Gawd, I'm boring!

[vanillafluffy]

Sometimes, I feel like I'm turning into one of those people who talks about nothing but their job. My biggest thing today was a 22-item Trendicrap order (for under $200!), and I had TWO people get as far as giving me their credit card info and then weaseling because I refused to lie and promise them that they would absolutely positively have their order there by Friday with overnight shipping. It would probably ship tomorrow, so they'd have it Friday, but I couldn't say for certain that it would. I won't lie and say otherwise. Also a variety of weird problems, and yet another teen who jacked her mama's plastic to order custom (non-returnable!) Butch Boots. I swear, I'm getting at least one a month of those---that's fucking scary! It makes me even happier that I don't have kids, because these days they're just off the chain---!

Comments

[starhawk2005.livejournal.com]

Awww. *pets* Nothing wrong with having 'unexciting' stretches in your life. They're restful! ;)

[vanillafluffy.livejournal.com]

I just feel like I'm turning into a Muggle at times.

How 'bout you? *hugs* Seems you had a slight SPN-related meltdown yesterday. I've noticed the same phenomenon---the "write your guts out and it sinks without a trace" effect---but not just in SPN. It seems to be a hazard of the bigger fandoms. (PotC and Harry Potter come to mind, and House, to a lesser extent, although I was fairly well-received there when I was active.) There's just so damned much out there, a lot of which is being written by 15 year-olds and their pals, who are all in the same sorority. They have their trends, like Wincest, which doesn't float my boat either---it's like all the Harry/Draco slash over in HP---I don't buy it for a minute, go peddle it elsewhere. Screw it, I'm gonna keep writing Nancy and John, and anybody who doesn't like it, doesn't have to read it, and can sod off.

[starhawk2005.livejournal.com]

Seems you had a slight SPN-related meltdown yesterday.

*snort* More like a full-on nova. But I didn't see any other way around it, so...We'll see if the current arrangement works. I don't want it to snowball until it gets to a point where I don't even want to WRITE John!fics any more.

It seems to be a hazard of the bigger fandoms. (PotC and Harry Potter come to mind, and House, to a lesser extent, although I was fairly well-received there when I was active.)

That could be, although personally I've never ever had that problem in the House fandom. Hell, maybe they spoiled me, and that's why the response (or lack thereof) of SPN is so jarring to me...

They have their trends, like Wincest, which doesn't float my boat either---it's like all the Harry/Draco slash over in HP---I don't buy it for a minute, go peddle it elsewhere

ITA. Not that I haven't written Wincest - I have, once or twice - but yeah, it does annoy that even on a supposedly het-friendly comm. like papawinchester, the het fans are conspiciously silent. Or absent.

. Screw it, I'm gonna keep writing Nancy and John, and anybody who doesn't like it, doesn't have to read it, and can sod off.

I hope you will continue! I'm really enjoying that series.

[vanillafluffy.livejournal.com]

I spent the first year and a half in fan-fic almost exclusively in Once Upon a Time in Mexico, which is borderline obscure...I'd like to think that I made a name for myself, and I have made a couple very good friends through it, but because it isn't a BIG fandom, it conditioned me to be content with scant response. (I got a review?! Hooray, hooray!)

I'd answer this at greater length, but I have to hit the road for work. More later!

[starhawk2005.livejournal.com]

it conditioned me to be content with scant response. (I got a review?! Hooray, hooray!)

*grins* Ah, if only I had that attitude....ah well, maybe someday. That day, alas, is not today.

I'd answer this at greater length, but I have to hit the road for work. More later!

No problemo! Talk to you soon!

[vanillafluffy.livejournal.com]

That wasn't on LJ, it was FF.net---I arrived here on Halloween of 2005, and that was mainly because I wanted to participate in Yuletide Treasures (which I missed this year, damn it, although with The Job That Ate My Brain, that may be just as well). The GOOD thing about the Pit of Voles is, there's a hit counter for stats, so you know they also read who lurk and don't review. I estimate the overall ratio as about one review per hundred readers.

Just to give you an idea, over on POV, I've had 1504 hits as of this minute on An Act of Contrition...the "clean" version of Chase's penance after "Babies and Bathwater". Number of reviews? Seven. Yes, 7. (Two of those are from friends of mine who review everything whether they know the fandoms or not.) Then again, I have ficlets that have a dozen reviews out of 200-odd hits, so sometimes things strike a chord. I will *never* understand the allure of my most popular fic, which was for "Pitch Black", of all the unlikely fandoms. It's basically space opera with a gimmick---each "chapter" was a double drabble.

Feedback is lovely, but honestly, how often do you get the kind of in-depth feedback from another writer that makes your toes curl? I'll be the first to confess, I'm as guilty of neglecting that as anyone. Sometimes I just want to turn off my writer-brain and be entertained, *not* provide constructive commentary. I own it; my bad.

Lately, I've been in post-and-reply-to-comments mode and barely looked at my f'list. Or looked every few days, but not read back through the whole thing, because my eyes glaze over or real life calls. On one hand, I kinda feel bad about it, cuz, um, friends? Supposed to keep in touch with said friends? I think it may be time to edit my default list again, 'cuz I just can't keep up with numerous prolific fandoms and f'list. Something else to do this weekend!

[starhawk2005.livejournal.com]

The GOOD thing about the Pit of Voles is, there's a hit counter for stats, so you know they also read who lurk and don't review. I estimate the overall ratio as about one review per hundred readers.

