I really should be writing .... or answering comments on my recent fic (thank you!) ... but I'm sick and my brain is full of fog, so instead I'll do a meme, seen at
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Heh, I wasn' thinking that when I wrote the above -- I was just thinking the kind of ambiguity that tends to happen whenever people share family stories -- but it certainly could go that way. :D
xparrot (I think) once described the general theme of EVERYTHING I write as "finding home" and I think that's pretty accurate! It seems like that's the single overriding theme I keep coming back to, in my fanfic and in my original fiction: lonely people finding the place they belong, and the people they belong with.
But there are also a number of other recurring themes that I like to write about. I love writing about friendship and family and just people loving each other, generally. Acceptance is a theme I really enjoy working with, and would like to write about more than I have -- I was thinking specifically acceptance of a newly acquired disability or other limitation, but I think it also applies to grief or age or breakup of a relationship or moving to a new city ... just generally working through a change in one's circumstances (startling, unpleasant, terrible, inevitable, or just different) and coming safely out the other side. Or perhaps the theme there is actually change, and people's coping mechanisms for dealing with change
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These are great themes! And "finding home" is one of my favourites as well. And I like the "accepting change" one - it's not one I've tackled much myself, though I'd like to. My own acceptance theme is more acceptance of the other rather than the self - here's what I wrote when I did this meme a few weeks ago:
My main theme, ever and always, is understanding/acceptance across irreconcilable differences. Everything else comes from there or ends up going there: all the strange bedfellows/unlikely alliance tropes, the culture clashes, learning to give in, choosing the lesser evil, divided loyalties, finding home in the most unlikely of places, that kind of thing.
Hurt/comfort is more a trope than a theme, I'd say? You could use it for different themes, depending on characters and circumstances.
I really like your answer! :) I think it's interesting how different people characterize their work in different ways, because what you're describing here is something I absolutely love as well -- to write about, or to read about -- though I think for me, when I'm writing at least, it expresses itself a bit differently and tends to fall more squarely under the "finding home" or "friendship" headings. But yeah. That thing. :D
And I agree with you about h/c being more a trope than a theme. It can be used for a lot of different purposes, or something just all on its own.
Hmm! It's difficult to come up with a snippet from any of my current projects that makes sense on its own! XD I guess I could give you a bit from the story I'm working on for Leesa's collarcorner prompt about Neal being tricked, post-season-finale, into thinking Peter's dead:
The gang was in Vegas to, basically, take the casinos for as much money as possible. This was one scam Neal had never tried, because it was too damn risky. Better to go for the low-hanging fruit elsewhere. In Vegas, they expected cons; the security was top-notch, and all the money was carefully counted. It was also where the amateurs went, because people new to the biz thought, hey, Vegas, money! And then they got caught.
Neal tried pointing this out to Russ, who said, "Well, that's why you're here
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I'll answer for White Collar, since it's my current fandom and the one we have in common ... :)
And the really interesting thing here is that, as much as I adore Peter and WANT to write him more, I actually find Neal (who I also love, don't get me wrong) somewhat easier and more compelling to write. I think part of it is that Neal is more ... I don't really want to say complicated, because Peter is very complex (and often doesn't get enough credit for the complexity he has). But Neal is more unpredictable. I think it's also easier for me to write Neal's flaws, because I'm not quite as deeply invested in him as I am in Peter -- as much as I really adore both of them. :) And also, the fandom itself is more tolerant of Neal's flaws, so while I love the idea of writing fic that really delves into Peter's psyche and gets right down to the heart of him, I'm not sure how fandom would react to it; it's hard to write about Peter's flaws without repeating some of the cliches about him that get bounced around in fandom
( ... )
Oh this is very interesting because I totally agree with your analysis, except that Neal being more impredictable makes him more difficult to figure out for me. (except when it comes to his feelings for Peter, there he's very easy to capture)
And lol I have the same feeling about Peter in season 5. I do find that his character development was very interesting. I don't see it at all like a step back but more like he's reached his limit and the lines he won't cross. I really found his portrayal and also some reactions from other characters (mainly Neal, but also Jones and Diana) very interesting. But I've read so many nasty comments regarding those changes in dynamic that I've felt very protective of Peter. And I've been very reserved about reading certain fanfics that could explore Peter's conflits in season 5. But I'd love to read more from you, because I know I can trust that, from you, it comes from the heart. :-) And definitely looking for the RBB story!!
