Genfic comm poll

[pauraque_bk]

First. Happy birthday to dphearson! And to asphodeline, whose birthday I think I missed a few days back. *hugs both*

Second. Being some sort of insane masochist, I'm considering starting an HP genfic comm. I'm aware of hp_pg, but "low rating" is only one definition of genfic. The other primary one would be "fic that isn't focused on pairings, regardless of rating". So, just to survey the landscape of feelings and interest, have a poll:

[Poll #280111]

EDIT: millefiori asks:

Might there be existing comms that aren't gen-centric, but in which gen is welcome and could become a significant subset?

I don't rightly know, but it seems to me that gen is sort of a niche interest in HP, and could easily get lost in large, established comms. I suspect that if fans of gen gathered in one dedicated place, authors would be able to get more and better feedback for their work.

EDIT2: nicolthewhore says:

fanfiction.net exists.

Ouch! Het and slash writers get zillions of comms, and gen writers have to relegate themselves to the Pit O' Voles?

Comments

[neotoma.livejournal.com]

I'd like to contribute stories, but the only pieces that I've finished are the chess and the pensieve shorts. My track record for finishing is pretty sad...

[fernwithy.livejournal.com]

Oh, dear Lord, please. Gen writers can't possibly be as rare I sometimes feel!

[pauraque]

It's incredible how marginalized gen is in HP fandom. Not like it's that big anywhere else, but some HP fen don't know what genfic *is*. It never ceases to amaze me.

[bardsmaid.livejournal.com]

Though I'm not in the HP fandom, I'm definitely a gen writer and it seems to me that many gen writers would welcome a community that's not pairing-centric, if simply for the moral support. (I do, btw, subscribe to the definition of gen as non-pairing-centric, no matter what the rating.)

It's like being a low-percentage personality type on the Meyers-Briggs: just realizing there are other people out there like you can be an immense relief. Beyond the simple relief, though, support and community could be a good thing. A very good thing.

[pauraque]

Yeah, that's what I feel about it. My experience (in HP) has been that I was only able to find an audience for my genfic after I'd drawn people in with my slash. Not that that was my intention, it's just the way it happened.

[dphearson.livejournal.com]

Amd a big hug to you, too!

[maria-futura.livejournal.com]

wtf is genfic?

[pauraque]

Are you kidding? Shit, HP gen is even more marginalized than I thought!

When it ain't het and it ain't slash, it's gen.

[maria-futura.livejournal.com]

So - you mean...

Just a plain, normal, average, yet severely underrated STORY with plot and all that (but no pr0n)? *g*

[pauraque]

Yeah. But gen IS underrated. I've read gen stories that could blow the doors off buildings. Slash doesn't have a monopoly on dark, subversive, angsty, brilliant fic.

[maria-futura.livejournal.com]

That's what I meant. I prefer it highly to slash or het or pr0n or whatever. So it has a name now? Sooo out of the loop these days.

[pauraque]

Honey, you're killing me! (Or rather, this fandom is killing me.) "Gen" is a very old fandom term, originally short for general.

[maria-futura.livejournal.com]

aha - so sorry. guess I never was in the loop to start with (no shock there!)

I think I'll stick with French and just ask you every time a fandom word comes up that I don't know. ;)

[asphodeline.livejournal.com]

*hugs back* Thanks - my gorgeous icon arrived a couple of days before birthday, that was a fantastic birthday thing, right up there with the HP action figures!!

[http://users.livejournal.com/_hannelore/]

Yesterday in your "there oughta be a comm" post, I was also toying with the idea and created genfic_hogwarts, but I haven't done a thing yet. If you like the dull, boring name, I'm more than happy to turn it over... I'm glad to see on your poll that the interest is out there!

[pauraque]

Hm... perhaps we could join forces. Would you be interested in co-modding such a community?

[http://users.livejournal.com/_hannelore/]

Sure! I'll email you the password. Do you envision a place where people just post gen fic or have challenges and the like?

