A How To Guide: themed lists
Posted on February 28, 2008
Filed Under HP themed lists |
Preface
When I was a bit more active in searching for fics, I was asked to make a list on this or that topic rather often. And when I was asked, I sometimes refused — because I’m here having fun rather than fulfilling wishes, or fulfilling wishes only when it’s fun for me too. So when I wasn’t interested in the suggested theme, I often replied, “Why don’t you do it yourself?” To which I often got the answer like, “Nobody knows me, so I won’t collect as many fics as you will” or “But I don’t know fandom as well as you do,” or something else along these lines.
Firstly, such attitude never got anybody far. If you want something, you better work for it ‘cos expecting things to appear out of thin air on a golden platter just because you want them is, let’s put it mildly, unrealistic.
I’m perfectly aware that when one has fof-list about a thousand people, it’s much easier to get questions answered or to get help at all than when there are only two close friends that read your journal. But at the same time, I think it’s an excuse, not a real problem. When I made my first list, I was a very green but curious newbie with a small friend-list, about 20 people on which were mutual. What do you need? A bit of enthusiasm, really.
So here is some helpful advice and a “How To guide” for those who’d possibly like to do it but are reluctant because of this and that. Spend some time on it, and you’ll have your own corner made as *you* want of the things that *you* find interesting. You’ll like it, promise :) Lanta and lira_snape have done so, and I bet they like it. And when you have something to offer people, they will come, use it, and like what you do too. But be ready to work for it. It’s a pleasant kind of work, really, not like mucking stables!
for your pleasure and for other people to use
1. So there’s a topic/theme/plot you like.
Consider this: have you seen many fics with this plot/theme? Is it a popular theme? I mean, are there many people who like to write and read about it or are there just a few? If it seems to you that it’s not a popular plot, don’t give up — it just means that it’s a bit harder to search for it. It’s much worse if a plot/theme is too popular. Say, I don’t think it’s possible for one person to compile and maintain a list of fics featuring heterosexual marriage; there are just too many of them! So, use your logic and reader’s experience. Think if you want to limit it to certain pairings or make it general. I am, for instance, a non-OTP kind of reader, so I don’t limit my searches with one pairing. You might be quite different.
2. Consider things you don’t want. Make up rules.
In every theme/plot, there are borderline cases or just similar cases that aren’t really what you want. Say, you like the abused!Harry plot but don’t want the fics where the abuse is only verbal ‘cos you like fics where the Dursleys beat Harry to a pulp. Or you want D/s fics but only cross-generation ones. Or you want Animagi!fics but only about canon Animagi. Etc. Write down what you want and what you don’t want. The more logical and precise your rules are, the easier it’s for you to search for fics, for people to help you, and later for people to use what you collected. Remember, people have different plot kinks and squicks, and if you are clear on your rules, you lessen the chance to inadvertently traumatise somebody — or yourself!
3. Search.
A) The very first good place where to look for fics is your own head.
Focus, concentrate, and dig out everything that fits from your own memory. There’s a lot there. Even if it’s only titles or vague descriptions, it’s something already; you’ll look and ask for details later.
B) Ask people.
People are fandom treasure! They are helpful and kind. Quite a few of them will go on a wild goose chase if you ask nicely.
Firstly, spell-check your request. If you expect people to do you a favour, it would be really nice of you to show them some consideration, and the least you can do is being coherent and spelling words as they should be spelled. Few will bother if they don’t understand what you want.
Secondly, don’t be rude or annoying. Fandom is community. It won’t do to annoy half of it while doing things for your pleasure. So, ask in places where it’s allowed. There are perfectly good places to make fic searches ‘cos they exist solely for that, such as:
on LJ: hpstoryfinders (specific fic searches), snarryficfind (pairing-specific). Many pairing-specific LJ communities allow fic searches, but read the rules in community info first! There are many more communities for fic searches. Check hp_directory.
on Yahoo: borgin_and_burkes - a big group for R/NC-17 fic searches; flourish_and_blots - for G-PG-13 fic searches; Harry_Potter_Recs_N_Links, HPfind-a-fic. They are all big groups, but of course you’ll have to join first. I’m sure there are more. Also, many pairing-specific groups allow searches, but again check the rules first.
Help, I’m looking for part of the Fiction Alley forums.
Post the search on your LJ. If it’s plot-based, send the link to it to fandom newsletters (and again, check their rules first; I can’t emphasise it enough).
Check all the places where your search is on. Read fics people suggest to see if they fit. Collect those that do.
C) Do some searching on your own.
If it’s possible to find decent key words for your theme/plot, go to big archives and enter the key words in their search engines. Have a thorough look through the results. For example, it’s relatively easy to type in “prostitute,” “whore,” “rentboy,” search in the title, then summary, and see what comes up — whores aren’t an element of canon :). It’s considerably more difficult if you look for “werewolf” ‘cos you’re likely to get every other fic about Remus.
As you can see, it takes time and effort, so be ready for it. If it scares you off, at least be aware what sort of work it is that you ask other people :) But it’s interesting, believe me. You can find absolutely crazy and unexpected things.
