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  1. In Memory of LAJ_FETT: Please share your remembrances and condolences HERE

~*~Favorites of FanFic Festival Social and Questions Thread~*~ Survey! We want YOUR opinions

Discussion in 'Fan Fiction and Writing Resource' started by mavjade , Jan 22, 2019.

  1. Findswoman

    Findswoman Fanfic and Pancakes and Waffles Mod (in Pink) star 5 Staff Member Manager

    Registered:
    Feb 27, 2014
    So, now that we're on the more open-ended categories (story you think more people should read, wish had more parts, doesn't fit in other categories, couldn't stop thinking about, etc.), I'd be curious to know about how people are interpreting them and making their choices for those categories, because I bet it's going to be different for each of us. For example:
    1. What's your definition of an underrated/underreviewed story (i.e., one deserving to be read by more people)? Are you going on number of posted reviews (or reviews per chapter in case of multichapter stories)? Something else?
    2. What, to you, makes a story hard to categorize? Is it to do with form, genre, writing style, subject, any combination of those?
    3. What, to you, makes a story stick in your head? What is your definition of a "story you can't stop thinking about"?
    I'll leave it to the mods to rule on whether it's OK to discuss specific story choices (either ones that already have been posted or one being considered) in connection with this topic, but yes, please do discuss. :)
     
  2. Sith-I-5

    Sith-I-5 Force Ghost star 6

    Registered:
    Aug 14, 2002
    Unfortunately for me, the two stories that I can't stop thinking about, occurred before 2018.
     
  3. Raissa Baiard

    Raissa Baiard FFoF Artist Extraordinaire star 4 VIP - Game Host

    Registered:
    Nov 22, 1999
    1. I went by by total number of reviews, and the fact that I came across this story on the Read and Review Challenge thread. Stories there tend to be overlooked, which is a shame because the ones I’ve read from there have been quite good.
    2. All of the above? One that I chose was unique because it was a long poem, the other included video clips and appearances from a variety of pop culture characters, so neither of them were exactly your traditional story.
    3. This was kind of tough for me, because there are so many good and memorable stories. Ultimately, the ones I chose both had strong characterization and evoked an emotional response for me.
     
  4. WarmNyota_SweetAyesha

    WarmNyota_SweetAyesha Chosen One star 8

    Registered:
    Aug 31, 2004
    Great questions ...
    Story that should be read by more For this, I go by number of reviews.

    Story that sticks in my head This is one that I adore and am reminded of often even while reading some other story - because the mood or the characterizations are evocative. [face_love]
    The mood is typically a warm and fuzzy one. [face_laugh] [face_love]

    Like Sith-I-5 a story I refuse to stop thinking about was prior to 2018. [face_love] Shamelessly mushy gem.
     
    Last edited: Apr 19, 2019
  5. pronker

    pronker Force Ghost star 4

    Registered:
    Jan 28, 2007
    Good questions all. Hmmm.

    A half baked idea is divining a ratio between number of hits and number of reviews, so high number of hits and low number of reviews means "under reviewed" no matter the number of actual reviews.:ben:

    This one, because "ac/ad" without leavening of humor seems like a pretty dry experience.

    Oooh, years later and I'm stuck on some stories still. I guess reccing it on some comm like fancake over on dreamwidth shares the passion:ahsoka: or if it's a WIP and thus un-rec-able, encouraging an author wherever it's posted. One of the top ten moments in fandom occurred when encouraging @GuerreStellari @};-to repost her Starting Over and Dagobah fics from ages ago, lost as they were to truncation. I liked these due to the unusual pairing and surreal imagery of a giant Leia, :)
     
    Last edited: Apr 20, 2019
  6. Sith-I-5

    Sith-I-5 Force Ghost star 6

    Registered:
    Aug 14, 2002
    That's a good call. If time remains on that category, I may check that thread out for inspiration.
     
  7. Kahara

    Kahara FFoF Hostess Extraordinaire star 4 VIP - Game Host

    Registered:
    Mar 3, 2001
    So I know we had two weeks to post this latest batch. Does the one-week grace period to add things late still apply? I did mean to have something up, and in fact had the stories all picked out. It's just been a really hectic couple of weeks.
     
