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ginnyzero · 4 years

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10 Things I Learned Writing FanFic

(Bonus Blog Post: Also on Twitter as Thread!)

I'm going to try and do a TEN THINGS #WritingCommunity . My experience in writing is probably the "new wave" as I started in fanfic. When things get tough, I try to apply things I learned in my over a decade there to now. YMMV So, TEN THINGS I learned writing/reading fanfic!

1. Sturgeon's Law Exists y'all. Sturgeon's law states that 90% of everything is crap. I don't care where you publish this is true. Especially in fanfic circles were newbie writers are posting their precious first draft writing babies. You have to dig to find good stuff.

2. REVIEWS =/= quality. AKA being POPULAR doesn't mean that the story is good or well written! Sure, 90% of writing is crap. AND PEOPLE LIKE THAT CRAP. Because crap is subjective, especially as you're learning, growing & forming opinions. Someone out there found merit in it! YAY!

3. THERE IS ROOM FOR EVERYONE. The thing about fanfic & about indie publishing is that there is no gatekeeping. There is no arbitrary "this is what is selling" rules to adhere to. And that means everyone is allowed even if YOU don't like it personally.

3.1 that means everyone is out there trying to find their readers, their tribe, their MARKET. That's great b/c that means a lot of voices (female, LGBTA+, POC) can be heard! Indie and Fanfic let's writers take RISK and have an AUDIENCE. (Even if they are hard to find sometimes.)

4. About Reviews. Only 1 in 3 people are going to leave reviews (if you're famous) and only 1 in 10 are going to make it past the first chapter. It doesn't mean your work is bad. All it means is your work wasn't for them! That's okay! see, there is room for EVERYONE.

4.1 MOST of my reviews were very short to the lines of "write more" with maybe a PLEASE tacked on. When I was active, I tried to thank every reviewer regardless of length of review. The long reviews of "you made my day" quality were few, far between and cherished. This is normal!

5. SOMEONE IS ALWAYS GOING TO DISLIKE YOUR STORY. And sometimes, they're going to be vocal about it and leave you that bashing review. That just means your story wasn't for them. Onto the next reader that appreciates you and what you do!

5.1 as a writer, you are the star of your own narrative. Bad reviews are people trying to clip your wings. Unsolicited constructive criticism and outright bashing helps no one and only causes people to stop writing. I don't care how good your intentions are if you do this, STOP.

5.2 The thing about bad reviews that are "constructive" is that the book I've written is already published. I can't/won't change it. And the "constructive" review will not apply to the next book. And no amount of positive openings makes unsolicited advice sting less.

5.3 Your intentions are to mean well and "this will help." Well, buddy, I've had a beta reader/editor for the last ten years and I can tell you right now that I trust her a lot more than I trust you oh random stranger on the internet.

5.4, a PUBLISHED Story or book is a PRODUCT. A review for a PRODUCT in this case is for the reader and not the AUTHOR. As an author, I may not do more than scan your review for your star rating. So please, pitch your reviews to other readers.

Okay, MOVING ON.

6. BACKLOG/EXPOSURE is EVERYTHING. People can't read your stories if they don't know you exist. The people who become Big Name Fans in fanfic circles are those that are constantly putting themselves out there in the public eye by writing.

6.1 True story! The reason why 50 Shades of Grey was first so popular as "Masters of the Universe" twilight fanfic is because James posted 100 or so words each DAY as a CHAPTER so her fanfic was constantly at the top of the "updated" pile. James is in marketing.

6.2 True story 2! When I ran a pairing community on LJ (FFX-2), a "new to us" writer came in, posted a story and then complained she got no feedback elsewhere b/c she was a big name fan in DIGIMON. We didn't know who she was, we needed more exposure to her to interact more. It felt like to ME (and several others in my circle) that she wanted to be an overnight sensation in our group b/c she was so huge in the Digimon fandom. We took exception to this! Those of us who were big had put in a lot of hard work to be that way!

This leads to...

7. BEING FAMOUS IS WORK NOT FUN. By the time I left fandom, I had run up to 3 communities, worked on a review website, wrote over 50 works, all of this in my spare time while doing an INTENSIVE college schedule (Fashion) and I was BURNT OUT.

