Fandom Meta: angster (not very) anonymous

Aug 06, 2004 21:29

There's also some angst discussion going on somewhere (I accidently closed the window when I got too click happy), and it made me think about why I like angst (again). I actually don't have a lot to say about it that I haven't hashed out with my betas/co-writers one hundred times before (especially thestalkycop), but that's never been in a public forum, so we'll see if I can come up with anything interesting and logical. I doubt it.

At the very core of it, I like to write angst because I can't write fluff. No, I'm serious. I read fluff, and enjoy it--I like humor and good times and romance just as much as the next person (in my reading, people). There are authors who awe me with their ability to write fluff, and make it believable, and interesting, and inspiring. I just can't do it. I don't see the world that way, and can't make myself see any world through fluff-glasses.

However, I also find, as an author, that writing angst is far more interesting than writing fluff, despite the challenge of fluff because I can't write it. When I try to write fluff, everything seems so simple--the characters get along, nothing pops up to ruin their days/months/lives, there's no drama, no intensity. Plot, sure, but nothing that catches my interest and makes me want to write. (This may be because I also have a hard time writing slice-of-life stories; I love to read them, but when I try to write them, I just don't see the point.)

But when I write angst, anything can happen. Just when things start to go smoothly, I can throw another wrench into the plans, and a whole story takes off from that one situation. The characters seem more interesting when they're having to overcome trials and tribulations; in fluff, everything seems too easy for them, but in angst, I, as a writer and a reader, get to see what really makes the characters tick. I get to see how they'd react in down and dirty situations, and I get to find new sides that the characters themselves might not like, or even want to reveal, but that make the story have more depth, more intrigue.

Of course, I could just sum it up by saying I like to make the characters hurt. Because I'm evil that way.

Edited to add: How could I leave out the Gangster reference? Thanks to Sarah and the whole Ducks fandom, I'm now known as the Gangster--the Goldberg Angster. All because of a handful (less really) of stories.

This entry was original posted at http://escritoireazul.dreamwidth.org/155076.html with
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fandom: meta, me: writing

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