My impression is that, yes, the quality of writing is better in newer fandoms. Or, to put it another way, our writing conventions have changed. In older fandoms, you see a lot more purple prose, a lot more romance-novel language, a lot of hard-to-buy characterization. A much higher level of those things seems to have been not just acceptable but encouraged in older FF.
And what's even worse, at least for me (and if you knew how I loathe romance-novel language you'd know what a major confession this is), is that a lot of the earlier fandoms appeared to have specialized in reinventing the wheel. As in, every author had to learn every damn trick and lesson and helpful hint all by herself, without any superior or outside reading or friends or betas to help her. Assuming she could invent them all herself, and of course she mostly probably couldn't - not because she was a bad writer, or all of the FF writers were bad in those days (which is most definitely not the case), but because inspiration isn't a dime-a-dozen.
I guess what I'm complaining about is the absence of highly infectious, rapidly-distributed memes (of all kinds, from jokes to plot cliches to feedback to meta and so on) in older fandoms. Those authors didn't intermingle or interact as much, didn't have as many sources of feedback, didn't have as much opportunity to read and write constructive criticism and reviews and recommendations. Hell, I don't think they even had as many opportunities to read as we do - I bet the average fan in 1995 read half the FF that the average fan does today, and in 1984 it was probably more like a 10th. Back then there were, as far as I can tell, no major stories that everyone read before starting to write. There were no cliques and in-groups and so on. (And when I say "no," I actually mean "far fewer," because I know there must have been some.) It was fan writing in a vacuum, fan writing not entirely tied in to fandom itself. And the result was - OK, they didn't have as many situations where writer A's good plot idea turns up in 218 stories before nightfall, but they also didn't have as much cross-breeding, genetic blending and contamination, and natural selection.* The result, as far as I can see, was writing that was, on the whole, substantially lower-quality than today's good stuff.
This fannish era has flaws, too, and I can empathize with those who miss the old days even if I could never have handled fandom myself back then. But I do think fan fiction writers have benefited tremendously from the community and interaction aspects of today's fanworld.
And, yeesh. I'm exhausted and uncomfortable and very heavily medicated (I think I'm banned from operating any machinery more complicated than a toothbrush) and boy does it show. If this didn't make a lick of sense, let me know, OK? If I'm completely incoherent here, I'd like a chance to restate my views in, you know, English. Because I do think that this is relevant to what you were saying above.
Oh, and two other things: 1. Could you rec me a favorite Sebastian story? I read a few of hers when I was trying Pros on for size, but I'd like some recs from someone I know has taste similar to mine AND who knows the canon. 2. Please please please please would you consider telling me the six sentences, or the stories they came from? I've never seen the canon and never will, and one of my problems with Pros as a fandom is that the characters aren't as clearly delineated in the FF as in other fandoms. I would love to see what someone who knew the canon very well considered to typify Bodie and Doyle. Pretty please? You could email them to me! I would swear to tell no one! I would offer - well, recommendations, but that's what I've got, unless you want some short, snarky, smut-free FF - in trade! Please?
* You'd think that this decreased fanwork-breeding would have resulted in less fanon, but it did not, near as I can tell. I sometimes think there's more in the older fandoms. Maybe people had less access to the canon back then? I can't think why, but we do have a lot of entertainment technology that wasn't available when Pros or Starsky & Hutch was on the air. Could have something to do with it.
Many older-school Pros authors and fans would argue the opposite about then vs now (and they do, repeatedly, which is what annoys me about the list I mentioned!). Zines with editors good, self-publishing on the internet bad, quality of internet fic bad, lack of mentoring bad, instant feedback bad (someone actually said the other day that the "tyranny of the reader" via feedback was causing the quality of writing to decline).
I can empathize with those who miss the old days
I'd never have found fandom in the "old days", a thought that horrifies me, so I always feel a touch resentful when people talk about it as if it was better when you had to know someone to get a foot in the door.
I've never seen the canon and never will
Oh, don't say that. Life is long and DVDs can easily be had. You liked Sports Night, right? And due South?
Pretty please? You could email them to me! I would swear to tell no one!
