-I thought both Holtz and Justine brought interesting themes into play--the kind of themes that make me love both AtS and Angel himself. But yeah. The Good Version Of S3 lives only in my head, along with the Right Version Of Phantom Of The Opera and the Film Of Jane Eyre Starring Alan Rickman.
-A lot of people use italics and punctuations as short cuts and cheap tricks, and I almost always view them as such, even in published experimental fiction. To be perfectly honest with you, it took me a while before I began to read your stuff--despite all the good things I'd heard about your fic--because the first thing I started to read by you seemed to use some of those techniques. But however many italics you took out of Losing My Religion, what you left in did a lot to change my thinking about the nature of text in prose. The style you used made some things possible that I don't think would've been possible otherwise, and that I don't think I've seen in many other places. Reading it wasn't just wonderful and heartbreaking; it was a very "there is no spoon" experience.
-You're not wrong about the italics, parentheses, etc. I used a lot of that style stuff before I worked harder on substance. My fic definitely suffered for that. I actually posted about this- and LMR specifically, a while back when LJ was talking about writing styles. How since my writing has improved, I've relied a lot less on shortcuts. Which in itself has *also* made my writing better.
I actually see a lot of writers go through a similar process.
FWIW, all the versions of LMR on any of my sites are now italic-ly sanatized for your reading pleasure. *G* I'm glad it worked for you in whatever form you found it in originally. I definitely think the style has its place, and has the potential to make new things possible. It can also be overused and a total crutch, for writers who haven't figured out any other way to get their points across.
For me, I think I am at a place where I am able do most of the things I want to with my stories, without having to rely on kooky style stuff. I'm really satisfied with the two fic that came after LMR, that contained flashbacks, weird timelines, etc., and didn't need any changes in style to make any of the sunstance stuff clear.
And now I am done babbling at you.
/self-wank
-Dude, doesn't he smell?
Yes. Yes he does, particularly after I killed him.
I only read LMR a month or so ago, so it was sanatized. It still used more tricks than I usually appreciate, but that was the reason it blew me away, because they didn't feel like shortcuts or laziness when you used them.
Yes. Yes he does, particularly after I killed him.
-A lot of people use italics and punctuations as short cuts and cheap tricks, and I almost always view them as such, even in published experimental fiction. To be perfectly honest with you, it took me a while before I began to read your stuff--despite all the good things I'd heard about your fic--because the first thing I started to read by you seemed to use some of those techniques. But however many italics you took out of Losing My Religion, what you left in did a lot to change my thinking about the nature of text in prose. The style you used made some things possible that I don't think would've been possible otherwise, and that I don't think I've seen in many other places. Reading it wasn't just wonderful and heartbreaking; it was a very "there is no spoon" experience.
/gushing
-Dude, doesn't he smell?
Reply
I actually see a lot of writers go through a similar process.
FWIW, all the versions of LMR on any of my sites are now italic-ly sanatized for your reading pleasure. *G* I'm glad it worked for you in whatever form you found it in originally. I definitely think the style has its place, and has the potential to make new things possible. It can also be overused and a total crutch, for writers who haven't figured out any other way to get their points across.
For me, I think I am at a place where I am able do most of the things I want to with my stories, without having to rely on kooky style stuff. I'm really satisfied with the two fic that came after LMR, that contained flashbacks, weird timelines, etc., and didn't need any changes in style to make any of the sunstance stuff clear.
And now I am done babbling at you.
/self-wank
-Dude, doesn't he smell?
Yes. Yes he does, particularly after I killed him.
Reply
Yes. Yes he does, particularly after I killed him.
Wha . . . ?
Reply
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