This
is the first time I’m posting a real blog, so here’s a quick introduction.
My
name is Jeffrey, but online I generally go by either LinkSeasonMaster or
archsage328. I’m really passionate about anime, video games, manga, music, and
fan fiction, and I enjoy being outdoors, surfing the net, and hanging with
friends. As a self-proclaimed crazy person and goofball extraordinaire, I am a
fan of humor and comedy, though I'm also a bit of a romantic at heart. Sadly, schoolwork
keeps me extremely busy in general, but every now and then I find the time to do
the things I love.
Alright,
now that that’s out of the way, let’s get down to business.
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| http://linkseasonmaster.tumblr.com/tagged/mulan |
Sorry,
just couldn’t resist.
What
I plan to use this blog for:
Tune
for Tuesday:
What a majority of my posts will probably be. I first got the idea from
something my high school Sociology professor would do each week. Every Tuesday,
four or five students would be assigned the following: pick out a song with
lyrics that some sort of message, find a link on youtube that could be played
in class, and write a few short paragraphs commenting on the song’s background
and the meaning behind its lyrics. In class, the students would take turns
having the video that they e-mailed to the teacher ahead of time play on a
large screen while a printed copy of the lyrics were displayed on an overhead.
After each song ended, we would briefly discuss our thoughts and impression on
the song and its social relevance. Quite frankly, I never felt like I was doing
work when it was my turn to do this assignment. Even writing the paragraphs was
actually fun for me. The following summer, I decided to keep up Tune for
Tuesday, only in a different form and with fewer restrictions on the types of
song I could pick, and almost every Tuesday since then, I’ve posted a song online.
I’ve been meaning to bring Tune for Tuesdays to blogger for some time, but like
with blogger in general, I just kept putting it off for one reason or another.
But from now, unless I’m unable to access the internet on any given Tuesday
(reasons for this can include issues with the internet connection, being
somewhere without internet, or being unusually busy), expect to see some links
to songs here on a weekly basis.
Depths
of Fan Fiction:
If you look on sites such as That Guy With the Glasses, you’ll find plenty of
different types of critics and reviewers: anime, music, comic books, movies,
etc. But not a whole lot of fan fiction reviewers. In fact, a lot of people
seem to be doubtful that any fan fiction is worth spotlighting (though many of
these same people don’t feel that way about fan art). And admittedly, there is
some reason for this. There are plenty of fan-written stories that aren’t that
high in quality, and few if any success stories are heard about those who got
their start writing fan fiction. But after several years of reading countless
stories in various fandoms (and even taking a stab at writing some myself), I
feel that there are definitely more pieces of well-written fan fiction that
people seem to realize. In fact, there are plenty of great stories that even
the majority of the fan fiction community seems to be unaware of. I want to do
my part to help change that by showcasing stories that have caught my eye and
deserve to be recognized, and that’s where “Depths of Fan Fiction” comes into
play. Here’s how I intend to do that: each “episode” will have me taking a
specific story and review it, addressing the following details in regards to
the story (at least when applicable) in a way where I try to avoid as many
spoilers as possible:
-a
general summary of the story being reviewed
-mechanics
(spelling, grammar, etc.)
-the
flow and pacing of the story
-relation
to continuity of the source material
-are
characters portrayed OoC (Out of character), to what extent, and is it justified?
-the
creativity of the story
-does
it successfully capture the spirit of the source material?
-how
engaging and enjoyable the story is altogether
-objective
score (or my best attempt at objectivity) between 1 and 10
-personal
score (personal appeal that is not necessarily related to quality) between 1
and 10
-average
of the two scores (Ex: if objective = 6 and personal = 10, average = 8)
-additional
notes (where to find story, recommendation for a specific audience, etc.)
Additionally,
different types of stories might also receive different additional criteria
(one fandom vs. crossover of two or more, one-shot vs. multiple chapters,
etc.).
Unlike
Tune for Tuesdays, episodes of Depths of Fan Fiction will not be posted on a
regular basis. Like with my own stories, all I can promise is that I’ll try to
work on them when I can and when I’m feeling up to it.
Diving
Deeper:
Some episodes of Depths of Fan Fiction might be accompanied by this. With
“Diving Deeper”, I go into more detail, not holding back on spoilers and
providing thoughts that I had while reading that weren’t exactly relevant to
the main review. This is also where I’ll post things such as links to existing sequels (be they
official or spiritual), and if the stories themselves inspired fan produced works or
other forms of attention (fan art, a page on tvtropes, etc.)
Subsequent
Submerges:
If I return to a story and think of something worth mentioning that I hadn’t
already, here is where I’ll post such thoughts.
Fan
Fiction Progress Reports: If I make any noteworthy progress on an ongoing
story, I’ll mention it.
Feelin’
like Tantalus:
Games I want localized but have yet to be, manga that still haven’t been
scanlated, anime that haven’t been dubbed or even subbed, and unjust
cancellations. Far too often, I’ve been subjected to instances of these or
something similar, and here is where I’ll attempt to address my own thoughts
and frustrations. I’ll do my best to keep these posts from resembling rants too
much, but I make no promises.
Too…Many…Ideas…: Ideas for fan
art, fan fiction, prompts, etc. I’ve got WAY too many of these…HELP!
Misc.
Posts:
Exactly what it says on the tin.
That’s
all for now. Until next time!
