Amanuensis&#39;s Journal

Personally, I did not vote for any of the legendary fics just because I assumed that everyone would be voting for them. Instead I threw my support to the lesser known writers and fics. This also maybe my choices alot easier. There was no way in hell I would be able to choose between say Malfoy PI and Facade in the AU section.

Malicia

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I thought about doing that too, but you know, it's only fair if the better known authors get recognition too. They're just authors like everyone else on the list. I know finished deciding my votes, and I'm about to submit them. I can tell you that what I did was a very cruel judgement of exactly how much each fic entertained me. I addressed with the same attitude to the classics as well as the lesser known ones. It was very, very hard indeed, but I do think it's all for the best. I have known ones and unknown ones in my choice, and in the end, it's what you liked best, not fandom politics. :)

Loony Moony

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Oh its definately best if all writers get the recoginition they deserve whether they are big names or little names. Gotta vote the way you feel. I hope I wasn't implying overwise. I have alway just been an underdog voter. Hell, I voted for Nader in the 2000 election. Which, in hindsight...well, we won't go there.

Malicia

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Eek!

I need a beta editor for my comments.

And Amanuensis, sorry for clogging your LJ with my useless drivel.

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Um, yeah, amanuensis, er, don't be mad. *smiles sheepishly*

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I hope I wasn't implying overwise.

You weren't. But I understand how you feel, and I've got a feeling that many of the voters feel the same way too. The problem with those awards is the fact that they're putting high profile fics with unknown fics, thus putting the popularity of many authors to the test. Hypothetically it's ideal (everyone is treated the same way), but practically it's very awkward (many fans feel like it's like a loyalty test).

Wow, I didn't know the awards existed since 2000! :D

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Yup, its very awkward but doing it any other way would cause much drama. God knows the fandom is wanky enough as it is.

And the Nadar in 2000 thing was refering to the Presidential election. I think the HPSA are fairly new.

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It's so wanky, even the fandom ~~shiters~~ wankers aren't catching up anymore.

Oops? Will the "never till this year" excuse work? *smiles sheepishly again*

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I'm enjoying the conversation! Go on, do! ^_^

And I tried to have my vote be representative of what I really did think was my favorite. I have the advantage of not being intimidated TOO much by the "classics," since I came later to the fandom. And hey, some of the classics are what they are for a reason.

I also have a bias against selecting WIPs, so that eliminated quite a few right there.

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*grins* Alright then! :D

Yeah, I agree. That's the reason I had a few classics in my vote as well.

You're against WIPs? You really erased lots of good fics like that, you know. Even some of the classics are still WIPs till this day.

Mostly the classics I chose were the classics that really changed the way my attitude towards fandom and the books as well, in addition to the aspect of sheer entertainment. But I think the unknown ones were probably the same way.

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I too eliminated WIPs from my list. That made my choices alot harder because as I already said, I tend to vote for underdogs.

I think in the future the HPSA should only include completed fics. Sure that would eliminate alot of fics, even some of the "classics" but I think it's easier to judge a fic when its completed. Plus you get a better overall picture. Some fics start off really really good then flounder in plot, characterisation or just fall into really bad writing. Or the opposite happens. Starts off bad but ends really good. Though I may have opinions on individual chapters and the story as it developes, its not until the fic is completed that I am really in a position to judge how much I liked it and compare it to other fics.

Malicia

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Well, when a fic is WIP you can basically see where its going.

I agree the completed fics are easier to judge, but sometimes the WIPs are too good to be ignored. And yes, there are some completed fics that I erased from my voting options because they were developping badly and ending much worse than they began.

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Word. See my reply below; I said a lot of what you did.

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Even some of the classics are still WIPs till this day.

Yes, and they ought to be ashamed of themselves. ^_^

Seriously, it's fine if that's the way authors choose to post their fanfiction-- if they want to make epics, and are comfortable enough with their outlines to know exactly the way their stories are going, that is fine. No one's under deadline to make money off this, obviously.

