An interesting look at copyright cases in relation to fanfic. The Stallone one in particular, considering the common fan concern about creators seeing fanworks.
purpleyin reblogged
eliciaforever-deactivated201906
We’re gonna change it.
Fanart and fanfiction are more valid and more normal every day. Women’s creations, queer creations, creations by people of color.
It’s working.
We are absolutely bringing our stories to the mainstream more and more. It’s changing. Maybe it’s bumpy. But fanart will get there. Fanfiction will get there.
eliciaforever
And if you’re rolling your eyes like LOL fanfiction fanart LOL.
You just saw Spider-Verse what did you think you were watching.
purpleyin reblogged
Fanfiction isn’t written for you, it’s shared with you.
captainarwenpond221b
BLESS THIS POST
As a fanfiction writer, it’s taken me a long time to come to this realization, and ever since I have, I’ve been so much happier with my views of my work and my self-esteem. The person my fanfiction is written for is ME. When other people enjoy it, that’s wonderful and it makes me happy, but I shouldn’t beat myself up if people don’t. It’s not for them. It’s for me.
YES! Every once in a while, I’ll be like, “Ugh, this is such wish fulfillment garbage for MYSELF, what worthless trash.” And then I’m like, “Wait, no, that’s why I’m writing it.” If other people don’t like it? meh.
purpleyin reblogged
“Historically, whenever young women are interested in a form of media, we like to tell them it is bad for them and that they are bad for liking it — unless the media goes mainstream, in which case it becomes no longer feminine and hence okay. Novels are dangerous and cause insanity, until they become classics worthy of being studied in college. Beatlemania is the province of ‘the dull, the idle, the failures,’ until the Beatles become a band that everyone loves. Young women are so attacked for loving the media they love that it is a radical act for a young woman to love something unashamedly. And transformative fandom is the most radical act of all, because it reverses that ‘lady thing to respectable thing’ process. It takes a piece of media that may not have been designed for young women and makes it for young women.”
— Constance Grady, Why we’re terrified of fanfiction (via fluffycakesistainted)
purpleyin reblogged
Anonymous asked:
As a writer, I started replying to all of the comments on my most recent fic, and I'm happy to say that I love interacting with my readers. One of the readers even replied to one of my replies to their original comment, and that was the best part of my day! I've never seen someone reply to a writer's reply, so this was really exciting for me! We ended up discussing a character we both love, and the reader actually motivated me to include that character in the story
That’s the dream, right there :D Peak fandom interaction!
purpleyin reblogged
Feedback culture is dead, long live feedback culture!
AO3, fanfiction, and comments: the system isn’t working.
Fic authors have a problem with feedback – or rather, with the lack of it. Fanfiction has a notoriously low ratio of comments to hits, and many of us have expressed our frustration that we can get a hundred, two hundred, five hundred, even a thousand views on our stories, but only a handful of readers will leave kudos, let alone comments.
Unfortunately, this only gets worse for long, multi-chapter stories (aka, the longfics we know, love, and would sell our souls in a second if it meant an update), which also happen to be the stories that authors need the most support to continue and complete. Law of diminishing returns, y’all, and it sucks.
We’re not here to guilt you into leaving comments. We want to address the problem by changing the format, and we need your help to do it.
The goal is to increase the amount of feedback authors get from readers, especially on stories with multiple chapters, and to make it easier for everyone to show how much we love fics. We’re opening a discussion with ao3 to figure out how/if any of these options can be implemented, but first we need options to present!
Some of our current ideas:
- Ability to leave a form of kudos on every chapter, instead of only once on the entire story: this lets authors know that you’re here and you’re reading their updates, so their hard work isn’t getting tossed into the internet void.
- Comment templates: suggested comments that can be customized or posted as-is. Many of us draw a blank or get nervous when we try to think of a comment, so having pre-made options will both increase the total level of feedback and serve as practice, making it easier to leave more in-depth comments in the future.
