LGBT Fic Rec

[demotu]

What He Should Have Been, by littlenotebook.

The prompt they're responding to was: When Ianto was a little girl all he wanted was to be able to wear his father's suits. Now he does, but his family doesn't want anything to do with him. And damn, does it ever do it justice. Why? Because I really believe that yeah, this could be my Ianto, without a question.

Comments

[kel_reiley]

i second that!

[thaddeusfavour]

Oh yeah. Saw this earlier on another post. It's a lovely fic. And, it gave me an epiphany that actually had nothing to do with the subject matter. Don't you love when that happens? :P

(psst! could you pass along your favorite layout sites? the only one I recall is the fulcrum.)

[demotu]

noveltybox, thrashmetal are two that do a lot of non-Flexisquares layouts (which I appreciate) and minty_peach is well-known for her FS ones, rightfully so.

What was the epiphany?

[thaddeusfavour]

I've been thinking about what I like to read and what I write. There are some fic that many like - including my friends and other folk I respect - that I just don't enjoy. And sometimes, I'll look at a fic that is poetic and lovely and think "Why don't I write like that?" And I looked at this fic and thought, "I'd never come up with an idea like that or be able to tell that story."

And then it hit me. It wasn't my story to tell. I'd never write "that" story, because it wasn't mine. It was good, but it didn't speak to me in that way that my own work does. Likewise with enjoying some fic and not others.

I know it doesn't sound like much, but it was kind of a revelation. I admit, I'd been a bit bothered by feeling somehow inadequate because I didn't like some fic that I know is good. Now, I feel better. I know that my writing can improve, but it will be my stories that I tell, in my way. And that's a good thing.

[demotu]

Whoo, sorry for lateness. This sounds like a great revelation - and one everyone should have with all forms of literature, you know? I can't stand Dickens, sorry, but you know what? That's okay. It's not my taste and I'm fine with that, just like I'm fine with the fact that I enjoy a lot of fiction that isn't so "high-brow". And there's some fanfic everyone loves - like, say, SOI - that I just never got into. That's okay too - it's SUCH a taste-driven thing, there's no point in being worried that what we like to read or write isn't up to somebody else's standards.

I got your emails re: the masterlists, but since I really need to study today I'm going to leave them until my exam is done tomorrow, but I will take a look at it. At a glance, vera's suggestions seem solid.

[sunnyrea]

Thanks for the rec!

[santousha]

I'm so in love with Little Sister. I want to hug little 'Toshiko'. Just so cute.

Must write rec...