Comments | harmony_bites: Select Guide to SSHG Shorts (Post DH Year Two)

harmony_bites

Select Guide to SSHG Shorts (Post DH Year Two)

Sep 11, 2009 06:46

I searched through FanfictionNet, AdultFanfiction, The Archive at the End of the Universe, Skyehawke, Fiction Alley, Restricted Section, Granger Enchanted, WIKTT Archives, Ashwinder, The Petulant Poetess, OWL, Digital Quill the sshg_exchange and grangersnape100Below are notable SSHG stories under 10,000 words posted between July 21, 2008 and July 21, 2009, including single ( Read more... )

sshgguides, fic recs, ss/hg, dh2sshgguides

Comments 32

kribu September 11 2009, 11:55:23 UTC

It will truly be a pity if this batch will remain your last, as they've been tremendously helpful both in finding stuff to read, in reminding me of things I wanted to nominate in the SSHG awards and just as an overview in general, but I do understand the feeling of not wanting to do it again next year.

harmony_bites September 11 2009, 19:45:40 UTC

I don't want to be the list lady. Somewhere along the way I've discovered I made my reputation on it--and it's not what I ever wanted from being in the fandom.

At the same time, I'll be glad if people discover good fic because of the lists.

bluestocking79 September 11 2009, 14:44:43 UTC

It isn't said enough, but I thank you from the bottom of my heart, for the time and thought that you put into assembling these guides. I love them and appreciate them, both as a list of quality work that I know I will enjoy reading and as a starting point for assembling my nominations for the awards. I can fully understand why you might choose not to do them again, because they demand so much work, but I want you to know that I appreciate them and the work you do.

A thousand thank yous, also, for defending the honor of the short-form story, which I love wholeheartedly, and not just because I primarily write it. I think I want an icon that says "Short Stories ARE Real Stories!" :D

harmony_bites September 11 2009, 19:56:02 UTC

It's not so much the work--but that I don't really want to invest in this fandom much anymore. Something happened some months ago that was just straw/camel for me and made me realize that investing much in it really isn't healthy--and I hope by saying that publicly that'll shame me into following through :-) Even if I still rather do love the ship when I come across something good, and my muse doesn't really feel inspired to go somewhere else yet--although I will try to finish my WIP--not because I believe it will get much readership, but I hate to leave something unfinished.

A thousand thank yous, also, for defending the honor of the short-form story, which I love wholeheartedly, and not just because I primarily write it. I think I want an icon that says "Short Stories ARE Real Stories!" :DA lot of my favorite stories in the ship (and fanfic in general and literature) are short stories. Not to take anything away from the longer form--I think this is a ship that repays the longer form--because its not an easy sell coming in. But you ( ... )

bluestocking79 September 12 2009, 19:05:08 UTC

I can understand all of those reasons, and I can also certainly understand a desire not to be pegged as "the list lady"; you have far too much talent and precision as a writer to be pigeonholed for your lists, discerning and helpful as they are.

And of course I understand the desire not to leave a WIP behind, if possible. I'm the same way; I hate to leave things undone. Selfishly, I hope that your muse will cooperate and allow you to reenter Book of Shadows, simply because it means more for me to read and savor. Yet I do understand the difficulty of returning to a story after a hiatus, particularly when you feel that you've changed--as a writer, as a person, as a fan--and I hope you know that you've no obligation to us to finish it. I won't pretend that I wouldn't be thrilled if you did, but I would absolutely understand if you didn't.

Having said that? We'll miss you. And probably follow you. (Ahem. Especially if your muse should decide that she likes Reboot Trek.)

Not to take anything away from the longer form--I think ( ... )

harmony_bites September 13 2009, 12:18:19 UTC

I can also certainly understand a desire not to be pegged as "the list lady"

It's at the point that every time someone tells me what a contribution I've made because of it I wince.

