General

elke_tanzer - *waves cheerily* So about this del.icio.us thing... - I realized belatedly this afternoon that I've been adding a whole bunch of SGA fic recs to my del.icio.us bookmarks over the past few days, and that some folks haven't figured out where I'm making those recs, or how to use del.icio.us or why you'd want to, and hey, tipsy, so why not (try to) post about it?

janedavitt - Just out of curiosity - If I posted a fic anonymously, would a tree still fall in the forest? No, that's not quite right. Would it get commented on the same as if it was by me, I mean.

rosesanguina - [real friends, real life] - The thing I like about friendships founded online is that I can share those things with people and know then that they still like me and care about me, and then when I meet them in person, I automatically feel closer to them because I know they're actually seeing the real me rather than the façade it is customary for me to put on.

fools_trifle - Discussing the term "fanart" - When I came across Livejournal, I discovered that - not only do lots of other people enjoy illustrating works of fiction that have caught their fancy, many people like seeing these non-commercial illustrations, and lots of artists (whether budding amateurs or seasoned professionals) enjoy sharing these illustrations online. What confuses me is that these original illustrations are popularly termed "fanart", and the postings of them often accompanied by a disclaimer, something that would normally only be used in the case of fanfiction.

princessofg - Musings on "We're Not Gay" in slash - Recent flurries of commenting with timian and cathexys about the trope of WNG in slash have got me thinking again.

twinkledru - Some rambly meta-ish thoughts for y'all. - his isn't really a rant or even an essay yet; just part of some of the questions/thoughts that are shuffling around as I ponder the matter of the Mary Sue.

Fandom-Specific ( Cut for possible spoilers in Willy Wonka/Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Harry Potter, Firefly and Supernatural fandoms. )

On Creating and Criticism

lyda222 - "Show, Don't Tell" and Other Myths About Writing - Everyone always harps on nascent writers to “show, don’t tell” and there was a time I held this adage close to my heart. I still hold it, but now it’s at a more critical arm’s length distance.

justacat - Musings on sex scenes .... - I have to stop for a moment to explain here that writing - writing stories, I mean - is something that I've always viewed as deeply and utterly mysterious. I don't mean mysterious to me because Idon't understand how it's done (though obviously this is true!!) - I mean it is by its very nature a mysterious thing, even to the writer.

a2zmom - Yes Virginia, There Is Bad Characterization - One ooc act does not a personality trait make. And the same is true for the Jossverse. You can find evidence for just about any insane personality trait you wish to assign to the scoobies and the fang gang. But truthfully, everybody acts out once in while. That doesn't make it their normal operating mode. If character A does action Z 99 times and does action Q once, don't write him doing Q. Unless you've carefully built it up as to why they're reacting that way again.

Polls, Questions, Other

telesilla - Birds too! Yes, underneath our fine feathers, we are NAKED! - So just out of curiosity, are there things that work this way with you? Are there certain types of posts that give you an unexpected "OMG I'm kinda emotionally naked here" feeling?

janedavitt - Drabble poll - I love them, but I've known for a long time that not everyone shares the drabble love and so - poll!

loligo - fandom and original characters - In just about any fandom, romances between a canon character and an original character are one of the most widely despised story categories. The reasons for this are many, varied, and mostly obvious, but some OC romances actually *do* work. Can anyone provide me with names of OC romances, in any fandom, that you've actually enjoyed?

eirena - Request... - For this paper, I am looking for a variety of writers from a variety of fandoms who are willing to discuss with me (on AIM if possible) their writing, philosophy behind writing fanfic (if, indeed, they have one!), the impact of fanfiction in their lives and other aspects of fandom-as-a-culture. I do have my own opinions, but I would like to represent a variety of voices in this paper.

thelastgoodname - On smut, porn, PWP, and other forms of gratuitous writing. - Does it take longer to write fictional sex than to write other types of fictional interactions?