  8. Findswoman

    Findswoman Fanfic and Pancakes and Waffles Mod (in Pink) star 5 Staff Member Manager

    Registered:
    Feb 27, 2014
    @Kahara, I’m going to guess the “grace week” still applies for this last week of categories just as well as the others, but I’ll let @Briannakin and @mavjade confirm. :)

    To briefly answer my own discussion questions:

    1. For “underreviewed,” I was sort of trying to mentally run numbers (though not in any really rigorous way) about number of reviews—or, better yet, reviewers—relative to the length of the story. A story with numerous chapters may show has having a lot of posts in its thread, but if those posts only come from (a) the writer and (b) one or two regular readers, that still counts as underreivewed to me.

    2. For the “don’t really fit in a category” category, I personally chose two stories that I felt were notably “outside the box” in some way, though in different ways: one for its strongly alien-centric viewpoint and themes, and the other for being taken from a very unique source of inspiration not often juxtaposed with the GFFA.

    3. “Story you can’t stop thinking about” was a tough one for me, because my original interpretation of the category was pretty broad, along the lines of “story you considered really awesome and a fab example of the fanfic medium.” :p But of course there are way too many stories here that count in that category for me, so I had to rethink things a little (quite a bit), and eventually narrowed my interpretation of the category to something more along the lines of what @Raissa Baiard mentioned: “story that evoked a particularly strong emotional response for me.” Both of my choices definitely did that for me, each in a different way. @};-
     
    Last edited: May 2, 2019
  9. pronker

    pronker Force Ghost star 4

    Registered:
    Jan 28, 2007
    [face_thinking]
    Yes, the fic length ought to factor in, so perhaps moving from my original ratio (# of hits : # of reviews [not review replies, or figuring if the reviews come from the same reviewer]) to adding a third component (# of hits : # of reviews : length of fic) could work? It seems to move into algebraic territory.o_O I'm not volunteering to crunch the numbers. [face_chicken]
     
    Last edited: Apr 21, 2019
    AzureAngel2, Findswoman and Kahara like this.
  10. Briannakin

    Briannakin Former Manager star 6 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    Feb 25, 2010
    Yeah, it's fine.

    You really shouldn't go by 'hits' for anything since the view count also includes bots. Just something to note for the future.
     
  11. pronker

    pronker Force Ghost star 4

    Registered:
    Jan 28, 2007
    Good to know! Thus the algorithm shall remain forever unborn.:padme:
     
    AzureAngel2 likes this.
  12. Findswoman

    Findswoman Fanfic and Pancakes and Waffles Mod (in Pink) star 5 Staff Member Manager

    Registered:
    Feb 27, 2014
    Just noticed something about the festival banner: right now it says "Timeline part 2: Favorite Saga-Legends -- Favorite Beyond the Saga -- Favorite Beyond Legends," but my understanding is that those are next week's categories instead, and that right now we're on Saga-PT, Saga-OT, and Saga-ST? I guess it's technically a bit moot by now given that "next week" is two days away, but I just wondered if that gave anyone else a moment of confusion, as it did me (I was worried for a bit that I had submitted the wrong categories earlier this week). Thanks. :)
     
    Last edited: May 3, 2019
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  13. Findswoman

    Findswoman Fanfic and Pancakes and Waffles Mod (in Pink) star 5 Staff Member Manager

    Registered:
    Feb 27, 2014
    Hi, me again—sorry for the double post.

    I just have a quick question about the “own favorite story” category. So you probably don't want us writing an entire dissertation about why we picked the story we did, but is it OK to say at least a few words? Thanks. :)
     
    Last edited: May 20, 2019
  14. Briannakin

    Briannakin Former Manager star 6 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    Feb 25, 2010
    You can write a few words but the explanation won't be put into the final index.
     
  15. Sith-I-5

    Sith-I-5 Force Ghost star 6

    Registered:
    Aug 14, 2002
    I was confused too. But as we cannot edit what we put down, I decided not to worry about it.
     
    AzureAngel2 likes this.
  16. Briannakin

    Briannakin Former Manager star 6 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    Feb 25, 2010
    I messed up the banner three weeks ago. Get over it.
     
  17. Findswoman

    Findswoman Fanfic and Pancakes and Waffles Mod (in Pink) star 5 Staff Member Manager

    Registered:
    Feb 27, 2014
    Whoa, OK... :eek:

    For my own part, I do consider myself "over it" by now, but I don't think it was an unreasonable thing for either of us to bring up.
     
