lettered | Let's talk about authorial intent.

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Let's talk about authorial intent.

I've got questions about authorial intent...

I write two types of fanfic, and each fulfills a need of mine. They are:

1. The fic that focuses on story, and that I write
-for fun.
-for escape.
-because it poured out of me.
-because something could've been better in canon and I wanted to fix it.
-because something was missing in canon and I wanted to fill it in.
-because canon was perfect, and I just wanted more.
-because I wanted to see what happened after the end.
-and come up with Best Souvenir, a shippy, plotty, epic, with a style that does not call attention to itself.

2. The fic that focuses on form, and that I write
-for intellectual stimulation.
-to become a better writer.
-to experiment with style and techniques through a medium in which I feel less disappointed about messing up (as opposed to original fiction).
-to express how I feel about canon.
-to express insights on theme, motivation, fractals, and interrelationships between characters in canon
-and come up with Five Ways NFA Probably Didn't End, a non-linear, technically experimental, containing dense language, and generally shorter fic.

For me, the difference between these two types of fics is very clear-cut. I do want those of type #1 to be the best they can be--I get them beta'ed by a wonderful gal who beats me over the head when I need it, and work hard to make the players interesting and in character. And I do want those of type #2 to be fun, to give me more of canon, to show things that could've happened.

But the difference is the intent. I set out writing Best Souvenir (type #1) because I wanted to see what would've happened if post "Chosen" Buffy met Angel. I set out writing Blood Types (type #2) because I wanted to see how a theme could illuminate Angel and his interrelationship with others through metaphor. I set out writing type #1 because I want a good story. I set out writing type #2 because I want good writing and thinky thoughts. The two aren't mutually exclusive, but how I approach them is different.

I've read some wonderful fics that my guess is are type #1, and the same for #2. I enjoy both equally, though they push really, really different buttons. But most of the great fic I see seems to be a combination of both: good stories, with interesting scenes that give me more of what could've happened in canon, expanding on characters I love and making me feel good having more of them, but also--finding new ways to use words, new ways to express things, tweaking the "rules" a bit and experimenting.

Then there are fics that are neither, and we call those crack!fics. Some crack!fic, I honestly don't understand why people write. But some crack!fic has shades of type #1--it's fun, entertaing, escapist, but the material extended and filled in and played with is fandom, not canon. The intent there, of course, is not to tell a good story, but to tell a good joke. And some fics we call crack have shades of type #2--Angel may be a crack!h0r and Spike may be a wealthy orphan monk--but it's technically brilliant: a unique use of second person, lyric language that needs to be published, omg, and thoughtful and insightful, wow. And while the premise is ridiculous, the intent is not a joke, but a good story.

(Which is why, I think, there's so much confusion/contention surrounding the term "crack!fic". There's a little blurring, between the latter kind of crack!fic and the former, and do you as an author think about which you're setting out to do when you start? And sometimes there's a blur between the latter and what we'd call "serious" fic--do you know when you're writing Buffy!prisongaurd/Faith!convict that it's crack, or is it not crack for you because you bring in real character traits of both Buffy and Faith to the table, and at which point did it become serious for you as opposed to crack? And how did your approach to it change?)

I'm also interested in the intent behind some of the one-shots written in only a couple hours, for requests, or on a whim, just to get the idea off their heads. A bunch of not-so-great fic authors write this as their standard fare, but I've seen splendid fic authors do it, and I'm wondering what their intent is. Or rather, I know what the intent is: to have fun, to er, shoot off, in a way, just to get the idea off their heads (or that thing off their faces. You know, that thing? Has no one else ever noticed the thing?) But what I'm wondering about is the approach; do the--as I mentioned, some of them really fantastic--authors who do this know when they sit down to write that such and such piece is just going to be a fly-by, a by-blow, a blow-off, an off-shoot (how long can I keep that up, huh?) Do they know it's not going to be a masterpiece? And if they do, do they still expect it to be good? Do they want people to enjoy it and leave them fb? Do they think about that when they're writing? And when they sit down to write something really serious and really important to them, do they actually sit down to write with a different attitude?

