Monday, September 30, 2002

Psst...

I came across this question in a blog (the blogger, in this case, remaining anonymous but I'm too verbose to have enough room to leave this in said blogger's comments): If someone is a terrible writer and/or story teller, but it is something he or she enjoys, should he or she stop writing?

The answer would be a loud and emphatic NO. Of course not. This would be a good time to dispel myth #1: there is no such thing as a born writer. Trust me on this one. Even the best writers out there have stories hidden in the back of their closets that they pray will never see the light of day.

But I also think, while there is no such thing as a "born writer," I also think that one can improve. After all, if one thinks hirself to be a "terrible" writer, one can only get better from there, right? Good writing is a combination of experience, practice and desire. Good writing is being able to examine a story from all angles and not being afraid to start all over again when something fails. Good writing means sticking to it even when it's hard. Good writing means that you don't give up even when everyone around you thinks you ought to.

Back when I was running The Write Connection, I kept receiving emails from people asking for advice on how to become a writer. There's no easy way to do it - it takes practice. Lots of it. Some stories work, others don't. You just keep going. Save all of the older work, even the ones that don't work - you can always salvage it for use at another time. And the hardest thing to do is to acknowledge when, as a writer, you've failed.

A good writer needs to be open to constructive criticism. This isn't to be confused with liking constructive criticism. I doubt there's a single writer who enjoys being told when her story didn't work for reason A or reason B. After all, as writers, we invest so much in our work - to be told that we haven't done the job right in the first place can be heartbreaking, not to mention, fall into a depression regarding one's skills in the first place.

Taking constructive crit doesn't get better over time; it's a fact of life. If you want to be a good writer, somehow you have to develop that tough skin and be able to take the comments that point out more than spelling and grammatical errors. It means you have to be willing to defend what you've written (if you so choose). It's a crucial step in getting from "terrible" to not terrible.

In the end, it really depends on how much writing means to you as a writer and how much effort you want to expend. For some of us, it's not a hobby; it's something that's absolutely necessary and we will work at it until we get it right. For other people, that's not the mindset - spellcheck and grammar check is absolutely necessary. And still for another segment of the population, spellcheck and grammar check are completely optional.

If you're writing for public consumption, be aware that if the writer doesn't care about what she is doing, then the reader won't either.

Give it time, give it practice, give it a little bit of heart, and I think you'll find yourself plenty pleased with the result.



My neighbor is playing Boyz II Men really loudly. I'm trying to read. Debating whether I should go and knock on her door and tell her she's being annoying or just ignore her. In the past, this wouldn't bother me, but kids, I have senioritis. The last time I had senioritis, several people who lived in my dorm suffered missing limbs.

A few more of these pop-ups and I'll be a rich woman. Who needs a job when you get free stuff on the internet without doing anything at all? And if all fails in the job hunt (which is not looking so rosy right now), I'm going to move to Nigeria and start sending email to people asking for their financial account numbers. Even with a .05 percent rate of success, I can buy a CD with 1 million email addresses on it for $150. And if I take just $50 dollars from each respondent, I make $25,000. Make it $100 and it's easily $50,000.

Sunday, September 29, 2002

Friday Five on a Sunday

1. A pairing that you enjoy reading but will never write, and why.

Hard question. I thought once that this would be Mulder/Scully, but guess not. I guess it would be Chakotay/Paris. I've been discovering some really good C/P fic and much as I enjoy reading them, I don't think I could write it myself.

2. The pairing that you think has spurred the most really awful fan fiction.

Um, will I get pelted with rotten vegetables if I say J/C? Some of the best fic out there is J/C but also some of the dreggiest. I'd say the same about Mulder/Scully - I've read some really horrible MSR fic.

3. A pairing that you just don't get.

Skinner/Maggie Scully. That's one I just don't get. Have they even been in the same episode together? If so, in the same scene?

4. A pairing that you think is difficult to write believably, and an example of it done well.

Picard/Troi and I'm going to just send you over to Lori's page and have you read everything there.

5. A pairing that you have written or have thought about writing, despite your own surprise that you would consider it.

I wrote a P/T/K fic - no, it never made it off my hard drive, but it was certainly one of those, "What was I thinking?" moments. In terms of fics that will one day maybe see the light of day, C/T. Because the idea fascinates me, but it's hard to write when I'm in such a P/T state of mind.
Man, there are a lot of contests out there. All of them J/C. I feel left out. ::sniff::

Saturday, September 28, 2002

Holy Missing Fic, Batman!

I just found a story that I never knew I had - apparently, it's been uploaded to the server for ages now, and I just never linked it. So Numb, a coda to "Muse." It's old, folks, one of my first VOY fics I'm pretty sure as there is no mention of a beta. I don't even know if I ever posted this to ASC.

In other news, I added "size" information to all of the fics. It's interesting to see just how large some of these stories are or contrary, how small they are. The smallest fic, weighing in at 4k is Unrequited. Hands down, the largest fic is Lines in the Sand which weighs in at 1,234k. I'm so surprised anyone made it to the end of that one. Including yours truly.
New fic: Mosaic. X-Files, post-"The Truth" and spoilers for "William" as well. Summary: "All I ever wanted," she says, "was for all of the pieces of my life to come together. You. Me. William. That's all I ever wanted. Was it too much to ask?"

Had to get that out of my system. Feel much better now. Book cover included at no extra charge.
Site of the Day: Our Time With Scully. Ever wonder how many minutes Scully actually appears in each ep of the "X-Files"? Wonder no more. It's all here, from the series pilot to the series finale, just how often Scully appeared in each ep. And that wonderful smooch from "The Truth" was 16 seconds long (thirty if you count the hand holding afterwards ::g::)! There's even a graph for those of you who need a visual of just how many times Scully graced your small screen and the commentary is absolutely ROTFL hysterical.

Friday, September 27, 2002

Because you can never have too much Blog War

Jemima has a confession and Lori has a revelation.

And apparently, the Blog War has fans. Like, cool.

Min
wrote an "Impact of Fandom Survey" because self-perception isn't necessarily the same as how others in fandom see you. So Rocky and I filled out the survey together. First, you'll read my thoughts on Rocky's writing and then after that, comes Rocky on Rocky. Following that, you'll find Rocky's thoughts on yours truly and then my self-assessment.

Seema on Rocky

1. Given feedback, awards, recommendation lists, archives requests, etc.....

a) what is/are your most popular story/stories? (Not the ones you consider best, but the most popular.)


I would consider the "Homeward Bound" series to be the most popular Rocky!fic out there - it's certainly what caught my attention. I think "Harry Kim and the Goblet of Coffee" is another very popular one, given that it got tons of FB the first time posted and even more when it was reposted.

b) what is your average amount of feedback per story? (Throw out extremes to reach a correct mean.)

Hmmm... if I'm looking at Enterprise and Beyond and ASC together, I'd say between 5 to 10 FBs per story. Rocky's short, funny fics get a lot of FB.

c) do you notice significant differences in your feedback for longer versus shorter? Serious versus humorous? More action versus less action? (indicate other types as applicable to you.)

Rocky's short, funny fic definitely get a lot more FB than her longer, meatier and more complex ones, though recently two of her more serious stories - "Glory Days" and "The Foolish and the Brave" received quite a bit of FB. But in general (and I think it's a rule that can be applied across the board), I'd guess Rocky's shorter, funnier fics get more recognition.

d) has any story received over 50 letters of feedback (from different people, not 50 letters from the same 10 people for stories of multiple parts published serially)? Any received over 100? Over 200? Why do you think that story was such a success?

I'd imagine that the "Homeward Bound" series received over 50 letters, simply because it was multi-part and it was one of the best "Voyager gets home" stories. It had romance, intrigue, conspiracy, and no loose ends - so there was something there to appeal to everyone. Plus, every time a new part was posted, people on ASC get excited :-). So my guess is that Rocky got over 50 letters for "Homeward Bound".

2. Do readers likely associate you with a particular type of story, or with the exceptional handling of a particular character or characters?

YES! Rocky is THE Janeway scholar! Before Rocky, it never occurred to me that Janeway could be written as someone other than Chakotay's love muffin. While I admire m.c. moose's Janeway was well, I credit Rocky for redeeming the character for me and making her enjoyable and more importantly, in Rocky's stories, Janeway *isn't* schizo (and if she is, there's a darn good reason for it!).

3. Have you ever written a story that .....

a) helped 'redeem' or alter (in a positive way) popular perceptions of a character/s? Have you written one that essentially formed a popular perception (postive or negative) of a particular character in a fandom?


