Oh, you know what? Seriously?

[ladybug_archive]

I honestly don't know if I'll post any more Perry stories to FF.net when I finish getting up The Broken Ties. I haven't heard from Harry in days. I'm wondering if he's not going to be reviewing anymore. I really valued his comments; he enjoyed my gen approach. And reviews from others are often sporadic; they don't always review each chapter. I like at least one review per chapter; I don't think that's asking too much. And for the climax, I kind of thought there'd be more of a turn-out than one review on the first half (and so far, one on the second half); I thought all the regulars/semi-regulars would say something.

And I'm obviously doing something wrong here; my hit count for the past couple of chapters has been way down, like to the point of losing half my audience. Even without a lot of reviews, I was thrilled by my hit count. I thought they would at least stick with me through the end of the story, even if they wanted to leave afterwards.

I'm very curious: Is it really so all-important to have Perry/Della in every chapter? Is that really the only thing most Perry fanfic writers and readers care about? Sometimes it feels that way. I've tried to have the spotlight on all of the main characters, but admittedly this is Hamilton's story, his and Paul's. And Hamilton is the one Vivalene tries to kill in the climax. I'm sorry if the majority of the fanbase doesn't like that, but I won't apologize for writing for Hamilton the most and making him the main hero of this fic. (He deserves to be the hero sometimes. I'm giving him his due.) I can't be what I'm not; I'm not a fan of romance, nor can I figure out how to write as many (platonic) Perry & Della scenes as people want. But I try. I put in extra scenes because I know they're wanted. I extend scenes with them when I can. And sometimes I feel like that's not even appreciated and it doesn't matter to some of them because I don't have Perry & Della (or Perry/Della) as the main, or one of the main, factors.

Actually, I tried, with this story. The villains didn't want them to meet because they were afraid the spell over everyone's memories would start to weaken if they did. Perry and Della's bond was key to everything. I put in scenes wherever I could, but to be honest, it was often difficult for me. I don't connect with them the same as I connect with Hamilton (even though I love them all). And if the majority of the fanbase can't connect with Hamilton and is tired of trying via my stories, then I guess never the twain shall meet. I wouldn't enjoy reading stories where Perry/Della was the main factor, unless there was something else that captured my attention. And I wouldn't expect anyone to read my fics if they didn't want to. I guess in the end, I just feel disappointed and discouraged, especially since I did have a pretty good-sized audience until a couple of chapters ago. I can't figure out what the problem is, unless it does have to do with the way things moved towards the climax and what happened in the climax itself.

I love the fic myself, make no mistake about that. I'm very proud of it and I think it's a good piece of work. And of course that's the most important thing. But that doesn't mean I don't want others to enjoy it too.

I'll be honest; even though I write these stories for myself, first and foremost, when I post them to FF.net it means I'm hoping, even expecting, a bit of commentary and some outside interest. When I post them to Livejournal, on the other hand, I generally don't expect reviews at all. Heck, I don't know if anybody even reads the stuff on Livejournal, since I don't have a hit counter like I do on Blogger.

(However, if I've posted to, say, a Monkees comm and don't get reviews, I probably won't keep posting. I'll figure there's no interest, especially since I can't see a hit count. I don't expect reviews in a place like 31_days, but I do in a fandom-specific comm.)

I did get some inspiration for 31_days. I'm thinking that for the first time I may try the challenge of writing a short fic for every one of the days. The fire/ice themes, I've decided, might serve Hamilton and Mignon well. But since I don't think anyone gives a flying fig about their interaction, and probably most of them have never even seen the episode with Mignon, I really don't think I'll bother putting them on FF.net. Unless I have a change or heart and/or become convinced there would be interest, I think these ficlets will only be on 31_days, as a sort of personal challenge to myself.

I'm reminded of the Princess Tutu ficlets I was writing for 30_deathfics. Some did go on FF.net too, it's true, but others were comm-exclusive.

