We Want Your Ideas
So, the Lazy Yet Discerning Ficster has been throwing all sorts of randomness at you for months now, but we've reached the point where we have covered what WE think is useful, but really, we know how that's pretty much useless. Now, we want to know what articles and columns you want to see from us, so please let us know! Make a comment below and tell us what you'd like to see more of. (Then we can harass knowledgeable people into writing the articles...)
You mean, exploring the in and outs and pros and cons of popular cockblockery and dry humping isn't useful?
ReplyDeleteFML.
BRB VOLTERRA!
Non-canon couplings!
ReplyDeleteHmm.. I really like the author interviews, the recs (of course), and my favorite I think, are the articles about the writing process.
ReplyDeleteoh, that's something else i mean to ask. for author interviews, who are people that you'd like to see interviewed?
ReplyDeleteI'd like more recs. Honestly, I'm out of new things to read. Maybe some stuff from different authors. If I see something recced here I'll check it out, but I don't need ten recs for the same author, because it's likely that if I liked the first, I'll try out their other fics. (Run-on sentence much?)
ReplyDeleteSo new authors. Please. (Maybe even some that don't do smut? I know, I'm such a rebel.)
This is an awesome post. Here comes my enthusiastic ass with random nonsense, which may or may not be of any value.
ReplyDeleteI would love to see some more articles/essays on character development of tertiary characters, because I've loved the series essays so far and thought it would be awesome to maybe see some ideas for how writers can take the traits and the psychology and develop unique characters applicable to their storyline.
Such as, we get that Alice is a shopper, yes? But, there are trends and themes in the fandom as far as storylines go, and perhaps an analysis on when it's outlandish to have Alice be the shopper-bee for the incapable-to-dress-herself Bella, meanwhile Bella is a successful NY publisher (a high profile career in a fashion forward city), etc. Delving into character analysis for the sake of creating "original" characters from the Twi templates would be a cool way to approach that, maybe? IDK.
Another cool idea might be to have a how-to series on generating good will in the community. This is a female dominated venue. Often, as with any community (especially via this strange sociological experiment that is "online communities") as first-time authors become begin writing and integrating, they get sucked into cliques (which we all know happens) and their involvement in the community at large wanes, such as promoting new writers, or reccing smaller fics, etc. Such an article might emphasize that staying... unattached (not sure that's the right word) to a certain social circle is a good way to inspire other first-time writers that are intimidated by this. Reading the article on reviewing and building relationships triggered that thought, so perhaps take it a step further? It might be nice to see a powerful community such as TLYDF to set the standard other newer writers will follow.
One more idea might be to explore cross-overs, maybe? I know that's deviating from Twi specifically, but it might be cool to see what cross-overs are the most popular and highlight some of those excellent fic examples.
Awesome, ladies. Thanks for the opportunity to ramble potentially helpful nonsense. Keep rocking on!
I love Gondolier's series. More, plz?
ReplyDeleteAnd I also love the Dumpster Dives.
I may have been living under a rock, and if so I apologise, but where did the Dirty Uncle column go? (I notice wtvoc's not listed as a Columnist any more...)
Oh, and the graphics tutorials. They were awesome, even if I don't have the software. They're just pretty.
Actually, in terms of new things, can we go back to canon? And maybe consider AU? Can we look at trends and stuff? I think I'm still stuck around April in terms of trends... and reading.
ReplyDeleteBut more canon, please?
I love the articles on the writing process and the dumpster dive (though I don't get much time to read these days)I also liked the coverage on the various comps out there, it was nice to see what was going on in the fandom in one spot instead of having to search for the latest writing comps.
ReplyDeleteI too would like to see more new authors, there must be a glut of underappreciated authors out there who are good...(I hope anyway)
AG's input on graphic design etc was enjoyable too, though I know she's a busy lady.
This sounds strange but recently I've felt almost as if there has been a lull in the fandom and I'm wondering if it's becaue of the build up to the Nov release of new Moon, kind of like the calm before the storm or something?
