Say, for instance (in this fandom), someone wanted to write a (God forbid) Gushoshin/shinigami piece. Now, it may seem totally fine to the author, but I don't believe many would want to read it, so it should be kept for the author's enjoyment, and not posted.
See, saying this just *tempts* me.
I don't agree that potential audience is a reasonable standard of judgment. I've written minor and unpopular characters several times (it's a thing), or even for media which I didn't think had an organized fandom, and sometimes these stories sink like a stone, and sometimes, rather to my surprise, they don't. It doesn't seem like there's much demand for Tsubaki-hime or Hijiri fic, but I'm very glad wordsofastory posted those stories, because they're (a) good stories; (b) interesting reflections on canon; and (c) pretty different from anything else out there.
rachelmanija just had an interesting post (http://www.livejournal.com/~rachelmanija/60800.html) on this subject, which amazingly did not focus on Anne Rice.
I don't think you necessarily *do* know when you've crossed over the line, but then I think writing is often an emotional risk in general. The best thing I've found is to get beta readers who I trust to tell me if I'm on crack.
no subject
See, saying this just *tempts* me.
I don't agree that potential audience is a reasonable standard of judgment. I've written minor and unpopular characters several times (it's a thing), or even for media which I didn't think had an organized fandom, and sometimes these stories sink like a stone, and sometimes, rather to my surprise, they don't. It doesn't seem like there's much demand for Tsubaki-hime or Hijiri fic, but I'm very glad
I don't think you necessarily *do* know when you've crossed over the line, but then I think writing is often an emotional risk in general. The best thing I've found is to get beta readers who I trust to tell me if I'm on crack.