Ah. Well, maybe that's something else I can try...although I seem to recall they don't allow really graphic smut anymore.

Number of reviews? Seven. Yes, 7. (Two of those are from friends of mine who review everything whether they know the fandoms or not.)

*shakes head* It does boggle, no? How do the bad!fic authors always do so much better than honest, perfectionistic, hardworking authors?

Feedback is lovely, but honestly, how often do you get the kind of in-depth feedback from another writer that makes your toes curl?

Well, I'm used to getting a lot of 'fluffy' feedback - comes with the territory when you write smut. Lots of "OMGHAWTOVEARIESESSPLODEY!!11!!" kind of reviews - but I think I'd almost rather have 2 netpages of that than 1 in-depth comment telling me in detailed, intelligent prose as to why it was a masterpiece. I guess I'm weird that way.

I think it may be time to edit my default list again, 'cuz I just can't keep up with numerous prolific fandoms and f'list. Something else to do this weekend!

Yeah, I use a filter to cut out ALL the comms. I'm subscribed to. I visit them 'on foot' or not at all. And I sometimes filter out people who are being too prolific - do I want to read 6 posts a day on how you were picking your teeth? Um, no.

[vanillafluffy.livejournal.com]

How do the bad!fic authors always do so much better than honest, perfectionistic, hardworking authors?

They suck up to other quasi-coherent bad!fic authors?

A happy medium when it comes to reviews would be nice: "Quote A" was hot! "Quote B" was funny. I think you're right/wrong about X. I've only ever had one thing shredded unmercifully, and I took a few deep breaths and ignored it, because they honestly seemed to be trying to be helpful...but I wasn't about to rewrite the fucking thing to make them happy, either.

When it comes to f'list, I've culled very few people, the most notable being one individual who writes well, but whose LJ showed her leisure time activities and attitudes were nothing like my own, and someone else who made a comment in her LJ that basically *no one* had written anything good in "her" fandom in the last two years---I took as a slap in the face, since it's not a well-traveled fandom, and I contributed to it extensively in that time period. Okay, maybe that's an overreaction on my part, but I haven't really missed her, either.

...do I want to read 6 posts a day on how you were picking your teeth?

Which is where I came in---worrying about turning into a dull Muggle....

[starhawk2005.livejournal.com]

They suck up to other quasi-coherent bad!fic authors?

Too bad sucking up is not a skill I have any skill at...

I've only ever had one thing shredded unmercifully, and I took a few deep breaths and ignored it, because they honestly seemed to be trying to be helpful...but I wasn't about to rewrite the fucking thing to make them happy, either.

I've gotten lucky. A fic or two where some readers didn't 'get' it but they made reasoned arguments why (and the majority of readers disagreed and liked it, so I wasn't going to lose sleep over it). The only thing I've got vaguely resembling flames came from two slash readers who came to read a threesome fic of mine and were obviously disappointed that the two males in the threesome (House and Wilson) didn't get it on. But I'm tempted to ignore both reviews since the authors of said reviews didn't reveal their biases...and I KNOW they were biased against the pairing. *shrug* Besides, telling me my smut was 'tepid' doesn't help me much, thus I don't consider that 'concrit' per se.

and someone else who made a comment in her LJ that basically *no one* had written anything good in "her" fandom in the last two years---I took as a slap in the face, since it's not a well-traveled fandom,

People just don't THINK sometimes, I think. I have someone on my own flist who called me a 'bitch' on her LJ for writing Dean/Possessed!John...I think she meant it in jest, but it really rubbed me the wrong way. I took a step back from her, especially since she wasn't commenting on my fics and personal posts even half as much as I was on hers, so....I like to follow the Golden Rule, myself.

Which is where I came in---worrying about turning into a dull Muggle....

I'll admit clothing and cars isn't really my thing, but I don't need 100% concordance of interests to have someone on my flist. You write interesting fics and I can talk writing (and audience irritants) with you, and that's enough.

Besides, you don't make 6 posts a day. ;) It's not even so much that I

mind

, but with an flist of 50+ people, it's just not manageable to try to get through a friends page that's 3 pages long every morning...

[pwcorgigirl.livejournal.com]

You're not boring at all, dear. At the very least, the tales from the Dark Side of American commerce are often quite funny. And sometimes rather horrifying, as I can't imagine spending those amounts on anything didn't have four wheels or possibly four paws and American Kennel Club registration papers.

Somebody managed to get 22 items of Trendicrap for under $200? I didn't think that was actually possible -- sort of frugal-meets-Trendicrap! :)

[vanillafluffy.livejournal.com]

Trendicrap isn't one of the ultra-high-priced partners. Their target market is 11-18 year-olds, living at home with disposable incomes. Aside from big things like jeans or jackets, their stuff is usually priced under $25. (And having seen it, I can say the quality is as good or better than you'd get at Wal*Mart, so I don't feel dirty, like I would if I was hawking junk.) Shopping clearance and two-fers, it's possible to get a lot of stuff for a pretty good price. There's just not a lot of selection in color or size.

[karaokegal.livejournal.com]

You are NOT boring as long as you keep making me chortle over such goodies as Butch Boots and (still my favorite) Le Snobbi Bag. I'm sitting here at the Desk Of Doom, desperately trying to avoid dealing with any of my problem children, and wondering if the LJ world needs to hear another rant about the miserable world of corporate travel. I don't think they do. At least your stuff is entertaining.

[vanillafluffy.livejournal.com]

Speaking of travel, though not exactly corporate, I've got my vacation dates! August 25th through September 10th!