7Have you ever been part of a small fandom that rarely has new fic for you to read, and then one shining, brilliant day you discover something you haven’t seen before…
Only to be utterly disappointed? I mean, you think the fic is okay and you’re not picky since you’re basically desperate but then halfway through suddenly the details are WRONG, as in does this person even know what fandom they’re writing in? Did they crack open the book/watch more than the previews of the movie? The details are so wrong, it makes you stop reading. There’s mistakes, and then there’s disaster. This is the latter.
I just wanted a story. I wanted a story in a fandom that doesn’t sport more than one or two active writers (those who aren’t passing through) and what I got was more fic that hurts me in a bad way.
It’s like being in a desert with no water! D:
(PS: If your answer is yes and I am the person who wrote the fic that killed you, please do not tell me. I will literally go cry in a corner and not come out. I never want to hurt someone this way!)
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- Some RL Things – from July 19, 2015
- The Season Should Be Over But It’s Not Really – from January 7, 2015
- Happy New Year’s, Everyone! – from December 31, 2014
- McSpirk Gift Exchange – from December 15, 2014
- This Person Needs Help – from July 25, 2014
You have no worries..promise. The very fact that you even worry/care that one of your fic could possibly “kill” someone, is proof that there is no way you could ever do so. You are absolutely,positively,not the sort of writer that could ever write a story that contains the “wrong” details. Obviously,everyone has different tastes,so yes, someone might not care for your storyline,but their dislike would not come because of wrong details,and a wrong “feel”. Your are very conscientious, and a very talented writer. I have complete faith that although there could conceivably be a story of yours I don’t care for,it would be over the story but never over the facts or feel..you have my word! Now worries…okay…
Thank you for this reassurance. I don’t expect everyone to love my stories or even the people who like my stories to enjoy each one. That’s a crazy thing to assume! And while I can recall making some “errors” in the early stages of my ST writing, it’s nothing I would consider horrifying or shame-worthy. I try to stick to the guideline: if you don’t know much about the subject, either educate yourself on it beforehand or write about it sparingly and with great care. Some people, of course, don’t feel that way. And while it’s an individual’s right to write as they choose, I just wish I didn’t get my hopes up each time I click on a story and expect the author to know what they’re talking about, particularly in a fandom where I am such a nerd that details which are wrong stick out to me like a sore thumb. I’m not talking about ST, btw.
it’s just nice to know that you care enough about your work to even have concerns such as these. PS i figured it wasn’t star trek..its all good
I’ve followed various fandoms, and it’s happened in each. One fandom even min-ploded, with one loads of authors getting all snide and snarky at another load of equally snide and snarky authors over whether to research the context and follow the strict canon of the fandom. The net result was a whole lot less great fiction and a lot of noses in the air and a sour feeling for everyone not directly involved. No fear over you being one of those authors though – you have NO IDEA how happy I was to these pages when I first properly delved into ST:TOS. Before all I’d found was some seriously fractured websites and scrappy writing (I had never heard McCoy sound WHINY before), or even worse, stuff that been put on the web from old fanzines but not completely, so you’d end up with chapters 1,2, 3, then 4 and 5 were completely missing. Compared to all this, your stories are the equivalent of being spoilt rotten. Freakizimi
I am beyond flattered that my TOS fic seems worthwhile to you! I was nervous when I first started writing it because a lot of authors had come and gone down that same path for decades (even their work is hard to find), and I did not want to spoil something so iconic. Wow, I know following canon can be a big issue but enough of one that you destroy the fandom itself? That seems insane! And here I am complaining because people make mistakes about small details I consider to be basic knowledge.
My answer is yes I currently am in a small, old fandom that few write in at all. And even the old stuff is not much because it was a very small fandom in the first plaace. It is “Wiseguy” and I am the only one currently writing in it, although there were two new stories by two writers over December for the Archive of our Own Yuletide fic-writing event. I don’t participate in that event but anyone can read the outcome and I was overjoyed that there were two new WG stories with the pairing I prefer. With WG it’s doubly heartbreaking for me as a fan because there are three different pairings for the main character and I only like one pairing. That cuts down the amount of fic a LOT that would appeal to me. Woe is me. Also, one of the characters is technically the villain, but often writers will write him much more evil than he really is in canon and I have to hold my breath in horror because, well, did they even watch the show because that is nothing that character would EVER do even if he is on the wrong side of the law. Every story I read in that fandom I go into with zero expectations which helps me not be too disappointed and then when I find a gem I am over the hill with joy!
*hugs* You do understand! It is utterly heartbreaking to be part of a small fandom. There’s just not enough of… everything. I’ll have to try your tactic and go in with zero expectations.