Story 111: "Melancholia" by Jeylan

[wendelah1]

"Melancholia" is one of the most unabashedly Romantic stories ever written in this fandom. It seems like it shouldn't work: an old, abandoned house, a graveyard in the rain, Mulder reading Marvell and Shelly and weaving a wreath of flowers for Scully's hair. Her Mulder is mercurial and Byronic, her Scully more earthbound. It's a love story for the ages.

Or is it?

Suggested by estella_c, seconded by me.

By all means, send the author feedback, and then let us know what you think. Suggestions for next time can be made at our nomination post. There is still plenty of time to read and comment on last week's Gutless", too.

"Melancholia"

Comments

[amyhit.livejournal.com]

And the reason that some, if not all of them, write - or attempt to write - MSR is because that's what sells.

wow. *feels terribly naive* clearly i have heard that people do this sort of thing, but...but they really do it? and Jeylan is quite a good writer, too, which is worse. whenever i think of people who "write what sells" i think of people who write the textual equivalent of no-name-brand-fruitloops (colored cardboard). the idea of someone "writing what sells" and actually putting enough of themselves into it that what they write isn't lifeless is kind of troubling.

[hlbr.livejournal.com]

Well, writing what sells in fandom means you care about the community interaction and your place in it. Writers that everyone reads and loves get more power (when power is the ability to convince people to read you/interact with you/heed your advice if you ever give it), but they also get more comments (and comments are the only sure consequence of that power--everything else is hit and miss); and comments, in the end, it's just community interaction. I find people willing to put themselves into work they don't exactly love for it weirdly endearing.