A Keychain in the Snow

Fanfiction
Title:	A Keychain in the Snow
Author(s):	Lisa M. Pantano/Parameceum
Date(s):	December 24, 1998
Length:
Genre(s):
Fandom(s):	The X-Files
Relationship(s):
External Links:	part one part two
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A Keychain in the Snow is an X-Files story by Lisa M. Pantano.

The story is notable not so much for its literary content, but for the comments which focused on feedback as well as an author's "duty" or "right" to include or not include warnings. Also discussed: fandom community expectations, spoilers, public versus private feedback, the thin and thick skins of creators, and the impossibilities of completely establishing community norms.

The author reposted this story to alt.tv.x-files.creative four months later, this time with "KEYWORDS: angst, CHARACTER DEATH."

Story Header

SPOILERS: Everything up to and including the movie but not really

DISTRIBUTION: Anywhere as long as my name and email address remain intact. but Please request my permission first and let me know where it is so I can come and visit every now and again

SUMMARY: Mulder receives a phone call that sends him and Skinner into an Illinois snowstorm to find Scully

DISCLAIMERS: The characters of Mulder, Scully, Skinner and Mrs. Scully do not belong to me. They are the property of Chris Carter, Ten Thirteen Productions And Fox Broadcasting. No infringement is intended. This work of fiction is intended for amusement purposes supplemental to normal X-Files viewing etc., and no profit is being made off of this.

FEEDBACK: Any Feedback would be greatly appreciated as this is my very first attempt at sharing something I have written with anyone. Constructive criticism would be greatly appreciated but hey I would like to know if you just read it or even read it and hated it

The Author's Comments Regarding Initial Feedback

PARAMECEUM wrote:

Greetings.

Never haver I felt so Highly reguarded as to be so publicly slammed.

Let Me explain why I am being Slammed... I have never done this before. This is the first... and it seems from the public beating that i am receiving, probably the last time I have ever posted a story. People Make mistakes. So beat me up because I am the new kid on the block. Beat me up because you dont like the way the story went. But Dont beat me up and tell me that I did not put in a warning because I was insecure. Dont Assume I was creating Irony because I didnt warn you that someone was going to die.

Am I sorry I didnt put in The appropriate warnings. Yes I am sorry. Am I sorry that I made a mistake? Yes. Am I sorry that everyone didnt like the story? Yes I am sorry for that too... But I once learned that you cant please everyone. Am I sorry that I posted this story at all.... Sadly I must say a resounding YES.

I was hoping that I would put my little piece of fiction into the all migfhty vaults of this news group in the hopes of some constructive criticism. I was hoping that this would be my sounding board so that I might become a better writer. Instead I feel as though I have been branded with some awful scarlet letter that says I am, amongst other things, insecure. This has backfired terribly. All that i have learned from this experience is that f I do not write to the conforms of the rest of you almighty folks then dont bother or feel free to be publicly beaten.

I seem to remember stating very clearly in my opening that ths was teh first time i was ever posting. Hell the only reason i had anything in there was because my beta reader.... yes I did have one, put it into the copy that she emailed me. I guess that you almighty folks are not all that willing to let new kids join your club.

As far as the ending goes,( I cant believe that I feel the need to justify what the hell I wrote) It was not meant as a shock ending. In my mind it made perfect sense and there were several albeit subtle hints that lead to it. (Mulder says now he can rest,.... He says to scully this will never happen again...) Was it a rational thing to do... NO... is that action ever a rational thing to do... NO. I tried to build to the fact that he was in no way behaving rationally. I tried to show how much harm he has caused her. I tried to build to it... and maybe if i was a better writer I would have done a better job at that... but geez I cant be a better writer if I cant write.

