fandomsecrets | [ SECRET POST #2351 ]

[ SECRET POST #2351 ]

⌈ Secret Post #2350 ⌋

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

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Notes:

Secrets Left to Post: 05 pages, 113 secrets from Secret Submission Post #336.
Secrets Not Posted: [ 0 - broken links ], [ 0 - not!secrets ], [ 0 - not!fandom ], [ 0 - too big ], [ 0 - repeat ].
Current Secret Submissions Post: here.
Suggestions, comments, and concerns should go here.

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11. http://i43.tinypic.com/21118j7.jpg

Writing contests are always going to be subjective. I've seen contests where one story was clearly superior to another one, but because that person wrote an unpopular pairing it was voted out. Obviously, I don't know how this contest was run and how a winner was chosen, but a lot of times winners are chosen based on what the person/people voting like to read more so than the actual quality of writing. And just keep in mind, when you take part in contests, someone's got to be last.

Probably not.

I've been writing fanfiction for 15 years and it's my opinion that (especially in certain fandoms) the majority of readers don't want to work. They don't appreciate good plotting, subtle characterization, stylistic grace, or even IC portrayals: they'd rather have OOC AU high school smut.

So the thing is, you need to decide if you want to continue to cook great meals when all most consumers want is junk food.

This.

Some people will appreciate good writing, the rest don't care as long as the sex scenes are readable and hot.

in my current experience my plotty angsty fics are WAY more popular than my smut, weirdly enough, so I guess it depends on the fandom?

(no subject)

(Anonymous) - 2013-06-11 02:37 (UTC) - Expand

This depends entirely on the fandom and it's demographics.

which the phrase "especially in certain fandoms" was intended to acknowledge.

(no subject)

(Anonymous) - 2013-06-10 23:47 (UTC) - Expand

Pretty much all of this.

You have a point but I don't think always for the reasons you are saying. For me fanfic is an escape, a comfort thing. I have some great books I can read if I want to work. I really don't look for literary genius in fanfic. I do like well written stuff, and will back button if it's terrible, but I won't read something just because it's well written if it's about a ship I have no interest in, or don't like. Or if it's got a bleak and sad ending. I can re read 1984, one of my favourites, if I want to wallow in a bleak and incredibly well written story.

I'm not interested in high school AUs though, but I do get that they are popular maybe with younger fans who are going through teenage emotions and want to relate IDK.

I don't know your writing, so I can't judge how good or bad it is or whether or not your story was correctly ranked.

However. if there were only three entries then there's a decent chance that interpersonal relationships affected the outcome.

The one time I entered a writing contest, I was voted out on the first round.

I was the only one to write something that wasn't NC-17 with a popular ship.

(I just really don't feel comfortable writing explicit content at this point in time.)

I really don't like the idea that the type of content may be being judged more than the quality of the content.

(reply from suspended user)

I don't know what fandom you're in, but in many fandoms whether or not your fics are popular depends on whether you write the popular characters/ships/tropes, not so much on the quality of your writing. My main fandom has a large variety of characters and ships, but the ones that win in contests or get a huge amount of reviews are ALWAYS about a handful of popular characters and ships. If you write something less popular, even if your writing is excellent and your story more original than the 100th variation of some fandom favourite trope, you won't win. It's sad, maybe, but it's the way it is.

If you do write the popular stuff, then I don't know, OP. Fandoms are weird about what they like.

I have been annoyed by a number of challenges/contests (only some of which I was actually participating in) where it was obvious people really weren't paying attention to how well stuff fit the topic when they voted. It's irritating when, you know, other people could have probably done a little better in their entries if they didn't constrain themselves to the theme, and since the voters suck at judging the people who just disregard the topic place really high. And when it's not anonymous (or even when it is) you can bet people are voting for their friends. I can't say how well you write, but you never know if it actually says anything about your talent with these things.

I have no idea what your situation is, OP, but one thing you might want to consider is to find somebody in fandom whose judgment you respect who is willing to work with you as a beta or to give you some substantive feedback on your work.

I won a writing contest once (in my native language), but the comments of the "jury" were basically "We didn't find anything wrong with this story".

