I've wondered this myself, since my shippy fics get about 4 times the number of hits/reviews as anything gen - which always seemed odd to me, since friendships (especially the ones JKR has provided us with) are so complex and fun to explore, and for my money, as rewarding to read and write as something with a smutty pay-off.
I've wondered if it's because people see romantic or sexual relationships as the only ones that can be interesting, or deep, and therefore worthy of exploration in fic - or that there's simply more interest in deconstructing a romantic relationship than a friendship one.
I think some people, too, have difficulty with the idea of a deep and far reaching bond that isn't based on romantic love. In a lot of ways, it's easier to express that two characters have feelings for each other by letting them kiss than by demonstrating in other, non romantic, ways that deep feelings exist.
I do think it is true that a lot of people don't realize other relationships can have deep bonds without being shippy. And yes, it is harder to write about two people being close without making it seem shippy; heck, sometimes that's a problem IRL.
But I don't think that's true of all smut writers - I know many who still value friendship. And I do want to clarify that I don't think smut is bad, I just wonder why there's not more focus on platonic relationships.
In terms of Love, I think it's easier to write a fantasy than it is to write reality. We have all had one close friend (at least, I hope so!) and as such we all know what that experience is. We have not, however, all fallen in true love, nor have we all had sex, and so those are the stories that get the readerships.
And honestly, if we weren't writing to get read, we wouldn't publish on archives or LJ.
Both are good points - and the second is sad but true. It's easy to say "post anyway', but in practice? Yeah, easier said than done.
Of course, I still try and "post anyway", including my gen, but often stuff just goes to the inboxes of friends, or is flocked on my LJ at least. Not all of that is doubt that anyone'll read - but I think some of it is. (Though I also think if I got around to sending that stuff to my wonderful beta readers who seem to know my writing style better than I do...)
You might have a point there. I am in a relationship and don't really want to read about sex as much as when I was younger. I would rather just read a good story.
Honestly, I think it's not that smutfics are more popular--it's just that they're more common. Some of my most popular stories (Mysticism, Laws of Probability, Bureau of Loopholes, The Last Supper) have been gen, while my fade-to-black romance and my single out-and-out smut have been either unpopular or middling-popular. (Admittedly, when I was trying to re-enter the Pirates fandom with genfic, things were a little shakier--I got as many reads, judging by the number of times I saw them get bookmarked, but I got fewer reviews
( ... )
Ah, yes, I remember your old fics. But - and I hope you don't mind me saying this - you wrote them a very long time ago, and since then, I think fandom has changed in that respect. Of course, that could just be me. I didn't even know what LJ was back then, and I really only left ff.n for better other sites when it turned into something the cat brought in and all the authors I read fled for their lives, if they already hadn't. ;) But my point is, I think fandom is a lot more focused on romance and smut than it was in, say, 2002.
But Mysticism and Laws of Probability were more recent--2003-04-ish, if I recall correctly, and they were all on LJ. And my still more recent (2006) gen fics, also on LJ, received approximately the same number of favorites/bookmarks/reviews. I'm not sure you're observing a fandom culture change, and I'm also unsure that you're witnessing a change at all. I came into fandom already shell-shocked by how much smut I'd found; the quantity seems to me to be proportionately the same.
I'm not sure there's any specific reason, but I think that it'd be difficult to change the tendency towards romance. Shipping is the most popular aspect of fandom, IMO, and it's pretty clear that romance fics tend to get more hits. I think it's a bit discouraging to people writing gen, and that fandom as a whole is much more encouraging of romance. Gen can be hard to do because it's much more difficult to find an audience -- just look at how many LJ communities are devoted to ships! It's so much easier to find a constant stream of new R/S fics, for example, than MWPP gen.
Of course, the other problem, I think, is that it's just much easier for write ships. Not easier to write them well, but just write them in general. It's so easy for fill up the pages with kissing and sex; inexperienced/untalented authors can avoid the emotions. But it's much harder to avoid emotions with friendship fics because there isn't that physical aspect to fill up the space with.
Real quick-like, since I need to go back to work...
Another reason for more shippy/smutty stuff than gen being written could be because, at least for HP (and I can't speak for any other fandoms, because I'm only involved in HP), the source material is pretty much gen. There's a little shippyness, true, but it's not the main--or most important--part of the story. I tend to write shippy (although I'm writing a gen Neville fic right now, too), because there *isn't* all that much shippy stuff in the books, but there are tons and tons of Ron/Hermione/Harry friendship moments. So I write to fill in the blanks (for me).
Yes, and I can see that point. Because also looking at stuff statistically, a book series I read has a ton of fluff and smut; the fics tend to be gen-ish, or at least under an R rating romance. At least, they were when I read the fics.
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I've wondered if it's because people see romantic or sexual relationships as the only ones that can be interesting, or deep, and therefore worthy of exploration in fic - or that there's simply more interest in deconstructing a romantic relationship than a friendship one.
I think some people, too, have difficulty with the idea of a deep and far reaching bond that isn't based on romantic love. In a lot of ways, it's easier to express that two characters have feelings for each other by letting them kiss than by demonstrating in other, non romantic, ways that deep feelings exist.
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deep bonds without being shippy. And
yes, it is harder to write about two
people being close without making it
seem shippy; heck, sometimes that's a
problem IRL.
But I don't think that's true of all
smut writers - I know many who still
value friendship. And I do want to
clarify that I don't think smut is
bad, I just wonder why there's not
more focus on platonic relationships.
Reply
And honestly, if we weren't writing to get read, we wouldn't publish on archives or LJ.
Reply
is sad but true. It's easy to say "post anyway', but in practice?
Yeah, easier said than done.
Of course, I still try and "post
anyway", including my gen, but often
stuff just goes to the inboxes of friends, or is flocked on my LJ at
least. Not all of that is doubt that
anyone'll read - but I think some of
it is. (Though I also think
if I got around to sending that stuff to my wonderful beta readers who
seem to know my writing style better
than I do...)
Reply
Lisa
x
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But - and I hope you don't mind me
saying this - you wrote them a very
long time ago, and since then, I think fandom has changed in that respect. Of course, that could just be me. I didn't even know what LJ was back then, and I really only left ff.n for better other sites when it turned into something the cat brought in and all the authors I read fled for their lives, if they already
hadn't. ;) But my point is, I think fandom is a lot more focused on romance and smut than it was in, say, 2002.
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Of course, the other problem, I think, is that it's just much easier for write ships. Not easier to write them well, but just write them in general. It's so easy for fill up the pages with kissing and sex; inexperienced/untalented authors can avoid the emotions. But it's much harder to avoid emotions with friendship fics because there isn't that physical aspect to fill up the space with.
Reply
Another reason for more shippy/smutty stuff than gen being written could be because, at least for HP (and I can't speak for any other fandoms, because I'm only involved in HP), the source material is pretty much gen. There's a little shippyness, true, but it's not the main--or most important--part of the story. I tend to write shippy (although I'm writing a gen Neville fic right now, too), because there *isn't* all that much shippy stuff in the books, but there are tons and tons of Ron/Hermione/Harry friendship moments. So I write to fill in the blanks (for me).
Does that make sense?
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