[ SECRET POST #1826 ]

[case]

⌈ Secret Post #1826 ⌋

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

01.


__________________________________________________



02.


__________________________________________________



03.
[Labyrinth]


__________________________________________________



04.


__________________________________________________



05.
[Madlax]


__________________________________________________



06.
[The Meek, String Theory]


__________________________________________________



07.
[The Baby-sitters Club]


__________________________________________________



08.


__________________________________________________



09.


__________________________________________________



10.


__________________________________________________



11.


__________________________________________________



12.


__________________________________________________



13.


__________________________________________________



14.


__________________________________________________



15.
[Shitsurakuen]


__________________________________________________



16.


__________________________________________________



17.


__________________________________________________



18.


__________________________________________________



19.


__________________________________________________



20.
[Infernal Devices]


__________________________________________________



21.


__________________________________________________



22.
[Midsomer Murders]


__________________________________________________



23.


__________________________________________________



24.
[Matilda]


__________________________________________________



25.
[Disney's Hunchback of Notre Dame]


__________________________________________________



26.
[My Chemical Romance]


__________________________________________________



27.


__________________________________________________



28.


__________________________________________________



29.


__________________________________________________



30.


__________________________________________________



31.


__________________________________________________



32.


__________________________________________________



33.


__________________________________________________



34.


__________________________________________________



35.
[Code Geass]


__________________________________________________



36.


__________________________________________________



37.


__________________________________________________



38.


__________________________________________________



39.


__________________________________________________



40.
[The Hobbit]


__________________________________________________



41.
[Howl's Moving Castle]


__________________________________________________



42.
[The 99]


__________________________________________________



43.


__________________________________________________



44.


__________________________________________________



45.
[Due South]


__________________________________________________



46.


__________________________________________________



47.


__________________________________________________



48.


__________________________________________________



49.


__________________________________________________



50.




Notes:

Early because New Year's stuff to do. (:

Secrets Left to Post: 06 pages, 143 secrets from Secret Submission Post #261.
Secrets Not Posted: [ 3 - posted twice ], [ 4 - secrets moved to regular post ], [ 1 - it's not a secret if you SIGN it ].
Current Secret Submissions Post: here.
Suggestions, comments, and concerns should go here.

Comments

[fscom.livejournal.com]

49. http://i.imgur.com/7J1t7.png

[royalbk.livejournal.com]

WHY IS THIS A SECRET? maybe a secret from RL friends/family? In that case...*ditto here*

(http://imgur.com/PsEnB)

[pelespen.livejournal.com]

Word.

[countess-k.livejournal.com]

I'm going to play devils advocate here and say that yes, anyone can write, but it takes talent, practice and education to write *well.* I've seen a LOT of bad writing in fandom simply encouraged by screaming audiences and similarly inexperienced fans. It's good to draw encouragement and support from fellow fandom friends, but if you are serious about seeing your words in print, you must eventually distance yourself from the noise and get your hands on some professional writing books and check out literary agent and writing coach sites. The publishing world is not an inch as kind and forgiving as fandom is.

Not wanting to rain on your parade OP, all the power to you for finding such spirit through fandom, but since I've been there and learned it the hard way I thought I'd put some perspective on what your next step probably should be.

[(Anonymous)]

I don't think your first point is entirely valid. Plenty of bad published writing are simply encouraged by screaming audiences, yeah? (Do I even have to mention Twilight?)There are entire publishing industries (harlequin, anyone?) built on trashy button-pushing-but-not-very-good fiction.

I think what OP is trying to say is she's found confidence through fandom, which I think is great -- many don't get past the first stages of "oh god I suck this sucks". Many don't realize that everyone sucks at first and it's just practice. Fandom gives me a cheerleader -- I know I still suck in a lot of ways, but it cheerleads enough so that I can perservere to something better.

Getting published is much more of an industry, yes, but I'd argue it's not really about the quality of writing as it is the kind of writing you do. (And also your connections. Networking, networking!) Each genre of writing has it's own sort of mold, and there isn't a lot of stepping out of the box. It's what I love about fanfic: under all the crap and mediocre fic there are wonderful fics that aren't just wonderful, but different than anything I've ever seen, in explored theme, formatting, or anything really.

if you've bothered to read this far -- would you be amenable to being contacted? You've talked about knowing stuff about the writing industry before, and while I"m nowhere near being publishable I'd still appreciate an "in" perspective, so to speak.

[(Anonymous)]

OP

Oh, absolutely! I might argue the talent point, but only because I firmly believe that writing is a skill that can be improved like any other. Folks with talent just have a head start.

Writing as a career is a dream I've been nourishing for more than ten years, and I've done my homework. I've read tons of books, taken courses, stalked writer's blogs. I like to think I have reasonable expectations and as fair an understanding of the industry as I can hope to at this point. It isn't an easy thing. It could be two books, or five, or ten before I have any luck. I'll have to be damned persistent (or lucky) to get anywhere, not to mention being a midlist writer isn't what it used to be, but this is still something I want to do.

It's not that fandom has convinced me that I'm good enough to publish, but rather that writing fanfiction has taught me a lot of valuable skills. Fandom gave me a place to to stretch my wings as a writer without risk or pressure, and now I'm confident enough to transfer what I've learned to original fiction. I understand that fanfiction and original fiction are two very different animals, but I feel as though fandom has helped me reach the point where publication is no longer an impossible dream. Hard? You betcha. But attainable. Does that make sense?

So don't worry about raining on my parade! My expectations are totally practical. I've just reached the point where I'm not too scared to try. :D

[authoressarktos.livejournal.com]

This secret makes me want to keep writing, even if it's a little difficult right now. You go, OP. :)

[robintheshrew.livejournal.com]

I read that first line in the voice of the chef from "Ratatouille" lol