[ SECRET POST #989 ]

[case]

⌈ Secret Post #989 ⌋

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

101.


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102.


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103.


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104.
[Star Wars]


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105.
[Avatar]


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106.
[One Piece]


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107.


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108.
[Glee]


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109.
[Sonny with a Chance]


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110.
[DCU]


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111.
[Perez Hilton]


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112.
[gunnerkrigg court]


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113.
[MGS4]


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114.
[Katekyo Hitman Reborn!]


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115.


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116.
[SPN]


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117.
[Scandinavia and the World]


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118.


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119.
[China Miéville]


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120.
[Pirates of the Caribbean]


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121.


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122.
[Supernatural]


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123.
[WWE]


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124.
[SPN]


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125.
[Persona 4]


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126.
[SPN]


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127.
[Boondock Saints]


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128.


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129.
[The Path]


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130.
[The Black Keys]


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131.
[Perez Hilton]


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132.
[Black Jewels Trilogy by Anne Bishop]


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133.
[Pandora Hearts]


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134.
[Pokemon]


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135.
[Metalocalypse]


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136.


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137.
[Hetalia]


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138.
[SPN]


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139.


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140.
[Patrick Swayze/Queer As Folk]


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141.
[Roar]


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142.
[Guilty Gear]


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143.
[Hetalia]


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144.
[Dexter]


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145.
[Merlin]


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146.
[Glee]


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147.
[Metal Gear Ac!d]


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148.
[Ace Attorney]


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149.
[Lupin III]


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150. http://img7.imageshack.us/img7/8283/secret2z.jpg
[porn]


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151.
[Watchmen]


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152.


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153.


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154.
[Juno]


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155.
[Kingdom Hearts]


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156.
[Super Junior]


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157.


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158.


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159.


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160.


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161.


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162.


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163.


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164.
[Greek]


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165.
[AWZ]


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166.
[Darker than Black]


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167.
[The Crow]


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168.
[A Song of Ice and Fire]


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169.


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170.


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171.
[Eyeshield 21]


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172.


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173.


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174.


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175.


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176.


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177.


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178.


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179.


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180.


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181.


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182.


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183.



Notes:

Secrets Left to Post: 19 pages, 460 secrets from Secret Submission Post #142.
Secrets Not Posted: [ 1 2 - broken links ], [ 1 2 3 4 5 - not!secrets ], [ 0 - not!fandom ], [ 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 - too big ], [ 1 - repeat ], [ 1 2 3 4 - doing it wrong ], [ 1 2 - posted twice ].
Current Secret Submissions Post: here.
Suggestions, comments, and concerns should go here.

Comments

[fscom.livejournal.com]

179. http://i30.tinypic.com/yeyiv.jpg

[misheard.livejournal.com]

Is it possible that you just write for really big fandoms? An average writer in a huge fandom might well get more attention than a really good writer in an extremely small fandom that barely exists.

Other than that, I'm just as confused as you, anon.

[ali-wildgoose.livejournal.com]

The size of your fandom probably has a lot to do with it. And you know, you could just be doing a thing that a large swath of that fandom is interested in, regardless of whether or not you're doing it well.

Not getting a lot of reviews doesn't mean a fic is bad, necessarily, and vice-versa. Context is really important.

Appreciate what you have and try not to think less of other people who aren't as fortunate in their fannish circumstances.

[(Anonymous)]

Maybe you just have "the touch".

Some people hit the sweet spot of fic writing and just write appealing things. Enjoy it...it's nice to be really good at something.

And having a degree doesn't matter; talent is talent.

However, you say you've been writing fic for ten years. A lot of people who probably complain about few reviews or whatever are probably n00bs.

Practice helps.

[(Anonymous)]

A lot of people who probably complain about few reviews or whatever are probably n00bs.

BZZZZZT! wrong. I've been fandom for about 10 years and gone through a few fandoms. There were times I hit my stride and got scads of comments on fics written about the fandom popular OTP and zero comments on fandoms no one knows about. Considering people do read me and occasionally comment, the fics I write for the obscure fandoms are not because they're poorly written, they just aren't what people want to read.