4. Compiling the list.
If you want it only for your own pleasure, here it stops. You just collect the links as you wish and read to your heart’s delight. But if you did so much work already, you can as well share it with other folks, right?
So, step 1: type those rules you thought of when searching for fics.
Firstly, people will know what to expect and what not to. It never does any harm. Secondly, if you make more than one listing and if you keep doing it, at some point of time you’ll forget what it was that you were collecting. Myself, I sometimes forget right in the middle of the search ‘cos one fic leads to another leads to a different one, and here I am: started with same-sex marriage but somehow now am reading about Animagi. Oops.
Step 2: collect the fics that you found and arrange them in some sort of comprehensible order.
This is important. If you drop everything in one heap, you won’t be able to find anything yourself two months later, and nobody else will be able to use it. Besides, I bet you’ll end adding the same fic to the list four times. Because nearly every person has those “blank spot” things they keep forgetting, and you’ll have the rotten luck that exactly that sort of fic will be coming up again and again.
In my opinion, there hasn’t been invented anything better than simple alphabetical order. By title or author. I prefer by title ‘cos authors tend to change names or have different names on LJ and off it, and it gets confusing. If you need sub-categories, it’s still better to keep alphabetical order inside them. Makes life easier, really.
Step 3: information you give about a fic.
It’s for you to decide, of course. But here’s what experience tells me: don’t be lazy or don’t try to save space. If you list only titles/links, it won’t be very useful. Make people’s choice a bit easier.
Basically, the information I give about a fic on my themed lists is what I would like to know about a fic when choosing one/two from a hundred: title, author, URL, pairing, rating, length, WIP status, AU or not, summary, basic warnings (optional). I add an alternate URL whenever I can ‘cos it spares everybody trouble when sites go down. Some of these positions are moot if the search is limited. Say, on a list of Muggle AUs there’s no need to mark a fic as AU. Or on a Snarry-specific list there’s no need to note “SS/HP.”
Step 4: credit, thank, and pimp.
Nobody likes an ingrate. So thank people who helped you, credit those whose ideas you used, and so on. Pimp what you’ve done in relevant places. I underline, relevant! Send the link to it to fandom newletters if it fits their rules, post a link to it in a relevant community — say, if it was a H/D hate-sex list, share a link in H/D communities, NOT in Snape/Harry or Regulus/Bella ones.
5. Maintenance.
A) Fixing broken links.
Making a listing is only the first stage. If you made it and forgot it for a year, it will become only half-usable. In two years, it will be barely usable at all. Why? Because archives change domains, sites go down, people f-lock their journals, authors remove their fics from the net on personal reasons. You won’t believe how many URLs won’t be working if you checked your list two years after it was created. That’s why I call for help every year and, with tears of gratitude in my eyes — no joke — collect the help that wonderful, kind people offer with checking for broken links.
B) Adding stuff.
You read fic. You do it every day/week or so. Keep in mind what listing you already have and what you plan/would like to make at some point in the future. If you come across a fic that fits one of those topics, code it and add it at once — it takes a minute. Or at least bookmark it. Create a special folder in your computer or in LJ memories or make a private-locked post and dump the info there, supported by a note that will tell you what it is and what you bookmarked it for. Yep, a note can save you hours of rereading, trying to figure out where you meant to add this fic.
When I started doing it, I had a huge folder, divided into subfolders on various topics I found interesting, where I saved fics or first chapters of chaptered fics. As I read, the folder grew. As a result, when I started a new search, I always knew a dozen fics to start with. By now, nearly every fic I read fits somewhere, if not on my lists then on those that other people keep.
C) Markings and such
It’s not necessary but people (me included) often like to see some differentiation: what to begin with, what *you* liked best, etc. Not all readers like it though. But anyway, it wouldn’t be amiss to tell people if you collect everything on the topic, if you read every one of the fics on your list, if there’s some quality control from you or if they are on their own, etc.
For fuck’s sake, don’t use my markings (those green stars and such). Invent your own system. And don’t copy-paste half of my list when making yours. What? I’ve seen it done once or twice. You can imagine that I was rather annoyed. Polite people simply link to somebody else’s work in such cases.
So, have fun and I hope it helps somebody.
See more tips from Lanta.
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this is pj's fannish place made with the goal to be a sort of public library of (or a gateway to) fanfiction. I read mostly slash, I love sex and various kinks, so if you are underage and somehow wormed your way here past net nannies and warnings, please surf responsibly and go somewhere else when you are asked to!
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Hey, found your lists helpful (particularly when it comes to avoiding my squicks!), so thought I might try and return the favour. Ever heard of a little thing called Xenu (http://home.snafu.de/tilman/xenulink.html)? It’s a nifty link checker which is dead simple and quick ;) xx
Hi and thanks :)
The problems with the majority of link checkers is that sometimes the page a fic was on stays up, like at hpfandom, skyehawke, or hexfiles. Machines can’t actually look, can they? So they show that the link is working while there’s an empty page there. I’d love to make checking for broken links easier but so far clicking one by one manually is the surest way.