thefourthvine: Two people fucking, rearview: sex is the universal fandom. (Default)
Keep Hoping Machine Running ([personal profile] thefourthvine) wrote2005-04-27 06:16 am
Entry tags:

Coming out of the Closet; or, the Secret Life of Recommenders

When I first started this LJ, I had never written FF and had reason to believe I never would.

Really, in retrospect, I should've known better. Eventually, we all write fan fiction; I understand this now.

But to save myself the embarrassment of publicly associating with my FF (and to save you lot from suddenly seeing FF in a recommendations LJ), when I succumbed to the irresistable lure, I did it under a pseudonym. Which is sort of pathetic and sort of psychotic, inasmuch as [livejournal.com profile] thefourthvine isn't exactly my real name, so we're talking about a pseudonym for an alias here, and that's just way too recursive to enhance my sanity.

I've posted a fair amount of FF lately - well, for me, anyway - and that's made me think about this whole thing of having a nom de plume for an assumed name for an entity livejournaling as, or whatever, and I've decided it's time to stop with the spy games. For one thing, it's starting to feel vaguely hypocritical; I mean, I recommend FF and rant about the nine million things that I have decreed to be FF sins; seems like I should give people full opportunity to point to my own FF and say, "But you do it, too!" And then there's the fact that some people guessed anyway, to the point where I've wondered if my FF writing is the same kind of secret as an intraoffice affair: something that everyone is politely pretending not to know.

In short, the time has come for me to own up to my writing. So, for the record: I write FF under the name Littera Abactor, whose work can be found at [livejournal.com profile] littera_abactor.

No one who reads this should feel obliged to read anything in that LJ, of course. In fact, most of you would probably prefer not to, as the FF I write is nothing like the stuff I recommend. The sample size is still too small - I've written maybe half a dozen stories - but early indications are that I specialize in the weird and the humorous, without many detours in the way of plot or smut. However, if you do read anything, you are naturally free to nitpick, grouse, or poke fun, just as you are here. (And I'll read and love your comments, and still only have about a 50% chance of coming up with a response to them. Also just like here.)

This will stay a recommendations LJ, though; I'll continue to use only the [livejournal.com profile] littera_abactor LJ for FF.

So. While we're cleaning out the closet, does anyone else have a secret to share with the class?

[identity profile] estrella30.livejournal.com 2005-04-27 07:08 am (UTC)(link)
omfg.

You're writing DS!! eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!

*squees*

*goes to read and friend your lj*

AHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!

[identity profile] imkalena.livejournal.com 2005-04-27 07:15 am (UTC)(link)
It's true . . . fanfic really is just for fun. :D

And I didn't know it was you, but I'm pretty out of the loop these days.

[identity profile] cris-mimi.livejournal.com 2005-04-27 07:15 am (UTC)(link)
Will read your fics soon... ^^

I friended your fiction lj.. hope you don't mind?

[identity profile] maygra.livejournal.com 2005-04-27 07:17 am (UTC)(link)
Can I nudge/plead/bribe you to post the uhm...those. You know what.

as for secrets, I've only used another fic pseud once, becasue I was Writing M7 escort fic and it was so very OTT even for me that I wanted no expectations either within or without...only..well, I forgoet to change all my amil settings so when I posted the fic, it indeed had the ",maygra" moniker right there in the emails...

shortest sock puppet life ever....

[identity profile] joyfulseeker.livejournal.com 2005-04-27 07:24 am (UTC)(link)
I've wondered if my FF writing is the same kind of secret as an intraoffice affair

I can honestly say I had no idea you were [livejournal.com profile] littera_abactor. Funny!

[identity profile] qe2.livejournal.com 2005-04-27 07:34 am (UTC)(link)
Dude.

DUDE.

I totally should have figured that out, from the high quality of the writing both places if nothing else.

Except not, because I actually like not knowing whodunnit until the end of the book rather than trying to get there before the author, when it's a GOOD book, and this is just like that. Yes. *nods firmly*

Welcome out :-).

[identity profile] janet-carter.livejournal.com 2005-04-27 07:37 am (UTC)(link)
Eeeeeee!!!! You wrote the fabulously amusing Noah story! And I remember giggling at that SN one! Yay!

My resolve to stay away from the dS-tentacle-fic until after I finish this paper is weakening...

And no, my attempts at writing remain safely unposted (mostly fragments of SN dialogue and a bit of toying with an unfortunate incident at the Shedd Aquarium involving a giant squid back when the ink challenge was up at ds_flashfiction).

OK. Enough rambling commenting. Back to paper. And laundry - I'm concerned about my neighbors' dryer skills, given that there were four distinct strata of lint in the screen just now.

(Literary cattle-thief?)

[personal profile] indywind 2005-04-27 08:20 am (UTC)(link)
I had sort of a teensy suspicion that littera_abactor and thefourthvine might be, if not the same person, pod-siblings separated at birth with similar senses of humor... but not so much so that I can't now say "that's you? wow, I thought she was good; that explains it!"

