[ SECRET POST #3273 ]

[case]

⌈ Secret Post #3273 ⌋

Warning: Some secrets are NOT worksafe and may contain SPOILERS.

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Notes:

Secrets Left to Post: 03 pages, 051 secrets from Secret Submission Post #468.
Secrets Not Posted: [ 0 - broken links ], [ 0 - not!secrets ], [ 0 - not!fandom ], [ 0 - too big ], [ 0 - repeat ], [ 1 - picture with random french lyrics ].
Current Secret Submissions Post: here.
Suggestions, comments, and concerns should go here.

Comments

Writer's Thread

[(Anonymous)]

How's it going?

Re: Writer's Thread

[philstar22]

I've got so much stuff I'm working on. Secret Santa things. Fandom Stocking things. Drabble things.

And now someone has requested a Kylo Ren/Rey porny fic. And the thing is, I'm super excited about this idea. And though I've not written for this fandom before, I have specific dynamic ideas and the requester has similar dynamic ideas. I really need to find a copy of the movie script, though, because it is going to take place during the movie, so I need to get the dialogue before right.

So my other long-term fic has to take the backburner again. And plus this stupid migraine is clinging on which has made working on things difficult.

I have ideas. I know what I'm doing. It is just getting it down on paper.

Re: Writer's Thread

[(Anonymous)]

I'd wait until the next movie to find out if Rey is really Luke's daughter too. Otherwise it'll be unwitting cousin-cest

Re: Writer's Thread

[philstar22]

Well, the fic was requested by someone. And I don't mind cousin-cest myself. I'm going to write it in such a way that it isn't mention, though. And mostly I just really want to write this fic. I really love the idea.

Yuletide

[(Anonymous)]

Now that the deadline is past, how did everyone do? I managed a treat for the first time. Both treat and assignment are posted and beta'd. I shook my present and it looks like I might get the fic of my heart this year. I'm trying not to let my expectations get away from me. There's nothing left to do but wait until Xmas for me.

How about you guys? Anyone working on a pinch hit?

Re: Yuletide

[(Anonymous)]

I thought I'd had to quit, but in the end I managed to finish early! :D

What is shaking your present and how can you do that?

Re: Yuletide

[(Anonymous)]

Shaking a present is looking at your gift to see what it is. You can't get specifics but you can get a flavor for length, fandom, pairings/characters, major tags, etc. Here's a pretty good summary on how to do it:

http://fail-fandomanon.dreamwidth.org/147163.html?thread=778240731#cmt77824

If you have more questions, I'm happy to answer them.

Re: Yuletide

[(Anonymous)]

Wrote my fic just in time!

My gifter dropped tho :(

Re: Yuletide

[(Anonymous)]

Congrats on the fic! Sorry to hear about your gifter though. Here's hoping you get an excellent PH and some treats. :)

Re: Yuletide

[(Anonymous)]

I got an extension, so I'm working on it riiiiight now.

Re: Yuletide

[(Anonymous)]

This was my first year. Did a gift and three treats, most of which I ended up liking more than my gift fic.

Re: Writer's Thread

[badass_tiger]

Not bad. When it comes to original stuff, I've always had problems creating characters I find interesting enough to want to write their stories (I always quickly lose interest in them, which is why I prefer writing fanfiction, when I'm writing about characters I already love), but I recently somehow managed to write a couple of characters who I am very interested in indeed. It's a nice feeling. I just wish I knew exactly what I did to make them interesting to me, because I want to write more characters.

Re: Writer's Thread

[(Anonymous)]

Maybe you could try fiddling with the characters you like to see where you lose interest in them. Like, choose a different set of parents or a different background or a different kind of world they're from - change a bit here or there and see if they're still interesting. You wouldn't have to write them, of course. Just a thought exercise.

(I love OCs!)

Being THAT writer

[(Anonymous)]

I really like soulmate AUs. I find that they're really easy to write first-time stories for since it allows skipping some of the build up of getting the two characters to move to the phase where they can see each other as lovers, and I love worldbuilding and doing the soulmate AU different ways.

The thing is, I feel like I've already gone to this well too many times. I have two kinds of fandoms. The ones where I'm brimming with ideas and have concrete story ideas, and the ones where I just love the characters and want to see them together but have no actual plot ideas. A lot of the latter are also super tiny fandoms that have ZERO fic.

Soulmate AUs are easy for the second kind of fandom. And, even in my bigger fandoms, I feel weird to write two soulmate AUs for the same pairing but I'm tempted for one pairing because I can't think what else to write for them that's simple and won't balloon into an epic for a fest I'm writing.

And for my teeny tiny fandoms, I don't think it's an exaggeration to say I'm going to be the only person to write these fandoms. I would love to get people interested in these fandoms, which puts a lot of pressure on me to write not only what I love but something that will showcase the fandoms in the best light. I'd like if they actually were canon compliant. I have a LOT of these kinds of fandoms where I'd love ANY fic. I usually write upwards of 50k pieces of fiction but soulmate AUs are more towards 5-10k. I can't invest as hard in my tiny fandoms or I wouldn't get anything done.

So, what are your thoughts on this kind of thing? What do you think of authors who seem to favor an easy trope like this? Are you turned off if they start writing away from the trope?

Re: Being THAT writer

[(Anonymous)]

I guess it would depend on how they feel about the trope. Me, I can't get enough sex pollen. I would love it if authors who have written it before wrote more sex pollen. When I find a story I like (any story, not just sex pollen) I usually check what else the author has written to see if there might be something else up my alley. If every story the author wrote in the fandom was really, really similar, it would get boring, but seeing a trope I loved used more than once would be great. If I didn't love the trope so much, I might not bother reading the others the author wrote that used it, unless I was just really impressed with the story I'd read first. Also, it depends on what you write for each fandom, not the stories you write overall, since people usually don't bother reading fics for canons they're not into (I don't even do that for sex pollen).

