Okay - time for a loooong response (cuz we know I love to ramble, LOL).
First, I actually only half agree with Olson. I agree with his assessment of writers; I agree with how hard it is to say no to somebody, to put somebody down. But I think because of my love of getting constructive criticism... I always, always want to read other peoples' work. Beta-ing, chivvying my friends to write more (*whistles*) and just... well, reading a shit-ton. Even if it's painful (grammatically, spelling, etc.) - I love watching ideas grow. I love following a plot bunny from tinny little cute thing to vicious, huge rampaging Godzilla creature. And I think... I love to encourage (people that deserve it! Crap!fics need not apply, LOL - I do have SOME limits!) and offer CC. Does it get me burned? Constantly. But it also, I feel, helps me as a writer.
Hell, I feel skeezy writing fic that's too close to the manga or anime (as in, lifting dialogue or particular action sequences).
>.> <.< *shiftshift* (And yet you like Control????
its neat to have the mind-meld with psyco_chick32, but we tend to play with different characters - -who would, in turn, react in different ways to the same situation, and thus our fics would probably have wildly different outcomes even if they started from the same place.
\o/ Long live the mind-meld!!! I think this would be really fun. Have somebody give us a fairly decent prompt (more than one word, maybe a sentence or a situation) and then see where we take it individually, LOL
how much do you read fanfiction, outside your own work and/or circle of friends?
Actually... a whole lot. A lot of people (even my f-list) would be shocked at the amount I read... at what I read. And I could numerate the reasons for hours, but I think it comes down to this: I like to know what people are doing. My goal, in all of my writing, is to be as unique as possible. Oh sure, I love my cliches and stuff... but when it comes to plot, I want to stand out... in a positive manner. I want to be that "unique" person while keeping it in the realm of logical.
To do that, I have to do a lot of looking at what other people are doing. Then again, it also gives me ideas. I read something that I really like... in theory. But it's badly pulled off, or somebody dropped the ball somewhere. I like to take that idea back to the beginning and end up with something totally different (hell, like with Control... I just found myself asking 'What if Kikyou never died?')
However, I think there's a big difference. When I'm reading other works, I rarely (though it does happen occasionally) feel like I'm personally involved in a story. When it's somebody on my f-list, when it's somebody I beta for or adore, I feel closer to it. I want my friends, more even than me, to succeed and be well-accepted.
Do you tend to favor work that is very much like yours (in pairing, genre, tropes/cliches used), or do you find yourself reading work by someone who writes something outside your comfort zone?
Well, pairings yes. I prefer canon pairings (in IY) and a FEW Sess/Kag fics. I can't even force myself to read Inu/San, though I'd love to support yumi_michiyo in that endeavor. I'm slowly growing to love Mir/Kag, too... Genre doesn't tend to matter much to me - I'll read most anything and I try to write most anything, too. It's hard to say where my comfort zone lies, so it's hard to answer that question.
OMG I CAN'T BELIEVE I HIT THE COMMENT LIMIT - WILL REPLY TO THIS WITH MORE -_-;;
no subject
First, I actually only half agree with Olson. I agree with his assessment of writers; I agree with how hard it is to say no to somebody, to put somebody down.
But I think because of my love of getting constructive criticism... I always, always want to read other peoples' work. Beta-ing, chivvying my friends to write more (*whistles*) and just... well, reading a shit-ton. Even if it's painful (grammatically, spelling, etc.) - I love watching ideas grow. I love following a plot bunny from tinny little cute thing to vicious, huge rampaging Godzilla creature. And I think... I love to encourage (people that deserve it! Crap!fics need not apply, LOL - I do have SOME limits!) and offer CC. Does it get me burned? Constantly. But it also, I feel, helps me as a writer.
Hell, I feel skeezy writing fic that's too close to the manga or anime (as in, lifting dialogue or particular action sequences).
>.>
<.<
*shiftshift*
(And yet you like Control????
its neat to have the mind-meld with
\o/ Long live the mind-meld!!!
I think this would be really fun. Have somebody give us a fairly decent prompt (more than one word, maybe a sentence or a situation) and then see where we take it individually, LOL
how much do you read fanfiction, outside your own work and/or circle of friends?
Actually... a whole lot. A lot of people (even my f-list) would be shocked at the amount I read... at what I read. And I could numerate the reasons for hours, but I think it comes down to this: I like to know what people are doing. My goal, in all of my writing, is to be as unique as possible. Oh sure, I love my cliches and stuff... but when it comes to plot, I want to stand out... in a positive manner. I want to be that "unique" person while keeping it in the realm of logical.
To do that, I have to do a lot of looking at what other people are doing.
Then again, it also gives me ideas. I read something that I really like... in theory. But it's badly pulled off, or somebody dropped the ball somewhere. I like to take that idea back to the beginning and end up with something totally different (hell, like with Control... I just found myself asking 'What if Kikyou never died?')
However, I think there's a big difference. When I'm reading other works, I rarely (though it does happen occasionally) feel like I'm personally involved in a story. When it's somebody on my f-list, when it's somebody I beta for or adore, I feel closer to it. I want my friends, more even than me, to succeed and be well-accepted.
Do you tend to favor work that is very much like yours (in pairing, genre, tropes/cliches used), or do you find yourself reading work by someone who writes something outside your comfort zone?
Well, pairings yes. I prefer canon pairings (in IY) and a FEW Sess/Kag fics. I can't even force myself to read Inu/San, though I'd love to support
Genre doesn't tend to matter much to me - I'll read most anything and I try to write most anything, too. It's hard to say where my comfort zone lies, so it's hard to answer that question.
OMG I CAN'T BELIEVE I HIT THE COMMENT LIMIT - WILL REPLY TO THIS WITH MORE -_-;;