Archer/Reed Awards Discussion

[entkayjay]

I'd love to see more complete A/R focused stories -- as opposed to a B-pairing on the side -- being nominated/suggested. While A/R has the largest number of slash stories in the archive , they're also by a handful of authors. And a large group of them, mostly drabbles, are actually part of a series or two, so in some instances the better written ones are not necessarily stand-alone even if they are archived that way.

For the record, I personally am not comfortable with nominating/suggesting my own work for an award. It's just the kind of hairpin I am. So if the rule is three nominations or a story doesn't get into the poll... I think that could potentially be a challenge since we have a smaller pool of very active A/R supporters to choose from. So we need to be proactive.

That said, I think the A/R focused stories that people want in the running need to be highlighted and pointed out on the general thread. I don't know who goes to the archive and looks at anything that doesn't get linked -- I know I have limited time and can't multitask, so aside from trying to read four or five stories a day and make decisions that way, I'm just too far behind to work out any other solution for my voting, and that's pushing my time. There are loads of people who are far busier than I am and can't do even that. So I think whatever gets linked in the general thread has a higher probability to be read.

This is all in good fun, and it's a way to bring good writing and stories to the attention of people who may have missed something in the last year. Plus, I know how hard A/R writers try to make the stories work and do the characters justice. It's a complicated relationship that deserves attention, and a little pat on the back to say "good job" can go a long way in encouraging even more fic! WHICH WE NEED!

Lobby for the stories here, folks! Got a favorite? Tell us why!

[mareel]

Agreed. I know there aren't many of us, so it's definitely important to point out our favorites, not only here for each other, but in the general thread where they might catch the eye of someone who's interested in reading A/R but isn't sure where to start or has limited time to browse.

I already mentioned a couple of recommendations there, and will be posting the rest of these there. I'm not much for self-promotion either, although I think if we're going to get the requisite 3 nominations to even have a story included in voting, we might have to be nominating our own, at least in the private nomination submissions.

Also, if anyone has other A/R fics that haven't found their way into the archive yet... go for it!

Here are some of my favorites that I'm nominating:

Best A/R over 2k words -
The Message - kayjayuu
A Sad Refrain - Mr. Smith

Best A/R under 2k words -
String Theory - kayjayuu
Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow - kayjayuu
Picking up the Pieces - kayjayuu

Best slash sex scene
The Message - kayjayuu
String Theory - kayjayuu

Best Humor -
Help - kayjayuu (This is a very funny take on a VERY awkward situation)

Best tearjerker
Remnants - kayjayuu

Best appearance by a non-regular canon character
Help - kayjayuu (for Madeline Reed)

Best appearance by an Inanimate object
A Sad Refrain - Mr. Smith (for Malcolm's viola)

And just a quick comment about the drabbles - some of them are grouped for convenience, not because they need to be read in any kind of order, and it's fine to nominate one chapter of those (as clarified in the answer posted to a question I posed about it).

I want to add a comment about "The Message." This is the best take I've seen anywhere on the aftermath of Affliction/Divergence. I haven't read many stories where Jonathan and Malcolm get together for the first time in Season 4 (or even in Season 3), and this is beautifully written.

And whatever your favorites are, PLEASE submit them as nominations. If we wait for someone else to do it, they won't be there when it's time to vote.

[Aquarius]

Quite right. The awards are meant to be fun.

That said, I want to remind everyone that plenty of nominations have come in from people who have not lobbied in the thread, so you may be getting more noms than you think. By all means, promote your 'ship and your hard work--however, I would like to point out that those who've written A/R "B pairing on the side" fics are authors who've diversified to include your 'ship in their repertoire. They've broadened their interests and have worked just as hard on their stories, and deserve acknowledgement as well. These are not stories that are like 60 pages of one 'ship and only half a page of A/R; A/R have a strong showing in everything that's been lobbied for so far. That someone else has shown interest in A/R and wants to deliver that 'ship in a quality manner ought to be worth something, too, I'd think, so I'd take care not to say something that may discourage them or send the message that they're not deserving.

Just saying.

As for self-promotion, yes, that is always awkward. But if you're particularly proud of something you did, there's no shame in saying so, either. Even if you're not comfortable with publicly lobbying for your own stuff, there's nothing wrong with nominating it, because that's done by PM and there will be no one will be the wiser that you nominated your own stuff.

[entkayjay]

Well, I just don't nominate myself, that's just me. Fine with someone else doing it, there's nothing wrong with it. I'm proud of all my stuff (whether justified or not), so it would be like picking between my kids. Especially lately, I agonize over everything I do, and I don't post it if I'm not proud of it, so... I hereby nominate everything I've written. XD

In no way, shape, or form were my comments meant as any kind of commentary or critique of anyone. My apologies if anyone took it that way. I was simply pondering that many A/R focused stories don't get the airplay, readership, recs or reviews that a gen story or canon pairing story does, anywhere really, because there seem to be fewer people who seek it out. *shrugs* I have my own reading preferences, and my time is limited, so there are many stories in the archive that I haven't read but would enjoy, and seeing a little blurb promoting them from someone who is enthusiastic about it would go a long way toward piquing my interest and putting it on my to-read list. That's the idea here.

