(no subject)
jainamsolo posted a link to this post where people are collecting a list of fanfic recommendations. snacky says:
"Occasionally, I see discussions about how this is the best damn fic ever, and you'd give it to people who weren't even in fandom to read!
"We all have a fic like that, don't we? An incredibly awesome fic that we want everyone else to read RIGHT NOW, it's just that good. It's a fic that's so well-done, so innovative, so different, so twisty and thinky and just plain good that it transcends not just the genre of fanfic (bear with me while I make fanfic a genre, okay?), but very often the source material itself.
[...cut for length...]
"Tell me about the greatest fic, the one you'd give to people who aren't in fandom (although, I'd think they'd need to have at least a familiarity with the source material, but that's up to you) and say, "OH MY GOD, YOU HAVE TO READ THIS, IT'S SO GOOD!""
And I thought, "Ooh, what fun! I should recommend something!" Except I couldn't think what I'd recommend. So I went to my handy dandy Fanfic Recommendations posts, and then I looked at my favorites on FFnet (although I tend to think of my FFnet list more as a collection of things I want to be able to find again as opposed to a list of things I would recommend to other people). And every time I thought, "Oh, yeah, that was a great story!", that thought was immediately followed by, "But that's not a popular fandom", or "But that's not a 'cool' fandom to be associated with". Or just plain "But what if no one else likes it?" As if it somehow reflects badly on me, when I recommend something and then the recommendee doesn't like it.
Nevermind that I don't know snacky or any of the other commenters. Why do I care what they think? Nevermind that some of the other commenters suggested fandoms or genres I've never read and don't consider 'popular' fandoms. Nevermind that if I suggest, for example, a Gargoyles story, chances are no one there will have heard of Gargoyles and thus no one will read it and thus I'll have worried for nothing.
And these are things I love! Things that have made me cry, or laugh, or moved me in some way. Why is that not a legitimate opinion?
Bah. I need better self-esteem.
"Occasionally, I see discussions about how this is the best damn fic ever, and you'd give it to people who weren't even in fandom to read!
"We all have a fic like that, don't we? An incredibly awesome fic that we want everyone else to read RIGHT NOW, it's just that good. It's a fic that's so well-done, so innovative, so different, so twisty and thinky and just plain good that it transcends not just the genre of fanfic (bear with me while I make fanfic a genre, okay?), but very often the source material itself.
[...cut for length...]
"Tell me about the greatest fic, the one you'd give to people who aren't in fandom (although, I'd think they'd need to have at least a familiarity with the source material, but that's up to you) and say, "OH MY GOD, YOU HAVE TO READ THIS, IT'S SO GOOD!""
And I thought, "Ooh, what fun! I should recommend something!" Except I couldn't think what I'd recommend. So I went to my handy dandy Fanfic Recommendations posts, and then I looked at my favorites on FFnet (although I tend to think of my FFnet list more as a collection of things I want to be able to find again as opposed to a list of things I would recommend to other people). And every time I thought, "Oh, yeah, that was a great story!", that thought was immediately followed by, "But that's not a popular fandom", or "But that's not a 'cool' fandom to be associated with". Or just plain "But what if no one else likes it?" As if it somehow reflects badly on me, when I recommend something and then the recommendee doesn't like it.
Nevermind that I don't know snacky or any of the other commenters. Why do I care what they think? Nevermind that some of the other commenters suggested fandoms or genres I've never read and don't consider 'popular' fandoms. Nevermind that if I suggest, for example, a Gargoyles story, chances are no one there will have heard of Gargoyles and thus no one will read it and thus I'll have worried for nothing.
And these are things I love! Things that have made me cry, or laugh, or moved me in some way. Why is that not a legitimate opinion?
Bah. I need better self-esteem.