Re: Being THAT writer

[(Anonymous)]

I don't think I ever really judge the author for writing these types of stories. I usually back out of them (if I'm desperate, I'll take it). But, if an Soulmate AU is well done--and I mean the characters are still in control of themselves, they feel the pull, try to fight it or understand what the hell is going on while getting to know each other etc, I might be down for it. That said, I haven't read many Soulmate AUs (the ones I have tend to be werewolf!fic of veela!fic where there's the "soul bond/THE mate thing" & I stuck around because I needed a fix).

I think it's best to write the fic, not post it, and see if you're satisfied with it.

Again, SoulmateAUs are tropes I tend to stay away from (not because they're "easy") but because they're not handled well. The clear choice is to have them see each other, romance and sex ensues, but a well written one, well, the author doesn't loose sight of the characters and how they would feel if they were in fact pulled into such a situation (assuming that AU isn't code for OOC).

Also, why do a soulmate AU? Why not just write fic of the two characters together? I've seen that done a few times. As in, the characters are already together. You're just walking in on "a day in the life". There's nothing wrong with that either.


You know what? Do whatever you like, OP! Although I get the pressure to write the best you can for smaller fandoms/rarepairs/etc. because of the dearth of fic.

Sorry if this was unhelpful.

Disagreeing with your beta

[(Anonymous)]

So I participated in a beta matchmaking thing that arranged me with a beta. At first she was okay but then I started noticing that some of her advice started becoming less about what was good writing and more about her particular views likes, and preferences. Like she told me that I should change one of my characters because the character was "unsympathetic" and "no one's going to sympathize with a girl like that no matter what her excuse is". Because apparently the character didn't match up with her views of a what a "good girl" should do or something like that.

Also one time I got an annoying review on an AU story I wrote where the reviewer basically said the story was 'written well but ruined by the au. If you want it to be good, get rid of the AU". When I mentioned this and told the beta that I politely told her, "I'm sorry you feel that way, but the AU is a big part of the plot. You might want to find another story."

She went ballistic and said "No you don't tell a reviewer you're not going to take their advice. They're trying to help and you should be grateful that they're leaving reviews. You'll just look butthurt and nobody likes authors like that."

That was all I needed to make the decision and sometime after I decided to no longer work with her. When I told her that I thought we probably weren't a good match, she was pretty angry and told me "Go ahead and show it to your friends. they'll all tell you it's great, and your writing won't get any better." I'm glad to be rid of them, but their words left me a little insecure (also I was disturbed by her "you'd be nothing without me" attitude.)

Did I do the right thing? Is it bad to disagree with your beta reader's advice?

Re: Disagreeing with your beta

[(Anonymous)]

Sounds like you did the right thing. Authors are NOT required to take every single piece of advice that comes their way, that's just ridiculous. As a writer, you consider the concrit you receive carefully, and decide how much of it you want to apply. Sure, there are plenty of authors who refuse to listen to any concrit whatsoever, but the solution isn't "blindly follow whatever your beta and/or reviewers tell you to do".

Your beta sounds like she's no longer able to distinguish between "good writing" and "writing I personally like". A fic can be technically well written with good plotting, characterization, etc. and still not be something she personally enjoys. Her job as a beta is to help you make your fic the best version of YOUR story, not HER story, the way she thinks it ought to be.

You were right. She is not a good match for you, and frankly, her level of involvement in a story makes me think she isn't a very good beta, period. Good luck finding another one who better suits your needs, and don't worry about her.

Re: Disagreeing with your beta

[(Anonymous)]

You did the right thing. Now I hope you can find another beta who knows their job.

50/50

[(Anonymous)]

I think you did good, from what you've told us you weren't a good match.

That said, I have to slightly side with the beta on the comment thing. Obviously you don't have to change your story to please a reviewer, that'd be stupid! However, I'd recommend you try to reply in a more diplomatic manner to the review. Not necessarily because your reply was rude, but because there's this culture that fanwriters must be super deferential to reviewers or face the consequences (ie drama, being accused of being entitled, readers leaving even less comments on your stories, etc). I would have replied something like "I'm glad you enjoyed how the story was written! The AU aspect is a big part of the plot, so I can't change that, but thanks to the suggestion!".

Re: Writer's Thread

[morieris]

Ah, well, i'm writing something about the Cinderella destiny gone horribly wrong but I keep forgetting to integrate the actual elements of the story beyond 'familial abuse'. Like the pumpkin, the ball, the prince.

Re: Writer's Thread

[aenrhien]

It's not going at all, I got sidetracked by the sing-along of The Sound of Music and the fanfic recs thread. But I'm also not particularly enamored by what I'm writing, because like, I decided to take the "write smut, sell on Amazon, ???, profit!" route to pay my bills, and I'm writing about gay werewolves. But my experience with werewolves comes from writing furry porn for a friend, and I dunno if Amazon will approve of the half-human/half-animal hybrid junk I used for weres in the furry porn.

Writing porn should not be this difficult.

Re: Writer's Thread

[(Anonymous)]

lol, I'm curious how that works out for you.

have you read this article?
http://www.cracked.com/personal-experiences-1772-180-books-counting-
adventures-kindle-porn-author.html

(it's more informative/respectful than the title lets on)

Re: Writer's Thread

[(Anonymous)]

Gonna attempt my first fanfic, wish me luck

Re: Writer's Thread

[(Anonymous)]

Good luck! I hope you have fun.