I'd love to see a series on self editing for the serious writer, if there has already been a series on this, sorry, somehow I missed it.
Chris
The "What I Learned in Riting Skool" series has been really great so far, and I'd love to see more of those. Some examples might be character development, dialogue, outlining for beginners, etc. I really think it's great that TLYDF is not just trying to please writers by posting fun things, but is also interested in helping develop all of us as better writers. I mean, no one's perfect, and most of us are here because we love to write and read, and it's great that this is a place where we can come to continually improve on our skills. That's such an important part of this site, and that's one of the things that really drew me to it and got me involved.
ReplyDeleteAnd, of course, some diversity in fic recs would be a little bit nice. I know that there have been a whole range of fics recommended in the past, but a vast majority of these stories are Edward/Bella. And while E/B is what's popular, there are a lot of other interests out there. The Quileutes, the humans, the secondary vampire characters, etc. I'd hate to word it like this, because it sounds negative, but Edward/Bella is safe territory. Everyone loves a good E/B romance, right? I'd like to see some branching out, some exploration.
But all that said, I think TLYDF has been doing a great job of being both informative and fun, and it's a great place for all twific lovers to hang. :D
i LOVE the rec's the most, hands down.. because i'm incapable of finding good stories on my own ): and second to that is the character explorations, because WOW. those are just good. and i've read all the blogs on here and i love them all, they're all so good even if i don't write anything for fanfiction. thanks for doin what you do!
ReplyDeleteOh yes, the Dirty Uncle column...I loved it so...I hope it hasn't gone West....
ReplyDeleteTLYDF is crazy good. I come here about everyday because all the articles are great to read and keep me moving along with the fandom.
ReplyDeleteAs for interviews... I'd like to see in.a.blue.bathrobe? Tropic of Virgo is an amazing piece of work and there's a lot of personality in the AN notes alone, but on the profile, not much.
I also loved the graphic design, writing process, and character breakdown articles. Maybe you could take really popular fanfics and break it down like you would a canon book?
The thing about the movies... I'm in Singapore. Last year in secondary 4, just about every row had a copy of the saga. Although I never read it until january this year, I could still feel it was a crazy thing because nothing had crossed the borders of cliques and personalities like this before... not HP or anything. So, then the movie came out,and everyone's in junior college now, but twilight love is zilch. I don't know why. It's been 6 months and at the most I've seen 1 copy of the saga, almost nobody talks about twilight anymore. When they do, it's about how the movie killed it and how the only good book was the first one. It's all about the movie, for some reason. I think that the movie was pretty good for an adaptation (i'll never watch an eragon movie again.) and enhanced the whole fandom thing. And the twilight fandom is so amazing, organized and enthusiastic.
I'm not talking much sense....
it would be fantastic to have a once a month (or maybe once a fortnight) rec on first time writers, or stories with less than X number of reviews (along the premise of the Indie Twific awards)...i found many fantastic stories from those nominated
ReplyDeleteyou have a large reader base and could use it as a way to promote stories which don't already have an online following and, like Vixen said above, those writers who aren't part of "a clique" or don't know how to promote themselves...writing skills do not always go hand-in-hand with knowing how to attain a fanbase in and established fandom
I like pimpage...haha
ReplyDeleteShowcase and spotlight lesser known stories. Maybe dissect and review them in depth. I'm new here so I don't know everything that's been done. I love the character explorations, maybe continue that with original characters from well known fics. Characters that we all love and want to know more about.
First off--love what you guys have done here. I check in everyday to read whatever article is posted.
ReplyDeleteAs for ideas...I've gone through a good chunk of the articles, but not all, so if you've already covered this, well, MY BAD. Anyway, over at PTB an article on Fandom Clichés was recently done. 'Pixie alice', 'jock emmett', etc. You can do an article (or series) outlining the most common clichés, and then try to figure out when they'd actually be appropriate, or how to use the general idea without making it cliché.
