Comments | life_wo_fanlib: I know I just posted about the forums, but they're getting goofier by the hour.

scarah2 in life_wo_fanlib

I know I just posted about the forums, but they're getting goofier by the hour.

Jun 23, 2007 16:43

All links go to FanLib, now with more craptastic flash "badge" signatures, so be warned. Just don't use more than one badge, or you'll get banned! Because that's so much easier and less drastic than, I don't know, editing your sig for you.

Someone resurrects a month old wanky thread to ask about the review deletion policy.

Mod responds: It is ( Read more... )

fanlib: forums

Comments 33

stewardess June 24 2007, 00:11:11 UTC

FanFic Contset-Winner Becomes More Famous

???????

I think the cats are at the keyboards again.

stewardess June 24 2007, 00:14:58 UTC

They see a lot of fics getting huge numbers of reviews, and don't realise than many of them are from circles of friends who will review every chapter with glowing praise regardless of how good it is.

It's the fucking cabal again!!! Remember, kids, feedback is just sucking up to the BNFs! We are the few, the proud -- the writers without feedback!

I really need to stay away from the FanLib forums.

scarah2 June 24 2007, 00:20:12 UTC

stewardess you wouldn't think it was funny if you weren't such a BNF. Easy to laugh it up from that side of the peeled grape! :((((

stewardess June 24 2007, 00:26:27 UTC

Soon my life will be feedbackless! I will be posting stories at insanejournal, and will disappear in the land of Blogs That Are Not LJ.

Thread 13

normaltrouble June 24 2007, 00:51:50 UTC

I read that last one and I am not so thoroughly confused that I have an excellent excuse to take a short nap.

normaltrouble June 24 2007, 00:52:55 UTC

I mean to say "now".
See.
It confused me.

scarah2 June 24 2007, 01:26:53 UTC

Me too!

(The comment has been removed)

scarah2 June 24 2007, 02:29:59 UTC

She is. I think that came out when she was replying to livejournals and everyone was like "Oh look they sent out a female representative to calm down the uppity wimminz!"

angiepen June 24 2007, 03:01:30 UTC

Wasn't her original forum sig something like, "This is why I get the extra cookie?" Someone might've finally clued her in that that wasn't the best choice [cough] and that she should use something a bit less egotistical. [bemused smile]

Angie

stewardess June 24 2007, 05:17:12 UTC

You mean someone like us? :D

By the way, I picked up something at Target this evening that will amaze you all.

*cackles evilly*

Thread 6

stewardess June 24 2007, 05:33:17 UTC

Did you see the discussion about FanLib featuring new writers who suck?

http://www.fanlib.com/posts/list/400.page

It's not completely clear from the context, but it sounds like FanLib "featured" new writers to encourage them. Unfortunately, one or more of the writers did not even have someone proofread, so there have been fics loaded with spelling and other errors in the featured category.

I saw one of them a week ago. There was a misspelled word in the summary. *face palms*

I completely agree with jdsampson it is not good to bash new writers, but posting without even using spellcheck should be criticized. No one will improve at writing if readers ignore easily preventable errors. It's one thing to have trouble with shifting POVs, but spelling? No way. Bad.

As jdsampson said, we all were new once! But some of us did not post our first stuff because we knew it sucked.

It is possible to write fanfiction and not post it. Shocking, perhaps, but I do it all the

angiepen June 24 2007, 15:28:17 UTC

But having said that, I think when it comes to featured fics to judge a story accordingly to how long the person writing it has been writing will simply be wrong. A story should be judged regardless what the outside factors are. I mean, yes, let's encourage new writers to bloom, but I think to lowering the expectations for them just because they are newbies will be kinda patrionizing.

Props and applause to MissKitten -- wow, someone with a brain!

It is possible to write fanfiction and not post it.

And yes, absolutely. [nodnod] One of my pet peeves about fanfic fandom is how newbies are led to think that they're "supposed to" post their First Evar Stori!! It does them no favors and is just as likely to discourage them from ever posting again. :(

I've got a meta on this topic I started back when....

Angie, shuffling through files

elfwreck June 25 2007, 02:21:44 UTC

I posted my First Evar Fanfic. (At least, as far as I know. Possibly I wrote something in my teen years that my mind has nicely blanked out.)

However, I'd been writing essays & articles for a couple of decades. And bits of original fic that I had the sense *not* to post anywhere. My writing skills were already well-developed; I only had to worry about characterization and such, and was willing to accept the idea that I'd botched them.

(I hadn't. Got glowing comments from authors I admire, so I was very happy.)

I give some leeway to teen authors, who are still developing writing skills. Anyone over the age of 25, or any college graduate... umm, no. If they care enough about the fandom to write in it, they should learn to make the characters plausible and the plot interesting--after all, those are features that drew them to the fandom in the first place, right?

angiepen June 25 2007, 02:50:15 UTC

If someone's First Evar Fanfic (or piece of fiction, period) is actually, like, good, then that's fine. I don't mean stellar, but decent, something that looks like it was written by someone who 1) has a basic grasp of craftsmanship and 2) gives the impression that they actually give a damn what the thing looks like ( ... )

Thread 7