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Post by Elizabeth on Feb 7, 2006 21:10:59 GMT -6
If you were to do an overview of the entire scope of Hanson fanfiction, what would you say about them (in all honesty, not in attempting to convince people to read them)?
I would have to say that there is a LOT out there, and most of it is not very good. Some of the stories listed as classics here are quite good, and there are authors that aren't listed that are brilliant (what's wrong with writing one-shots?!).
But there are still a lot of stories that get such excellent reputations even though they're only half-decent, and people only read those because they're "well-known." And there are lot of excellent authors that write short stories that are absolutely marvelous, but they get no credit for it at all due to the novel-lengths overshadowing them.
Thoughts? Opinions?
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Post by krystal on Feb 8, 2006 9:16:10 GMT -6
I consider Hanson Fiction to be a bit of a treasure hunt. We're generally talking about a lot of young, inexperienced writers who've been inspired by their favorite band to write stories. Not exactly the best pool of writers to get into. However, that said, I've been amazed at the talent that is out here in HansonLand. So many girls (and a few guys as well) in this community are very talented writers, artists and performers. I love that they're out here doing it. And they're only going to get better. Like Hanson themselves, part of the charm is the POTENTIAL. As for the one-shots and short stories--I suppose that's my fault. There are two of us running this website. One is very good at technical, webstuff (as well as writing) and the other, me, is a Hanfic addict. But, I'm a detail person, and most short stories leave me very unsatisfied. So, I suppose that's why they don't show up on my "greatest hits" list that often. I do love Lily Fox's shorts, and I think we've given her a nod. J. Robinson writes some great short stories as well. But, again, there's just two of us, and even though I'd love to, I can't actually manage to read everything out there. That's what this forum is for. If you know of great writers out there, submit their stories to this site. I'll say it again: WE DO NOT JUDGE ANYONE'S STORY IN ORDER FOR IT TO BE POSTED TO VARIOUS ARTISTS. We did the awards because we wanted to recognize some new stories, and with the nominations we got, and the sheer length of some of the stories, I think we did a good job. Not that anyone noticed... I'd love to see others' opinions here. This site takes up a lot of time and energy on my and Stephanie's part, and if we just have a reputation of being elitest and people aren't going to come to the site, then we'll probably let it go, the same way that Llama did. It started out as a labor of love, but like so many things in the world, not everyone appreciates the same things.
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Post by chelsi on Feb 8, 2006 20:24:03 GMT -6
Overall, I think there's definitely a lot out there, but I wouldn't say that most of it isn't good. I think it's just knowing where to find the good stuff. Most of the stuff I find is from shameless plugs.
Being "well known" in the Hanson fiction world isn't all about writing a great story. It's about writing a great story and then putting it out there. You always have to take the next step.
The people who are getting known are the people throwing it out there at every chance. I mean, sure, there's some stuff out there that isn't great that people still promote the heck out of, but you just have to weed through what you don't want to read to find what you do want to read.
Point is, those who what their stories read promote it. Even just one place. I mean, I don't think Tiffany and I promoted Cannonball/Broken Road/Crash anywhere but here (except maybe hnet a couple times...maybe, we can't remember) and we've got plenty of readers. And word of mouth is good too.
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Post by Michelle Burns on Feb 14, 2006 0:33:43 GMT -6
If you pay attention to the stories that have grown "popular" in the Hanson community, you'll see that a good percentage of those stories have been around since 97-00. Like every other story, they started from the bottom and worked their way up. You can't just write your stories, put up a website, wait a month and expect it to EXPLODE. That's not going to happen. It takes time to gain loyal readers and even more time to build a few solid narratives. If your stuff is good, and you're not afraid to stand up tall (breaktowncrazy (?) is a great example of this) and promote the crap out of it, in time, it will garner recgonition. If it's just sitting out there on the web, all alone, waiting for someone to come to it, it's very likely that it wont be seen and therefor, wont be recognized.
Just like life, Hanson fiction has it's cliques and things like that. This is to be expected and doesn't have to be a huge deal. The fact of life is that people are very subjective. Not everyone is going to like a certain thing. Me, for example. I cannot, and will not, read a story if I know that it's going to be sad. I've been that way since I was a child with movies, books, everything. I just don't enjoy sad stuff. I've neved touched Avery, Rockerball or Zac Says Tay, not because of the hype, or anything, but because they're just not my cup of tea. People should take a long look at their stuff, think about their audience (huge Hanson fans) and consider their subject matter. It can play a huge factor in how many people read your stories. If your story is about Zac Hanson the Green Alien from the planet Flarflooga falling in love with a space cadet from Jupiter you're going to lose a lot of readers. This doesn't mean your writing is bad or less worthy than any other.
