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reenkaso. i will spend today doing my duty to man, god, and betaness.
i pledge allegiance to my chair, and to the desk it is next to, and promise complete attention to my screen, undivided, with liberty and full ability to possibly get a cup of tea meanwhile. ahem.
i've been being sort of full of myself, i think. especially with the whole reccing thing. i get so excited about stories. i gush and i crave and i act like we're all geniuses or something. whereas some of my favorite published writers, i can nitpick to death and say, yeah, the style is great, but she really doesn't deliver on the clear plot and characterization sometimes. i -adore- patricia mckillip, but really, she has her strong points and her weak points. i can't say she's any kind of gold standard except in terms of lyricism. and even then, she's not alone. there are other writers equally lyrical, but not as unique overall. so maybe i don't even know what i'm looking for, always.
even neil gaiman, my fiction god. he's only a god with `sandman'. with `stardust' and his short stories and other things, he's only really really good. so maybe it was just the fortuitous combination of theme, visuals, and overall execution, combined with his particular genius for the particular tihngs explored in the sandman-- dialogue, mythic structure, quirky characterization, humor.
i worship and adore amalin's writing, for example. but she has her weak points. i'm just a -really- big sucker for emotion and lyricism. were i to be objective, i'd take off points for things like narrative/plot & characterization.
i am writing a list of recs, based on all the stuff i've recced here so far. i'm including pretty much anything that i find "good". and thinking back on it-- i wonder if any of it is -really- good. a gold standard. something i have no reservations about. something complete and shining and-- well-- perfect.
at the time, i'd gushed and bounced about almost -all- of them. and now i find-- looking soberly-- are most of them worth my true seal of approval? my saying, "this is so good, so good, this is better than most things published". not perfect, but close enough. something blindingly complete and strong on all counts. ok fine, i'm inevitably subjective. but even so, i can't think of much of anything that would truly stand up to my toughest scrutiny.
well, that's not true. this vaccilates. actually, audrey's `brief interval' popped to mind immediately. i dunno why. i think it's the memory of crying, having finished it. it was so good i couldn't even believe it. it was just-- perfect. i'm afraid of looking over it again, testing this theory. if it's not like i remember it, i don't think i want to know. the other things that jump out at me are amalin's ghost!draco, aja's 9-11 fic, and penguin's `falling'. and then the rest come rushing in. so of course, i made a link-list.
i've noticed that most of the things i have no reservations about are written in short form, snippets, short stories, non-narrative-based pieces, and so on. anything novel-like, it's easier to spot inconsistencies and flaws. i mean, i can name a number of amazing works, but they're all under 20 pages. i dunno what this says, really. maybe nothing is that good, and if it's really short, it's more condensed and not as glaring? you rush past it? or maybe the length makes one write tighter, like a poet. hmm.
anyway. as close to perfect as it gets:
audrey's `a brief period before the resumption of play'*
penelope's `cocaine music', `his belongings', `carnivorous house'.
lc's `theme and variation'
kick flaw's `a gash of colour'
bec's `H(x)/D(x) = x^3 sec (x)' & `scratch'
trin's flies!draco & `adventures in ice-o'.
seri's ``6 ways of unpinning a butterfly" -- and it's gooooone...!! aaaaargh. if anyone knows where this story is now archived, tell me. please. in fact, `feast of apples' is the only thing of hers i could find, online. sigh. other than the brilliant poems on her lj, ie `secret agent potions man', which i should actually include here, heh.um. except i'd feel weird. ><
sky's tom/hagrid & hagrid/tom. probably all of `artful facade', but it's not as good as sky can do, at this point, if you can believe it. with sky, it's mostly-- oh my gahd, this -could- be better than anything, just give it time. she'll get there :D
wax jism's `second of our reign'
holographis' `gone'. maybe also `roses'.
silvia's `legend'. it's hard to pick with silvia. i'd worship her completely if she wrote more complete stuff, heh. i mean. guh. she's always on a whole 'nother level.
amalin's `ice', `absence', `losing again' & moonlit'.
penguin's `warm spell on a cold night' & `falling'. falling just-- i -have- no reservations about it. i just don't. guh. go. read. gasp. try and tell me what's missing.
possibly all of `dragonweed'.
missi's `porcelain'
maya's `hatred' and `chains'.
ivy and libertine - `in dialogia'.
ivy's `fall on your knees'. huh. weird. possibly `origins'. possibly perfect. possibly without reservation. sounds weird. but it's true. i can't -think- of exactly why it's `not good enough'. i mean. it's not the be-all-and-end-all of all h/d fics, but nothing is. sadly. i can't even rec `irresistible poison' because like-- well-- life is sad. i have my reservations, having been spoiled by evil ip-hating people. sigh.
ishuca's `he says'
shinigamiforever - `his sleepless nights' & `sanctuary'
aja's `every second' and `twelvth night' - waaaahhhh, aja, don't destroy perfection like that...! *cries*
lizbee's `the language that god speaks'
---
EDIT - also:
tradescant's `hook and eye'
miss breed's `beware the fury of a patient man'. yum.
antenora's `rites of passage'
riddle's `stealing sweaters', heheheh. ok i'm getting silly now. must stop ><
---
my own - the AU i wrote for cassie claire. didn't include the Trilogy because, i haven't read it all. naturally, also didn't include various things i haven't read (yet).
