big feelings

every time I start to write my observations/opinions about the state of fanfiction I stop because I feel like I'm pissing in the pool at a birthday party or something but I have noticed that the majority of fanfiction sounds the same nowadays. Much like that funny and unbearable send up of tumblr writing style, fanfic house style is very recognizable and not what I would call good. This is probably because the readership and writers have changed a great deal in the last ten years, and I think the motivation to write has changed for a large number of people, or rather the clout economy has trickled down into fic and the urge for attention now outweighs connection. To be fair, writers have always wanted attention! I'm not saying this is evil. I do think, however, the ease of access to a fun, subcultural and derivative hobby that began for obsessives has changed the water. Percentage wise, the people who love to write and connect and express themselves through writing are outnumbered by casual participants, which is normal for stuff like a community basketball league and mostly anodyne. However, just like you can get annoyed with that fucker who can't sink a three pointer for her fucking life thank you Kym from fucking Lawson's, I also feel I can be peeved with the fanfic pool. Now with a quick churn of readers who are mostly silent and the dangling potential for virality and a novel deal, I feel that, even unconsciously, a streamlined app and development approach to what is essentially amateur art has started to become common. You should write a lot, and write in a way that sounds like the fic that generate a book deal and/or sound like the fic that got so many views, etc. I really resent this because I have taste and I want to be moved when I read something, just like with literary fiction. There is already an abundance of crap churned out for money, so I actually feel more irritated when, for the love of the game, someone has imitated the lowest common denominator available. Jesus, aim higher.