Fan Fiction II: Great story! Where's the sequel?
This thread is for fanfic recs, links, and discussion, but not for actual posting of fanfic.
If this is something where more eyes or collaborators would be helpful, I'd like to see the doc, too. I feel like I've been in fandom a long time, and I really appreciate the work that went into AO3. So if I could be helpful for whatever the next Fandom Initiative might be, I'd like to. If there are already too many cooks in the kitchen, no worries. I'll be happy to help with editing, testing, etc. if and when that might be useful.
ETA: My profile address is good.
I was reading a thing talking about how, with the trashfire that is social media platforms, maybe we'll go back to personal websites and rss feeds.
I was reading a thing talking about how, with the trashfire that is social media platforms, maybe we'll go back to personal websites and rss feeds.
I want people to use DW more, but I don't know if that ship has sailed.
I'll admit I like(d) Tumblr, but that's because I'd curated my dash so it was almost entirely pretty pictures, gifs, and image sets for my aesthetic interests and my fandom. That's what I'd want from a new platform, and I just don't know if it's going to happen.
With people talking about...I can't remember the name for it, but it's the model where it's like BitTorrent...distributed fandom, maybe? There would be a technical barrier to entry, which leads to having to ask an established fan for help, which leads to reinforcement of the kind of social norms that I feel are currently breaking down. Which is neither a plus or a minus, just a thought.
And that ties into a conversation I had on Twitter about the new practice of putting a link to your Patreon or PayPal or whatever at the end of a story or a fanart post or meta. I understand that people, especially the groups of people who are likely to be involved in fandom, might be really tight on money. But to have that link there, constantly asking me for money, feels like putting me in a relationship with them that I didn't agree to. I thought we had a fan-to-fan relationship, and you're putting me in a fan-to-creator one.
My thing with Tumblr is that once a thing is off my dash, I can never find it again (also my issue with FB and Twitter. I don't always want to live in the now.)
I thought we had a fan-to-fan relationship, and you're putting me in a fan-to-creator one.
Oh, my, yeah, that would bother me.
One thing I have noticed lately is that if I'm reading fic on AO3 via recommendations or whatever, I'm far less likely to remember the writer's name than I used to when I read fic on LJ or mailing lists. Because AO3 is (intentionally) not a social network, the social/community component of the writer-reader relationship isn't there, and my subconscious isn't reacting to the story the same way as it used to.
I feel kind of bad about that, to be honest.
if I'm reading fic on AO3 via recommendations or whatever, I'm far less likely to remember the writer's name than I used to when I read fic on LJ or mailing lists.
I ran into that a bit, too. I try to remember to subscribe when I find fic by an author who's handle I don't remember, which sort of turns it into a mailing list kinda thing. Of course, authors frequently move on to other fandoms, which means I see fic announcements for characters I've never heard of. Sometimes I look 'em up and discover new media, sometimes I cancel the subscription.
I never learned how to be social on tumblr or Twitter, and I never knew where to go after Livejournal except to follow authors I knew already to Ao3 and look at their liked stories, or just look up pairings and take a shot.
I feel badly, too. I was mostly a lurker or a commenter, but my light reading needs are more fulfilled by slashy free e-books now. I have tried to get into K-pop and I like it, but where do people talk about it other than flea!
Weirdly, my social needs are fed by podcasts with active Facebook groups.
I also wonder if peak tv and the explosion of options to watch just dilutes some of the smaller fandoms. Frankly, despite my old ness, most of my recent fandom reading is in RPF- I went from LOTR RPF to Bandiom RPF to Hockey RPF to One direction RPF to nothingness. The only real tv show fandom I have had recently was Mickey/Ian on Shameless. The other shows haven't inspired me as much to want more. I love The Good Place, but I don't need fix
Again Also, the drop of whole seasons mean no time for fic before there is a new episode.
Speaking of podcasts, I've just discovered "Be the Serpent," where three women discuss fanfic, tropes, literature, and a bunch of other stuff. I've listened to 2.5 episodes so far, and I love it. The podcasters are Alexandra Rowland, Freya Marske, and Jennifer Mace. So far they've discussed robot boners, Le Guin's "The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas," Anne McCaffrey, and Hogwarts sorting.
I am both less fannish and less social than I used to be. (shrug) Sign of the times, I think. Maybe if the country regains a more familiar landscape and atmosphere I can think of those things again. Maybe spring will help. Hopefully this hibernation of spirit will produce some blossoms and ideas and connections when things warm and brighten again.