(no subject)

[brigdh]

New computer! New computer! New computer!

Feel my glee, y'all. ^_^ It's a Dell Latitude, and I'm so very happy with it. It still needs a name, though...

While I was in the computer store, which also does repairs, someone came in to drop off their laptop. It was the exact same brand and make as my last one, and it had the same problem that I'd had. Hah. I knew it wasn't my fault.

Okay, now a bunch of links:
gushoushinfiles. For all your Yami fandom needs. It's like fandom_bb, but for YnM instead of Smallville. It'll keep track of new fic, icons, challenges, whatever. Such a cool resource. Much love for animadri. She does way too much stuff for this fandom. ^^

rinoared wrote an excellent Tatsumi/Tsuzuki/Hisoka essay for ship_manifesto. So cool.

And speaking of ship_manifesto, do you realize that no one is signed up to do Muraki/Tsuzuki? That is just wrong. Someone should sign up! Don't make me do it, my essay would be far too strongly influenced by the fact that I really dislike Muraki. But we can't let the pairing just languish.

Meanwhile, yasminm has collected 20 themes for Yami no Matsuei, plus a few bonus ones. And she's working on a list for Weiss Kreuz. Go suggest some! See, the idea is that you take these themes, and write a fic for each of them. Major, major cool points for anyone who actually manages to write all 20. But it's a very neat idea for a challenge.

And now I swear to stop pimping things out for a moment. I wouldn't have to keep making link-posts if so much stuff didn't happen. :p But I have a question that I'd like people's opinions on. At what point does fanfic become too self-indulgent? I mean, on some level, obviously all fanfic- all writing, even- is self-indulgent. It's telling stories that you expect people to listen to, writing down your daydreams- though hopefully with a bit more characterization and tighter plot- in the hope that it will make other people happy as well. But where's the point that it becomes too much? How do you know if you've gotten in to a project that's nothing but your kinks and ideas, with no interest to anyone else?

Is there a point at which some stuff just shouldn't be written? Or shouldn't be published, at least. How far can you reasonably expect readers to follow you? And how do you know when you've crossed the line?

Comments

[katsue_fox]

Yay for new computer!!

I don't think there's any point where the writer needs to restrain self-indulgence in fanfic. There is, however, a (highly variable) point where the reader will give up reading any given fanfic if the author has disappeared off into their own little world.

There's probably a reasonably high level of wish fulfillment and personal perspectives that can be found in any fanfic. Reading stuff written by anybody I know at all well, I can often pick out stuff that says something about the author. (*Includes self in this*)

[wordsofastory.livejournal.com]

Thanks!

You know, I think you're probably right. I mean, there's plenty of things that I've read and quite enjoyed, even though they were likely extremely self-indulgent for the author. But when I'm the one writing, I always feel a bit more nervous. #^^# I hardly want to become known as 'that chick who write the really weird thing.'