I'd say "One True Thing" would fall under this category because TPTB did TERRIBLE things to Kes and this episode addition fixed that horrible, horrible episode to make Kes at least somewhat recognizable from whom she had been. Also, Tuvok, because Tuvok is rarely written about in fanfic, and in Rocky's hands, Tuvok is interesting and shows the possibilities of what could have been overlooked with this particular character.

b) created something that became an article of "fanon"? (What was it?)

I can't think of any, sorry :-/

c) created an original character that another author asked to borrow for a story? Who?

I know that I certainly would like to borrow one or two ;-) but I think I'll stick with nagging on "Glory Days."

d) had a story that you thought was copycatted by another author? (Be fair in this; a true copycat involves a high coincidence of similar details, not just a similar basic plot.)

Hmmm... I can only think of "Official Channels" and "Sinners and Saints" - but those don't count as Rocky wrote both of them ;-) and "Sinners and Saints" had more detail, especially regarding the earthbound family members. But someone else? Nope, I can't think of anyone else who might have copycatted the story.

e) helped to create a subgenre within a fandom?

I think Rocky was one of the notable voices in the "Voyager gets home" subgenre - if that can be counted as a subgenre. "Homeward Bound" was one of the first "Voyager gets home" stories and while there were others, few covered the scope of this first one - I'm sure there are others that were written that year, but they weren't as memorable and "Homeward Bound" definitely set a standard for that subgenre as a whole.

d) had a noted (and publicly referenced) impact on another major/important/significant story?

I imagine the work Rocky did with VS7.5 impacted the stories in that series :-).

f) created an AU universe or round-robin?

"Glory Days" is all Rocky, as is "Homeward Bound."

4. How well-known do you think you are, outside your own 'nitch' of the fandom? Do many people read your stories who are not fans of that particular type of fiction or subgenre?

I think Rocky is better-known than she thinks she is :-). Her stories appeal to the Janeway lovers, the J/C lovers and lately, she's been branching out in other arenas, so attracting more readers. But in general, Rocky's name comes up a lot when people are making a "who is a must read in fandom" list.

5. Regarding awards ....

a) If you've won an award or awards in your fandom, which one (or two) are you most proud of AND think that you earned most fairly? (Friends/fans ... which do you think the author earned the most fairly?)


I think placing in both the Best VOY Author and Best New Author categories in Rocky's first year out of the gate is an impressive accomplishment, especially given the quality of fics and authors that year.

b) Have you ever won an award that you think you didn't earn, why do you think you won it, and who do you think should have gotten it instead?

I can't think of a single award Rocky has that she didn't earn fair and square. And she has a lot!

c) How many have you received, across how many years?

Does "dozens" count as an answer? :-)

6. What story have you written that you think has received less recognition/attention than -- in your estimation -- it should have? Why do you think that's the case?

"Ragnorak," definitely. This was an action/adventure fic, something that is extremely difficult to write well, but in case, it was an exceptional effort. It may have been difficult for people who didn't follow 7.5 to to understand the story, but I'm chalking it up to the fact that it's a longer story and one that's extremely complex and doesn't really focus on romance as much as it does on action and character.

7. (For the friend/fan only) When you describe this author's work to others, how do you most typically do so? That is, what's distinctive about this person?

When I'm reccing Rocky "in general" (versus "Did you read this Rocky fic yet?"), I mention that Rocky writes the *best* Janeway and Tuvok out there - they stay in character, and never do these characters turn into cardboard cutouts. In Rocky's hands, Janeway and Tuvok are multifaceted - as are all of the other characters she writes - there is definitely "more" to them when Rocky writes them so I'd definitely point to "characterization" as being Rocky's point of differentiation. Not to mention, Rocky can parody with an absolutely straight-face, even when it comes to the ridiculous ;-) ("Thirty-Two" comes immediately to mind in this case - no doubt many people think, despite the inherent humor and pokes in it, that Rocky was perfectly serious in writing it). I think that's the sign of an accomplished writer who can write both serious and humor and make it look oh so easy. And I have to give her credit - after a couple years and hundreds of emails/stories later, she's brave enough to *still* be hanging around me .

*****

Rocky on Rocky

1. Given feedback, awards, recommendation lists, archives requests, etc.....

a) what is/are your most popular story/stories? (Not the ones you consider best, but the most popular.)


"Harry Kim and the Goblet of Coffee" is the one I've gotten most feedback on. "Glory Days" would be the next most popular and "Official Channels" third.

b) what is your average amount of feedback per story? (Throw out extremes to reach a correct mean.)

Ack. Seema's the stats person, not me, but here goes: I'd say about 6 fb's or so is average.

c) do you notice significant differences in your feedback for longer versus shorter? Serious versus humorous? More action versus less action? (indicate other types as applicable to you.)

Short stories definitely get more fb than longer ones. Humor beats out serious. "Standard" J/C romantic or angst attracts more attention than less obvious pairings or friendship tales involving Janeway or other characers or my action/adventure stories.

d) has any story received over 50 letters of feedback (from different people, not 50 letters from the same 10 people for stories of multiple parts published serially)? Any received over 100? Over 200? Why do you think that story was such a success?

LOL. What do you think I am, a BNF or something? The most fb I've ever gotten for a story is the aforementioned "Harry Kim and the Goblet of Coffee" which probably got around 25 fb's or so. It was such a success because it was short, funny and played to all the popular stereotypes/caricatures of the characters (Harry dying again, Janeway acting recklessly, Neelix's bad cooking, Tom gossiping, Chakotay clueless) and capitalized on the Harry Potter wave. It was just a great fusion of all these things coming together.

2. Do readers likely associate you with a particular type of story, or with the exceptional handling of a particular character or characters?

I'm Janeway's Advocate (tm), one of her most stalwart defenders. And I'm also known as the Anti C/7 ;-).

3. Have you ever written a story that .....

a) helped 'redeem' or alter (in a positive way) popular perceptions of a character/s? Have you written one that essentially formed a popular perception (postive or negative) of a particular character in a fandom?


Well, I did start the 'die, Seven, die!' challenge. I like to think that I've done more for the character of Justin Tighe than any other writer, but I don't think anyone has really read those stories...



Nope.

c) created an original character that another author asked to borrow for a story? Who?

I think Seema has designs on Chloe, but I promised to write more stories with her :-).

Does this question also count for someone asking to play in my sandbox? If so, "Glory Days" is applicable.

d) had a story that you thought was copycatted by another author? (Be fair in this; a true copycat involves a high coincidence of similar details, not just a similar basic plot.)

Penny and I went through a phase where we were both relative newcomers to ASC and were writing a number of strikingly similar stories (we even used the same title at one point), but it really did turn out to be just coincedence.

e) helped to create a subgenre within a fandom?

Most likely not. If I have, I don't know about it.

d) had a noted (and publicly referenced) impact on another major/important/significant story?

See the "Die, Seven, Die!" challenge. I don't know how major or important or significant any of the stories it spawned were, but it did give rise to a lot of 'exploding breasts' fic which seems to be a given now in certain types of stories ;-).

f) created an AU universe or round-robin?

"Glory Days" Universe with Seema. Plus the "Burning Desire" story written with some of the folks at 1001.

4. How well-known do you think you are, outside your own 'nitch' of the fandom? Do many people read your stories who are not fans of that particular type of fiction or subgenre?

First of all, it's 'niche.'

Ahem.

I think I am fairly well known as a J/C writer and a Janeway Apologist. That is, in ASC or related circles. I don't think the 'outside ASC' crowd know I exist or are terribly interested. I think all my regular readers (less than 10 people) did go on to read my forays into DS9 and ENT, even though that may not be their usual series to read in. I don't know that anyone who's not a VOY or Janeway fan reads my regular stuff. And even among VOY, I don't think the P/Ters read me unless I've got Paris or Torres in a story playing a prominent role and the story was pointed out to them. Even so, it's not enough to get them to read my 'usual' offerings besides.

5. Regarding awards ....

a) If you've won an award or awards in your fandom, which one (or two) are you most proud of AND think that you earned most fairly? (Friends/fans ... which do you think the author earned the most fairly?)


I am most proud of placing second for best new author my first year on ASC as well as placing third for best VOY writer that same year. In each case, I was among writers who I consider to be top notch caliber. I am also very pleased to have had a story selected for the Best of Trek site.

b) Have you ever won an award that you think you didn't earn, why do you think you won it, and who do you think should have gotten it instead?

Well, I was pleased when Best of Trek selected one of my stories ("Official Channels") but didn't consider it my 'best' effort. But it did give rise to the a series which contains some of my best work, so I guess it evened out.

c) How many have you received, across how many years?

