On Mon, 16 Nov 1998, Jason Liao wrote:
This list is like the music industry, really... you have two or three
major genres of fic/music, and a number of artists/writers write that
story because they enjoy it and it gets reactions. Lesser-known series,
like Boku No Marie (my fav) or 801 TTS Airbats are going to get overlooked
because they don't have the known-commodity status of a Ranma or SM.
But let me ask you a question. If you *did* see a Boku No Marie fic, or a
Airbats fic, wouldn't you read it? It's hard to be motivated enough to
give C&C to fics when there's so many, but finding a fanfic that's *not*
Ranma and something you enjoy usually feels different. I know that when I
see the few dribblets of Iczer fics that appear, I try my damn hardest to
find time to give C&C, so that the writer will write more.
The big problem is I *wrote* the only finished BNM fanfic, and there's no
801 TTS fics out there that I can find. Really, it's a matter of there
simply being too few non-franchise fics. It's not just 801 and Marie,
it's all of them. Or none of them, as the case seems to be.
I try to read as many AMG fics as I can stand, or at least start them,
because I like AMG. So far, I've seen a couple of VGAi fics, an Ushio To
Tora fic that was never finished, a Boku No Marie fic that was never
finished, a few AMG non-crossover fics, but on the whole, the fics just
don't get finished. I think this is because of a lack of enthusiasm. Not
just time, though being away from a fic you're not enjoying as much as you
thought you would will just sever it completely from your schedule.
I think the coolest thing I've seen on ther FFML was the recent Porco
Rosso fic. Now that's cool.
Is there any TTS Airbat fanfics out there? I know that if *I* saw one,
I'd try to get back to the author. Loved the anime, and so much was left
open...
Hell yeah. I agree. But, there just aren't any. There aren't any of a
lot of series. I'd love to see more Boku No Marie fics, and some YUA!
fics, but I don't want to have to write them *all*. I enjoy reading as
much or more than writing the fics, because the please of consuming is to
me more instant, easier, and sweeter than of producing. Especially if I
can only count on 2 or 3 responses. Or worse yet, if I can't count on
any responses at all!
If you wrote a fic you were proud of, that you put a lot of work into,
lost sleep over, and posted it to the FFML, and didn't get a response, how
would you feel? If you went to the FFML We'll Review Anything page and
saw that the reviewers ranged from Ranma-fics to SM-fics to AMG-fics,
where would you go? How would you get a positive reaction? Why, write a
Ranma fic, of course!
But this is silly. So, for my hobby, I'm going to write something that
isn't my best? Not something that I enjoy the most? I write using Ranma
because I *like* Ranma. I don't write using Sailor Moon because I don't
watch Sailor Moon. Are you proposing that I start to use Usagi in my
fanfics?
No, you're fine already using Ranma.
I'm proposing that if you have a story and you want responses, translate
the story into a Ranma or SM story. I'm not saying it's right or pretty,
but I have to wonder if maybe one or more of the Ranma fics didn't start
out as something else (original, lesser-known series, whatever) and got
translated to get an audience.
And look at the first phrase here. If I wrote a fic that I were most
*proud* of...
Not most proud of. Just proud of. There's a big difference. The work
I'm most proud of right now isn't even within a mile of the FFML. But I'm
proud of Music-Box Angel. I'm proud of the story I'm working on now. If
I got good reactions by turning it into an AMG fic (which I almost did for
that reason), and lots of them, I think the anxiety over selling out would
be quickly subdued.
I guess we all have our price, me included. The only reason my new fic
*isn't* AMG is beacue of big support from friends to keep it like it is.
But they know they'll have a rather insecure writer asking them if it's
good a lot, because we all know it's not going to get a big readership
(it's an original flavor fic).
I think that there's more than one or two writers here writing for their
audience.
Perhaps. That's the real question here, isn't it? Why are we here? To
write for others, or ourselves? This activity is something that eats away
at free time like crazy, and doesn't give a cent in return. The
beginnings of our works plead for the corperations not to slam us for
blatantly breaking a law.
We write to have other people say our writing is good. People who write
regardless of reaction have to be very very sure that they're doing the
FFML a favor by posting it there. The whole reason I joined the list was
to get reactions, C&C to improve my writing. That a big selling point of
the FFML. You get to read other fics, and get your fics read in return.
Posting to the FFML is the fanfic equivilent of publishing. If I wrote
entirely for myself, you'd never see it on the FFML. There'd be no reason
for me to share it unless I expected reaction. People can write for
themselves, but they publish with the express intention of getting a
reaction, and knowing people read it.
To me, it makes little sense to go though this effort for something that
isn't what you wanted in the first place.
I agree. But getting that great review or those 10 or 15 glowing
reactions do so much for the soul, it's easy to write what will get good
reactions. If I pressed a button marked "Do Not Touch!" and then got a
cookie, I'd be in a dilemma until I realized pressing the button marked
"PRess!" only got me a cookie once every ten or fifteen tries.
We only get so many presses of the buttons by writing. You're absolutely
right. It eats up time like nobody's business. For me, it's often time
I'd be spending sleeping if it weren't for "that idea I just had..." If I
were publishing to get good reactions, I'd want to get as many as
possible.
Of course, this all depends upon the notion of getting the bulk of your
pleasure in the reaction. For some, knowing they wrote an obscure fic
that people liked (a few people mind you) is enough to supplement the lack
of reactions from not writing the same fic as a Ranma or SM or Tenchi fic.
And then there's the writers who, either because they're too deep in a
habit, or because they lack the knowledge of other series, *can't* write
anything but Ranma or SM fics. I'm sure there's a percentage of writers
in that situation. I'm wondering if I'm stuck as a BNM writer because I'm
having insane troubles trying to pull off my new story.
I feel bad that the cycle of reader/writer reactions has lead to a state
where people are afraid to invest time in anything that's not known. If
more writers received more reaction from good indie fanfics, the cycle
could and would change. I haven't seen any big reader uprising, though.
Well, of course not. If only ten people (an extreme, here) know about
Iczer-1, then how can you expect the other hundreds of people to give a
useful or intellegent comment?
And this is the point that crushes me. ^_^
You're right, of course, but my point circumvents this. People learn that
they *can't* expect this, so to get the number of reactions they crave (or
objectively feel they need in order to better their writing), they move to
more fruitful series. Or they don't venture out of fruitful series.
But I'll bet at least five out of those ten respond to the author.
You're probably right. I got 8 different people responding to my fic when
it was at its peak. When it wasn't, I got between 0 and 4 responses per
episodes. The only reason I finished the story was because I had come too
far to leave it alone. It was really just a sense of duty or pride or
whatever that made me finish the last episode.
I'd love to be able to write a Ranma fic. I'd love to get responses like
a madman. I really would. I'd love to see my work publically responded
to. I hope that maybe I can create enough visibility for my projects to
get that.
The sardines weren't worth the trouble. A few more shots, then
Ryoga-san would overheat and explode. Ducking around a corner,
I managed to lose him as I entered the ramshackle residence of
my Anime supplier.
One look at his face and I knew that I was betrayed. "Tell me."
I insisted. He refused, so I slammed him against the wall.
"Last chance. Where can Ranma-Ranma find good fanfics?"
"Try Jason Liao." he whispered, before he slumped to the floor.
I heard the sounds of a door splintering as I left through the
window, one step ahead of Tendo Heavy Industries...
And that has to be the best sig I've ever seen. Beautiful.
--Matt
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"It is difficult to produce a television documentary that is both
incisive and probing when every twelve minutes one is interrupted by
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