(no subject)

[sua_lay]

There was a discussion in daily_snitch about the abundance of smut in HP fandom, and now I have to wonder if people actually want to read long and plot oriented fics in this fandom?

I've read a few longer series, but usually HP fics I've stumbled upon are 50k to 200k. Anything over 500k is a rare saga. Does anyone actually have the patience to read a slash fanfic that's longer than any of the HP books? have I just been wasting my time?

Also, everyone seems to be all yay about sad endings. Harry has to die to kill Voldemort. Snape has to kill Harry. There's either uberangst or then the ending is so smarmy I want to puke. What the heck is going on?

*feels old*

Comments

[tvillingar.livejournal.com]

I, for one, flag for happy endings.

What comes to loooong fics, if they're not offered to me in one gigantic block but nice little chapters, sure I'm interested. On the other hand, starting chapter 1/72 seems a bit daunting... sometimes, I don't even start a fic when I see how many chapters it has. I blame my current commitment phobia for this.

[sua-lay.livejournal.com]

Hmmmm.... Will have to try to deceive you somehow...

Maybe I'll rec my very short story (158K) which is made out of 9 smaller parts! Yeah. That's a good idea.

*hides all the rest of the fic*

[shadowhuntress.livejournal.com]

Do you mean over 500K words or over 500K bytes? If you mean 500K words, I can only think of one single fic I follow that's approaching such an impressive length. A healthy number of my favorite fics are over 500K bytes.

When I think of all the fanfics I've read, my absolute favorites tend to be the longest ones, so I wouldn't mind reading a fic that rivals the length of the HP books, especially if the plot catches my fancy, I know I can trust the author (that they won't string me along, trying to make their story longer for no worthwhile reason), and they don't include an abundance of squicky things (though I have an odd list of squicks, so this can be difficult to manage (in fact, I'm still mourning my recent loss of interest in one of my previous WIP favorites because it's going to touch upon one of my major squicks)).

Call me old-fashioned, but I much prefer happy endings to sad ones. The real world can be depressing enough. Even if a fic is not particularly happy, I want to at least feel satisfied by the end. I read fanfiction to relax and open my mind to new possibilities. Tragic endings have their place, but it's one of my few true fanfic squicks. To each their own, I suppose.

Hmm, sorry for the long-winded response. Shutting up now...

[sua-lay.livejournal.com]

I'm probably talking about bytes, 'cause the other one would be 500 000 words, right?

Smut is cool, but I really love reading long, plot oriented stories. Yeah, I prefer them to be rated R or higher, but it's the story that really counts.

Heh, am now reminded once again of all the old Xfiles stories, where the plot turned to melodrama with lots of kidnappings, house hunting, adopting a pet or even a baby, a dozen sex scenes and mushy stuff... (runs screaming)

Have to be curious... What are your squicks?

[shadowhuntress.livejournal.com]

Bytes it is, then (*salutes*), though one of my favorite HP WIPs is 450,000 words at present and shows no signs of wrapping up, so a fic with 500K words isn't beyond comprehension. The reason I asked was because most of the archives I frequent tally fics by words (for better or for worse), so I wasn't sure if I should convert words to bytes when thinking of the fics I follow. On that note, am I correct to assume 500K bytes equals about 100K words?

I completely agree. I love both smutty fics and plot-driven ones. Those which successfully mix both are real gems. It all depends on what mood I'm in, really. Long, plot-driven fics do tend to keep my interest for a lot longer than do smut fics. They take longer to read, so it may take multiple sittings, and I always get excited when the author comes up with a new and well-developed plot twist.

Ooo, squicks. I'm not squicked by pairings, so when it comes to HP fics, for example, I read anything from Harry/Voldemort to Ron/Hermione if it's well-written. I'll read chan, incest and beastiality, but I'm very picky about BDSM and non-con and tragedy (it depends on the fic). I despise adultery, however, and am not keen on drug use and smoking (unless the character is known to do so in canon). I don't really see Harry Potter as a smoker, or a cutter, or with an earring. And I'm squicked by sex scenes where one partner compares their current partner with any old lovers. Even if it isn't that character's first time, I'd rather not hear about other times, or even how experienced they are. Rather, I want to know what they feel with the person they're with now. If that sort of thing must be mentioned, there has to be a subtler way to express it than how many authors do.

Also, unless it's a PWP, I don't care for intimacy without love. So, I'm a romantic. I mentioned before a once-favorite fic that I've lost interest in. Early on in this fic, Harry finds out he will not meet his soulmate for awhile. I accepted that and quite liked the idea (why do some authors insist on pairing off everyone and their brother in the span of five chapters, anyway?). Only recently has the author announced that Harry will soon have a 'casual affair with a nice lady' and my feathers were ruffled. Knowing there's no future for him and this girl, Harry is still going to run around with her? Major turn-off for me. I at least like to have that hope (no matter how bleak the outlook is, and even if it doesn't work out in the end) that the characters have a future together. It's simply a personal preference.

Oh, and authors demanding feedback like it's ransom. 'Twenty reviews or no more fic for you!' I hate to say it, but I'll stop reading out of spite.

And as you said to another commentor, warnings are crucial. I have read bittersweet and sad fics, and enjoyed some of them, but I have to know what to expect. If I'm not emotionally prepared, I would probably become rather annoyed.

