Fandom Meta

vaznetti - Roman Politics as a Fandom So, Cicero and Pompey are, like, major BNFs. Cicero wrote the great epic that influenced everyone's view of canon (secretly, he prefers his version to canon, but don't we all) and Pompey wrote a set of very, very popular romances (although he's always been upset because his stuff never gets recommended on the really prestigious rec site run by Cato). They're good friends, even though each is a little jealous of the other. Then Caesar comes onto the scene, and his view of canon totally clashes with Cicero's.

starrysummer - On Fandom, Belonging, and Making Friends Anyway, here we go. Ten Steps to Feeling a Part of This Big, Scary (mmm necrophilia) Not-Quite-Physical Place. This is not a lesson in how to get to know people, it's just suggestions that'll make you feel like maybe you are making an impact here, maybe you are connecting with people. Some of these things may get people to notice you as a writer, as an artist, as a whatever it is you do do-er in fandom. But that's not the point. The point is to take this passion that we all have, or at least that drew us all here into the first place, and to make it feel like we're not just dangling on the outskirts.

luna_k - Meta Thing is, I totally understand why people change their usernames. I've gone through several internet aliases over the years, including at least 3 aliases in fandom. I even changed my LJ name once, last February, because the old one didn't fit me anymore. I do think it changed people's perception of me... in fact, I hope it did, because that was kind of the point. I just wish I could keep up with all the different name changes! Maybe I should start keeping a database.

saeva - [on authorial intent and canon implication] Which brings up the question: if X amount of people don't see it can you reasonably argue that it's not canon because it's never explicitly, flatout said in canon? I don't think you can reasonably argue that.

dragonscholar in fanthropology - A different way to think of Fanon I've thought of fanon as coming from many possible origins: extrapolation, social convention and norming, projection, assumption, etc. Fanon may be thick and prominent, or odd and seemingly irrelevant. Whatever its origin or "intensity", it can spread and hold on remarkably well at times. Then I thought: fanon can also be viewed as a meme.

elynross - Encouraging others to read What makes me a little crazy is people posting stories or recommendations that apparently don't really want me to be enticed into reading the story -- or they assume that I should want to read any story they write or recommend, regardless of the details. I say this, because fairly often I see people posting things that not only don't tell me the size of the story in question (a minor thing that won't keep me from checking out something that sounds interesting, if only to save for later), but don't give me enough information to tell me whether I'm interested, or not.

lord_gribeau in fanficrants - I've got a secret! e got a secret for you. It is big; it's juicy. I don’t want you to share it with others. Please, don’t read further unless you can keep a secret: There are teens in fandom.

thelastgoodname - More on disability I'm not sure I can ascribe all the positive impulses to fandom that kestrell does, but I certainly see the fandom playing with identity, both in regards to disability and in regards to other categories that perhaps deserve upsetting (gender, sexual orientation, family, duty). This is one of the strongest positives in fandom. [response to essay in specific fandom section]

nostalgia_lj - ramble ramble blah metacakes if you're an adult woman and you can't write men (as opposed to women) you haven't lived in the world. Umm. Yeah. There are very few people I've seen in fic who conspicuously can't write men compared to how well they can write women. Because, dude, patriarchy? Men are all over the place!

Specific Fandom Meta

( Cut for possible Spoilers for the Fandoms: House, HP, Farscape )

On Reading and Writing

justacat - [on collaboration] I'd never really thought about collaborating, or about the nature of collaboration, before this. I like getting others' input at the "ideas" stage of a project - typically the most challenging stage for me - but when it comes to implementation, I have always preferred to have full control, and indeed I can get quite proprietary and possessive of my projects.

gelasius in fanthropology - Fanfic question... When writing a fanfic story for a world with several years of developing canon (which... happens a lot), it seems there are two ways to indicate at what point in that canon it's supposed to be set. It can go in the Story Notes at the top, which lets your reader know right away, or it can be incorporated subtlely into the opening scenes so the reader gradually becomes aware of when it is and thus makes the appropriate additions to the backstory. I suppose this is most applicable to the kind of fanfic I personally enjoy the most: that which can slide easily into the canon of the show without changing anything.

musesfool - you probably think this song is about you A gift exchange ficathon - especially a secret Santa or otherwise holiday-themed gift exchange style ficathon - IS NOT ABOUT YOU AS AN AUTHOR. YOU ARE NOT A UNIQUE SNOWFLAKE WHO GETS TO IGNORE WHAT YOUR RECIPIENT WANTS.

elynross - What I did for my Yuletide insanity, by elynross Initial number of fandoms: eleventy-million, ie, 1,992 you crazy crazy people. First pass leaves all the "I could do all of these if I STRETCHED and had to and I was TOTALLY FUCKING INSANE" choices.

kita0610 - Now, tell me about the mechanism I wanted to do an essay on writing process and style, but let's face it, I also want a pony. Instead, I offer my scattered notes/thoughts, and a request that you all reply with your own. I'm particularly interested in hearing from people whose process around writing is different from mine, but any and all thoughtful replies are encouraged.

Links, Polls, etc

aingeal8c - A Poll on the terms AU and AR I have been wondering about the different uses of the terms AU and AR and how they seemed to get mixed up and different people have different fefintions. SO I'm trying a poll to see.