Creating and Criticism

• musesfool 2007-03-06: now I need a little give and take: "So after I posted about things that will make me hit the back button, hossgal asked me what kinds of things will keep me reading a story even if it has errors or problems, and this is much harder for me to answer."
• oulangi 2007-03-07: SS/HP Prophet for Mar 1 - Mar 4: "I'm not sure I really like the gift exchange format.// ... It seems like writers format these things far too often on a checklist; "the recipients kinks" that end up getting shoehorned into some innocent story that just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time."
• drusillas_rain 2007-03-05: on discipline and writing: "So, I’m going to keep trying to develop as a writer. Last year my focus was on story development. I’ve since learned though that quantity can be just as important. // Any thoughts? Or other resources you've come across that talk about this? I'd appreciate the insight."
• synecdochic 2007-03-08: [writing] Structure, Complexity, and Hidden Themes: or,: "And lo and behold, a few things fell together, and thus, some babbling on Story Length and Pacing, or, How I Learned To Stop Worrying And Love The Novel."

General

• rachelmanija 2007-03-05: The Fannish Guide to the Mahabharata : "While I was at ConDor, a sf and fantasy convention last weekend, I realized that many people who read this journal, particularly the manga and anime fans but also the fans of fantasy novels and genre TV shows, would be very interested in reading the great Indian epic, The Mahabharata, if they realized that it contained many scenes of half-naked sweaty men embracing each other while weeping and vowing eternal devotion. "
• giandujakiss 2007-03-06: You know another reason why I think slash appeals to women: "It's been said that women enjoy slash because it gets rid of gender-role political baggage -- and I completely agree with that -- but another aspect of it, I think, is that you can use violence without feeling like someone's being abused. "
• surrealphantast 2007-03-06: BNF's! What is this of which you speak??: "However, when I DO think of abstract ideas, my brain draws diagrams for me in my head, very similar to this. I do not know why or what this sort of thinking is called or what it means, because geniuses have no TIME for NONSENSE. But if someone knows, they could tell me.// ... Here we have the Supernatural fandom, where the wank started." [DIAGRAM]
• carmarthen 2007-03-06: The reasoned response:: "So, why exactly should we expect a great furor outside of fandom over fanfiction, which is not only not illegal (unlike video child porn) but also not known to the majority of society?[2]"
• redscharlach 2007-03-05: A suitable case for testing: "Fandom Studies. Paper 1. Time Allowed: 3 hours (or until you breach terms of service, whichever is sooner)"
• laguera25 2007-03-07: What I Owe Fandom: Not a Whole Damn Lot: "Fandom should be fun, not Internet college. A lot of people forget that. // So, I got thinking. What are my obligations to fandom and/or my flisters and readers? Well, here they are:"
• sophia_helix 2007-03-07: i love finding excuses to use this icon: "So. Talk to me. IP logging is off today, and anon commenting is always on. What's in your head? Not what you do, or what you'd like to do, but the raw stuff that's buried or not so buried in the dark. What makes you spark, makes you squirm, makes you think, makes you sweat, makes you you, a woman, without consideration for what that means in the larger social construct or for anyone else but your own damn self? Be conventional, be out there, just be yourself -- I wanna see sex-positive feminism at its best."
• fandom_me 2007-03-08: untitled : " My thoughts on slash - because I'm grumpy and slash and its defense is always good for a rant. ... // Absence of evidence is not evidence of absence."
• hobviously 2007-03-07: today is a good day I think for RPF!: "I love RPF because it's NOT all made up, and because it makes no pretensions at being true. I love the nebulose space it occupies between crack and crossover and meta and speculation and original fic. I love how it can be parody, commentary on source text, an in-joke, or totally hot and epic (you'll have to join the comm for that one, sorry)."
• verstehen 2007-03-06: untitled : "But I've been watching [info]metafandom for a while now and recently I've been struck by the plethora of queer theory and gender studies they link and, while I find them interesting, I keep wondering where are all the posts about race?"
• teratologist 2007-03-07: Note to Universe: "But another vitally important, yet almost never discussed, virtue of female (etc.) role models is that they give actual real-life heteronormative white boys a chance to identify with someone who is UNlike themselves in what society persists in alleging is a pretty vital way. Of COURSE it's no problem if girls (etc.) identify with Harry Potter. But if you want to see someone be, shall we say, actively discouraged, check in when a boy admits identifying with a female character (etc.) Why do we patronize the poor heteronormative white boys so, instead of challenging them to identify with Unlike characters? // Please. Think of the heteronormative white boys."
• paceus 2007-03-08: Looking in slash fics: "The slasher’s gaze post by melannen really made sense to me, especially “the idea of men being looked at by someone who actively and aggressively desires” being important in slash fics. As characters looking at each other is one of my favourite things in fics, I got curious and wanted to see if there was something about it that resonates with melannen’s post. I chose fics in which I remembered looking being central: they’re by Xanthe, Lenore, Lamardeuse, solvent90, Cupid’s Bow, 30toseoul and Kaneko, and they are all SGA McKay/Sheppard fics. Then I posed questions to the fics: Who is looking and who is being looked at? How do they feel about it?"
• fox1013 2007-03-08: grey's (lose that cloud that’s blacking out the sun): "To me, one of the most fascinating things about the new culture of fans and creators interacting is the way that it changes the game of storytelling."

Polls and Questions

• prettyveela 2007-03-05: "I feel like we're grown-ups." ~Lolita : "I've always been fascinated about the reaction Chan gets in our fandom. It seems that we don't have a clear definition of what chan is." [HP] [POLL]
• jewels667 2007-03-09: Tell me what you like to read!: "I prefer to read the following:" [POLL]
• emmagrant01 2007-03-06: Fandom You: Hobby or training ground? Short term or li: "Back to my point, though: I'm curious if my theory about this being divided along age lines is correct. I'm not trying to suggest that most younger fen think of producing fan works as a stepping stone to something bigger, but that I would guess there are a larger percentage of younger fen who view fandom participation that way than you would find among older fen." [POLL]
• emmagrant01 2007-03-08: On that Fandom-as-a-Hobby Thing: "A couple of days ago I made a post with a poll asking people if they viewed fandom as just a hobby or as a stop along a career path, and the results were interesting. I had hypothesized that older fen would be more likely to view fandom as just a hobby, while younger fen would be more likely to think of fandom as a place to try out skills they might be able to turn into a career. People seemed to take the wrong polls, so I don't think the numbers are all that reliable, but the comments made were pretty interesting.// Here are a few in particular ..."
• misscam 2007-03-06: Ah, them fandom grudges...: "What do you think? Got grudges that live? Got grudges who died? Hate hatememes or think them needed? Does fandom get with the hate, or is it just a few troublemakers stirring shit? Curious about grudges I might have? I am bored, so opine on me. Grudge-holders and grudge-less alike welcome."