RE:
POSTED BY: KayleeGirl
UPDATED: Friday, September 21, 2007 00:43
VIEWED: 45173
PAGE 7 of 10
Quote:
Here's a new question for you and all the others:
What else do you write besides fanfic? Are any of you writers of other genres?
I write a lot of different stuff. Most of it is scifi, fantasy or a little of both; some of it is more cyberpunk. One of them, my nano project is actaully mainstream literature! That was a surprise. But then it was NaNoWriMo, and anything can happen then.
I tend to work as the muse hits - so I rarely only have one project - at the moment it's my fanfic and a fantasy novel.
Oh, and you wanted suggestions of stuff to read...
Try my fanfic! It might not be to your taste, of course, but I think it's good.
Fluffiness is next to angstiness.
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Quote:Can I just say, because your post makes you sound pretty cool and possibly open to me saying this - I've never read your fic because of that blurb. I go through the blurbs in the BSR hoping to be enticed and drawn in by hints about the story. With yours I get something completely focused on the writer. It makes me, as a reader, feel unimportant and even unwanted. It's jarring. Kind of in my face. (BTW, I'm also put off by the blurb with the yackety-schmackety bit. It tells me nothing about the story, and could easily be put into the fic header. Why oh why is it in the blurb?)
Originally posted by girlfan:
Ok, this is tricky, and, I suspect, going to make me regret this. In my 'blurb' I always remind readers that I write for my own enjoyment, and that I would prefer comments only from people who enjoy.
So, girlfan, based on your post here, you clearly are interested in the reader's experience, and open to improving as a writer. Maybe not open to hostile feedback - but who is?
So really, that blurb you use is selling you, and your fic, short!I think you'd get more readers and commenters if you moved the "I write for my own enjoyment, etc" stuff to the inside of the fic. Maybe put it both before and after the story text so everyone will get the idea.
Quote:I totally agree with this! I actually do send private mails to writers when I find some silly little thing that detracts (and I consider it a compliment when others do the same for me.) Then the writer can fix it or not as they choose, but my nitpicking isn't there for the world to see.
I would perfer to recieve those kind of comments in the form of a private message however.
In fact, I almost sent this whole thing to you privately. Maybe I should have?
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I'm the president. I don't need to listen.
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Quote:
Originally posted by mal4prez:
Can I just say, because your post makes you sound pretty cool and possibly open to me saying this - I've never read your fic because of that blurb. I go through the blurbs in the BSR hoping to be enticed and drawn in by hints about the story. With yours I get something completely focused on the writer. It makes me, as a reader, feel unimportant and even unwanted. It's jarring. Kind of in my face. (BTW, I'm also put off by the blurb with the yackety-schmackety bit. It tells me nothing about the story, and could be put into the fic easily. Why oh why is it in the blurb?)
So, girlfan, based on your post here, you clearly are interested in the reader's experience, and open to improving as a writer. Maybe not open to hostile feedback - but who is?
I think you'd get more readers and commenters if you moved the "I write for my own enjoyment, etc" stuff to the inside of the fic. Maybe put it both before and after the story text so everyone will get the idea.Quote:I totally agree with this! I actually do send private mails to writers when I find some silly little thing that detracts (and I consider it a compliment when others do the same for me.) Then the writer can fix it or not as they choose, but my nitpicking isn't there for the world to see.
I would perfer to recieve those kind of comments in the form of a private message however.
In fact, I almost sent this whole thing to you privately. Maybe I should have?
No, this is ok. I'm a little nervous of the back and forth on this board, because it's not troll-free. I appreciate your idea, and I will actually switch to that format. I should have realised that it would make some perfectly reasonable fair minded readers feel put off.
Oh, and its just my opinion but the stories yackety-shmacky blurbs ones are often really good, so try not to let the blurb put you off too much (and I do understand what you mean - I've always found that blurb a little off putting - so it was an especially telling example).
Fluffiness is next to angstiness.
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Quote:
Originally posted by girlfan:
Oh, and its just my opinion but the stories yackety-shmacky blurbs ones are often really good, so try not to let the blurb put you off too much.
Hmm. Lesson to me to be more open-minded? Oh yeah.
But, like many readers, I don't have time to read everything. I have to be selective, and that's what those blurbs are there to help me with!
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I'm the president. I don't need to listen.
