General Fandom Meta -

rahirah - Canon, left ajar - I’ve only really written seriously for two fandoms. When I started in each of them, both of them were open, evolving canons. Eventually, both of them got to a point where they were closed for all practical purposes, even though new material might potentially appear from time to time. [...] And in both cases, it didn't really affect my writing, because by that time, I was off in my own AU, which was by then complex enough to generate its own ‘canon.’

faithfulreader in writing_sex - Difference Between Porn And Erotica - Is there a difference between porn and erotica? If there is, then what it is? What is porn? What is erotica?

r_becca - I'd like to file a complaint. - Dear fanfic writer, // I've read two of your fics now and really enjoyed them. In fact, I loved them. I think you're great. I want to read all of your fics and fangirl you mercilessly and send you wonderful glowing reviews. I want to rec and squee and share the fanlove. // So WHY do you hide from me??

midnitemaraud_r - The Fandom Classic - '57 Chevy or '58 Edsel? - In pretty much every pairing, in every fandom, there are one or two (or five or ten) "classics" that, when someone asks for a general or pairing rec ("please tell me your favorite/the best fics") are immediately recced, lauded and praised, and named as the 'quintessential' fic(s) for the pairing. Even now, I'm sure you all have a couple of fics in your mind, ready to roll off the tip of your tongue. // But what do you do - how do you feel - when you don't share this love and adulation for a particular 'classic' defining fic?

poisontaster - Beta/Concrit Panel at Winchestercon - For anyone who might be interested, this is a copy of the handout I gave out for my panel, cunningly entitled: "Beta/Criticism - You Suck, But I Can Help!"

raine_wynd - Service to fandom - How do we measure service to fandom? Do we measure it by who the archivers are, who the webmasters are? Do we measure it in terms of who are the writers, the vidders, the ones who pimp our favorite shows/characters/specific episodes? Do we measure it in terms of sheer volume of contributions? Because if we do, then there are probably people we miss, people we never thank, and people whose biggest contributions might just consist of being a fan.

mavjop - Universal bites the Browncoats that feed them :( - The following is a copy of an e-mail I sent to various Browncoat lists in response to the fact that Universal has apparently started sending nasty letters to creators/purveyors of fan-produced merchandise:

overthemoo - Universal FTL! - Also, within their cease and desist notices where they say stores must take down any product that simply "refers" to Universal property - basically, that technically isn't allowed. Obviously, Universal is a big company, they can do pretty much anything they want. But if they want to go by laws and rules - that certainly doesn't apply to any. Referring to something isn't breaking any law.

linaerys - Continuum of Slash - Homoeroticism does not come only out of the overheated minds of fangirls like me, it's actually present some times more than others, and even subject matter that lends itself to slashy interpretation can be devoid of homoeroticism. Sometimes the characters' relationships with women are what blur the lines, but any dedicated slasher knows that those can be explained away. It really is more about how the characters are presented in relation to each other: the long lingering looks, the plot twists that lend themselves to slashy explanations. I've been acused of seeing slash whenever there are two male characters on screen, but it just ain't so.

heidi8 - TPTB and Fanfic Mainstreaming - So I'm replying to a question from someone in FictionAlley Park, and the Google Ad at the bottom of the page - which I can't screencap because for some reason my MS Paint program is MIA - says the following: // Fanfiction Writing // Learn to write like a pro from HarperTeen editors and authors. // www.harperteenfanlit.com

painless_j - "Cheerful attitude," on-going canon, etc - In the author's notes before the fic I rec in the previous post, Survival, the author tessabeth spoke about being pissed with Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest and how a post by another person made her work with and around it. My agreement or disagreement re: DMC aside, it made me think of HP fandom, fans' look at new canon and such.

matociquala - I am Bear's extreme lack of motivation. - So as I see it, anyway, there's a moral difference between a fan riffing off my work in some non-commercial fashion, or even a very slightly commercial one, and somebody making gobs of money through theft.

On Writing/Creating

ruric - The question for tonight is... - ...when writing (story, ficlet, PWP, flashfic, challenge piece, whatever) do you: // (a) outline // (b) write consecutively

ladyblack888 - Question on incest-writing. - We all know that, while writing relationship-fic, be it het, femslash or slash, we should stick to the characters' names and to the good old he/she and him/her. And that pearls like the other boy/girl, his/her friend, his/her girlfriend/boyfriend, his/her, god forbid!, lover and the likes are totally cringe material.
At least for me it is. [...] // So, my question is: When reading incest-fic, regardless of my above argument, if you come across the wording 'his/her sister/brother', do you find it acceptable or even logical because it's incest, or do you immediatelly hit the back button?

synecdochic - Writing methods - Seriously, the way I do it? Word count goals. Posted semi-publicly, by which I mean, I set up an AIM away message with half-hourly word count and the next half-hour's goal. That way there are people watching (or theoretically could be people watching, but in practice, my buddy list finds it an entertaining late-night hobby) and if I don't make the goal, I feel ashamed.

Miscellany

poisontaster - Poll: Not an Alpha - Beta Street Cred [Poll]

serpantclara - A Poll for Fanfic Writers - How do you come up with the plots and ideas you use in your stories? When you are writing fan fiction, some ideas stem naturally from the book or show you're basing your fic on (and possibly other fics you've read), but where do you go from there? Where does the rest of your inspiration come from? [Poll]

sh_roundup - New b-weekly newsletter for Starsky & Hutch fandom