging along? I mean, really, although I know that eventually SS/HG will get together in this imaginary world where I live, I'm pretty sure that JKR disagrees with me. So I'm going to keep on going. But it may get harder for some people if she just ends up her series with SS being a complete murdering bastard. Same with a lot of the other characters as well.

What do you think?

[harmony_bites]

Do you think that the difference in the sheer volume between the two fandoms might also be linked to the fact that the HP world is still a WIP itself? Thus meaning that when the series is complete, some of the interest will drop off.

That's true really of all fandoms and isn't unique to HP. Fandoms usually start up during a show, and crash once the last episode ends. Enterprise brought on a crash in quantity and quality in Trekfic even before its demise because the show was so awful and so determined to trash its base. So, yes, I do expect fanfic to diminish after Book 7, especially since it seems JKR is writing an epilogue that ties up all loose ends--lets us know what happened to all the characters for the rest of their lives. Fanfic thrives on loose ends and openings--I don't think JKR will give us much leeway.

However, for all of us who don't get our choice of ending, do you think it will just keep chugging along? I mean, really, although I know that eventually SS/HG will get together in this imaginary world where I live, I'm