SideKick said... I'd like more recs. Honestly, I'm out of new things to read. Maybe some stuff from different authors. If I see something recced here I'll check it out, but I don't need ten recs for the same author, because it's likely that if I liked the first, I'll try out their other fics.
ReplyDeleteWe try to make it a point to never officially rec the same author twice. That's probably the most difficult area, is finding recommendations of lesser-known stories. Though we certainly hope to improve and saty our course of doing so.
Vixen1836 said... One more idea might be to explore cross-overs, maybe? I know that's deviating from Twi specifically, but it might be cool to see what cross-overs are the most popular and highlight some of those excellent fic examples.
EEEE! I love this idea. I read a Buffy/Twi crossover recently that was just... so so good. Thanks for the input, Vixen!
sobriquetqueen said... I love Gondolier's series. More, plz?
And I also love the Dumpster Dives.
I may have been living under a rock, and if so I apologise, but where did the Dirty Uncle column go? (I notice wtvoc's not listed as a Columnist any more...)
Oh, and the graphics tutorials. They were awesome, even if I don't have the software. They're just pretty.
Yay! I think we have more Gondolier coming up! Sadly, Our Dear Diry Uncle had to depart due to lack of time to contribute. We'll have a moment of silence to mourn the loss of awesomeness...
We have a great new graphics concept planned that will be going live very soon. It will be a separate offshoot that will provide the community:
1.) A network in which to browse/add/comment on a database of all current fic-related graphics. If you're looking to promote a story and need to find its banner, this will be the place you go to determine whether or not they have one.
2.) People will also be able to determine who is in need of graphic representation, as well as offer their skills to those in need.
3.) A place for tutorials, topics, and Q&A's on fanart and various program related subjects.
4.) A place to put and see pretty things.
I'm more excited about that than is entirely appropriate.
Chris said... I'd love to see a series on self editing for the serious writer, if there has already been a series on this, sorry, somehow I missed it.
What a great idea! Thanks for the input, Chris!
Krum Cake said... And, of course, some diversity in fic recs would be a little bit nice. I know that there have been a whole range of fics recommended in the past, but a vast majority of these stories are Edward/Bella. And while E/B is what's popular, there are a lot of other interests out there. The Quileutes, the humans, the secondary vampire characters, etc. I'd hate to word it like this, because it sounds negative, but Edward/Bella is safe territory. Everyone loves a good E/B romance, right? I'd like to see some branching out, some exploration.
Aw, Krum... is that an offer to do a rec for us? Hahahaha. It's so hard to find people willing to rec something non E/B, though very recently, I think we had an E/R rec, and in the past, we have recommended a couple Quilleute fics. Would also love to see more!
(Continued)
ReplyDeleteChris said... Oh yes, the Dirty Uncle column...I loved it so...I hope it hasn't gone West....
Mourning again...
n7of9 said... it would be fantastic to have a once a month (or maybe once a fortnight) rec on first time writers, or stories with less than X number of reviews (along the premise of the Indie Twific awards)...i found many fantastic stories from those nominated
you have a large reader base and could use it as a way to promote stories which don't already have an online following and, like Vixen said above, those writers who aren't part of "a clique" or don't know how to promote themselves...writing skills do not always go hand-in-hand with knowing how to attain a fanbase in and established fandom
Tee hee hee. You just perfectly described our sole mission. We never recommend stories that have a surplus of reviews. Our rec rquirements are vcery strict, and stories must have less than 60 reviews per chapter to be eligible for recommendation. This is one of the things that makes it so difficult, but also fullfilling. We started this blog with the main intention of propelling indie fics. We of course hope to never stray from this. If ever we do, slap our wrists and call us naughty things.
batgirl8968 said... As for ideas...I've gone through a good chunk of the articles, but not all, so if you've already covered this, well, MY BAD. Anyway, over at PTB an article on Fandom Clichés was recently done. 'Pixie alice', 'jock emmett', etc. You can do an article (or series) outlining the most common clichés, and then try to figure out when they'd actually be appropriate, or how to use the general idea without making it cliché.
