The future of Brokeback Fanfic

[mvansand76]

Lately I have heard a lot of people complain on the boards and lj's about so many stories not being finished and authors leaving the fandom and how that's kind of depressing.

Personally, I am kind of fed up with the negativity, because there are still so many authors out there continuing their stories and even starting new ones!

As an author, it's very hard to take, because it feels like the newer authors out there are not as much appreciated for their effort of writing and posting their stories, even on a regular basis with the promise of finishing the story! There's always this focus on the great authors that have left us, while we should cherish the ones that are still here and writing!

What do you think is the future of our fandom?

[ifyoucantfixit]

        My opinion of Fanfic is:  There are lots of great writers and stories still going forward.  There may well
be many more that are continuing, that we dont know about..  It seems to me that because of possible threats
of lawsuits and copywrite infringement, that many of the stories are locked.  If you dont know the writers are
still active, then you have no way to know if they are still writing or just not open to be read..
        I think that a lot of the fans are confused and angered by much of this..
        I know its not anyones fault, but you asked the question, and that is one of my opinions...
        I also dont have a real answer for this dilemma, I wish I did...
        One more thing, this whole thin g is definately hurting the whole arena.  It does however make me
appreciate the ones that are still being brave enough to continue in the normal way..Posting their stories,
and letting the chips fall where they may...         

                                                                                                                                  janice

[souxi]

The only thing that really pisses me off, (and I have said this before) is when authors start a great story, and the readers comment, and then there are sometimes months and months with no update, nothing. Then the author has the damn cheek to whinge that no one is bothering to comment on their stories! Well why the hell should we? If there is some personal reason, ie Rl why an author can,t post for a while, all he or she has to do is post a brief message letting us know. Surely that is common curtesy? If they can,t be bothered to do that, then they really have no right to bloody whinge when readers don,t comment on their stories. Just as they give up their time to write the  story, so we give up OUR time to read and comment. Cuts both ways.

[Cameron]

This is such a great question, Mel! 

I have been thinking a lot about it too.  I admit I am a little nervous about saying my opinion, but I decided that I might as well.

I think that in my view and experience, it just seems that the general fandom is not all that willing to try and accept new authors.  It seems that people read and comment mostly to the few big long-time writers, and that is about it.  I have been posting a lot for the past few months, both some older things and some new stories, and everytime I post something, I tell myself it will be the last, and I won't write anymore. I haven't stopped yet, but I probably will soon because I don't want to keep feeling like I am only making a fool of myself.

It is just that it is very discouraging to only get only a very few comments for something that one posts, if any at all sometimes.  No, the number of comments shouldn't matter, but it does no matter what.  It is just so exciting and wonderful to get them. While there does seem to be some people who seem to enjoy what I write and post, the number never seems to grow at all.  At first I thought it was just me, and that my stories and my writing were not very good, but I do look at almost everything, and except for the 'famous' authors few posts seem to get more than about 15 comments at the absolute max, while usually it is about five to ten comments.  While the big longtime writers get lots and lots of comments all the time, maybe around 100 or so.

I don't want to seem like I am complaining, and I could definitely understand if people just don't like what I write.  But it isn't just me, I do think that a lot of people don't read newer writers, and don't even try it.  I think the if the fandom is going to continue, maybe there should be a little more support for writers who weren't writing it when it all began.  Again, it shouldn't matter, but it does.  It just is so discouraging to put one's heart and soul into a story, and spend all that time writing, and then just end up feeling bad and unsure about it.

Sorry for rambling, and again I hope that this isn't taken the wrong way or anything, but I guess I just needed to say it.

[nic]

I'd have to say the future of the BBM fandom is likely to be the same as any fandom...it will gradually decrease in activity, have unavoidable episodes of negativity, still have some participants years down the line, etc   For many people, BBM was the first fandom they participated in, and for a lot, probably the only one.  It is tempting to think that the BBM fandom is different because of the intense emotional issues involved.  Without trying to be biased, I do believe it is different in that respect - although some participants, particularly earlier ones who left after not much time, will have viewed it the same as any fandom & just interacted for a relative short time until their initial enthusiasm & interest died off. 

I too was shocked by some of the negativity, as I have not been involved deeply in other fandoms, but I gather it is a common phenomena.  Also the legal aspects.

It is hard when people leave.  I wish authors that prefer their work to be removed from the public domain could keep it available for those that request access, rather than just take it away completely.  And any sort of explanation would be appreciated, not just a mysterious sign off.

It is also frustrating when some fics are just not finished & abandonned, but again a common occurence in the fanfic world.  I do not read a great deal of fics but always have a few on the go & in some way I don't mind this as it means there are loads of out there still for me to discover. This is different to the experience of reading a serialised fic when episodes come out one by one, but at the end of the day it's the quality of the fic that counts & on that score there are few, if any, complaints from me.

[MaineWriter]

Cameron,

I think your points are very well taken. I know I LOVE to get comments and when I would post a new chapter, I would click refresh endlessly to see if anyone said anything. I was thrilled beyond measure by 10 or 15 comments (which was rare). But as you said, there are authors who regularly get 100+. It can be discouraging!

That is one of the reasons that Louise and I set up this forum to have individual threads for stories. I have seen what can happen when you have one general discussion for all stories...it becomes a popularity contest of some, to the exclusion of others. I do realize that the discussion might not be as lively but at least the folks who are reading your story have a place to go.