And yeah, that's basically my problem writing about Peter in season five. There are so many interesting angles to explore! But the fandom attacked him so hard, and was so critical of any change in the character dynamic, that I feel uncomfortable exploring those changes, even though I think it would be interesting to write about.
Ooh, tough one! :) You know, I don't actually have anything that comes to mind in my current fandom. Not that I don't like the fics I've written, not that I don't feel good about them -- because I do! But there aren't any that stand out from the pack. Whereas in Stargate Atlantis fandom, I always knew exactly which fics were my favorites and, I think, my best: "Running on Empty" and "Postcards to Jeannie" (also maybe "Old Soldiers Die Hard" -- my first attempt at outside POV, and still probably the most popular thing I've ever written, based on reviews!). The thing about SGA fandom is that I was always stretching myself and trying new things, whereas with WC I've mostly just been writing what I'm good at -- most of which I got good at back in SGA fandom. So, when I try to think of fics that really stand out in my mind as the ones I am most proud of, I always go back to SGA fandom because that's where I learned and honed a lot of the skills I've used since.
Eep, thanks! I haven't read those fics, or at least I don't remember reading them, so I will do so now;-) And going back to SGA is cool - SGA gave us so many fantastic stories to read, that it can still live on even after years of the show being cut. Such a classic;-)
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But there are also a number of other recurring themes that I like to write about. I love writing about friendship and family and just people loving each other, generally. Acceptance is a theme I really enjoy working with, and would like to write about more than I have -- I was thinking specifically acceptance of a newly acquired disability or other limitation, but I think it also applies to grief or age or breakup of a relationship or moving to a new city ... just generally working through a change in one's circumstances (startling, unpleasant, terrible, inevitable, or just different) and coming safely out the other side. Or perhaps the theme there is actually change, and people's coping mechanisms for dealing with change ( ... )
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My main theme, ever and always, is understanding/acceptance across irreconcilable differences. Everything else comes from there or ends up going there: all the strange bedfellows/unlikely alliance tropes, the culture clashes, learning to give in, choosing the lesser evil, divided loyalties, finding home in the most unlikely of places, that kind of thing.
Hurt/comfort is more a trope than a theme, I'd say? You could use it for different themes, depending on characters and circumstances.
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And I agree with you about h/c being more a trope than a theme. It can be used for a lot of different purposes, or something just all on its own.
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The gang was in Vegas to, basically, take the casinos for as much money as possible. This was one scam Neal had never tried, because it was too damn risky. Better to go for the low-hanging fruit elsewhere. In Vegas, they expected cons; the security was top-notch, and all the money was carefully counted. It was also where the amateurs went, because people new to the biz thought, hey, Vegas, money! And then they got caught.
Neal tried pointing this out to Russ, who said, "Well, that's why you're here ( ... )
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And the really interesting thing here is that, as much as I adore Peter and WANT to write him more, I actually find Neal (who I also love, don't get me wrong) somewhat easier and more compelling to write. I think part of it is that Neal is more ... I don't really want to say complicated, because Peter is very complex (and often doesn't get enough credit for the complexity he has). But Neal is more unpredictable. I think it's also easier for me to write Neal's flaws, because I'm not quite as deeply invested in him as I am in Peter -- as much as I really adore both of them. :) And also, the fandom itself is more tolerant of Neal's flaws, so while I love the idea of writing fic that really delves into Peter's psyche and gets right down to the heart of him, I'm not sure how fandom would react to it; it's hard to write about Peter's flaws without repeating some of the cliches about him that get bounced around in fandom ( ... )
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And lol I have the same feeling about Peter in season 5. I do find that his character development was very interesting. I don't see it at all like a step back but more like he's reached his limit and the lines he won't cross. I really found his portrayal and also some reactions from other characters (mainly Neal, but also Jones and Diana) very interesting. But I've read so many nasty comments regarding those changes in dynamic that I've felt very protective of Peter.
And I've been very reserved about reading certain fanfics that could explore Peter's conflits in season 5. But I'd love to read more from you, because I know I can trust that, from you, it comes from the heart. :-)
And definitely looking for the RBB story!!
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And yeah, that's basically my problem writing about Peter in season five. There are so many interesting angles to explore! But the fandom attacked him so hard, and was so critical of any change in the character dynamic, that I feel uncomfortable exploring those changes, even though I think it would be interesting to write about.
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