I *think* this may perfectly describe the current bout of Character Explorations. The purpose of the series is to explore popular incarnations of each character, how canon transferred over into fic, what we are most used to seeing, and what works as outside the box.
Thanks to everyone for their ideas and comments! With the new website coming up, we are always taking feedback to heart and applying it however possible. Our doors are open to all of fandom, so if anyone ever has an idea, comment, rec, etc., we'd love to hear them!
♥ ♥ ♥
I don't know I'm probably too drunk to even be able to express myself clearly in spanish, much less in english but here we go. I really liked the article about Bella's use of surprised expressions, it made me see that sometimes I don't read a fict or an article because -even when I love you guy with all my heart- I, sometimes, can't understand the overuse of acronysms in english. If you look closely only in this page, you will notice that half the unswers to this topic had used acronysms in some form.
ReplyDeleteWhen you are used to them, is not really important, but when you trying to read something in a lenguage that is not your native one and you come across something like WTF...you run and gloogle it, if you do it, you will find that there over 100 meanings for that useful expression.
Anyhow, I just wanted to express my feelings about this and maybe, help in some way with the brainstorm.
Hey so i love this blog it's the greatest thing ever, and it's like a limb to me, i need it. Check it out all the time. The stuff you guys write and talk about are awesome and amazing and insirational and a bunch of other stuff.
ReplyDeleteSo our thoughts... don't really know if you want to get into my thoughts but i've been sitting here in front of my computer trying to think of something that i want you talk about or help you talk abotu or something. I'm not going to say recs because well you aready have a lot of that. And also a lot on the characters and there personalities and feeling and thought and all that extra stuff about... the characters.
Okay so I think you should maybe do a colunm on places? I know your probably thinking WTF, this woman is weird and crazy, but think about it. We have the characters and there actions and what goes on in a story, but a big part of the story is also the place setting.
Let's see, there's Washinton, Arizonia, New York, Europe, made up places... the point is we have a lot of fic that take have settings in different places. So if you want to disect that idea go ahead. It's stupid i know but maybe you guys can turn it into something awesome.
Um, also times or decades. What do you think is the best time setting to put the characters in? 1800's, 1900's, 50's, 70's, the "now" time? There are so many fics that have the characters places in different times over the years and a lot of them are amazing, but which time fits the characters best?
Also (i know this is a long ass comment) there ages. Teens, early adults, late twenty, early thirdies. Do you think they should be this age or that or... blah, blah, blah
I know WTF? I'm weird, but just throwing shit out there.
So i hope this was semi helpful for your quest to see what you could write about, it's stupid but i did say you may not want to know what I'm thinking.
In hopes of not wasting your time,
Scarr or Telrracs10
AngstGoddess003 said... We try to make it a point to never officially rec the same author twice. That's probably the most difficult area, is finding recommendations of lesser-known stories. Though we certainly hope to improve and saty our course of doing so.
ReplyDelete----
I guess what I really mean is the author interviews that sometimes highlight someone that was previously recced? And then there's spotlight on the completed ones that were previously recced - an idea I love, btw. Maybe you guys could just change that idea around a bit to include fics that haven't been recced previously as well?
Maybe it's just fic popularity coming in waves, but sometimes it feels like I'm hearing about the same fic and/or author over and over. (Not always here, I guess.) Anyhow, I am in no way trying to be a complainy-pants. If I get nothing but y'all telling me to go read TLB over and over, I'd take it and be happy.
I'd also love more canon.
Ooh! And maybe the addition in the site to find recs by category, mayhaps?
I need to stop now. You are not Santa.
*Stands up from lap and walks away*
/creeper
To Xime...
ReplyDeleteAcronyms suck a fat one. True Fact. Many people like to refer to fics by acronym name, and it confuses the hale out of me. You're not alone. It's one of those sad trends of fandom. I've learned to love and often use a handful, mostly in jest. We'll try to suggest people veer away from them.