I can't withstand this kind of pleading! If you promise... OK, email follows. But as I said to cathexys below, they probably won't do anything in particular for you. And I'm warning you now, if you tell me you don't like them, I may have to hunt you down and kill you think derogatory thoughts about your taste feel sad. :(
I saw that you outed yourself recently... congratulations!
And what's even worse, at least for me (and if you knew how I loathe romance-novel language you'd know what a major confession this is), is that a lot of the earlier fandoms appeared to have specialized in reinventing the wheel. As in, every author had to learn every damn trick and lesson and helpful hint all by herself, without any superior or outside reading or friends or betas to help her. Assuming she could invent them all herself, and of course she mostly probably couldn't - not because she was a bad writer, or all of the FF writers were bad in those days (which is most definitely not the case), but because inspiration isn't a dime-a-dozen.
I guess what I'm complaining about is the absence of highly infectious, rapidly-distributed memes (of all kinds, from jokes to plot cliches to feedback to meta and so on) in older fandoms. Those authors didn't intermingle or interact as much, didn't have as many sources of feedback, didn't have as much opportunity to read and write constructive criticism and reviews and recommendations. Hell, I don't think they even had as many opportunities to read as we do - I bet the average fan in 1995 read half the FF that the average fan does today, and in 1984 it was probably more like a 10th. Back then there were, as far as I can tell, no major stories that everyone read before starting to write. There were no cliques and in-groups and so on. (And when I say "no," I actually mean "far fewer," because I know there must have been some.) It was fan writing in a vacuum, fan writing not entirely tied in to fandom itself. And the result was - OK, they didn't have as many situations where writer A's good plot idea turns up in 218 stories before nightfall, but they also didn't have as much cross-breeding, genetic blending and contamination, and natural selection.* The result, as far as I can see, was writing that was, on the whole, substantially lower-quality than today's good stuff.
This fannish era has flaws, too, and I can empathize with those who miss the old days even if I could never have handled fandom myself back then. But I do think fan fiction writers have benefited tremendously from the community and interaction aspects of today's fanworld.
And, yeesh. I'm exhausted and uncomfortable and very heavily medicated (I think I'm banned from operating any machinery more complicated than a toothbrush) and boy does it show. If this didn't make a lick of sense, let me know, OK? If I'm completely incoherent here, I'd like a chance to restate my views in, you know, English. Because I do think that this is relevant to what you were saying above.
Oh, and two other things: 1. Could you rec me a favorite Sebastian story? I read a few of hers when I was trying Pros on for size, but I'd like some recs from someone I know has taste similar to mine AND who knows the canon. 2. Please please please please would you consider telling me the six sentences, or the stories they came from? I've never seen the canon and never will, and one of my problems with Pros as a fandom is that the characters aren't as clearly delineated in the FF as in other fandoms. I would love to see what someone who knew the canon very well considered to typify Bodie and Doyle. Pretty please? You could email them to me! I would swear to tell no one! I would offer - well, recommendations, but that's what I've got, unless you want some short, snarky, smut-free FF - in trade! Please?
* You'd think that this decreased fanwork-breeding would have resulted in less fanon, but it did not, near as I can tell. I sometimes think there's more in the older fandoms. Maybe people had less access to the canon back then? I can't think why, but we do have a lot of entertainment technology that wasn't available when Pros or Starsky & Hutch was on the air. Could have something to do with it.
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I can empathize with those who miss the old days
I'd never have found fandom in the "old days", a thought that horrifies me, so I always feel a touch resentful when people talk about it as if it was better when you had to know someone to get a foot in the door.
I've never seen the canon and never will
Oh, don't say that. Life is long and DVDs can easily be had. You liked Sports Night, right? And due South?
Pretty please? You could email them to me! I would swear to tell no one!
I can't withstand this kind of pleading! If you promise... OK, email follows. But as I said to cathexys below, they probably won't do anything in particular for you. And I'm warning you now, if you tell me you don't like them, I may have to hunt you down and kill you think derogatory thoughts about your taste feel sad. :(
I saw that you outed yourself recently... congratulations!
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