MFU crack van rec #31
The third crack_van rec went up last night, it's epicycles ' Orienteering for Dummies.
I guess you could call Orienteering for Dummies Fluff. I hate that name though, given my druthers, I pretty much never click on stories identified as Fluff, I have a conception of what it is, and it isn't something I'm interested in. But since my personal versions of fannish definitions are pieced together from hearsay and my imagination, I thought I'd take a look at what fanlore had to say:
(n.) Fanfic without angst; any pleasant, feel-good story. Fluff may lack plot; however, unlike a PWP the focus is not sex, but displays of affection between two or more characters, whether their relationship is romantic or not. It may also indicate a mood piece with warm, uplifting descriptions.
(I'm leaving out the caveats about TAFF, flangst, etc. just because who could possible care!)
Too broad by half to be useful, and so oddly specific about "displays of affection"--unless it's a mood piece where another rule seems to apply. The mood piece section actually links to a story that doesn't really fit any of those categories particularly well. Not very helpful.
Anyway, superficially, Orienteering for Dummies lies somewhere within the range of that definition. But bah, humbug. Categories are limiting, good stories shake them off.
I like this story, and I like it because it engages me emotionally. Epicycles has a very light touch, but what happens in the story matters. The characters push and prod each other, and we might be smiling as we read, but there's a strong vein of feeling underneath the humor, and it's there because the author cares. She's got a real knack for the character voices too, and for using structure to help tell the tale. I am such a sucker for clever structural devices. So it's a light story, but it's not weightless and it's definitely worth a read.
BTW, I went to epicycles' LJ to leave her a note that I'd recced the story, and I saw that she's now Dr. Epicycles. How cool is that :D
This entry was originally posted at http://elmey.dreamwidth.org/63456.html.
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I guess you could call Orienteering for Dummies Fluff. I hate that name though, given my druthers, I pretty much never click on stories identified as Fluff, I have a conception of what it is, and it isn't something I'm interested in. But since my personal versions of fannish definitions are pieced together from hearsay and my imagination, I thought I'd take a look at what fanlore had to say:
(n.) Fanfic without angst; any pleasant, feel-good story. Fluff may lack plot; however, unlike a PWP the focus is not sex, but displays of affection between two or more characters, whether their relationship is romantic or not. It may also indicate a mood piece with warm, uplifting descriptions.
(I'm leaving out the caveats about TAFF, flangst, etc. just because who could possible care!)
Too broad by half to be useful, and so oddly specific about "displays of affection"--unless it's a mood piece where another rule seems to apply. The mood piece section actually links to a story that doesn't really fit any of those categories particularly well. Not very helpful.
Anyway, superficially, Orienteering for Dummies lies somewhere within the range of that definition. But bah, humbug. Categories are limiting, good stories shake them off.
I like this story, and I like it because it engages me emotionally. Epicycles has a very light touch, but what happens in the story matters. The characters push and prod each other, and we might be smiling as we read, but there's a strong vein of feeling underneath the humor, and it's there because the author cares. She's got a real knack for the character voices too, and for using structure to help tell the tale. I am such a sucker for clever structural devices. So it's a light story, but it's not weightless and it's definitely worth a read.
BTW, I went to epicycles' LJ to leave her a note that I'd recced the story, and I saw that she's now Dr. Epicycles. How cool is that :D
This entry was originally posted at http://elmey.dreamwidth.org/63456.html.
.