Ficcish Concerns
In a recent blog entry, Te discussed supertext and how what we, fanatics, know about the show, the actors, production budget, etc. affects our views of the things we read and how we write. How many times do we use supertext instead of canon? Well, for me it depends on how you use supertext in your story. Is it an in-joke thing or meaningful echo thing you add for the amusement or satisfaction of those in-the-know? (Um, I do this all the time, especially in due South since most of the fen there is also at least partially knowledgeable on Hard Core Logo, Twitch City, and various other things Callum Keith Rennie and Paul Gross have done.) But I'm canon-based, with supertext as the fudge topping. The thing with supertext is that not everybody knows all of it. I'm notorious for being ignorant of behind-the-scenes stuff. ::whistling:: So when I read a story in which canon is set aside in places in favor of supertext, it simply strikes me as out of character. Which I either forgive because I like the story anyway and thus file it as an alternate universe (the way I can have The Crow the graphic series and The Crow the movie co-exist in my mind as two good things only slightly related) or I close the story, unfinished.
Stories that kill characters strike me as different. Yeah, we know the show mostly won't kill its main characters. But most shows treat its characters as things that don't change much, and we're already treading all over that. Taking canon and launching out from it, but in a way we can see the characters going, is why I write and read fanfic.
As for another entry about needing crappy fic out there as inspiration to start writing, the "I can write better than this shit and I will" goad, I didn't. I was lucky enough to be exposed to pretty good fic through my slash newbiehood. I write because I have these voices in my head that don't go away.
Stories that kill characters strike me as different. Yeah, we know the show mostly won't kill its main characters. But most shows treat its characters as things that don't change much, and we're already treading all over that. Taking canon and launching out from it, but in a way we can see the characters going, is why I write and read fanfic.
As for another entry about needing crappy fic out there as inspiration to start writing, the "I can write better than this shit and I will" goad, I didn't. I was lucky enough to be exposed to pretty good fic through my slash newbiehood. I write because I have these voices in my head that don't go away.