Of Longfics and Drinking Games

[princesshannah4.livejournal.com]

Item the First: The Jeeves and Wooster Drinking Game

I'd mentioned weeks ago that I was going to post about this, so I apologize for the delay. I invited a few friends over for a Jeeves and Wooster Drinking game last month, setting up a variety of teas. The rules were simple:

-Drink every time Bertie says "What Ho" (doesn't count if someone else says it)
-Drink every time Jeeves says "sir"
-THIS GAME IS ONLY TO BE PLAYED WITH TEA. TEA, I SAY.

The second rule was what killed us. I'd joked multiple times beforehand that "we're going to drain a cup every time Stephen Fry walks onscreen." This was almost an understatement. We could not move our tea mugs away from our faces while Jeeves was talking. We'd already gone through 3 cups half-way through our first episode.

If any of you guys want to try this, I'd be very interested in hearing how it goes!

Item the Second: Posting Longfics

I've noticed that many times in the past few months, several people have come up with novel-length fics to post and have posted every chapter all at once. Should there be a rule, or at least a precaution, against posting every chapter of a longfic all at the same time? Personally, I find it daunting to see a fic with a great-looking premise go up and think "but when am I going to find time to read all of this?" I think that posting, say, a chapter a day would be much easier for the community to digest (and it might be a happy medium between "SO MUCH" and "WHEN'S THE NEXT CHAPTER?") No offense to anyone, but I bring this up because I don't want such good new longfics put people off because of their length.

I hope I'm making sense?

Discuss, if you like.

Comments

[dreamwaffles.livejournal.com]

Oh my god, now I want to play that game. XD Is there a particular kind of tea that you use? Must it be in a teacup? Can it be in a mug?

Also, regarding longfics-if a person posts it all in their own journal and just does an index post on indeedsir I find that I usually wind up reading it on one of my days off, and it's a nice way to spend an afternoon. Could just be me though.

[princesshannah4.livejournal.com]

You could use any container and any kind of tea (I was using Oi Ocha and Chai). I just prefer mugs, or a tall glass if you're using iced tea. Regular teacups would probably send you running back for refills more often, though.

[storyfan.livejournal.com]

It's not just you. I do the same thing. This is a very convenient way to post stories.

[squeeful.livejournal.com]

Eh, if I don't have time for a longfic at that moment, I bookmark it or add it to my memories for reading later. This is a lot harder to do if it's broken up.

[zekkass.livejournal.com]

But if someone posts the chapters one by one, then I don't bother reading them, because I hate cliff hangers.

So please - post the entire thing! Please!

[shiplizard.livejournal.com]

Respectfully disagree in re: longfics. I much prefer to read a fic in one sitting; cliffhangers leave me frustrated.

[thistlethorn.livejournal.com]

Sorry, but I have to say I'm all for posting at once, in as few chapters as possible.

And the drinking game sounds delightful. Thank goodness you *were* only drinking tea. <g>

[princesshannah4.livejournal.com]

Even if I was 21, I probably would've done it with tea anyway, just because it's Jeeves and Wooster (also, my parents have let me sample champagne on a few occasions and I can't stand the stuff).

[thistlethorn.livejournal.com]

No need for alcohol when you can have just as much fun without it. :-)

[blackletter]

I thought about the "how to post longfic" question a lot right before I posted my own longfic. It was a dilemma, because, on the one hand, I didn't want to spam everyone's flist and overwhelm the comm with my 16 chapter monster, but, on the other hand, I didn't want to just arbitrarily withhold chapters, either. (Because I'm a fast reader and usually read whole novels in one sitting, and because I have no patience when it comes to something I want, I feel like I'm being cruelly teased when I know that chapters are written but the writer won't give them to me.)

Also, in terms of structure, one chapter at a time isn't necessarily the best way to read a work, depending on the story. Mine, for example, was structured in triads. Every three chapters was its own little sub-unit and I didn't want to break up those triads.

I do understand where you're coming from, but I don't think that a rule to post only one chapter at a time is a good solution.

[hephaistia.livejournal.com]

And you, my dear Sir, nearly killed me with that little bit of waiting. I was biting my nails and writhing in impatience to know what happened next in your amazing fic.

[blackletter]

*blushes*

Thanks!

[charie-caphine.livejournal.com]

A drinking game with tea is quite a curious idea, though I'd b. and s., rather.

Posting completed works bit by bit seems to me like an unfair teasing of the audience, or - at extreme - begging for reviews, whereas an entire story at once leads to leasury reading at one's preferred pace. Of course, it's somewhat different with works-in-progress, although I usually prefer to wait until they are completed anyway.

[erinptah]

I don't think "teasing of the audience" is necessarily "unfair". Sure, some people don't like cliffhangers, but sometimes the suspense is important to the story. And for some people it's part of the fun.