When I owned a site (way, way back in the day) it was popular, but not mostrously so. Definitely nowhere near Hanson Fiction or Hanson Erotica. But I had a comfortable amount of readers that I became very close to. We all shared a common interest in writing and always gave each other wonderful feedback. I made great friends, wrote great stories and never felt the need to be one of the "big" sites or stories. I never did understand why people wanted that so badly. Not everyone can be at the top. From what I've learned in life and in fiction, the stories that are on top are (more often than not) on top for a reason. I would advise those who are so bitter to let go of the need to be "the best" and concentrate on enjoying your work for YOURSELF.
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Post by krystal on Feb 14, 2006 7:16:55 GMT -6
Hmmm...I never considered "Zac Says Tay..." to be sad (though of course, it's got a couple tearjerker moments there towards the end...)
Great posts, guys! And it looks like the consensus is that to get your stuff read, it needs to be good, but also to be pimped!!! Tell people about your stories! I guess the only thing more shameful in our society than being a Hanson fan, is being one that writes fan-fiction!
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Post by Miriam on Feb 15, 2006 8:35:24 GMT -6
I'm with Krystal: Zac says..." is action, drama and thril to the end! One sad moment, but hardly enough to write it off entirely.
As to the original question in the post:
Hanson fiction has ... groups. We got the old, long stuff (great reading) and the new, often medium lenght stuff. Let's face it, the new stories will, in time, earn the same reputations as those who are praised again and again by hanfic fans. I have no doubt of it!
Again, those 2 can be placed into categories. Romance, Slash(yes, that often doesn't fit in the romance category) and all the other stuff. I'm a "all the other stuff" kinda reader. I'm sick of songfics, lala-romance and slash. For the moment. Right now, authors seem to be churning out slash fic after slash fic, and honestly, I could go for a bit of suspence or horror right about now. But maybe in a year, when the trend changes, and the majority of the hanfic community has begun writing stories mostly about fucking animals, then I'll look back on the slash days, get nostalgic, and read those. if authors could stop all writing the same genre, I'd enjoy Hansonficion so much more.
That said, Hansonfiction is, compared to other fandoms, superior. I've read a bunch of LoTR and HP fiction lately, and I must admit that with the amounts found out there, more stories should be enjoyable. Not just a task to get through. I'm appalled by the crap you find in those fandoms. You'd think such giants would do better.
All in all, Hansonfiction, new or old, will all get it's time. As long as stories are written and told, there will be people reading and enjoying it. Tho - Selfpromotion turns me off. I stay away from those stories until I've explored all other options.
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Heather
Middle of Nowhere
Posts: 58
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Post by Heather on Feb 27, 2006 22:18:59 GMT -6
If your stuff is good, and you're not afraid to stand up tall (breaktowncrazy (?) is a great example of this) and promote the crap out of it, in time, it will garner recgonition. Aw! I read that and I was very happy! Thank you. LOL Sometimes I think I am so annoying with how much I post my updates and plugs. I can't help that I'm proud of myself. Heh. Thanks again!
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Post by Ella on Mar 3, 2006 23:54:25 GMT -6
Well, it also depends on what you define as 'good'. Opinions vary. I think, as Krystal said, with a lot of writers you can see the potential they have, and watching their writing improve over time can be pretty exciting.
Also, I have to agree with Krystal again about the one-shots. It is just a personal preference with me -- I prefer to get lost in the story when I read, and so that generally means the story has to be longer and fully developed. Short stories generally leave me unsatisfied -- many of them are excellent and well written, but for me, I don't get that depth I crave.
Everyone has the 'famous' stories they can't stand. Me, I tried reading Tulsa 74132 and couldn't get through it. Even though it's like, everyone's favorite fanfic ever. haha. And it's true that people only read well-known ones -- because if it's not well-known, how are people going to know to read it? That's where promotion comes in. It doesn't have to be blatant, shameless self-promotion. You can promote your own story in a subtle way and still be dignified about it.
And it really does take time. One reason I think shorts don't do as well as 'novel-length' stories is that readers don't invest as much time in them, and thus, don't develop that sort of bond with the characters. Like, we can all relate to finding a story we love and then anxiously waiting for it to be updated. And every time it is, we fall right back into the story and we're left wanting more. With short stories, you don't get that. You post it, it's there, and it's done. So what's to look forward to next?
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Post by Eve on Mar 4, 2006 14:14:24 GMT -6
I personally think that longer stories and authors who write them DO deserve a lot of credit, because while talent is a factor in aquiring praise, i think there's something to be said for hardwork and perserverance as well. It is very, very hard to write long stories.
I actually haven't written many long stories, as Rockerball is only 50 pages and Holy Scrubs is still in the works. But I think the efforts of writers like Ella, Krystal, Stephanie, etc, anyone who invests so much time into these stories, need to be recognized. And I think they are.
I'm so sick of hearing people say, "There's a lot of other good fiction out there besides (insert series of well-known fanfics here)." Then show them to me! It's not like those of us who have quite a few readers want to keep them to ourselves. People forget that we're readers too, and we crave good, new fiction just as much as anyong. I am very active in looking for new fanfiction, but the truth is there just are not many new talented writers I've come to notice.
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