I have worked with people who have taken this action... I have seen people do this when it seems they are at the happiest points in their life. If you feel that you are the sole root and cause of someones problems you will often take drastic measures to illeviate that problem.... even if it is ones self. Even if that other individual is alive, well, and does not blame you. This is teh angle I took with Mulder. Scully was well... Scully was Fine... he did everything he could to make sure of that. Once he was sure that she was OK then He could take care of the root problem. That is the angle I took. I am sorry if you dont agree with it. I am sorry if you didnt like it, but that was the way I was looking at it.

As far as the warning... In the if I decide to ever post again.... I will make Certain that Character Deaths are explicitly labeled with CHARACTER DEATH. and if there is no Character Death... Then it will be explicitly labeled NO CHARACTER DEATH.

Please pardon the new Kid... she is a little slow and is prone to making mistakes.

Reactions and Reviews

[Tracey]: I have to be honest, the character death did throw me, but the story was awesome! You have a real writing talent! Please don't let the other yahoo's that can't deal with disappoint or loss make you stop writing!!! You are way too talented for that! :)

As for the one's who are doing the slamming...GROW UP!!!!!!! AND LEARN SOME MANNERS!!!!!! How would you like it if this were you???????

A fan of anything X-File's....not just the popular.

[Dena]: This is the first... and it seems from the public beating that i am receiving, probably the last time I have ever posted a story.

I hope not, Lisa, since your first story was pretty good. & the ending wasn't that much of a shock. Since when does Mulder do anything that makes sense? ;-)

As for warnings, hate 'em, hate 'em, wouldn't wanna date 'em! (Except the MSR warnings - we need more of those!:) & I'm glad I read your story w/out the warning b/c then it would have lost all the emotional impact had I known what was going to happen.

So don't let this get you down. And write more. God knows we need more GOOD X-Files writers this season....

[Brandon D. Ray]: Y'know, I think that we all could stand to take a deep breath and maybe a step back.

1. The author of this story did not mean to offend, and should not have been attacked, to the extent that this happened. I know that my posts on the matter were not intended to be attacks, but they may have been taken as such.

2. The people who posted objections are not "yahoos" and most (I truly believe) were not intended to slam anyone. They were making a legitimate complaint about a point of etiquette. I hasten to add that not every user of this ng agrees on this point of etiquette, and I acknowledge that this is an anarchy, and therefore not subject to enforceable rules...but the very fact that it is an anarchy ALSO means that if you offend someone's sensibilities (even inadvertently, as in this case) you are liable to hear about it. And there's nothing wrong with that.

[Teddi Litman]: While I don't agree with Brandon on the issue of warnings, I do agree *none* of our posts on either sides were personal "slams" on Lisa. Now she may not agree with some of our interpretations of her story, but that hardly makes any of those a slam. I saw her ending as an attempt at irony. She doesn't agree. <shrug> I'm certainly not going to apologize for that. Misinterpretation of the author's intent is not a slam. Maybe she could think about why I didn't get the *real* point; maybe she could think about what she can do better so her intent is better expressed. Or maybe not. Maybe her story is perfect, and I just a big old stupid meanie who doesn't get it. As for the claim that anyone called her insecure, no one claimed Lisa was insecure. On the contrary, I do believe I stated I thought she was courageous. The discussion that arose from reactions to Lisa's story was about warnings. My point was when I see a whole bunch of warnings (non-adult content warnings) about plot developments before the story starts, I see that as an indication of an author's insecurity about their story. Have I read good stories with plot development warnings? Certainly. Is every author who includes plot development warnings in a story insecure about thier story? Certainly not. However, if it is not an author whose stories I've enjoyed in the past or I haven't heard really good things about the story, I will usually skip a story with something like a character death warning. Rightly or wrongly, it negatively prejudices me towards the story. That's why I hate the call for plot development warnings. That was my point. Brandon, I believe, felt the opposite: that the omission of certain warnings may indicate an author's insecurity in their story. <shrug> Who's right? Who knows? Despite the disagreement of what exactly the impact is, it seems obvious to me that all the stuff writers put before the story starts *does* have a definite impact on the readers' overall perceptions of the story. Now some may claim this recurring discussion is only hurtful and futile because we'll never agree. However, I think interesting things can be gleaned from the discussion. It's not all about reaching a concensus. And it certainly isn't at all about slamming Lisa.

