"It has opened the doors for everyone to offer their work without facing anyone, and yet, anyone can offer their work, much to everyone else's chagrin and dismay." --- And the thing of it is, I understand the value of an open forum. I really do. Fanfiction is modern culture's answer to oral and folk storytelling traditions of the past. It has great value in the sense that it gets people to communicate - to create and share and critique. Fabulous stuff. But my concern is less with the fact that Mary Sues exist and more with the question of why they exist in such numbers.
And, of course, the question of whether a Mary Sue story can be edited out of the territory of bad writing.
""Talent is just an interest pursued," pursued being the operative word. In that comes work, criticism and more work." ---Absolutely. Picking up the pencil - and caring enough about art to do so - is commendable. "A" for effort, and "A+" for giving a damn. But to become more than just the "aww, she tried to draw" person, work is a must.
"I think the 'criticism' part is sadly lacking, since there seems to be a prevalent intolerance for pointing out mistakes." ---I do agree that the avoidance of criticism is a definite staple of our culture. We are all spin-doctors. We synergize and network and try to never piss anyone off and never discipline our kids. Not that it's an entirely modern phenomenon, but I do think aspects of modern society amplify the effect. (And I could go on and on, but then I'd be ranting - more.)
"It has opened the doors for everyone to offer their work without facing anyone, and yet, anyone can offer their work, much to everyone else's chagrin and dismay."
--- And the thing of it is, I understand the value of an open forum. I really do. Fanfiction is modern culture's answer to oral and folk storytelling traditions of the past. It has great value in the sense that it gets people to communicate - to create and share and critique. Fabulous stuff. But my concern is less with the fact that Mary Sues exist and more with the question of why they exist in such numbers.
And, of course, the question of whether a Mary Sue story can be edited out of the territory of bad writing.
""Talent is just an interest pursued," pursued being the operative word. In that comes work, criticism and more work."
---Absolutely. Picking up the pencil - and caring enough about art to do so - is commendable. "A" for effort, and "A+" for giving a damn. But to become more than just the "aww, she tried to draw" person, work is a must.
"I think the 'criticism' part is sadly lacking, since there seems to be a prevalent intolerance for pointing out mistakes."
---I do agree that the avoidance of criticism is a definite staple of our culture. We are all spin-doctors. We synergize and network and try to never piss anyone off and never discipline our kids. Not that it's an entirely modern phenomenon, but I do think aspects of modern society amplify the effect. (And I could go on and on, but then I'd be ranting - more.)
Reply
Leave a comment