| THIS POST IS DEDICATED TO ESS AND SAM. |
[Jan. 1st, 2009|04:59 pm] |
OKAY SO.
I read an amazing fic yesterday. It was well-written and lovely both in phrasing and in sentiment; you rooted for the good guys and cursed the band ones. It was all in all, wonderful.
But it had an unhappy ending.
So I left a comment about how much I adored it, along with my usual rant about unhappy endings. Sam and Ess in particular will be familiar with my woes on the subject.
It included this question, albeit jokingly: "WHY DO ALL THE GOOD WRITERS HAVE TO TORTURE THEIR CHARACTERS SO MUCH? ;_; WHAT DID THEY EVER DO TO YOU?"
The author (the wonderful ![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif) ourgossip_lips, by the way. And the fic in question is this) responded as such, which seems to be basically the default answer: "THE TORTURE IS WHAT MAKES IT ~FUN. And... I don't want to say "real," because that is very woe-is-the-world, and I try not to be like that, but seriously? Woe is the world. It had to be sad lol."
To which I replied: ";_; i pity the fool who finds happiness in misery, if you don't mind me quoting liberally from both Pete Wentz and Mr. T. If you're doing it for realism, then it's art. If you're doing it for fun, then it's still just fanfiction. And if it's art, then why use characters that already exist? Why make ~~living people suffer in the minds of author and audience? Why not create fictional characters that reflect the world in which we live through metaphor? And hey, loads of people in small towns have happy endings. It's not like every single couple is miserable, so who's to say it's "realistic"? Possible, yes. More realistic than a happy ending? No. And let's assume that everyone has both misery and joy in their lives, which is a pretty fair assumption, in my opinion. Why choose to write about the misery and not the joy? Of course, small amounts of misery make for good plot; there is now an obstacle to overcome. And little doses or misery make the joy all the more sweet. But stories that ~end miserabley? I simply don't see the point, besides that the author 1) would rather watch other suffer to make themselves feel happier, 2) is miserable themselves and would rather bring others down to their level, in text if not in life or 3) doesn't understand that there is joy in life, and that happy endings are possible. And in that final case, the author should seek help, if they are not already receiving it."
And then I told her that this all has nothing to do with her and I am gonna post this in my journal because this is really, really not directed at her. I only mentioned her name because the fic was LOVELY and you should all go read it.
I'm leaving this public so she can see it, if she cares to look.
TL;DR IF I'M GIVEN THE CHOICE TO THINK ABOUT HAPPY OR SAD THINGS, WHY SHOULD I CHOOSE SAD THINGS? WHAT BENEFIT IS THERE BESIDES SADISM AND FURTHER MISERY? |
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| Fic!voice, and why it is, like. Totally uncool. And kills kittens. |
[Jul. 22nd, 2008|11:45 am] |
Time for yet another round of Unpopular Fandom Opinions! Prepare to disagree with me, or come clean about your long-lingering guilty hatred.
Okay, now: I take my fic seriously. I like character change and development, I like that there are English majors writing this shit, I plot and drive and motivation and all that. I also like goofiness. I like crack and whatnot as much as the next half-mindless fangirl, because crack is hilarious and enjoyable. So I don't mind if a fic is lacking in all that serious stuff, too.
But one thing that I stick to in terms of standards: fic is still writing. There are fic authors from other fandoms that have gone on to actually publish (non-fandom) novels, and I think this is great. Fic isn't only practice for more serious writing, but it is still writing, and I think when it comes to actual novels I read, the only good ones are the ones that stand up as a decent read outside of their genre. War novels? Make sure they have more than just tactics. Romance novels? More than just purple sex. Sci-fi? More than just jargon and aliens. They should all have realistic characters, smart plots and (most importantly, to me) be written in a voice that is approachable to readers of every genre.
I hate when fic doesn't.
Fic can be fun if it doesn't follow those guidelines -you can write a two-dimensional Ritalin kid Brendon and still your fic can make readers laugh out loud, or make it set in outer space where Pete Wentz grow tentacles spontaneously but still have realistic character relationships- but unless it is written in a voice that a reader outside of the genre (see: your mom, or your irl best friend who you've never told) could still enjoy. I just don't think that fics written in fic!voice can ever be really good, just enjoyable.
Like, saying that Spencer Smith is made of rainbows and sunshine would simply not pass for accurate, rounded character description in a widely published novel. Not to say I don't chuckle when I read that- just, I think in my head, does this person know how to write, or are they just copying fandom trends? Could they write anything good outside of this genre?
Okay, if you still don't know what I mean by fic!voice, here is a list of words and phrases that I wish could be banned from bandom and reintroduced only when everyone understands that it is possible to write without them. Then they can be used again, once the authors have the power to write without them or with them. Anyway, my list, and feel free to add your own:awesome
puppies
cuddles
smiles!
pouting
totally
babies
Any combo words:supershinyhappyawesome, wanttasteneed, fingershandsarms
soft
shiny!
rainbows and unicorns
being too liberal with grammar: "So. Not. Cool." or "He was like. Lurking."
bribe/lure/pry with skittles/disney movies/sing alongs
boooring
using full names all the time: Spencer Smith, Pete Wentz, Joseph Trohman, Ryan Ross (the exception being mikeyway, duh)
so not cool And so on and so forth.
Now, not to say that you can't use these words ever. Just please, do not write entire fics in fic!voice! It makes me lose respect for you as an author because I have no proof that you can actually write! Call Spencer Smith totally awesome because he gives birth to rainbows and kitten when he smiles, just make sure that you also write solid plots, believable characters, and at least a few sentnces that could be taken seriously by an outsider. I'll chuckle along, and I'll still know you can write.
It'll be. Like. Totally awesome.
EDIT: To sum it up:"Fic!voice is why no one outside of fandom takes us seriously, you guys. Just so you know."
- _stargazing |
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