What I want to know, I guess, is: what's your intent when you sit down to write a fic? Do you have very different intents for different types of fics? Do you want to write a masterpiece every time you start out to write a piece? Or do you just plan on trying your very best every time? Or do you start out knowing it's just going to be a little doodle in your sketch pad you might show off a bit? At what point do you know that doodle might become a masterpiece, and then how does your attitude toward writing it change?

Also: what about your expectations of fb in respect to your intent? If you plan to try really hard, write as close as you personally can get to a masterpiece, do you expect/want more fb? If you only spend a couple hours or days on a fic that you started on a whim, and don't get a beta for it, are you disappointed when there isn't fb? Are you disappointed when the whim-doodle (that should be a word) fics get more fb than the ones you tried to make perfect as possible?

And how do you delineate the difference to your readers? Do you warn them in your A/N that hey, you didn't get this beta'ed? Or hey, I worked my ass off on this and I think it's the best thing I've ever done? And do you expect people to respond accordingly?

Anybody got an opinion on this type of thing?

*puts on tea* *gets you a cozie*

Threaded | Top-Level Comments Only

Sneeze fics.

I like it too! See, these kinds of fics really interest me, because when a random idea pops into my head and I feel the need to drop everything and race over to the computer, what comes out is the first 10,000 words of a 200,000 word epic. Ideas for short fics don't burst upon me like that; they're carefully constructed in my head...so I'm really interested in writers who have a different process, especially because I'd like to be able to write short fics more easily. (And may I say, btw, that you do it so well. I'm always amazed by the quantity of fics you produce and how they are so consistently of quality, too. As someone who barely churns out a fic a month, it's continually boggling. :o)

Part of it is that when I arrived on LJ - and this is just from my perspective, others may see it differently - LJ wasn't the only place you posted. In fact, LJ was where you posted drafts, got comments that allowed you to polish them up and THEN you posted to lists/archives/BoB, TWoP...

I've wondered about that--lj as rough draft and archives, etc as "final copy," so to speak. For one thing, I see less extremely short fic on archives, and I've always wondered whether that was because people somehow think less of extremely short fiction. Understandable in the case of a sneeze fic, though some writers' sneeze fics are delectable, but I've read some drabbles and ficlets that are just amazing, knock me dead writing, that I just don't see in archives anywhere. So is there some kind of perception that extremely short fiction is ... more raw, somehow, because it took less time? It doesn't make sense to me, because, as I say, some drabbles and ficlets are phenomenal.

LJ was for the impulses, the snippets, the fragments. It was a private space, a behind the scenes place.

I prefer it as such. I had a recent conversation with someone who pointed out that once a fic's posted, it should be done. I can see the logic of that on something like an archive, but as someone who rarely finishes anything, I like the idea of fics being on my lj so I can eternally tinker with them.

I wonder why the move away from lists and boards and archives, etc. I'm extremely grateful for it, because I have a really hard time keeping up with lists, a hard time posting fic on boards, and an extremely difficult time getting to know others through archives. I guess I kinda just answered my own question...but I dunno, a lot other writers seemed fine with it, until the past two years or so.

I try to write a masterpiece every time. It never turns out that way, but I always keep that as my goal--to write that particular piece the best I can and to become a better writer in the process.

I really admire that--and the fact that you always revise. While I've read some excellent whim-doodle fics, there's been many a times I wished the writer had worked just a little harder on it.

The thing with me is, I always want to make a thing the best that it can be, but sometimes the thing I start out with isn't the best that it could be...if that makes sense. For instance, Best Souvenir, the long plotty epic I talked about above--I don't sit down to it and think "ok, masterpiece time." I write what comes into my head, and have fun with it, and what comes out isn't earth shattering, but fairly decent. Then I do everything possible to make that result as good as it can be--get it beta'ed, reread each chapter about 5 times, etc--but it's not as good as I can be. When I sit down and try to be as good as I can be, I think "ok masterpiece", and each word comes out extremely slowly, and ...it's not fun.

I never write anything that doesn't stretch my abilities to some extent, doesn't challenge me, and doesn't allow me exercise new muscles.

Again, really admire you for that. Like I say above, I only challenge myself about...half the time.

Feedback is a wonderful thing that fills the soul with happiness and inspires the writer to keep writing.