[charie-caphine.livejournal.com]

I should have said 'unwarranted' rather than 'unfair', but even so, it's quite possible to take a break from a finished work if one wishes to prolong the suspence.

[hazeltea.livejournal.com]

I usually have an outline in my head, but it only gets written and posted a bit at a time, or I would never get around to it.

[charie-caphine.livejournal.com]

Yes, WIPs are quite another matter, not a question of withholding material at all.

[erinptah]

And maybe sometimes it is warranted? It depends on the story.

Either way, a big part of writing is the author manipulating the reader's emotions. You wouldn't say "your story has a sad ending, and I don't want to feel sad, so I demand you make it happy". By the same token, a reader shouldn't say "this story has a cliffhanger, and I don't want to feel suspense, so I demand you post it all at once."

Some people prefer posting that way anyway, of course. I just think it should be the writer's choice.

[hazeltea.livejournal.com]

People should be able to post however their creative tendency strikes. If you see a fic that is daunting, why not bookmark it and read it at your own pace?

[princesshannah4.livejournal.com]

Because that tends to make it a lot less likely that I will actually get to reading it. If I don't read something when it first goes up, I probably never will because other things in my week will crop up and push it aside. I REALLY HATE that my brain works that way, but in most cases it does.

[hazeltea.livejournal.com]

Not everyone works that way, though, and imposing such a rule would discourage people who don't write that way from posting. It's ok to have a preference but it shouldn't be forced on anyone else.

[princesshannah4.livejournal.com]

Quite frankly, I wouldn't have used the word "rule" if I'd known just how in-the-minority I was about this ^^;

[reginaldrobot.livejournal.com]

I disagree about posting lengthy fics that way; I don't see how the possibility of reading something fine and enthralling would be bothersome, or daunting, (I have to agree with blackletter regarding reading novels in one sitting and finding it most enjoyable) if you are not a fast reader, then simply download/bookmark it and read it to your own phase; reading is a pleasure, not a matter of velocity or quantity. I find multiple posts about the same fic, specially if it has been fully written already, to be unnecessary and even annoying, particularly if you ever wish to read it again, and find yourself lost between all the unnevenly posted bits.

[who-is-small.livejournal.com]

IAWTC. Wise words, well said!

longfics from a lurker POV

[phoe-v-z.livejournal.com]

I love'em. Love'emlove'emlove'emlove'emlove'em! No hardship at all to read in one sitting. Love'em.

Re: longfics from a lurker POV

[erynn999.livejournal.com]

Holy mama -- where did that icon come from???? Do you have a link to the original pic somewhere?

Re: longfics from a lurker POV

[phoe-v-z.livejournal.com]

made it myself. Now, about a link to the original pic... I'll try to put it up somewhere if you are interested, or send or something...

Re: longfics from a lurker POV

[erynn999.livejournal.com]

I suspect any number of folks here would also be delighted to see a larger version ;)

Re: longfics from a lurker POV

[phoe-v-z.livejournal.com]

Okaayy, I'm going to out myself as a total boso here, but how do I go about the whole thing? It's not that I haven't tried... I feel like Bertie facing an omlette here... (faceinhandsinshame)( very small voiced: I did try... but I'll try again...)

Re: longfics from a lurker POV

[erynn999.livejournal.com]

First you want to upload the pic somewhere. Anywhere will do. Once that's done, post the url for it here. All you'd need to do is cut and paste the url from your browser. That will provide us with a link we can click on and go to visit. Photobucket, your website, your LJ album, etc.

Re: longfics from a lurker POV

[princesshannah4.livejournal.com]

YOUR. ICON.

Re: longfics from a lurker POV

[phoe-v-z.livejournal.com]

thanks:)

[erynn999.livejournal.com]

I'm a fast reader and OMG please give me the entire longfic at once. I love epic fics. I crave them. I am desperate for them. My soul is parched without the living waters of megaficnovels (especially if they have smut squeezed in here and there between the plotty bits). One chapter at a time is naught more than cruelty of the cruelest and most barbaric sort, old top.

[nurikochan.livejournal.com]

I gotta disagree with the longfic thing. I looooooove it when someone posts it all at once. That way, I'll actually get to finish it, as opposed to when someone posts in chapters, and I inevitably miss one somewhere.