And in the end, I'm still very indecisive about writing another Perry mystery for FF.net. But the possibility isn't completely canceled out, either. The plot I have in mind for the next one would make it more Perry's story than Hamilton's (and that isn't me giving in to the fanbase; it's just the way the plot would work), but there probably still wouldn't be enough Perry & Della scenes to satisfy the shippers. And there's my concern that I wouldn't be able to to come up with enough plot to carry the story through to the end. I don't want to leave it hanging.

I just don't know what to do about it.

Comments

[ginnekomiko.livejournal.com]

I'm sorry to hear that! That one sounds really interesting and I want to read it! But you bring up a good point, some people are just looking for the thing that makes them happy whether or not that makes the writer happy is a different deal. I actually don't use fanfiction.net because I don't want the pressure of trying to write to please pushy readers.I love my LJ readers even if they don't really comment, when they do it's always nice and encouraging.

The downside is, my favorite of my projects doesn't get a lot of readers right now because the subject is obscure indie horror game meets another obscure indie horror set in a certain well known horror town with a rather elitist fan base.

I say do what you want to. It hurts to lose readers, but you're probably just losing the ones that are too petty to care the story beyond the shipping aspect.

[insaneladybug.livejournal.com]

Thank you! I'm glad you think it sounds interesting.

I myself generally look for what makes me happy, I have to admit. (And usually I don't find it, so I write it myself.) But I'll stray from my comfort zone if I see a summary that looks intriguing, even if it's not something I normally write or read.

Pushy readers are aggravating. There's a lot of them on FF.net, it's true, but there's a lot of nice people too. The Perry fans are pretty nice, but it seems like a lot of them really do have a one-track mind towards Perry/Della romance.

That's good if you know your LJ readers are always interested and reading, despite not commenting much!

Ahh, it always seems like the projects a writer loves best are the ones the readers don't gravitate to much. Such a pity. That sounds like an interesting crossover fic you have going there.

I agree. The next problem is, figuring out what I want to. LOL. I want to give these 31_days prompts a whirl, and I will, but I would hate it if I tried cross-posting them to FF.net and they sat there with no reviews. I have this almost OCD thing about things on FF.net needing to show a review count. It looks so depressing when they don't. On LJ it doesn't matter so much, usually.

[rose-of-pollux.livejournal.com]

I myself generally look for what makes me happy, I have to admit. (And usually I don't find it, so I write it myself.)

This is my way of working, too. I just got really, really lucky with the fact that after I started writing LeBeau-Newkirk friendship fics, others started to write them--but it did take some time for it to snowball, though. I hope the same thing eventually happens to you and your fics. *hugs*

[insaneladybug.livejournal.com]

Yes, what happened with those fics popping out after you started was just awesome! I did inspire one writer to start her own mysteries, so I'm happy about that. (You know the funny part? She does have Perry/Della as a romantic couple, but I think I've written more scenes for them than she has.) She's very kind to Hamilton too; I'd like to think we're starting a trend.

**hugs back.**

[rose-of-pollux.livejournal.com]

*hugs* I'm guilty of not reading it yet, but I have been meaning to and will review as I work my way through it.

But bleah, that's awful that people aren't reading it just because there's no Perry/Della romance.

Heck, I don't know if anybody even reads the stuff on Livejournal, since I don't have a hit counter like I do on Blogger.

There is a kinda-sorta way you can figure out the number of recent visitors to your journal. If you go to the privacy settings and allow "My Guests" activated you can see who visits your journal (of course, if you activate it, others will see you, so you might just want to use it only for ladybug_tales). Most of the people will be anonymous, but it's by IP address, so you get a vague idea of the number of hits your journal gets. Unfortunately, there's no way of knowing which specific entries they were looking at.

and that isn't me giving in to the fanbase

Good for you. I've been disgusted lately with the shipping wars in the Wild Kratts section on FFN (yes, you heard that right), with people determined to find romance in any fandom, even when the focus is on, you know, animals. And I feel almost guilty for it, since I was the one who lobbied for the section. But how was I to know that the likes of Twilight and other mushy stuff fandoms have spoiled the youth to believe that "Romance is EVERYTHING!!!!!!!!"?