- Upvoting/leaving kudos on comments themselves: positive reinforcement makes giving feedback more fun and rewarding, and it lets the author know that readers are present and agreeing with other comments, even if they don’t leave one themselves.
We’ll contact AO3 to discuss the possibility of adding any of these as native features, and if that won’t work, we’re looking into creating and sharing a user script.
What you can do to help:
- As a reader, what would you like to have? What would you be most likely to use? New ideas, opinions on ideas that are listed here, they’re all good.
- As a creator, how would you feel about each of these options? Can you think of other ways of receiving or encouraging feedback?
- Pros and cons of these (note: our thoughts on this are discussed in this google doc)
- GET THE WORD OUT! Reblog this post, send it to your friends, link to it from your stories. We need as much input and support as possible to get this off the ground.
Feedback makes for happy authors. Happy authors make for more stories. Let’s keep this part of fandom alive!
More details about our thoughts, discussions, and ideas can be found in this google doc.
THIS POST HAS BEEN RELOCATED TO THIS BLOG - PLEASE ADDRESS ALL ASKS HERE. THANKS!
purpleyin reblogged
Six Sentence Sunday
Since a few people were confused in the tags on this post I thought I’d explain.
Six Sentence Sunday is a writing thing where, on Sunday, you post six sentences from an unfinished work. It can be a new fic, a new chapter of a WIP, or even something you’re not sure you’ll ever post.
Choose an excerpt from any section (and it doesn’t have to be six sentences) and post it, letting people know what it belongs to or indicating that it’s something you’re working on.
People get a preview of what’s coming. You get some feedback on what’s there. If they like it, you might get some reblogs that will generate more interest in your story or you as a writer.
You can find loads of examples by searching for this on tumblr (sometimes tagged “Sunday six”)
purpleyin reblogged
tsunderesasuke
Your Guide To Reviews
The Problem
Fic writers wonder why people don’t review. They honestly can’t understand the silence. Writers assume that readers:
- usually have something to add/criticize/say
- know how to articulate their own thoughts/feelings
- withhold feedback because they’re lazy or apathetic
- don’t appreciate how much time/effort/energy goes into writing
On the flip-side, readers assume that:
- the writer already knows how ‘good’ their work is
- someone else will review because this fic is ‘obviously’ awesome
- if a fic is already ‘popular,’ their feedback won’t matter
- if they comment, they ‘must’ leave an awesome, insightful, detailed comment that 100% reflects their love for a fic
- since words aren’t adequate, it’s better to stfu and just click the kudos button/favotite/bookmark
None of these assumptions are accurate.
The reality is that:
- there is no reason for a writer to post their work except to get feedback that validates their vision, helps them improve and/or gives them an outsider perspective/interpretation of their work (which can be absolutely mind-blowing)
- like, you can and should write for yourself, but if that’s 100% the case, every good fic would be wasting away in a private word document
- ‘readers’ are not always ‘writers’
- ‘writers’ can naturally put their ideas and emotions into words
- ‘readers’ usually don’t know what to say, which words to use to express themselves, and belittle the importance of their perspective
- many ‘readers’ don’t write, so they can’t empathize with the struggle of writing a fic for a silent but attentive audience
Basically, readers don’t understand writers and vice-versa. Both parties are wired differently. Readers who also write are more likely to review because they empathize with both sides of the equation.
The Solution
Writers
- Be patient, understanding, and persistent
- Appreciate those who do review
- Don’t get bitter, discontinue a beloved story, or assume the worst of your readers
- Realize that everyone is really trying their best
Readers
- Be patient, supportive, honest, and empathetic
- Realize that there’s no minimum! Even two words (like ‘good work!’) can have a huge impact
Review Templates
Things to say when you’re tongue-tied:
Verbs
- I liked the part where/when…
- I wonder why…
- I smiled/laughed when…
- I was confused when…
- I think that…
- I predict…
- I was sad/happy/angry/[other emotion] when…
Nouns
- [character] did/said/felt/will do [this thing]
- because… (if applicable)
- [insert plot point/event]
Example: I think that [this guy] ran away from [his friend] because he was trying to protect him.
