(no subject)
All kinds of great essays on fandom and writing are cropping up lately, and I've enjoyed reading them.
The first is Everything I Know About Fandom which I found thanks to lullenny. I love these points most of all:
1. The first rule of fandom is: do it yourself. If there's a neglected character, a fic type you wish people would pay more attention to, or an archive you believe should exist? The only way you can be sure this will get fixed is if you fix it.
17. What looks like a clique from the outside probably looks like a group of friends from the inside. It's one of those terrorist/freedom fighter distinctions..
21. Life is too short to waste time being bitter about fandom. (Unless you enjoy being a Bitter Old Fic Queen, in which case, please carry on.)
25. You get out of fandom what you put into it. This I believe.
Then elasg wrote something about self-esteem and online support system where she said
So next time you start feeling like you are unappreciated, depressed or being scorned by half the fandom, remember that you are a darned unique person. You've done something that very few people will ever have the intelligence and drive to do. I'd also suggest that your friends aren't ignoring you, but are probably in need of a little reassurance themselves. Be their support for a while and you might find there is even greater satisfaction and reward in giving approval than getting it.
And finally, today, singeaddams reminded us that it takes more than kink and sex to make a story. Now I don't mind reading a bit of sizzling prose once in a while, but I want to read stories, Gandalf, stories; things happening beyond the kissing (and I'm not talking consummation of the highest order here), I need conflict, plot, background information, details to lure me into the story. Singe articulates this need better, and I think her essay is very much worth reading.
The first is Everything I Know About Fandom which I found thanks to lullenny. I love these points most of all:
1. The first rule of fandom is: do it yourself. If there's a neglected character, a fic type you wish people would pay more attention to, or an archive you believe should exist? The only way you can be sure this will get fixed is if you fix it.
17. What looks like a clique from the outside probably looks like a group of friends from the inside. It's one of those terrorist/freedom fighter distinctions..
21. Life is too short to waste time being bitter about fandom. (Unless you enjoy being a Bitter Old Fic Queen, in which case, please carry on.)
25. You get out of fandom what you put into it. This I believe.
Then elasg wrote something about self-esteem and online support system where she said
So next time you start feeling like you are unappreciated, depressed or being scorned by half the fandom, remember that you are a darned unique person. You've done something that very few people will ever have the intelligence and drive to do. I'd also suggest that your friends aren't ignoring you, but are probably in need of a little reassurance themselves. Be their support for a while and you might find there is even greater satisfaction and reward in giving approval than getting it.
And finally, today, singeaddams reminded us that it takes more than kink and sex to make a story. Now I don't mind reading a bit of sizzling prose once in a while, but I want to read stories, Gandalf, stories; things happening beyond the kissing (and I'm not talking consummation of the highest order here), I need conflict, plot, background information, details to lure me into the story. Singe articulates this need better, and I think her essay is very much worth reading.