All I can say on the KKJ fic I recently sent is that
it is shoujo.  It is meant to read a bit cliche.

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Shoujo is meant to be repetitive;

I'd have to disagree; lately I've been watching
Escaflowne for the first time, and neither "repetitive"
nor "cliche" seems to fit this series at all.

By definition, "shoujo" is material calculated to
appeal to a female audience.  This has consequences
in the choice of material, but does not (or should
not) affect the normal criteria by which we judge
whether it is good or not so good.  And "repetitive"
and "cliche", if true, are both ways in which an
artistic work falls short of what it could be.

Specifically, while it is certainly true that a lot
of shoujo involves wiser male characters guiding the
heroine, it is also true (following Sturgeon's Law)
that 90% of shoujo is garbage.

I think... there is a bias against shoujo on this
list-<clip>
The Sailor Moon that comes through this list is hardly
recognizable as the anime the Takeuchi Naoko wrote. 

Actually, Takeuchi wrote the manga.  But I
will agree that I don't think I've ever seen SM fanfic
which is recognizable as Takeuchi's style, or really
uses her content that closely.  On the content aspect,
this is too bad:  her manga senshi are more powerful
than their anime counterparts, and (as Allyn once
pointed out) it is explicitly stated that their lives
are dedicated to Usagi (i.e. they "don't need any
men").

On the style aspect, I'm actually quite thankful
that nobody has followed Takeuchi very closely;
the manga dwells enormously on an Usagi near-paralyzed
by indecision and angst every time Mamoru disappears/
is kidnapped/is brainwashed/is killed.  There's only
so much of this I personally can take (though this
may be exactly the reaction you are taking exception
to).

I seem to be playing a game called "how obscure a
series can you find" and it's a hoot to see people's
reactions.

It can work either way.  Fanfic based on obscure
series can often get looked at by people who would
pass you over if the fic were Ranma.  It does, of
course, depend on the series, as almost nobody is
going to read a fanfic based on a series they've
never seen.  (People will, however, read a crossover
where they haven't seen all of the series involved.)

 I drift, naturally enough to shoujo. 
There's fodder for fiction there.

Agreed, at least with regard to the series themselves.
How many Himechan no Ribbon fics are there out there?

there seems to be an unwritten rules
that "shoujo/waff/feelings" are bad and must be
rewritten!  Any "thought piece" or "character
reflection" is canned... and it's just... well, there
seems to be no room for them.

Counterexample:  Joseph Palmer is a quite well-known
Ranma fanfic writer who has built his reputation
primarily on WAFF fanfics.  And see the end of this
message for another counterexample.

And here's where people say it's because I'm either
jealous of lack of feedback, I should feedback more,
or get the hell out of here, girly, it's a man's
world.  

Providing more feedback is the one surefire way
to get more yourself.  It has worked for me personally,
and I've seen it work for others.

There are other ways, but they are not surefire.
For instance, posting a specific request for C&C
may help.

I've tried feedbacking, but frankly, I'm not
interested in Ranma; I feedback on a bit of the
non-Ranma stuff that comes through when it strikes me,
but people have short memories.  Also- let's just say
that I make Allyn-san look nice.  I don't believe in
disclaimers... you post to the net, your writing is
public property and may heaven help you if I hate it. 
While I do not flame, two girls have "retired" because
that can't take honest C&C- which is why I PREFER the
FFML to the other mailing lists I belong to.

Agreed; I too would rather have people tell me
what they honestly think.  I'd like to think that
the FFML is the list for people who are actually
trying hard to improve their writing skills.

However, I think you can give the same feedback in
nice and in not-so-nice ways.  For instance, to
some recipients it might make a big difference to
write "your writing ..." or "your text at this
point ..." instead of "you (personally) ..."

But hating something because it is SHOUJO, rather
because of the WRITING is a different story.

Agreed, if actually true.

So have people scared me off?  Hell no.

Good for you.

I'm going to keep ramming shoujo down people's
throats.  Why?  Because- someone might appreciate it.

I usually assume that at least ten people have read
any given fic for every one who has bothered to reply.
The ratio goes up for later chapters in a series.

it's been forever since I've seen anything new in that
fandom.  The last thing I liked there was "Genma's
Daughter."

"Genma's Daughter" is actually a pretty good counterexample
for some of the things you are claiming.  I would argue
that it is shoujo, but neither repetitive nor cliche.
Certainly it dwells on feelings and character issues.

It got a LOT of comment when it appeared, too (some
raving for, a few raving against.  I was active in that
thread as both a mild critic of the story and as an
active defender of the story's essence against some of
its detractors), contrary to your assertion that the FFML
ignores such stories.


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