BOT selection, plus a handful of awards the last two years on ASC and ASCEM. Altogether, 19.

6. What story have you written that you think has received less recognition/attention than -- in your estimation -- it should have? Why do you think that's the case?

"Prime Directive" is a great story--action/adventure, plus real soul-wrenching moral dilemma for Janeway. But not only was this story rejected for SNW, it has only gotten a couple of pieces of fb, and only from people I've specifically pointed it out to as 'a story which gets no respect.' I really don't know why it doesn't get any recognition or attention.

The "Homeward Bound" series has gotten recognition, but less than it might have if Penny's "Revisionist History" hadn't come out around the same time and covered the same ground more or less. It's hard to compete with a work that's universally hailed as 'the best VOY story ever written.'

*****

Rocky on Seema

1. Given feedback, awards, recommendation lists, archives requests, etc.....

a) what is/are your most popular story/stories? (Not the ones you consider best, but the most popular.)


The DS9 story "All Things..." was hailed by many (and deservedly so) as the best story of the past year. "Lines In The Sand" is also pointed out as one of the best post-return VOY stories.

b) what is your average amount of feedback per story? (Throw out extremes to reach a correct mean.)

I'm guessing Seema receives about 10 per story. Though that is probably on the low side--some of Seema's more popular probably get upwards of 50.

c) do you notice significant differences in your feedback for longer versus shorter? Serious versus humorous? More action versus less action? (indicate other types as applicable to you.)

Humorous or poking fun at standard 'types' get more than serious tales (judging by the response to Seema's badfic). And 'conventional' like P/T also probably get more than non-standard pairings.

d) has any story received over 50 letters of feedback (from different people, not 50 letters from the same 10 people for stories of multiple parts published serially)? Any received over 100? Over 200? Why do you think that story was such a success?

I'm guessing that perhaps "All Things" or some of Seema's classic P/T has gotten over 50. "Lines In the Sand". Possibly "The Sweetest Days" is up there as well.

2. Do readers likely associate you with a particular type of story, or with the exceptional handling of a particular character or characters?

I know I associate Seema with wonderful descriptions that really make the setting come alive until it's practically a living, breathing character in its own right. Standard or classic P/T, definitely (along with excellent B'Elanna and Tom as individuals). Good Kira and DS9, yes. And though Seema probably won't agree, she does a very good Chakotay.

3. Have you ever written a story that .....

a) helped 'redeem' or alter (in a positive way) popular perceptions of a character/s? Have you written one that essentially formed a popular perception (postive or negative) of a particular character in a fandom?

W/D in DS9. B'Elanna as a strong yet vulnerable character, without making it a contradiction in terms.

b) created something that became an article of "fanon"? (What was it?)

I'm not sure. If I had to guess, I would assume something in W/D.

c) created an original character that another author asked to borrow for a story? Who?

I don't know.

d) had a story that you thought was copycatted by another author? (Be fair in this; a true copycat involves a high coincidence of similar details, not just a similar basic plot.)

Perhaps one of Seema's P/T stories?

e) helped to create a subgenre within a fandom?

Seema was one of the first W/D writers, right? And definitely one of the few people who can write a believable and plausible C/7. Plus, Seema's inspired a number of people to try their hand at 'second person POV' stories (unfortunately, without her degree of success).

d) had a noted (and publicly referenced) impact on another major/important/significant story?

Without Seema, "Glory Days" would have been a one-shot deal and not a series :-). Seema has also inspired/challenged some of my more memorable efforts, plus there are a lot of other people walking around clutching stories muttering, "Seema made me do it."

f) created an AU universe or round-robin?

"Lines In The Sand" is an amazing AU. Seema certainly helped create the "Glory Days" universe as well as flesh it out. And the Blog Wars counts as a round-robin .

4. How well-known do you think you are, outside your own 'niche' of the fandom? Do many people read your stories who are not fans of that particular type of fiction or subgenre?

Seema is very well known in all Trek fandoms (ASC and related that is) as a premiere writer. I think there are a number of people who read her work regardless of what series or genre she writes in. (X-files, Gladiator, ENT). Even before I got to know her, I always thought of Seema as one of the Big Names at ASC and when I first heard from you about one of my stories, I was all 'wow, Seema noticed me!'

5. Regarding awards ....

a) If you've won an award or awards in your fandom, which one (or two) are you most proud of AND think that you earned most fairly? (Friends/fans ... which do you think the author earned the most fairly?)


I think the ASC Best Author was very well-deserved, but I know Seema has issues with it. Aside from that, "All Things" was an exceptional story and it was recognized as such.

b) Have you ever won an award that you think you didn't earn, why do you think you won it, and who do you think should have gotten it instead?

I know Seema has issues with ASC Best Author as well as winning best J/C story. But really, they were both 'honest' and well-deserved.

c) How many have you received, across how many years?

Seema's been in fandom for 5 years? Does 'basketful' count as a number? ;-)

6. What story have you written that you think has received less recognition/attention than -- in your estimation -- it should have? Why do you think that's the case?

Perhaps some of Seema's more 'daring' stories, like the one with Tom and the hologram, or the one in which Tom finally said 'I love you' to B'Elanna. Probably because some readers are uncomfortable with seeing their conventions overturned or played with in any way.

>7. (For the friend/fan only) When you describe this author's work to others, how do you most typically do so? That is, what's distinctive about this person?

I say that Seema is one of the best writers I know of, and very versatile. She doesn't limit herself to just one series or even fandom, but in each case careful attention is paid to characterization. She always makes sure to get the details right. And her descriptions, particularly setting, are absolutely amazing.

I would also say that aside from m.c. moose, Seema has had the most impact on me as a writer and I wouldn't be where I am today if it weren't for her. In helping me improve my craft, in inspiring me to 'stretch' myself as a writer and try things I might not have on my own, and in helping to fire up my muse.

And she's also a darn good friend.

****

Seema on Seema

1. Given feedback, awards, recommendation lists, archives requests, etc.....

a) what is/are your most popular story/stories? (Not the ones you consider best, but the most popular.)


Hmmm, if I had to look at it today, I think it would have to be the stories in the "Glory Days" universe - "Do the Walls Come Down," "Latitude," and "The Sweetest Days." But I would say that, in terms of FB, "Lines in the Sand" and "Red" are my two most popular stories, mostly because I think I really messed with people's perceptions ;-) and readers felt the need to tell me so ;-).

b) what is your average amount of feedback per story? (Throw out extremes to reach a correct mean.)

I would say between 5 to 10 FBs. I assuming this means on initial posting versus over the longterm - the number is a little higher over the long term. I'd up the figure to 8 to 12 for longterm FB.

c) do you notice significant differences in your feedback for longer versus shorter? Serious versus humorous? More action versus less action? (indicate other types as applicable to you.)

No, not really. But I've never been good at predicting FB. Granted, I think generally short fics get the most FB, but all of my novels have received quite a bit of generous FB.

d) has any story received over 50 letters of feedback (from different people, not 50 letters from the same 10 people for stories of multiple parts published serially)? Any received over 100? Over 200? Why do you think that story was such a success?

"Lines in the Sand" and "A Case of Need" both received quite a bit of FB, whether it's 50 or more I'm not entirely sure, but it's probably pretty darn close. I think 100 or 200 is pushing it a bit ;-).

2. Do readers likely associate you with a particular type of story, or with the exceptional handling of a particular character or characters?

I don't think so. Certain people, like Rocky, are known for the way they write a certain character, but I don't think I'm consistent enough to be known for anything in particular. Except flakiness .

3. Have you ever written a story that .....

a) helped 'redeem' or alter (in a positive way) popular perceptions of a character/s? Have you written one that essentially formed a popular perception (postive or negative) of a particular character in a fandom?

I wouldn't say so in VOY, but in DS9, I tried very hard to write Worf as someone else other than the brute, unromantic type that was a very popular stereotype among non-W/D fans. I also tried to write Bashir in a way that was more sympathetic than most W/D fans wrote him - and that's how I met one of my best online friends (who happened to be a J/J fan) as she wrote to me, thanking me for writing Bashir the way I did.

b) created something that became an article of "fanon"? (What was it?)

I don't think so.

c) created an original character that another author asked to borrow for a story? Who?

No, I don't think so here either.

d) had a story that you thought was copycatted by another author? (Be fair in this; a true copycat involves a high coincidence of similar details, not just a similar basic plot.)

Yes, but I think I'll keep the details to myself. Sorry. :-/

e) helped to create a subgenre within a fandom?

