Author Archives: aliceaudrey
Latest Greatest
I always think that whatever I wrote last is the best thing I’ve ever written. For a long time I thought I was alone in suffering this particular dilusion. But one day I was reading Hawthorn’s TangleWood Tales to my son and realized that Hawthorn suffered the exact same delusion in much the same way. To quote: Oh shoot. I can’t quote. I packed the silly book away. Nevermind. Alice
Crispy Fried
Your intrepid FanLitter is not the only thing getting a little crispy in this household. In honor of my blog title – the Restaurant part – I thought I’d mix it up a little with a recipe. Straight off the Panda Brand package of Egg Roll Wraps, the Egg Roll Recipe as originally intended: Do I actually follow the recipe? Bwaaaahaaahaaahaaaahaahaaahaaaa!!!!! So far as I’m concerned it’s all about substitution. For instance, we never have wine or sherry in […]
It Aint Fun If It Aint Fair
Did I know what I was getting into when I first singed up? Not entirely. I could see the conflict of interest, but didn’t realize it would be as much of a problem as it proved. And I trusted FanLit to take responsibility for enforcing their own rules. That would have made a huge difference in the playing experience. If I hadn’t already realized it was just a publicity stunt, plenty of people I tried to invite in the first […]
My Dream FanLit
Clearly I’m addicted. But that doesn’t mean I can’t see ways to improve FanLit. The way I see it, the biggest problem with FanLit is human nature, and the fact the system doesn’t compensate for it. The voting pool has become what Garrett Hardin called “the commons”. On one hand we see noble people proving Hardin wrong by rising above it. But more often we see everyone suffering from .5 bandits, 0 bombers, and meaningless 5’s. This is because we […]
Dirty Rotten Cheaters
Ok, this is just eating me up alive. It kills me to know that at least two of the people I have been hanging out with on the FanLit boards are stabbing me in the back with their sock puppet accounts. If any of them is reading this blog I have but one thing to say to you. Damn you! May you join me in this purgatory where so much that was once bright and beautiful becomes meaningless. May your […]
Step 1: Admit You Have A Problem.
I think the only thing that could keep me from entering again will be the ending of the contest. This in spite of knowing I can’t win, that the game is rigged, that cheaters run rampant, and that I really do have better things to do. I started to write a parody, then decided not to finish when I realized how many bridges it would have burned. I pumped out an entry with no soul and am watching it sink […]
12 Step Program for FanLitters.
Obviously we need it. Why not set it up here? I’ll go first. I’m Alice Audrey, and I am addicted to FanLit. My last post on the FanLit board was a couple of minutes ago, and I fear the next will be right after I post here. I know the addiction has had a terrible impact on my life, from the introduction of Pizza and TV Dinners into my children’s diets to the complete hault of work on my WIP. […]
What do I want in a winning chapter?
This was a question asked on the Chapter 4 forum. Why not answer it? First and foremost I look for a good read. Unluckily, I’ve become extraordinarily picky in the last few years. For me a good read is one that draws me into a satisfying story in spite of my inclination to notice any and every possible flaw from narrative intrusion to poor word choice. Anything that can get me past the reader’s barrier will work for darn near anyone. […]
Critique for FanLit Entries
An awful lot of the time I wish I could use critiquer’s shorthand on the entry comments. It would be so much easier to say “white room syndrome” or “talking heads” or “headhopping”. Especially when you have so few characters in which to say it. For those of you – Hi Raven! – not on FanLit, I’m not talking the kind of characters who live and breath in my head. I’m talking about individual letters and numbers. We have a […]
Tough Crowd
Either everyone has gotten a lot pickier, of my work has slid into suckiness. I’ll have you notice that I did NOT take the suck pledge because I don’t want to do anything that might even remotely cause me to write below my ability, be it ever so humble. I can too be humble! Sometimes. It looks like this round is going to have to be one of those times. No “wow”s for Alice today. Humble pie, anyone? Alice
What's Your Writing Process?
I love talking about writing process. It’s always interesting to hear how others suffer or talk about my own suffering. So lets talk about how you go about your entries. I know one writer who likes to think about it a while, then write it all out fast. Last time I did it three ways. I whipped out Of Cats and Canaries in the first three hours and posted with barely a proofreading. I stewed over it that night and […]
Turn My Head, Why Don't You
You guys over at FanLib are spoiling me. In fact everyone everywhere – except my mother – has been spoiling me rotten with compliments. This in spite of my low scores. I’ll tell you, it makes a big difference in my willingness to keep doing this contest. My favorite, of course, is “Wow”. I mean the good kind, like “Wow this is good” rather than the “Wow, what the heck do you think you are doing?” or “Wow, was that […]
Making Comments
I’m lousy at comments. I don’t mean to be, honest, but I’m just not as bright and smart, and supportive as I ought to be. And somewhere along the way I just know I’m going to put my foot in my mouth. In fact, I already have. I said things in the comments that got quoted in the forum as a bad example, though I don’t think I’ve made it into the Hall of Fame yet. Well, maybe. I haven’t […]
Blog Blog Blog Blog Blog
By that I mean blah blah blah. It seems I have gone overboard on the blog thing. I have had ideas sprouting up all over the place. Considering how much time FanLit takes (Yes, that again) not to mention other things going on in my life – like work, kids, and having the critique group get suddenly very busy just as I become Critique Wizard – I don’t have time for all the blogs I’ve thought up. Bummer. I’m going […]