[Scott Carr]: To begin, for the author, I will note that this ng is noteworthy for its lack of sympathy. I don't imagine that complaints such as this one will change that, so my advice is, take your lumps.

I will refrain from commenting on the merits (or lack thereof) of the story in question.

As for the rest of you...

Look people, nobody warned me that Bambi's mother was going to get shot, so I don't want to hear complaints about the lack of a character death warning, or a rape warning, for that matter. The world of literature (and tripe) is a dangerous place. Grammar is mutilated. Punctuation is done almost at random. Diction ranges from pretentious to silly.

And characters die.

All that an author owes the reader is a rating, such as 'R (for violence)' or 'NC-17 (for sex)' or 'NC-17 (for disturbing themes)'. In theory, this gives those few parents who are aware that they have children the opportunity to screen their reading. It also gives some indication of how traumatic the story will be. If you can't handle that sort of story, then stay away.

So, why put on category labels, such as MSR or Scully/Skinner? To me, these are a horse of a different color. Unlike character death warnings, which reveal major plot points in advance, categories serve to inform the reader of the author's fundamental views on TXF and the all-important Relationship, without giving the game away.

Personally, I don't care to read Scully/Skinner stories. At best, they are an exploration of territory that I don't particularly care to visit. More often, they are the product of a fundamental misperception of the show and its characters. Thus, if I visit an archive and find that so-and-so has written 15 Scully/Skinner smutfics and 1 MSR, I know not to waste my time on that person's writing.

On the other hand, if I find a story labeled MSR, I know that the author understands at least one important thing. I then can proceed to try the story out. I don't know what will happen in the story (sure, there is the chance, even the probability of M/S sex, though this is not certain), or even if it will be any good. However, especially if the story is a casefile, no crucial plot points will have been given away at the outset. And that's how a story should be.

Of course, if I started seeing tripe warnings on some of what's posted here, I have to admit, I'd appreciate it.

[Brandon Ray]]: Look people, nobody warned me that Bambi's mother was going to get shot, so I don't want to hear complaints about the lack of a character death warning, or a rape warning, for that matter...

So sorry, but many of us feel that character death (and other) warnings are proper etiquette. No one can force an author to place warnings on a story -- this is an anarchy. But when someone leaves off such a warning, they are likely going to hear about it. So I guess what I'm saying is that you are going to hear these complaints off and on, whether you want to or not.

All that an author owes the reader is a rating, such as 'R (for violence)' or 'NC-17 (for sex)' or 'NC-17 (for disturbing themes)'....

This is completely illogical. If the author is not obligated to place a character death warning on a story, then why is s/he "obigated" to put an MPAA rating on the story? The specific content warnings are MUCH more meaningful than an MPAA warning. The MPAA's are practically worthless, even when the MPAA issues them -- when they're issued by fifty individual authors, each with their own idea of what each subcategory means, well....

So, why put on category labels, such as MSR or Scully/Skinner? To me, these are a horse of a different color. Unlike character death warnings, which reveal major plot points in advance, categories serve to inform the reader of the author's fundamental views on TXF and the all-important Relationship, without giving the game away.

Nuts. MSR or Scully/Skinner or whatever ALSO reveal major plot points. There are a handful of stories (comparatively speaking) where the personal relationships of the characters are not important to the plot, but those are the exception rather than the rule.

Personally, I don't care to read Scully/Skinner stories.

Personally, *I* don't care to read character death stories, with very few exceptions. I'd take a chance on an author who I trust to handle the matter well -- Rachel Anton, or Sheryl Martin, for instance. And there are a handful of others, so no one need feel snubbed.