This should be ... like a staple. In the bio section of every single fic-writers' and readers' journals. :o)

I don't like all of the fics that people in fandom like to read, so why should they like all the fics that I like to write?

Again, well worded. This is exactly the view I try to take. Sometimes, I'm an old, bitter bitch in my head about it, and what I tell myself is: dude, so many people like crap, of course they can't see how excellent my stuff is...but hey, it makes me feel...more magnanimous towards everyone and less grouchy about fb (especially in the old days before Buffyverse when I thought I didn't get enough fb ;o), so I guess as bitchy as it is it's constructive in a way, too.

But if one person was touched by it deeply enough to recommend it, it makes me feel like I've really accomplished something.

I know exactly what you mean...and how thrilling is it to see your name is someone else's journal? I just love that.

I might not be so bad at this writing stuff after all.

I've only read one fic by you so far, but it was fabulous. It's stuck with me, and will for a long, long time. So, I think you're right. :o)

Basically, from *my* perspective, I call false dichotomy between #1 and #2.

I wasn't trying to set up a dichotomy. For me, they are two very separate things, but they are not mutually exclusive. As I noted, most people seem to do a bit of both when they write.

Faced with the choice between consigning *another* piece to the text files of unposted failures and getting something (anything) accomplished, I had to rejig the intent and ambition.

I never choose to scale down my ambition/intentions unless a deadline is involved. Which is why deadlines make me sick to my stomach, even for something that's supposed to be fun, like fic. What I do do is consign lots of stuff to the text files of languishment, but not of failure. I...have trouble admitting to failure. I never fail...I just never finish anything.

But that's the same thing, isn't it? Or, to answer both: Yes.

I went back and added the second question after the first, because I thought some people would be wary of equating their "best" with an attempt at a masterpiece. Some people think their best could never be a masterpiece--a view which, imo, is exceedingly wrong, but I wanted there to be a choice for everyone to pick from in that set of questions.

I was kidding about the dichotomy thing; clearly, it's a distinction that's really useful for people.

I had to rejig the intent and ambition.
I never choose to scale down my ambition/intentions unless a deadline is involved.
I'm glad you don't. I think I might have been unclear, however; I didn't mean that I scale down. I *do* refocus, change up, go a different way.

I never fail...I just never finish anything.
I envy you for that.

I don't really have #1 and #2 stories the way you describe.

I wouldn't've thought so. Menage is a perfect example of a wonderful integration of both. You filled in a scene from canon; it was a pleasure to read; we were there with the characters--but it's also technically brilliant and experimental in style. That's actually what I hope to get at in the shorter, more experimental fics I write, but sometimes fall short of.

There was one crack!fic that I worked on for a lot longer than 10 minutes, because it was an experimentation with form

Can I say again, that was frickin' awesome?

But mainly I just wanted to see if I could do it.

And you did. I think this is the place a lot of my fic comes from--the kind that's a play on form, anyway: I just want to see if I can do it.

Keaton is Key

Bookmarked. I've spread your fic out over time. I figure by the time I finish maybe I'll be ready for rereading? (Though I've read ...ahem that one like 50 times.)

But even though the tone is light-hearted, I still wanted to say something about his character development.

This is something I'm just not sure I can do. "Best Souvenir" (my long shippy fic) is a lighter touch than my shorter, more experimental stuff, but whenever I think about saying something really deep about the characters it feels all weighty like it should have...a more expensive style. I'm just no good at reconciling certain forms with certain kinds of content.

like dovil

Few people make me laugh as much as

dovil does.

I *do* refocus, change up, go a different way.

Oh! Well, that's good to hear--I'd rather people go in new directions than give up. But I don't do this either. Because I'm one stubborn daughteruva bitch.

I never fail...I just never finish anything.
I envy you for that.

But it's really just my way of telling myself I haven't failed. I have a novel from the third grade that should certainly be relegated to the corner of failure. I just won't, because some part of me still thinks I could finish and revamp The Dollhouse Wonder and be proud. I just hate failure and so live in denial. I.e., again, stubborn bitch.

I'll have the short bursts of ideas that come out in half an hour, or I'll have "plots" that I can see in my head but take days to get it right.

