I absolutely agree with you, being a primarily gen writer (and no RPF to speak of.) But I'm trying to expand my reading horizons a little this year, to include stuff I wouldn't normally consider--for your very reasons!
'Worth' is a tricky thing. How many people put their stamp of approval on that 50 Shades drivel? THOUSANDS. Is it good. Not even close. (All this based on the two paragraphs I did read.)
All we can do is the best we can do, and try to figure out what works and why, then decide if that's something worth repeating. I can never guess which one of my stories/pictures will fly and which won't. Ever. I just do what makes me happy and let that be that, but it's always rewarding to have others appreciate the work.
So now I'm gonna read me some Sam/Tamara because that is one I missed!
From my own stash, the fic that I worked bloody hard on and has gotten tepid attention is last year's Gen Big Bang In the Blood Red Dust, but I totally understand why. To begin with, it's long. And it's gen and it's set in the Wild West and involves werewolves. All these things are potential stumbling blocks. (And the end was a tad abrupt, due to my poor time management.)
Of my shorter fics, Rabbits Scream will always hold a huge spot on my heart, a spot apparently not shared by other readers. ;) But there again, I GET IT. It's graphic and harsh and so not cute. But I had to go to some pretty tough places to write it, and for that? I will always love that damned fic.
Interestingly, the audiences at LJ, AO3 and ff.net all favor very different things. Generally speaking, ff.net prefers schmoop, LJ the thinky stuff, and AO3 likes anything potentially racy.
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branchandroot
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Date: 2013-04-26 08:30 pm (UTC)'Worth' is a tricky thing. How many people put their stamp of approval on that 50 Shades drivel? THOUSANDS. Is it good. Not even close. (All this based on the two paragraphs I did read.)
All we can do is the best we can do, and try to figure out what works and why, then decide if that's something worth repeating. I can never guess which one of my stories/pictures will fly and which won't. Ever. I just do what makes me happy and let that be that, but it's always rewarding to have others appreciate the work.
So now I'm gonna read me some Sam/Tamara because that is one I missed!
From my own stash, the fic that I worked bloody hard on and has gotten tepid attention is last year's Gen Big Bang In the Blood Red Dust, but I totally understand why. To begin with, it's long. And it's gen and it's set in the Wild West and involves werewolves. All these things are potential stumbling blocks. (And the end was a tad abrupt, due to my poor time management.)
Of my shorter fics, Rabbits Scream will always hold a huge spot on my heart, a spot apparently not shared by other readers. ;) But there again, I GET IT. It's graphic and harsh and so not cute. But I had to go to some pretty tough places to write it, and for that? I will always love that damned fic.
Interestingly, the audiences at LJ, AO3 and ff.net all favor very different things. Generally speaking, ff.net prefers schmoop, LJ the thinky stuff, and AO3 likes anything potentially racy.