silver

I wrote two fics this year and received two. I defaulted and didn't think I'd get any, so I couldn't believe my luck. You should read my gift fics, if you're in the Old Kingdom fandom! I have two adventure/exploration fics for Lirael and the Disreputable Dog, as they go exploring in the great Clayr library: After Hours by the_antichris and Discoveries to Share by Sheeana.

I wrote A Sea Change (2,868 words) for Phantom (rosabelle) which is fork-in-the-road AU for Jehanne/Moirin, and which I think is pretty unsurprising (I felt extremely not-anon during the entire exchange). I JUST THINK THAT JEHANNE SHOULDN'T HAVE ( SPOILER ). They are so gorgeous together. Yeah. Not over it. Never over it.

I think Jehanne is really quite perceptive when it comes to people. I wonder if this is why Daniel loved her so much. I want to write something pre-Kiss about Jehanne and Daniel and Raphael, actually.

I also wrote Traveller's Lodging (620 words) for kaesa (kaesa) for Madness. I got to this point and then went "oh no but how do I keep going". I have to think of some way of reorganizing things so I can keep going!

Conclusion: more research is in order. Also as I was writing this I was researching early medieval Europe which is a very different thing and it was all...14th century! Focus on England! Oh noes!

I would like to say right now that I HATE TITLES. I shall start a Society for the Abrogation of Titles. Or Titles Anonymous, for writers suffering from the terribleness of trying to pick a title. For A Sea Change all I could think of was a pun (and I'm so sorry--but hey I used title case! It was even more pretentious before!) and as for kaesa's, I literally ran out of time and had to slap the most terribad title on. Yeah, about that...

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( 2013 writing, including one statistic! I couldn't resist. )

Poetry: On poetry thegorgon posted Why a Man Cannot Have Wings by Afian bin Sa'at. It was in response to the many Icarus poems that have been circulating in the community for the last few days: http://poetry.dreamwidth.org/348721.html

( Full text under cut )

If you follow the link I commented and said I liked the poem, but I read it (another three or four times) and now I completely disagree.

This makes me sound like a silly optimist, but how is "but then people will use it to hurt you" a good justification against flying? Do you remember when it was 1999 and people were making predictions and, well, I do, I still have a book put together by students K-12 over what they thought would happen in 2020 and so many of them drew and wrote flying cars, new worlds, new technology. I mean, maybe we should stop making implants because then people will tear them out. Or we should stop making medicines because someone might steal them. Or we should stop making beautiful clothes because people will steal them. And put together sumptuary laws to prop up existing social divisions. Etc.

I don't believe that answering a question, making dreams reality, ever erodes dreams. (I see this argument in science/religion debates, to be honest.) We fly in planes, but people still dream of flying--not only wings but they fly in gliders, in hang-gliders, in parachutes, in all sorts of really scary things. We've been to the moon but people dream of going to space. When has discovering a new species, a new place, a new archaeological site, ever stopped others from dreaming of others? Dreams aren't a finite resource. Making a dream a reality doesn't mean you never dream again--you step onto that new block and reach for higher dreams.

There's an argument here to do with destructive technology and responsibility but flying? Come on.

I did like his comment about everything being a metaphor for the Fall of Man.

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Fic: So I investigated the Georgina Kincaid fics on FFN and sadly there was nothing that I really wanted (I didn't read the last book because I knew what was going to happen with Seth and I'm really meh on him. The most interesting part about him was his sister and his nieces. They were really cute.) I need to remember to request this for yuletide.

In Kiesha'ra--ok, it's enormous! It's got 200 fic! I don't remember there being so many! But then I realized that I started in 2009 and if you go back, yeah, it's been four years, people have added more. The main types of fic people have written are:

• Mary-Sue/self-insert fic. I am inexplicably fond of these. I mean, I didn't click on any of them advertising stuff like Olivia's long-lost wyvern-falcon-wolf sister fics, but it makes me happy to know they're there. A flourishing fandom should have Mary Sue fic, and drabbles, and pointless gen meanders, and ultra-tropey yet satisfying fic. They're not what you want if you want "the continued adventures of", but that's what fans do.
  
• Retelling fics! Ahh, I remember these. I read one that narrated Hawksong from Zane's POV and I knew it was WIP (last updated: 2011) so I mean, I knew in advance, but I was still sad. Especially since, in the words of the author, she was just getting to the good part! I don't think this fandom really has the momentum to write the really big sort of fic--and I mean the fic that fills a lot of backstory, goes far into the future and past, leaves canon retellings behind and not size--but I enjoyed it way more than I should have.
  
