Sep
7th
2012
What happened to us? · 5:02pm Sep 7th, 2012
When did pony fiction become such a cut throat competition? What happened to the old days of just putting a story out there and people read it or didn't? When did we start having standards and "Masterpiece" fictions that we could never hope to compare to because we're not those authors? When did Fallout Equestria or My Little Dashie or Eternal or any of those become the so called "Standard" we all must live up to or languish in obscurity? When did mane cast ships start having "seasons" of who is with who?
What happened to just... enjoying the story because we had fun writing it and you had fun reading it? When did this become so much WORK?
search me.
Since the self-insert alicorn OC flood I guessdl.dropbox.com/u/31471793/FiMFiction/emoticons/shrug_Rainbow_Dash.png
I'm happy with the small readership I get, because though they are few, they are smart and supportive.
Not all readers are the same. If you write it, they will come. The reason people get picky is because there's so much fan fiction out there, people only have time to read what is (or at least, seems to be) the best of the best. But if you put a bit of effort into making your story look halfway presentable, you WILL get readers. And once you have readers, you just have to stick with it and gain momentum.
I guess my point is, if you can't be bothered take the time to make your story the best you're capable of, you shouldn't be complaining that it has no readers. There are too many fanfics out there for people to waste time on the weaker ones. The reason people expect stories like My Little Dashie and Fallout Equestria is because stories like those DO come along quite often. Background Pony is a good example of one such story that's cropped up more recently. The fact is that people DO put in that level of effort. And it naturally follows that people who devote that kind of time and effort get the readership they deserve.
What I hear you saying is "all these experienced, hard-working writers are making me look bad. Stop making good stories, because I want people to read my average story".
If fan fiction doesn't actually mean that much to you, then be honest with yourself about that, rather than complaining about how people don't flock by the millions to read your story.
342551
And what happened to you? My former fan...
All these big authors are keeping us down, man.
Fim Fiction stories became established...
When things are new obviously there is no 'standard' to meet because the audience hasn't set one. By now with so many amazing stories out there readers can't help but compare the stories they read to the ones that are their favorites.
It's the same way when I see a high fantasy story it can be hard not to compare it to Lord of the Rings. It's not really fair to compare a work to another authors work as you should really judge a story on it's own merit...too bad that's impossible to completely do without having the man in black wipe your memory.
My stories will never be comparable to some of the works out there but then if I was after real recognition I would be sending my stories to a publisher...not a fan fiction site.dl.dropbox.com/u/31471793/FiMFiction/emoticons/misc_Lyra_dealwithit.png
We've reached a point in our fandom where 'fan fiction' is becoming a very loose term. Look at Fallout: Equestria. They've got hardcover volumes published that you can buy. $80 can get you the complete collection. I intend to buy a copy when my next paycheck rolls in, but just think about this for a moment.
Think about it you guys - they're selling their fan fiction.
If that isn't something to work towards, something to make you think "I'm going to make this the best damn story ever written" when you log in to this page... well fuck. I don't know what more can be done.
342633 I kept moving forward, and you kept walking in place.
I did my best to make people laugh and cry, and wonder fancifully at what the future held. What did you do? You wrote clop.
I took pride in my work, reached out to hungry readers and showed them the things I see, and finding just a single person who wanted another chapter would leave me delighted. And I see you complaining about how the system is working against you and how of the millions upon millions of fanfics out there, nobody picks yours. And it makes me sad, to see that this is what has become of you. I am disappointed in you, and frankly, I have moved on.
To all the people complaining about the big writers overshadowing you - consider that they haven't always been big writers. At one point, they were standing where you stand today. Connor Cogworth hasn't always been the mastermind behind Ah Ain't Got No Ack-Sent and On A Cross and Arrow. CoffeeGrunt didn't start out as the one who made TaviScratch into permanent fanon. PK didn't just wake up to find himself the father of two beloved OCs and a city called Stalliongrad. They all started out with absolutely nothing, and became popular because they wrote stories people loved. You can do it too, you just need to be more diligent, a bit more vigilant, and a bit more humble when presenting your stories. Readers are a gift, a privilege given to those skilled fishers who can hook a person's mind with a concept and successfully reel them in.
Things change... sadly often for the worse. But I guess it happens when they are exposed to it too often.
It's similar in porn, the porn standard of a female genital is a white pre-teen girl's genitals. It was what was seen as the generic beauty standard. That hung with the industry for ~10 years, not it is what is seen as normal, while only ~5 % of adult women look like that. Kinda wide comparison, but I think something similar has been done here. We have the "masterpieces", we have the "suggested" box of popular and well written stories, and as the amount of fics increase, the good vs average vs bad have more distance between them. It becomes more of a "pick the higher quality" ones. I remember around a year ago, gore fics were like, "the shizz", now they are EVERYWHERE, and people cba with reading "lesser" ones, same goes for anything really. All and all, people have become picky I think. Before there was a limited amount of fics out, now there are many. Heck, I'm glad if I get ~10 favorites even on my stuff.
Personally, I am an amateur writer, and that is all I want to be. As my violin teacher once told me, he considers 'amateur' to be one of the highest complements, because the word itself means 'for the love of it.' I don't write for fame or anything. I write because I want to. Nothing more. Hell, I don't even think I have any fans. I have 2 people watching me. One of them because I watched him, the other I think just decided to watch everyone. And I don't even care. I write for fun.
