I found the pieces in my hand. They were always there, it just took some time for me to understand.
I've got a question for all of you who write fic; particularly those who post on the Pit. This is going to be weird and potentially elitiest/pretentious/etc., but stick with me here. I need the input, and I can think of no better group to bounce this whole thing off.
I'm working on the next chapter of Lex Talionis, and there's a literary reference that I'm unsure the majority of my audience will get -- I'm messing around with the concept of the Albatross and guilt in Coleridge's Rime of the Ancient Mariner.
Tante Mattie apparently knows her classics.
Hey, Amber -- remember how she read "The Highwayman" to Bella and Remy as kids in one of your pieces? That might have inspired this a little.
The issue lies in the fact that I know that a lot of people aren't familiar with Coleridge. Hell, I had no idea who he was until I took Lit in my last year of high school. From that, I can guess that most of the people who read through Lex aren't going to be well versed in Romanticism or the works of Coleridge in general.
So my question to you all is this:
When you're writing, and end up considering the use of references to things that you're unsure the audience will understand (but DAMMIT, you want to incorporate it because it's so juicy and just frigging works), what do you do?
Do you write to your audience and find some other way to approach the same concept that they're more likely to understand?
Do you say screw it, and write the reference in anyway because this is your story, dammit, and the narrative will be served by doing so even if your readers won't necessarilly get it? If so, do you bother to explain it to them? I know Luce employs footnotes, Amber likes to use the Author's Notes at the beginning, and there are some out there who just let the prose stand as is without elaboration, but I'm unsure of which is best in the Pit. I know I read footnotes and Author's Notes, but does anyone else? Do readers even bother?
Am I assuming too much idiocy and ignorance on the part of my readers, and maybe they'll actually grasp it? I personally think that's hoping for too much from the Pit, but hey. I've been surprised there before.
When it comes down to it, I think what I'm trying to do is find a way, if possible, to avoid an onslaught of "WTF? ALBATROSS? I DUN GET IT" reviews and PMs. (Have any of you ever gotten those before? I'd love to hear your stories -- what they were like, how you dealt with them, etc.) I've never really wanted to use a literary reference like this before, so I've never come across this problem. Hence why I'm bringing it before all you fine folk.
Answers to these questions, and further thoughts on the topic would be welcome. Your collective wisdom is appreciated. My thanks in advance.
I'm working on the next chapter of Lex Talionis, and there's a literary reference that I'm unsure the majority of my audience will get -- I'm messing around with the concept of the Albatross and guilt in Coleridge's Rime of the Ancient Mariner.
Tante Mattie apparently knows her classics.
Hey, Amber -- remember how she read "The Highwayman" to Bella and Remy as kids in one of your pieces? That might have inspired this a little.
The issue lies in the fact that I know that a lot of people aren't familiar with Coleridge. Hell, I had no idea who he was until I took Lit in my last year of high school. From that, I can guess that most of the people who read through Lex aren't going to be well versed in Romanticism or the works of Coleridge in general.
So my question to you all is this:
When you're writing, and end up considering the use of references to things that you're unsure the audience will understand (but DAMMIT, you want to incorporate it because it's so juicy and just frigging works), what do you do?
Do you write to your audience and find some other way to approach the same concept that they're more likely to understand?
Do you say screw it, and write the reference in anyway because this is your story, dammit, and the narrative will be served by doing so even if your readers won't necessarilly get it? If so, do you bother to explain it to them? I know Luce employs footnotes, Amber likes to use the Author's Notes at the beginning, and there are some out there who just let the prose stand as is without elaboration, but I'm unsure of which is best in the Pit. I know I read footnotes and Author's Notes, but does anyone else? Do readers even bother?
Am I assuming too much idiocy and ignorance on the part of my readers, and maybe they'll actually grasp it? I personally think that's hoping for too much from the Pit, but hey. I've been surprised there before.
When it comes down to it, I think what I'm trying to do is find a way, if possible, to avoid an onslaught of "WTF? ALBATROSS? I DUN GET IT" reviews and PMs. (Have any of you ever gotten those before? I'd love to hear your stories -- what they were like, how you dealt with them, etc.) I've never really wanted to use a literary reference like this before, so I've never come across this problem. Hence why I'm bringing it before all you fine folk.
Answers to these questions, and further thoughts on the topic would be welcome. Your collective wisdom is appreciated. My thanks in advance.