As a fellow writer I’d say to just write and practice as much as you can even if you never publish it! As for length I’d say whatever it takes to get to “the thing” as Bukowski would say. Some people need 2k or more words while some need much less. It’s all about finding your own style of writing, the people who want to read your work will show up regardless. In my opinion, as a reader I like at least 1k words but I have read really short fics too. Just find what suits you and get good at it! Sometimes I read really long fics, and when I’m done it felt short because it was that good. Just do what feels right. You say you’re new to writing fanfiction, but if you’re new to writing for enjoyment in general my suggestion would be to try to make the goal of setting up the first chapter solidly if it’s going to be a long one(multiple chapters).
YOU SAID IN YOUR TAGS TO JUMP IN WITH THOUGHTS SO HI, HERE I AM.
One of the things I love about fanfiction is that it’s the fucking Wild West and there’s so much out there and it’s so subjective. Everyone has their own standard on lengths and such and I guarantee you that no matter what the length is that someone will want it. Like yeah we all wanna read a nice novel length fic that’ll keep us occupied for a week and rip our hearts out, but there’s a huge value in finding tiny fics that you can read real quick while you’re on your lunch break or waiting in a line somewhere. I promise there is an application for all lengths of fics. 😀
I did wanna say though, as a writer, I find it super fucking distracting to worry about how long my fic is while I’m writing it. I use TextEdit to write a lot cause it’s really plain and doesn’t have a wordcounter and doesn’t show you page breaks, so you can like smash away and not have to worry about it. I try to think of my stories as having a beginning, a middle, and an end, and it takes as long as it takes to get there. Don’t let the number bug you. If you’re telling a good story it truly doesn’t matter.
♠ (Louis) *sighs* “Lestat cries far more than I do, it’s been thoroughly accounted for in his voluminous memoirs… his “wahmbulance” treatment consists of an enormous amount of ego stroking and retail therapy. As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.”
Hello and welcome to our gift exchange! Not a strange question at all, no need to apologise 😉 Don’t be nervous, it’s all for fun!
I totally get where you’re coming from tho, we are definitely experiencing a surge of talent in the fandom, and it’s been wonderful to see such great response to #InktoberVC!
(^Claudia would totes join if she could, but she wouldn’t draw anything for the Louis/Armand ship lol)
From what I’ve seen over the years, ppl participating in the @vcsecretgifts exchange are happy to get any gift at all that relates to their prompt 😀 Even the best fanartists and writers talk about needing improvement in their work, and they know that we all have to start somewhere ^______^
Personally, I feel like the concept of a fic can make it great even if the writing style needs improvement, and similarly, I feel like great dialogue in a fan comic can elevate a piece even if the drawing itself needs improvement. I actually prefer to buy commissioned fanart in black & white bc I don’t always feel like a more “finished” look with color is necessarily better. There are some beautiful WIPs that stand up without being “finished”!
It’s all subjective, too, what I think is a “good” drawing or fic and what someone else thinks is “good,” but I prefer to think of all of it as being different styles. Some ppl dislike Jackson Pollock bc they see his art as splatter paint only (and therefore, totally unskilled), some ppl dislike Photorealistic painting for being too much like a photograph, despite the fact that it takes an enormous amount of skill.
We have ppl who participate who are unable to write or draw, but they are music buffs and make excellent playlists of songs for the characters/ships, or there are fans who do aesthetic photo sets, etc. Everyone participating is doing it more for the fun of giving a gift and receiving one, rather than one-upmanship.
(While some gifts do get more notes/reblogs/comments than others, well, I feel like the only comments that really matter are from the specific recipient, so it’s very important to show gratitude for the gift you’re given no matter what it is! Bc smne made it for you!)
All the gifts on that blog are for all of us; it’s true for me that I’m more likely to actually MAKE a fanwork when there’s a deadline and someone(s) expecting it, so I think that’s what it’s more about ;D
Btw last chance to join! Sign ups close at 11:59 pm CST!