[chresimos.livejournal.com]

My definition of gen doesn't necessarily exclude pairings altogether, but refers to a fic which does not have a romantic relationship as its central concern. A difference in intent: I am writing Harry/Draco, as opposed to I am writing about Draco's insecurities about his father. Or something. However I don't think this definition corresponds to the usual one, gen = fic without any pairing or romance at all, and so, for your purposes, I accept that one.

I think, even if it ends up overlapping something, that a comm that promotes gen fic is a good thing, because it sorely needs the promoting. Yay gen! I sometimes feel like all these really interesting aspects aren't seen as being as worthy as romance to write about - you can't write about just hate, but you can write about two people who hate shagging each other. And it's usually the gen-ish aspects of romantic fic that I like best, anyway ("Oh, that's a really interesting comment on wizard society, and now the sex, sigh *scroll down*"). On the other hand, I think there is more gen around than people realize; but a place to collate it all would be good!

[bardsmaid.livejournal.com]

My definition of gen doesn't necessarily exclude pairings altogether, but refers to a fic which does not have a romantic relationship as its central concern. A difference in intent... I sometimes feel like all these really interesting aspects aren't seen as being as worthy as romance to write about...

My feelings exactly. There's so much in life--and hence in stories--worth exploring, so why does the default setting in fic have to be romance/sex? Why do some archives frown on leaving the 'pairing' categorization blank? What if--gasp!--you found something outside that narrow focus compelling and wrote about it? Relationships can be a fascinating aspect of any story, but there are many other themes/areas/topics it would be a shame--and a great loss--to leave unexplored.

[alchemine.livejournal.com]

Relationships can be a fascinating aspect of any story, but there are many other themes/areas/topics it would be a shame--and a great loss--to leave unexplored.

Plus, the focus on romance and sex tends to discourage people from exploring all the other types of relationships out there (friend/friend, parent/child, colleagues, etc.), which can often be equally interesting!

[pauraque]

Pairing-centric fic is a rather strange entity, in that it introduces all sorts of weird and wonderful ideas, and expresses them indirectly through sex. There's nothing wrong with that, it's just odd by the standards of most literature.

[forked.livejournal.com]

Man, I would love such a community (as a reader- no writing). I've a definite preference for gen fic, and this is even more true in the case of HP fanfic. I've found my reading in HP has really tapered off, and I think part of the reason for that is the fact I'm really looking for gen fic and it's very hard to find.

(Not to say I don't still enjoy a good slash fic- or even het- but a steady diet of it just wasn't working for me. Not in this fandom.)

[pauraque]

Yeah. I love pairing-centric fic, but I'm getting a little burnt out on it too. HP fandom is easy to do that with, since it's so intense -- nothing done by halves.

[atdelphi.livejournal.com]

A great idea - I'd definitely be up for joining if a comm got underway. I've been trying to wean myself away from writing nothing but porn :-P Not that porn isn't great, mind you, but the Potterverse has so many possibilities outside of just smut.

I don't know if you're already aware of it, but there's an HP Gen-ficathon going on in saeva's journal - http://www.livejournal.com/users/saeva/14944.html - that's still accepting participants.

O_o

[nicolthewhore.livejournal.com]

i thought my almost complete lack of contact with HP genfic was that i simply wasn't involved in the comms in any way.

so ... it really .. doesn't exist? like, at all?

um, i think i wrote one random chapter for a fic awhile back. have since given up on said fic, as first chapter stands by itself. so i guess that first chapter might be genfic, since it only mentions ron/hermoine, and that only in passing.

huh. thats ... really ... odd.

Re: O_o

[pauraque]

It exists! It's just marginalized as compared to slash and het.

Re: O_o

[nicolthewhore.livejournal.com]

i'm tempted to start a campaign to free it. like hermione's deal with the house elves. ...although i'm not a huge genfic reader myself. LIBERATE THE GENFIC!!