What the heck?

[amand_r]

We got our Yuletide assignments less than 24 hours ago and already there's a story turned in! Wow!

So a small poll. Talking to my mum, and one of her friends signed up for yuletide. When she got her assignment, it turns out that her recipient is a BNF in a fandom they share, though granted she's not a BNF in the one that my friend is going to write. Over in the HLH fest, I have heard jokingly both last year and this year, that so-and-so has a BNF as their recipient, and they find it mildly intimidating. So, I bring you:

[Poll #1296007]

Comments

[unovis-lj.livejournal.com]

Hah!
It's not the BNFness that would bother me about writing for someone whose name/persona I know, but I'd definitely be affected by who the person is. Fantastic writers can spook me, as well as hostile raging bitches who aren't one of my kind of hostile raging bitch. But hostile raging bitches, even if they hate me, tend to like what I write more than nice girls do, so it all evens out. Actually, the Nice are more horrifying. What was the question?

[amand-r.livejournal.com]

I'm a raging hostile bitch, and I hate everyone equally. :)

[amanuensis1.livejournal.com]

ESPECIALLY not if the BNF is George Lucas. Nine-tenths of my flist writes better than he does these days. And that last tenth is the people who don't write at all.

[amand-r.livejournal.com]

I think a bonobo monkey could write better than Lucas these days. Especially if they wrote on palm leaves with excrement.

[hpstrangelove.livejournal.com]

(So I wonder who your mom's friend is.....;-)

[amand-r.livejournal.com]

Dude, she's really cool, but she needs to chill about the BNF.

[hpstrangelove.livejournal.com]

I bet she does an awesome job, knowing her as well as I do. When she has a challenge, she meets it head-on.

I think she knows the BNF has never written anything in THAT fandom, so isn't too intimidated by it. But still, it's an honor to be writing for someone that she admires.

The only people that she'd be more honored to write for is you and your mom, because you guys rock!

In the end, the whole point of writing is to have fun. At least, that's why I do it.

(Your mom told you the fandom right? Do you know it? I think it is very, very rare indeed.)

Oh, and great poll btw. I'm kind of kidding around, but I DO think you have a very good point.

[amand-r.livejournal.com]

I DO have a good point. You should NEVER be intimidated by George Lucas. He created Jar Jar Binks.

[teresa-c.livejournal.com]

BNFs tend to be excellent writers (not always, but often). Writing for someone I know to be an excellent writer kind of spooks me. Not a problem I'd have writing for George Lucas, sad to say.

For Yuletide, it would be a nightmare of mine to get Elynross for a recipient. *g*

[amand-r.livejournal.com]

For Yuletide, it would be a nightmare of mine to get Elynross for a recipient. *g*

Wordy McWord! I totally didn't think of that! Elyn is awesome. Oh, I think I'd be intimidated by astolat, too.

[teresa-c.livejournal.com]

think I'd be intimidated by astolat, too.

Guh, yeah.

I'd be intimidated to get you, for that matter.

[amand-r.livejournal.com]

Oh jesus, me? Come ON. I'm so very nice and fluffy! ::bats eyelashes::

I mean, okay then, in the interests of discussing this issue, what about me could possibly intimidate? I only ask because I'm not a BNF (at least, I don't think so). Maybe if I wrote some epic classic or something, or I was all over the fandom with the meta. I tend to get more intimidated by people (BNFS?) who write a lot of meta. The only pure fic writer who would scare the socks of me to write for would be Te. Wait, I take that back, tryfanstone. I get this sense that her brain operates on a whole level that mine doesn't, and I'd feel...dumb? Trying to write for her. Does that make sense?

[teresa-c.livejournal.com]

Well, speaking for myself, I wouldn't call you a BNF, either, but I'd sure call you an excellent writer. As I said above, that's what tends to intimidate me a bit. I don't know the entire corpus of your work, but the stories you wrote back for the HL lyric wheel are genius. It was maybe as much as ten years ago, but I remember the voodoo one you wrote and that awesome story where Methos goes to get a new sword. Sheer genius, and painfully beautiful wordsmithing. I'm not particularly trying to embarrass you, :-) it's just what I really think.

I've been careful lately with using the BNF label, because I insulted someone once by calling her a BNF. I was in the tiny fandom of Once Upon A Time in Mexico, and when I met one of its best writers at Escapade, I enthusiastically said how happy I was to meet a BNF in my shiny new fandom and she just about reeled away from me like I had hit her. So, uh, yeah.

[amand-r.livejournal.com]

Why thanks! I'll be honest, I can't even read that voodoo story now, I hate my old style so much, but I still like the Methos-gets-a-sword one, so it's all good.

I think yeah, for me it's like you, more about the skill as a writer, which is why I included the options in the poll, and I get the feeling that that is really what it's all about. I dunno. Maybe if you have a good writer who is also what is commonly called a BNF, one might be more intimidated because then fandom eyes are on the BNF and how she reacts to the story. Or maybe it's because we attach the tag BNF to people who are...divas? in fandom. Popular and diva-esque. And then you never know how they're reacting to your story.

My fear, whenever I am writing for someone I know, is that they'll say one thing about the story in public and then mock it in private (which I have no control over, but hey). Not that I would prefer them to be honest in a fest exchange, not really, but I always wonder what people really think of the gifts that I give them. Not...that i really want to know. God, it just eats at me. This is why I like getting people I have never met/spoken with and probably never will again.

[teresa-c.livejournal.com]

Maybe if you have a good writer who is also what is commonly called a BNF, one might be more intimidated because then fandom eyes are on the BNF and how she reacts to the story.

Could be. True BNFs are good communicators, good connectors, so they tend to have a wide audience and a lot of outlets. Also, other BNFs listen to them. It would make you a bit more exposed when you write them a giftfic.

I always wonder what people really think of the gifts that I give them.

Insecurity much? ;)

I'm just teasing because I have my own insecurities in that area. So far, I've only had to write for total strangers, so it's all good. But yeah, I'd be a little wigged out to write for a BNF. It drags you into the BNF spotlight, where you could be judged as to whether you measure up or not. Ah, there. My own issues come to light. *g*

[amand-r.livejournal.com]

It drags you into the BNF spotlight, where you could be judged as to whether you measure up or not. Ah, there. My own issues come to light. *g*

Yeah, you hit the nail on the head for me.