(I have a backlog of asks, Real Life has been taking my life, and this is the one I decide to answer, bc I am apparently a glutton for punishment) (My senpais re: the topic of allowing writers to write dark fiction (and readers to read it) are @restoringsanity and @freedom-of-fanfic, among others, check them out).
Welcome to our little corner of Tumblrland!
This became a Wall of Text™, but I felt like articulating these thoughts again, as I do periodically. Sorry, no cut, couldn’t find a good place to do it.
Anon, I hope you come into the light and join us, share with us what you like about VC and make our fandom better for being part of it. You might make some of the best friends of your life with us 🙂 I definitely have, and that’s what fandom is about for me.
I think this question was answered very well by @interview-withthevampirehere, with supporting links. I was honored to be tagged as a Certified Old in the fandom, yes, I was around in the Dark Ages of the Internet, for the Spec Massacre, but am I a Respected Old? That’s debatable, lol. I have my opinions about VC, and everyone’s headcanon may vary on all of it.
No sense reinventing the wheel in answering the same way as they did, but I have thoughts to add. @interview-withthevampire started their answer as follows, and I want to start mine the same way:
“the reason why Anne Rice is a bit quarrelsome (I don’t want to use “cr*zy”) is because, well, the kindest way to put it is that she’s a bit of an ego-maniac.”
^YES. She’s probably a bit of an ego-maniac, but not “cr*zy.” “Crazy” is what we use to “other” someone, to dehumanize them by calling their mental faculties into question. It’s a gentle teasing at best and a bullying tactic at worst.
One thing you’ll find in VC fandom is that every so often, like a cycle, we’ll get another round of bashing Anne Rice. Whether or not she is a “good” or “bad” person with “good” or “bad” thoughts/intentions, that’s not the purpose of my blog and not what I base my love for VC on. My blog is primarily for entertainment and fandom positivity.
As fandom has begun a shift into examining authors and content creators who create problematic content (also known as ”dark fiction,” which I prefer as a term bc the word “problematic” has become kind of a joke in its overuse), there is a tendency to conflate that content with their beliefs, that they write what they would like to see happen in reality. I strongly feel that creation/consumption of dark fiction is not endorsement of it.
In brief, people might think Anne Rice is “cr*zy” bc of (1) her Real Life actions against her fans and other people, and (2) the problematic content in her books.
Again, I think @interview-withthevampire covered point (1). In the end, Anne Rice is just a human being who wrote a set of books that have gathered a wide spectrum of fans. I think it took her years (decades?) to understand the nature of her fanbase, and as the internet grew around her, it became easier for fanworks and reviews/feedback to publish into the real world. There were no longer the filters in place of people like magazine editors; any blogger could write a review of her works in full view of millions of fans, and they were not required to pull any punches.
AR had to acclimate to that and after fighting the ficwriters for long enough, she chose to stop suing, and learn to coexist with it all. I don’t know of many other authors treating their own fanbases the way AR treated us, so I would guess that authors who have published works since the internet really got in gear have probably all embraced their fanbases from the beginning. Therefore, VC fandom’s bad blood (pun intended) with Anne Rice stands out as being downright BIZARRE now 😛
As far as (2) the problematic content.
What we’re really talking about is whether dark fiction (pedophilia, incest, etc.) should be written about at all if they are not condemned in the narrative. Personally, I believe that creation/consumption of dark fiction is not endorsement of it.
*Bruised banana analogy*
VC, like any media, be it books/movies/music/video games/etc., is like a banana. It might have gross bruises, those parts that you find squicky or otherwise distasteful. It’s fine to point them out, so that others can be aware, but you are not required to do so. Some areas on a given banana are less bruised than others, and you can eat them. Maybe you eat around all the bruises, even the smaller ones. Maybe you don’t mind bruises and you can eat the whole banana.