SideKick said... I guess what I really mean is the author interviews that sometimes highlight someone that was previously recced? And then there's spotlight on the completed ones that were previously recced - an idea I love, btw. Maybe you guys could just change that idea around a bit to include fics that haven't been recced previously as well?
Yeah, you have a good point there. We ONLY interview rec'd authors, in fact. This was as idea that was made upon TLYDF's conception. I can see how it would benefit us to interview people we haven't rec'd however. I think Pastiche Pen has been planning a feature like this as well. Thanks again for the input! I totally agree with you about completed fics too. When something completes, it's such a huge deal. I feel like we should have some kind of party for the author.
In Edward's pants.
That was a joke.
Mostly.
More canon is a request for overall fandom, but I see your point here, too. It's so hard to find since we're given no new material from SM and so much has already been explored. We shall dive and find!
"Ooh! And maybe the addition in the site to find recs by category, mayhaps?"
Actually, for the new site, I had planned something not unlike FFn where we can sort by rating, characters, completion, genre, author, rec'er, etc and so forth.
"I need to stop now. You are not Santa."
I'm not?
...
Sigh.
And that red suit looked so pretty...
http://www.twilightedteens.com/viewtopic.php?f=53&t=74
ReplyDeleteHeavens Immortal posted on the Twilighted Teens forum that TLYDF would have a series for the teens of the twilight fandom. I thought this was a really good idea. Have I missed it or did you guys decide against it in the end?
Great blog so far though, I've been really enjoying the updates :)
- Cyartia
One thing that has been said by someone is that it would be great to have more non-canon pairings. Slash and J/B is making a huge surge. I can give suggestions on authors I think could make great recs in each arena. For example I think ElleCC would be able to give great J/B recs or manyafandom/starfish422/Touchstone67 could give great slash recs.
ReplyDeleteThere is an acronym document by manyafandom that can be found here: http://spreadsheets.google.com/pub?key=rhsZ_jgX9frGVK2AXOuS7YA
I'm not sure how often it is updated.
Crossovers are interesting, but I'm also always interested in getting recs for other fandoms because sometimes *gasp* I tire of Twilight. I think it could be neat to pick a fandom and get recs together for it, certainly Harry Potter would be an easy one, but I know a lot of people who read Southern Vampires fanfiction as well.
You also need to get algonquinrt writing some sort of column about something.
My question is. Will you be only exploring fanfiction thru twilight? Are you ever spanding to other fiction like Harry Potter or Southern Vampire Mysteries. I would love to see more help for the new writer.
ReplyDeleteI'd like to second the request for an interview with in.a.blue.bathrobe and add in a request for ooohlalaaa. It is unbelievable how prolific she is!
ReplyDeleteIt was said by someone here (I'm too lazy to check who) that it's hard to find recs, especially ones that aren't just E/B. I can imagine how this must be true.
ReplyDeleteHowever, there are many people in the fandom that read things that are lesser-known, and different from the standard E/B all human. The thing is, they themselves may not be well known in the fandom, or friendly with anyone who runs this blog. Maybe if there was a way people could email in asking to rec something? Like, a link on the side where they have to fill out a form and email it to a special email address, and they could be considered by the admins to post a rec.
Gosh this makes no sense. I apologize. I just think a lot of people are probably too intimidated to go right out and ask if they could rec something.
Hmm, how about something with one-shots?
ReplyDeleteI definately loved Gondolier's series "...in riting skool." I learned more from that than I did sitting through 10 weeks of a continuing ed course on creative writing at my local U.
I also really like the 'reader's recs' It's always interesting to hear how people got into the fandom, and what stories hooked them, and keep them hooked.
How about somekind of series on what communities/blogs/sites/podcasts for the Twifan are out there. I found The Twigasm Podcast here, and it is one of my faaaavorite things!
Thanks for asking for the input!
I've loved TLYDF from the get go!
I love the site and everything so far.
ReplyDeleteWhat I would love to see is a "point, counter point" type of column - a topic is decided upon by you lovelies, then two authors whom it applies to most closly argue the vadlidity of it. I guess an example would be something like, 'the advantages to writing canon vs non canon couples', or 'Edward's hair - to be worshipped or overrated?'.