• I also found a bizarro fic in there about oranges, which I think you should all totally click on. It has 5 reviews, and 4 out of 5 are all (to varying degrees of politeness) asking what on earth it's doing in the category. No, it's got nothing to do with Kiesha'ra. https://www.fanfiction.net/s/4977012/1/The-Little-Orange-That-Could

I'm suffering from an Attack of Guilt that comes of completing things late. :( Especially when nice people are concerned. (Fic only half-finished *cough* six days past deadline *hack**wheeze*) Also, completely and thoroughly sick of writing about myself. I hate it when the application questions ask "tell me about your greatest achievements!" *mutters* I don't like talking about myself. I always feel horribly arrogant and I don't know whether or not to inject humour (I mean, what if they take it the wrong way?! Then what will I do?! Eee?!) Anyway. That is my life at the moment.

On the 'uh oh' side of things: I have no idea what I'm going to do for Nano. Some people, I wager, have a plot synopsis written out. I'd like to get a cover, but I'm afraid I have neither the gumption nor the idea for my novel. (I am not an organized writer. Proof: see excessive use of parentheses).

Last note: I would like to humbly request from any deity that is listening or reading this for some kind of control valve for mucus production. The hacking cough my cold has gifted me with is not pleasant and I am depleting the building of Kleenex. Thank you very much.

community.livejournal.com/fanficrants/9803928.html

*moan*

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Love it. Quality is not a measure of validity, for those of you screeching that it's garbage.

And, well, here is a link to many of the amazing (most of them legitimate, in-print, highly acclaimed novels and works) pieces of fanfic that have been written by others, here.

Dear Dr. Gabaldon:

In regards to this article** , I have a few things to say. I get that it's not fun to see your characters mangled, dragged through God-knows-what, and being generally transformed into things that they shouldn't be.

However.


( 1-13, why fanfiction is not the eeeevil. And more! )

Sincerely,
silverflight

P.S. I think that the more I think about this, the more points I have, and so I'll just stop right here. But I just wanted to say--I really do love your books, Diana (may I call you that?) but that post you made was disillusioning.


*edited after realizing what a ginormous post this was; it's been cut
**edit number two: I think she's just removed both posts: the rant one and the follow-up one. If you really want, here's the cached link: http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:BBBatogaEfkJ:voyagesoftheartemis.blogspot.com/+voyages+of+the+artemis+cache&cd=1&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=ca   To all out there: the internet is forever.

In reply to this rant, since I think this is another rant that just happens to touch on the same subject.

To paraphrase what many have said already: No writer is obligated to write you your dream fanfic (although it would be lovely, they're not obligated.) Similarly, no reader is obligated to leave reviews. Writing a fic for someone is a Nice Thing to do. Most reviews (barring troll's flames) are also Nice Things to do.

And you know what? I don't mind the one word reviews. They're not "useless". Generally, they're more honest, anyway. I know that I often look over my own reviews and sometimes adjust wording to make sure it's not an abrasive litany of wrong things. A succint, short, one-word reviews generally consist of the feelings that the reader has upon finishing the fic; this is useful.

You just have to interpret it.

Even the reviews saying "update plz!" are saying something to you: "I like it, I want to see more of this, I think that this story works so well that I can't wait for the next installment," and so on.

Please look up "entitlement." And let me tell you, I was very strongly tempted to critique your rant. Still am.

I think it's the drama and the not infrequent cat-fights that erupt on fanficrants that makes me follow it. That site requires extremely clipped thoughts, or else you'll provoke someone into throwing down the gauntlet and all but challenging you to a duel. Look for the entries that have at least 100 comments added; that's where you'll find the real controversial things. And it's not always blatant over-generalizations, or wrong thoughts; sometimes the fight erupts over a single sentence.

Then again, it might just be because I wrote (write?) fanfiction, a long time ago; I have the sinking feeling that someday my fic will end up being the source of one of those rants.

Hey, you! Yeah, you! I have a present for you.

Do you know what I've got in my hand? It's the one of the breakthroughs of modern science. It's a period. A full stop. And look at it! Isn't it cute?

Normally, I'd sell it to you for--oh, maybe a dollar. But you know what? The Punctuation and Inc. are running a promotion. That's right, a promotion, so you can get them for a quarter. That's right, folks, twenty-five cents. Almost free.

No, it's okay, they won't hurt you! Here, I'll put one in your hand--and no, they don't bite. Really.

You know where these little things like to be? In writing. I mean, they simply love being in a writing--especially if it's famous! Or e posted on the Internet, even. Doesn't even need to be a professional author.

Oh, and one more thing, 'cuz I think you deserve to know. Did you know that the period has a whole family? No? Really? Oh, let me introduce them to you. Here's the question mark--isn't he adorable? All squiggly and questioning. And here's the comma--he's like the family dog, keeping the sheep together--that is, if you had sheep. And look here; I've got a rare species. It's called an apostrophe. They used to be quite common, you know. There aren't very many left--they're a pretty limited edition. And here's a set of brackets--very useful, I must say. If you look, you can see one of the dashes trying to run away. Hey, get back here!

So, if you want a sample of a Limited Edition of the Punctuation Marks Kit (R), visit the site www.savepunctuation.com NOW for the special offer! All fanfic writers get a discount!

With great affection,
The Punctuation and Inc. Employees