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That's what the blurb is there for, to draw in readers who might be interested in the content of the story. I like the blurb to actually TELL me something about the story, the pairings, etc. I'll usually skip it otherwise because more often then not, I'll actually click on the story, start reading, and then be turned off because its not something I'm interested in - which could have easily been solved by putting in a description.
"A government is a body of people usually notably ungoverned."
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Quote:
But, like many readers, I don't have time to read everything. I have to be selective, and that's what those blurbs are there to help me with!
Your point is very well taken, thank you. I'm actually going backwards through my stories to change the blurbs right now.
Fluffiness is next to angstiness.
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Quote:
Originally posted by Leiasky:
That's what the blurb is there for, to draw in readers who might be interested in the content of the story. I like the blurb to actually TELL me something about the story, the pairings, etc. I'll usually skip it otherwise because more often then not, I'll actually click on the story, start reading, and then be turned off because its not something I'm interested in - which could have easily been solved by putting in a description.
This is another valid point. But what do you do if/when it's not really clear to you (as a writer) what the pairings are or will eventually be? Do you just mark it as it appears in the individual "chapter"?
Also, I sometimes worry that that would be misleading - for example, if I described Roses as Silee, wouldn't most Silee readers find it an inaccurate description? If I say Mal/Inara, doesn't that kind of imply that they've moved further off of the fence then they have in my story (or at this point in my story)?
It's possible that the gulf between what I do and don't know about the protocols of this board and fanfic are skewing my perceptions slightly.
Suggestions on this point will be genuinely appreciated.
Fluffiness is next to angstiness.
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Quote:
Originally posted by girlfan:
This is another valid point. But what do you do if/when it's not really clear to you (as a writer) what the pairings are or will eventually be? Do you just mark it as it appears in the individual "chapter"?
It all depends on if I like the story. I like cannon pairings, and rarely, if ever, read any others. If a story I'm enjoying moves off that, I usually stop reading, but it will all depend on how emotionally invested and interested I am in the story.
Quote:
Also, I sometimes worry that that would be misleading - for example, if I described Roses as Silee, wouldn't most Silee readers find it an inaccurate description?
Not until you put one or the other of them with someone else. But, that's just my opinion.
Quote:
If I say Mal/Inara, doesn't that kind of imply that they've moved further off of the fence then they have in my story (or at this point in my story)?
Put 'cannon pairings - if any', would be my suggestion.
Fluffiness is next to angstiness.
"A government is a body of people usually notably ungoverned."
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Quote:
Originally posted by girlfan:
It's possible that the gulf between what I do and don't know about the protocols of this board and fanfic are skewing my perceptions slightly.
Suggestions on this point will be genuinely appreciated.
I have similar problems, in that I don't think of my fics as being about any particular pairings.
But now we've totally hijacked this thread - sorry KayleeGirl! It's totally my doing! There's a thread about story notes here:
http://www.fireflyfans.net/thread.asp?b=12&t=26124
we could chat more about this there.
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I'm the president. I don't need to listen.
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Quote:
Originally posted by KayleeGirl:
I've just started to read the stories in the Blue Sun Room and I have to say I'm overwhelmed at the amount of stuff there is to read.(Any suggestions from you are welcomed!) So far, the work I've chosen to read is really good.
As a fellow writer who belongs to a writer's group where we dig into the hows and whys of writing, I'd really like to get some similar insights into all of you who write fiction for our shiny and beloved verse.
So, for those of you are willing, here goes:
1. Why did you write your first Firefly based story? And how many stories have you written to date?
I've published two and have a third slowly (SLOWLY) progressing. I write stories to answer questions I have--for example, with "Going Home" I wanted to answer the question, "Why didn't Mal just go back to his family/the ranch on Shadow after the War?" When I answer my question, my goal is to develop the character(s) in some way that gives me and my reader a deeper understanding of who they are.
2. What's your goal as a fanfic writer?
See above.
3. Do you look for critiques on your posted work or are supportive comments enough?
Critiques are as welcome as supportive comments. Writers should always be looking to improve their work, and how else can you do that but by getting feedback? Professional writers get edited; fic writers often don't, so they miss out on the critical comments that an editor would normally be giving.
I have a beta--a very good one--to play the role of editor, telling me what is and isn't working, and maybe making suggestions along the way. I try to return the favor. Writing at its best can be collaborative, as the reader's comments help the writer to come up with new ideas and approaches. That's what makes it more than just mental masturbation!!
Much thanks, in advance, to all of you!
"Well, my days of not taking you seriously are certainly coming to a middle. . . ."
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