In which I am a contrary old geezer
Nov. 4th, 2003 05:50 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
katallisonI am feeling rather aged and grumpy and out of swing with the hip kids today, for several reasons:
(a) I'm not doing the Yuletide Treasures/Obscure Fandoms thingie. For a variety of reasons, most of which have to do with my writing-brain's apparently implacable powers of resistance to doing anything to spec. There's a whole ancillary set of ponderings here (which I'm too tired to play out at length) about how fanfiction and the writing thereof often serves as a sort of social currency--writing a nice bit of smut to cheer someone up, or as a birthday present or return for a favor or something--and while I quite like it that people do that, it's not something I can really do myself. Because, ultimately? My writing is all about me me me me me, not that I necessarily like that fact, but I've learned that to pretend I function otherwise is fairly unproductive.
(b) Also, though I'm delighted everyone is getting to have great fun with scads o' new icons, and I'm enjoying seeing the results, I really am not a prolific icon person myself, and am perfectly content with my measly ten. I like having a single signature icon that I use on most occasions, and whipping out a few alternates only in particular situations or moods. Then too, making really good icons requires skills in compression, selection, and brevity--rather like writing haiku, or witty postcards--and that's never been my forte.
(c) Nix likewise on the audblog thing; a bunch of years ago I was doing an internship in a mental health clinic, and my supervisor was determined that I'd learn how to dictate my case notes instead of writing them, and I discovered how hellishly difficult it is for me to produce orderly, well-composed sentences when I'm simply talking into a machine. I ended up having to type out my notes, edit them, and *then* read them into the recorder, and that's what I'd have to do with an audblog entry, which would kind of defeat the purpose.
So you kids, y'all go on and enjoy yourselves, I'll just sit here on the front porch, rocking and clacking my dentures and taking a nip out of the brandy bottle from time to time.
(a) I'm not doing the Yuletide Treasures/Obscure Fandoms thingie. For a variety of reasons, most of which have to do with my writing-brain's apparently implacable powers of resistance to doing anything to spec. There's a whole ancillary set of ponderings here (which I'm too tired to play out at length) about how fanfiction and the writing thereof often serves as a sort of social currency--writing a nice bit of smut to cheer someone up, or as a birthday present or return for a favor or something--and while I quite like it that people do that, it's not something I can really do myself. Because, ultimately? My writing is all about me me me me me, not that I necessarily like that fact, but I've learned that to pretend I function otherwise is fairly unproductive.
(b) Also, though I'm delighted everyone is getting to have great fun with scads o' new icons, and I'm enjoying seeing the results, I really am not a prolific icon person myself, and am perfectly content with my measly ten. I like having a single signature icon that I use on most occasions, and whipping out a few alternates only in particular situations or moods. Then too, making really good icons requires skills in compression, selection, and brevity--rather like writing haiku, or witty postcards--and that's never been my forte.
(c) Nix likewise on the audblog thing; a bunch of years ago I was doing an internship in a mental health clinic, and my supervisor was determined that I'd learn how to dictate my case notes instead of writing them, and I discovered how hellishly difficult it is for me to produce orderly, well-composed sentences when I'm simply talking into a machine. I ended up having to type out my notes, edit them, and *then* read them into the recorder, and that's what I'd have to do with an audblog entry, which would kind of defeat the purpose.
So you kids, y'all go on and enjoy yourselves, I'll just sit here on the front porch, rocking and clacking my dentures and taking a nip out of the brandy bottle from time to time.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
(no subject)
Date: 2003-11-04 06:23 pm (UTC)and
b - Who said icons have to be good?
and
III - Fuggedaboudit. If people want to know what I sound like, they can come to Escapade and meet me. I've learned how to force myself to speak out loud at cons. There's a possibility they might be able to get a sense of my voice. *g*
(no subject)
Date: 2003-11-04 06:40 pm (UTC)Well, hey, anything worth doing is worth beating oneself into a perfectionistic self-doubting neurotic mess over, right? (Which would explain both a great deal of your behavior, Miss I-Have-a-Gazillion-Fabulous-Stories-I'm-Refusing-to-Post [oh, yeah, Carol has ratted you out to me], as well as my own I-Shall-Never-Actually-Finish-This-Amazingly-Sucky-Vid stuff.)
If people want to know what I sound like, they can come to Escapade and meet me.
Heh. Ah-yup, anyone who wishes to hear my own Golden Voice has only to get themselves to Escapade (or Connexions, or VividCon), feed me a few drinks, and hit the button, Frank. (The problem is usually getting me to *shaddup*.)
And it goes without saying that I'm delighted when I do get to hear you speak out loud at cons (or wherever). Hurry up and get here, February!
(no subject)
Date: 2003-11-04 07:09 pm (UTC)Waaaaaaaaaaait, waitwaitwait. See, there's a word substitution problem in that sentence. I have a gazillion
fabulousunfinished stories I'mrefusing to postunable to find time to work on.Yes. That's better. *g*
February can't get here fast enough!
(no subject)
Date: 2003-11-04 07:52 pm (UTC)Well, look at it this way. It's nice if your recipient is pleased, but chances are good that lots of *other* people will be equally (if not more) pleased, so you're really not just writing for one person. It's the gift that keeps on giving.
And if someone writes you a bad story, well - there will be hundreds of others to read! It's the gift that keeps on giving! ;)
The way I'm approaching it is, yay! A big pile of new fiction! And not worrying so much about who is writing what for whom.
(no subject)
Date: 2003-11-04 07:56 pm (UTC)I elaborated on what I was thinking in my own journal, but yes. As I said yesterday - I figure at least a quarter of what's written will be in fandoms I'm happy to read. It really will be Christmas in a computer. *g*