rose_griffes (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
rose_griffes) wrote2007-06-11 04:45 pm
rose_griffes) wrote2007-06-11 04:45 pm
in which I show my true geeky colors by analyzing fanfic stats
A quick note totally unrelated to the rest of this post (except that it's about fanfic): this here is the most wonderful PotC3 fanfic (well, it's also the only PotC fanfic I've read), fleshing out what happens at the end. *happy sigh*
I've been experimenting with posting stories in the Pit of Voles.
Thanks to![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
lunar47 for some information about putting stories there. I have at least one real-life friend who reads my livejournal on occasion so I'll explain--the Pit of Voles is a less-than-affectionate nickname for the website fanfiction.net, sometimes abbreviated as ff.net. Fanfiction writers from many countries, using many languages, writing with many different fandoms--tv shows, movies, books--post their stories in the Pit. I have NO idea who first came up with the nickname Pit of Voles.
I've mulled over this for a while. Livejournal has almost all of the fanfiction for Battlestar Galactica that I've enjoyed, but a few writers post in other places, and I think having one central archive is a good thing. Plus the Pit has been around a while, and I can look at fanfiction for other fandoms as well--Buffy, Angel, Harry Potter... not that I've read much of any of them, but it's nice to have the option.
The Pit keeps count of how many times someone has clicked on different stories, so I can look up the stats for each story I've posted. This is bad for semi-analytical nerds like me. I posted three stories late Saturday, then decided Sunday morning to post a Kara/Lee story as well. Sure enough, the Kara/Lee ficlets (the two I've written, posted together) have a lot more hits than the other stories, which are not about Kara and Lee. About twice as many as the Sam story, more than that for the other two. Later I remembered that the other three stories have been posted publicly on LJ (to one of the BSG fanfiction communities), so the K/L stuff may have more hits simply because people are familiar with the other stories. To continue the experiment I need to post something else there that hasn't been cross-posted, something not K/L, just to see how it does by comparison.
eta: I doubt most readers on ff.net would remember if they'd seen my stuff until they clicked, though. It's not like I've been writing fanfic for very long, and I haven't been extremely prolific or widely-read. /eta
eta2: Just posted those three fluffy ficlets to the pit, for experimentation purposes. I never cross-posted them (at least not on LJ--I did post the Sharon/Helo piece to a Sharon/Helo comm that's not on LJ), and they're in the romance genre without being Kara/Lee. Let the counting begin!
This brings me to a burning question: why do I care? Heh.
Okay, I've thought about it. I guess I care because I don't understand the mentality of reading only one pairing. A lot of people post Adama/Roslin fic on the Pit, and of course there's a bunch of K/L stuff. Generally these stories get more reviews than stories with other pairings or non-shippy stories. I like to read a variety of fics; I'm bewildered as to why some limit themselves to only-shippy reading with their favorite pair. It's like reading the same romance novel over and over again. Come on, people! Have some variety in your reading! (Oops, this is sounding way too critical. Feel free to defend your shippy reading habits in the comments, 'cause now I'm curious.)
Other thoughts about the Pit: If I were inclined to writing long fics (multi-chapter stories), this would be an excellent place to post. It's easy to get to subsequent chapters, and authors of long fics on the Pit seem to get a decent amount of feedback. Authors of multi-chapter fics on LJ have to make an effort to link back to previous chapters, and my (completely uninformed) impression is that readers on LJ don't seem to maintain interest in the really-long stories. All of this is fairly useless for me, because I've never had an idea that would involve multiple chapters. Heck, I haven't written more than 4000 words in one story yet.
I may post more stories to the Pit just to have them somewhere that's easy to access. Livejournal is blocked in China, for example. Yes, it's important to the Chinese masses that my fanfiction be available. *laughs*
Here are some stories from the Pit that I haven't seen on LJ and why I think they're a worthwhile read. These are all complete, no works-in-progress.
Chronicles of a Sniper by 1GoldWolf is an interesting take on the Caprica resistance, seen through the eyes of a teen-aged survivor who falls into the role of sniper. The story is believeable and well-written. 6 chapters.