On the other hand, all other entries had some stuff wrong (which is the reason they didn't get the first place, since they focused a lot in the technical aspects in that contest), yet the comments of the jury were very enthusiastic and they gave all other contestants a lot of praise for the plot, characterization and so on.

Most of those stories were PWP, mine was gen.

I decided to nor participate in their next contest and found amusing how "good grammar" disappeared from the aspects that would be judged.

A lot of people are going to tell you that no, your writing is great, audiences are stupid, and so on, and that's all possible and true in a lot of cases, but I'll tell you something a playwriting teacher told us: if you're at a party and one person says you're drunk, you can shrug it off. But if three people say you're drunk, you're probably fucking drunk.

So you should really look at your work and why it's not getting the reaction you want. Are you doing rare pairs? Boring plots? Weird themes? Fandom has an emotional fulfillment element, and if you don't hit that for people, it doesn't matter how beautifully written your stuff is, nobody is going to be thrilled over it. On the other side, writers with weak technique that hit people's emotional buttons can be hugely successful. See: Stephanie Meyers.

So you need to find out about the quality of your writing. You need to ask people at that party if you're drunk. Is your writing comparatively weak? Perhaps you can't tell if your own writing is weak--in that case, seek some feedback, honest feedback, from friends or betas. It may sting, but it's better to know. You can't improve unless you know what the problem is.

It's not personal, and this comment is not meant personally, but a lot of writers think they're doing great and they're not. Especially in fandom, where there isn't a lot of genuinely constructive feedback, good or bad. Do you write bland dialogue that doesn't have any feeling of the characters in it? Do your characters really seem like themselves or pale imitations? Could anyone read your stuff and say, "wow, this could be an episode/book/movie in the world!"? Is your action and sex sparkling and exciting, or is it flat and rote?

Does your work have an emotional punch?

Investigate your work like a detective. Start with your older work, the stuff you haven't seen in a while, and try to see it as a reader would. If you found this story on Ao3 at random, what would you think of it? Be honest with yourself. Make notes on what could be improved, what you'd do differently now. Look for patterns, word tics, bad habits--writers develop them in the same way as athletes do. You need to be conscious of what you do and why if you want to raise your game.

You don't have to do any of this, of course. If you're happy with your writing as it is, then just go on being happy with it. But your secret suggests you're not happy right now. Maybe just knowing why your work isn't that popular would make you feel okay with it. Maybe you do really want to improve your writing after you figure out where you stand.

That's up to you. But it doesn't have to be a mystery; you can find out how your writing is perceived and whether it's comparatively good or not.

While I think you offer a lot of great advice in this, I must completely disagree with this:

if you're at a party and one person says you're drunk, you can shrug it off. But if three people say you're drunk, you're probably fucking drunk.

So if three people say Rebecca Black is an awesome singer it means it's true? I'm not saying that the OP is definitely a bad writer, but just because a some fanfiction readers/writers don't like what she writes doesn't mean it's bad, it just means that they don't like it, and that could be because of any number of things. If a bunch of people who have studied writing and have a greater understanding of what makes quality fiction say it's bad, that's one thing, but a lot of times (especially in fanfiction) criticism boils down more to not liking the pairing/character/genre.

Yeah not to mention Justin Beiber! Or S.E Hinton must be an amazing writer by that argument.

Are you doing rare pairs? Boring plots? Weird themes?

Yeah, god forbid the OP should write anything outside the tiny little box of fandom popularity.

I do agree with you that if the OP wants positive feedback, they may have to write the crap that everyone seems to crave. I've also seen fabulous writers fall silent because they got tired of the crickets.

Sometimes those three people at the party don't know shit.

bullshit. many fandom contests are incestuous beyond belief. this has not changed since EVER in fandoms.

to the op, you want to know how well you're writing is received?

work to get paid to write. money talks.

This is all very good advice. I know several people whose writing is technically sound and grammatically flawless and yet is about as interesting as watching paint dry.

FMA_Fic_Contest, OP?

...and are you me?

There are a lot of factors other than writing that determine the winner in fanfiction contests. And sometimes horribly written stories get more reviews than well-written ones. If you like writing, write for yourself first and not for other people.

Fandom contests should be FUN, OP. Just do your best and don't put too much attachment into your results. If you win, yay! If you're out in the first round, better luck next time. It happens.

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