[thirstyrobot.livejournal.com]

'Tis probably pointless to repeat what others have done a better job of saying than I can. Only that a lot of long or even kind-of-long fics probably wouldn't get separated at all if it weren't for lj's character limit. Mine wouldn't have, anyway, as splitting it up was kind of a pain. My consideration for readers was to make all the parts easy to find and get to, and beyond that I figured everyone could go at their own pace. I would find "too much fic" a very nice problem to have. :P

[storyfan.livejournal.com]

I always post stories after they're completed. I figure people can read them when they have time or, if they dislike my writing, not at all. I wouldn't like to see any rules about this. Allow writers to post in any way they please. Like monisharobot and blackletter , I tend to read novels all in one go, so seeing a long fic doesn't bother me. In fact, the more the merrier.

I'd rather see long fics posted in their entirety, but like others have said, I don't expect that of very long works in progress.

And thirstyrobot is right. LJ's character limit keeps long fics from being posted in one file. That can't be helped.

[captainpellew.livejournal.com]

Can you spike tea?
...
I feel the experimental urge coming on...
Actually, it sounds so unappetizing it may very well be lethal, but I am willing to sacrifice my life FOR TRUTH! FOR KNOWLEDGE! FOR SCIENCE!

Instead of every time Jeeves says sir, how about every time he disapproves of something, be it Spode confusing him with the "working masses" or Bertie's ill-considered engagements/hats/ideas/everything?
That should be enough to get you completely soused...er...I mean, caffeinated.

[princesshannah4.livejournal.com]

The disapprovals would probably be a bit harder to pick out, though.

Wait, when does Spode confusing him with "the working masses"?

[hephaistia.livejournal.com]

Good Lord! I'd like to see someone try that game with alcohol. LOL!

Long fics? I adore them. Whenever I see one, I squee and run to grab it, and never get up until I'm done reading it, no matter what other pressing business there is at hand. (But then, I'm the sort of person who borrows five library books about one week prior to an exam, and then read them all in one go.) I hate waiting for anything.

There's also the fact that I tend to forget the exact details of the previous chapters after a while, 'coz my memory is...... :D But that doesn't mean I don't like fics posted chapter by chapter. I love 'em too.

[blackletter]

Would it be helpful for you if longfics were at some point posted as one downloadable file (.doc or .pdf or something)? That way it would be more like reading a novel and less like an overwhelming bunch of bits scattered about a comm.

[princesshannah4.livejournal.com]

Actually, I prefer the bits-scattered-around-a-comm. Makes it easier for me to take longfics in small, managable bites.

[emeraldreeve.livejournal.com]

Due to my own writing keeping me busy, I'm slow at reading long fics, posted all at once. But I love having plenty of Jeeves/Wooster to read, so I definitely do not mind any one doing so. I feel that whatever the author wants to do and can do is fine with me.

In my own case, I have enough trouble with LJ. I don't want any more complications, such as trying to watch the length of something. I usually post several pieces of a chapter in different posts not because I want to, but because LJ won't let me post it in one go. I'd much prefer posting a chapter in one part not several.

long fics

[mllesatine.livejournal.com]

I really hate it when people make a single post for each chapter of their finished fic instead of posting all the links at once.

I don't mind reading wip. I'm a fast reader but if the story is good, I'm willing to wait (and considering that I'm following 8 WIP at the moment, I'm good at waiting). So if you are working on a WIP and do weekly updates, the anticipation can add to the story. But if your story is finished, you should post it in one go.

I always appreciate it when long fic writers do a chapter index (that they post to a comm), that their chapters have a reasonable length (not just three pages but making full use of the maximum length a post can have) and that they offer a way to download the complete fic.

But I do understand what you are saying. I tend to lose interest when a fic is really long. That reminds me that I still have to finish the last two chapters of a fic.

If you use Firefox, Read it later! (https://addons.mozilla.org/de/firefox/addon/7661) is a great bookmarking tool.

Thanks for starting the discussion.

[mellifluous-ink.livejournal.com]

Oddly enough, tea is what is used to stand in for whiskey and such, in film. It has the right colour.

Oh gawd, so much tea...

[beeb-almighty.livejournal.com]

I just tried out the drinking game, and wow, I kind of slosh when I walk now. Between "The Hunger Strike" and "Brinkley Court" I went through about four glasses of iced tea (we're going though a massive heat wave at the moment).

Also, I kept tally of all the times they said "What ho," "Sir," and just out of curiosity, "I say." By my count there were at least 64 "sirs" in one episode and 74 in the other. I probably missed a couple somewhere in between drinking, giggling, and consequently choking on the tea. XD

If it had been alcohol, I would be *so drunk* right now.

Re: Oh gawd, so much tea...

[beeb-almighty.livejournal.com]

Sorry, that's "Brinkley Manor" according to the back of my DVD. The tea must be getting to my brain.

Re: Oh gawd, so much tea...

[princesshannah4.livejournal.com]

Oh wow.

Cool! Brinkley Manor was one of the episodes we watched too! (the other was The Full House, because everyone wanted to see Jeeves' facepalming)