HP fanfic pet peeve

[gatewaygirl]

Lately, I have found myself reading (okay, starting to read) fics in which Harry is weepy. Harry should not be weepy.

This is not to say he cannot cry ever. I am perfectly okay with Harry crying -- eventually -- if someone, for example, dies. Or if he has been tortured extensively, with some thought given to psychological impact. Or if he rages

Comments

[gatewaygirl]

Snape definitely throws tantrums all through the series, and lacks control over his anger or frustrations. On the other hand, I think all the times we see him cry as an adult all involve Lily. I kind of think of that as having burned that out of him. I can see him crying from anger or frustration much more easily than depression or affection.

I admit that this complaint was mostly triggered by reading stories on Potions and Snitches, a Harry-Snape gen site. I like the Snape-as-Harry's-father subgenre -- I wouldn't have written Blood Magic if I didn't -- but I think this site has more stories written by teenage girls than I'm used to. I think we're in a sort of odd subculture when reading smut gives me a better chance at a mature depiction of emotions. ;-)

[gatewaygirl]

Agreed -- Harry does not cry when it would be psychologically normal for him to do so. I feel like he doesn't cry because it never worked for him -- and while that may seem like a good thing, it's not. And definitely, some writers (including me) write fanfic to fix that sort of issue. I'm not trying to put down the teenagers; I just think younger writers (including me at that age, considering things I wrote as a teen) are more likely to overcompensate. It's easier for writers in their thirties or forties (which much of the smut crowd seems to be) to be more restrained, and I'm kind of use to that subtlety. Therefore, I am ranting over here rather than giving giving bad reviews to writers who are probably doing a good job for their age.

My perception that the majority of the smut crowd is older may be skewed; it's possible that it's just that the older ones are more likely to go to conventions, so I've met more of them. :-) I've met very few writers under thirty (although there do seem to be a bunch of younger artists).

Just wanted to add a side note

[saint_dymnpha]

Hilariously this

"I think we're in a sort of odd subculture when reading smut gives me a better chance at a mature depiction of emotions."

is exactly why I started reading slash to begin with. Better quality characters if only because normally the write has to explore the characters beyond just what is canon to make the slash believable.