mrsronweasley (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
mrsronweasley) wrote2004-07-05 06:20 pm
mrsronweasley) wrote2004-07-05 06:20 pm
(no subject)
A recent post by Minx reminded me of something I was going to write, just to sort of get it down on paper, as it were. I've been thinking a lot about writing lately, and what I do and don't like. This sort of has to do with things that work for me as a reader, as well as someone who dabbles in writing, and hopes to make it her number one way of making a living someday. So, this won't be in any order, it's both on fanfiction and any fiction at all. It's all just my opinion, obviously, so any pet-peeves encountered are my own problem.
For instance, I strongly dislike - STRONGLY dislike - characterization being upstaged by pretty language that is used to show off the author's skill. First of all, in fanfiction, that skill is often not enough. I mean, weaving interesting and pretty phrases and sentences is great - I love it, I love words, I love new and interesting ways of writing. However, when characters all read as cardboard cutouts with no personalities just because the grittiness would get in the way of the pretty, I get frustrated. Especially in fanfiction, in fact. Presumably, we write fanfiction because we like these characters, these situations, these worlds. How can we forget about them, and just write Any Two/Three/Whatever People without using their own personalities? Same goes for plot. I really believe that the characters need to control the plot, not the other way around. This may not go along with certain literary theories, ideas of art, etc, but that's the way I like it. I think about real life, and I apply it to my writing. It doesn't always work, obviously, but it does make writing more interesting and somewhat livelier (at least I hope it does.) If I can see a certain character in a certain situation, I like it. When I can't, it drives me nuts.
Of course - and that's a big 'of course' - in fanfiction, we may all see the characters differently, therefore our ideas of what they would do/are capable of are very different. This is where I just stick to the characterizations I like, obviously. However, there's also the fact that I've seen people talk about how they see certain characters, and then write something that doesn't go along with those ideas at all. Or, like I said, the characters are just blank canvases that never get filled. Or they're boring. Or whatever. I think you see my point by now.
I hate being told, as opposed to being shown. Yes, we've all heard this in our English/other first language classes, and it's so true. I want to BE in the scene, in that character's head, really SEEING the scene through their eyes. I don't want to be told that at a specific moment, they suddenly felt something new. I want to know how it happens, and for what reasons. It IS possible to show all this instead of outlining, I've seen it done, and it was perfect. So many writers tend to just skip the hard part and get to the easy part, and I've done it myself, and gone back to reread and wanted to throw up. I just love being in the scene, I suppose.
As for strictly fanfiction, my pet peeves are pretty well documented in various places. I like canon. I like turning back to canon as an anchor. Canon is why I started with this whole thing in the first place. Canon is where I'll stay (unless it's concerned with a certain Bad Event, in which place, I'll put on my Denial Shoes and dance the monkey). I don't like unbelievable (to me) pairings, I don't like slash for the sake of slash, or het for the sake of het. I want explanations. I need to know why, and I need the 'why' to make sense. (I'm a needy bitch, wow.) The way I see it is, if you want to write certain people together that wouldn't actually be together under any circumstances in canon, you should just suck it up and write original characters, ones that are clean slates and can do whatever they like, including putting on Denial Shoes and dancing the monkey. In other words, Harry really doesn't want Hermione, Neville really isn't going to fuck his toad, and Tonks is a big bad dyke and dykes and poofs don't have sex together. (Ok, that last one may not be quite CANON, but.. but... you know... We don't really know, do we?)
But like I said - these are my perceptions of canon, my preferences, and my beliefs. I've read things that have sucked me into them even with unbelievable pairings because the authors had done such amazing things with showing and explaining and, well, writing in general.
And, yes, I realize that I went through a Snape/Harry phase. I have two words for you: Minx and Cybele. I think I can rest my case.
Randomly, not having anything to do with writing: I hate doing the hard things.
For instance, I strongly dislike - STRONGLY dislike - characterization being upstaged by pretty language that is used to show off the author's skill. First of all, in fanfiction, that skill is often not enough. I mean, weaving interesting and pretty phrases and sentences is great - I love it, I love words, I love new and interesting ways of writing. However, when characters all read as cardboard cutouts with no personalities just because the grittiness would get in the way of the pretty, I get frustrated. Especially in fanfiction, in fact. Presumably, we write fanfiction because we like these characters, these situations, these worlds. How can we forget about them, and just write Any Two/Three/Whatever People without using their own personalities? Same goes for plot. I really believe that the characters need to control the plot, not the other way around. This may not go along with certain literary theories, ideas of art, etc, but that's the way I like it. I think about real life, and I apply it to my writing. It doesn't always work, obviously, but it does make writing more interesting and somewhat livelier (at least I hope it does.) If I can see a certain character in a certain situation, I like it. When I can't, it drives me nuts.
Of course - and that's a big 'of course' - in fanfiction, we may all see the characters differently, therefore our ideas of what they would do/are capable of are very different. This is where I just stick to the characterizations I like, obviously. However, there's also the fact that I've seen people talk about how they see certain characters, and then write something that doesn't go along with those ideas at all. Or, like I said, the characters are just blank canvases that never get filled. Or they're boring. Or whatever. I think you see my point by now.