W/D, because there were so few authors there - I can remember Ginomo and Parmoo as being the only other authors out there before I showed up. Of course, there were a few others that showed up around the same time as I did - Carrie, Naomi, Jadz14Wor, Ishana Nemera - but after this initial "rush" of authors, there was no more "new blood," so the first (and last) authors to W/D are the ones who formed that subgenre.

d) had a noted (and publicly referenced) impact on another major/important/significant story?

Uh, am I allowed to mention my endless nagging of Rocky for the "Glory Days" universe? These stories, I think, are important to people because they are among the few that tackles life *after* Voyager, but without focusing on romance. Yes, there is quite bit of work done on post-VOY relationships, but with the exception of the P/T relationship, we're focusing on the platonic relationships between the characters and how that stands up to the test of time, when you're not around the same people day in and day out.

f) created an AU universe or round-robin?

"Lines in the Sand" is way AU. Of course, I knew that when I first started writing it in the summer of 2000, and I'm still ::gulp:: working on it. As for round-robin, hmmm... Lori and I are working on one right now (that I really must go add to!) and the results have been... interesting.

4. How well-known do you think you are, outside your own 'niche' of the fandom? Do many people read your stories who are not fans of that particular type of fiction or subgenre?

It's hard for me to say figure this out. In the W/D fandom, I'd say very well-known, among the 2 or 3 readers still left ;-). As for VOY, I'd say not as well known as other writers like Rocky, monkee or Penny. My FB comes from all sorts of fans, from P/Ters and J/Cers and W/Ders, etc, and non-shippers so my guess is that a lot of people do read my fic from a variety of niches, but I'm not necessarily sure that *everything* I write appeals to *everyone* who comes upon my page; it's that flaky problem, I've got, ya know? ;-)

5. Regarding awards ....

a) If you've won an award or awards in your fandom, which one (or two) are you most proud of AND think that you earned most fairly? (Friends/fans ... which do you think the author earned the most fairly?)


I have to be proud of the Best Author Award even though I feel ambivalent about it. Yes, it was fair and even though I was involved in the vote counting process, I know that others were involved as well (including non-awards staff who like to keep track for their own reasons), so I don't feel any discomfort on that. That award says a lot, but I think my favorite Award is from '99, from a contest Cheile ran. You had to get nominated for that contest in order to qualify and someone nominated "In His Own Words," a little Jake story I'd written and it actually won the Luna Award for most distinctive story of that year. So I'm very proud of that one.

b) Have you ever won an award that you think you didn't earn, why do you think you won it, and who do you think should have gotten it instead?

I do feel very strange about winning two of the J/C awards for the ASC Awards because I'm not a J/C writer the same way as monkee, Rocky and Penny are and it just feels weird to have that recognition for something I don't really pay attention to and don't care about as passionately as they do. In a way, it does feel as though I'm robbing the others of a distinction that they so richly deserve. So any of those three named, they richly deserve to have placed in the J/C Awards category.

c) How many have you received, across how many years?

Hmmm, would you believe that I don't know? I have to go count. I didn't start to keep track until the last couple years, and I know there are a few that I never mentioned at all (though at one time, I did have a webpage devoted to awards, but it went toes-up during a server move).

6. What story have you written that you think has received less recognition/attention than -- in your estimation -- it should have? Why do you think that's the case?

One of my favorite stories I've written is "A Delicate Affair." I think it's probably the story *no one* in fandom liked. Seriously. Maybe it's because no one wants to see P/T come undone so ambigiously, and there are no happy endings in that story. In DS9, the reaction to "Surfacing" was really disappointing because I absolutely fell in love with this story while writing it and the lack of reaction - positive or negative - was just really disappointing to me.

Thursday, September 26, 2002

And now a word from Jackie O

It's all out war, kids. Lori has a thing or two to say. Now where's my candle? Poolboy!
This and That

Just when you thought it was safe to come out, the Magnificent Miss Barr has added another volley to the Blog Wars. Note the new additions. Virgil would be so proud.

The politicos are campaigning hard and fast here. My "favorite" ad accuses his opponent of socialism for not supporting school lunches. ::sigh:: Go forth, my non-minions, and teach the world the proper definitions for political ideology.

Current search: I need to find out about strategic opportunities for ebusiness in the automotive industry, past, present and future (and my favorite business publication, business2.com is letting me down. Any of you have ideas of what you'd love to see online re cars that isn't already online? In other words, I need an entirely new technology that runs over the Internet. Either B2B or B2C is fine. Merci.

Wednesday, September 25, 2002

Warning. Not for the light of heart.

Badfic.

There's a tremendous amount of it out there. A scary amount of it. For every Penny or Kelly there is someone who is... not Penny or Kelly.

What baffles me is how badfic gets so much FB, thus perpetuating it for eternity. Victoria, eternally wise woman that she is, tackles that subject so I'll leave it alone. But back to badfic. As readers, we all have different ideas of what quality fic entails. For instance, at bare minimum, this is what I require:


  • Good spelling, grammar and punctuation (it matters and don't even try to say it doesn't "because it's only a hobby!").
  • I have to be able to recognize the people in the story. I'm afraid I don't recognize Janeway or Chakotay in 95 percent of the J/C fic out there. Most of the time, I wonder if I'm watching the same show as the rest of fandom. Thank goodness for people like Rocky or monkee whose fic assures me that we at least are watching the same show.


If the above two criteria are met, I continue reading. This time I'm looking at plot and plausibility. Plot, at least in my eyes, has to include something more than the crew of the Enterprise giving up all of their duties to get Spock and Chapel together. It's got to be more than Kim, Torres and Paris sitting around figuring out how to get Janeway and Chakotay to 'fess their love for each other. It's got to be more than Kira moping around waiting for Odo to come back from the Great Link and for God's sake, Crusher and Picard are adults, not teenagers - they so don't listen to the Backstreet Boys. Nor do Mulder and Scully, for that matter, but it's especially reprehensible for adults in the 24th century to listen to NSYNC.

So that leads into the first thing that makes me bail. Songfic. Yup. That's not to say all songfic is immediately badfic but I can probably count on two fingers how many songfics are actually good. Now, that's not the same as filking a song - which Jemima is the hands-down queen of. I'm talking about fics where people sing their love to each other. I'm sorry, but I really can't see Scully getting up at a Cher concert, grabbing the mike and singing "I Will Always Love You" to Mulder. That goes for the multitude of "Talent Night" fics in the Voyager universe. Aie, aie, aie, since when did Janeway become a closet Reba McEntyre fan? Hmmm?

Okay, so we've gotten past the plot issues, now it's time for plausibility. So many stories have such good ideas behind them but it's plausibility that kills them. Is Chakotay really going to sprinkle rose petals all over Voyager to confess his undying devotion to Janeway?
Are Paris and Torres going to forget all of their duties aboard Voyager in order to get J and C together? B'Elanna said it best in "Muse": "When you think that you are surrounded by enemies--when you're up against the Borg, or, or Species 8472--the last thing on your mind is romance!"

Then there's the eternal A and B have an unexpected encounter and nine months later, they are given a Little Bundle of Joy, but A and B are fighting eternally and no one wants the Little Bundle of Joy. Then said Little Bundle of Joy croaks and A and B are distraught and pledge undying love. You can also rearrange the characters so that either A or B dies and then the surviving parent then spends the rest of forever blaming Little Bundle of Joy.

Sorry, folks, in no universe is death romantic. Shakespeare did it once and now I'm going to have to blame him for the many fics I've read where A cries hirself silly over B's grave. Points are deducted if A decides ze can no longer go on living and kills hirself on B's grave. Even more points if the Spawn of A and B come by, discover newly deceased parents and erect a monolithic memorial commerating the love A and B had for each other. This isn't angst, it's just really bad fiction - manipulation is not the way to get to the reader and deathfics are the easiest form of manipulating the reader's emotions. Example of good deathfic: Letting Go by Kat Hughes. But seriously, deathfic is not easy to do well and should be avoided at all costs. I mean, seriously, you gotta have a really good reason to kill off a character other than making someone else angst over said death.

