This rather late post brought to you by the evil dying dsl modem of doom...

General Fandom Meta

jennyo - I Will Not Be Afraid of Women 2: Naked - Okay, here's another thought from the deep and studiously avoiding reality Jen: why do we take female sexuality so seriously? I mean, not in the sense that we shouldn't pay attention to female sexuality, but it's always so *sacred*.

minisinoo - What IS an 'old timer'? - A post by tartanshell made me curious. With regard to fandom(s), when does one become "established," and when does one become an "old timer" or "dinosaur"?

minervacat - [a few thoughts about privacy, or something like it] - How much do you all discuss your online life/activities/fannish proclivities/habit of spending 12 hours a day refreshing your friends page with any of your real life significant others or friends? (And by that I mean people who are not involved with the same kind of online community, because certainly many people who use LiveJournal are now or had been friends of mine in real life.)

romanyg - The Great Slash Debate: Are some subjects just too sacred? - When I started reading LJ about two years ago, I came across a very well-written, reasoned argument against slash. Of course this was only a small part of the Great Slash Debate, but the Debate was new to me at the time and I read this post and the linked debates with a less opinionated brain than I have now. What struck me the most, though, was the example of slash fic that he used to formulate his argument. I reacted the way he intended me to react--instant recoil. And it is only two years later that I realize that, no, he doesn't get to manipulate me that way.

halegirl in fanthropology - A historical perspective on Feedback: Issues and Trends - It seems like these days that almost everyone wants it. They can never get enough of it. Authors never seem to get the amount that they want. Sometimes, the way people talk, the impression has been given, that this has always been the case with the fan fiction community. If you take a look at the history of feedback in the fan fiction community, it becomes clear that this just is not so.

koimistress - LJ etiquette - And now, one of the more thorny problems of LJ. destina's just posted a timely poll of her own on what we mean when we talk about lj "etiquette." Some of the resulting stats are skewed one way or another, pro or con. And then there's this question: "Writers not answering feedback left via comments is…" The replies are divided pretty evenly between those who say "it doesn't matter" or "it's fine with me" and those who feel it's annoying, tacky, or out-and-out rude. That's right down the middle of the pie.

meyerlemon - And another thing - Many things about fan culture are TOTALLY abnormal and I find those things very interesting- what's up with inter-species same-sex furry romance? But fans tend to be big on the intensely steely-jawed laissez-faireness, and discussion which seems to imply that it's in any way outside the mainstream for you to enjoy stories about a man becoming pregnant must be lopped off at the knees before it gets anywhere.

Fandom-Specific Meta

fearlessdiva - In Contemplation of Really Old Guys - In comments to a previous post, hms_yowling asked some thought provoking questions about the similarities and differences between the two long-lived men in my present fandoms, Methos and the Doctor.


Reading/Writing/Creating

aphrodeia - On art and criticism. - The creation of art is a very private, personal matter. Art, be it writing, singing, painting, or any other of the various incarnations of 'art', is a remarkable melding of inspiration, emotion, and talent. This is intrinsic. The display of art, however, is a whole new matter entirely. By displaying art, you are welcoming input, and not all of that input will be favorable. You are inviting people to view your creation through their own lens of experiences, and no matter what emotion or inspiration struck you when it was created, it is to be expected that their understanding of your work will be different from yours.

cija - Blah blah cheap thrills - What I liked then about novels like, say, Songmaster was not qualitatively different from what I like now about sleazy slashy h/c fanfic (which, yes, I really do like. Though I will not offer specific examples.) I don’t say this because I imagine Card would be chagrined to know that he gave at least some of his readers the same cheap thrills as amateur gay erotica does, although that is nice to suppose. I say it because it’s the truth. But they’re thrills I’m not willing to renounce – I’m not going to concede for the sake of common ground that cheap unearned angst and tedious melodrama are wrong things. I like my cheap thrills, and I consider them shameful pleasures, but not guilty ones. [in response to minisinoo's post here

nothingbutfic - On the Writing: II. - I'm a fandomer. I put pieces together; I make connections, I poach and pilfer and plagarise (but only for the betterment of any text.) Most of my fic is reactive; I read something, note opinions, get involved in discussion and think about how I would do the same thing differently [...] But then, that's what fandomers do. We react against texts, against canonicity, because if we found canon fully satisfying and genre completely sound, we wouldn't be writing.

aelfgifu - Omniscient voice vs POV Narration. (Your thoughts welcome) - over the years and prodding from my betas, I have largely got rid of Omniscient narration in favor of Point-of-View chapters that stay in the POV of one character for the entire scene. [...] I find Omniscient voice (God narrator) that knows all the thoughts, fears, hopes, and reactions of each character, as well as the great map of the universe often give so much away, it leaves little for the reader to discover.

Miscellany, Polls, Etc.

destina - LJ Etiquette Poll - I've seen some interesting discussion recently about fannish custom and norms, and it made me curious to know if there were any universal trends developing with regard to LJ etiquette (or if, in fact, there is such a thing), so I created a decidedly unscientific poll.

cawti - Friday Feedbacky thoughts - I love feedback, don’t get me wrong and if a piece gets a certain number of comments it thrills me but to discover myself on a rec page? Especially the rec page of someone that I respect enough to go to for recs myself? Wow. [poll on feedback vs. recs.]

girlflesh - So what about your LJ habits, hmmm? - [poll: the LJ Habits of Fannish Folk