Disgusting. And you have no idea how hard I've been biting my tongue about it. If it goes any further over there, expect a rant on LJ.

[insaneladybug.livejournal.com]

**hugs.** I don't expect anyone to read a fic for a fandom they're not in. But I'm happy if you're interested anyway!

Well, I don't know for sure that's the reason. One person stopped reviewing because of that (and admitted it to me!), but said she was still reading, silently. I just wouldn't be surprised if it's the reason readers have vanished.

Yeah, I know about My Guests, but I don't like the thought of having to broadcast my whereabouts. That's nobody's business! Nice anonymous hit counts are so much better.

Oh gosh. So who are they trying to ship? The brothers? The brothers with the girl helping them? The brothers with the animals?

I don't think Twilight and other recent things were solely responsible, honestly. This problem has been going on for years, long before Twilight. But Twilight certainly hasn't helped.

But in any case, yes, very disgusting. I can understand how you'd feel almost guilty. Ick. **hugs.**

[rose-of-pollux.livejournal.com]

Oh, bleh, that was rude of the person to say that she stopped reviewing because of that.

*nods* That's why I suggested just having it for your fic journal, since I assume you don't surf LJ with it. Or do you? Because if you do, then forget it. XD; I actually have it activated, but that's because I rarely surf LJ while logged in.

They're trying to ship the brothers with the girl who helps them--and the fight is over which brother she should go with. Of course, reminding them that the brothers are married with families in real life does absolutely nothing whatsoever. Seriously, Lt. Schrank's face in the icon was what mine must've looked like when I realized what was going on over there.

*hugs back* I know; I almost wish I hadn't requested it and just stuck to posting my fics on LJ...

[insaneladybug.livejournal.com]

I did kind of raise an eyebrow. I think she was trying to be nice, though, and let me know she still had enough interest to be reading.

I usually don't, but occasionally I forget I'm logged in on that account instead of my main one.

Bah. Well, I guess that wouldn't matter much to them; the fictional brothers are supposed to be single, aren't they?

Schrank looks like he's thinking "... What the **curse**?!"

[rose-of-pollux.livejournal.com]

*nods*

Yeah, the fictional ones are single (animated Martin has no wedding band, but the real one never removes his). But, still...

LOL. Perfectly accurate for this situation, too.

[insaneladybug.livejournal.com]

It is a sticky situation. I wonder what the Kratts would think of it? Somehow I imagine them either being amused or just shaking their heads in amazed disbelief.

[moonshadowmagic.livejournal.com]

Sorry if I horn in here... but what's the fanfic dictum, "if it exists it has porn"? Need to send Zooboomafoo over to jump around on the writers until they see sense, I feel.

I note the tendency to romance-- it is older than me of course, and certainly ancient, and not necessarily a Good Thing for a story. But I can give two recent examples where it was toned down or cut out in the film versions-- in "Return of the King" Faramir and Eowyn only get a look, and the romantic interest was entirely cut out of "The Eagle." (Not that I liked everything the script did with the book, but I can't see Cottia coming across well as written. I recommend Rosemary Sutcliffe's book of course.)

Not only uninvited but wordy....

[insaneladybug.livejournal.com]

LOL.

Yeah, somehow I can't see the Kratts really taking it seriously.

Faramir and Eowyn did have a scene in the extended version, but it was still vastly toned down from the book.

I'm not familiar with The Eagle at all. Thanks for the recommendation!

[moonshadowmagic.livejournal.com]

Lack of $$ sucks-- I need extended versions!

Anyway, the book's full title is "The Eagle of the Ninth." I picked it up used, but it might be in print again due to the movie. The movie is heavier on violence, too. But the movie has possibly the best attack on a Roman testudo I can remember.

[insaneladybug.livejournal.com]

Yes, you do! Would your library maybe have them to rent, at least?

Interesting!

[moonshadowmagic.livejournal.com]

If the library can't oblige, I bet my sister has 'em.

I'm getting skinny here. I wish it worked on *me.*