Fic vs Meta
It occurred to me the other day that although I've written a lot of meta in my day, I can probably count on the fingers of one hand the times I've actually changed someone's mind about something via that route. Usually with meta, you're preaching to the choir. That's something I've known for a long time, to the point that on contentious subjects, I'd often append a disclaimer that I wasn't trying to convince anyone, just explaining what I thought and why I thought it. That seldom prevented people from trying their best to convince me I was wrong, wrong, wrong, of course. They convinced me to change my mind about as often as I convinced them.
On the other hand, I've lost count of the feedback I've gotten for fic over the years, saying some variation of "Usually I hate X, but your story sold me on it."
Maybe that's just because I'm better at writing fic than I am at writing meta. But I suspect that it's more likely because fiction engages us on an emotional level as well as an intellectual level, and that emotional level is where most of our decisions are made, sometimes before we even realize we've made them. Upon getting into a new canon, no one sits down, calmly and coolly considers all the possibilities, and says, "This couple is the healthiest, most progressive, and least problematic! Therefore they will be my OTP!" No, instead we see a pair of characters and our lizard brain screams "THEM!" And then our higher functions are stuck trying to justify our choice for the next ten years, while the Lizard Brain clutches them to its bosom and growls, "My preciousssss!"
Rants Talk to me
On the other hand, I've lost count of the feedback I've gotten for fic over the years, saying some variation of "Usually I hate X, but your story sold me on it."
Maybe that's just because I'm better at writing fic than I am at writing meta. But I suspect that it's more likely because fiction engages us on an emotional level as well as an intellectual level, and that emotional level is where most of our decisions are made, sometimes before we even realize we've made them. Upon getting into a new canon, no one sits down, calmly and coolly considers all the possibilities, and says, "This couple is the healthiest, most progressive, and least problematic! Therefore they will be my OTP!" No, instead we see a pair of characters and our lizard brain screams "THEM!" And then our higher functions are stuck trying to justify our choice for the next ten years, while the Lizard Brain clutches them to its bosom and growls, "My preciousssss!"
Rants Talk to me