I hate being told, as opposed to being shown. Yes, we've all heard this in our English/other first language classes, and it's so true. I want to BE in the scene, in that character's head, really SEEING the scene through their eyes. I don't want to be told that at a specific moment, they suddenly felt something new. I want to know how it happens, and for what reasons. It IS possible to show all this instead of outlining, I've seen it done, and it was perfect. So many writers tend to just skip the hard part and get to the easy part, and I've done it myself, and gone back to reread and wanted to throw up. I just love being in the scene, I suppose.
As for strictly fanfiction, my pet peeves are pretty well documented in various places. I like canon. I like turning back to canon as an anchor. Canon is why I started with this whole thing in the first place. Canon is where I'll stay (unless it's concerned with a certain Bad Event, in which place, I'll put on my Denial Shoes and dance the monkey). I don't like unbelievable (to me) pairings, I don't like slash for the sake of slash, or het for the sake of het. I want explanations. I need to know why, and I need the 'why' to make sense. (I'm a needy bitch, wow.) The way I see it is, if you want to write certain people together that wouldn't actually be together under any circumstances in canon, you should just suck it up and write original characters, ones that are clean slates and can do whatever they like, including putting on Denial Shoes and dancing the monkey. In other words, Harry really doesn't want Hermione, Neville really isn't going to fuck his toad, and Tonks is a big bad dyke and dykes and poofs don't have sex together. (Ok, that last one may not be quite CANON, but.. but... you know... We don't really know, do we?)
But like I said - these are my perceptions of canon, my preferences, and my beliefs. I've read things that have sucked me into them even with unbelievable pairings because the authors had done such amazing things with showing and explaining and, well, writing in general.
And, yes, I realize that I went through a Snape/Harry phase. I have two words for you: Minx and Cybele. I think I can rest my case.
Randomly, not having anything to do with writing: I hate doing the hard things.
no subject
I agree somewhat about the fact that pretty writing is a differnet kind of writing, but oftentimes, it DOES get mixed up by people, and the idea of their story/ficlet is lost because of that. So, even if they seem to be trying to go for both, but don't really succeed in either. It's frustrating.
And the trend to totally disregard their original takes on the characters to write something totally unrecognizeable, well... it's just baffling to me.
So what's the point? Confusing.
I don't know, beats me. Perhaps it's a sort of exercise in trying to see if they can pull it off, but if the characters refuse to be written that way, well... yeah. See? Doesn't make sense to me. Maybe I'm just closed-minded. *g*
no subject
This was the part of your post that had me a bit confused... I'm wondering what for you is the correlation between pretty (and sometimes pretentious) prose and poor characterisation- I'm not asking to be a jerk, I swear! I'm only curious as to how you define this- too much description of the physical? Too much telling rather than showing? This is something I deal with as a writer- and seeing as you've addressed the (mis)use of descriptive language in your post, I'd just like to hear more of your thoughts.
no subject
I'm not sure this is any better...damn.
no subject
I love beautiful language, I love it a lot, but only when it's used right, not when it's done for its own sake alone.
Sometimes it's like having a new toy, or discovering a new sweet; the writer gets so into it, they can't be objective- realize that language can be distracting. I once read some writerly advice: If you write a sentence for the sake of the sentence- cut it.
Alas, fic ain't poetry.
no subject
Okay, if people mix up the prose style with the traditional narrative style, that's just looking for trouble, I think. So yes, I have to agree there. I've just got to speak up for amazing prose-poets like
"Oi, give me that chocolate frog!" Sirius snatched at Remus' captured treat. The sun set outside, filling the room with red light.
and
That day, Sirius snatched at Remus' chocolate frog as the sun bled red light through the shuttered windows.
Which are just going for entirely different things. Prose writing does tend to have a distanced sort of effect that not everyone likes, which is cool and all, but I don't think it's wrong or inferior, just a matter of taste, which I guess is what I was slightly offput by.
I don't know, beats me. Perhaps it's a sort of exercise in trying to see if they can pull it off, but if the characters refuse to be written that way, well... yeah. See? Doesn't make sense to me. Maybe I'm just closed-minded. *g*
HAHAHA I guess I am too, then. :D
Honestly, I think sometimes a character pings the bells in a person's head, and they get attached to the bits that ping them, and either forget about or don't notice the rest. Then they fill in the holes with more things they do like. And then they do it with another character and pour the two into their closest beloved archetypal relationship.
For example, Snape's bitterness, stormy emotions and intelligence might ping someone's Heathcliff-o-meter, and they'll find the closets Cathy-ish-person and pair them together, whether Snape and that person would ever get together or not. Meanwhile, they sort of ignore/forget about the part where he's not ONLY a bitter, intelligent guy with stormy emotions, he's also a petty 15-year-old bully in the body of a 37 year old man. (I LIKE Snape, by the way LOL)
That's my theory and I'm sticking to it, LOL