Now here's a surprising discovery (and an interesting coincidence)

[snorkackcatcher]

A few days ago, I was agreeing with melusinahp's point that concrit you didn't know about and just stumble upon was a very good thing to have (in a flocked post, about other stuff as well). As the saying has it, Imagine My Surprise Then to stumble shortly thereafter upon a couple of episodes of the FictionAlley podcast SpellCast that featured my stories, and which I'd had absolutely no clue about (never having listened to it before). The basic format seems to be to start and finish with short news and recs segments, with the bulk of the show being the reading of a fic followed by discussion by the panel and guest.

The two stories featured were Repercussions (fic, podcast with guest Rachael of Snapecast), a Snape story from before Hogwarts to the day after the Worst Memory, and The Wolf Covers Its Tracks (fic, podcast with guest Alex Carpenter of the Remus Lupins), the one where Remus is hunting down Greyback in Canada post-war (written pre-DH, of course).

I did kind of wish initially that they'd mentioned it to me, partly because it's generally considered good etiquette and all that, and partly because you naturally want to know what kind of reaction the story gets in this sort of thing! But now, having listened to them, perhaps it's better for the podcasters to not expect the author to be looking over their shoulder, as it were. It's hard enough to write comments on a story, having to come up with them on the spot in conversation has to be difficult. Reactions to the fics were generally OK, although the panel homed in on the weak spots like homing things. Some of those were perforce -- Repercussions is actually a remix that assumed the pre-HBP original and reinterpreted it. Framing that led to a number of elements -- such as Severus's half-blood status being known from early on, and a strong(ish) Eileen Snape -- that don't necessarily fit too well with canon when properly dissected in discussion. (And they didn't mention what it was, so I'd better ask them to briefly do so -- as about 10% came directly from rynne's original, which deserves crediting.) But in general, this sort of reality check was well worth getting.

It's an interesting experience hearing a fic read out, and the results weren't quite what I expected. Repercussions actually sounded better that way, but as for The Wolf Covers Its Tracks -- well, to be blunt, when I first wrote it I had an uneasy feeling that it was quite horrendously corny purple prose, and that was exactly how it sounded when read out (at least until the latter stages). A fic more suited to the written than the spoken word, I think.

Also, apparently I write like a girl. :) (*snerk* I've been meaning to put in a link to that column for a while, just out of interest.) Both podcasts assumed I was a 'she', amusingly enough -- but then that is the standard assumption for fandom, one I've mistakenly made about other fic authors on occasion. On the whole, I think I'm quite pleased that the stories can pass on that score and hence not elicit references to dogs walking on their hind legs. :)

Comments

[plaid-slytherin.livejournal.com]

Podcaster commenting. :D

At PotterficWeekly, we always try to alert the author we're covering their fic. (Mostly because we try to make it a habit to interview them.) Obviously sometimes people have left the fandom or whathaveyou, but I do find it strange that they wouldn't have let you know.

I've also had people tell me that we focus on the negative, but I don't think that's necessarily true. I think if we do, it's because it's something that sticks with us and inspires discussion, but I'd also like to think you can tell how much we liked something based on the rest of the discussion. We're just as likely to go on and on about something that felt off as something that was well-done. Frankly, if most of us didn't ultimately like it, we wouldn't be covering it.

[snorkackcatcher]

I think it's natural to be critical when required to read and respond to some random story that may not mesh with the way you see the characters -- and this is probably a good thing as an author, as it highlights hidden assumptions and all that, even if it is sometimes uncomfortable. I must admit, I'm curious as to why they chose these particular fics, and indeed why two from the same author within a few months (I'd assume coincidence and not realising they had for the latter).

[ashez2ashes.livejournal.com]

Wow, that's weird. I listened to that podcast weeks ago and recognized your name... I'd assumed you would have known about it.... I thought The Wolf Covers Its Tracks sounded quite nice when read aloud. I listened to it at work and was so into it I kept getting distracted.

You should check out their "Nothing Lkke the Moon" Luna Love good focused fic. It sounded really nice when spoken aloud.

I also thought you were a girl. XD My bad.

[snorkackcatcher]

No problem. :) Glad it sounded better to somebody else -- I haven't really paid much attention to the podcasts before (only recently got broadband), so wouldn't have known about this one.