This is so interesting to me, because the short bursts of ideas thing never happens to me. All the short fics I've written were ideas that built really slowly in my head, and came out of me really really slowly, and were all about what the story should say and how the story should say it, not like...bits of scenes or anything like some people describe. When I'm writing Best Souvenir, scenes come to me, but they usually only come to me as I'm writing it, and they fit within this long plotty epic thing, you know? It's just interesting how people get ideas in different ways.

I sometimes sacrifice my "best" for impatience

I know exactly what you mean. I started out with all of my shorter pieces with the idea that okay, I'm going to try to make this a masterpiece, but it's such hard work, and so frustrating, that by the time I get around to getting it beta'ed and those final little revisions that would just make it that much better, I can no longer stand it. I just post. I'm usually still pretty proud of what I came up with, but I'm always a little fed up at myself that I didn't work harder or be more patient.

As far as feedback... hmm. Since most of my stuff is the same length and effort, I don't really expect more from any particular one.

I hope this doesn't sound...weird or awkward or anything, but I think you totally deserve more fb. You're such a wonderful writer.

My fiction writing style is unnervingly organic, so ideas bleed from me directly to the page.

Any refining comes after the original piece is written.

This is so interesting to me...I was just telling someone else that I always want my fic to be the best it can be, but sometimes that's only a factor in the revision process. In my long plotty ship fic (the type 1 fic), I just write whatever comes out. And what comes out is decent, but nothing...earth shattering. But from there, I try hard to make it clean and respectable and a good read. On the other hand, when I sit down and actually think, "ok, I'm going to try to write something really special now," I sit and think about each and every word; I plan the whole thing ahead of time; I conciously work in theme and symbols and metaphor; it's "construction work". And then I go through the same process of making it clean and respectable, but I feel like the product I have to work with is closer to what I think of when I think of "the best I can do."

What's interesting is that the dichotomy we're dilineating (oh god, look at that alliteration, *belch*), between fics that pour out and fics that feel like construction work, I was once firmly on your side. That is, if I had to WORK to force it out, I'd abandon it because it'd sound forced to me. But last year I wrote an original story that was a serious effort for me, but I had some really weighty things to say and some really interesting things to try, as I do in my short fanfics in Buffyverse, and...it was a watershed moment for me. I loved what I ended up with, but had to fight for every word of it.

Though (at the risk of really, really rambling) that's actually not quite true; these fics that feel like "construction" are actually more half pouring and half constructing. "Five Ways NFA Probably Didn't End" came out in small bursts--a line, a paragraph, might come out in a fervor. Then I'd have to wait and think for hours, sometimes days, about the next word or sentence. It's seriously tough work, but in the end, it works for me. Not all writers are like that, I think--you being a prime example! :o)

And I'm going to get around to reading both the fics you linked, as I haven't read either!

Whoa, are differences strike again! I concentrate so hard and so thoroughly when I'm interested in something that I...kind of miss a lot. Which, I remembering saying once before, is why I get lost a lot and walk into posts!

And you know, it totally depends on what you want with writing and fic. For me, my idea is adequately expressed until I've revised it to death (sometimes I get impatient and post before I've revised it all I could, but that still only happens after you know, about 3 drafts). But if how it comes out satisfies the need you have to write what you do...why bother with more?

First of all, I'm saving up your links to read--I've been meaning to read you for a while. So, thanks!

These were written as part of my fannish dialogue, so no, I wasn't out to write a masterpiece because I wasn't performing in that sense.

This is very...illuminating to me. I don't really write that way, so when I see fics written off the cuff as you describe--as a result of a conversation, etc--I wonder what the author thinks she's doing (er, that sounds very judgmental. It's not an "omg, what is she doing?" but more of a ...curiousity on my part. And interested, benevolent curiosity. I can't spell curiousity.) And here is my answer.

Utterly self-indulgent!

Well, my take on that is you should always be indulging yourself just a bit when you write. Even professionals. Or else it's just crowd-pleasing schlock.

I thought it was necessary to do that; it wasn't really a comment-whoring, or even dialogue-seeking, decision.