  18. pronker

    pronker Force Ghost star 4

    Registered:
    Jan 28, 2007
    Hi, everyone! May I introduce my fursona, Loca, sure to give a smile or two :):):



    It's socializing for the thread because the TFN Festival celebrates fanfic, even though fans like me (Loca!) don't always get it. For instance, on this site it's fairly simple to comment and feel supportive. I thought I had the hang of tumblr, too, with its liking and reblogging [face_dancing] and then my dash got filled with excellent multiple player RPGs (illustrated, yet!), which seemed to be little ficlets, so I liked and reblogged. Oops. Reblogging confuses the muses! [face_blush]
     
  19. A Chorus of Disapproval

    A Chorus of Disapproval Head Admin & TV Screaming Service star 10 Staff Member Administrator

    Registered:
    Aug 19, 2003
    Loca, the Pug that couldn't run is my favorite member of the forums.

    I once saw a woman who looks like his mum walking a pug past my house in Belfast and I nearly lost it. Turns out there is more than one tatted blonde woman with a pug in Ireland. Who knew?
     
    pronker likes this.
  20. pronker

    pronker Force Ghost star 4

    Registered:
    Jan 28, 2007
    She was on route to a Pug Club meet up? Think how cute that would be![:D]
     
  21. A Chorus of Disapproval

    A Chorus of Disapproval Head Admin & TV Screaming Service star 10 Staff Member Administrator

    Registered:
    Aug 19, 2003
    Maybe it was Loca's stunt double because he can actually run just fine.

    And, I missed an autograph opportunity...
     
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  22. Briannakin

    Briannakin Former Manager star 6 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    Feb 25, 2010
    Mav's away... and so am I. And yet I managed to update the favourites thread!!!! Any mistakes are because I'm actually in a motel outside of a historic site, in the middle of nowhere. I'll be in the 1860s until further notice.
     
  23. pronker

    pronker Force Ghost star 4

    Registered:
    Jan 28, 2007
    Upon your return, here's proof that The Force actually exists in the Galaxy Nearest To Us All!!
     
    AzureAngel2 likes this.
  24. darthhelinith

    darthhelinith Force Ghost star 6

    Registered:
    Feb 10, 2009
    I noticed that I got nominated for a couple of categories and I'm incredibly honored! I just wanted to say thank you so so much!!
    I wish I had time to hang out and read and review some or even all the top quality fanfiction that I know is posted here by the rest of you, unfortunately it just isn't possible #teachinglife
    It's so nice to write something and not worrying about whether I've used fronted adverbials and a good range of sentence openers to model to 30 children....
    [​IMG]
    I'm gonna keep working on my writing to be the best I can be!
    I hope you all do too!
     
    Kahara, AzureAngel2, Sith-I-5 and 5 others like this.
  25. Briannakin

    Briannakin Former Manager star 6 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    Feb 25, 2010
    Hey everyone! First off, Mav and I would like to thank all our participants for posting or sending their favourites in our first "Favourites of Fanfic Festival". We do these things for you guys, but we wouldn't be able to do these things without you guys.

    Mav and I are working on the master index, but DRL, dissertations, and honeymoons have all gotten us behind, BUT we are working on it.

    Which brings us to the business of this post. We want to hear from you guys! How did you feel about the Favourites of Fanfic Festival?

    Right now, Mav and I believe there just not enough participation to hold the awards as normal. We are hopeful in the future that with new projects from Disney that our numbers will increase, but some format of a "favourites festival" is the sensible way to go forward for now.

    From a mod prospective the festival was much easier than the awards and caused very little drama. Going forward, a favourites festival could easily be done by as little as 2-3 volunteers with minimal mod oversight. For the first time doing this, we wanted to keep the process relatively simple. But we are aware participation did wane and would like suggestions on how a favourites festival could be improved in the future. Keep in mind that Mav and I are human, we did make mistakes, we were a bit late in getting this started and we ran into RL stuff like Celebration, and the notorious drop in participation that warmer weather in the northern hemisphere brings.

    Feel free to cover such questions such as: Does there need to be less categories? More categories per week? Different categories? Should all submission be anonymous and 'hosts' announce the favourites every week?