Yet I do understand the difficulty of returning to a story after a hiatus, particularly when you feel that you've changed--as a writer, as a person, as a fan

There's a lot I look at in that story and cringe at now--a lot that I'd do differently, but would be too hard to revise. Doesn't help there's been a run lately of student/teacher following canon WIPs out there lately--good ones too--probably inspired by Second Life but having to deal with many of the same choices and making me wish I'd handled some of my own choices differently. Also, when I first started that WIP, I was firmly under the spell of KazVL, Helga Von Nutwhimple, Caeria among others. So, along with feeling HBP Hermione needed as much explanation or more than HBP Snape and thus wanting to follow canon, I had student/teacher fics as role models. But over time I've grown increasingly ( ... )

duniazade September 12 2009, 00:11:57 UTC

Much as I appreciate your lists, for me you are first and foremost the author of Janus, Gambit and The Book of Shadows. I'll be sad if you give up the lists, but... maybe, just maybe, that could mean more stories from you.

I completely agree with you about short stories in general and Bloodcult's in particular - they are wonderful, and I especially love Broken Ravens which is a Snape/Molly Prewett.

harmony_bites September 12 2009, 11:21:14 UTC

Thank you--and after all you're the person who gave me one of my rare recs--of "Janus" on crack_broom--so I know you're not here just for the lists! I do want to finish Book of Shadows if I can and intend to try again as soon as real life lets up--or decide it just can't be done. It's been a long time since I've touched it and an even longer time since I started it, and I've changed a lot as a writer--maybe too much to find my way back to it--but I'd hate to leave the fandom and leave a WIP behind me (if for no other reason, that periodically there are idiots that suggest people should be allowed to finish other's WIPs--w/o even author permission)

I completely agree with you about short stories in general and Bloodcult's in particular - they are wonderful, and I especially love Broken Ravens which is a Snape/Molly Prewett.I didn't mention that one because it's not SSHG--but I agree completely with you, that Bloodcult's Snape/Molly is as amazing as her SSHG--thought-provoking. And you know, as much as I love Bambu's longer works, I think she's ( ... )

misstee123 September 12 2009, 01:36:51 UTC

Thank you so much for all the work you put into this. I know you don't want to be known as the "list lady", but I bookmark each of these and use them to help me keep up with this fandom ( ... )

harmony_bites September 12 2009, 11:31:24 UTC

I'll still require you to read and comment on any future stories of mine, because I love the "harmony gold seal of approval" so much!!

You wouldn't have to twist my arm!

I loved Breathe so much. It is completely different than my other fluffy stuff, but it just came to me one day, and I sat down and wrote it in one night. Maybe it had to do with my grandmother passing away just a few months previous. I don't know, but I'm really proud of that piece.

You should be. I think a lot of the most inspired pieces--the short ones anyway--come that way--inspired and quick. And "Breathe" really does have a wealth of feeling behind it somehow--it feels real. Which is why it's one of ten starred--and btw, I have 844 shorts and ficlets from this past year on my spreadsheet. So think about how much I have to love it to make not just the 50 I chose, but the ten I starred. I notice it got rec'd by someone on crack_broom damn quickly after the sshg_exchange too, so obviously I'm not the only one who thinks it's something special.

And I really hope you get around some day ( ... )

lulabelle72 September 14 2009, 21:29:30 UTC

Lariope suggested I come over to take a look at your lists.

Firstly, this represents an amazing amount of work, and I've printed it out (that's a lot of paper, lol) and I'm cross-checking it against my own faves this year to start narrowing down my list of noms for the upcoming awards.

Secondly, I received nom's last year and one win in the awards, and I've received a few other awards, but I am now taking this opportunity to let you know that my KIA's are most valued to me of all. That site is where I get the overwhelming majority of my rec's, and you have never once let me down. No matter the pairing or rating or storyline, I've been happy every time. And to have any of my work rec'd over there is an honor. To see my name on the above list was a thrill.

Thank you for all of your hard work, and thank you for including me in this prestigious line-up you've assembled here.

harmony_bites September 15 2009, 14:35:39 UTC

When Clare and I started KIA we hoped we could deliver consistently quality recs readers could trust that would be free of bias, cliques, and respected--much like Best of Trek. Unlike BoT though, we've been attacked, particularly by those not rec'd on the site. And it can be hard to know what impact we have, if we do get the stories we have highlighted readership and reviews.

So believe me, your words about your KIA recs meaning more to you than the awards you've gotten, and that you trust our recs, mean more than you can ever know.

I'm glad the list can be helpful, too. ;-) It's why it's there--even if I carp about being known as the List Lady...