But the real question I have is why your desire to avoid Scully/Skinner stories (which I happen to share) is more important than MY desire to avoid character death stories?

[Teddi Litman]: I was hoping that I would put my little piece of fiction into the all mighty vaults of this news group in the hopes of some constructive criticism. I was hoping that this would be my sounding board so that I might become a better writer.

No, frankly from reading this, I don't think you *really* were ready for constructive criticism. That's really and truly ok. You can write a "Please be gentle," or a "Let me know if you like it," in your feedback request. Many new authors do. Hey, you can even write "I would appreciate if all responses to this story were sent to me privately." Though, for reasons I don't understand, no one ever seems to choose this option. Yet people who end up responding publically tend to get painted as big old meanies. I think you need to be a little more honest with us and more importantly yourself and not write "Constructive criticism would be greatly appreciated but hey I would like to know if you just read it or even read it and hated it." if that's not what you really want here. I admit it is a difficult thing to be truly honest with yourself about; but with writers here often complaining there is not enough feedback, I think writers really need to make a effort to better communicate the type of feedback they *really* want.

Instead I feel as though I have been branded with some awful scarlet letter that says I am, amongst other things, insecure. This has backfired terribly. All that i have learned from this experience is that f I do not write to the conforms of the rest of you almighty folks then dont bother or feel free to be publicly beaten.

I'm sorry you feel that way; but I just can't equate the discussion that arouse from reactions to your story in any way with a public beating. None of the posts were personal attacks on you. No one claimed you specifically and personally were insecure or anything else. In fact, much of the discussion was not even about your story specifically. It was just a thread that happened to be spurred by your story. Sometimes that happens here. Something in a story will happen to inspire an interesting discussion. It usually stops being about the specific story after three or four posts. The *only* regret I have about my own part in the disscussion was that I told Gabbygale to "Get over it." I shouldn't have done that. It was flip, smart alecky, and frankly uncalled for. I do feel bad you feel hurt; but I really don't think that's my fault or the fault of *anyone* in this Ng.

and maybe if i was a better writer I would have done a better job at that... but geez I cant be a better writer if I cant write.

Why can't you write? If that's what you want to do, then by all means do it. Even if someone here was in some way encouraging you not to write, not to post (which I honestly can't see it any way, shape or form), why would you listen to them? You can try to make us feel guilty. You can try to paint us as cruel, ugly, arrogant meanies. You may even get some to sympathize and agree with you. However, you are ultimately the *only* person responsible when it comes down to whether you will continue to write.

Like I stated earlier, it was a *courageous* thing you did in posting that story. I would hope that quality continues. I hope you continue writing if that's what you really want to do. However, that's still completely up to you.

[Joyce Reynolds-Ward]: Okay, it's not *that* bad. I just don't think the logic was fully developed.

[Scott Carr]: So sorry, but many of us feel that character death (and other) warnings are proper etiquette.

Yes, but this is not accepted atxc ettiquette. I've seen dozens of these arguments unfold here, and that in itself suggests that atxc does not have an accepted culture regarding content warnings. (This is not a case of one troll causing trouble -- atxc has at least two major factions related to this issue.)...

I don't see what is so difficult about this -- the ratings are a common standard in American culture, at a minimum. Everyone knows what a "R" more or less means. Granted, no system is perfect, but ratings can and do give a potential reader an idea of what to expect -- without giving away plot points. That's the key distinction. I don't agree that MPAA ratings are "worthless," obviously.

Look at it this way -- there are plenty of M/S sex stories that do not involve romance. "Shatter" by Vehemently is a good example, I think, and was properly labelled XA, rather than XRA. There are MSR stories that do not involve consummation of the romance -- stories that differ from UST stories, I might add. And while it's true that many, perhaps most MSR stories are erotica, that forms a special category wherein plot is not usually a major issue.