Also I would love to see (in the author interviews) something along the lines of ... I guess challenges would be the best way of saying it? Idk, but a prompt or thought that is unusal for the author being profiled. Ex, finding a strictly AU or Canon author and having them do a quick 500 word or less AH one shot.
One last thing (because, I don't even think I would want to read all this) - I love seeing everyone's opinions and different interpretations of vague ideas or general information. Perhaps a column or feature where one day a week a prompt is picked (from user poll or elsewhere) that features a 3 words - can be names or places or colors or emotions - and see what the first thing is that comes to mind in less than a paragraph.
Again, this is just nonsense and ramblings but some of it could be fun. :)
Keep up the fantabulous work.
AG said...When something completes, it's such a huge deal. I feel like we should have some kind of party for the author.
ReplyDeleteIn Edward's pants.
That was a joke.
Mostly.
---
I'd like to rsvp to this party right now. When should I arrive?
---
AG said...Actually, for the new site, I had planned something not unlike FFn where we can sort by rating, characters, completion, genre, author, rec'er, etc and so forth.
"I need to stop now. You are not Santa."
I'm not?
...
Sigh.
And that red suit looked so pretty...
---
I have tremendous amounts of excitement for this. Can't wait for the new site now. Ven shall ve see eet?
(And you can be the Santa if you like. Who am I to deny you the pretty? Promise to use your powers for good and not evil, and promise to only sneak down the Cullens' chimney like thrice a year. 'Kay?)
I've really enjoyed the character analysis posts, but I would second the post that talks about exploring crossover fics. What's even a big crossover fic out there? Maybe explore, if anyone has, how to write a crossover in a more, uh, legit way? :)
ReplyDelete(oh and star wars/twilight crossover recs would be amazing haha)
Oh snap, I forgot one... maybe a new segment about how banners do/do not affect a story's popularity? How much does visual marketing help in a fanfic's recognition? And if it does help, greatly, what are ways[who can we plead with cookies] to make said banners?
ReplyDelete@mizramanips
ReplyDeletedid you see AG's crazy banner article? One sec, I find. (Just be warned, it may crash your computer screen, i swear to bejeesus).
FOUND IT.
http://discerningficster.blogspot.com/2009/04/admin-essay-rob-spangled-banners.html
@mozzer, so the slash series is being discussed. we're trying to figure out how to organize, cuz we want to get all the topics included. ALL the RELEVANT topics. BUT Sam must be talked out of including a special article on vertical dryhumps. You know how it is... I shrug.
SideKick said: You are not santa.
ReplyDeleteWell to me you are! It's like Christmas all the time on this blog.
I agree with whoever said they wanted more Riting Skool, and guidelines for people who want to write their first fic but have no idea where to start. It doesn't even have to be as in depth as the riting skool series, because simple things like a bad summary automatically turn me away from a story. So many new authors write "summary sucks, please give it a chance!" and I'll never click on it. Because if they can't even make a proper summary, I'm going to assume the fic isn't too great either, and this might be a wrong assumption.
My apologies if this has been done and I just missed it: Can we have some discussion/tutorial on good summary writing? How much do you give away in that little space, but still say enough to draw in readers?
ReplyDeleteBlessings!
hi Marilee...
ReplyDeletethis was done very (very!) early on in the blog's history in Pastiche Pen's newbie column. You should be able to find links to it by clicking on the Label "newbie power" in the sidebar.
I hope that helps! The suggestions in it are fantastic!
I'm hoping that someone still reads this occasionally as I didn't really want to pm any of you editors with the suggestion. I was thinking it might be kind of fun to having a Random Ficster's Reading List every once and awhile. Just a random reader who has a few stories that they following for updates. I know that everyone is usually looking for recommendations and though I suspect some of the stories may overlap quite a bit, it might be fun to find some new gems among them. Love the blog, cheers!
ReplyDelete