transgeneric - Slashers Vs. Slashers I wonder if this is a difference between slashers and slash, between male horror viewers and female slash authors, between viewing and authoring (hmm, not sure about that last one), or simply a point where Clover seeks to downplay the sadism because that's the dominant way in which people think about boys watching horror movies, so it's more interesting/transgressive to suggest that they're in it for the masochism.

synecdochic - why Atlantis and I have mostly broken up, part 1 the Cuckoo's Egg. This is a term ivorygates taught me; it's what she calls it when you're writing merrily along, everything humming along and tick-tock just fine, and you suddenly realize that you are 300 pages into a 400 page story and you realize that the first 80 pages you wrote, way back there, are an entirely different story than the one you've slipped into telling. ... Basically, every story has certain fundamental, universal principles: what the story is about, what the emotional timbre of the story is, what sorts of reactions it will try to demand from you, what assumptions it is making about genre, and what sort of expectations it is relying on you to have. People always say that they're looking to be surprised by a story, and that's true -- but it shouldn't be an unpleasant surprise. You can surprise a reader, but you can't startle them, or else there will be an unpleasant visceral reaction in the readers' (viewers') minds. [SGA]

narahttbbs - "The Seven Basic Plots," Feminism and Fandom This fact becomes clear when Booker turns to considering the twentieth-century decline in storytelling. Literature and film, he believes, have become overwhelmed by sex and violence, taken over by the power of the ego and unable to offer viewers a satisfying, fruitful and psychologically healthy resolution. They are symbolic of a disordered psyche. The modern world has, quite literally, 'lost the plot,' and Booker blames part of this on feminism. In the late twentieth century, he says, movies and books set about de-feminising women [XF]

hector_rashbaum - On Characterization So if you see someone as a crier? Figure out why you think they're a crier, and use that to make other people believe it just as much as you do. Maybe you think Nick cries in front of Greg because he's comfortable enough and in love enough with Greg that he wants Greg to see the "wussier" side of him - that's cool, that's a totally legitimate reason to make someone a crier. But you have to show that in your fic - not flat-out say it, but show it in the way Nick is around Greg and they way he is everywhere else.

iridescentglow - my whole journal should come with an "unpopular opinion!" warning For the record, this is how I feel about LJ comments: If someone leaves a comment, it's implicit that I read it. Common sense, no? It's my journal, of course I read the comments I receive. And if it's a comment that concurs with my original post, I'm not gonna make another comment, restating the fact that I agree with... my original post. That's madness! If it's comment that disagrees with my original post, either I will want to engage in a discussion or I won't. The decision to engage is usually split-second. Otherwise, again... what's the point in replying to the comment?

kyuuketsukirui - Fandom centralisation I'm all for diversity (well, unless everyone was forced to conform to my tastes; I could get behind that!), but does centralisation necessarily mean less diversity? I don't think so. I would much rather have, say, one large archive with multiple pairings and styles and all that than have not only different archives for different pairings, but multiple archives within each pairing, some catering to specific styles or kinks, but some of which are just complete duplicates.

veleda_k - [on characterization] The thing that is annoys me most is way fangirls decide which character bottoms. Anime fangirls drive me nuts with their refusal to look at anything but physical appearance when deciding which character would top or bottom. [YnM]

bitterfig - the world split open slytherincess writes “I guess I see writing slash as more of an assertion of women taking control of their sexuality and sexual desires, and writing about what turns them on.” To me, that seems political. Though women have made tremendous advances I think what the poet Muriel Rukeyser wrote still holds true. “What would happen if one woman told the truth about her life? The world would split open.” I believe that for a woman to create something that honestly acknowledges and shares her sexual fantasies is a significant act.

alixtii - Repeating What I've Been Saying Forever, Again As such, the question of "what is canon?" using canon in this fanfic sense falls very clearly into the hands of the relevant interpretative community, i.e. fanfic writers and other Buffy fans, to be negotiated among them.

grey_hunter - Sort of general question about male characters So I'm asking how to make a male character seem more male.