Random Wednesdayness

[emmagrant01]

1. Not buying a permanent account. Nope.

2. sa_lulz is KILLING me, I swear!!

3. My new favorite catchphrase: "YOU ARE PROJECTING YOUR INTELLECTUALISM ONTO PEOPLE WHO HAVE NO IDEA WHAT YOU ARE TALKING ABOUT." *snerk*

4. There was a great conversation about fandom burnout in the last episode of slashcast between charlotteschaos, gmth, and themostepotente, and one of the points they brought up was that they thought the proliferation of fic fests, challenges and exchanges in the last couple of years was a big contributing factor. And you know, that made SO much sense to me.

In the last year, every fic I've written has been for a challenge, exchange, or fest. Every single one. It's been a year since I've written something without a deadline, without having to worry about it meeting the standards of the person modding the fest, or without worrying that it wasn't going to measure up to someone else's expectations. It's been a whole year since I've written something just for me. o_0

And you know, I think that's almost entirely responsible for my fandom burnout in the last year. Writing has become a chore, something that feels an awful lot like work. I get an assignment with a deadline, and I spend weeks completely baffled about what I'm going to do, have to force myself to sit down and work on it, and end up pulling the equivalent of an all-nighter to get it done. The fics I've written in the last year have been okay, but I thought most of them could have been a lot better. And while it's true that there are some fics I would never have written otherwise (like Draco Malfoy is a Stupid Wanker), there haven't been any fics that I wrote because I was obsessive about a story and thought about it nonstop, for which the act of writing them down was actually pleasurable. I miss that.

I'm working on a fic now that's so ridiculously overdue for its fest that I've stopped worrying about the deadline. I'm taking my time with it, and I'm having more fun writing it than I can remember having in a long time. I think I'm going to lay off the fests for a while.

Comments

[emmagrant01.livejournal.com]

You know, that's a good point. Even keeping up as a reader can be overwhelming. Rather than having fics posted regularly when people get them written over the course of a year, they seem to come in these rushes, so quickly you can't read them all. And because they're all so close together, it's even easier to hit the back button on a fic that doesn't catch your attention right away. After all, there are twenty more to read. :-P

I don't know if you listened to the discussion on slashcast, but they also talked about there being a sense in fandom that fic exchanges are getting competitive and that people feel pressure to write long plotty fics that will get lots of comments, and feel like they've failed if they don't do that. Most of those fests have 1000 word minimums, so it's sort of bizarre that it's gone that way.

[norton-gale.livejournal.com]

People feel pressure to write long plotty fics that will get lots of comments, and feel like they've failed if they don't do that.

Yes! There is a definite pressure to do that. Although length has nothing to do with quality (fic-wise, lol) I do notice the longer stories tend to get the most comments. Also, I feel like I can't give my giftees teeny fics when everyone else gets longer ones (despite the fact that a deftly written short fic is more satisfying than one which is longer but poorly done). When the fest isn't an exchange, my fics definitely tend to be shorter.

For newer and non-established writers, there's also a sense of auditioning with anonymous exchanges - will this fic get me an invite to such and such comm?-- which can also be stressful. It's easy to lose touch with the goal of just pleasing the giftee, and to try to please everyone. Then you look at your comments and the number of comments other fics got, and if yours got less you feel you've failed somehow.

Nevertheless: fests and exchanges do create excitement (at least the major ones do), and it also can stimulate authors to get writing, motivated by the ever-looming deadline.

[emmagrant01.livejournal.com]

For newer and non-established writers, there's also a sense of auditioning with anonymous exchanges - will this fic get me an invite to such and such comm?-- which can also be stressful. It's easy to lose touch with the goal of just pleasing the giftee, and to try to please everyone.

I remember having several conversations with people writing for Smutmas last year who were struggling with that very issue. And even for people who are more "established" (like me, I guess), it's still stressful. There's this sense in which anon exchanges are a test to see if your fic is really any good or if people just read it because they recognize your name, you know?

I've definitely written some fics I'm proud of for exchanges, but it's taken the shine off of writing for me in the last year. I need to find that shine again, without deadlines and prompts. I'm hoping that reading the new book will be a big spark of shiny. ;-)

[norton-gale.livejournal.com]

I think the test aspect is one of the more exciting things about participating in anonymous exchanges, because all anyone has to go on is the fic itself. But I'd say in regard to the current wave of hd_holidays if you're not getting or don't get lots of comments once your fic posts, it doesn't mean the story isn't good- it could just be that it got lost in the shuffle. Three fics per day is more than most people have time for.

I loved DMiaSW, and I can't wait to read your HDH2 submission, if I haven't already.

I'm hoping that reading the new book will be a big spark of shiny. ;-)

Me too! Which is why I'm not going to start my the_eros_affair fic until I finish DH. My prompt is Draco to Harry: I promise to turn you gay for me, and if Harry survives in the end, that's the very next thing that should happen. ;)

[emmagrant01.livejournal.com]

if you're not getting or don't get lots of comments once your fic posts, it doesn't mean the story isn't good- it could just be that it got lost in the shuffle.

Yes, absolutely. I have read exactly one hd_holidays fic so far because I have been busy with other things. Bad Emma! I should go over there right now and spend my lunch reading a few...

[mizbean.livejournal.com]

there being a sense in fandom that fic exchanges are getting competitive and that people feel pressure to write long plotty fics that will get lots of comments, and feel like they've failed if they don't do that.

I definitely felt that pressure at smutmas, especially when I saw people on my flist gloating about their word counts! In all honesty I prefer to read shorter fics (not that I don't like the long, epic story now and then).

Thanks for the reminder about slashcast