[sua-lay.livejournal.com]

Now I'll have to scribble more... :D Apparently my 300+K in words isn't as long a saga as I thought it was.

The thing that amazes me is that some people really don't *bother* to write longer fics. They start writing something with a plot and either make it so complicated they drop the whole thing (as a WIP of course so that they can piss everyone off) or then they do the good old 'then Voldemort kinda died and Harry and Snape shagged the end' which I totally hate.

About squicks, I'm one of those annoying people who really need to read about certain pairings. Yup, the OTP disease. I also try to give the guys kind of happyish ending. I can read most of the things if there's a good reason for it, but usually the Muggle clothes Snapes or smoking suicidal Harrys are not dealt with properly. Hate that.

Heh, I too am picky on BDSM. If it's mind games with some real emotion behind all of it, I'm all yay. If it's just fucking with lots of toys, I pass.

Fucking with no intimacy... I like it if very stupid individuals (glares at Ron Weasley) have sex with someone they think they dislike and make it all weird and kind of twisted without realizing they actually do kind of like them... Yes, have read way too many stupid Draco/Ron fics. But I don't like people using others in RL, so why on earth would I like to read about them in fic?

Authors who post WIPs to get more praise... They are slowly ruining fandoms everywhere.

I always wonder if too many warnings scare people off, but if there are disturbing themes or it's a MPREG or a death fic, people should be warned. Once read a necrophilia fic that wasn't warned and was squicked for days. *shudders*

[shadowhuntress.livejournal.com]

Ugh, I so hate rushed endings and abandoned WIPs. Terribly disappointing. I also completely understand the OTP disease. Some pairings just tend to speak to you.

"I hate you! Okay, I love you. But I still hate you, too!" *laughs* Nothing like Draco/Ron fics. I always thought Surfacing (http://www.skyehawke.com/archive/story.php?no=2671) [PG-13] by Kay Taylor was particularly lovely.

I've just realized I neglected to mention how I came across your journal. Where are my manners? You were one of the first authors to introduce me to slashfic. I remember coming across "No Forces of Darkness" and "Of Fate and War" sometime in 2003 (and I didn't realize they were written by the same person until the past month!), and I was shocked (never having contemplated male characters in shows I watched getting together) and very impressed. I just wanted to thank you for helping me to 'see the light,' even though it was unintentional on your part. Hope you don't mind any sporadic commenting from me. :-)

[sua-lay.livejournal.com]

About endings... When I start writing a fic, it usually won't be chronological for long. I write part one and part two and suddenly I have a neat idea for part thirty and write that down...

Around the time I'm half way through the story, I have the plotline set and usually even the ending written. That way there won't be any nasty surprises for me.

Of course I know that can always change... But then again I'm not posting a WIP here...

Will have to read that Draco/Ron! I love that pairing, even though most of the stories tend to be too mushy. I can't really see them be all lovey dovey, especially when they're still teenagers.

*hug* Am glad my scribblings brought yet another person to the dark side... I mean to slash! :D It's funny how at first you go all 'huh?', then you read more to convince yourself this can't really be possible and before you know it, you're an addict.

Heh.

I have absolutely no problems with sporadic or constant comments! Feel free to leave them as often as you wish!

[mimm]

*raises hand* I love longer, plotty fics. They give me a chance to really get inside the world the writer's created. Sure, I like shorter ones as well, but what I find the most satisfying ones are the longer ones. Just last weekend I spent 2,5 days reading a long Mulder/Krycek, the one I already mentioned, and I loved the fact that when I went to bed on Friday I knew I'd have a full day of reading ahead of me :) I like escapism.

As for sad endings... I'm masochistic enough to like sad endings. They hurt, but I like to hurt sometimes. Sometimes the only possibility really seems to be a sad ending. It's reality, I guess. Sometimes life sucks, and I like to be reminded of it. It's also kind of cathartic to suffer through a character.

But I also admit that I couldn't continue reading stuff if every single fic/book/story had a sad ending. I'd get depressed eventually. Sometimes I desperately want a happy ending, because sometimes it really is the most satisfying one.

In general, I think I like to balance the two. When I read a fic with a sad ending (see If You Are Prepared, for example) I hurt and feel miserable (if it's written well, that is, and not just for the sake of having a sad ending), and I'll like it, but soon after that I would like to read something happier. And sometimes I like stories that are a bit of both. Bittersweet, so to speak.

Just my thoughts, of course :) I can see why people would dislike sad endings. World's a lousy place as it is, so why make the fiction as lousy? Wish I knew.

[sua-lay.livejournal.com]

So.... A long angsty drama fic with a happy/bittersweet ending would be all right then. :D

Okay, I admit that the problem with huge fics is that it's not easy to make the story flow without boring people to tears from time to time (or not to use five hundred cliched sex scenes to make your minions go yay *cough*) but a well thought plotfic is a passion of mine.

I can read sad-ish fics, but I really need a warning if the ending's like in that fic you mention. Started to read it when it was a WIP and there were no warnings, which made me totally nuts! Killing supporting characters can be bad enough, but I really don't like them to be death fics in the definition that one of the main guys dies.

*goes and kills a Weasley*