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I think I am getting too old for fandom.
Maybe I'm just tired of the way the story always plays out the same way (a fandom starts out small-ish and innovative and interesting and then becomes popular and gets taken over by teenagers or people with the mentality of teenagers). Maybe I just need a break. But honestly, I feel I've seen enough of newbies posting in lists without checking the rules first or doing any basic research for the stories they want but just waltzing in and asking for recs (lazy asses, look it up). I have definitely had enough of those same newbies constantly posting a) fic updates on their crappy stories, but really trolling for more comments b) asking readers how they think their story should end and really trolling for comments c) forming high school-esque groups of mutual adoration for some seriously crap fic, and this is intolerant of me but I don't really care d) torturing characters for the sake of torture and not for any sort of character development or literary merit. (I had enough of that shit in my A-team fic reading days, thank you very much, and it got old there too).
Maybe it's because the older fans are used to fandom wars and wank and tend to react to this by sighing and moving on to something new. Not that I want any wank either, but ceding the field to intellectually vacant morons is just irritating.
Of course, maybe this just means that the show or movies I previously enjoyed have gotten trite and hackneyed enough that said IVMs find it or them awesome and it's time I was moving on anyway. I don't know. I do know that I have been starting to distance myself from the...immediacy...of Live Journal, and its role in fandom. Maybe we need some sort of medium in which time and effort are required to voice your/my dumbass opinion and the kids can stick to FF.net and all their Naruto gets raped by Inuyasha but then Inuyasha falls back in love with Kagome because their love is forever omg fanfiction.
Don't get me wrong, everyone was fourteen once, and I wrote some probably hideous stuff back then and others had to suffer through it. And most grow out of it or learn to write and interact with others better. It's just that I don't think most of these people are actually fourteen. I think most of these people are actually much, much older. Old enough to know better.
With their bad manners come the tacky or just outright rude requests and comments. Negative reviewing of publicly-posted stories is well within your rights, but don't be surprised when no one likes you and when they choose to direct a critical eye on your work in return. And no, I am in no way obligated to write anything for you no matter how much you say you like my writing. I am also in no way obligated to say thank you for a comment you leave (it's polite, but I don't have to). That's my choice and my right. You are a fan, that's great. Doesn't mean we're friends. Doesn't mean that I'm supposed to go read and immediately fawn all over your stories. I want no part of comment-trolling and fannish clicks. This isn't high school even if it feels like one, and it's not a workplace where I have to put up with this shit.
Those of us with lives, with real drama going on and daily survival issues, we avoid fandom conflict because this is supposed to be our escape from that. But I'm seriously considering abandoning it altogether and finding some new escape.
But perhaps I am just a grumpy old woman.
Maybe I'm just tired of the way the story always plays out the same way (a fandom starts out small-ish and innovative and interesting and then becomes popular and gets taken over by teenagers or people with the mentality of teenagers). Maybe I just need a break. But honestly, I feel I've seen enough of newbies posting in lists without checking the rules first or doing any basic research for the stories they want but just waltzing in and asking for recs (lazy asses, look it up). I have definitely had enough of those same newbies constantly posting a) fic updates on their crappy stories, but really trolling for more comments b) asking readers how they think their story should end and really trolling for comments c) forming high school-esque groups of mutual adoration for some seriously crap fic, and this is intolerant of me but I don't really care d) torturing characters for the sake of torture and not for any sort of character development or literary merit. (I had enough of that shit in my A-team fic reading days, thank you very much, and it got old there too).
Maybe it's because the older fans are used to fandom wars and wank and tend to react to this by sighing and moving on to something new. Not that I want any wank either, but ceding the field to intellectually vacant morons is just irritating.
Of course, maybe this just means that the show or movies I previously enjoyed have gotten trite and hackneyed enough that said IVMs find it or them awesome and it's time I was moving on anyway. I don't know. I do know that I have been starting to distance myself from the...immediacy...of Live Journal, and its role in fandom. Maybe we need some sort of medium in which time and effort are required to voice your/my dumbass opinion and the kids can stick to FF.net and all their Naruto gets raped by Inuyasha but then Inuyasha falls back in love with Kagome because their love is forever omg fanfiction.
Don't get me wrong, everyone was fourteen once, and I wrote some probably hideous stuff back then and others had to suffer through it. And most grow out of it or learn to write and interact with others better. It's just that I don't think most of these people are actually fourteen. I think most of these people are actually much, much older. Old enough to know better.
With their bad manners come the tacky or just outright rude requests and comments. Negative reviewing of publicly-posted stories is well within your rights, but don't be surprised when no one likes you and when they choose to direct a critical eye on your work in return. And no, I am in no way obligated to write anything for you no matter how much you say you like my writing. I am also in no way obligated to say thank you for a comment you leave (it's polite, but I don't have to). That's my choice and my right. You are a fan, that's great. Doesn't mean we're friends. Doesn't mean that I'm supposed to go read and immediately fawn all over your stories. I want no part of comment-trolling and fannish clicks. This isn't high school even if it feels like one, and it's not a workplace where I have to put up with this shit.
Those of us with lives, with real drama going on and daily survival issues, we avoid fandom conflict because this is supposed to be our escape from that. But I'm seriously considering abandoning it altogether and finding some new escape.
But perhaps I am just a grumpy old woman.
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part 1/?
A/N: This is my first comment in this post. COMMENTS ARE LOVE.
Now, can you write me the epic love story of Bruce from Kids in the Hall and...just kidding.
OMG, if I don't get comments on this comment, I am not going to finish it.
Seriously, though, there has been some crap lately and it makes me sad. A lot of people have truly innovative thoughts out there and it gets swallowed by uncreative people who just want to see two people getting it on. Where's the fun in starting right there and not seeing what led up to it or setting the scene or how the characters interact before it?
Or, you know, there is something to be said for just creative writing. I, stupidly, signed up for NaNo again and I actually have a PLOT. I got the idea from a song...a really funny song, because I don't know how to do the serious stuff.
Oh, that's another point: People who don't suck know what kinds of genres they suck at. I know that drama is NOT for me and comedy is. I try to stay away from the serious and just have fun playing in comedy and wit. People who suck think they can write the epic romance of any two characters and even if they have mad chemistry on the show, it falls flat. Really flat. Like, "I pushed it off a building and then a steamroller got it" flat. And that is not cool. Don't write what you don't know unless you are a REALLY good writer and can fake it well enough that no one notices.
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Sigh. I won't.
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Advice? Ignore them. There are so many other people that are worthwhile in fandom (like me!) and to focus on the immature jerks is really counterproductive. I think we need to focus on what makes fandom work for us and ignore that doesn't. Because those people aren't going to play with us anyway. Right?
Are you still in jury duty hell?
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No. After *three* days of jury consideration they booted me. (I got called up, then suddenly the defense called for a motion and we all got kicked out of the room, then 40 minutes later we all got called back in and then they said "we'd like to thank and excuse number three"--me. I didn't want to be there and all, but I'm trying not to take all of that personally... On the other hand, apparently I am a difficult bitch. Doy).
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New fandom? The new Daniel Craig movie (or in some circles it's known as the next Bond film) is coming out in two weeks. Wanna see together and squeal?
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It makes me sad that some people choose to escape from real life to a world that's even more painful.
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wtf????