Quality vs. popularity in fiction by summerfling

[paradise-city.livejournal.com]

Quality and popularity are two separate concepts that, in theory, are complementary. In practice, however, they are often intimately entwined and certainly play an important role in what gets read, watched, listened to, etc. That the same mechanism is at work in fandom and fan fiction is not surprising, though perhaps, with the independent community nature of fandom as opposed to professional published fiction, it should be.

What follows is a discussion on quality vs. popularity in SGA fan fiction, with the purpose of exploring the structural dynamics of fandom and the social norms and mores that contribute to those dynamics.

Fiction and its attendant trappings in the SGA fandom can be very frustrating, in that I've noticed the same authors get recced and acclaimed repeatedly, regardless of the quality of their work. There have been multiple instances where I've read a fic whose quality struck me as notably out of proportion to the amount of glowing feedback it received and I needed only to double check the author's name for the proportions to make sense. Perhaps belatedly, I've come to realize that being a well-known author in other fandoms takes one far in this fandom.

Of course, this isn't unique to the SGA fandom, but it is happening more often here than I've seen in other fandoms. This could be a function of the little black dress nature of the fandom as a whole: perhaps, as SGA is drawing many popular authors from other fandoms together, these effects are being multiplied to noticeable levels.

I find this problematic because (a) it implies a lack of objectivity on the part of readers and reccers, which likely means (b) less well-known authors with high quality work are left undiscovered (or at least unpublicized). Many rec pages look incredibly similar, with the same authors and the same works. That's to be expected, to an extent, but I've noticed many authors who have nearly all their SGA pieces recced. Now, there are many professional authors, musicians, etc. I enjoy, but I wouldn't rec 80% of their back catalog nearly as often as happens with SGA authors. Are all these authors' works really that good? Is it the quality that's driving the rec, the recognizability of the author's name, or some other factor?

Related to this is the proliferation of crack fic in the fandom (which, arguably, could be a different issue entirely). There are several crack fics I've enjoyed, but there are many more that left me scratching my head and wondering about authorial intent. Previous discussions have looked at authorial distance and the merit of the crack fic label, but I've been feeling a shift from considering crack fic to be good in terms of silly enjoyment to good in terms of characterization and quality, most often when a well-known name is associated with the piece. It was this phenomenon that led to me to question the depth of the relationship between popularity and quality.

I suppose the questions I'm trying to raise are those of perspective: this has been my experience with SGA, having come late to the fandom party (post-S1) and having been largely unfamiliar with the staple authors. However, from discussions I've had with others, it seems as though this has become a trend. If that is indeed true, it then becomes a question of extent and, relatedly, fandom norms and mores and how they create fandom homeostasis.

Of course, this is the same lament seen in many other fandoms likely since the dawn of fandom. I had, however, anticipated SGA being different because of the aforementioned little black dress nature of the fandom as a whole. With many authors being brought in from many other fandoms, I had expected there to be more open and experimental air in terms of reading new authors. That doesn't seem to have happened and I'm not entirely sure why that is.

I feel the need to disclaim this this is (a) nothing personal and (b) certainly isn't intended as wank against more popular authors in favor of less popular authors, but rather as an exploration of fandom dynamics and, perhaps, a comparison of fandom's social norms and mores to the norms and mores of professional published fiction. As such, I'd love to see any discussion this may prompt.

ETA 1: For any newcomers to the discussion, the issues I originally posted about are related to public crit and easily segue into a discussion on that topic. However, as per the admin's kind reminder, please keep your responses away from the topic of public crit and on topic with what was said in the original post. Thanks!

ETA 2: Thanks to everyone who's participated in this discussion. I benefited quite a bit from reading others' opinions and I hope some of y'all did, too. Kudos also for keeping the discussion friendly and polite; perhaps it was naive of me, but I hadn't realized how incendiary a topic this could be. Thanks for sharing your ideas and opinions. :)

Comments

About the fic

[millefiori.livejournal.com]

I've been thinking about this since I posted my comment and I realized why I'm interpreting the "flaws" differently. And I'm going to bite the bullet and name names (since the chances are good that neither of them give a shit what *I* think!).

The BNF is Astolat, and most of her stories in this fandom (I think I've read them all) just really *work* for me. The problem happens at the end--the story will be going along really great and then ends at what is for me an unsatisfying stopping point. I can't say that this happens in all her stories, but it's happened often enough that I started to notice (and it takes me forever to notice things like that, so I think it's a trend).

