#which is why I’ve been neglecting reading recently. but NO LONGER. 2024 is the year of BOOKS.

[iwritenarrativesandstuff]

Currently re-reading The Time Machine by H.G. Wells and Frankenstein by Mary Shelley. Haven’t read these in awhile so it’s kind of like reading them all over again.

[doublel27]

Hi LL, since I have seen you talking about fandom lately, I want your advice on this. I have been in various fandoms for almost 11 years (since grade 7), the longest is ARMY (BTS), and most recently is Thai BL. I apologize if this is worded poorly because English is my second language.

How to manage your feelings when people in your fandom say they hate or dislike your other faves (not for their problematic behaviors, just general like not vibing with, skill issues, company management issues, unpleasant encounters with fans, etc)? It got better in recent years in K-pop, but I still get a little sad when people who are fans of my faves hate/dislike my other faves or my other fandom. Especially in Thai BL, some CPs are small and niche so I can hardly find fans that like all/ some CPs I like or are indifferent about other CPs at least. A fan account I have followed to get updates for a long time recently said they hate my other faves so sadly I have to unfollow them :( I'm well aware that this is my personal problem and no one is liked by everyone and they are competitors. But still, I'd love some advice on how to navigate fandom with fewer feelings involved since it's not good for my mental health and ruin my enjoyment in fandom.

How to not invest too much and get anxious when your faves are potentially being screwed over by their company's incompetency? Same thing with the above, especially when fans complain and protest the company and the company is actually incompetent.

How do you build a plot to a fic and is there any way to keep track and finish writing your fics? I have an idea, wrote 2 scenes but now I don't know what to do next to make it a full fic?

Thank you so much! Sorry for bothering you. Have a nice week <3

Hi friend! Thank you so much! Your English is great, and thanks for sharing your background with fandom. 💜💜 (ps Sorry I thought I posted this days ago)

1.I have to say my ability to compartmentalize and to not get too invested in others feelings is a couple of things:

One, I’ve had time and experience. Baby fan LL struggled with this a lot, too. The longer you practice feeling your feelings, which are normal. It’s normal to feel sad when someone says something you like is terrible. But there was a definite ship and let ship and My Kink Is Not Your Kink And That’s Okay vibe that existed in my younger fandom era. I think it was also easier to avoid stuff you didn’t want to see because a lot of our fan sites when I was young were much more compartmentalized, with different sites, different forums, threads. Livejournal and Dreamwidth let you have your personal journal but also join community journals.

I think beyond remembering that not everyone has to like everything, it’s important to keep in mind the quote from Wicked (2024) “Everyone knows the best way to unite people is to give them a common enemy” and I think that is a major problem in celebrity & fan culture in general. Many people get sucked deep into their fandom and see other fandoms as competition and threats, which allows them to unite deeper. But you can’t necessarily change that behavior in people. You can only manage yourself.

So, some of my favorite strategies to manage my feelings include staying calm by breathing, literally grounding myself, doing some physical activity, or taking an internet/fandom break, or even going back and listening/watching your favorite stuff to focus on why you love it, start a conversation with someone who shares your love of the thing, or working on something creative are all great ways to stay grounded and connected. Find ways to engage with your favorite things that are constructive and fulfilling.

2. Oh 💜💜💜 the way I can’t even guess what Thai CP you’re talking about because I read widely and nearly all of the fandoms are all convinced their faves are being neglected by their companies. And like, they can’t all be the most mistreated.

I think if there’s serious mistreatment, like the stuff with Rii7e where the company let fans harass a member, that’s worth fans calling out. Or the cases of actors and actresses in China that are forced to work while very ill, or the guy they cast in an idol contest who wasn’t auditioning and then wouldn’t let leave.

I think when it comes to Thai BL fans, it’s good to think about the fact that there are many factors that go into getting different jobs, be they series, or fanmeets - these take money and time and energy. As much as we would love to be able to make art for arts sake, as long as we live in a capitalist world, people need to make enough money to live and pay people. It it comes to brand deal jobs: there’s only so many jobs for a large market of people, which is fine. Not everyone wants to be doing brand deals or has to all the time. They can choose not to and focus on other things.

I also think people should think on a systems level. GMMTV and One31 and Change5261 are part of a large conglomerate with many resources. Other companies like Idol Factory and YWBP are very small and have limited resources because they’ve leveraged the owner’s capital to exist. Every time I see interfans take Idol Factory to task for not having stuff translated immediately when they’ve relied on small contracted teams of fan translators to do their translating makes me angry because Idol Factory doesn’t spend as much money on like fanmeets as they do on production values for their shows.

Sometimes upsetting things happen, but thinking about why helps. I know there was a big disappointment in the BillyBabe camp over the cancelled fanmeet that was also going to be a musical: but musicals are way more expensive and ambitious than your general fanmeet. They weren’t just going to sing a couple of songs. There was going to be sets, costumes, a script - of course that concept was going to cost more for tickets and be less benefits because you were going to get a larger more involved show. And then because Idol Factory is small and was trying to get a project that honestly was probably to big to handle in that short an out of time…I’m not surprised they bit off more than they could chew that time. They think big.

Again, this gets back to the point above, around a common enemy and acknowledging how all fandoms can get sucked into this mentality helps me. As does reminding myself that most of these artists and companies are run by people. That sometime there are trade offs and mistakes but a lot of decisions aren’t them actually hating your faves. All choices have consequences and everyone who works on something deserves to get paid and people should work however much they want. I actually worry a lot more about overwork than not getting enough work!

And you know, if that’s a lot of what the fandom is talking about maybe don’t add to the noise. Don’t feel you have to join in because everyone else is.

3. Tips for fanfic:

Oh nonny. It’s been so long since I completed something. But I do like to think about where I want the story to go, what is the problem my characters are facing, What am I trying to convey to my audience. Sometimes I go back and watch key scenes of the source material for inspiration and to keep my characters consistent.

Taking quick notes and fleshing them out later. Figuring out if you are a description first or a dialogue first writer.

Reading also helps, fic but also books you love. Listening to music. Taking the time to watch people and places and work on describing them. Using brackets or a place holder sentence and move on rather than get stuck in the perfect thing to say.

Sometimes finding someone to talk your ideas out with helps. Most of my favorite stories I’ve written someone else has read my or pushed me in my thinking.

Much love! 💜💜