OT: writers' comms, discussion & support

[analect]

Okay, I'm aware I'm still A New Person here, but I'm curious. To those who write original fiction as well as fanfic: do you belong to any groups, comms, critique circles etc., and how differently do you treat your writing of fanfic to original material, if at all?

I realise this a pretty general question, but one thing that's really struck me over the past few months is how much of a community feel fanfic culture has, and it's something that I haven't seen anywhere I've ever been with original work. Is there a genuine difference, d'you think, or is it a matter of how individual communities and groups gel together? (There's a veiled community love-in thing here, btw. Just saying.)

Comments

[niniane]

That said, with an author who is as wildly as successful as Rowling, it was bound to happen. *shrugs* In general, you don't see that kind of things among your standard, "I make $10,000 a year" writers, as there's just not the rationale. Authors who whine about how their "story might be stolen" really are pretty out of the loop...

There are some nasty writing comms out there. But there are also ones that pat you on the back and tell you how great you are. (And a very few that are in between.) It just depends on the comm, just as you get fandom places like this that are cuddly, and fandoms that delight in wank and flame wars.