The majority of badfic, spelling and grammar aside, is all about implausibility and the inability to recognize characters, even up close and with a magnifying glass. It's about adults who suddenly start acting like high schoolers (no, Mulder and Scully do not hang out in a mall, so stop putting them there) or you have a middle school scenario where A passes a note to C, asking C to find out if B likes A. Adults don't act like that. Adults don't dwell on whether there's romance in their future; sure they wonder about it, sure they are aware when they have deep feelings for someone else, but for the most part, normal, well-balanced adults do not let their love lives run their non-love lives. But in so many fics, the love lives take a backseat to the rest of What's Going On. In TOS, for instance, Kirk is more interested in what's going on in Spock's love life than in running the ship. Picard and Crusher suddenly spawn like crazy, despite the obvious fact that they are not young people (pet peeve #6839846 - Janeway and Crusher are in their 40s. They will not have three or more children without much help. Scully is barren - unless you're Chris Carter, you'd better have a darn good reason as to how she got pregnant in the first place).

My only conclusion here is that people are so interested in seeing their favorite characters kiss, they simply don't care how it happens. Chakotay and Paris skipping hand in hand down the corridors of Voyager, is about as plausible as Janeway suddenly losing her backbone and getting all rubbery on Chakotay. In these instances, it might be best (and perhaps more satisfying) to just do a "find and replace" on the names in one's favorite Harlequin romance and the results will be exactly the same.

Tuesday, September 24, 2002

In search of a flame war... not a recent one, but an old one - new enough that at least three people have mentioned it to me in the last one week but old enough that I just can't find it anywhere. And you can only dig through so many messages on Yahoogroups! before you go insane from seeing that BMG music ad.
Once Upon A Paleo Time...

Previously on the Blog Wars

The Mod Squad had made themselves perfectly comfortable in their respective lawnchairs surrounding the Zen Resort's pool. Of course, the omnipresent poolboys were around, catering to the Mod Squad's every need. For once, all was well in the Zen Resort and the Mod Squad was content to take a break from the One True Blog War once again.

"Ah, this is the life, isn't it?" Lori asked as Sean fanned her.

"It's perfect," Seema said. She looked around, frowning. "Where did all the smurfs go?"

"I don't know," Jemima answered from her lawnchair, "but can't say I miss all of those little blue things underfoot."

"Hey! Cut it out!" Liz growled. "Can't you see I'm talking to the muse?"

Indeed, a bunch of black-dressed people in swirling caps surrounded Liz. Any minute now, this particular delegation with their fly-away wands would declare themselves Swiss and start eating chocolates by the kilo.

"Hey, anyone seen Christine around lately?" Lori asked sotto voce as not to bother Liz.

"I think she's busy being a lawyer," Jemima answered. "Good thing. Fandom could use a lawyer or
two."

Seema agreed. To use a down-home expression, things could get downright prickly in unpleasant places at times in fandom. Luckily, nothing had hit the fan in the last three minutes, so the Mod Squad was taking a break and enjoying beverages of their preference.

Just then, Christine came running in, waving a thick sheaf of paper at the others.

"I hope she doesn't want us to read all of that," Lori said.

"I'm not filking that," Jemima said darkly.

"If it doesn't involve statistics, I want nothing to do with it," Seema said.

"Oh be quiet," Christine said as she dropped in her chair, which had been empty for the last couple weeks while Christine was off being productive instead of lounging by the pool with the rest of the Mod Squad. "We've got trouble."

"What's new?" Seema asked. "We've always got trouble. Fandom's like high school, remember?"

"Is this going to be over before the Smallville premiere?" Lori asked.

"Not likely," Jemima said. She glanced at Christine. "What's the verdict, counselor?"

"Unfortunately, troops, the cease fire is over," Christine answered importantly. "We've had a new development."

"Snape and Lily have been accepted as the One True Pairing?" Liz asked hopefully.

"Is this the One True Blog War?" Seema asked. "Because I really don't have time to fight all of the other Blog Wars that seem to spring up all over fandom."

"Badfic has been outlawed?" Lori asked.

"All fanfic must now have a wedding in them in order to qualify as fanfic?" Jemima queried.

"No," Christine said in exasperation. "But I see that there is potential for conflict in the future and I think it's best that we all sign agreements now to never declare war on each other. You can all just sign here on the dotted line."

"Uh," Seema said, "I know I'm not the lawyer but haven't we spent the good part of last year declaring war on each other for one reason or another?"

"I refuse to sign," Jemima said with conviction. The other Mod Squad members nodded.

"Signing that paper is akin to communism!" exclaimed a voice from behind the bushes. The Mod Squaders looked at each other; were the smurfs back? The Sweet Valley High Twins? Chakotay and his (very much contested) One True Love, Seven of Nine? The gang from the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy? The Baywatchers? Aie, aie, aie. It was enough to make a girl's head spin. How to keep up with the new developments? How to make sense of the incomprehensible? It was fandom, apparently, but not as the Mod Squad knew it.

"Did someone say 'communism'?" Liz asked suspiciously. Immediately, the Mod Squad pulled out their textbooks (with the exception of Jemima, who donned a black academic gown). It was time to give the Zen Resort a lecture on communism, socialism, nationalism, capitalism, and facism - but before the Mod Squad could begin, a whole hoarde of dinosaurs appeared on the horizon.

"Welcome to the Paleolithic era," Jemima said in a very authoritative voice.

"Uh, should there be dinosaurs here?" Seema asked Lori. But Lori was too busy getting a foot massage from Sean and didn't answer.

"Actually, they are Really Large Rodents," Jemima said. "Still inaccurate, but sufficient for our purposes."

"We have a purpose?" Lori said, looking up from her foot massage. "I thought we just came here to hang out, occasionally incite a riot whenever things got too hot."

"But Christine does have a point, doesn't she?" Liz looked worried. "We've been doing well so far, but isn't there a possibility, given the viccissitudes of fandom, that we'll consider each other enemies?"

"Nah, the Section will never allow it," Lori said. "Sean, get me another whatever it I was drinking."

"Yeah, the Section has a way of getting people to behave," Seema said. "They've got creepy, crawly virus things. I wouldn't mess with the Section."

Liz nodded. "Plus, being Swiss and all, I can't just got about signing things just like that. I need to get at least 80 million bankers to take a look at it."

"And I believe firmly in plain, yellow websites," Jemima said firmly. A bunch of smurfs applauded. "Can't we do something worthwhile, perhaps declare war on pop-ups?"

"People, we have business to do here!" Christine exclaimed impatiently. But by now, Lori had turned her attention back to Sean, Liz was communing with her entourage, Jemima had found a new musical she hadn't yet filked and Seema was off searching for her statistics textbook. Christine sighed. So much for getting the Mod Squad to sign off on their friendship on the dotted line; they would just have to take it on faith that they were in it for the long haul - whatever that means in fandom. "Fine! Be that way! I'm just trying to preserve a way of life here! Hmmmp! Ingrates, all of you!"

"Though," Seema said slowly, "fandom has a way of turning people against each other inexplicably. What is that saying, 'my enemy's enemy is my friend.'"

"I like friendship is the hardest thing in the world to explain. It's not something you learn in school. But if you haven't learned the meaning of friendship, you really haven't learned anything," Lori said thoughtfully. "That Muhammed Ali is a wise man."

The Mod Squad got all teary-eyed as they looked at each other.

"Group hug?" Seema asked weepily.

The rest of the group, being verklemped, said nothing as they all collectively dropped the beverages of their choice and hugged.

"So, war on pop-ups it is?" Christine asked finally as she wiped unshed tears from her eyes.

By a vote of five to zero, so it was passed and war was declared.

All the Mod Squad returned to their chairs. All's well that ends well.

Monday, September 23, 2002

Fandom is a small world. I think I'm going to have to start wearing sun glasses and a hat or something. Or mask my IP address (dang you, UUnet for going under!). I'm perturbed. Seriously perturbed. The Mod Squad knoweth of what I speaketh.
Artsy Things

Since I'm not writing, I've been illustrating fics, book covers, mostly. Here the ones I've done so far (all of the X-Files fics have been updated with their respective bookcovers):



For some reason, it's more fun to make book covers for X-Files than it is for Trek. It could be because there are more high quality X-Files pix out there than Trek, not to mention, I can actually use shots of Duchovney and Anderson - not something I can really do for Trek when it comes to actors who wear make-up. Anyway, hope these are not laughable as I know some of you out there are really, really good at book covers. I'm a newbie, having tried my hand at it several years ago and now just rediscovering how much fun and how relaxing it is to do.

So Bjorn, I think I found that hobby we were talking about the other night. Anyone want a bookcover?

Since we bloggers are suddenly caring about whether we are self-absorbed or not (and really, we have a blog that's all about us, so it goes without saying that we're at least self-absorbed for the time we're blogging), I'm wondering if it would be really self-absorbed to start a book club on my fic, selected by me, led by me, discussed by me and so on and so forth. Or I can be like Lori and rec myself - which means reading my own fic, which could be potentially scary (Don't faint, Liz!).

