Burning Organ

I was first introduced to fanfiction back in 1999 via one of those geocities sites.  Not only did I get introduced to fanfiction for the first time, but I also encountered slash and bondage too.  All I really remember is that it was an X-Files fic with a Mulder/Skinner pairing and something about a hairdryer.  Oh and Mulder was tied up.  Heh.

And suddenly my little eyes were opened and I became aware.

From there I found Te’s Batman fics. She (I think Te’s a she, but hell if I know for sure) gave me standards for reading; standards that seem NOT to exist for a lot of other people.  Not only does she spell things correctly, but her grammar is good and her descriptions are amazing.  Or “Amaze Balls” as folks say now.  Cue eye roll.

After exhausting her selection, I moved onto Harry Potter fanfiction.  There’s a lot of it, if you’re interested in getting into it.  Somehow, during this period, I stumbled on Amanuensis1’s page.  Oh my.  If my awareness was piqued in 1999, then it was blown out of the water with this discovery.  It was never the same after.

Nobody writes non-con like Amanuensis1.  Nobody.  Oh sure, I’ve found some people who do a pretty fair job (some of whom are referenced on the underage non-con page), but no one is quite like Amanuensis1.  He/She is the standard in that arena.

About 2009, I got fed up with finding stories that didn’t do enough, that didn’t go far enough into the horror and awful side of humanity.  Far too many people ignored Harry Potter’s living conditions, but really what he experienced was abuse, pure and simple.  Dumbledore allowed him to get abused.  How wise and benevolent is that???

I suppose I could have just stopped reading altogether; you know, given it a break or something, but instead I chose a different path.  2009 was when I began my first foray into writing fanfiction myself.  Now, I know that there are always exceptions to this rule, but most people’s first fanfic is NOT their most wonderful piece of writing.  *grin*  Mine wasn’t bad, it just wasn’t great either.  People still favorite it and occasionally I get a request for a sequel (dratted plot hole, ahem), but really it wasn’t too great.

On the other hand, my next two fics–my next major fics–both started to make up for that first one.  Currently (June 2011), they both have over 700 reviews and 300,000 hits EACH.  My first fic?  It recently made it past 100 reviews (116 to be exact) and has nearly 100,000 hits.  Nearly.  Not quite.  And it’s been up for a year longer than the other two.

So, clearly I’ve learned something.

I think writers are a bit like serial killers.  It takes us a little while to figure out (and perfect) our styles.  Heh.

Oh, and as for the name “Burning Organ,” it’s a reference to Arcade Fire.  They sometimes use organ music in their songs, and the burning part is just a reference to the Fire in their name.  🙂