But it's also my privilege to

1) reserve judgment on their stories until they are done (therefore no awards votes from me)

2) decline to read those stories until they are done (why get emotionally involved in something the author may one day abandon?)

3) find that I like stories more when I can read them in one go, rather than waiting a few weeks between each portion. More emotional punch that way.

I've read stories that were lovely but had crap endings, and found that other stories that would have bored me had I read them in pieces over a year were, in fact, really good if you got 'em all at once.

And yes, I have made exceptions. Cassandra Claire's Draco Sinister and Lamardeuse's A Taste of Liberty are a couple. And I seriously wouldn't be reading DS right now if it weren't that I was afraid of having things spoiled for me-- I want to hang about with the Cassie fans and enjoy myself, I admit it! And occasionally I'll get sucked into a WIP unwittingly (not realizing it is one) or despite myself (seeing something so interesting I just can't help it, like Scribe's Paternity).

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You're making it sound like you're punishing them for
not finishing their fics in one go! It's like the whip and the carrot with you! Kinks my dear!

So you haven't reda DV yet?

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Oh, I'm such a DOOFUS. Of course it's Draco Veritas I meant, not Draco Sinister. I forgot which one was the middle one again. (I use that phrase so much I need some A Fish Called Wanda fandom icons.)

And yes, if someone wants to see it as punishment, that's their right too, but they will simply have to see that I'm not their audience, if they want to post a WIP. Which should not bother a soul, given how vast the audience for WIP's is already!

Look at Sushi, giving us novel-length stories at a go. Or Resonant's Transfigurations-- that's certainly novella length. Fabula Rasa posts chapters a day at a time, but not until the story's DONE. I respect these authors, I do. Because they write and post the way I myself prefer to write and post.

(And I prefer it that way because it keeps up the pressure to get it done, if I can't post until it's complete!)

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I rather like that nice feeling of building tension. Especially in fics like Maya's "Underwater Light", even if she posts the chapters at a complete random time, and usually without a notice beforehand.

WIPs tend to leave a person with a "more" flavour, and that is their best trait IMHO. Worst thing is, of course, the randomness. Although I know of some WIPs which are getting posted at a regular time. :)

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if they want to make epics, and are comfortable enough with their outlines to know exactly the way their stories are going, that is fine. I post WIPs and do this with all my fics. Sometimes I go overboard. My extreme AU fic has over a 150 pages of notes and outlines devoted to it. Mostly because its the connector fic for a very complicated trilogy and I felt compelled to write detailed personal histories for every single character. I seriously doubt that the fic will be 150 pages.

2) decline to read those stories until they are done (why get emotionally involved in something the author may one day abandon?)

That is so freaking true. I still cry over Dreams of Enchantment, a fic that hasn't been updated in years. *damns the writers to Hades*

Other then that qualm I prefer to read WIPs over completed fics. I know that seems strange but I actually remeber them better. I read LUW in one sitting and though I recall enjoying it a great deal I can't remeber a single thing that happens in that fic.

For my particular reading style I would prefer that the writer have everything written then post it in weekly installments. It adds a bit of light and joy in my life to ee my fave fics updated.

But I can see why writers can't or don't complete thier fics before posting them. I know that I myself couldn't be arsed to write anything were it not for the encouragement of the people who give me feedback. I'm a self admited feedback whore. Sometimes I feel like I am doing the people who read my fics a great disservice because I put alot of foreshadowing and hinting in my fics that will be totally lost on them because they are not reading it one go.

Enough rambling from me.
Malicia

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I love that your notes are longer than the story's going to be!

And I love feedback but can't let myself rely on it. The day I post something I make myself go to bed right after. Usually this'll be in the afternoon or evening so it works out. This is because otherwise I'll sit at the computer checking over and over to see if anyone's read the sucker yet and left me feedback! And under those circumstances people could leave me ten pages of "This is the greatest fic EVER" and I would still be thinking, "Ah, they hate it, I know it..."

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