And my concern regarding the "story" part of the "Best A/R Story" is that a B-pairing -- well-written, wonderful, and squee-worthy and all that -- isn't necessarily a "story" to me. Parts of fiction: conflict, climax, resolution. Story involves someone evolving, something happening to change someone between the beginning and the end. If a pairing is there to move the main story along, then it's not about them, it's about the main story. If a pairing is there as window dressing, it's not about them. If the main thrust of the story is gen, and there's some slash worked in along the way, it's not about them. It contains them, but if they don't change in some way, if there's no movement... it's not, imho, an A/R story. Or a R/S story. Or a TnT story. Doesn't matter the pairing, it would make me uncomfortable if anything I wrote -- which is not going to have a TnT focus because they are just not my strong suite -- was considered a TnT story and nominated alongside someone else's that clearly was.

That's what I think differentiates fandom Gen writing from Shipper/Slasher writing. In Gen writing, the characters move the story along. In shipper/slash (and even some friendship) writing, the story moves the relationship along in some direction. Of course there are exceptions to every "rule" (termed loosely), and characters/relationships evolve in gen stories just as ships/slash can be completely plotty.

If there was a B-plot alongside an A-plot that moved along, I think that works as a defined story (like in an episode).

And drabbles are their own element. Some are complete stories in 100 words. Others are windows into someone's world. I'd assume that's why they have their own category and aren't completely lumped in with the generic "story".

I'd like to suggest including something like B-pairing or some such in the nominations, because yes, the writing has been great. In that way there could be an even clearer acknowledgment of someone's work, because an outstanding "cameo" with rich characterization and good lines can get lost just as easily among a sea of other stories. Win-win, imho.

ETA: I knew there was a better phrase I was looking for but I was running on empty last night. Rather than "B pairing" how about a "Guest Star Pairing"? It's not less-than, it's just not the main event. Kind of like the Emmy's... "Best Actor" nominations go to the main stars, "Best Supporting Actor" goes to the supporting stars, surprise surprise. And one-offs are in the Guest category. Just a thought.

[Aquarius]

kayjay, I appreciate your position. The only problem is, people have already started nominating. To change things up in this manner would require us to throw out nominations and start over--something we're not necessarily prepared to do at this juncture because we can't guarantee that people will go re-nominate in the new "appropriate" category. This isn't the same thing as adding a completely new category, like the "sex that never was"; that one didn't conflict with nominations that might have already been made, it was just something new that people could have an opportunity to vote for.

So how 'bout we roll with it as-is for this year and try to have fun with it, and we'll have a whole year to re-vamp categories for next year? In the meantime, lobby hard for the stories you want, and trust them to stand on their quality. If you don't want to nominate your own work, that's on you. I will point out that even the President of the United States usually votes for himself, for what it's worth. If it's a matter of choosing between your children, you could simply nominate everything you've written. Other people have.

Regarding the "airplay" issue, you may have hit the nail on the head when you talked about your limited time. Right or wrong, we know that an issue inherent in fanfic is that you have to give in order to get in terms of attention. I haven't scoped out you guys's reviewing habits so it's just a theory, but if you're only using your limited time to read and review each other, that might be why you're not getting so much attention from the outside of your 'ship. I know lots of people here are pretty broad in what they read, and most people will make time for someone who's made time for them, even if a story isn't normally their cup of tea. Just a thought.

[entkayjay]

Actually I haven't been reading hardly at all. Due to burnout from work and health issues, I can no longer multitask. I used to be able to hold down three jobs and juggle a bazillion balls. No more. I have to do one thing at a time, and sometimes those things take more time than I planned. Replying last night took all my time up to bed, so I wasn't able to read and review three-four more stories like I've tentatively planned to do every day to get more familiar with the archive and actually vote with knowledge. It's not a matter of making or not making time. It's just a matter of my brain and the priorities I have to make in my life. *shrugs*

And forget writing for a bit. LOL.

[Honeybee]

We'll definitely be tweaking categories if we do this again! For now, just lobby for your faves. The whole endeavor was to celebrate all the different writers and ships on the site and to get people reading some of the older stuff - and in that way, it's already a success.

[Aquarius]

Giving you guys the same spiel I gave everyone else. Only three weeks left to nominate. We've seen lots of lobbying, but few people doing any actual nominating. Sooner is better than later. I know we're all busy and have life's crunk grenades to deal with, but if you send in just one nom every time you log on, it'll only take a few minutes, and it'll make the load lighter for yourself later.

REMINDER: lobbying in this thread or the actual Expanse Awards discussion thread isn't the same as a nomination. You must include the story title, author's name, and story url in a PM to the Expanse Awards account for it to count.

Come on, I know you can do it!