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Post by kanshu on Sept 10, 2004 3:15:04 GMT -5
It's always worth checking out the ffnet index page, since all news are announced there. Today, I found this:
What do you think? Are there too many long author bios out there? Do you read the bios at all?
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Post by Me-Nuriko on Sept 10, 2004 5:24:40 GMT -5
Yes, I often check the profiles. It can be very interesting, but the disadvantage is that you never know what is true. I mean I can say I'm a fifteen year old boy from Nicaragua if I want to. I guess most people are honest, but you can never be sure. My own profile is a very poor one, and I'm going to change it. I just never seem to come around to do it, though. Profiles with listed favorite characters and favorite pairings are annoying and I never read that part.
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Post by kitsuneoni on Sept 10, 2004 17:00:41 GMT -5
I used to have a very descriptive bio, but then I realized that few people would care enough to read it... and its the stories that count, not me.
So I just put update news as well as links to other accounts on my bio now.
I find overly long "I love _____, I hate ______, I want ______, etc" annoying and boring and egotistical in a way... do people really think others care and want to read a 2000 word bio? (There was one that length for an author who only had one fic)
However, I have read some interesting yet long bios... things that were thoughtful and insightful and had a point... interesting to us and not just random blabbing.
No offense to anyone that does the above, of course. It's jus my opinion.
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Post by KarotsaMused on Sept 10, 2004 18:43:04 GMT -5
I agree with Kitsuni-oni. There are very few long, thoughtful bios...most of the novels are filled with useless stats that have no affect on the reader's perception of someone's writing at all. I'm amazed at how long some author bios are
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Post by kitsuneoni on Sept 11, 2004 9:38:35 GMT -5
I wonder if people actually believe others will read it all. *g*
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Post by Terra Fire on Sept 11, 2004 13:11:15 GMT -5
Ok, I'm starting to feel really small here. And basically, everything you guys said I have in my bio. I have a very big Bio, though, mine is truthful. I have very long lists of my favorite parings, anime characters, and anime shows. I also have updates of all my fics in my bio.
I don't know, I personally like long bios, you get to know more about the author. Though, that only works if they're telling the truth. Which brings me to why I have a long bio. The more you write there the less likely it is to be a lie.
Oh well, what are you gona do?
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Post by kanshu on Sept 11, 2004 15:07:46 GMT -5
Well, I think part of the problems stems from the little thing called "self-presentation". A bios is always a piece of the author, sometimes to counter the story contents. Just look at what is happening here... I'm sure that the opinion the one or other had about each other is influenced just by the communication that takes place.
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Post by Salmastryon on Sept 11, 2004 15:27:54 GMT -5
The great thing about this board is that people can express there different opinions. Normally this results in discussion which I find very intelectually stimulating, and if people manage to convince me to change my opinion on something or think of it differently that's great.
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Post by D-chan on Sept 11, 2004 15:45:52 GMT -5
Well... a bio is a bio, which means you get to tell others about yourself. I put a short description down about me -- like my age and my future ambitions -- and then I have reccomendations (of authors, music and anime series, usually the one or two things I'm most interested in at the moment) and a short list of favourites.
I actually think that a shortlist of favourites of characters and pairings is a good idea. Not a long list that takes yo ages to scroll down; maybe, at the most, your top five. That way readers will get an idea of what characters and/or pairings you'll write about the most, so if they have something against it they can avoid all your fics altogether, or if they like it they know they've found the right author.
^^; And just to keep people updated, a small list of my current projects. Some people might be curious as to what I'm focusing all my energy on at the moment, and I've found that since doing that I've gotten fewer reviews demanding I continue a story I've lost interest in, or telling me I absolutely must make a sequel to such-and-such fic.
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Post by KarotsaMused on Sept 11, 2004 23:29:02 GMT -5
Heh, D-chan makes a very valid point. If the bios are actually -read- they could do a bit of good. As long as they're of reasonable length, of course. *scrolling finger aches*
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Post by Me-Nuriko on Sept 12, 2004 1:02:05 GMT -5
I really need to do something about my bio.^^;; D-chan made another good point, a short list of favorite pairings might be a good idea after all. VG Terra: Don't feel bad about your bio. After all, you write what you think are important, and there are probably a lot of others that think like you. I have read your bio, and it was only the lists I skipped, not the personal part about you.
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Post by filthy on Sept 12, 2004 5:00:37 GMT -5
Lesse now, what do I have in my bio... Two lines about myself. A short list over my fics and their status. Links to my accounts at DeviantArt and FictionPress.
Perhaps I don't need to say that I'm not a fan of long bios.
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Post by kanshu on Sept 12, 2004 7:18:19 GMT -5
Well, what really annoys me in bios is when you have kilometers worth of results for "What kind of XYZ are you?"-quizzies. That's not as much a problem on ffnet. but it gets a problem in other archives. For the rest, I goess it's up to the author as to how much of themselves they want to share.
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Post by rasinah on Sept 12, 2004 7:35:22 GMT -5
As for me, I'm one who always check out a writer's bio and enjoy learning new things about her. It is fun because you can really see just what type of a person she is, what her hopes and ambitions are etc. And I often do a re-check on a writer's bio every now and then, just to see if she has anything new to say. [Excuse me for using she but I think there are more female writers than male, ya?]
Me, personally, I'm quite fickle-minded and you can see it from my bio. I've lost count on how many times I've updated my bio. There is always something (imho) that doesn't seem right.
But I think everyone is entitled to write what they want others to know, though I personally do not enjoy long bios and only read such bios once. Nevertheless, I still think that bio-reading is an interesting hobby. ;D
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Post by Terra Fire on Sept 13, 2004 10:54:09 GMT -5
Well, I update my bio almost every month, or whenever I update a story. And every month I put up a favorite song and quote, I also have my dislikes and likes, I think that the more people write down, the more you understand them, though now I feel like I'm repeating myself.
Though, I guess I could shorten the lists in my bio a little, Just a little though.
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