~~
and now, to play catch-up.....
i pledge allegiance to my chair, and to the desk it is next to, and promise complete attention to my screen, undivided, with liberty and full ability to possibly get a cup of tea meanwhile. ahem.
i've been being sort of full of myself, i think. especially with the whole reccing thing. i get so excited about stories. i gush and i crave and i act like we're all geniuses or something. whereas some of my favorite published writers, i can nitpick to death and say, yeah, the style is great, but she really doesn't deliver on the clear plot and characterization sometimes. i -adore- patricia mckillip, but really, she has her strong points and her weak points. i can't say she's any kind of gold standard except in terms of lyricism. and even then, she's not alone. there are other writers equally lyrical, but not as unique overall. so maybe i don't even know what i'm looking for, always.
even neil gaiman, my fiction god. he's only a god with `sandman'. with `stardust' and his short stories and other things, he's only really really good. so maybe it was just the fortuitous combination of theme, visuals, and overall execution, combined with his particular genius for the particular tihngs explored in the sandman-- dialogue, mythic structure, quirky characterization, humor.
i worship and adore amalin's writing, for example. but she has her weak points. i'm just a -really- big sucker for emotion and lyricism. were i to be objective, i'd take off points for things like narrative/plot & characterization.
i am writing a list of recs, based on all the stuff i've recced here so far. i'm including pretty much anything that i find "good". and thinking back on it-- i wonder if any of it is -really- good. a gold standard. something i have no reservations about. something complete and shining and-- well-- perfect.
at the time, i'd gushed and bounced about almost -all- of them. and now i find-- looking soberly-- are most of them worth my true seal of approval? my saying, "this is so good, so good, this is better than most things published". not perfect, but close enough. something blindingly complete and strong on all counts. ok fine, i'm inevitably subjective. but even so, i can't think of much of anything that would truly stand up to my toughest scrutiny.
well, that's not true. this vaccilates. actually, audrey's `brief interval' popped to mind immediately. i dunno why. i think it's the memory of crying, having finished it. it was so good i couldn't even believe it. it was just-- perfect. i'm afraid of looking over it again, testing this theory. if it's not like i remember it, i don't think i want to know. the other things that jump out at me are amalin's ghost!draco, aja's 9-11 fic, and penguin's `falling'. and then the rest come rushing in. so of course, i made a link-list.
i've noticed that most of the things i have no reservations about are written in short form, snippets, short stories, non-narrative-based pieces, and so on. anything novel-like, it's easier to spot inconsistencies and flaws. i mean, i can name a number of amazing works, but they're all under 20 pages. i dunno what this says, really. maybe nothing is that good, and if it's really short, it's more condensed and not as glaring? you rush past it? or maybe the length makes one write tighter, like a poet. hmm.
anyway. as close to perfect as it gets:
audrey's `a brief period before the resumption of play'*
penelope's `cocaine music', `his belongings', `carnivorous house'.
lc's `theme and variation'
kick flaw's `a gash of colour'
bec's `H(x)/D(x) = x^3 sec (x)' & `scratch'
trin's flies!draco & `adventures in ice-o'.
seri's ``6 ways of unpinning a butterfly" -- and it's gooooone...!! aaaaargh. if anyone knows where this story is now archived, tell me. please. in fact, `feast of apples' is the only thing of hers i could find, online. sigh. other than the brilliant poems on her lj, ie `secret agent potions man', which i should actually include here, heh.um. except i'd feel weird. ><
sky's tom/hagrid & hagrid/tom. probably all of `artful facade', but it's not as good as sky can do, at this point, if you can believe it. with sky, it's mostly-- oh my gahd, this -could- be better than anything, just give it time. she'll get there :D
wax jism's `second of our reign'
holographis' `gone'. maybe also `roses'.
silvia's `legend'. it's hard to pick with silvia. i'd worship her completely if she wrote more complete stuff, heh. i mean. guh. she's always on a whole 'nother level.
amalin's `ice', `absence', `losing again' & moonlit'.
penguin's `warm spell on a cold night' & `falling'. falling just-- i -have- no reservations about it. i just don't. guh. go. read. gasp. try and tell me what's missing.
possibly all of `dragonweed'.
missi's `porcelain'
maya's `hatred' and `chains'.
ivy and libertine - `in dialogia'.
ivy's `fall on your knees'. huh. weird. possibly `origins'. possibly perfect. possibly without reservation. sounds weird. but it's true. i can't -think- of exactly why it's `not good enough'. i mean. it's not the be-all-and-end-all of all h/d fics, but nothing is. sadly. i can't even rec `irresistible poison' because like-- well-- life is sad. i have my reservations, having been spoiled by evil ip-hating people. sigh.
ishuca's `he says'
shinigamiforever - `his sleepless nights' & `sanctuary'
aja's `every second' and `twelvth night' - waaaahhhh, aja, don't destroy perfection like that...! *cries*
lizbee's `the language that god speaks'
---
EDIT - also:
tradescant's `hook and eye'
miss breed's `beware the fury of a patient man'. yum.
antenora's `rites of passage'
riddle's `stealing sweaters', heheheh. ok i'm getting silly now. must stop ><
---
my own - the AU i wrote for cassie claire. didn't include the Trilogy because, i haven't read it all. naturally, also didn't include various things i haven't read (yet).
~~
and now, to play catch-up.....
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no subject
Date: 2002-11-29 02:16 pm (UTC)i mean, i wanna know if something i wrote has major issues. if everyone just tells me that this is great, i wouldn't improve as quickly~:)
i mean, no one's perfect, and lots of people don't like things - like ip for instance. or twav *laughs*
btw, i really liked twav ;D
well not that it's literary genius, but i thought it was hot, and funny, and i didn't need much else back in the early days :D
no one's perfect - or even close to it.
*admires your honesty* hopefully we're serious, at least, if not about fanfic, then about improving our writing, and so on. so there's no need to make it a mutual admiration society, and stuff.
unless one takes one's writing as a direct correlation to one's self-worth. which one should learn not to.
so yeah. you're allowed to have as many issues with AF as you like ~:) it's in the rulebook :D