30 days of fanfic meme, questions 20-23
Jul. 24th, 2011 12:11 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
kindkitI'm doing these in batches, because I feel like they become more interesting that way than individually. Also, 30 days is a long time.
20 – Do you ever getbunnied story ideas from other people's stories or art in the same fandom?
Not really. I don't like the feeling that I'm imitating or even stealing other people's ideas. But I have been inspired to write fic by other people's stories in the negative sense, i.e. thinking that I could write that character or pairing much, much better. That's what led to my Petrellicest Heroes story In Vino, Fraternitas--a friend linked me to a widely praised Petrellicest fic which I hated. /my incredible modesty
21 – Sequels – Have you ever written a sequel to a fic you wrote, and if so, why, and if not, how do you feel about sequels?
When I posted the first fanfic I ever wrote (back in 2003, posted to a Yahoo mailing list!), people were very nice about it and one or two readers asked for a sequel. So, um, I wrote one. And eventually I had a series of seven Giles/Ethan fics exploring their relationship from their university days to a good 20 years post-BtVS; the series is called With Your Crooked Heart and there are actually a couple of stories in it that don't make me cringe now. Or not much.
That's about it, though. Generally my stories are self-contained; what I want to say, I've already said and there's no need/room for a continuation. Requests for sequels tend, frankly, to irritate me a bit these days, because I feel like there's an implication that my story wasn't complete or didn't accomplish what it was supposed to.
I did write a drabble sequel to "Midwinter" as thanks to a fanartist who did a couple of beautiful pictures based on it. But the drabble was rather weak and certainly doesn't stand comparison to "Midwinter" itself. That's always the risk, that a sequel just won't be as good.
22 – Have you ever participated in a fest or a Big Bang? If so, write about your favorite experience in relation to one. If not, are there any you've thought about doing? And if not, why not?
I've done a fair number of ficathons, although I sign up for fewer than I used to because it seems to have gotten harder for me to write to other people's requests. I had to withdraw from Yuletide last year, which made me sad.
The absolute best ficathon experience I've had was writing In the House of Dust for Yuletide 2004. It was a joy to write and I think it's one of my best stories.
I keep wanting to sign up for a Big Bang but I fear plot. Also, I am such a fannish butterfly now that it's entirely possible I might lose interest in the fandom before the deadline.
23 – When you post, where do you post to? Just your journal? Just an archive? Your own personal site?
I post to a lot of places, because I want as many people as possible to read my stuff and hopefully comment. I post to my journal, relevant LJ/DW communities (judiciously so as not to spam), the AO3, often to ff.net if the story fits there and I can be bothered, and to fandom archives like A Teaspoon and An Open Mind for Doctor Who.
One thing I've stopped doing is posting to any archive where I'm not able to go in and edit (or delete, if need be) my story. I don't want my stuff out of my control like that. And I refuse to post to any archive or community that requires you to warn for slash.
20 – Do you ever get
Not really. I don't like the feeling that I'm imitating or even stealing other people's ideas. But I have been inspired to write fic by other people's stories in the negative sense, i.e. thinking that I could write that character or pairing much, much better. That's what led to my Petrellicest Heroes story In Vino, Fraternitas--a friend linked me to a widely praised Petrellicest fic which I hated. /my incredible modesty
21 – Sequels – Have you ever written a sequel to a fic you wrote, and if so, why, and if not, how do you feel about sequels?
When I posted the first fanfic I ever wrote (back in 2003, posted to a Yahoo mailing list!), people were very nice about it and one or two readers asked for a sequel. So, um, I wrote one. And eventually I had a series of seven Giles/Ethan fics exploring their relationship from their university days to a good 20 years post-BtVS; the series is called With Your Crooked Heart and there are actually a couple of stories in it that don't make me cringe now. Or not much.
That's about it, though. Generally my stories are self-contained; what I want to say, I've already said and there's no need/room for a continuation. Requests for sequels tend, frankly, to irritate me a bit these days, because I feel like there's an implication that my story wasn't complete or didn't accomplish what it was supposed to.
I did write a drabble sequel to "Midwinter" as thanks to a fanartist who did a couple of beautiful pictures based on it. But the drabble was rather weak and certainly doesn't stand comparison to "Midwinter" itself. That's always the risk, that a sequel just won't be as good.
22 – Have you ever participated in a fest or a Big Bang? If so, write about your favorite experience in relation to one. If not, are there any you've thought about doing? And if not, why not?
I've done a fair number of ficathons, although I sign up for fewer than I used to because it seems to have gotten harder for me to write to other people's requests. I had to withdraw from Yuletide last year, which made me sad.
The absolute best ficathon experience I've had was writing In the House of Dust for Yuletide 2004. It was a joy to write and I think it's one of my best stories.
I keep wanting to sign up for a Big Bang but I fear plot. Also, I am such a fannish butterfly now that it's entirely possible I might lose interest in the fandom before the deadline.
23 – When you post, where do you post to? Just your journal? Just an archive? Your own personal site?
I post to a lot of places, because I want as many people as possible to read my stuff and hopefully comment. I post to my journal, relevant LJ/DW communities (judiciously so as not to spam), the AO3, often to ff.net if the story fits there and I can be bothered, and to fandom archives like A Teaspoon and An Open Mind for Doctor Who.
One thing I've stopped doing is posting to any archive where I'm not able to go in and edit (or delete, if need be) my story. I don't want my stuff out of my control like that. And I refuse to post to any archive or community that requires you to warn for slash.
no subject
Date: 2011-07-24 08:32 am (UTC)My first fic in fandom (as opposed to the ones I had been writing all on my own in exercise books) was an alternate viewpoint on someone else's fic that I thought was character-bashing, so I understand that source of inspiration. I asked permission from the author and everything!
no subject
Date: 2011-07-24 03:29 pm (UTC)"I can do this better than that other person did!" is probably one of the great unsung motivators of human endeavor.