Because this is literally tearing me the fuck apart. Warning: RANT INVOLVED.
I just. Ugh. I don't get it, and maybe that makes me naive, or ignorant, or power hungry, but I just, I DO NOT GET IT. Why in the world is ignorance so acceptable in this country? Who in the world, way back when education was being decided, agreed that laziness and being "passable" should be the standard we should shoot for? Who the FUCK believes ( Read more... )
On the one hand, I would absolutely applaud anything you or anyone else did to improve the standard of fanfic anywhere. I think that if as a community you implemented measures that sought to promote commitment, responsibility and pride in one's work, that would be an immense thing. I know you display those qualities in your work and I like to think that I do, too.
As you mention, badfic lowers the reputation of a writing community as a whole, and makes things less enjoyable a read for the fans. I don't think it's elitist to think that way.
On the other hand, occasional badfic is generally better than no fic. (Though I guess REALLY REALLY badfic is better than no fic.) And having a Standards Police, where people deem your fic worthy before it can be posted, might have an unnecessarily chilling effect on newbies.
IMO, it's a matter of striking the right balance between being welcoming and encouraging and helpful, and cruelly crushing young dreams.
Of course, it depends on what your comm wants to do. Idol has a comm called aific, which is set up to be a goodfic community, and where writers are actually voted in on the quality of their past fanfic (and people give you anon crit). I found it really unnerving running the aific crit gauntlet, but I got some useful crit that really helped me as a writer. Of course, people think aific is very elitist, but you gotta hand it to them (us), there aren't typos or SPaG errors posted there, and a lot of really awesome fic.
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Yeah, that's where my loyalties lie, mostly. I mean, you can always go back to a more lax standing where newbies are welcomed regardless of what they write later. But I feel like this is a maybe-mistake that needs to be made, y'know? Try it and see if it pans out, because improvement, at this point, is necessary. All of those things are lacking in a lot of fic nowadays and that needs to be taken care of. A-sap.
I agree. I think it's natural, as a reader, to expect the writers intending to have you read their stuff to perfect it to the best of their ability, and if they still haven't reached the highest potential of the story, to seek out a beta, or in this case, take the one offered. Shine up your product before it gets taken, right? :)
I do agree with this, but I think a lot of the people pleasers/peacekeepers have a lot less faith in the newbies than I do. I feel like some newbies might also be turned away because they think their fic could be appreciated better in a higher caliber community, without so much badfic. But nobody ever mentions those newbies.
Yeah, the balance is the hardest part. I think it needs to be a sticky post or something -- an always-in-view post about how we welcome all writers, but prefer you hold to certain standards before you actually expect readers. And take concrit as "I see this is really good, but I think you can do better" rather than "You're stupid, and here's why, a, b, and c." Because that's how I mean it, and I know a lot of other readers/writers have the same intent.
Yeah, I'm sure you found running the gauntlet...that sometimes it's not such a bad thing if a person too arrogant to accept that EVERYBODY needs improvement or a person without the cajones to stand up to feedback that's anything less than "wow, I love this" does not stick around...or waits a while to come back until they've learned at other communities what to post and what not. Sometimes a really really badfic is better left just...in the writer's head or in the writer's personal journal, rather than posted, by choice, to a public forum where they'll critique it freely.
Sometimes, I feel, you have to be cruel to be kind, and if that means telling a writer they're not Jo Rowling in order to make sure they don't end up like Stephenie Meyer, I see no reason why I should withhold such knowledge. Why not use your strengths for the greater good? ♥
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I totally agree with this. Andrea, I really believe that you need to walk carefully here. You hold a huge responsibility in your hands. You are an excellent writer and you are passionate about it. It's inspiring. You see a need for things to improve. I don't think anyone can argue with you there. My worries center around potential unintended side effects of the fixes that you have been discussing. I think if what you are planning has the result of improving the quality of the stories that are posted, great. But at what cost? Also, I'm just not convinced that that is what will happen. There may be other ways, more balanced ways, more nurturing ways to achieve the results that you long for.
Many folks in the community are young. Many of them want to write but don't have the same level of education or natural aptitude that you have. For some of them, English is not their first language. Some of these folks will need to grow more slowly than others. They may need to write for awhile before they have enough confidence and the right level of interest to start to strive to improve their technical skills. But regardless of skill, folks are writing and posting for a reason. It is hard to write something and put it out there for others to see regardless of the quality of the product. When folks have posted or are wanting to post, they are vulnerable. We really don't know exactly where folks are coming from and we really can't make assumptions about their circumstances. I, too, want to read good writing (and I want to produce good writing) but I'm not sure that I want it achieved at any cost.
It's about community. This, more than anything, is what I have observed and experienced since arriving at __Vam. The community aspect of __vam is thriving. Folks reach out to one another, get to know one another, help one another. You might take it for granted but it is not there in all of the communities on LJ or elsewhere, certainly in none that I have been involved with in my 7 years on Live Journal. That seems like a massive strength and one which could potentially be effectively utilized to reach your goals all the while continuing to nurture and grow the community rather than damaging it.
Again, just think this through. I would be sad to see you throw the baby out with the bathwater. Try to set your quite intense (and beautiful) passion aside and see it from all angles. You could make choices right now that will alienate and exclude writers, possibly snuffing a budding passion to write, or you could make choices that will engage and encourage new writers to improve.
You've a hard job and while you may not be enjoying this particular process, I am glad to see you struggling with it. We all have the potential to benefit.
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