(no subject)

DH and I are really interested in musical theatre and so we follow the careers and the blogs of some writers we've discovered along the way. Theirs is a really hard life, and they sacrifice a hell of a lot to practice their art.  And so I found the following blog post about criticism of writers within the theatre community really interesting: http://newmusicaltheatre.com/greenroom/2013/09/three-shit-talkers/

So first, go read that. It's a fantastic post, and I think you'll enjoy it.

As a member of the creative community of fandom, that blog post really resonates with me. Obviously fandom isn’t plagued by competition for financial success the way professional creative communities are, but the attitude he describes here is still present. People so often forget that behind the fics, art, vids, gifsets, costumes, filks, and crafts (and more) are actual human beings who worked very hard to create these things, and then offered to share them with the rest of us — for free.

That  generosity and creativity and shared joy is something I fucking love about us. I love that we celebrate it all and take it in directions the creators would never even imagine. Even if it’s not my thing, I know it’s someone’s thing — and how fantastic is it that they get to enjoy it and talk about it with others who also get it?

I know we have our share of folks who sit at that virtual coffee shop table and like to criticize and look down on the way other fans participate in fandom. And trust me, I know it’s not always easy to ignore them. But I also know that the vast majority of us are genuinely nice, welcoming, awesome people who are thrilled to have found a community of our own. Rock on, fandom.  :-)

Posted to Tumblr here.