Kara Thrace Doesn't Sleep by Julieanna. Short, one chapter. I still have mixed feelings about this one. It's Kara's pov, during the time she was held captive by Leoben. It's dark; the idea that Kara might think this way bothers me a lot. Very creepy.
Cycle of Violence by DramaLexy. Long fic that starts with the premise that Kara was left behind with Leoben during the exodus from New Caprica. Kara/Leoben, Kara/Sam, Kara/Lee. Very shippy, very plotty... it's been a while since I read it (and I'm not going to re-read it because it's 20 chapters long) but I'm guessing Kara/Lee fans will like it. Another even-longer fic by the same author: Brave, with Kacey as a true cylon/human hybrid. 33 chapters.
Okay, fine. Since I've mentioned two long, Kara/Lee shippy fics I might as well do another. The Long Way Home by njborja is an on-Earth fic with kids so if you don't like semi-shmoopy kidfic, don't read this one. 13 chapters. (no twins, though,pataka02. Heh.)
A short Galen Tyrol pov fic, Almost Home by Astralis. Spoilers through the end of season two. Bittersweet piece.
If anyone else has trawled the pit and lived to tell about it, feel free to let me know about other stories you've enjoyed, or give me advice, or tell me I'm totally wrong, whatever...
Here's the statistical information from the stories I've posted (with links to their location on my LJ). And yes, I know I'm a nerd.
Red Pants; genre: humor; word count 664
my ff.net summary: Leoben can't wait to see Kara again. But what to wear? Based on a promo pic from 3.12 Rapture for a scene that was cut.
hits: 86
Fairy Tale, Ending; genre: angst; word count 1382
summary: Cally reflects on her marriage. Spoilers through the end of season three.
hits: 106
Broken; genre: angst; word count 847
summary: What happens to Sam Anders when Kara comes back again? Spoilers through the end of season three.
hits: 152
Sleep and Gym; genre: romance; word count 812
summary: Two fluffy Kara/Lee ficlets. Spoilers through the end of season three.
hits: 326 (and this was posted about ten hours after the other three stories)
Conclusions? Cally is less-popular than Sam (yeah, that's a surprise). Kara/Lee fics rule the universe. Leoben gets no love, although that may be due to the incredibly silly nature of the story I posted.
I've been experimenting with posting stories in the Pit of Voles.
Thanks to
lunar47 for some information about putting stories there. I have at least one real-life friend who reads my livejournal on occasion so I'll explain--the Pit of Voles is a less-than-affectionate nickname for the website fanfiction.net, sometimes abbreviated as ff.net. Fanfiction writers from many countries, using many languages, writing with many different fandoms--tv shows, movies, books--post their stories in the Pit. I have NO idea who first came up with the nickname Pit of Voles.I've mulled over this for a while. Livejournal has almost all of the fanfiction for Battlestar Galactica that I've enjoyed, but a few writers post in other places, and I think having one central archive is a good thing. Plus the Pit has been around a while, and I can look at fanfiction for other fandoms as well--Buffy, Angel, Harry Potter... not that I've read much of any of them, but it's nice to have the option.
The Pit keeps count of how many times someone has clicked on different stories, so I can look up the stats for each story I've posted. This is bad for semi-analytical nerds like me. I posted three stories late Saturday, then decided Sunday morning to post a Kara/Lee story as well. Sure enough, the Kara/Lee ficlets (the two I've written, posted together) have a lot more hits than the other stories, which are not about Kara and Lee. About twice as many as the Sam story, more than that for the other two. Later I remembered that the other three stories have been posted publicly on LJ (to one of the BSG fanfiction communities), so the K/L stuff may have more hits simply because people are familiar with the other stories. To continue the experiment I need to post something else there that hasn't been cross-posted, something not K/L, just to see how it does by comparison.
eta: I doubt most readers on ff.net would remember if they'd seen my stuff until they clicked, though. It's not like I've been writing fanfic for very long, and I haven't been extremely prolific or widely-read. /eta
eta2: Just posted those three fluffy ficlets to the pit, for experimentation purposes. I never cross-posted them (at least not on LJ--I did post the Sharon/Helo piece to a Sharon/Helo comm that's not on LJ), and they're in the romance genre without being Kara/Lee. Let the counting begin!
