lately, I took a second look, I could write a book about love

[sab]

Hope posted, a week or so ago, her take on ficathon etiquette. Some valid points were made, both agreeing and disagreeing, and while I tend to agree that it's good fangirl behaviour to toss a tacit thanks to the person who wrote your ficathon assignment -- and even better behaviour to find some good things to say about it -- I can get behind the idea of, "oh, it's like an improv, you just get the elements to work with, the person who gave you the improv elements doesn't owe you anything." Still, in the interest of back-slapping, and the supportive environment of fandom, I feel like some feedback isn't out of line.

With Pun's recent feedback challenge shining some light on that brighter side of fannish community, I'm feeling all-around pleased as punch by the way folks are willing to support one another here in our crazy business. We're in it for the love, people.

So, see Sab play petty.

First off, I've done a bunch of ficathons this year, and am enlisted for a bunch more, and I've always gotten great responses from the people I've written for, and have tried to offer friendly/supportive/squeeing feedback for everyone who's written a challenge of mine.

I wrote two stories for the Remix/Redux, and got really rocking feedback on 'em both from the fannish populace at large. My two assignees were molly36 and allcanadiangirl, and I haven't heard back from either of them. Through the grapevine I hear Molly's crazy busy, so I'm not worried or upset or anything, and -- being often slow on the draw for feedback myself -- I'm certainly not expecting immediate gratification.

But then, you see. (And man, this is catty of me.) I wandered over to allcanadiangirl's LJ today, just to peek. And I saw this post.

[edited to provide proper URL]

So, eh. I'm annoyed. It just strikes me as so passive-aggressive and lame and bitchy, or maybe I'm overreacting. But anyway, it's not an example of what I love about fandom and the fannish community. It's just tacky, I think. And it's her own LJ, she can say what she pleases, but I feel like a rattled-off e-mail to me saying "thanks!" would not have been out of line.

I think it's simply because I've been trained to see this community of ours as such an overwhelmingly friendly place, and because part of the fannish experience is to share the love with fellow fans, to give 'em props for their contributions and to enjoy the fact that we're all in this together. I am *so* not in it with that girl.

Comments

[cofax7]

Well, you could drop her a note and ask her whether she was unhappy, and if so, about what?

I have to say, one of the many reasons I don't participate in this sort of thing is that, well, my stories are my stories. If they weren't the way they are, they wouldn't be mine. So the very concept of a remix is a little ... alienating.

That said, everyone who participated pretty much knew what they were getting into, yeah?

Regardless, I think it was excellent. If deeply unsettling.

[iamsab.livejournal.com]

Actually, this was the other one, the pinch-hit I did for Sports Night, um, in the style of Hemingway. *g*

And, I don't really care so much why this girl liked it or not -- some folks just hate Hemingway! -- it was more that I found it jarring to see some of the less snuggly side of fandom.

[cofax7]

Ah. Well, it's an odd one. I can see why someone might be a bit boggled by it.

[ratcreature]

some folks just hate Hemingway!

Heh. Yeah. Folks like me, for example. I haven't read that remix story (I don't know SN), but what I had to read by Hemingway (all for school) bored me to death.

But I see why this was jarring for you. Not the most courteous response.

[bethbethbeth.livejournal.com]

Ah, the Hemingway! I ditto the "not cool," but if it's any consolation, my roomie (gaeta) has been saying all day that I have to read that one as soon as I'm done grading exams. So, see? Pimpage going on behind your back for that story! *g*

[destina.livejournal.com]

I have to say, one of the many reasons I don't participate in this sort of thing is that, well, my stories are my stories. If they weren't the way they are, they wouldn't be mine. So the very concept of a remix is a little ... alienating.

You know, I'm really relieved to see that someone else in fandom feels this way, because I've been harboring a secret alienation to all things 'remix' through the last few challenges of this sort. My stories are mine; I don't really want to see others rewrite them to suit themselves. Also, I'm not interested in re-writing someone else's story. It seems like a waste of time, when I could be writing something that's fresh. I'm afraid I don't understand the appeal of it all.

But that aside, if I *did* participate, I'd feel obligated to be gracious about the remix of my work, no matter how I felt about the end product. (Which is exactly why I don't participate.) So passive-aggressive remarks like the one that gal left in her LJ would annoy me, too.

[nestra.livejournal.com]

You know, I'm really relieved to see that someone else in fandom feels this way, because I've been harboring a secret alienation to all things 'remix' through the last few challenges of this sort.

Oh, people totally feel this way. I wouldn't even know where to begin with someone else's story, and my stories are mine, and they may not be brilliant, but I suspect I'd snarl if someone else touched them, even with the best of intentions.

The Remix thing is great, and musesfool does a kickass job of running it, and it's great that people have fun with it, but shrift and I mostly sit back and say, "Huh."

[iamsab.livejournal.com]

See, and I find it so fascinating and fun. This was the first year I've done it, but I'm a big fan and plan to throw myself on the pile next year too.

I mean, my story doesn't go anywhere just because someone remixes it, and when I set out to remix the other authors I made it a challenge to see how I could reinterpret them, maintain the spirit but give it an altogether new spin.

Selfishly, I like to believe that people read both the remix and the original, so, you know, if someone remixes a story of mine and steals a brilliant idea, all a body's gotta do is go back to the source material to see that that brilliance was mine first. *g* By the same token, I try to add new brilliant ideas to the remixed storis I write, so's a reader who goes back and reads the original will say, "wow, Sab did great stuff with this!"

That being said, I don't feel all that proprietary about any of my work -- even the story I indicated as my "safe" story, I mean, go ahead, remix the hell out of it, just gimme credit on your story an indicate it's a remix and my original fics aren't going anywhere and still live on my site and stand alone.

And, yeah, more props to musesfool for doing a great job.

[musesfool.livejournal.com]

Sure, lots of people don't like the idea, or are made uncomfortable by it. Some of 'em participated last year and opted out this year after having been through it and not quite enjoying it.

To me, it's a way of seeing what someone else can tease out of a story - what have I left unsaid or undeveloped that could be highlighted by someone else? Much like fanfic, the best remixes, for me, are about the interstices and empty spaces. When I approached the story I remixed, it was all about wanting to know what Sirius was thinking the whole time, because we never saw his POV at all. And so that's the story I wrote. And I'd have never written that story without the remix.

And there are stories of mine I was hoping someone would tackle, where I have no idea, say, what Remus is thinking, because I was so immersed in Sirius's POV, I really don't know (which is odd for me, because usually even when I'm not writing from a character's POV, I usually know why they're behaving the way they are, but in that insteacne...he's totally closed off to me) or what Draco was actually doing while Hermione was self-destructing, etc.

Anyhow, not trying to convince you, just trying to explain why I enjoy the process, even if it does make me a little crazy. *G*

And I'm sure you'd be gracious regardless.