IBS/ABS, quel dommage...Quel scandal...

Ya know, sometimes it doesn't pay to be nice...Or mebbe it does...

I read...I read so much and so often that the authors of actual books that I love don't write fast enough...I grab the latest of those authors works and promise myself that this time I'll read slower...This time I'll savour...This time I'll make the book last...But it never happens quite that way and I end up devouring whatever deeliciousness I find myself immersed in...

Way back in another fandom, I discovered the world of fan fiction...I was amazed at the smorgasbord of tasty treats all organized like petit fors...By writer, fandom, even by 'ship'...I wasn't into a ship then, but I enjoyed some of the most incredible work by "amatuer" writers...Some of those works rivalled "professionals"...I was in Heaven...For the first time, I could read to my heart's content and when I was done with one fic, I could go back into what seemed to be an endless treasure trove for more...Heck, I even wrote a couple myself...

Eventually, as my personal life required more attention and that fandom shifted a bit, I had less time to spend reading...

Roll the clock forward a bit...CSI became a new obsession for me and I went looking for sites with information...I had watched the show awhile, but was hungry for the tidbits fans become interested in...I found a coupla sites with information, but was put off by the disturbing "character bashing"...Sure, I don't like the character of Sara, but my life doesn't revolve solely around that...I do have other interests...Sheesh...

And before anyone reading this even thinks of pulling a "Oh, we only come here because we HATE Sara, we thought you did, too...But if you're reading GSR fics...Well...We feel betrayed..." get over it, seriously...I'm many things, but one-dimensional isn't on that list...

At any rate, I found some amazing fics by a writing duo* who paired a couple I had never considered...The stories were divinely delicious...I contacted both writers to "fan girl" appreciatively and they were both very gracious and kind to me...As I ran out of the stories that I had enjoyed so much from these two writers, I simply went down the list for more to read...

UGH...GSR fics were the only thing left...Do I skip those?...I did...for about a half a second...Then I decided to see what, if anything, these two writers could bring to a pairing I wasn't crazy about...See, I had already gone on adventures I hadn't intended with these two writers...They hadn't disappointed me yet...I trusted they would take me somewhere I'd be glad I had gone...

And I was right...They did...

Sure, every now and then I'd smile and roll my eyes as I waited for what i just knew was going to be a huge "Sara-fest", but I was pleasantly surprised...Those moments weren't what many writers had made seem forced and anoying...When the GSR moments came, I digested them...And they went down smoothly...like a good armangnac...Mmmm...

Here's what those writers, and others I've added to my personal "trusted list"**, know...

1. Sara doesn't have to be made to look good by bashing another female character...Written well by a good writer, the reader will see her worth...All GSR stories don't have to include "Good/Perfect Sara vs Every Other EVIL Female"...It's boring...

2. Wellcrafted characters stand out...Nuff said...

3. Well thought out plots are worth thier weight in gold...Not everyone wants "bunnies & flowers", not everyone wants "endless angst", but everyone will enjoy a good plot on some level...

4. Love your characters...All of the authors on my personal "trusted list" write in a way that exude love and respect for the characters they write about...It's a testament to thier writing skills...

5. Take your readers on a journey...I've been on many an unplanned journey with these writers...I haven't regretted one...

Now, along the way, I have also read many ghastly fics by writers who I think fall into 2 camps...The first camp is inexperience...Writing is a skill...Practice will help them get better if they apply proven techniques, I think...The second camp is writers who will never get better...Thier writing is awful and will likely remain awful...But I don't think awful writers should be banished from writing...Not everyone can write well...However, if they have readers who enjoy what they write, what difference does it make?...They have an audience who appreciates them, that's what I find important...

I believe that ALL writers write to feed a need to express themselves...That is as important a need as any...Writing well to feed that desire is lovely, but writing badly but still having the desire is bravery...I don't bash writers, especially awful writers...Why?...Because a writer's fragile ego might not be strong enough to withstand even the most well placed/well meaning/gentle blow...I like writers and I wouldn't ever want to crush that creative spirit, no matter the circumstance or viewpoint...The few times I've offered constructive criticism have been privately so as never to embarrass the writer publicly...

But praise?...Praise I like to lavish publicly it's warranted...It speaks more eloquently to a writer's ego...Everyone deserves to be publicly stroked whenever possible...No?...

Now, there is a reason I've chosen to be candid about all this here and now...(And those of you who know that I ramble will also trust that I'll tie it all up into a neat bow by the end...LOL)

I belong to a great many forums under a great many screen names...I have since 1995...It's not a secret...Some people know me under one screen name, some people know me under several...I'm not sure anyone knows me under all of them...It's never been much of an issue, really...Up until now...