Some days when I am feeling a little discouraged, I remember "traditional" publishing. What kind of feedback does an author get there? Book sales are one measure of success, of course, and if you are lucky, a review in the New York Times or People or wherever. But then? Have you ever written a letter to an author saying you liked a book or a story? I am certainly not in the habit to do so!

I estimated once that it seems that about 5% to 10% of LJ readers comment. I based this on how many hits I got on my LJ (I added a counter) and the number was pretty constant. You can do the math for your stories but when I was actively writing my long stories (not just the drabbles) I figured I had about 150 active, regular readers. At the end of the day, this fandom isn't that big, so I think that's pretty good.

As for the future (Mel's original question)...I really do think it is obvious people are moving on...as well they should. It's been two years since the movie came out, after all. Some writers do lose interest, so do some readers. I think it is a shame when writers abandon stories midstream, but that happens. At the same time, I get about one message per week that someone has added me as a friend, so I think new people are still coming on board. It's not the wild frenzy it was back in early 2006, but I think there are still people who care passionately about BBM and want to read stories about Jack and Ennis.  For that audience, I think people will always enjoy the "old classics" as well as the new stories that are being created now.

One last thought: I think that one of the things that's a handicap in this fandom is that there is no new BBM stuff being created. We had a short story and a movie. That's it. For folks who read and write in fandoms like Harry Potter or Star Wars, there was lots of new stuff being created "from the top" (ie, JK Rowling) giving new fuel to the imaginations of fanfic writers. Since in BBM we are dealing with a "done deal" I think it makes it more of a challenge to keep things alive, if you follow my drift.

Leslie

[Marina]

Hello,

Thought you all  might be interested in the article on fanfic:

http://www.boston.com/ae/books/articles/2007/10/16/the_new_adventures_of_old_skywalker/

[ifyoucantfixit]

          This is kind of an answer to Cameron..My opinion mind you but its an opinion.. 
      I tend not to read the new writers, until they have either finished their story or have a lot
      of chapters under their belt...Nothing to do with not liking them..Rather just the opposite.
      I cant tell you how many different stories that i have grown so attached to..  And I always
      comment..Letting the writer know that I am reading...  but then get very engrossed in the
      story, and have it just be dropped.  That is the reason that I personally hesitate to read new
      writers offerings...Its highly frustrating...and downright dissappointing.  I do read the one ofs...
      Those I dont have to invest many hours of time in to be left holding the bag so to speak..
           Further, the reason I believe that the more well known writers get more commntary, is that
      we have grown to be able to trust them to continue..There may well be long hiatuses, but
      everyon knows that they will eventually get back on track and continue...The comments are
      kind of a contract between the two..Writing and reading...
           If you continue, and make your stories good, as they are...you will start to receive the larger
      number of replies...

[Cameron]

Thanks for your great reply Leslie,

Please don't get me wrong, I do really appreciate and treasure every single comment that I do get.  I also totally agree with you, since there will be no more new BBM, and the film and the OS is all there is, the fandom is rather limited to begin with.  That is why I really think it is so important for all new writers to get support and appreciation for their efforts, so that it all can continue if poeple want it to.

But I will say and I imagine people may be upset with me for saying this, but again, I might as well.  I do admit it is rather upseting to me that even though I have been here at BetterMost for over ten months, since January, and even though I wrote in the Drabblefest almost every single day from February until July, and even though I have been posting things all over LJ regularly since August, I am still considered too 'new' for people to even try my stories?  I don't quite understand that at all, and I will most likely not write much more, as grateful and as truly appreciative as I am to the people who have been reading my silly and odd stories.

But, maybe the reason that many people start and never go on with their stories is because they think that not many people are reading or willing to ever read them.  Or as I do mostly, that people may be reading, but just don't like it at all.  So perhaps it is just a cycle, that only a few authors are able to get through.

I really don't mean to sound all bitter about this, I am not really. But I do think that there is an issue here in general, that does involve the future of all of this.

I also didn't mean to change the topic of this thread, and I am sorry about it, and I certainly don't mean to anger or upset anyone at all, I do regret if I have.

[cwby30]

Evenin'.

Well, interesting topic, and not the first time that it's come up in this fandom.  This is the first and only one I've been involved in; never knew about these until after the movie came out and I did a Google search.  Surprise!!

Since going from anonymous reader, to LJ member in December 2006 [thanks again, Louise], to drabbler, and then to longer author, I've also run the gamut of emotions that others have talked about.  I too check often after a posting, just to see if anyone commented!  Like to read the feedback, see if what I wrote connected to anyone reading it. 

So, as before, there are many authors around that have left, others have begun, some are around for the long haul.I too am frustrated by good stories that stall, and never get updated. Still, when I read something new that I like, I comment right away.  I want the author to know that someone is reading, and thinking about it, and taking the time to write a comment.  That may be enough to keep the author posting more chapters and finishing the story.  If everyone waited for awhile, then the author would get discouraged and leave without completing the story. 

Also, I have found that writing is difficult.  The story line flies around, and you try to put it down, and then it's gone for a while, and then it's back... Whoa!  And, if you're like sienata and some others, you have two or three ideas that just have to be written, and it drives everyone crazy!!

So, I agree that things will slow down, but from the looks of it the fandom still has a lot of life it in, and new blood arrives all the time.  So, I will finish my story [promise!], even though I have some other short stories pinging around, too!

Ain't it grand that we can write in this fandom?  Round Robin III, anyone?

Thanks again.