7.1, this led to a lot of things being lobbed my way. Accusations of favoritism. I got cussed out. I had people throwing hissy fits at me. I did some things I probably shouldn't have being a young 20 something.

7.2, Trying to build a network of authors to create these communities was tons and tons of emailing and invitations and soliciting and keeping my name up there on the "recently updated" on ffnet and putting in my communities in my Author's Notes. It is exhausting!

7.3, so if your goals are to be the NEXT GRR Martin, think about all the interviews and conventions and emails he's fielding on TOP of trying to write his books. There are reasons most authors don't do more than the convention circuit/have 1 social media. THEY HAVE WORK TO DO.

8. CALL OUT CULTURE IS BAD. The morality police, the grammar police, the "think of the children" police, it's all bad. It's why we can't have nice things. And guess what, in five to ten years, it's going to change ANYWAYS. It's simply a waste of time and energy that does nothing.

Calling back to 3...

9. TROPES AREN'T BAD. Tropes exist for a reason to help ease storytelling. Tropes are plot hooks and the coat hangers we build our stories upon. No matter what, you use tropes even if you're LAMP-SHADING them. People like tropes.

9.1 Tropes are nice fuzzy warm blankets that make readers feel comfortable. Maybe "Only one bed" is overdone, but for readers who LOVE "only one bed" they're going to devour every fic NO MATTER the quality. All they see is MORE STORIES FOR ME TO READ WHEE!

9.2, I'm saying here to an extent ORIGINALITY is overrated. Because given HOW MANY stories have been told and how much WRITING is being published, having that "original" idea or telling something in an "original" way is next to impossible. So, write what you WANT.

10. MY EXPERIENCE DOESN'T INVALIDATE YOUR EXPERIENCE. My experience in my writing career is simply my experience. It's not wrong. Just as yours is yours and yours isn't wrong either. It's simply what's happened to us on our writing journey.

10.1, If people are getting emotional and telling you that your experience as a writer is WRONG, then they are the ones with the problem. Not you. You can ONLY relate what you've experienced. If they haven't experienced it, then good for them.

10.2, if they keep INSISTING that your experience is wrong all b/c THEY haven't experienced it, then they lack EMPATHY and are NOT WORTH YOUR TIME. They don't DESERVE YOUR ENERGY. They are a tiny player in your life and easily shut OFF.

10.3 As LONG as you're willing to stand behind what you write on the internet, social media/books, and it doesn't HURT other people, then there is NO REASON why you can't curate your experience to mute/block the naysayers from your life. It can be abusive harassment.

10.4, NO ONE deserves to be abusively harassed and personally attacked over their experience and their writing. NO ONE. Being kind, being empathetic, listening and learning only costs you the pain of BEING WRONG. I say pain, because it actually HURTS the brain to admit that you are wrong. The ego/pride PHYSICALLY can't take the idea of being WRONG. This is why people lash out. This is why people act hurt when confronted about it. They don't like PAIN. Pain is our body's FEAR reaction. "Something hurts. Don't do that." Being wrong means giving into our pain/fear & having to change! We also don't like change. Don't let THEIR FEAR control you/your EXPERIENCE. As long as you aren't hurting anyone, that is on them. Not you.

10.5 Those who don't get you, don't deserve you! Find those that do and KEEP ON WRITING.

I also write books. So, check out my Awesome Amazon Profile for Sons of Anarchy for Urban Fantasy and Kick Ass Warrior Princess stories featuring #werewolves.

#writing advice #writing tumblr #writing tips #writer tumblr #ten things

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adrianvarelablog · 7 years

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How to get a job: any job

Most people make the mistake of thinking that getting the job is about how well you do the job. Whereas doing the job is important, getting the job is something quite different and is more a ‘question of skin’ -a matter of feeling- and the feelings of not you, but of the people who are in a position to offer you, or not, a job.

Every organisation is different. Everyone is different. Organisations will -maddeningly- use different criteria for the same position for different candidates. And you’re on the outside, without access to inner politics which might tip the decision your way. Is there anything in common within this shifting-sand-floored forest? Is there anything you can do to influence a panel, individual or band decision from the outside?