And that’s it. You don’t have to say anything else. One sentence is more than enough, but you’ll notice that once you get started, you’ll have a lot to say- so say it!
Author’s style
Your writing is:
- Detailed/descriptive
- Vivid
- Concise (to the point)
- Funny
- Serious
- Surreal
- Unique
- Compelling
- Provocative
- Leaves me wondering about a lot of things, and I’m curious about what happens next
- Confused me a little at times (talk about what confused you! The author will be more than happy to clear things up!)
Do’s and Don’ts
Don’t
- Worry about grammar/typos in your review
- Suggest a direction for the story (most writers know what they’re doing and you just gotta trust them)
- Think that clicking the kudos button is all you can do! Your opinion is important!
- Tell the author to do more of [this] and less of [that]
- Ask them to update without leaving any other feedback
Do
- Leave short comments if you can’t think of anything else to say (“I like this” is more than acceptable, seriously)
- Inform the author of typos (be specific)- many fics are un-beta’d. The writer will appreciate your attention to detail.
- Express your own perspective even if it isn’t ‘correct-’ I think [character] did this because she was jealous, which explains why…
- Understand that your unique interpretation of motives/symbolism/foreshadowing/anything is extremely valuable
- Be honest, but diplomatic
- Bookmark/rec works if you enjoy them, esp to help lesser-known writers
You can copy/paste from this post into your reviews. It’s hard to find the right words sometimes, but for writers, anything is better than silence.
This is great! I have a few things to add.
Writers
- Be patient with your readers, yes. Commenting is a skill, and even when it seems like something easy, it isn’t - not for everyone, at every time. However. It is okay to be disappointed that a story didn’t get much of a response. This is normal, and it doesn’t make you entitled or ungrateful. It makes you a person.
- If a fic isn’t getting much feedback, and you decide to discontinue it for that reason - that’s okay too. No matter how much you want to tell a story, the motivation to put in so, so much effort and make it happen comes from a lot of sources, and comments can be a vital component.
- Post on multiple sites (ao3, FFN, wattpad, tumblr, etc). You want that audience? Go get ‘em!!
Readers
- Don’t get mad at an author for requesting feedback, or discontinuing a story due to lack of it. It’s easy to feel guilty, and it’s often more pleasant to turn guilt into anger and push it outwards, but it’s unfair. The author’s statement isn’t targeting you and only you, and the vast majority of the time, they’re not angry either - they’re scared that they’re pouring their energy into something that no one else cares about.
- You don’t have to go from never commenting, or commenting very rarely, to commenting on every single thing you read. You don’t have to comment at all. But, if you want to comment more, don’t start out with the goal of going from 0 to 100. Instead, tell yourself “I’m going to comment on at least one fic today,” or “The next time I bookmark a fic, I’m going to tag it with a description of how it made me feel.”
- Using a template isn’t cheating!! “It’s not completely original,” well, who cares. Most of what we say has been said countless times before, but that doesn’t make it meaningless - it’s been said so many times because it’s been meant.
- If you’re worried about commenting because you’re not a native speaker, it’s okay! However, when authors get a comment from someone who says that they’re reading this in a second language, that you’re still learning, we go “oh my god Dedication I love you so much.”
- To those readers who are also writers - commenting is different than writing. They might as well be different languages (and depending on what languages you read/write in, they might actually be different languages). The fact that you write stories might not make commenting any easier, and that, again, is normal. I’ve said several times that “I can only say what I mean when I can put the words into a character’s mouth.”
- If you don’t want to leave a short comment but you don’t know what to say? Talk to a friend about the story while you’re reading, if you have fandom friends. Make them read it too. When you’re done, copy the best parts of the chat log (including keyboard smashes) into the comment box and post it. Authors love that.