Has nothing to do with being a n00b.

[baby-c15.livejournal.com]

Maybe you are just in a big fandom and that explains the high number or reviews, are better than you think or are just average but use compelling ideas that everybody wants to read? I say enjoy it.

[that-evening.livejournal.com]

Do you write for large fandoms?

I've been pretty lucky in getting reviews, especially when you consider that I didn't post the fics in various places but usually just to one or two communities, but they were large fandoms.

Actually, another reason could be that the fandoms you are writing for have lots of members but just not many fic writers? For example, the Saw films are very popular, but their online fandom is nearly dead when it comes to icons and fics.

[girlonthewing.livejournal.com]

I don't think the average fanfic reader goes looking for fanfic to fulfill the need for literature. If I want to read something challenging and literary, I read a real novel. If I just want some mindless fluff, I read fanfic. If you're getting more reviews than others in your fandom, maybe you just hit the sweet spot of fluff/easy readability/entertainment. That's not a bad thing. That's pretty much the point of fanfic. If you've been doing it for awhile it tends to snowball, as well, as more people read authors they recognize.

(And yes, I don't get all that many reviews on my fic and I have a degree in English. For one thing, good writing can't really be taught--it's more an issue of fostering innate talent and teaching style--so my degree had very marginal influence on my skill. Few with degrees do creative writing, anyway. I did an expository focus and flailed through short story writing.)

[(Anonymous)]

I don't know why you don't 'get' people who only get a few reviews and complain about it. It happens, and it can suck if you put your heart and soul in something, only to realise it might not be all that great, I know from experiance. You're lucky, be glad.

The reaon might just be because you're part of a large fandom, like people have said, or maybe you have a really large flist and are popular? Then people take to reading your fics. I don't know. Maybe you're just better than you think you are.

If you've been writing fanfic for ten years and get 40+ reviews, people are bound to know who you are and more likely to comment even more.

[thene]

Seconding the fandom size thing - Twilight is a little infamous for this, as there are a lot of people who are looking for emotionally fulfilling fic for it and many of them are too young to be truly up to writing their own. I guess it's best to scale your expectations to the size of your fandom audience, or better still, to not have expectations about comments at all.

Or maybe you're just underrating yourself. :) Most of us do that, right? At any rate, you're making a lot of readers happy, probably far more than the number who leave you comments every chapter.

[sky-queen3.livejournal.com]

Simple answer, you're appealing to the masses like everyone is saying and also like they're saying it's easier in bigger fandom to get more reviews. Although you might be under selling yourself saying you're only average.

[sensualcoco.livejournal.com]

You're probably not giving yourself enough credit. And fandom is a fickle thing, you never know why some people like what they like.

[velvet-mace.livejournal.com]

Gah, this is kinda a pet peeve you've stepped into OP, but really, truly, Stephanie Meyer is not popular because she is bad. That flipping makes no sense. She's popular because she's found a way to hook into her audiences emotions and write something that makes them feel happy, excited, and loved that is good. Unfortunately, her books fail intellectually, so those of us who don't get sucked into the emotional thrill ride really don't get anything from the book. But her books aren't popular because they fail intellectually. They are popular and they fail intellectually. There's a difference.

As for you, chances are you've figured how to hook into people's emotions to some extent, too. People read fanfic for entertainment not enlightenment, so really, just giving people tasty eyecandy is enough to get reviews. No deep thoughts needed.

[mochalatt3.livejournal.com]

wow, I wish more ppl who hate Smeyer would read this comment... way to go rational OP!!

[rabbitucker.livejournal.com]

I read Twilight. Everything you said here is the reason I didn't like it, but other people around me gobbled it up. It either hooks your emotions, or it does not.

Thank you for being sane about this issue, unlike the "Twi-Hards" and the "Twi-Haters."

[justaminuet.livejournal.com]

I'm going to ignore most of what you wrote, because I admittedly could not get past your very first comment.

Just because people are writing stories that aren't getting any reviews doesn't mean that they must be doing something wrong. Sometimes people write for a fandom, or a section of a fandom that's just not popular. In those instances, it's not that surprising if you don't get many, or any reviews.