I find this really interesting, because when I decide to write a piece with a really distinctive or unique form, I never feel that what I have to say necessitates said form. Sometimes I wonder if I'm kind of forcing my thoughts into a frame in which they don't fit, just because I think the frame is so cool...but generally by the time I'm done content and form have merged and they're not so distinctive to me as when the idea was concieved. I love hearing how different ideas come to different people.

I'm not getting in to the "one shots are inherently less valuable" debate because a) I'm bored of it and b) it makes me feel ouchy.

There needs to be a newbie's guide to wank. Seriously. Or at least, a newbie's guide to Things That Are Always Debated In Fandom (slash, RPS, feminism, concrit, et al).

I just asked

janedavitt whether the idea that LJ was the "work table" and archives, etc were "final copies" was behind the fact that there seemed to be so much less short fiction in the latter venues--in archives in particular. I.e., are shorter fics considered "lesser" somehow, as firsts drafts are, and is that why there seem to be less of them in a lot of the fic archives I've seen? (Erm, I did point out that this reasoning doesn't make sense to me, because I'm firmly on the "one shots can be just as valuable" side of this line I didn't know existed, but we won't get into that since it bores or ouches you :o)

If I'd've known that was an old topic of debate, like slash and con crit, I wouldn't've bothered asking!

Sneeze fics.

That's perfect. I'm so gonna spread that around.

I kinda feel like my intro to fandom was a lot different than a lot of the people here. I saw very few fics that I thought were excellent, and the ones I did feel were phenomenal were long plotty epics. I saw none of the really excellent short fics I see here. As for the bad!fics, I never was amused by them or in the least bothered by them. I thought they were par for the course. I'm more bothered by them now, having been among so many great writers for 9 months, than I was in the 5 years before lj and Buffyverse.

And it's only since coming to Buffyverse and reading people like Kita that I've started trying the "type 2" sort of fics. Before that, I only wrote shipper fics, and they were always about how so and so got together. Always. Erm? Is this story pointless? .<---point.

But I didn't love the Buffyverse for the vampires or the music swelling angst or because DB or JM was hot. I loved it for the dialogue - for the funny.

For a long time I thought a show with a character named "Buffy" had to be lame. Then a lot of people in college told me it was really good, that it was thinky and dark and dealt with great themes. And I trusted them, because everyone at my uni was an intellectual snob (ok, almost everyone). But it still didn't sound appealing to me; it sounded like Anne Rice. And I thought, sweeping melodrama, angst, blah blah--I *love* it, but I can get it from Charlotte Bronte, so why bother with Buffy? It was good for me the second ep I ever saw was "Pangs." I fell forever, and hard, when SMG put on the sad, wistful, plaintive face and said, "It could be a yam sham." And then Xander with his syphilis? Fell. In. Love. *cough* .<----point.

the Faith/Willow story.

Love that one.

Dialogue writers can make fabulous short story writers--not just screenwriters. Also, just two people talking can make fabulous stories. Look at "Hills Like White Elephants" (Hemingway) and "Long Walk To Forever" (Vonnegut). I hate it when people think because they don't write flowery or metaphor-fraught prose, they don't have style. I don't see you saying that here, but I just felt the need to mention it. *coughs really hard* .<---point.

Strangely enough, though, my original fiction isn't at all like my fanfic.

I had no idea you wrote original fic. Do you want to be a writer? Are you a writer? Maybe we should share original stories one day.

I agree with you on the story v. form thoughts, though, and I'm always amazed by the people who can conceive and execute form. I'd muck it up with a joke.

Ah, here's my point! Found it at last.(<---!) I agree with dody times ten. A joke can have form. I once wrote this story framed in a joke. It's the most ambitious thing I've ever written, and although, like my NFA 5 Things fic, it kind of misses the mark (imo), I'm the most proud of it. It may not be quite what dody's saying about writing a joke as a fic, but anyway, I've lost my point again.

What I really wanted to say is that fics like "Sweet Tart" do have form. You don't concieve it--which is what I'm talking about insofar as "authorial intent"--but you do execute it. It's there and just as worthwhile.

...<---extra in case you get lost. I ramble so much.

Btw, going to read that fic you linked--thanks!

I meant, my ideas are generally ONLY adequately expressed when I revise them to death...

