The miniaturization of my LJ world...

[fajrdrako]

As I read my flist, it starts to look to me as if most of the fan art is icons, and most of the fan fic is drabbles. Is the world shrinking?

Comments

[commodorified.livejournal.com]

Maybe it's another manifestation of that old joke about fandom as the world's longest running ADHD support -- oh, hey. I gotta icon that!


*g*

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

Eeee - go for it!

[lmondegreen.livejournal.com]

It's all about instant gratification now. Why bother crafting anything long/involved when you can whip something up and post it in ten minutes?

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

Because some of us prefer substance? Because it isn't all about ego gratification? Because sometimes we're so addicted that a quick fix is no fix at all?

Or maybe I'm just whining because I haven't written anything substantial myself in quite a while?

[lilithlotr.livejournal.com]

Given that most of the so-called "drabbles" I see are 300 words +, I don't think so!

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

Three hundred words is nothing. Not even a page of print. I could read it in a few minutes. And I do. Then I want more... and more... and more.

Greedy, that's me.

[lilithlotr.livejournal.com]

See, and I love the drabble art form. I find it challenging to write, and fun to read - much like haiku.

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

Oh, I agree. I like drabbles too. And dodecals and haiku and sonnets and all sorts of thing that play with form and substance. Is isn't that I feel dismissed of drabbles. A good drabble is a masterpiece - and so is a really good icon.

This doesn't mean I don't like quantity as well as quality!

[lilithlotr.livejournal.com]

It does seem that lately much fanfic is either 30+ parts (and I give up long before the end) or 100 words.

And icons, oy vey. I wish they'd ban them from non-icon communities. I don't join whatever_daily to get icons

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

Fanfic in 30+ parts - I don't read till it's all there, then I read it as a unit. I don't have the attention span to handle fiction that's constantly interrupted or interruptable. And much as I like drabbles, I can't stand stories written in multiple-drabble form. For some reason, I find that annoying. Choppy. The virtue of a drabble - it's perfect, concise structure - is lost and then there's no reason for it at all.

I agree about icons. I like icon communities - that's what they're for. Some non-icon communities do ban them. It can also seem redundant, to see the same set of icons on four or five communities devoted to the same fandom.

[silverwhistle.livejournal.com]

I haven't had time for a while, but have done longer fics (though I'm very, very bad at not finishing them!), and photo-manipulations/montages.

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

I used to write long stories (even novels) and finish them, too. I seem to have stopped - but only temporarily, I'm sure!

Now, photo-maipulations delight and fascinate me, but I've never had the patience or skill to actually do them.

[lmondegreen.livejournal.com]

I know the feeling! I think we should have a writing party sometime... just get together somewhere and write for an afternoon.

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

Oh what a brilliant idea! I think we should do it, and a.s.a.p. Who else do you think would be interested? Should we just leave it freeform - get together and write whatever we're working on - or should we make it a challenge?

[sparklebutch.livejournal.com]

Ten drabbles a night is good too.

Although, in my book, a thousand word fic is HUGE. I have a very tiny book.

[lmondegreen.livejournal.com]

Erika would be interested, I'm sure, and Jose; maybe Michelle. I have another friend, too, who's working on a novel; I could ask him. I have tons of writing prompts I've been collecting for myself; we could make it a challenge, just to kick-start ourselves into writing mode :-)

[silverwhistle.livejournal.com]

I think this chain-mailed blond may delight you... (Far better fitted to defending a city under siege than ickle Orlando...)

[ceruleancat.livejournal.com]

Attention span is definitely shrinking, as is the amount of time people spend on reading one's stuff. It's the same with news items. Blogs have also contributed. When we were on mailing lists, you got the fic or the art links and checked them at your leisure, if you had any. Now, it's all posted on lj, and most of us only go over the flist, so if something isn't on the latest entries, it tends to be forgotten. How many of us scroll back on people ljs unless looking for something specific? Even worse, if it's too big, you're expected to cut tag, but a lot of people don't click on cut tags, so the longer, bigger work gets even less exposure. So people see the icons and the drabbles they can absorb quickly, and these forms increase in popularity. They're great art forms that require a delicate and precise touch, but yes, I would enjoy longer stuff from writers I like, however few.

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

I think all your comments are true, and I try not to fall into the habit of 'always browsing, never reading' because it's more fun when I can and do play close attention. Especially since I have come to feel that many of the people on my LJ list really are friends - whose news I want to hear from day to day or, at worst, week to week.

It's the nature of fanfic to always be evolving. When I started reading slash you could only get it in fanzine and you had to know where and how to get the fanzines - a lot of it was word of mouth, or convention-based. Now it's everywhere, and I suspect that the long, complex material still exists, and still had to be sought and found.

I was somewhat spoiled by Smallville fandom, which had many fine writers of very substantial material - well written, with thoughtful and sexy content. Well archived, lots of recommendation lists. Coming in to a new fandom, I don't really know what to look for or how or where to look.

[ceruleancat.livejournal.com]

In pre-internet times, I wouldn't have been able to do any of it, being so far away. Even major mainstream magazines were difficult to find, let alone fanzines of anything off the beaten track.

Yes, I'm sure there is longer material out there, if one looks for it, in fandom as in any other field, it's just not conveniently served to our mailbox or flist. I'm sure it's doubly true in an old and established fandom, although I can't offer any concrete information, it not being one of my fandoms.

At least the search process is easier :)

[ceruleancat.livejournal.com]

Most of the time, I don't have the time to do more than quickly browse my flist, touch base with those who are personal friends. My 'fic to read' folder just grows more and more. At least, it's good that when I do have the time and mood to read fic, I can gauge whether I like something or not very quickly, so I don't waste too much precious time on fic 'roughage'.

And I get to beta for sparklebutch, so I get a steady flux of varied quality fic and original material.

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

My 'fic to read' folder just grows more and more.

My goodness yes, me too. My list of bookmarked stories is humungous! I'll never read it all. And websites disappear, their stories with them.

Betaing for sparklebutch must be fun!

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

Fanzines were always hard to get unless you knew about them. I was lucky in that when I first discovered Star Trek fandom, c. 1979, a number of people in the local club were into fanzines and convention-going, and I was able to sample their zines, discover slash (which in those days was just K/S) and learn what was going on.

Making contacts now is definitely easier. Too bad I don't have more leisure time to read all that is available.

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

So we need to set a time and start inviting interested friends. Scheduling often seems to be a difficulty - we can talk about it this afternoon.

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

I don't think of your work as drabbles, just as habitually short fic. For which you have a talent.

Come to think of it, if all drabbles were like your short fic, I probably wouldn't be complaining. I think the difference is... most drabbles aren't very emotionally substantial or complex even when they are short. Yours manage to be.