evil-is-relative

[evil-is-relative]

When you talk about why someone might want engagement with their fics, I do think there is one crucial reason you always overlook.

Sometimes the reason is not a bid for popularity or reassurance or even community, but for me at least if I am writing a fic, it is because I am passionate about the show and the characters and I tend to approach my fics as a way to sink my teeth into what makes the characters tick, how they might act like in different circumstances and so on. Therefore I post because I want to geek out with others about it. For that same reason, I cannot shut up in other writers' comment boxes if their story resonates with me.

I agree with you that community makes fandom infinitely more fun and rewarding but the rush of happiness at getting a (multi sentence) comment to me is not unlike when you say strike a conversation with a stranger in a museum in front of your favourite painting or finding out that a friend or an acquaintance shares a hobby or a passion for a dear book or movie with you, after which you jump into a fevered and lengthy discussion.

It is also for this reason that fandoms where I have gone to the trouble of building community in the first place are those where people generally want to tell interesting stories and to talk about them and have interesting things to say. Sometimes that's three fandom friends leaving wall of text comments on one another's fics (that no one else cares about), and sometimes it's a larger more diffuse group of strangers leaving short comments that say "I screeched with delight reading what Character A said" - but it always is a place where people are not afraid to share their enthusiasm and joy and passion about the stories told and the act of story telling itself.

That's an excellent point, anon. I think I'm mentally including that concept under the umbrella of community but it's a fair point that I should really break it out when I'm describing the concept.

It's one of the aspects of fandom that I really enjoy as well. Having a space where people feel comfortable being enthusiastic is a core component of community to me, but that doesn't necessarily mean that a "community" forms.

Thank you for sharing your thoughts! It's an excellent reminder and food for people to think about.

[evil-is-relative]

*taps you gently on the shoulder* remember to leave a comment on any fanfics you enjoy reading today. your words could make an author smile. it could encourage them to start writing again, break them out of a writers block. who knows! engagement is always lovely.

[evil-is-relative]

okay! very cool!

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“Public libraries are such important, lovely places!” Yes but do you GO there. Do you STUDY there. Do you meet friends and get coffee there. Do you borrow the FREE, ZERO SUBSCRIPTION, ZERO TRACKING books, audiobooks, ebooks, and films. Have you checked out their events and schemes. Do you sign up for the low cost courses in ASL or knitting or programming or writing your CV that they probably run. Do you know they probably have myriad of schemes to help low income families. Do you hire their low cost rooms if you need them. Have you joined their social groups. Do you use the FREE COMPUTERS. Do you even know what your library is trying to offer you. Listen, the library shouldn’t just exist for you as a nice idea. That’s why more libraries shut every year

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attack on @birmit!

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do publishers realize that advertising books using fanfic tropes spoils the experience of reading an original story. stop telling me it’s enemies to lovers and there was only one bed and unrequited love hurt comfort golden retriever black cat timeloop major character death. why do i give a fuck if i don’t know any of the characters and now plus i already know the entire plot of the story. that’s what ao3 is supposed to be for

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[evil-is-relative]

Artwork by Jonathan Hultén for Necrovation (2017)

[evil-is-relative]

Don’t assume malice. Assume ignorance. Life is easier, the world is kinder, and you can educate. Actual malice is pretty rare, I find. 

[evil-is-relative]

[evil-is-relative]

//Absurdly helpful for people writing royal characters and/or characters who interact with royalty and members of the nobility.

[x]

[evil-is-relative]

[evil-is-relative]

no you have to contribute to your fandom if you don't want it to die. most fandoms die because people say 'it's so sad watching the fandom die when the hype dies' without doing anything about it. I'm not saying you have to push out 100k word slow-burn fic, I'm not saying you have to make fan art or gif sets or edits or anything. I'm just saying we as a community should contribute to our fandom if we don't want it to die, and by contributing, I'm talking about giving kudos, commenting on your favorite fics, reblogging your favorite art and just talking about your favorite characters. that's enough to keep a fandom alive. that's the most effective way to keep a fandom alive in my humble opinion.

fandoms die because people stop talking about it, fandoms die because people stop engaging with fan content once the hype is gone. what I'm saying is, mainstream media's hype may be gone, but our fandom can stay alive and thriving if us as a community don't let it die.

[evil-is-relative]

not looking to pick fights so I'm not rb-ing but it's not parasocial to interact with an ao3 author and to respond to what they say in author notes or comments, that's just being social

ao3 authors aren't content creators, that's a real person sans public persona just sharing a cool thing they made

[evil-is-relative]

Stuff I Learned at My Writing Workshop (That I’m Kicking Myself in the Head for Not Realizing Sooner):

-  The difference between a book that grabs you from the beginning vs. one that you’re on the fence about tossing out the window is winning your trust. It’s why it’s “easier” to read books by authors you already know, or fanfic where you’re familiar with the characters. Winning the reader’s trust as quickly as possible should be your first goal as a writer when you’re going back and editing your first draft. This can be accomplished by things like: speaking authoritatively about the subject (even if it’s utter bullshit), graceful prose, or establishing quickly in the story what it’s about. For example,“Character A had a problem. Character B didn’t love them back, so Character A was going to kidnap them so they would.” Maybe it’s not a story you want to read, but you are now firmly couched in what you signed up for in this story and the promise the author is going to deliver on before the end. 

- Characters need goals. They need goals in every moment and in every scene. Every character needs a goal in every moment and in every scene. Maybe they’re not directly pursuing that goal right this very moment but it’s probably always at the back of their mind. Romances and detective stories are the easiest to deliver on this need. Character A wants to win their love. Detective A wants to solve the case. Even when they’re having tea with grandma, their thing is at the back of their mind. Keeping your character and your story focused on this thing they want helps pull your reader along and keeps them engaged on the “So what?” and “Why are we reading this scene?” questions of why they should keep reading.

- Characters shouldn’t just have things they like, they should have obsessions. This is the one I’m kicking myself for. The scientists in Pacific Rim are eccentrically obsessed with studying their thing. Thorin in the Hobbit is obsessed with regaining his home. Katniss Everdeen is obsessed with protecting her sister. Every crazy whackadoodle fandom darling character is obsessed with something. What do they have in common? They’re intensely obsessed with the thing that they care about. We love characters who are obsessed with things beyond reason, whether it’s reclaiming their home stolen by a dragon, or building artisanal bird houses, saving your sister, or studying monsters. Everyone “likes” things, but people and characters who are obsessed with something fascinate us. Examine the characters you’re most attracted to writing in fanfic, and examine your original characters if you’re trying to build those, and figure out what are they obsessed with and how does that inform their character. That’s the thing that’s going to make readers care about them. 

(Was this advice helpful? Consider donating to my Ko-fi!)

[evil-is-relative]

many of you lack basic morbid curiosity and it shows. fuck whimsy where’s your sense of adventure. where’s your desire to delve into the unexplored. where’s your fucking bravery

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GET. AI. OUT. OF. FANDOM. Stop making headcanons with it, stop making fanfic with it, stop making fanart with it. If I see one more "asking chatgpt *blank* about *character/characters in a fandom* I'm going to lose my goddamn mind. Use your own fucking brain, stop asking AI to do everything. You could even ask other real people what they think. Just. Stop. Using. AI. In. Creative. Spaces.