*re-reads my own story*: Damn this is some good shit
*gets to the part where I stopped writing*: WTF WHERE’S THE REST OF IT HOW DO I GET MORE
Brain: You’re the author, if you want more you have to write it
Me: *flips tables*
I’ve been seeing a lot of posts lately about how fandom can
be better to its writers. They’re all
wonderful posts, with lots of good things to say about the importance of not
just leaving Kudos, but also comments.
And this might seem self-serving, but I’m going to say it
anyway. Right now, most of fandom is
located on Tumblr, and I think these posts are leaving out a very important
step that’s just as simple as hitting the Kudos button.
Reblogs.
I cannot tell you how many people who commented on Mise said
that the reason they read it was because they saw it appear so many times on
their dash. And I can’t tell you how
excited it makes me to see it appear on my dash because someone else is talking
about it. Honestly, sometimes I think I
get more thrill out of being on someone’s rec list or seeing someone else
promote my story than I do from getting that Kudos email.
(I do love that Kudos email, though, don’t get me wrong.)
I feel like this used to happen more often. Even a year ago – I’d see the reblogs of “New
Chapter” posts for stories I followed before I’d see the original post. And it was great, because I’d see the excited
squee of other readers and that would in turn get me excited to read, and then I’d jump in even more excited than I
would have been otherwise. These days…
yeah, not so much. I can’t tell you the
last time I saw a reblog of a story I followed.
Or a story I didn’t follow, honestly.
I’m not sure what changed.
Here’s the thing: just like with artists… if you “like” that
art post, only the artist will know. But if you reblog it, then you’re giving
someone else a chance to like it too.
Want to support your favorite fandom writers? Want to make sure they get all the love and
attention they deserve? Then reblog their story announcements. Share
their stories on Tumblr or Twitter. (AO3 even has a handy little button that lets you do it super easy.) It takes all of a minute to do – less, in some cases.
You don’t have to be a fic rec blog to tell your flist you like a fic, and that they should read it too.
YES. This is so, so true. I so appreciate reblogs of fic posts, and they tend to be rare. People will like a fic post and then sometimes go back and unlike it later, which always freaks me out. Did they decide they didn’t like the fic after all? (I’ve since learned people will sort of use likes as bookmarks.)
But yes, please reblog fic announcement and fic rec posts! It’s word-of-mouth advertising and we appreciate it so much.
Yes, THIS!! I can’t tell you how excited I get at reblogs, because then I know my fic will come in contact with a larger audience! Likes are awesome, too, but reblogs means (to me) that you like it–or my writing in general– enough to want others to read it (or maybe you just want to support me, and that’s brilliant, too)!!
This is especially important because in fandom we have a bit of a thing against self-promotion—especially outside of our own blogs, but even sometimes within them, too. We need you to reblog and rec and promote us, or our stories fizzle out and die in the sand. We need you to create buzz about our stories, because we can’t really do it ourselves without treading on some unspoken lines.
[I don’t know the current SJW definition of the word “problematic” so I’m going with what the dictionary explains, which is smtg “constituting or presenting a problem or difficulty.”]
So AR had commented thusly on her FB, 2014 (might be a different year):
It’s true that she used to attack fanfic authors, there was a war on fanfic in the ‘90s…
…but currently she seems to ignore it. Huzzah, right? I think so!
I can’t recall her having an issue with RPers. Not sure why, but maybe she doesn’t see RP as being fanfiction in that it’s a series of responses. There are fics and published works that write from different characters’ POV (Queen of the Damned did that, for example) but seem to devote whole chapters to each POV.
We had a situation recently in which a VC RPer was sent what we now consider to have been Anon-hate that was written to look like a real Cease & Desist letter (which is what we get when AR wants our grubby hands off her precious bbs). We believe it was a particularly cruel way to send Anon-hate.
So I think you’re clear, no problems. Go RP!
However, your friend may have other reservations about RPing, too. There are a lot of things to consider, among which:
Are you over 18?
Are you willing to RP with people under 18?
Are you willing to RP smut and R-rated scenes?
Are you willing to RP with OC’s and other fandoms?
Are you willing to RP AU?
Is your muse a canon or original
character?
Is your muse multi-ship (can have more than one relationship at a time in different threads)?
Drabble Dimanche offering from 6/8/15. Prompts used: Buried, Worse, Born.
Previously appearing OCs are pleased to witness Lestat amusing himself – and everyone else. Also, Lestat is quite proficient in all uses of modern technology, thank you very much.
fanfiction should be taken a lot more seriously as literature. True, some of it isn’t really excellent writing and some is just smut but let me tell you i have read some fics that are beautifully well done and turned my life upside down and legitimately gave me feelings for days and if that’s not real literature then what is
Shout-out to fan-fiction writers who don’t or can’t write the 50k fan-fictions, because of a lack of focus or motivation, or mental illness.
