aubrem - Fanfic and weak endings so many wonderful WsIP just sort of peter out - if they ever end at all, that is. Then I realized that this is true of fanfiction in general. Of course there are many stories with good, and even great endings but as a whole, on the average, compared to published original work, fanfiction stories tend to start with a bang and then sort of fade.

tkp - Word Emphasis and Brain Gravy Anyway, I've seen excellent authors I admire use many of these styles, especially boldface, CAPSLOCK, and *asterisks*. No matter who's writing it, it throws me out of the text. But that's me, my opinion, my way of writing, and my way of reading. What're your thoughts on the matter? How do you use these tools, if you use them? What do you think when you see them in text?

melannen - GIP I wonder why it's considered perfectly acceptable for these pro-SF writers to say 'this much money in the tip jar or I won't write the next chapter!', and not for fic-writers (and to some extent webcomics authors) to say 'I'm not posting the next installment unless I get this much feedback!'. After all, it's basically the way that *all* professional serials work, back to the days when Rennaissance philosophers would try to get people to subscribe to their Great Works In Progress, and have to go back to shilling for the nobility if subscriptions dwindled off. Is it because demanding feedback comes uncomfortably close to the fic-taboo of asking for payment? Is it just a general conception that we should be writing for *love*, darn it? Is it because, somehow, only *real* writers and artists are allowed to to that? Is it that we the readers have such a sense of entitlement that we're offended at the mere idea that we owe something to the writers? Or is it just because the people who demand feedback are usually highly annoying people in a variety of other ways?

saeva - In Defence of Being a Meta Fan If you're naturally inclined to squee, great for you, that's you and I realize, hi, I'm a minority in fandom. But I'm not alone and the assumptions that are being made are... unintentionally insulting, at best, and downright mean at worst. I don't assume you, the generic squee-happy you, are shallow ditzes because you like to squee so why would you assume that I'm a lifeless obsessive who has time to re-watch the shows I love every time I want to make a point (instead of just utilizing the fandom-appropriate lexicon) just because I like to poke my canon sources a little harder than most just by the nature of the way my brain works? I can't help I'm naturally verbose!

bravecows - Books and tea make 1 2 (3?) -- once upon a time I writ a story -- the art of replying to feedback I don't reply to ff.net reviews anyway (INDOLENCE, WE MEET AGAIN), which is a good thing since I never know what to say to these. Thank you is a good start, but it seems inadequate. Really what I want to express is something along the lines of: "look! I told a story. It was a piece of the heart. I put it out there hoping someone would see in it what I saw, that something of the vision in my head would be passed on to another mind. You saw it! You ran across the suspension bridge of your disbelief to join me here, in the place where all stories are born, in the secret inner sanctum of the heart! For a moment my thought was yours, your laughter was mine, and our tears were joint property according to the laws of the Kingdom of the Imagination!

emmagrant01 - Gay cowboys mainstream? So... do you think this is a good thing for fandom, or might it backfire by exposing more of us than the world at large is ready to see?

devildoll - Commenting Poll Everyone’s gotten one of those LJ comments in response to a story post, right? The ones that don’t say *anything* about your story (not one word. Not even an emoticon!), but instead say things like: Hey, I love your icon! (this includes loving the icons in other comments) / Hey, have you read (name of another story with same pairing/plot/characters as yours)? / Hey, can you tell me where to find other stories with this pairing/plot/character? / Hey, (random question or comment that has nothing to do with the story).[POLL]

coffeeandink - The Final Girl and Buffy the Vampire Slayer A week ago, I promised yhlee a follow-up to my post on Carol Clover's Men, Women and Chainsaws: Gender in the Modern Horror Film (1992), explaining my comment that Buffy isn't a Final Girl.