Let's talk!

[deelaundry]

"Arureos (Greek for Rat)" has been nominated for the housefic_meta Library.

I want to encourage everyone who's a member of Meta -- or an interested bystander -- to go to the discussion post and talk about what you think the criteria for a "Library Worthy" fic should be.

Arureos is a fun fic with some serious character analysis in it too, a fic that I'm glad I wrote. la_localfreak has written up a thoughtful nomination that I'm grateful and honored to read.

But I know that others may have different criteria for what makes a fic Library Worthy. Please share those, with no fear of any offense being taken. It's about the fic and the Library, and not your personal feelings toward me.

(Those you can express here or via email any time you like. :D)

Comments

[nuclearfootball.livejournal.com]

Just curious, what's the difference between the Library and the Hall of Fame?

[deelaundry.livejournal.com]

It's the same dealio - the name just got changed.

[primarycolors92.livejournal.com]

Because I don't write, I never feel qualified to comment at those things, but I absolutely love that fic and will most definitely vote yes!

[deelaundry.livejournal.com]

Aw, thank you! You don't have to be a writer to comment, as long as you are able to analyze writing in a constructive way. So if you have a well-considered opinion or a question that could be helpful, jump on in!

[photoash.livejournal.com]

Congrats on the nomination :) I remember liking that story when I read it months ago :) will have to reread to post!

[deelaundry.livejournal.com]

Thanks! I would love to have your concrit on the fic, as you have been so thoughtful and thorough in the past two discussions!

Also, I really am hoping people will weigh in, in a general way, about what they use as criteria for when they vote.

Way back when, some of the people in the comm thought that non-canon slash content should disqualify a fic, because, they felt, it was too far of a stretch to portray the characters with other than canon-demonstrated sexuality. (Of course, some people thought this even before House had a canon-demonstrated sexuality, i.e., you're straight until proven otherwise -- but I digress.) I don't know of any current member who thinks that, but we still all probably have different ideas about what the criteria should be, and I'd like to see everyone share what they think.

We don't even have to come to a consensus. Everyone will continue to vote their own opinion, of course. But if, for example, most people think PWPs aren't really what the library should be going for, then I'd like to know.

[photoash.livejournal.com]

That's a really interesting point and wow that slash would be automatically forbidden is some really homophobic viewpoints :/ it sounds like. Sheesh... I think House might be one of those people who would try anything once :) including sex with his best friend in canon XD

[topaz-eyes.livejournal.com]

Slash as "OOC" is not a new argument: that comes right from the beginning of slash in Star Trek fandom. I think some people might have been worried that slash fics would "take over" the list, leaving gen and het under-represented. :-\

[photoash.livejournal.com]

Homophobia has been around since the beginning of time >_>

I know I'm new around here and that that is never a great place to be if you're going to speak up about something but it seems like to me that the Library should reflect the general proportion of fic out there -- it's not like there is balanced representation in the fandom as a whole either between pairings, het, yaoi, friendship, etc. If people want to blatantly exclude slash fic, it just sounds like a few homophobic people finding a way to justify their beliefs and imposing them on others. Intolerance is still intolerance no matter what words it's dressed up in.

[topaz-eyes.livejournal.com]

it seems like to me that the Library should reflect the general proportion of fic out there

That's a good point. Ideally it would reflect the general proportion. That said, The Library is a community-driven rec list; it reflects the types of fics which the comm members choose to nominate, discuss and vote on. Which may or may not reflect that general proportion.

I don't know what the actual proportions of slash, het and gen fics are in House fandom. My gut feeling is that slash and het are about equal, and both are much greater than gen. 40/40/20, maybe? 50/40/10? I wish I had actual data here, but it's way too late to classify some 15,000 fics at ff.net and LJ. Anyway, I looked at the current Library list (66 fics listed as of today, not including this round of nominations); I identified 22 as slash, 9 as het and 35 as gen (I included friendship as gen). The list is definitely skewed towards gen, but I wouldn't say it blatantly excludes slash, either.

If the list is supposed to reflect the proportional representation of fic, het is way under-represented more than anything. I'm pretty sure that het makes up more than 14% of fics in House fandom. Het fics just aren't being nominated, for whatever reason. Gen and slash fics are. In this case it all comes down to who speaks up.

[topaz-eyes.livejournal.com]

So, what are your thoughts on yaoi? Er, PWPs? :-)

[hibernia1.livejournal.com]

I must remember to go there and try to come up with something to say at one point! As for my personal feelings to you: ♥♥♥♥♥!!!! And I love your writing, too.

[daisylily.livejournal.com]

That's one of my favourites :D

[recrudescence.livejournal.com]

Oh, I remember that one! So adorable--and in-character, even from a rat's POV. Congrats.

[daasgrrl.livejournal.com]

Congrats on the nomination! Hee, I particularly enjoyed the little ending tag to that one. Wrt to house_meta, I've always thought it leaned very heavily towards gen, and perhaps that's a reflection of its (active) members.