OK...Sooo, over the weekend, I was waiting for some files to download and was bored (as usual) so I checked a rather large GSR site*** that I happen to like to see who had published any new fics...I immediately saw that a writer I hadn't thought I'd read before had a new work posted...I was wary, but skipped off to read it...It turned out to be a very engaging AU fic...It also turned out that I had read this writer, but she had published under a different screen name so I didn't realize it was her...

Sooo, I posted a positive reccommendation on the appropriate thread...At least, that's what I thought I had done...My files were done downloading and I went off to work on one of my projects...

A bit later I got a PM from someone who told me that my recc was insulting to the writer...I had tried to be funny and apparently writing that I had read the fic out of "desperation" was misinterpretted...I immediately edited the recc to clarify that it was supposed to be funny, PM'd the writer (who was very kind and took it in the way I had written it, as a teasing recc) and I replied to the original PM with an apology...Then I posted in another thread about my concern about hurting any feelings and asking if I had indeed handled the situation well...A few people commented, but mostly the feeling was "You could've been misunderstood, but your apology should be enough...Don't worry"...I figure it's over...Right?...

Nuh Uh...

I go this morning to check out the new posts and there's a PM from the writer requesting that I not recc her fics anymore because I own AnybodyButSara.com and my reccs couldn't be "sincere" and that she felt that my reccing her fics was somehow making fun of her...HUH???...

Then, I find that during the night apparently there has been a discussion about this and someone "outted" me as the owner of this site and they are wondering why I would go "over there"***...

They act as if I've betrayed them personally somehow...Like CSI fandom is some secret underground organization with funny handshakes and all...Someone posted that I "pretended" to be "one of them"...

I never once denied my dislike for Sara...As a matter of fact, it got me into trouble "over there" for being so honest in the beginning...I'd get challenged with "I don't think you like Sara" and I was ALWAYS be honest enough to say "Nope, I sure don't"...So, having had me be that transparent, why feel betrayed?...

Here's the deal...For all of you who STILL don't get it, or for those who think I've held back of not been completely honest (although it's exactly what I've always replied, even in PMs)...

I love CSI...

I've been a William Petersen fan for ages and think he's a very versatile actor...And more than a lil adorable...

I adore GRISSOM...Period...

I don't like the version of Sara that has developed since episode 102...I think she had potential in episode 102 to be a suitable love interest for Griss, but that potential was wasted by developing a dull/boring/moody/whiny/judgemental/ basketcase of a character...

I resent that that awful incarnation of the fictional character of Sara was rewarded for being so awful by snagging the "prize catch", Griss...

I only tolerate Sara because TPTB have her still on the show...And I doubt I would miss her much if she were to leave...

I don't hate Jorja Fox, she's just playing a fictional character on a TV show...It's her JOB...

I did enjoy Jorja Fox on ER... I have never watched the West Wing so I never saw her in it...

I don't know how to be any more honest than that...Saying that you feel "betrayed" because I own this site and you love Sara and I don't like her seems a bit silly to me, but ok...

I've been accused of "bashing Sara" by simply owning this site although if the contents are read, I don't go out of my way to make fun of her or call her names...(No, I don't consider referring to her as a "bitch" every so often to be bashing her...I've seen GSRs call her that, too...and worse...)...

One moderator**** (who was one of the two I mentioned a few posts ago) made a post something to the effect that as long as a member of the site respects the posting convention and adds value to discussions, the site doesn't function "in a vaccuum" and that's fair...I admire her courage in saying that, because frankly it appeared as if a lynch mob was assembling...And for what?...For a positive recc for a good fic?...Or merely because the recc came from the owner of THIS site?...

You know, many times in the past the selfish/judgemental/intolerant attitude of the more rabid GSRs has caused me to do things like start this very site...Oh, absolutely...I started this site because of the wank specifically "over there"...YUP...Sure did...

But I'm not going to react this time...It's pointless...So, I will continue to recap and write as I see fit here...And as long as I'm allowed to, I will continue to go read and enjoy "over there" and add value as I can in areas that don't conflict with my promise not to post in any way shape or form about Sara "over there"...I suppose that's really all I can do...

That same moderator asked that they behave in a mature fashion and simply enjoy all the neat things they have "over there"...I agree...That's why I go there...I like the site...And?...

Ya know, CSI won't always be on TV...And years from now, no one will care who Griss ended up with...But we'll all still be humans, living life, writing and reading and hopefully, a bit more tolerant of the views/tastes/preferences of others...

Or mebbe not...

Try to have a good week and do something nice for/to someone else, whether you like Sara or not and whether they like Sara or not...

I remain,
IBS/GT*****/ABS;)

*I've deliberately left these writers unamed to keep them from being used as pawns in all of this...
**I'm not disclosing the names of my treasured "trusted list" of writers for the same reason...
***I'm not naming the "big GSR site" because it's unecessary...
****I'm not naming this moderator because it would be an act of hostility that I don't feel...
*****Ohhhh...Didn't know about that one, huh?...LOL