[identity profile] minitrog.livejournal.com 2005-04-27 08:46 am (UTC)(link)
does anyone else have a secret to share with the class?

My favourite colour is yellow, although I pretended for 25 years that it was red. *g*

[identity profile] joyfulseeker.livejournal.com 2005-04-27 08:47 am (UTC)(link)
It's the sort of thing where I can look back on it now and say, "gosh, that makes so much sense! I'm so stupid!" because really, now that she mentioned it, I can totally see it. I'm just really bad at connecting people to their writing under normal circumstances. I don't even try to guess the "Yuletide" authors, because I'm so embarrassingly wrong.

Plus, it cracked me up that I friended both [livejournal.com profile] thefourthvine and [livejournal.com profile] littera_abactor, because at least my tastes are consistent!

[identity profile] lyra-sena.livejournal.com 2005-04-27 09:07 am (UTC)(link)
Yay!! *spins you around in the fresh air, outside the closet* I sorta figured it was you-- also, the tentacle fic is classic. I'm so happy you're writing!

As for secrets -- I'm wearing panties with blue polkadots on them!!

[identity profile] norah.livejournal.com 2005-04-27 09:54 am (UTC)(link)
*holds hands with you shyly in public*

[identity profile] resonant8.livejournal.com 2005-04-27 10:38 am (UTC)(link)
Whee! I like you both!

[personal profile] indywind 2005-04-27 11:11 am (UTC)(link)
closet secret: I'm not gay. As much. Anymore.

::laughs at self::

[identity profile] lyra-sena.livejournal.com 2005-04-27 11:33 am (UTC)(link)
y'all are so cute.

[identity profile] hackthis.livejournal.com 2005-04-27 12:06 pm (UTC)(link)
I'm wearing panties with blue polkadots on them!!

Sweetie, it's not a secret if you keep flashing the class. Just saying.

[identity profile] misspamela.livejournal.com 2005-04-27 01:57 pm (UTC)(link)
While we're cleaning out the closet, does anyone else have a secret to share with the class?

*raises hand* I'm [livejournal.com profile] byob_kenobi.

Um. Most people know that, though.

*goes to read your fic*

[identity profile] norah.livejournal.com 2005-04-27 03:22 pm (UTC)(link)
Ahahaha! I didnae know that. I recced both of you!

[identity profile] misspamela.livejournal.com 2005-04-27 04:41 pm (UTC)(link)
Wow! Yay, thank you! I saw the SGA recs, but I didn't see anything for my older (byob) stories.

[identity profile] norah.livejournal.com 2005-04-27 04:53 pm (UTC)(link)
Oh, I think I've recced you for due South for SOMETHING, but I can't remember specifically - I've recced almost 200 due South stories, so it's harder to keep track!

[identity profile] lyra-sena.livejournal.com 2005-04-27 05:31 pm (UTC)(link)
You love my flashing so much you don't even know what to do with yourself.

[identity profile] boniblithe.livejournal.com 2005-04-27 06:23 pm (UTC)(link)
Nice to meet you!

[identity profile] thefourthvine.livejournal.com 2005-04-27 10:13 pm (UTC)(link)
But, you know, dS appears to be my crack fandom. In my stories, they don't end up in a Canadian shack. If I ever got them into a shack of any kind, I would expect it to be on Mars. ("It's an incredible opportunity, Ray. The first colonists of Mars! Imagine!" "And it takes how long to get there?" "Er, three years, which I admit is, er, a bit much, but -" "Do we get our own room?" "Yes, Ray." "Three years, huh? I got a lot of ideas how to pass that kind of time." "I'd hoped you would, yes." "Wait, what about Dief?" "He's anxious to go. I've explained to him that there aren't any wolves on Mars, but he definitely expects to find something there. He just refuses to be clear about what." "Huh. So. When do we leave?" "We're going, then?" "You wanna go, Dief wants to go, and I got some friends out that way I haven't seen in a long time, so I'm thinking - hell yeah. I mean, if you'll have me.")

So, you know, fair warning and all that: when dS Crack Writers Anonymous gets started, I expect I'll be shanghied down there and handcuffed to a chair.

*squees in return*
*friends in return*
*departs, squeaking happily*

[identity profile] thefourthvine.livejournal.com 2005-04-27 10:23 pm (UTC)(link)
As far as I can tell, FF, for me, is pretty much a safe outlet for unsuspected insanity. Which, yeah, OK, is fun. I see your point.

(And out of the loop? No! You can't leave the loop, because we love you so much that we will drag you back to it for your own good. *nods emphatically* Yes, it's for your own good. Ours doesn't even enter into it.)

[identity profile] thefourthvine.livejournal.com 2005-04-27 10:28 pm (UTC)(link)
I absolutely don't mind; I'm always thrilled to get new friends, under any name. (And the bonus is, over there friends list maintenance is still possible, meaing I can friend people back. *glories in the Freedom to Friend*)

But remember: reading this LJ does not obligate you to read the stories in that one. And if you do read, comments are always welcome but never required. (I have a secret fear of becoming a "feedback me or I will steal your dog" writer.)

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