I’ve been on both sides of this divide in five countries on two continents, and after 25 years or so I can say that thanks to the universality of human nature yes, there is a pattern and yes, you can. I advise you to put your very necessary practice aside for one moment and consider that the actual craft ie the music-making, or whatever it is you do, is a part -and only a part- of the matter.

Have a look at this self-portrait by the Catalan modernist painter Joan Miro:

The first thing that strikes us is the cartoonish figure on top of the ‘proper’, stylistically obviously earlier portrait. But once we’ve absorbed both images by looking at then a bit more closely, we can pull back out again and take in the whole.

The cartoon lines seem a bit slapdash, the extra markings a bit random and arbitrary. But did you notice that the picture is perfectly balanced?

Cover the yellow blob at the bottom with a finger. The picture now has a slight imbalance. It feels like the whole portrait is darker, heavier in the lower half. Equally if you cover the pink blob on the right, the weight of the whole shifts to the left; the picture is now incomplete. Try this with all the brightly coloured features, including the red eye, and see how the whole is affected.

The fact is that you can’t remove any one item out without affecting the prefect balance, like a Formula 1 pitstop team, a Calder mobile, or a Mozart string quartet.

Getting a job, any job, is turning yourself into one of those coloured blobs. It is finding a way to make yourself such a person that the company would feel imbalanced without you. That the company feels that it must have you, because you fit, and without you (or with someone else), the imbalance would be greater.

What are the components? These examples are from the music profession but they apply everywhere.

1. Playing.

You already know that the actual craft must be good. Go practice, read Paula Muldoon’s blog on dealing with nerves

HYPERLINK, etc.

2. Be a face they know.

Woody Allen said 90% of success is turning up. You may be able to create conditions in which those who make decisions can see you more.

When I started freelancing I worked with a few of orchestras of varying quality. I wanted to work exclusively with the best one, which booked me once in a blue moon and at point blank range: ‘Adrian are you free tomorrow to go to -place generic location 300 miles away here-?’ ‘No, sorry, I’m tied to C-class orchestra for 2 weeks.’ I realised I’d get booked more often if I was available. And if I was available, I’d get booked more often.

So I took a risk even though I was broke: I started turning down offers of good length, secure patches of work from my regulars, bank statement in red, in the hope that the one I wanted called me and I’d be available. I’d have nothing booked in the immediate future for months. But as I became more visible in the ‘A’ company, I was offered even more work, and was able to shift my workload to the place I wanted to be.

3. Research the job requirements.

Most people can’t play the requisite excerpts. Suppose a flying squadron needs a new member for their air show. Someone comes who flies showing no idea of how the squadron flies, but does their own maneouvers instead. Is that person going to get the job? No. It’s very simple. You should sound exactly like the orchestra’s -or the industry’s standard recording- of it. Work your fingers off and rack your brains figuring out how to until you do.

You can also guess the sight reading. Musicians are busy people (read underpaid, hence running from gig to gig & teaching jobs) so sight reading will almost invariably come from the repertoire they’re doing at the moment. Check out the programming a week either side of your audition date and gain an at least faint grasp of it.

4. Research the non-job requirements.

Check out who the last few appointments for people you know, know of, and for patterns. Maybe you know some of them, or who their teachers are. But also keep an open mind and remember, disgusting as it may sound, others may be me more racist, sexist, ageist or misogynist than you. Do yourself a favour by not denying to yourself that these things don't exist. Do mostly thin female players tend to get booked? Could there be a positive or negative, explicit or unconscious racist, or ageist agenda at play? Realising this may not directly improve your chances but the wider perspective you can have of the lie of the land, the more pragmatic a viewpoint you’ll gain, and it will take the pressure off pinning all your hopes on whether that one note you didn't vibrate exactly will end your run.

5. Rapport with those in the environment.

Like I said at the beginning, ultimately it’s the rapport, the way people feel about you and how you feel about them, that will define whether you get the job or not. You may come to see you'd rather not be part of a particular group after all. But although you can be offered the job, it’s them who have the power -and may be inclined- to do so. What you can do is to decide how you’re going to go about it until, and if, they do. As Yoda said, ‘Notice everything: it can save you’.

It’s tough out there. Good luck.

Adrian Varela

#how #to #get #a #job #any #how to get a job #philharmonia

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