While I'm pondering my own self-absorption, go read
Lori
for her take on badfic. She took the words right out of my fingers.
I had the most perfect Sunday. Lovely day.

I woke up early, had coffee, watched a part of "Sleepless in Seattle" then went to the gym. I was at the gym for about an hour and since I got there just a bit after it opened, I didn't have to wait for the stairmaster or the treadmill - I was able to do both with no problem.

After the gym, I came home (and made myself a rather disappointing lunch, but ah well) and checked my email. After the email, I took a nice nap on the sofa. When I woke up, it was about 3 pm and so I checked for an afternoon movie on television. "The Crucible" was on, and the Salem Witch Trials have always fascinated me and while I watched this movie many years ago when it first came out in rather unfortunate circumstances, I watched it anyway (and pondered why Joan Allen always chooses such unfortunate female characters to play).

My cousin called and we talked on the phone for over an hour. During that time, I made the world's biggest stirfry ever. Anyone want dinner, come over here, I've got plenty. After I got off the phone with my cousin, a friend called and we made plans to go for a walk in the park. The weather, btw, here is absolutely perfect - in the 80s, beautiful skies and just a warm, light breeze. The park was very nice - it's lush and green and there's a little lake that runs through it. After it got dark, we went to dinner at the burrito place that is the place to eat.

I finished off Sunday by watching "Charmed" and thinking that hokey as it is, it's pretty interesting and I could turn into a Leo and Piper 'shipper really fast.

So that was my perfect, relaxing, wonderful Sunday. Can't wait for next Sunday so I can do it all over again.

Sunday, September 22, 2002

Survey Says

Angie is running a dark fic survey. Be a sweetie and help her out, 'kay?
Also, anyone know of good fic "The Practice" or ::hopefully:: "LA Law"?

I'd also like to point out that "Sleepless in Seattle" is always on TBS. I liked it the first time I saw it, but really, multiple viewings just show that this movie is actually a little on the dull side.
New improved location, but same great taste

Bright Shiny Objects has been updated. Recs from Angel to X-Men, so there's something for everyone. And oh yes, new URL so please change links/bookmarks.

Wanted

Good "ER" and "Star Wars" fics ("Star Wars" fics that preferably take place during or just before the New Jedi Order). Anyone know of any?

Saturday, September 21, 2002

Game Day

Today's game day here at Big U. This, my friends, is a major, major event in the life of a small rural town in a large state somewhere to the south of where you are (I'm pretty sure I'm south of most everyone who reads this blog, except for the Australians. They're practically arctic ::grin::). At any rate, game day is a big deal.

The parking lots were closed to students at 6:30 pm last night. I did stop and ask a security guard where I could park for the rec center today and he kind of looked at me like I was suddenly growing two heads out of my neck. He said that there was one lot available to students who didn't have a football parking permit, but good luck - it was already full at 5 pm yesterday. Then I had the post office and pharmacy run this morning - gak, the traffic. According to said traffic person yesterday, 82,000 people are/were expected for today's game (current score, for those of you not at all interested, is 13-3. We're the 3).

Keep in mind that the population of this town is 67,000. About 45,000 of those people are university students. The stadium holds 80,000 people and there are approximately 20,000 parking spots on campus. Yes, the mind boggles. Not sure where all of these people came from, where they're staying and where they're going to go.

So I've been effectively shut out of campus today, as there's nowhere to park and the off-campus shuttles don't run on the weekends. But it was a joy when I made my second errand run this afternoon, at the halftime game show. The roads were empty. Bliss. Very nice. Everyone is wearing school colors - maroon and white. I just went with a white top, because my maroon shirt has actually is emblazoned with the logo of my alma mater, whose colors also happened to be maroon and white (as are the official colors of this site ::grin::). I'd also like to mention that for the longest time, I didn't even really know that my alma mater had a football team (were you aware of them, Bjorn?). Basketball was our religion back in those days. Here, basketball barely rates a mention. It certainly doesn't close down the parking lots.

On my way back, I drove through campus and checked out the stadium - lots and lots of maroon everywhere (did I mention that at home games, our fans stand for the entire four hours?) and you gotta feel for the visiting team. Anyway, it was cool to drive by the stadium and then to be home about three minutes later and turn the television to ABC and see the very same scene.

I don't know much about football, but given that there are only 2 minutes left, I'm not sure we're going to be able to snatch victory from jaws of defeat. Ah well. The fans more than make up for that in terms of their spirit.

Friday, September 20, 2002

Dear Bill Gates,

How are you today? I know you're a busy man and I appreciate you taking the time to read my note. The time you take to listen to your customers is very special and I know we all appreciate it greatly.

I hate to bring my little problems to you, especially given that you're incredibly busy running a monopoly and generally raising heck among your competitors. Don't worry, I'm not going to rant about Windows ME and its instability or how I don't care for the way Netscape always crashes and IE never does. This is all in the past, and I assure you, I've made my peace with these particular quirks. In fact, it's rather adorable the way my computer occasionally refuses to turn off and I admit, I'm rather attached to that "End task" window.

But Bill, there's a time in every girl's life when she has to make a stand and that time is now. Here's the deal: I'm trying to format a document. And the document format has to be very specific. You must be familiar with these kinds of issues, right? Given your extensive experience with government bureaucracy in that little antitrust matter, I'm sure you feel my frustration as well as I'm trying to format the document to these contraints.

My problem is that MS Word refuses to allow me to an omit a header on the first page. Bill, I don't want the same header on the first page that I have on the second page! I've tried everything, Bill, and I just can't get the headers to come out properly for me. I've even asked that damned paperclip of yours for help but it gives me some kind of nonsense about partioning sections continuously and bringing back the previous header. I don't want the previous header, Bill.

I'm begging you. I've spent thirty minutes on this stupid header and I can't think a more worthless endeavour to spend my time on than trying to figure out how to have different headers on each page. I imagine I could type each one out, but really, Bill, MS Word is supposed to my life easier, not more difficult.

In the great spirit of fandom, I've decided to start an online petition. Out of respect for your accomplishments, I will not call you a communist or accuse you of infringing on my First Amendment rights to write what I want to write in the safety of my own MS Word.

Thank you for your time and consideration, Mr. Gates. Together, we can make Microsoft a better product for all of us.

Sincerely,

Seema
Why Jemima Rocks

Season

Our Lady of the AU and the Filk has done it again. Beautiful, beautiful... I'm feeling a little verklemped now.

Thursday, September 19, 2002

Why would anyone watch the game show network? What is the allure of watching reruns of shows from the 60s, 70s, and 80s, other than to look at a young Dick Clark and laugh at the bad hairstyles and terrible fashion trends of yore?
Quick poll

Because I'm incapable of making any kind of decisions on my own and I'm supposed to call my brother everytime I do something (from things as minor as registering on a website to major things like sky diving) and anyway, the Kid is in California. I think. I don't quite rightly know. But you're here, he's not, so I'm asking you. Here's the question of the day: Should I enter the SNW 6 contest? Insecure minds need to know!
Gacked from Liz

A census, because the Inimitable Miss Barr did it and I'm always striving to be More Like Liz (though I lack sufficient ancient Roman/Greek history knowledge, I do own 3 copies of the Aeneid - you can never have too much Aeneas and Dido - and agree that it could be rewritten as bad TOS fic). Plus, lots of stats tell me you've been here but ::sniff:: I don't know who you are!

So pull up a chair, have some coffee and tell me:

1. Who are you?

2. Why are you here?

3. Is the Mod Squad a part of the fanfic mafia or just a myth?

4. Who should I be when I grow up?

That's all. Comments right below. Come, play, it'll be fun.

Tuesday, September 17, 2002

Site of the Day: Save Karyn. Read the email archive. It's a hoot. And if you can, send her a buck or two. I admire the chutzpah. Really.
FYI

My email address, seemag1@yahoo.com is apparently being used to send out porn in my name (along with mortage rates, credit cards, life insurance quotes, you name it). I've heard from other people that their email addresses are being taken in vain also. Just a head's up in case you get something - several of these forged emails have bounced back to me, not to mention, I've gotten a few of these emails myself. Kind of creepy to get email from yourself that you never sent.

Monday, September 16, 2002

Amusing confusion

From the ff.net petition: It is a sin and a shame that FanFiction.Net chose to commemorate the anniversary of 9/11 and the spirit of democracy with communism.

Communism? Please. I offer you the following definition from the Oxford English Dictionary: A theory which advocates a state of society in which there should be no private ownership, all property being vested in the community and labour organized for the common benefit of all members; the professed principle being that each should work according to his capacity, and receive according to his wants.