I admit, on a subjective level, that VC books have gotten much bruisier for me over the years, and there are several that I find so bruised that there is much less to enjoy, but that’s how it is. I STILL LIKE THE PARTS I LIKE.
[X Banana from fromthedriversseat.co.uk] ^Red would be those bruises that I can’t accept, so I don’t eat them.
Maybe the whole banana is ruined for you and you can’t stomach it. Maybe you can bake it into banana bread, turn it into something else entirely! That’s a fanworks’ purpose. Like a fanfic where you remove/revise the bruises from canon and write the story the way you would prefer it to be. Fluff would probably be a banana with very few
bruises, if any at all.
I’ve made my own headcanons that have “fixed” canon in a way that greatly improved the stories for me. I’ve read fanfic that was basically providing missing pieces from canon. I’ve seen fanart and cosplay that pretty much illustrated my headcanon of the characters. For me, fandom is about taking inspiration from the canon source material to make your own works, sharing that with other fans, and being supportive of those content creators in whatever way you feel comfortable!
It’s every reader’s prerogative, how much of the “banana” they want to eat, if any at all. No one is forcing you to eat it, and other people enjoying the banana does not trample your choice. Your choice not to eat some/all of the bruises does not supersede other’s choice of eating them.
I’ve said that creating/consuming problematic content is not in itself endorsement of
problematic things in REAL LIFE. As far as I know, Anne Rice has committed no REAL crimes, so while I would love it if she had a trusted editor/beta reader,I don’t condemn her for exploring dark topics in fiction. More thoughts on that in my #dark fiction tag.
As fans in the fandom, we can like what we like, critique her work, choose what canon we accept, toss the rest. She put it out there and in that sense, it doesn’t matter if Anne Rice is “cr*zy” or not, or if she is a “good” or “bad” person with “good” or “bad” thoughts. Personally, I believe that AR was interested in sex before she was the age of consent and was frustrated that she was being prevented from pursuing sexual relationships. Those explorations led to bruises in her bananas. Those are her bones to pick, so to speak.
I’ve made some of my best friends in VC fandom, and if they or I had left because of the bruises in our bananas, I might never have met them at all. I consider VC to be a gift to us from AR, no more, no less.
Nothin’ new, just Chris Rice meeting with Bryan Fuller about it recently… Watch my #VC News tag for any developments, and, reminder: anyone see anything relevant, send me the link(s) so I can shares it out here 😉
♥u♥ You’re so sweet to ask! @wicked-felina (aka Rebness) look look they want more!
(You’re the same person or another a second lovely reader, bc I saw that we recently got a comment on it over on AO3 asking for moooore, and I haven’t had a chance to log in over there and r e s p o n d like a Proper Ficwriter ought to… and I am very touched that anyone wants more…)
SO! The Last Drop is technically a few scenes that didn’t fit into the main story which was Signature Blend, so if you haven’t read that, it’s the same AU ‘verse. We have ideas for a few more chapters for the Last Drop, so if I ever break through my writer’s block *cries*, you’ll have those and more ideas that are in the works with my awesome collaborator <333
I kick my muse into gear bc the @vcsecretgifts exchange WILL BE HAPPENING and I’ll be participating!
♛I… this outpouring of birthday wishes is terribly sweet, I’m printing every single one of them to show Armand that my followers care very much about this old devil!
♛Too far? Nowhere is too far for me, except, perhaps, the moon, or Mars. Are you a Martian? If it’s still offered, I’ll take your gift, with gratitude… any excuse to go on a road trip is a good one, and if you know me at all you know I’m more than a bit of a foodie when it comes to blood *winks* I’ll even dress up for such fine cuisine.
//ooc; Lestat’s just being overly excited, he’s been slumbering for what seems like ages on this blog and he’s soaking in all the attention. Pardon the mun if this is giving anyone second-hand embarrassment!
And Lestat’s a super awesome hacker, he can find you by your IP address, so you needn’t share personal info publicly here 😉
I-want-my-IWTV 