The joys of fandom #298

[graculus]

Yes, it's the latest installment.

Let's talk about this obsession for self-promotion, shall we? Like the people who use mailing lists as the forum for their little mutual appreciation societies to pat one another on the back for their mediocre and unimaginative fic, because surely that's what they're for? Where the author posts interminable WIPs apparently solely for the purpose of their friends raving over every installment and their own vapid and cliqueish responses to that ego-stroking.

And then people wonder why there's no good fic in that fandom any more...

Comments

[cedara]

Gee, how do you do that? Was talking with a pal about the very same topic when I read your entry.

[pinkdormouse.livejournal.com]

I'm very glad that I'm mostly out of the (areas of) fandoms where that happens. I've seen it second-hand, but the only mailing lists I'm on are in a fandom where it doesn't happen much (there's one woman who writes gushing reviews of stuff the rest of us don't like, but I mostly ignore her).

I sometimes wonder if I should be more selective in the section of my F'List that I show my snippets of Original Fic to, because they can't all be interested. But different passages are going to appeal to different people, and it's going to be tricky working out who want to comment on what. If a passage rings true for one person (and not always the same one), then I know I'm still on the right track, and can leave the rest to my betas.

Yes, ego-stroking is nice, and I could easily get more if I went back to writing in my various fandoms. But I'd much rather write what I want to write, and hope that it's the best I can come up with.

Gina