The OED also offers this second definition: Community of feeling; the spirit of a community. rare.

Methinks the petition writers have got it backwards, given that ff.net is private property. In true communism, private ownership does not exist and the site has never been a democracy in the first place. And theoretically, (inherent flaws in the communist experiment aside - and I'd argue not even China is truly as communist as we think it is, but that's a blog for another day), ff.net doesn't even qualify as communism because the only part of the definition of communism that even fits is the part about "for the common benefit of all members" - ie the fanfic community, but really, it's Xing who's doing all the work and given that, there's nothing communist at all about ff.net.

Hmph.
Wendy explains exactly how we go about The Nitty Gritty of Fandom in this week's update at zendom.

Sunday, September 15, 2002

The Tao of Meta

Is anyone else really, really tired of their blog? I rarely make the blog rounds any more - a few months ago, there was so many interesting discussions happening and even if I wasn't part of the fandom being discussed, I still gleaned some important insights into what was going on in fandom in general. It was fun. Great discussions, terrific comments, intelligent and wittiness all around, and lots of nodding in agreement. And now, it's work. It feels like work. Keeping up the blog, keeping up the meta, making the rounds. Lots of work. Not sure whether the "work" is worth the return on investment anymore. If there even is an ROI.

When I first started this blog on my birthday way back in 2001, I didn't know anyone else who had a blog. Didn't even really know what it was except for the fact the Kid Brother thought it was cool and I should get one. So I wrote about stuff. Nothing related to fandom. Just stuff. And somewhere along the line, other LJs and blogs popped up and there was this pressure - real or perceived - that if you're a ficcer, you meta. You don't talk about what you ate for breakfast, no, you analyze every single detail of every single minute of the show from the previous night. Or fic. Or why we do the things we do and how can we stop/start doing the things we do, ad nauseum.

Frankly, the more I think about why I do what I do, the more uncreative I get and the more annoyed I get with my blog. Because I have one. More people read this page more than they read my fic, so I feel like I've got to put something here that people will want to read because for some reason, Real!Seema is more interesting than Ficcer!Seema and so somehow, I've got to tie the two in together and maybe someone will get interested and want to read said fic? And then I get all sad when I go without comments because obviously I haven't said anything important that anyone wants to respond to. Ah the pressure of being a good fan girl.

The truth is, meta exhausts me and I don't think I want to do it anymore.

Granted, I'm going meta here, and I went meta below in the ff.net entry, but honestly, I haven't got anything more to discuss or add to what's already been said either in a blog or on zendom. Part of it is because I belong to a fandom that's no longer on air and the newest franchise, Enterprise, is not enticing enough (yet) to get the muse to come out and play. The canon of Trek is starting to fade in memory and it takes more work to go look things up and I'm making mistakes I wouldn't have made a few years back. It's not so much as I don't care as it is brain fatigue of some kind - that I've overdosed on fandom in the last two years and I need to curl up and contemplate re-entry. The other part is the burnout, which is very real and almost terrifying to me right now. Hints of it have been around all summer, but the more I'm in fandom, the more I want out. I'm spending much more time on RL things right now than on fandom things. I'm not really reading much fic anymore even though I should be, I'm not really writing even though theoretically as a good fan I should be, and I'm not hitting all the Trek-related sites with the same intensity I used to.

Part of it is because I need to find a job so I can support myself in the style I'm accustomed come May and fun as fandom is, meta and ficcing don't pay the bills. So I spend much time looking for a job when I'm online. Or researching to update various cases I'm working on and then writing up the addendums. I'm not even responding email as quickly as I used to because these days, the choices are coming down to being a Good Fan or hanging out with friends. In other words, I've discovered RL again and I'm finding that I like it. A lot.

Saturday, September 14, 2002

ff.net

So my two cents on ff.net's policy change re no longer archiving NC-17 fic. Obviously, I'm on the wrong side of the argument if I plan to disagree with 13,000 plus fen who just signed a petition to change Xing's mind. Forgive me, but I'm confused - is this not Xing's site? Is it not his to do what he pleases with? If he wants to get rid of NC-17 fic because it causes him a hassle, then fine - it's his decision.

Here's the thing. In his free time, Xing made fanfic available to the masses. He pays for the site, he maintains it, he programs for it - it's practically a full-time job. The problem comes when a chunk of those masses are underage. No, we authors aren't deluded in the least when we think that our little disclaimers keep anyone out. I mean, if someone who is underage wants to go read NC-17, how on earth are we going to stop them? Hmmm?

You can go and say that it's the parent's responsibility to keep track of what their kid is doing online. You can say that the archivist/author bears no individual responsibility for what an underage kid is doing online and I want to agree, I really do. I think for those of us who are small potatoes, we can get by on the fact that we as authors are mature, responsible adults - our "target" audience is not the under-17 crowd. But when it comes to posting our own fic, we're not checking IDs at the door. Do I think we should? No, of course not. My point is more along the lines of what happens when a parent does decide to check and see what Junior has been up to? You've got three options in this case - the parent realizes what's going on and puts on the brakes (I wish!), the parent remains clueless and Junior keeps going on, and the final option, parent goes after website, disclaimers and all.

Individual authors housing NC-17 content,probably aren't going to be the target of any NC-17 shutdown. Some authors generate a lot of traffic, but if you really wanted to purge fandom, the thing you do is go after the big archives. And ff.net is one of the biggest ones out there and is possibly the best known - I mean, after five minutes in fandom, you know what a "treasure" trove of fanfic ff.net is. Xing is practically wearing a bull's eye if anyone wants to launch a crusade to remove NC-17 fic from the web. Earlier this year, someone on ASCEML wanted to start a campaign to remove NC-17 Harry Potter fic from the web. How successful would she have been? Probably not very, but it's just indicative that yes, people do have a thing against kids reading NC-17 fic and heck, if I were Xing, I would have pulled the fic from the site long ago, just because of the potential consequences.

Our personal sites are our own business. What I do here at unbound is not really anyone's business. If I choose to archive only certain kind of fic, that's my right and I don't have to make excuses or rationalizations for the choices I do make. I don't have a lot of patience for people telling me what to do and what not to do (which is why I got out of the archiving business in the first place). In fandom, there is a sentiment that archives are for the people, by the people. But the sad truth is, most archives are run and paid for by a small dedicated group of people. And as a former archivist (though I do still archive the WDFA), the truth is that archiving is a thankless job and subject to a lot of abuse (when was the last time you hugged an archivist, hmmm?).

Xing is a saint, people. Can you imagine doing what he has done for the last four or five years? All of the things he has done to make fic accessible? I mean, come on. Think about it. How many of you would devote so much of your monetary resources and RL time to something like ff.net? Honestly.

And still, there are at least 13,000 people out there who want to change his mind about what he can do with his own website.

Belive it or not, ff.net does not belong to any of us - it belongs to Xing. What he wants, what he can handle, that's what ff.net is about. A petition re the subject is all well and nice, but does it solve the problem? The problem is that there are underage kids out there reading stuff they have no business reading. Call me old-fashioned, call me conservative, but I really do believe if you're underage, you have no business reading or writing the stuff.

If there's a monetary issue involved, then yes, Xing ought to deal with that fairly. Whatever "fair" constitutes. But that's another issue entirely and not one I'm comfortable dealing with (given my phobia of anything accounting related). It really boiled down to one thing: there is a place on the web for NC-17 fic, it's just not on ff.net.
I'm baking a cake. Cross your fingers for me. Every year or so, I bake. Last fall, I baked a lot. I was on a team with three guys (four if you count the alcoholic whom we booted after five weeks) and for some of the late night meetings, I usually baked cookies and brought them as a way of easing the pain of spending Saturday night with each other. I also still had a job at a very active field office which meant there was always something going on - some kind of party or something. So I baked for that. I baked so much last year that for my company's holiday gift, I ordered a 25-piece Pyrex bake set. I'll just point out now that the bake set is still sitting in its box - it was only unpacked once so that I could see what was in it and then I had a heck of a time getting everything back in the box, so I'm scared to unpack it again.

The email has escaped me once again. How does this happen? I go days when the email comes in trickles, literally one or two pieces a day and then it's wham! bam! and all of a sudden, I'm 80 million emails behind. There's got to be an academic paper in there somewhere, I'm sure of. If someone can get their PhD based on traffic congestion patterns, why not an analysis of email traffic trends, hmmm? I'd really like to figure out when the biggest email night/time is. It ought to be a study.