Shout-out to fan-fiction writers who don’t or can’t write smut, but are still lumped into a group that is almost expected to write smut.
Shout-out to fan-fiction writers who can’t update chapters frequently for maybe a multitude of reasons, and get messages daily from people asking for “their” new chapter.
Shout-out to fan-fiction writers who aren’t big name fans and hardly get ten kudos or one comment on their fan-fictions.
Shout-out to fan-fiction writers who stay up all night editing and rewriting and don’t get much attention on their work no matter how much they feel like they promote their writing.
Shout-out to fan-fiction writers who don’t write a lot and are constantly asked to write more but can’t for whatever valid reason they have.
Shout-out to fan-fiction writers who have the courage to post their writing online and only have it publicly made fun of for grammar or poor characterization.
Shout-out to fan-fiction writers for writing their fan-fiction, posting it online, and continuing to do it no matter how much or little attention they get, and constantly improving as a writer with every upload.
• “My stupid friends roped me into a mall scavenger hunt and you’re on the list” AU
• “We both wanted to rent a bike for an hour but the only one they have is a tandem bike” AU
• “You’re adopting the cat that I’ve been trying to adopt for a week now” AU
• “You just moved into the house next to my mom’s and she has you doing her yardwork” AU
• “I’m on a terrible date and you’re my waitor please help me” AU
• “My brother/sister asked me to break up with you for them i’m so sorry” AU
• “I’ve been receiving all your freaking mail since you moved out and you keep getting weird gifts from your brother make it stop” AU
• “Our dick landlord just evicted us both” AU
• “We both just moved in with our siblings and they’re neighbors” AU
• “I’m your neighbor and I can hear you fucking someone who shares my name” AU
• “Your cat got my cat pregnant and now I have all these kittens please take them” AU
• “I’m your ex, you are a cop, and I just got arrested for being drunk and disorderly” AU
• “Remember that one time in college when we were at that party and you asked a random stranger to pretend to be your boyfriend/girlfriend? Yeah well that was me and we’re adults now” AU
• “You’re sort of famous and we vaguely know each other through bumping into each other all the time but the media thinks we’re dating” AU
• “You’re a cop, I’m a firefighter, we always work the same shifts” AU
• “You always ask me for help but I have weird health conditions that prevent me from doing so” AU
• “Your roommate cheated on me and I just threw your laptop out the window thinking it was his” AU
• “My kid just shot a bottle rocket into your window” AU
• “We’re both in the vegetable isle and I just burst into tears while staring at the cabbages” AU
• “That’s my fucking fish that you just caught give it back” AU
• “I’ve had a crush on you since the 11th grade but you’ve hated me ever since that one time” AU
• “The advertisement did not do you justice” AU
• “You jipped me of those concert tickets so I came to your house asshole” AU
• “You think I’m nervous because you’re interviewing me for this high end job but actually it’s because you’re stupidly hot” AU
• “Oh shit this isn’t my car” AU
• “You fell off the map 6 years ago and you think you can just waltz back into my life. Literally. You’re the dance instructor for my best friend’s wedding and we have history” AU
• “It’s 2am on the night of my 21st birthday and we gotta fix this fucking mess by morning or else we’re fucked ” AU
• “My dad’s a cancer patient and you’re his nurse” AU
• “Did I mention that I had a dream about you last night? Oh right we’ve never talked about before” AU
• “Lol this was a terrible idea” AU
• “juSt a game? jUST A GaMe????? FUCK YOU I WILL DO WHATEVER IT TAKES TO WIN” or the “so competitive it’s almost sexual” AU
• “Aren’t you the person from marti gras last year?” AU
• “We’re both on the same multiple stop flight schedules to go to the same destination so we might as well stick together. Also your shoulder is a very comfortable pillow.” AU
• “Fuck you and your bee farm I’ve had enough” AU
• “We’re in an exam study group and I just send you my nudes by accident oops” AU
• “Somehow my gallery sculpture piece looks exactly like you how weird” AU
• “That tattoo on your chest is the exact same as mine” AU
• “I was actually awake when you did that thing” AU
• “Why do we keep running into each other when we live on opposite sides of the country?” AU
• “We need to be really quiet but you have the hiccups” AU
• “Why do you always walk your dog at exactly 12am every night? Do you not enjoy sleep?” AU
• “For the love of God, what is making that noise?” AU
• “Somehow you manage to scare me everytime we run into each other and i already get frightened very easily let me live” AU
I-want-my-IWTV 