- Mod Rose
purpleyin reblogged
previouslygalfridian-deactivate
Fan fiction is what literature might look like if it were reinvented from scratch after a nuclear apocalypse by a band of brilliant pop-culture junkies trapped in a sealed bunker. They don’t do it for money. That’s not what it’s about. The writers write it and put it up online just for the satisfaction. They’re fans, but they’re not silent, couchbound consumers of media. The culture talks to them, and they talk back to the culture in its own language.
This is probably the best, non-judgmental description of fan fiction I’ve ever heard of in main stream media.
(via raeseddon)
purpleyin reblogged
Hello.
Well.
It is rather obvious that I am American.
Some people who write fic are American. Some are British. Some are German. And so on.
Now, if an English person wants to write a fic about, say, the Big Bang Theory, I think that’s great. I love reading new fic, especially well-written fic.
Good point about how people don't tend to mention fics needing AmericanPicking (though I think I've had people point out a few issues on other fandoms fics of mine in that vein before). I'd hazard a guess that UK viewers/readers get much a wider exposure to US culture, as the vast majority of mainstream film/tv is US set, than the other way round. So Brit/EU fans might find it easier to know from shows already or more resources to lookup differences to make their fic more passably American?
I'm curious if the idea of BritPicking is relatively new fenwise. I know it came up during HP fandom, but did people used to need to much before that? What other widespread UK set fandoms were there? Classic Who I suppose, but was there much online fic (and so spread internationally) before HP fannish era or not? I should look into that for curiousity's sake.
I think re: Britpicking the chances are higher of finding more pedants who care about having it be correct™. Most mistakes are small, easy to pass over (pants for trousers for example, but even I find myself making that mistake in conversation thesedays, I'm becoming Americanised lol) or in some cases with words that have a totally different meaning they're rather WTF/hilarious.
It's rare to find something jarringly wrong but it does happen. I think the issue is whether the writer has taken the care on making the fic fit the scenario including where the fic is set. It is nice to see stuff Britpicked (although I guess when done successfully you don't know it has been, by the absence of issues) but not being Britpicked doesn't usually detract significantly.
However, if a fic had Sherlock nipping down to Walmart or some such I'd be irked, because it's actually easy in the absence of knowledge to make things like that generic but descriptive without including any potentially jarring mistakes like that. But hopefully most good writers have common sense there to either check the facts or gloss it over vaguely.
purpleyin reblogged
A Guide to Writing Sherlockian-Biscuit Habits
Or Why John Would Dunk a Biscuit in His Tea and Not Cover it With Gravy
A reprint of the Reminiscences of enigmaticpenguinofdeath, a Tea-Drinking Englishwoman (who has never knowingly turned down the offer of a biscuit with her cuppa).
I was lacking in Sherlock screencaps involving biscuits, alright?
So from the popularity of my previous post, it seems that there were many Sherlock fans out there across the world who were clearly baffled about how British people drink tea and thus flailing around and having characters get up to all sorts of nonsense with microwaved teabags, sweetened iced tea and goodness knows what other affronts to nature. Hopefully you have now been shamed/educated into how to include tea drinking in your fics more accurately, and may even apply the common sense rules to your own beverage choices in real life – your tea-drinking souls could still be salvageable.
However, I don’t feel that I can leave you all only half way along this journey, for there is another side to the great British love affair with tea. I speak of biscuits.
This guide will follow the pattern of my tea ramblings; being an initial introduction to how the British view biscuits, and then moving on to look at some examples of how biscuits may be correctly and incorrectly included in Sherlock fics. The first section is likely to be primarily written with US readers in mind since you guys are the weird ones with the deliberately obtuse and incorrect language around biscuits/cookies, and I have a solid understanding of where you are going wrong. Other countries have their own ishoos but I’m not as au fait with them. There are other guides on the interweb from ex-pats and biscuit specialists that can probably clear up specific confusion with other locales – get thee to Google!