The non-BNF is Mousewitchy, and I've only read two of her stories, so it's entirely possible that I've got the wrong idea about her writing. It's just that in the stories I read the emotions seem oversimplified, everything is very black and white, and if the good guys do it it's automatically right. (FWIW this is IMO a consistent flaw in canon, too.) I think that can make for a very satisfying read if one is in the mood for it, but the older I get the less I like it.

Re: About the fic

[cupidsbow.livejournal.com]

I applaud your bravery, and as it was my comment that prompted it, feel I must respond in kind.

I've been reading and enjoying astolat's work for a long time, and I'm finding that there's something about her take on SGA that particularly suits her style. She's one of my favourite SGA writers, although admittedly, some of her most popular SGA stories are my least favourite.

I've enjoyed some of mousewitchy's work, but she's a new author to me. I hadn't come across her before SGA, and I admit, I don't have enough brand recognision on her name that I go deliberately looking for her work; but nor do I avoid it.

As for my own two examples:

I have long said that cesperanza is one of the best fanfic writers in the world. Her work is so consistantly interesting. However, I've found that I've enjoyed her take on the SGA characters less than I've enjoyed her work in dS or The Sentinel. I've still liked it very much, but not with quite the same feeling of "God! Yes!" that I've felt with some of her other work.

As for a little known author, ladyflowdi amazes me. She's starting to become known now, and rightly so, but I'd never heard of her before I randomly downloaded an SGA story by her. And... laughed my ass off (it was "Eh Tu?"). One of my favourite of her stories, Babble (http://ladyflowdi.livejournal.com/321339.html), is a PWP, which I don't usually care for much, and the premise was bad!fic all the way (with the "medical terminology" and all), and yet, it was brilliant! I mean, it still has some of the rough spots of a writer not quite at ease with her style, but they weren't enough to dim the cleverness.

Ah, SGA. It's such a shiny fandom! "Even the white bits are black" (to quote Eric Olthwaite ;)

Re: About the fic

[millefiori.livejournal.com]

I know what you mean! I'd read astolat in other fandoms, and liked her writing, but it wasn't until SGA that I fell madly in love. I think her style really does shine with the characters in this fandom. I can only think of one story of hers I absolutely did not like and that was the hugely popular 'Transfigurations' (I think it was called). I read it once, really didn't enjoy it at all and have never read it again.

I've enjoyed cesperanza's SGA stories, but I fell in love with her writing back in Due South--there was something about that fandom that made her shine, IMO.

I recognize the name ladyflowdi, but I'm not sure I've read her stuff--I'll definitely have to check it out. Have you read any of the SGA stories by skoosiepants? It's pure, unadulterated crack, but for somehow she makes it *work*. Her stories seem to push every button I have and leave me both happy and wanting more (which is how I generally feel when I've finished something I love).

Re: About the fic

[thepouncer.livejournal.com]

See, this is interesting to me, because neither Shallot nor Speranza have written SGA stories that work for me. Transcendental made me actively angry, and I've only enjoyed a couple of Shallot's subsequent SGA stories (most notably the mail order bride one). Her take on the characters is too far from my own, plus I think she has pacing issues and doesn't set up her plots well enough to make me believe in the scenarios she creates. Speranza's stories in this fandom haven't followed through on their initial setup to earn my liking (her recent incest story is an example of this - I thought it was interesting up until the point that people started shooting at John and Rodney and then it careened wildly off the rails and never recovered the emotional thread that would have resolved the situation).

Trinityofone is somebody who's garnered a lot of recognition in this fandom, and I like a lot of her stories. The trend toward crackfic and really out there AUs has made it difficult for me to enjoy a lot of stories based on far-out premises. The thing I've come to realize is that I have a very firm vision of who the characters are, and if a writer has a different view (going back to Rachel Sabotini's three-point characterization theorem) then I need them to begin with a canonical reference and *work to* the alternative. In other fandoms I've been far more accepting of wider ranges of characterization and it just doesn't work for me in SGA.

Re: About the fic

[millefiori.livejournal.com]

Transcendental! That's what it's called!! I think I get those two confused because they're both very long stories that I didn't particularly like, but are much beloved in fandom (and, of course, are words that look/sound sort of alike).