This brings me to a burning question: why do I care? Heh.
Okay, I've thought about it. I guess I care because I don't understand the mentality of reading only one pairing. A lot of people post Adama/Roslin fic on the Pit, and of course there's a bunch of K/L stuff. Generally these stories get more reviews than stories with other pairings or non-shippy stories. I like to read a variety of fics; I'm bewildered as to why some limit themselves to only-shippy reading with their favorite pair. It's like reading the same romance novel over and over again. Come on, people! Have some variety in your reading! (Oops, this is sounding way too critical. Feel free to defend your shippy reading habits in the comments, 'cause now I'm curious.)
Other thoughts about the Pit: If I were inclined to writing long fics (multi-chapter stories), this would be an excellent place to post. It's easy to get to subsequent chapters, and authors of long fics on the Pit seem to get a decent amount of feedback. Authors of multi-chapter fics on LJ have to make an effort to link back to previous chapters, and my (completely uninformed) impression is that readers on LJ don't seem to maintain interest in the really-long stories. All of this is fairly useless for me, because I've never had an idea that would involve multiple chapters. Heck, I haven't written more than 4000 words in one story yet.
I may post more stories to the Pit just to have them somewhere that's easy to access. Livejournal is blocked in China, for example. Yes, it's important to the Chinese masses that my fanfiction be available. *laughs*
Here are some stories from the Pit that I haven't seen on LJ and why I think they're a worthwhile read. These are all complete, no works-in-progress.
Chronicles of a Sniper by 1GoldWolf is an interesting take on the Caprica resistance, seen through the eyes of a teen-aged survivor who falls into the role of sniper. The story is believeable and well-written. 6 chapters.
Kara Thrace Doesn't Sleep by Julieanna. Short, one chapter. I still have mixed feelings about this one. It's Kara's pov, during the time she was held captive by Leoben. It's dark; the idea that Kara might think this way bothers me a lot. Very creepy.
Cycle of Violence by DramaLexy. Long fic that starts with the premise that Kara was left behind with Leoben during the exodus from New Caprica. Kara/Leoben, Kara/Sam, Kara/Lee. Very shippy, very plotty... it's been a while since I read it (and I'm not going to re-read it because it's 20 chapters long) but I'm guessing Kara/Lee fans will like it. Another even-longer fic by the same author: Brave, with Kacey as a true cylon/human hybrid. 33 chapters.
Okay, fine. Since I've mentioned two long, Kara/Lee shippy fics I might as well do another. The Long Way Home by njborja is an on-Earth fic with kids so if you don't like semi-shmoopy kidfic, don't read this one. 13 chapters. (no twins, though,
pataka02. Heh.)A short Galen Tyrol pov fic, Almost Home by Astralis. Spoilers through the end of season two. Bittersweet piece.
If anyone else has trawled the pit and lived to tell about it, feel free to let me know about other stories you've enjoyed, or give me advice, or tell me I'm totally wrong, whatever...
Here's the statistical information from the stories I've posted (with links to their location on my LJ). And yes, I know I'm a nerd.
Red Pants; genre: humor; word count 664
my ff.net summary: Leoben can't wait to see Kara again. But what to wear? Based on a promo pic from 3.12 Rapture for a scene that was cut.
hits: 86
Fairy Tale, Ending; genre: angst; word count 1382
summary: Cally reflects on her marriage. Spoilers through the end of season three.
hits: 106
Broken; genre: angst; word count 847
summary: What happens to Sam Anders when Kara comes back again? Spoilers through the end of season three.
hits: 152
Sleep and Gym; genre: romance; word count 812
summary: Two fluffy Kara/Lee ficlets. Spoilers through the end of season three.
hits: 326 (and this was posted about ten hours after the other three stories)
Conclusions? Cally is less-popular than Sam (yeah, that's a surprise). Kara/Lee fics rule the universe. Leoben gets no love, although that may be due to the incredibly silly nature of the story I posted.