Strange thoughts about the fandom wish list

[valis2]

starrysummer has an entry here called Fandom Secret Wishes.

It's an anon meme where you go and talk about what you wish for in fandom. Predictably, most of the wishes are:

• I want to be a BNF


• I want more reviews


• I want to be part of an invite-only community (like erotic_elves)


• I want more people to friend me


• I want to write better


• I want to be recced more often and/or by bigger names


• I want fanart
(thanks for reminding me, scarah2)

Then I came across this comment by an anonymous poster:

It's weird to be posting here -- people are mentioning communities that I'm a member of, and I wasn't aware they were so prestigious, for lack of better term.
Mostly, though, I want to improve -- I'm stuck in a rut, and I'm telling the same story over and over and over again. I use the same motiufs, the same turns of phrase, and I hate it so much. I emulate my BNF friends over and over.
All I ever wanted was for one person -- just this one person -- to tell me I was good, and worth reading, and respectable. But she hasn't, and I don't think she ever will, and it hurts because I care about her so much.

First of all...I must admit that this might be a joke. Totally possible.

If it isn't, though, it brings up a thought. Do you feel that comments made by BNFs or writers that you respect have more weight or less weight than the average review? Personally, I am interested in every comment I receive, but I know that I'll really pay attention if it's from someone I know is a talented writer.

If you do feel that comments from those you respect have more weight, would you be terribly hurt if you never received one from someone you respect? from someone you interact with regularly? from someone who is a cherished LJ friend? from someone who is a cherished friend? from someone you are related to?

The first fandom person I ever friended was deepforestowl. One day she asked about my fic, and I pointed it to her, and was jumping around the apartment, totally excited that she was going to try it. This was before I really understood the HP fandom and pairings and genre. She commented relatively quickly and said, basically, that it wasn't her cup of tea. I was so sad for several minutes; I just sat and stared at the screen in misery. That is, until I remembered that HP fandom is just like RL. No matter how great your Tom Clancyesque novel is, I'm not going to read it, and this applies to everyone else. Some stories are just inaccessible to some readers. Almost no fic is going to capture everyone's attention, just like almost no book is going to capture the entire market. You should try instead to capture your niche, I think. And the point of this rambling paragraph is that pinning your hopes on that one BNF mega-fabulous prize-winning writer to validate your work is probably not the best idea. Perhaps you should just write for yourself, with vague thoughts about your audience as a whole.

Just my thoughts. I've been thinking about this all day.

Comments

[valis2.livejournal.com]

November 11th? Oh, I think I have that day off!

I know that food service business people usually have to work nights on Fridays. We could go during the afternoon or something...let me know what works for you! :)

[ms-hecubus.livejournal.com]

I usually get scheduled Friday mornings, but I'll let you know.