Bradel Broadcasting – "The Dragon and the Photograph" · 7:41pm Mar 5th, 2013
So I just finished reading Sunchaser's "The View From The Window" last night. I mentioned it at the end of my most recent (and wholly unworthy) ficlet. It's a great little story about a pegasus painter, and I fully recommend you all read it. But it got me thinking. Sunchaser actually has something of a following now, thanks to "The Lavender Letter", and even so his OC story is barely read. People know he's good, but that hasn't gotten them to look at his catalog yet.
There must be other stories languishing on Fimfiction. Of course, we all know this to be true. There's just too much here for every good piece of writing to get the attention it deserves.
So I decided to put up a favorites block on my page, but not a favorites block like I've seen so many others do. This one is dedicated to stories that haven't gotten the exposure they deserve. "The View From The Window" went into it immediately, of course. But it looked so lonely there. I wanted something else to go with it.
Well, I found something. And it is magnificent.
As of this moment, author Scramblers and Shadows has two stories and eight followers. And one of those stories, "The Dragon and the Photograph", is exactly what I meant when I talked about stories that haven't gotten enough views. It it absolutely worth your time, as well-written as much of the best stuff on this site, and just as meaningful as you could want from a story. It's one of my favorite things I've read since joining Fimfiction, and that includes stories like "Eternal" and "Whom the Princesses Would Destroy".
I wouldn't have the small cadre of followers I do without help from authors like GhostOfHeraclitus and PoweredByTea. So I think it's about time for me to do what little I can to help out someone else who's deserving of more attention on this site than they've gotten.
Go. Read. You won't be disappointed.
I've read The View From a Window, and I do have a soft spot for it. It builds mood and atmosphere so very well. But it's also, unashamedly, goes at it's own pace, is about an OC, doesn't even mention any canon characters until a few chapters in... and, well, it's a study in how to write fan fiction that is difficult to get anyone to read.
Unfortunately, my Brownian motion through pony-literature has tended to be based on EqD and later user page recommendations. I hardly ever read things from the front page or even the feature box. I just had a look through my favourites list for fics with under 100 upvotes that I would heartily recommend, and rather embarrassingly, I didn't find much other than Thanqol's Study in Rainbows (+117) and Hound of Ponyville (+36 — it's not as good as A Study but deserves more than that), and Thanqol is far from unknown.
However, you may be interested in Seattle's Angels however. Their entire purpose is looking for unappreciated gems.
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I'm hoping the author will try for EqD. If that doesn't work out, I'll definitely be suggesting this for Seattle's Angels.
Interesting. I'll have to take a look at these a bit later. I wish I had people (or just one person) signal boosting my work.
Wow. Yeah. "Magnificent" doesn't even begin to describe it.
Which makes me feel rather crass for the favor I'm about to ask...
To be perfectly honest, the reason I read the fics in your recommend box in the first place is because there's a fic I thought to ask you to add to it, and I wanted a feel for what you were already recommending. True Colors is just about ancient at this point (December 2011), and it's just about literally never going to get seen unless people promote it -- my discovering it was a happy accident while looking for something else entirely. But it's got an excellent story, a well-built world, and a rock-solid cast of OCs; and I always end up describing it as "MLP original fiction, and that's a good thing".
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Eight upvotes in 577 views? My God. I didn't know that a 1.4% view-to-vote ratio was even possible.
I'm slogging my way through a couple things right now, as well as polishing up the Purple Prose rewrite, and it's finals week here. But I'll try to get to this sometime relatively quickly and give it a look. And to anyone else who may be reading, recommendations are always appreciated.
Well, up to the point where I get so swamped with them that I can't deal. And then I suppose I just start a group and make other people deal with them.
But I really do want to try to help get some attention for stories that deserve it and haven't gotten it. Some of us are luckier than others, and some of us are better at the marketing side of this whole fanfic thing, and it's always a shame when stories lose out simply because their authors' couldn't get them seen.
Seriously?
I get comment notifications for commenting on my own blog posts now?
Knighty!
*shakes fist*
929925 Yeah, but it's also got a solid 100% upvote ratio. Not one person has downvoted it. I have never seen that[1], and I deal with a number of low-view stories. (I suppose all the votes could have come in after the conversion from stars to votes,
andif ratings based on stars were thrown out. But that'd still be a little weird.)You're not the only one trying to boost popularity for obscure stuff. Besides Seattle's Angels, there's also Burried Treasures and Rarity's Gem Chest that I'm aware of. 'Course, Seattle's Angels is also the most effective -- marketing, you know.
[1] Well, except for with one story where no one even voted on it. I've been guarding that jealously, hoping to maintain its perfect no-votes record.