I agree. And you know what I do?
I say 'fuck it' and write what I damn please. Standards? If no one's going to read it, who cares about standards?
I'm not looking for recognition, I'm not making myself the next Sleepless or whoever.
I post because I want to.
If I get a follower? Great.
If I don't? No loss.
But it's all perspective, I suppose.
This became work when it became writing.
Bro, it happens ALL THE TIME in fandoms. It's a natural progression. Just be glad it isn't as bad as others.
And on the topic of "Masterpiece" fics or "Standards", it's the normal way it goes. If a fandom has so many authors and stories like this one does, it's going to be a lot easier for the so called "better" authors and fics to rise above the rest. Normal fandoms that have less followers/fans (Or more, but not as many authors and stories) take a longer time to establish "Masterpiece" fics than one as large as ours.
And it's not like those fics get ALL the attention. They end, and people move on, searching for the NEXT BIG THING, just as in reality.
And OF COURSE those fics, like Fallout: Equestria, My Little Dashie, ETC, will be the new "standard". Just as in the real-life publishing and writing world, "masterpieces", such as Ayn Rand's Atlas Shrugged, H.G. Wells' War of the Worlds, and Charles Dickens' Tale of Two Cities, are always what critics, and usually readers, base the scales of what is good and what isn't on. Why would it be different online?
But, I see your point.
~Technopony~
I don't know what to say, I've almsot given up on writing period since I can't seem to get it out of my head that I'm not allowed to write average stuff, I feel like if I don't write a masterpiece that everyoen loves on my first real go then there's no point in writing at all, I can't even think up a decent idea anymore.
This is the precise reason why I do not share stories on pony sites anymore. It's simply too much work. It is, as you stated, cutthroat. The bronies that come here to read fanfictions and alternate stories have been pushed aside as the Brony Community grew. So many bronies have become part of the herd, and while that is a good thing, they have come in with their own set of beliefs and criticisms. Quite honestly, I think that bronies have become so infected with all of these critics, that I almost feel ashamed to call myself a brony. (However, I will keep on doing so.
)
The "Love and Tolerance" shit that we were fed in the early days is now dead, only these critics remain.
We have forgotten why we all became bronies. It was not to write fanfiction or alternate stories, that came later on. At first, it was to watch a show. A show that brought us together. As bros who like ponies, we became bronies.
Anyway, I believe you made a very good point. I ask you to take comfort in the fact that, while there are bronies that will only critique with a phrase such as "This story sucks!!1" there also are just as many bronies who will appreciate your work. Such as I.
Keep on writing, my friend.
>the so called "Standard"
Er, yeah, that's called grammar, pacing, and a decent premise.
342912
You, sir, have earned yourself a round of applause.
Yeah, fuck that shit. I read what I want, when I want, irregardless of author. If it looks good, I read it, if it doesn't, I don't. Simple as that.
My good sir, i love you now. You have said what I have always imagined. The fact that you were so popular allows this message to spread farther than i would have ever been able to. Thank you!
342504 dl.dropbox.com/u/93510029/spike.png
Unfortunately, that’s a problem with the internet as a whole.
With websites like YouTube, Fanfiction.net, DeviantArt, Facebook, etc., there’s become a huge competition to get more hits, more reviews, more contacts, and overall just gain more attention and popularity. With a franchise as big and as popular as My Little Pony and the success of various fanfare, it has exacerbated this mentality by raising the bar for other fanfics to follow. At least, that’s how I see it.
Its only cut-throat if you make it like that.
343097
So your saying all the other writers that have written all those wonderful stories didn't do it out of love for writing and the fandom?
349645
That is not what I was trying to say, but in hindsight, I can see how it could have come across that way. I do believe they wrote out of love for writing and the fandom. In my comment, I was sharing the reasons I write, and the mentality behind them. I was not trying to attack or discredit anyone.
350036
Well, make sure you don't mention amateur next time. People can take that as professionals don't do what they do because they love it as well.
350039
I'll keep that in mind. Connotations are funny things.
350062
Very true.
Easy.
Some of us got tired of reading shit published by fanbrats with no talent or understanding of the English language.
So we became concritters.
I understand where you're coming from. I'm new to the fiction-writing circuit, but having been a part of other creative corners of the internet for years, everything seems to become this way eventually, once there are enough users. On a website such as this one, you can eventually reach a critical mass of watchers; your success is sustained by the fact that you automatically get more readership than other users immediately after posting, which means that the same quality of writing will be more likely to make it to the featured box.
Me personally, I don't like to get caught up in all the hype. I didn't start writing because I wanted to be popular, I started writing because I had a story in my head that begged to be typed up. After about 20,000 words, it became apparent to me that I enjoyed writing, and that other people might like to read what I write. I doubted myself, but it turned out I was right. In the same sense, I believe there are much better writers than myself, floating around out there, unaware of their talent, who write for the sake of writing and simply assume nobody would want to read their work.
343241 When exactly did "Atlas Shrugged" move to remotely the same place recognition-wise as Dickens or Wells?
Honestly, yes, I've heard of the book, and especially its 34,000-word author tract, but I've never heard anyone say that it was great literature in the same vein as the other two.
564973
I've heard it both ways. (And I had to think of something.)
565754 Ah, okay. I was just wondering because Wells and Dickens are unquestionably classics, which can't really be said for Rand. Got it now.
565797
Personal preferences also kinda went into that comment.