Makes me wish I'd revise comments to death.

DIE COMMENT, DIE!

Heh, I'm infectious ;-))

Thanks! It really does seem to fit the feeling when you get those urgent plot ideas.

There's definitely been a shift; partly it's because it takes a lot of time to post to groups; I'd post a fic in about 5 places; hugely time-consuming. Also the places just shut down after Buffy/Angel ended. And finally, when everyone was on LJ, and eventually it seemed everyone was once the invite codes weren't needed, why move off it?

I used to subscribe to a dozen yahoo groups; might still do, but apart from one, not fandom related, they're all on 'don't read; and I haven't visited them in months.

And, no, not your imagination; I remember that, too.

It's cute, huh? :-)

I'm always fascinated by how differently we all approach writing. I post drabbles to archives the same as I do fics; I don't perceive them as being less in anything but word count. I know some people see drabbles as trivial but I'm very protective of them as a literary form.

I agree with you; they can be phenomenal. To distill an idea down to a hundred words exactly takes some doing. To encapsulate somethign memorable in under a thousand takes skill. There are some short fics by people I've read dozens of times and enjoy them more with every reading.

I've done my share of epics; Secretary, which I co-wrote, clocked in at 800,000, and I loved it... but it wasn't better because it was longer.

I enjoyed reading your thoughts on writing fanfic, and it's been fun to read everyone's responses!

I've been a reader of fanfic for a long time now but it's only been very recently that I've actually written some of my own (2 very short fics completed so far). At this point, I'm still developing my skills as a fanfic writer so I tend to focus on actually finishing something that I don't totally hate.

I write my fic because of a fascination with a particular character (currently Xander, although I've also written from Buffy's perspective). I'll start to "hear" that character in my head (but not in a crazy way, I hope!) and slowly a story or idea will form. It normally comes together at 4am and everything just pours out. Afterwards I agonize over every word and phrase.

I love canon, so I work for my characters and story to be believable/possible in canon. Frequently I'll find myself thinking "what issues would A character have to resolve to even consider kissing/liking/respecting B character, and vice versa?" I like writing the areas that didn't get explored in canon.

Of course, the other reason that I write is to continually improve as a writer. I also write scripts with a writing partner so I'm finding that the scriptwriting and the fanfic writing are useful to gain skills for both forms of writing.

Thanks for prompting this discussion!

Some of the best writing I've done has happened because I set myself a line-limit (and sometimes a page limit). I'm convinced I can't do word limits, or write drabbles. I'd go nuts trying to shave it to exactly 100...which is why I admire those who have the patience for it.

Btw, I just started Secretary the other night, and love it.

There's definitely something to sitting down and just letting it spin out of you.

My stories tend to be long

The ones I write in the way you describe--that is, the ones I don't really have a beginning-to-end fleshed out outline for, and the ones I'm writing because I want an after-the-end or a couple to get together--tend to be very long, too. I wonder if there's something to that?

And same about the bit of everything (romance, humor, drama, et al) vs the long drawn-out angst of other fic writers. Again, when I'm writing the long, semi-unplanned shipper/extension of canon fics, I try to include all those elements, because that's what canon did. But when I want to take a character and not so much find out what's going to happen to him but what was happening in him, I tend to write short fic that's dark and weighty and angsty.

I've also taken some seldom- and never- seen canon characters and turned them loose on the pages -- Oz's cousin Jordy and Fred's dad Roger Burkle -- and they are SO much fun to work with! I even got brave and made some recurring original characters, and they've been well-received by readers, too.

Oh, cool, Burkle fic! Awesome! And I love OCs when they're well done. But you're right, it definitely takes bravery.

That's interesting! Because the long extension-of-canon fics I'm talking about, that sounds like what you write too, ARE relaxing to me; I don't feel right until I start writing them.

But I'm the opposite--just like you--when I'm writing a short character study piece. I have to be already relaxed to write it, and I don't feel and urge like I do with the above type of fics.

I think our different motives and drives to write are so interesting!

Thanks for your thoughts. I always find them interesting, even if sometimes I don't agree with you.

And thank you back! The world wouldn't be such a great place if everyone agreed with me all the time!

