yet another fed up writerkaizAugust 8 2005, 18:34:21 UTC
I'm tired of 'writing rules.' As far as I'm concerned, all rules of writing should be followed by 'if the story requires it' or 'depending on the writer.'
A-freakin'-men. If I hear one more: "First person POV is teh ebbul" or "Never write in present tense" or "Only ever use 'said'" or "Never use adverbs" I swear I will be forced to smite someone!
I'm tired of all original characters being presumed to be Mary Sues until they can prove otherwise.
Word.
You know: how dare I/we write something new, or take a chance, or lure them into a story under 'false pretenses.'
My reply to these people is always, "If you don't like the story that I wrote, then quit your bitching, get up off your arse, and go write your own damned story just the way you want it. QED."
Re: yet another fed up writertarshaanAugust 8 2005, 20:31:08 UTC
hee. Try second person. Whatever the faults of 3rd-omniscient or 1st, they fly right out the window if you throw up 2nd... and I *like* second, damnit. I'm even kinda good at it. So the people that won't read it out of principle... *grrrrr*.
also, Mary Sue =/= OC. Mary Sue == bad writing. There is a difference, people! [/preachingtothechoir]
Re: yet another fed up writergryphonrhiAugust 8 2005, 20:33:37 UTC
::nodding:: Although I see 2nd person so rarely that usually, it's quite good when someone tries it and puts it out there. Erm. One of yours. One of Kat Allison's. Who else? Iain Banks, maybe, professionally?
Re: yet another fed up writertarshaanAugust 8 2005, 20:40:58 UTC
::laughing:: About, um, two or three of mine, actually, I think. Amand-r did one. I'm fairly sure Cinel &/or kai, too, but it's been so long since I read HL... Hmmm. There are others. I think they were a fad in HP for awhile, but that fandom's so vast, who can tell? A couple Buffy I've read, but my memory sucks, so I couldn't point you to them. One in Firefly...
They crop up regularly enough, though, and in general they are superbly written. I mean, there *must* be badly written 2nd person out there, but the vast majority of it I've seen has honestly been stunning. And yet the reputation &/or advice? Is: 'Don't.'
Re: yet another fed up writerkaizAugust 8 2005, 20:45:45 UTC
Usually I hear that 3rd person omniscient is right out, rather than 1st, but, um, yeah.
It's funny about 3rd person omniscient, too, since it was quite a popular POV once upon a time. Pick up any novel written in the mid/late 1800s and chances are, you'll get treated to ginormous slabs of it. So too with 'framing devices' and telling vs. showing, etc. People seem to conveniently ignore the fact that the much-vaunted 'spare' style that is so popular these days is a fad, one that's mostly confined to certain types of literary fiction.
Just one too many times of OC=MSOh yeah, I'm sure you've seen that one more than a time or two! The funny thing is though, that unless the fandom you're writing in has a fairly large cast (i.e. Highlander) or an ensemble case (i.e. Law & Order, H:LOTS, StarTrek), a writer *has* to use original characters if s/he is going to write a complex plot. Otherwise, the stories end up feeling claustrophobic. I mean, eventually, Duncan and Methos (or Jim and Blair, etc.) *have* to leave the damned loft, right
( ... )
Re: yet another fed up writergryphonrhiAugust 8 2005, 20:54:31 UTC
::nodding:: Yeah, hence my bitching about 'trends, not rules'.
::lol:: That entire last paragraph sounds familiar. And yeah, I like a good PWP or first time scenario, and I'm happy to read an original take on CaH/Rev68, say (ciceqi's Everything Dies, is a perfect example), but.... I'd love to see people have an option between (re)creating a newer, prettier wheel and building a soapbox derby racer.
Which analogy probably makes no sense, come to think of it. ::g::
I still maintain, btw, that this was clearly labeled a rant. Are rants supposed to be reasoned discourse?
Re: yet another fed up writerkaizAugust 8 2005, 21:19:24 UTC
I'd love to see people have an option between (re)creating a newer, prettier wheel and building a soapbox derby racer.I've long thought that there were (at least) two general approaches that fanfic writers take to canon. 1) Canon as a box that contains the entire story. Little if any extrapolations from canon are allowed, the story takes place entirely within the confines of the universe that's defined by canon; 2) Canon as a kind of departure point, where the fanfic story universe itself *contains* canon, but isn't entirely restricted by it. I think that it's in the #2 category that OCs are so useful
( ... )
Re: yet another fed up writerranaloreAugust 9 2005, 06:53:39 UTC
That really is an excellent breakdown of the basic dichotomy I think is at work here. I second the suggestion to submit it to the Fanfic Symposium. It could lead to some really useful discourse.
A-freakin'-men. If I hear one more: "First person POV is teh ebbul" or "Never write in present tense" or "Only ever use 'said'" or "Never use adverbs" I swear I will be forced to smite someone!
I'm tired of all original characters being presumed to be Mary Sues until they can prove otherwise.
Word.
You know: how dare I/we write something new, or take a chance, or lure them into a story under 'false pretenses.'
My reply to these people is always, "If you don't like the story that I wrote, then quit your bitching, get up off your arse, and go write your own damned story just the way you want it. QED."
In short, I feel your pain.
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Eh. Just one too many times of OC=MS. ::g:: You'd think I'd never written a rant specifically on *that*.
Thanks for listening while I bitch, Kai!
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also, Mary Sue =/= OC. Mary Sue == bad writing. There is a difference, people! [/preachingtothechoir]
{{hugs}} though. 'Cause, yeah, frustrating.
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They crop up regularly enough, though, and in general they are superbly written. I mean, there *must* be badly written 2nd person out there, but the vast majority of it I've seen has honestly been stunning. And yet the reputation &/or advice? Is: 'Don't.'
It drives me *nuts*.
Iain Banks did? Which, do you know?
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And yeah. ::rolling eyes:: This is why I stay away from meta. It just annoys me.
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It's funny about 3rd person omniscient, too, since it was quite a popular POV once upon a time. Pick up any novel written in the mid/late 1800s and chances are, you'll get treated to ginormous slabs of it. So too with 'framing devices' and telling vs. showing, etc. People seem to conveniently ignore the fact that the much-vaunted 'spare' style that is so popular these days is a fad, one that's mostly confined to certain types of literary fiction.
Just one too many times of OC=MSOh yeah, I'm sure you've seen that one more than a time or two! The funny thing is though, that unless the fandom you're writing in has a fairly large cast (i.e. Highlander) or an ensemble case (i.e. Law & Order, H:LOTS, StarTrek), a writer *has* to use original characters if s/he is going to write a complex plot. Otherwise, the stories end up feeling claustrophobic. I mean, eventually, Duncan and Methos (or Jim and Blair, etc.) *have* to leave the damned loft, right ( ... )
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::lol:: That entire last paragraph sounds familiar. And yeah, I like a good PWP or first time scenario, and I'm happy to read an original take on CaH/Rev68, say (ciceqi's Everything Dies, is a perfect example), but.... I'd love to see people have an option between (re)creating a newer, prettier wheel and building a soapbox derby racer.
Which analogy probably makes no sense, come to think of it. ::g::
I still maintain, btw, that this was clearly labeled a rant. Are rants supposed to be reasoned discourse?
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Basically, though -- word!
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