To cut to the heart of it...

Permission Request, kind of/FAQ, sort of by Aeidhryn on 2012-01-24 23:01:00 UTC Reply

Hello. It's me again. (For those of you who don't know me, I'm the lurker/babbler that always has silly questions no matter how long she hangs around the Board).

I'd like to try writing a mission or two, and I just want to know whether you think I can.

A) You don’t have agents up here, so what do you want?

You to tell me that if I do come up with a couple, they’ll be considered on their own merits and not for a lack of credentials that has nothing to do with them. (I.e. is it worth my time to do a write up?)

B) You haven't been around very much.

…Not recently, no, but I’ve done my best to catch up. In past times, I’ve been around quite a lot. I’ve heard plenty of discussions about what’s sporkable and what’s not, what’s a flame is and what’s not, what’s charge-worthy and what’s not, etc. I am not going to make first-month beginner mistakes.

C) Why are you doing this?/Why now?

In 2011, I did NaNoWriMo in 17 days. It was terrifying. Recently, I put up my first fanfics, and that opened up a whole slew of interesting issues. There was one that I wrote and (thankfully) did not publish, which, once I squinted at it, could actually have been sporkable. It was indeed a Mary-Sue. I’ve come to the conclusion that the good stuff goes online and the fun but really bad stuff just stays offline. However... it still worries me. It may seem redundant to say this, since I’m on the PPC Board, of all places, but I want to be a better writer.

I suppose the simple answer is “for educational purposes”. I can’t actually say, “for love of fandom”, because that would be a lie; I am specifically going to NOT choose a horrible fic from my absolute favorite fandoms because that would be too painful to read, and it would put me in a bad mood. I already have plenty of things in my life that put me in a bad mood. I do not wish PPC work to be one of them.

D) What do I not know about you that I probably should?

Oh, you mean “why might I be a liability”? Right. I’ve said dumb things in the past and I will say dumb things in the future. I’ve disagreed with some of you in the past, and will do so in the future as well. Due to an experience with a very good writer who I admired that told me my writing was “appalling”, I sometimes disagree with some of the harsher statements the PPC makes… and then I turn around and read something so horrible I find the “stay civil” rules constraining. I enjoy parodies, which means there will probably be a small flavor of self-parody in the mission, so yes, I may point out things about the PPC which I do not like which you do.

Also, I have no beta.

E) …so why should I let you do this, again?
I’m pretty sure I know what I’m doing. I’m open to criticism and correction (the whole point of this exercise is so I can become a better writer).
Hopefully, I’ll also amuse you and/or stretch your brain. Who doesn’t like the former, and what writer doesn’t like the latter? (Okay, a lot of people hate having to think, but meh. Disregard that.)
As to the whole “beta” issue: I proofread. If there is something I miss, I will go edit it.
Plus, it could be fun. I’m only pretending to be totally serious for this proposal. *evil grin*

(Nuts…I’m using the word “I” rather a lot today, aren’t I?)

F) What fandom will the fic come from?

Something I care about, but nothing that will make me pull my hair out. So… probably taking care of a Sue in from Narnia. Also, I’m willing to deal with Twilight crossovers, which appears to be abnormally painful for most people. (Or normally painful. Maybe it’s abnormally un-painful for me, then?) Or NCIS: LA, or Blue Bloods (TV), or Eragon, or Artemis Fowl, or Percy Jackson, or whatever you like that I know about. There are a few others—Lord of the Rings, Discworld—that I’d be willing to spork, but there are so many “experts” on those here I’d rather leave it to them (especially LotR).

G) What will you do if I say no?

Wait. It’s what I did the first time I was told my PPC agents were flat (an assessment I now find accurate) and I’ve been doing it for quite a while, so … *shrug*

H) What’s with this giant FAQ?

I’ve learned from experience that most PPC writers appreciate logical, laid-out arguments. Also, I figured since I was probably going to get all these questions anyway, I might as well write it all up now.

To cut to the heart of it... by Neshomeh and Phobos on 2012-01-25 02:06:00 UTC Reply

A) You don’t have agents up here, so what do you want?

You to tell me that if I do come up with a couple, they’ll be considered on their own merits and not for a lack of credentials that has nothing to do with them. (I.e. is it worth my time to do a write up?)

If we understand you correctly, this implies that telling you "yes, you should apply for permission" will result in you whipping up a couple of agents and submitting them for approval on the spot. We think that this is a bad plan, since hastily conceived agents are unlikely to have much merit upon which to be judged, all other matters aside. Character creation is one of those things that gives back pretty much exactly what you put into it and shouldn't be rushed. Also, while we happily acknowledge that there's more to permission than agents, we're a little insulted at the suggestion that we wouldn't judge the characters fairly. What makes you think that?

That said, the rest of the points are kind of moot, though we would like to add that you do, in fact, have access to beta readers. We're not sure why you think that's an issue.

~Phobos and Neshomeh

Oh? by Aeidhryn on 2012-01-25 03:15:00 UTC Reply

I tend to take my time with these things (or at least try to-sometimes I get a little carried away if I get excited), so no whipping up will be involved.

I didn't mean to say that you wouldn't judge my characters fairly. What I meant to say was that if I was going to be ruled out for the whole "you're a newbie" factor, then I might want to wait a bit longer before putting them up. It would be pointless if I put them up and that was the reason they didn't get Permission.

I was aware of the beta pool. I'm hoping to pick a beta reader based on whatever badfic I pick up.

Also. Hi. :)

One last question: What does the PPC "officially" think about emoticons? I'm just curious; I've seen some people use them and some people make fun of them.

Incidentally... by Neshomeh on 2012-01-25 17:08:00 UTC Reply

It isn't your agents that need permission—it's you, the writer. I point this out because I've seen evidence of confusion about this more than once, from various people. In-universe, there's no such thing as permission, since the standing assumption is that the Flowers will take pretty much anyone they can get.

As for emoticons, I've been throwing them around the Board for years and no one's told me to stop yet, so I'd say it's safe. Heck, I even got away with one in a mission once, for demonstrative purposes. ^_^ (In general, though, what Phobos said: keep 'em out of prose if you intend for it to be taken seriously.)

~Neshomeh

OK then. by Aeidhryn on 2012-01-26 04:09:00 UTC Reply

This is how seriously you all should take me: :D :D :D

Because I'm here for the deep, intricate, philosophic moral discussion, after all.

The "official" PPC position... by Phobos on 2012-01-25 04:00:00 UTC Reply

...is that the PPC is not an entity of one mind. It is a collection of people with their own views and opinions.

I think, as long as you avoid them in formal writing (such as in a mission or fanfic), you should be fine.

As for your original concerns: Personally, I don't use "you're a newbie" as the only reason to deny permission, with an exception for extreme circumstances. I will use it as one point among a number of other points, however. This is especially true if the permission request demonstrates a lack of understanding of basic PPC history or tone.

Hope this helps.

-Phobos