musings: part of the solution, or part of the precipitate?

[tielan]

How do other people view their involvement in fandom?

Is it just a hobby, something that they putter away at with no thought for what they're producing or what purpose it's going to serve?

Do other people write stories, draw pictures, enter discussions with a focus in mind? Or is fandom 'just' an ocean liner on the sea - it surrounds you, but you're separate to it and the sea has no involvement in your cruise?

I write the fic that I want to write. But I also try to write the fic that needs to be written. Particularly in Atlantis fandom, I try to give voice to those who have none. Teyla-fic. John/Teyla. Team-fic that goes beyond just John-and-Rodney or The Boys. Elizabeth-as-not-a-Mary-Sue. I don't imagine I do a very good job of it since my Teyla and John/Teyla fic are among the least-read but the most numerous of my stories and my teamfic doesn't tend to get much response either.

I like to raise discussions about possibility - which is what fanfic is to me. What could be done with the characters, what roads yet untravelled might be undertaken? Are we likely to see it in canon? Why not write it in fanfic?

Complaining is a release point. I like a good vent session, same as most people. But leaving it there is doing nothing to find a solution to the problem. I write because I have to write - I'd go insane if I didn't and start chewing my computer cord. But I consider my choice of subject important and strategic, too. I write what I write because nobody else seems to be writing it. Hence, my near-obsession with both Teyla and John/Teyla. One the least-liked character in fandom, the other the most-hated pairing.

Maybe it's not my responsibility to do something about it. Maybe I can't change minds that are set in stone - and most people in this fandom seem about as close-minded about Teyla and John/Teyla as Dubya is about gay marriage in the US. Maybe I shouldn't have believed the people who read my Liz/Ronon stories and suggested I'd converted them to the pairing. Maybe I should believe the people - even people I consider friends -who keep telling me that Teyla's a useless character, uninteresting, boring, and only worth reading if she's paired up with Ronon.

I just figure that if I can change a couple of not-so-close-minds, then isn't that worth it? If you're pro-gay marriage, would you consider it worth holding a discussion with someone whose mindset is against gay marriage if it opened their mind just a crack? You might not convince them today, but if nobody ever presents them with a possible alternative that's more fitted to their mindset, they'll never change.

Yes, it's aggravating to write and write and have it ignored and ignored and dismissed. Yes, it's annoying to know that most of the people reading this would rather cut off their thumb than read or write anything I'm writing that doesn't match their preferences. Yes, it's painful and tiring and exhausting to keep pushing people to discuss things on group communities or to persuade even one reader who says, "Oh, you write everything so well," to try reading a pairing they mightn't normally read. Yes, it's frustrating to keep finding people who don't want to involve themselves in working on a solution.

But I'd rather try than die. And I'd rather be part of the solution than part of the precipitate.

Like Ronon, I'm not good at sitting quietly and doing nothing.

Comments

[eisenkreis.livejournal.com]

You can lead a horse to water and all that.

The unfortunate thing about going after a particularly unpopular pairing is ... well, you've stated it yourself. People can't be -made- to be interested in a specific character or pairing based solely on the writer's assurances that it -can- be interesting. If they're not into the character, don't connect, and can't connect, they can't invest themselves in the story and, therefor, don't get much of anything out of it. It can be frustrating, especially given the HUGE array of fanfiction in SG:A specifically (I'm one of the people that happens to find Ronon/Weir and, at points, Kolya/Weir highly interesting, so my usual choice of fanfic tends to be limited), and you'd imagine more people would be into the same thing you are, but it rarely ends up like that.

Being someone who really isn't that big a fan of Teyla (she always reminded me if a female answer to Teal'c and little more; I suppose that's why), I'll admit that I typically skim over what I see with her in it, barring the presence of a character I -am- interested in. It'd be nice to take an interest as, and unfortunately I'm going to repeat a phrase you seem to dislike, you ARE a very talented writer and I enjoy reading what you write, but that said, I simply can't imagine forcing myself to like a character for that reason alone.

I think I stopped getting irritated by the closed-mindedness when I wrote a Cancer Man/Scully 'fic. ;3 Talk about a hated pairing.

Still, think of it this way: the people who ARE in synch with you, the ones who find these 'fics? They'll love the hell out of it, if only because they'll be of the same mind you are: why aren't more people into this? What can make it more interesting? FICZ PLZ, etc. Better yet that you are, as stated, a very good writer-- I've been into rare (or just unpopular) pairings and had to discover that a really -shitty- writer was the only one tackling it, and thus, had to write one of my own.

In short: I have no solution, just the wet blanket of 'what you see is what you get.'

[sharim.livejournal.com]

I write because I like writing and the characters appeal to me. I love the 'what if' scenarios. I love trying to get inside their minds and playing with them.

It's not so much as trying to change the way pairings are viewed or take a stance on something, but rather me thinking "Hm, I wonder..." and then it spins off from there.

Sure, I love people reading the fic and if they feel so inclined, commenting on it, but the personal satisfaction I get out of something that I worked on and worked on and created is already there, evenwithout the added recognition.

Mostly, I love exploring people, and the shows I write for (SG1 & XF) have characters and 'darkness' that appeal to me and can quite happily be manipulated while ignoring the rules or physics or whatever, if that makes sense.

*HUG*

btw, *I* read your writing :P I'm just, as you konw, a hopeless commentor :P

[emma-mage.livejournal.com]

Very thoughtful analysis of your own fandom involvment -- wish I could focus enough to do that! BTW, I do enjoy your stories, all flavors of 'em, and I consider you one of the best fanfic writers I've ever read. (I've been reading for about 8 years now, if that counts for anything.) Sorry I don't comment enough.

[r-becca.livejournal.com]

Irritations aside, one of the wonderful things about writing a pairing that has a smaller following is the wealth of possibilities. There is so much Teyla fic out there that hasn't been written that you can do almost anything with her and have it be new.

I love McShep, but I don't think I'd ever write it, just because I'd be constantly worrying that someone else had already written the same story. I'd get so hung up on trying to think of something new and original that I wouldn't be able to write the story *I* wanted to tell.

For me, that's what it has to be about in the end. If I'm not telling the story I want to, the one that's eating me up inside trying to come out, I'll lose interest and the story won't get written, or it'll suck. Readers and reviewers are wonderful, but writing for me has to be all about ME.

[grav-ity.livejournal.com]

I write the stories that get stuck in my head. And as far as I can tell, no one reads them, but I am ok with that. It makes the feedback I do get that much more precious and awesome.

I read a lot, and I review as much as I can, even if it's only a short "well done".

I don't really get pulled into fandom discussion. My years on the Grissom/Sara message board have sort of made me step back and not want to lock horns with anyone. I like the show ergo I like most of the characters, and those I don't adore (Rodney, Sam, Catherine, Martin) I don't actively hate. I don't understand how people character bash.

I will step up if the writing is bad or the continuity is messed up, but that is only because I like those parts of television the most (well, and acting. but the stuff I watch rarely suffers from bad acting).

"The medium is the message and the content is the audience."

I watch, I guess. I don't know what that makes me.

[pixiesio.livejournal.com]

These days I'm much more of a putterer. I can't be bothered with the excessive amounts of dwama that keep popping up between people for no good reason.