Of Wordcounts and Time Wasting

Yanno, it's funny. I always used to think fanfiction and fanart was a waste of time. Why work SO hard on something that will never get really and truly 'published'? Why borrow someone else's world, someone else's characters? It seemed like farting in a mud puddle to me.

Then I jumped, feet first and eyes wide open, into the 'Supernatural' fandom. I am, at once, embarrassed and giddy. It has been the most fun I've had, in creation and inspiration, in a good five years. And one of the most incredible perqs is that I've stumbled upon some really incredible writers. Incredible, I say! They write rings around so much of the drivel that's published today by the traditional presses. What on EARTH is up with that?! This...THIS is what will slaughter print books, not just the time and expense involved, but the lack of quality. Sad to say.

It feels like many publishers, out of fear, are catering to the lowest common denominator, especially in genre fiction. Sure, there are a few exceptions (TOR Books being one), but I'm loving my Kindle harder and harder these days. I'll mourn my paperbacks, but the lamentation will be short-lived as long as kick-ass writers keep giving me cheap, high-quality, virtual candy.

I've turned a corner and changed my own mind. I was wrong about digital publishing. There; I've said it. It's a brave new world. I just hope both 'legacy' publishing and digital can exist, side by side, in perpetuity. And in my mind, quality will be the crux of it all.

AND ON A DIFFERENT NOTE! I'm writing fanfiction for a challenge over at LiveJournal. I need to stay on-task with my word count; the goal is at least 15k. I'm at...2k. And I have to leave time for rewrites/betas. If anyone is out there, help me crack the whip! Summer can be soooo distraction.

That is all! Peace, out.