What I'm driving at is this: the Gossamer conventions that *are* the (more or less) accepted culture at this ng provide useful guidelines that do not tip the author's hand the way "character death" or "Scully gets raped" warnings do.

[circe]: Actually, no author owes any reader anything except the best story the author is capable of writing. That and spell checking.

[Gabbygale]: Teddi, Thank you for the apology. It was kind of you and i appeciated it. To the author of "A KeyChain in the Snow" Since I fear i started this with my request for a label of character death i feel i should apologize to you. I did not mean to start an argument or hurt your feelings. If it makes you feel any better, the story was good enough to keep me interested up until the last line. It is my own personal decision not to read character death stories and that should not make you or anyone else stop writing them because there are a lot of people out there who do like them. They are not wrong and neither am i we just have different likes. Keep writing, just know that all people will not want to read what you write because they just do not enjoy the plot line. That and especially the fact that you chose not to or simply forgot to label your story does not make your writing bad. Keep writing!!!!

[Pyrephox18 ]: People, regardless on your position about the labels thing, do you really think it's neccessary to publicly critique a new author's *first* post to the newsgroup?

Wouldn't it have been a bit more urbane to e-mail the author with your opinions, then add maybe one notice to the newsgroup (if you really felt it was needed) that the story was character death?

Pyrephox- who probably wouldn't still be here if her *first* post had been subjected to this on the ng, instead of being quietly ignored like it was. ;P

[Heidi]: I would love to know how everyone here reads any actual literature. None of it has warnings.

[Laurie Hayne]: We likes what we likes. ;) Everybody has different tastes. I rarely will read a story without a rating and categorization and I prefer to have rape and character death warnings, but that's my opinion, my personal likes. Doesn't mean the author is required to do so. That's the author's choice. The main reason for categorizations is to see what you want to read. For example, slash fans or angst fans (I'm one of the latter) can immediately see if this is something that they might like to read. While I like MSR very much, I usually prefer it within the context of a case story. In other words, I don't much care for PWPs, although sometimes I do get in the mood for them. Does that mean everybody should just write what I like to read? Of course not. First and foremost, write what you feel the urge to write. The main person you must please is yourself. If someone else enjoys your work, then you know you've at least succeeded partially in getting your message across. The more people who say they understood and liked what you wrote, the more successful you are.

[Teddi Litman]: I recently found myself expressing my own feelings towards public critique in an e-mail corresponence. I will post it here... editing out the private stuff, of course.

This brings up another issue I have with some of the so-called "customs" of the community. Many people, again usually in what I think is a misguided attempt to be more kind, believe any comment on a story that is not complete praise should only be sent via e-mail. I disagree with this. First of all, if it is truly an attack, it leaves the author stuck on how s/he can defend him/herself. Second, it leaves no opportunity for other readers to respond to the comment with their own opinions. Most people will only volunteer feedback if they absolutely loved it or if they had serious problems with it. Therefore, a story which may have several good points but also has flaws will often only get the most extreme negative response. I believe though, if that negative response gets posted publicly, it will likely draw the people who liked the story but didn't think it was perfect out of the woodwork to post about the story's strengths. That's just my theory though. <shrug>

Either way, one might want to ask some writers if it is *really* the stuff that gets posted publically that is the harshest and the hardest to deal with.

That said, I readily admit some of *my* more critical comments on stories have only been sent via e-mail. I have wondered whether that was particularly fair, actually. If it's public, at least it's open to rebuttal from other readers. If I'm really honest, I'd probably have to admit that my motivations for sending a criticism via e-mail often deal with my own lack of courage than an attempt to be more kind.

Anyone have any thoughts about the potential advantages to the writer of having criticism posted publicly?