I actually find that the crackfic and AUs/ARs work more for me in SGA than in fandoms. Maybe because the whole stargate premise itself is kind of crack-ish? I seem to be able to swallow almost any kind of insanity as long as the characters feel recognizable to me, and I think that's why skoosiepants's stories work--it just *feels* like this is how the characters would be if they were dumped into this insane situation.

I suspect a lot of it too is that the characters not only feel recognizable, but are also how I *want* them to be. Which leads right back to personal taste, and probably applies to all fanfic and not just the crack/AU/AR. As a reader, when I find writers and reccers who seem to want the same things from the characters that I do, it's like a match made in heaven.

Re: About the fic

[cupidsbow.livejournal.com]

I like trinityofone's work too, although again, some of my least favourite of her stories are general fannish favourites (the breeding Starbuck's one; it just doesn't press my buttons). A lot of her work is total crack, but she makes it go, so I'm not surprised you like it. I admire that in a writer. Not that I have a problem with crack!fic mind, as comedy is one of my true loves.

One of the most out-there crck writers, imo, is rosemending, who I know from Lotrips. Her style is very simple, but her ideas are so... unique, ecclectic, outrageous. Just finding out where she's going gives me a thrill, even if I don't end up reccing the story.

I find your point interesting about how you have different expectations in different fandoms. Have you considered whether the size of the fandom might have anything to do with that?

Re: About the fic

[thepouncer.livejournal.com]

I don't think it's the size of the fandom - I think it's how connected I feel to the characters. My thoughts about the SGA crew are *very* concrete, while in other fandoms I sway back and forth. It's unusual for me to have a narrower interpretation that I can accept; normally, I'm all about the variation. I think of all fanfiction as AUs of the original source (probably influenced by too much Star Trek as a child, and that one Next Generation episode where there were a kajillion Enterprises), so reading a story where Lex is a fluffy bunny or Connor is a happy high school student is just another possibility.

The only other fandom where I've been turned off reading things because of the way the characters were written is in Harry Potter, and there it's usually related to Harry or Neville. I adore them both and can't stand to see them maligned.

Re: About the fic

[cupidsbow.livejournal.com]

Yes, "Transcendental" was one of the stories I was referring to when I said that it was a general fannish favourite, but not one of mine. I adore "No Refunds" though. :)

cesperanza's dueSouth fiction is so fucking amazing. I re-read those stories often. But, hey, I've been forced to eat my words on this one, because she just published her latest SGA yesterday ("Things to do in Denver When You're Dead") and I love it.

I find skoosiepants's work totally adorable. It always makes me happy, and I often re-read. That said, I don't always rec her work, because the objective academic in me sometimes quibbles with the depth of characterisation. I can't help it! I've been trained to think about this stuff, and I can't stop even when I'm reading entirely for pleasure.

Re: About the fic

[millefiori.livejournal.com]

I re-read ces's stories often, too! I think "Chicago's Most Wanted" is one of the most brilliant things I've ever read and I am seriously in awe of a mind that could think that plot up. But what makes it so perfect is how perfectly it works with those characters. That could *totally* be a two-part episode of the show (without the slash, sadly, but with plenty of that 'partner' misunderstanding innuendo).

As for "Things to do in Denver When You're Dead"...I'm not sure how I feel about it. I loved the story to pieces, but it's clearly set between season one and two, and to see Rodney and John this close and connected and know what's going to happen in future episodes feels kind of sad to me. It's as if the story by itself is perfect, but my knowledge of season two canon warps the good feeling that comes with it. (I feel like I'm not doing a good job of explaining this, but I think you probably know what I mean.)

I think this is why I tend to like stories set after the end of the series/book/whatever, when there's no future canon to muck around with the happy ending. And, of course, that's hard to do when writing in a live series. I think the ideal compromise is when fanfic begins in canon, but takes the characters so far away from "real" events that it becomes AR/AU (Like Shalott's "Time in a Bottle"), which renders the fic events separate and safe from any future canon.

Re: About the fic

[cupidsbow.livejournal.com]

I think we're about to go seriously off topic, so I'll keep this brief (but drop by my LJ, or email me if you want to keep chatting). I don't have the same canon issues with episodic shows like SGA (as opposed to continuing plot shows like BSG), so I didn't get that same feeling of sadness from "Denver." Um, but it may also have had something to do with the fact that I've not had the chance to see S2 yet :)

But I do totally understand what you mean. Actually, that's one of the things I mostly like about fanfic--the way it's meaning changes as canon does.