Friday, September 13, 2002

Jemima Austen. I have a new hero. I have this new mental image of Paris in a perfectly tailored suit and B'Elanna in cotton scoop neck empire style dress. Yes, only from the brilliant mind of Jemima can something like this exist. Go, read, laugh and be thrilled by the genius of it all.
The 9-11-01 site has been updated with some new entries as well as some new notes in the guestbook. Over 2,000 people stopped by the page on September 11, most of them Canadians from shaw.ca. Absolutely amazing and touching.

Also, new fic: When Stars are Bright. It's all Lori's fault.

Tuesday, September 10, 2002




Memorial Tile

Blog rerun: September 2001


No blog or site updates until September 13 out of respect and tribute

Monday, September 09, 2002

Wanted: One picture of Chakotay. Looking towards the right but not a profile shot. Preferably smiling. Light background, preferably nature (please, don't make me go look for "Natural Law"). Anyone have something that matches this description? Puh-lease?
So you think you know Voyager? Take a quiz. I got an 85 on it. My guess is that some of you will probably get a perfect score.

Must. Go. Lie. Down.
The 101 Dumbest Moments in Business.

Sunday, September 08, 2002

So I had this long meta blog that covered the following things:


  • The schism between ASC and the rest of Trek fandom
  • Why ASC is Darwinian, thus producing the best ficcers in Trek fandom
  • Why mailing lists tend to coddle and stifle any kind of constructive FB
  • Why authors prefer to hide out on mailing lists and not venture forth into the brave world of newsgroups
  • Why the "underrated" or unknown authors in non-ASC Trek circles are the authors to read in ASC circles
  • Fic taxes and how much is too much and non-writers making general sweeping statements about authors who need to promote their work more often in order to get out of the "underrated" category
  • Which authors I think are "underrated" (No, I'm not going to tell you who I think is "overrated" - oh what the heck, email me and I'll consider telling you).
  • If anyone ever rec'd me as a J/C author I'd fall over on my face. How much promotion, btw, do you think it'll take to cast me as a J/C author, hmmm?

    But you can't read any of it because Netscape experienced a fatal error and I've got 100 pages of strategy to read between now and tomorrow morning and so, no resurrection of said-blog will happen tonight.
I've updated the 9-11-01 Tribute Page with new poems (two by Roger W. Hancock) and a short prose piece (by Kim J. Lagos).

Saturday, September 07, 2002

Question: when did "liberal" become a bad word, hmmm? When did it start to indicate that one loves her country less if she calls herself a liberal? When did accepting the rights of the individuals to make personal choices that are in that person's best interest become "unpatriotic"?

Don't mind me - just some discussions I've stumbled across in my meanderings around fandom and frankly, it rather annoys me.

Friday, September 06, 2002

Liz Barr goes Barbara Walters for zendom and interviews AJ Hall about "Lust Over Pendle" - the HP fic of note.

In other news, Tropical Storm Fay is here. First hurricane to come ashore in several years. The rain and wind is here already, but apparently, tomorrow is forecasted to be a doozy for us.
Hair dye, messy, messy work. But anyway, I dyed my hair this afternoon. It's now a dark, dark, dark shade of brown with red highlights. In other words, I can only tell that there's been a change in color in the light. But the gray hair is gone. I've had a sudden eruption in gray hair over the last few months - I blame the MBA program. So I thought, what the heck, I'll dye my hair. I admit, I didn't keep the dye on for the full one hour - just about forty minutes. I was concerned that my hair would turn orange (my hands turned orange). So all's well that ends well and it looks decent.

I have nothing to say, but I am anxious. I have reading to do, packages to pack (three more textbooks to mail out in the morning), and I need to get my gym bag together. But I'm anxious. So I'm not doing any of those things. I played Literati for a while and improved my rating, but this last game, I wasn't really thinking that much and my opponent caught me off guard a couple times and I fell behind by about 20 points almost right off the bat. Then she resigned so I "won" anyway and improved my rating. I read part of an X-Files fic Christine had recommended eons ago (it's good, Christine) and I revisited one of my favorite poets, Emily Dickinson. Emily, much as I love her, didn't help any. So I dropped her and stopped by to see what Victoria had to say. Usual good stuff over there about pairings versus non-pairing fic. Still not distracted enough. Still really anxious. So if you have good thoughts, send them this way.

Thursday, September 05, 2002

I finished my degree plan this morning. I had to guess at some of the courses I'm taking, but the advisor says I can petition to change the degree plan in December if things don't work out. I also finished my application for the International Business Certificate. Just to find out about language requirements and things will be good to go. Very excited about getting these kinds of things done. It's really just administrivia, but necessary in order to get a diploma at the end.

Wednesday, September 04, 2002

Gak. My luck. My cable just went out. Just as "American Idol" is about to begin. I did pay that bill. Honestly. Whew. It's back. Temporary glitch.

I was afraid that I would have to get all confrontational on yet another service provider.
I'm going to have to fire my ISP pretty soon. Four weeks and they still haven't found a vendor to replace the one who went bankrupt here. But the other thing is, I live in a pretty rural town (moo, moo) and there aren't many options. My guess is that most internet companies were served by the same vendor that went bankrupt.

Since Yahoo! is making me nuts for personal mail, I'll be switching some of you over to the new email account that my professors are making me use this semester.
I've lost "Interlude." "Interlude," for the two of you who may care, is the next story in my "Lines in the Sand" series. It comes *between* the two parts of "Fugue in Blue Minor." And now it's gone. Liz, if you're reading this, please, please tell me you have a copy of it still (though, with my luck, it won't be anywhere near where you are...).
I have a new addition. Literati. If you don't hear from me for a while, come find me here. I'm seemag1 ::grin::
Today's task of the day: resume writing. Anyone have an opening for an MBA, marketing and information systems concentration?

Tuesday, September 03, 2002

Site Update

New fic! "X-Files" fic, Another Day and "LA Law" fic, Something to Remember. I'd like to point out that "Another Day" is solely the fault of the Magnificent Miss Barr.
The Textbook Dance

I almost bought $144 textbook today, almost being the operative word - once it scanned, I decided I didn't need a Market Research book that badly (especially when it's available on amazon.com for $108). I highly dislike the mad hunt for textbooks. Right now, I need some opinions.

Here's the thing. Along with textbooks, we also have to buy course packets. The course packets run from cheap ($12) to expensive ($95). Keep in mind that these are photocopied magazine articles or Harvard Business cases. In other words, packets with absolutely no resellable value and just basically paper you throw away. A friend and I bought one course packet together - it's 835 pages and cost $63 - so, $31.50 apiece. Neither of us wanted to spend time photocopying, so we decided that we would just share the one packet between the two of us. Fine. But here's the deal: other people want to copy our packet. I said that they were more than welcome to chip in with Kenny and me on the packet - after all, the more people involved, the cost of the packet comes down. The friend who asked was highly insulted, pointing out how much it would cost to photocopy the darn thing at 4 cents a page - which would cost rougly $32 when all is said and done. So people who photocopy the packet would definitely pay more for it than Kenny and I did as not only would they have to pay us, they would have to pay for the photocopies as well. But my point is that Kenny and I are the ones who made the initial outlay. Is it so wrong for us to ask for a contribution to defray our costs before we let others photocopy the packet?

In another case, about 10 of us are chipping into buy a $90 packet - which mean we each pay $9 towards the cost of the original and then the amount to photocopy it. Which means it's a win-win situation all around. Which I completely agree with. What I don't agree with is subsidizing someone else's materials, especially when I'm just as money-strapped as they are and I truly dislike the attitude in which people think that they can just borrow someone's textbooks/packets without compensating the original buyer at all. In fact, the person who asked me about it was completely floored when I asked if she was going to borrow the packet from someone and if so, let me know who so I could give them some money towards the initial cost.

Your thoughts?

Sunday, September 01, 2002

I was wearing a long sleeve t-shirt last night, one of my favorites, worn in all the right places and with the characteristic mud stains on it (90 percent of my t-shirts had mud stains on them, thanks to four years of cross-country in high school). Anyway, I looked down at the date on the shirt - it was one commerating a win at a particular race and I realized that the shirt is older than half the people on the Internet (really, really loose guesstimate). And I can't believe high school was that long ago.

I was reading Beloit College's annual mindset list for 2003 as I'm class of 2003. Of course, they don't do lists like this for graduate students, only undergraduate, so it's not that accurate for me. However, the "only things a child of the 80s can explain" is highly accurate. More lists here.
With a last name of 'Beckham,' it is possible that baby number two won't get beat up with a name like "Romeo."