Sometimes it's all just the size of your audience. And to wonder why or how people complain about their disappointment comes off as a tad pretentious on your part. So, you get plenty of reviews yourself. Well, congratulations. You probably write in popular fandoms about popular characters and/or pairings. It's little wonder that you get attention for it.

I'm sure you didn't mean for your first line to come off obnoxious, but the way you wrote it completely rubbed me the wrong way. And this is as an author who does get a decent amount of reviews for what she writes. Depending on fandom, of course.

not op

[(Anonymous)]

I'd say go back an try to read the rest of the comment. Poster basically apologizes for all the things you're complaining about.

Re: not op

[justaminuet.livejournal.com]

Uh, they don't apologize for wondering what other people must be doing wrong. Nor do they say they're sorry for not understanding why people get upset when their work is ignored. They just belittle themselves and wonder why they're so blessed with popularity.

[agentkousagi.livejournal.com]

You know, the whole confidentiality aspect of fandomsecrets is really kicking me in the ass right now because now I want to read some of your fics and see your writing abilities for myself. But I know that if you respond to this comment hinting at who you are as the secret maker, then it defies the whole point of f!s.

Damn it.

I want to read! XD

Hmmm... maybe you could "recommend" me some good writers? ;)

[avocado-love.livejournal.com]

Dude, I'm not usually like this but go get yourself some self esteem. Speaking from a person without formal education myself, it has nothing to do with your writing. Obviously you're doing something right, yes?

[(Anonymous)]

brag moar

THIS.

[(Anonymous)]

LOL I laughed so hard reading those two words.

OP, you have a big head. I know others seem to think you have low self-esteem, but this kind of 'self-pitying' waaah waaah look at me, I'm so good but I don't get it, is very obvious to some.

Truthfully, you just need to enjoy what you have: your popularity! Not go around wondering why other authors aren't getting what you're getting. It's really in poor taste, IMO.

[rabbitucker.livejournal.com]

Well, here's the thing.

I'm looking at the text in your secret here, Original Poster, and I have to say that you have a pretty good command of standard written English and that you are able to organize ideas into complete sentences and logical paragraphs.

If you go to some fanfiction repository (fanfiction.net or any other), you will find a lot of people who can't do that. I'll be generous and say only 30%. That puts you ahead of almost a third of the crowd already. That kind of stuff can kill a 'fic that's otherwise a pretty good read. I mean, I read a "Grand Theft Auto" / "Max Payne" crossover that was pretty good in capturing the gritty feel of both universes, but I couldn't finish it because its lack of punctuation made it too difficult to read.

Second, if your work is popular, it's because you tap into something that people like. Maybe it's the characterization, maybe it's your visual imagery, maybe you convey emotions well. I don't know. But, you have managed to hook your audience. That's really all a writer needs to do. Stephanie Meyer was able to tap into women's emotions surrounding adolescent romance fantasies. That's why she was successful.

The only person I know of who was popular specifically because of their horrific work was Ed Wood. Maybe you are Ed Wood; I don't know.

Personally, I would not question your popularity, but rather just take it and run. That is, unless you were trying to figure out what you did right in order to duplicate a sucessful formula. That, I think, might be a better exercise for you. You seem like a person in need of some time spent accentuating the positive.

OP, getting flames sometimes isn't about a fic being bad

[(Anonymous)]

There are some fanfic writers who flame others due to grudges and competition. To get them to stop writing.

You're fortunate you haven't met these immature fanbrats in the ten years you've been fanficcing. Don't assume!

[chameleon-irony.livejournal.com]

40-50 reviews per chapter IS a lot in most fandoms. But your secret contains a few wrong assumptions.

1- You can't be the Stephenie Meyer of anything if you don't write romance. Twilight wouldn't have been so insanely popular if it weren't a romance, and not just any romance but stereotypical, paranormal "dark" romance.

2- Education has nothing to do with the ability to write. The best fanfiction writer I know is 16 and still in high school. I know published authors who never went to college and have day jobs as cashiers. And I've seen clichéd, OOC crapfics written by English majors.