[kronos]: i'm plowing into this discussion for the first time because it's really struck a cord in me. i read the 'keychain' story and was thinking it was a nicely written, well-plotted story. enjoyable. right up to the last few @#$#@ sentences.

i DO NOT read character death. i DO NOT read slash. perhaps authors do not OWE others an indication of classification, but i look at it as a courtesy. a simple courtesy to those for whom you are supposedly posting. frankly, i have enough stress and frustration in my life that i look at atxc as a wonderful release and escape. i don't appreciate being 'tricked' (my word for my perception of the situation, not indicative of the authors' intent).

i also have almost no time whatsoever to read and hence use the classifications as a means of screening. i do not read anything that doesn't have a summary or classification.

authors can do what they want, i agree, but i still believe it a common courtesy to label character death and slash, if nothing else, since there are so many who feel so strongly about it.

[Teddi Litman]: If a person honestly *feels betrayed* or has their whole day ruined by plot developments in fictional stories, I would suggest that person stop reading fiction until he or she has certain emotional problems resolved.

[circe]: I wrote a story last year in which Mulder visited Krycek. At the end of the story, it was revealed that Mulder was actually dead at the time of the visit, therefore, Krycek was actually interacting with Mulder's ghost. Now, had I put a big old "Character death" warning on the story there'd have been no reason for me to write it and no reason to read it as the end of the story would have already been revealed.

No writer should ever be obligated to reveal plot points of his/her story, common courtesy or not. There are several story types that I don't like and if I find myself reading one, I stop and delete the story.

Just for the record, I rarely read things without summaries or classifications, unless I know the author because of lack of time. But I don't jump down the throats of authors who don't include them.

[TrexPhile]: Yes, people feel strongly about it on both sides of the argument. I myself would prefer *not* to see "Character Death" at the beginning of a story. It's for the same reason that I don't read spoilers and I don't read the description of an episode on the back of a new Trek video when it comes in from Columbia House. **I don't want to know.** I want to let the story unfold, and if that involves a shattering plot development, then I want to be shattered. Yes, some authors handle character death (and other "controversial" developments) better than others, but I fully understand an author's reasons for keeping such spoilers out of the title and headers. I've done the same thing myself.

[Konrad Douglas Frye]: While not an ideal solution, the best attempt I've seen at "pleasing everyone" (if that's even possible) is to place any plot development warnings at the end of the story. Readers that concern themselves with this sort of thing will page down to the end of the story for a peek while the rest will forge ahead like they usually do.

[Paula Graves]: I'm a spoiler kinda chick---I WANT to know everything going in. Almost invariably I go to the end of the story before I go any further, regardless of what warnings are at the beginning.

Putting such "warnings" at the end of the story is the best of both worlds---for those of us who want to be spoiled, it's a quick, easy way to see what's coming. For those who DON'T want to be spoiled, they don't have to see the end of the story until they're done, at which time the "warnings" are of no significance anymore.

Shall we try a compromise? Or is that too stifling?

[Marjorie Peck]: Personally, as a fanfic reader, not a writer, I like classifications such as MSR, X, S, etc and ratings like G, PG, R, etc. I also like M/S, M/K, Sk/S etc. The reason I like these is because I can find the type of story I'm in the mood for. I also greatly appreciate the stories that say things like M/S married or some such at the beginning so I can bail right then. As for character death, rape,whatever, sometimes I don't even read such declaimers after finding out the type and rating of the story. Of course, sometimes I do read them, because some of you authors are just too damn amusing in your fun disclaimers. I also lack tons of time to read fanfic, so often I won't read stories without classifications unless they are currently being discussed on the newsgroup or some such. However, I do agree that such clasifications, while being agreeable to me, are up to the author to decide whether he/she wants to use.

[Teddi Litman]: That's why I participated in this (yes, same old <G> discussion. It seemed to me that some people were giving *new* writers the impression that plot development warnings were expected by the group as a whole ...i.e."common courtesy." That just isn't the case at all. This group has *never* reached a consensus on this issue nor will we *ever* likely reach a consensus. The real truth is they have a choice; and they shouldn't fear they are being discourteous for their choices on how and/or whether to label a story.