Definitely my favourite type of fic is what you've expressed in # 2,

This is so fascinating. As I said, my shorter fics are much more of a type #2, and quite a few writers start out giving me fb by saying: "I prefer stories with more plot and dialogue without such a focus on style, but..." (then they go on to say nice things. I'm not complaining about my fb here, it's always been awesome!)

sometimes the wonderful thing about #1 is the insights authors bring into characters, that were there all along in the show, but I never saw them.

To me, a type 1 really can give a lot of insights into the character. But what I've noticed in my own writing is that my type 1 fics more often deal with insights into the characters most people will see by just watching the show. They find new ways of causing the themes and attributes we instinctively connect with the characters. But for me, type 2 is really the venue for drawing the connections that I see, but you may not (and vice versa); it's the place for showing something like...how Dawn exploring her identity as the "Key" parallels a woman exploring her sexual identity, how a key and a portal can be a play on ... interlocking sex parts, and...wacky stuff like that.

When I sit down to write something, it's usually with a purpose that is fanon related.

This is really interesting, and something I didn't think to include in my questions about intent. I tend to do the same thing--say hey! No one's writing this or that! And then I go write it. Sometimes, though it deal with theme, instead of timeframe or characters; sometimes it deals with style; sometimes it deals with particular what if questions, etc.

One of the most popular, and well-written, fics in the fandom last year toobusy2write's Bent Justice, was pretty much what you described.

I was sooo thinking of that fic when I was saying that! I didn't mention it explicitly because a. I haven't left fb for it yet (still, omg), and b. I didn't know whether she'd appreciate the label "crack!fic". To me, it's completely crack, because of the concept. But she brings SO much of the characters to the fic, and it's SO well written, it doesn't deserve the negative association crack!fic gets sometimes.

You know, when someone just writes 'Good job', I guess I wonder what I should have done to get them thinking about the fic.

Me too. I always try to point out *why* I liked a fic when I fb.

I prattled on too long didn't I? Sorry for that!

Please don't apologize--I'm extremely interested in your thoughts, because you always have good ones. And...it must be obvious by now that I ramble something fierce, so no worries!

Hiya, thanks for contributing your thoughts!

A lot of the time inspiration hits me abd I start writing. Whether that becomes something I'm proud of or 16 pages of snark where Eve gets hit by a semi, well, it depends on my mood

This is so interesting to me, because I'm not like that at all. First of all, I wish I could write 16 pages of snark with Eve getting hit by a semi. And I even like Eve ;o) For me, it's like I'm two completely different people. If I sit down when inspiration hits me, it's going to be a fun plotty long fic. If I toss and turn and plot and connive and stress for days, weeks, possibly month, it's going to be a Serious Endeavor OMG.

Fifty percent of it is people asking for a certain 'ship, the rest is people saying they liked most of it, but the never mention what they think I could imporve on.

Fb asking for a ship (or more of one character or another) is just plain sucky. I always try really hard to give well-rounded fb, because I too always wish for a little more than just "That was good."

I feel it's important to forwarn people

Me too. I'm rather embarrassed by some of my A/N's in the past ... In one fic I posted in another fandom way back when I actually apologized for including the "Other Woman" character from canon in the love triangle--and for treating her nicely and fairly, as canon does--because I knew most of my readers hated her. My writing didn't pander to the crowd but my A/Ns sure did and that's just sad.

The only writing technique I use that's not "normal" is the whole breaking down the fourth wall thing

I don't think type #2 necessarily includes a technique that's not "normal"--I just think it's a different approach; it's approaching the story through the form and the writing itself, as opposed to the plot. Which can often lead to experimental techniques, but not always.

And...I feel a little ignorant, here, what's the fourth wall?

Hee! I love these answers.

These are almost all the reasons I've written fanfic in the past, and are the reasons I write and am writing the WIP, Best Souvenir.

Except for that last. I absolutely positively CANNOT write for a ficathon or a challenge or a request and most of all, a deadline. Just writing for the IWRY contest last year drove me nuts.

So do you ever post for public consumption without a read edit? (Aside from that which happens as a natural outgrowth of writing on a computer)

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Let's talk about authorial intent.

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Re: Short because my time's out.

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