Great post! And the reasoning makes a lot of sense, even though it's not for me. Although I thought about it and I realized something interesting:
When it comes to fiction novels I have maybe read the ending a handful of times in all the years I've been reading. I want the story to unfold as I live though it. When I'm really on a roll, I have to actually use a bookmark/piece of paper to reveal line by line so my eyes don't inadvertently skip ahead. (Just did this last night as I finished the rest of Joan Hess's Closely Akin to Murder.)
However, reading fanfiction is another matter. I want clear warnings available and if it's a long story and I'm reading a lot of hardship, I need to look ahead and find out if there's a happy ending. I need a hopeful/happy ending at the end of the day for fanfiction and it's rare I'll hang in there if it turns out things are an utter mess at the end.
I'm not sure why there's that difference for me... but it was interesting to realize. :)
That is interesting! Do you think it might be that the ending of the fic has to match the tone of canon? (I suppose that theory would only hold water if the canon also has a happy ending, which I know isn't guaranteed.)
I'm tempted to say something along the lines about predictability... But maybe it has more to do with the fact that fanfiction is to a certain degree about "wish fulfillment" and the characters I'm reading for, I really want to see have a happy ending. (Thinking of the "unhappy" canons - heh, Terminator: Sarah Connor Chronicles comes to mind - hopeful endings certainly appeal since it's heartbreaking to have continual hardships.) There's also the whole genre of "fix-it" stories, so that's another level!
I guess another way to look at it is that I'm a little more willing to put myself in the author's hands when s/he's created an entire world of their own populated with characters only s/he previously knew. (Doesn't quite work with my love of Perry's Resident Evil novels, but...)
Anyway, on a side note: I finally ordered A Stranger to Command! Very excited about it, though it will be interesting to switch over to reading it after so many months of immersing myself in modern mystery novels.
Hope you like it! (The writer in me can't help but point out the ebook version is cheaper and also has the typos corrected)
Anyway, aside from that, a good point about fanfic. I was just thinking about that. Several have pointed out a really good Bujold fic that is Ivancentric, which has a sequel, but when I began it, I discovered Miles is dead, and wham! Interest shut off totally. I am not the least interested in a Bujoldverse without Miles.
I don't have an ebook reader (yet?) - my money for that went to getting one for my mother last summer for her birthday. (I'm dismayed about Wren Journeymage being only as an ebook!)
I used to be moderately okay with character death in fanfiction, now I can't stand it. Especially when it's used as a convenient way to not write about someone or to get a character out-of-the-way for whatever reason. (Well, non-main characters I'm more flexible, heh.)
I know the one you're talking about. I thought it was very good and worth reading, but I had a really hard time getting past that. Actually, I firmly told myself that he was only presumed dead and it was all a huge misunderstanding, though that was clearly a misreading of the author's intentions.
When it comes to fiction novels I have maybe read the ending a handful of times in all the years I've been reading. I want the story to unfold as I live though it. When I'm really on a roll, I have to actually use a bookmark/piece of paper to reveal line by line so my eyes don't inadvertently skip ahead. (Just did this last night as I finished the rest of Joan Hess's Closely Akin to Murder.)
However, reading fanfiction is another matter. I want clear warnings available and if it's a long story and I'm reading a lot of hardship, I need to look ahead and find out if there's a happy ending. I need a hopeful/happy ending at the end of the day for fanfiction and it's rare I'll hang in there if it turns out things are an utter mess at the end.
I'm not sure why there's that difference for me... but it was interesting to realize. :)
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I guess another way to look at it is that I'm a little more willing to put myself in the author's hands when s/he's created an entire world of their own populated with characters only s/he previously knew. (Doesn't quite work with my love of Perry's Resident Evil novels, but...)
Anyway, on a side note: I finally ordered A Stranger to Command! Very excited about it, though it will be interesting to switch over to reading it after so many months of immersing myself in modern mystery novels.
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Anyway, aside from that, a good point about fanfic. I was just thinking about that. Several have pointed out a really good Bujold fic that is Ivancentric, which has a sequel, but when I began it, I discovered Miles is dead, and wham! Interest shut off totally. I am not the least interested in a Bujoldverse without Miles.
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I used to be moderately okay with character death in fanfiction, now I can't stand it. Especially when it's used as a convenient way to not write about someone or to get a character out-of-the-way for whatever reason. (Well, non-main characters I'm more flexible, heh.)
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