Voting in DS Match

[zebra363]

This reading more fanfiction idea is working out really well for me so far. I'm still getting tons done outside on my days off, but without tipping over the edge into too tired to function. The green is almost gone, growing season is nearly over and I'm busy mowing and whippersnippering and clearing fallen branches to get ready for firebreak

Comments

[bluebrocade]

I know what you mean. I thought the "impending death" story was excellent, but *enjoy* it? I was crying my eyes out! OTOH, I gave it a 9 for genre. My angst scoring goes: sobbing=9, tears=8, teary-eyed=7. And for the enjoy rating, it only gets a 9 if I liked it enough to bookmark it. So, only two nines so far. My fave story so far was the one where Ray's clueless. I think it was called 'Like Bacon & Axle Grease'. I also thought the F/K, K/V one (angst-o-rama) was great and I don't even like K/V!

[zebra363]

Oh, I was crying too, but that's what I liked so much about it! I read in hopes of having a strong emotional reaction, and sadness suits me just as well as happiness - more, in fact, because there are fewer of those stories about. It's funny, I read a story like that and I feel fantastic afterwards. I guess it's the cathartic effect. That story really brought out the emotion without going over the top into weepy or maudlin.

I liked "Like Bacon & Axle Grease" a lot too, but it's the one where I deducted two points for excessive Ray K talking. The food analogies went on a bit too long for me. Kiss him already!!

I've given one 9, one 8 and a few 7s, and mostly abstained from voting on the rest. I wonder if many people are using the full voting scale? The old "if you can't say anything nice, don't say anything at all" seems to kick in, even with anonymous numbers!

[zebra363]

I just tried the 9:30 to Yellowknife, but the story didn't make me believe in the situation, or the Fraser. I got to he loves Fraser but he loves Vecchio more and thought, I don't think so! I needed a lot more information about Ray K and Fraser's problems and also Ray K's feelings for Vecchio.

[zebra363]

I'm mostly a F/K person, too, though I'll read the odd Ray/Ray if it has a strong focus on Fraser. china_shop has a good one where they get together on Fraser's grave - now that is a good enough reason for me for RayK not being with Fraser! I've never read a F/V story and I'm not sure I could.

The 25 things story was interesting, but I couldn't begin to say I enjoyed what happened there!

Another thing I'm not sure how to weigh up is length. Should a pretty good long story be marked higher than a pretty good 2000 word story? I'm enjoying the voting exercise overall, though - it's making me think harder about what I consider makes and breaks a good story.

[scriggle]

I've pretty much only read the F/K romance stories. I don't get F/K/V or K/V; they just don't interest me.

As for the angst, well, I read fanfic as an escape. I don't mind angst as long as the boys are happy at the end. But angst that leaves them totally broken? Not my thing and I don't read it. I know the impending death story has gotten raves and maybe I would have read it a fews years ago but having gone through that very scenario twice in RL since 2001, it's not going to happen now.

[zebra363]

having gone through that very scenario twice in RL since 2001, it's not going to happen now.

I understand and am sure I won't want to read that sort of story either, when things like that take place in my RL. It's not the same, but I was a far cry from my usual self in 2006 due to a broken friendship, and the last thing I'd've wanted to read then was relationship-gone-wrong stories, which I usually enjoy. I feel kind of self-conscious saying I enjoy death stories when I know I haven't had my full share of experiences in that area, but part of the reason I like them is that they feel like training for how to handle the situation when it arises, as it will. I want to give it conscious thought as preparation, though that may not help me much! (Almost all my relatives are in the USA, so I've been shielded by distance from most family deaths, and no close friends have died since I was 19.) I hope it doesn't sound offensive to someone like you to hear people say they like to read death stories.

[scriggle]

I hope it doesn't sound offensive to someone like you to hear people say they like to read death stories.

Oh, not at all. I'm a "whatever floats your boat" kind of gal. *g*

I have read death stories in the past (Executor springs to mind - I was all right with it because the boys were together if that makes sense) and I will again. I just have to be in the proper mind space to read them. That particular premise just hits way too close to home for me. Others have enjoyed it which is great.

Everything we read is filtered through our own life experiences so everyone is bound to see things differently and take different things away from a story.

[thefourthvine]

I haven't been able to read the dS Match stories at all. I hadn't realized how much I rely on author names in that fandom until this started. But - I have to know if the story will hurt going in with these guys, I just do, and "angst" v. "romance" is not a sufficient indicator. I need to know if I can trust the writer, because dS is so very much my fannish heart

[scriggle]

I have to know if the story will hurt going in with these guys

Someone who I trust is reading all the angst stories and emailing me afterward with a general idea about where the story goes so I don't have to read blindly.

[zebra363]

I used to dislike reading anonymous stories, but now it's my favourite thing to do in fandom. I rely on author names in DS in a bad way: too often I think, "Name I don't recognise, so the story probably won't be really good and since I'm pretty busy, I'll just skip it". I love the freedom from preconceptions that comes with temporary anonymity and the enforced honesty it brings to the comments I leave.

I need to know if I can trust the writer, because dS is so very much my fannish heart.

I do understand that. Pros is still my fannish heart, and I almost never read a story in that fandom at all, because I just can't stand it when people get the characterisation "wrong". I'd rather never read anything at all.

And part of that was just me going, "But I need norms! I need exemplars! I need to know what, specifically, each number means!" This is what I was wrestling with when I tried to work out my "automatic deduction" scale. But it's not really cutting it. Should there also be automatic credits, say for length? And to what

[isiscolo]

I followed you back here from your comments in my lj, and I have to say this is a fascinating take on things. I love reading about how people approach stories, partly because I'm a writer (and want to craft my stories to hit people just right) and partly because I like to compare/contrast with my own approach.

It's particularly cool for me to read this, in this case, because as a Team Angst member I know a bit more about the stories (at the very least, who wrote them; possibly I beta-read or even wrote them, but I am carefully preserving anonymity here).

[zebra363]

I enjoy looking at stories in an analytical way (everyday-analytical, not literary criticism analytical, since I know nothing about the latter!), but there rarely seems to be much of a place for it in fandom. The general view seems to be that the beta process is the (only) appropriate place, but that leaves no role for the reader who sees the story later, means the author doesn't get as many detailed reader reactions, and means that readers don't get to see other readers' reactions much beyond "heartbreaking", "awesome", "&hearts", etc. I'd love to read exactly what other people did and didn't like about stories I have strong opinions on, but people don't tend to say those things in public - and maybe if I were a writer, I'd prefer they didn't! As a reader, it makes things less interesting

[isiscolo]

You and I will have to have a talk after the reveal, because I'm anxious to hear all your thoughts! I can't say more without compromising anonymity

[zebra363]

And one commenter did say something negative, I noted, and was reprimanded by a mod, which I think may have had a dampening effect on others.

I saw that response by the mod just a couple of days ago and wrote to her to say I thought it would have exactly that effect. I'm really glad I didn't see it back on Day 2, because I think it would have had a very dampening effect on my enthusiasm for the entire challenge. (Especially as that commenter wasn't trying to be negative - as far as I could see, she was intending to give glowing praise!) It definitely affected my decision not to read that story, since I doubted I'd be able to leave a comment on a F/V/K story that would meet with official approval!

I do occasionally email people with more detailed comments, but what I'd really prefer is a culture where those responses were posted publicly. I'd like the fun of reading other people's reactions, too!

Looking forward to the reveal!