Random thoughts on fic and feedback

[rusty_halo]

One of my New Year's resolutions was to leave more feedback. I'm getting better at it; I still suck at saying anything interesting, but I generally at least post a brief comment to acknowledge that I enjoyed the story and thank the author for creating it.

But what about the stories that I didn't like? Not that ones where I skimmed the first paragraph and clicked away; I mean the ones where I stared in fascinated horror and couldn't keep my eyes off. The ones where I rush to read the latest update because I want to see what new kind of jaw-dropping horror the author has come up with. I feel kind of rude, getting all excited about something and then not acknowledging the author for it.

I mean, obviously I can't say "Your story has blown my mind with its awfulness; please keep writing more because I want to see what new horror your brain can create." But maybe I could just say "Thanks; I'm enjoying this!" (not admitting that the enjoyment I'm getting is certainly not what the author intends). But then I worry that someone I know could see that I commented on that fic, and think that I actually like it, and worry that I've gone insane.

Hmm. I should probably stick with silence.

What about the stories that I'm disturbed to be enjoying? (Do other people do that, read stories that they're kind of horrified with themselves for liking?) Generally my policy is that if the writing style is amazing, I'll leave feedback based on that, and not mention the subject matter. But if the writing is just mediocre, I won't say anything, because I don't want to acknowledge that I'm reading something for reasons that kind of creepify me.

Oh, I'm angsting over nothing. I'm just kind of curious what other people do in these situations.

***

Also, I think I'm starting to understand why so many people avoid het. When I scan the who_daily newsletter, I only click on the slash pairings (unless I recognize the name of a good author).

At first, I was randomly clicking on anything that had an interesting title, but whenever it was a het pairing, nine times out of ten it wasn't a story; it was an attempt to push a shipper agenda. Y'know, "Ten was so rude and mean to poor precious Martha; he needs to grovel and acknowledge her awesomeness!" or "Rose was the most important person ever in the Doctor's life, and he'll never move on because no one could ever matter as much as her!" or whatever.

Whereas if I click on a slash fic, chances are I'll be getting an actual story, or at least a hot sex scene, rather than some biased agenda-driven rant barely disguised as fiction. (And slash in general tends to avoid that "there is one person that you are meant to be with forever" meme that makes me gag in a lot of het fic.)

Yup. I'm becoming one of those "eeewwww, het!" people.

[Cross-posted to InsaneJournal]

Comments

[kita0610.livejournal.com]

I leave feedback for awesome writing. Other stuff...I feel like you do. Which, I dunno, maybe makes me a snob. Or just OLD. *G*

[rusty_halo.livejournal.com]

No, you're probably right. Life is too short to waste on badfic. (I just worry that if I'm already wasting the time reading the badfic, I probably ought to waste the time to comment. But then I don't want to be dishonest and pretend that it didn't suck, or rude and admit that it did! Heh, life is probably too short to worry about it at all.)

[estepheia.livejournal.com]

I know how you feel.
Actually, I don't read Doctor Who fanfic, unless it's written by someone I know and if I practically trip over it.
Did you know that Kalima writes EXCELLENT Doctor Who?
Ah, of course you know.

Edited to pick a better icon...

[rusty_halo.livejournal.com]

Aww, cute icon! God, David Tennant just kills me. I could stare at him forever.

Hee, Kalima's was the very first Whofic I read! I know everything she writes is gold, and part of the fun of getting into Who was knowing I'd be able to read more of her stuff.

(Which I still need to leave feedback for, argh. Part of the problem with *really* good fic is that I tell myself to come back later after I've thought up something interesting to say, and then I rarely do.)

[minim_calibre]

(And slash in general tends to avoid that "there is one person that you are meant to be with forever" meme that makes me gag in a lot of het fic.)

Stay FAR, FAR away from some of the older school slash. You will recoil backwards at the One True Love Soul Mate Bondingness of it all. (I much, much prefer the newer slash aesthetics, which I think is the old Warm Fuzzies vs. Cold Pricklies debate?)

[rusty_halo.livejournal.com]

*shudders*

Yeah, I see that Bonding thing sometimes and just...
*hides*

[netweight]

The fact that you actually follow the bad fic because you "want to see what new kind of jaw-dropping horror the author has come up with" *cracks me up*.

[rusty_halo.livejournal.com]

Not everyone does that?

Oh.


Remember how back in the day there was that gigantic brainsucking Spander epic*, where Spike was too traumatized to talk, and Xander kept him like a pet, and there was lots of crying and emo!sex, and it went on for something like two hundred chapters? Everyone I knew was reading that thing, and I turned my nose up at it.

Oh, how the tables have turned. There is NOT NEARLY ENOUGH Doctor/Master fanfic; I've exhausted everything good and now I'm the one forced to turn to CRAPPY BADFIC just to survive!

Well, and some of them are just funny. There's a Torchwood one where Jack and the Doctor do nothing but cry and have sex and scmoopily tell each other how much they're in love all day for chapters on end. It's fascinating, to keep going back and seeing how much further it can descend.


* Apologies if I've inadvertently offended someone by ripping on the Spander badfic epic of doom.

[netweight]

Ahahaha, oh Laura, I really like you.

I know some people do this - I just hadn't pegged you for one. It's good to see you so laid back about fandom. ;) I have been sucked in by the occasional trainwreck myself but never to that degree, just stumbling upon them and being hypnotized by the awfulness and then screeching to a halt when sanity reasserts itself, "wait, self! what are you doing??!! Stop OMG!!"

And I do remember the Spander Epic of Doom, I dooo!! The name is right on the tip of my tongue but darn me if I can recall it. I read two or three chapters of that thinking that it would eventually get better, right? But nooo! Just like "Lost" in a way *snerk*. The funniest part it's that my first reaction was "wasn't it Xander who was traumatized? O.o" which says disturbing things about a) what the fandom produced, and b) the fact I read my fair share of bad crack.

Days long past though. It's a pity you don't like SPN, hon. Best fic ever. Even the crackpot RPS AU's are good. It borders on the ridiculous.

[rusty_halo.livejournal.com]

Oh! You know, I think you might be right, that it was Xander who was traumatized. There was like a whole genre of extreme hurt/comfort Spander badfic, with graphic rape/torture and characters reduced to childlike states and healing through sex and Mating and Bonding and Buffy being really mean because she couldn't understand Xander and Spike's Pure True Love. And the weird part was that actual good writers would rec it, so sometimes I'd get really far into reading something before I realized that it was just never going to improve and the person reccing it was obviously blinded by kink.