In the glorious tradition of coming late to the party, I finished "Lust Over Pendle" last night, and it was pretty freaking excellent. Except I sort of wish I'd stopped before the epilogue, since I didn't like that so much. But thank you folks who mentioned it every so often, so that it was in my mind when I finally came to a place to read it.

My only problem with A.J. Hall is her idea of what makes a dramatic scene worth writing about is not my idea. This is a bigger deal in later stories, where she describes major dramatic incidents instead of giving them a scene. Her thematic choice, of course, and I always feel weird for thinking "Wouldn't that have worked better if you'd shown us that scene before we knew how it was resolved?"

I also thinks she makes some assumptions about what her reader is picking up as the plot progresses. Things get brought up that I sometimes go "Where did that come from? Oh, is that was X meant three pages ago? OK." I'm not sure if it's that she's a British writer writing for a British audience or what. I often feel myself playing catch up.

Do people really get leapt upon and savaged like unto a defenseless gazelle if they say something negative about a popular piece of fanfic?

In my personal experience, not really. I've always recommended stuff with caveats like 'could use another beta pass' or 'fantastic right up until the ending, which I thought was OTT'. No story is perfect, but there are plenty that are worthwhile to read in spite of that, you know?

Most of what I encounter isn't direct -- it's passive-aggressive b.s. put where I'll see it, which is actually harder to ignore than the straight-on "omg ur page sux!" that floats my way every once in a while.

(But, I will agree with Dana on minions. People who actually have minions? That can be scary.)

Shrift is your human shield?

A little immolation is good for the soul!

Someone I know got very pissy when her fandom wasn't represented in one of the BSO updates a few months ago.

We get that, sometimes. We also get chastised occasionally for not recommending RPS.

Most of the feedback, when we get it, is positive. Maintaining a good rec site is hard, but dude, if we did it for the feedback and the glory and the status... uh, we would no longer be maintaining the frelling rec site, is what I'm saying.

Maintaining a good rec site is hard, but dude, if we did it for the feedback and the glory and the status... uh, we would no longer be maintaining the frelling rec site, is what I'm saying.

Hey, I saw you namechecked as a BNF somewhere earlier today. Alas, I don't remember where now, but it made me grin.

Shrift is so totally a BNF. And I would happily serve as her minion. Especially if it includes buying her drinks and encouraging her to write...

Hey, I saw you namechecked as a BNF somewhere earlier today.

This never fails to baffle me. Although considering my now limited Internet time, I'm sure I'll soon become That Evil Hellbitch Who Thinks She's Too Good to Answer E-mail.

I count pretty much any fanfic writer I've heard of and read enough to remember without actually posting with the a BNF. Shrift fulfilled that a long time ago.

Well, then she was a BNF. Now she's just the chick who is Dana and does everything, including slounging.

Shrift is so totally a BNF.

Awk.

t digs a hole

t covers herself with leaves

t starts an LJ community to bitch anonymously about those damn BNFs who always go around covering themselves with leaves

Now she's a BNFCWL.