meta: on comparing fanfiction to "real writing"

[kho]

I was talking to a friend of mine and I pointed out what I thought to be a particularly well-crafted and beautiful sentence, and while she did say it was well-crafted, her immediate response was that it was "awfully pretentious for a fanfic." I'm going to leave her anonymous, because I don't want her to be throttled by the fanfic writers out there

Comments

[order_of_chaos]

That has got to be one of the most gorgeous rants I have ever read. Worth drooling over, surely.
People used words as daggers, as kisses, as caresses, not just as a means to an end.

I liked the poll, but craved ticky boxes for question 3 - real as real, or fluffy, or deep - they all have their moments.

[kho]

I did think about ticky boxes, but I wanted you to answer based on the kind of story you most like. LOL. It would hve almost been better to have like, "four stars for well-crafted, three-stars for fluffly" type of voting. YOu know, so you could vote for both, but still give more to the one you liked better? Because I LOOOOOOOVE good and fluffy, but the fics I really jones on are the deep and moody and moving pieces.

And thank you! I'm glad you liked my rant.

[zanshi]

I'm a WRITER. It's what I DO. I write. I'm so attached to my writing that if I can't write, sometimes I will cry. It defines me. It's not just something I do on occasion; it's not just this thing I have a knack for. It's this thing I have to do, because I would go insane if I couldn't. It's my catharsis. It's my therapy. It's what helps me sort out in my ever jumbled mind what I really think.I understand you. I feel the very same way. Writing is breathing. Writing is living. If I am ever denied a pen and a paper (or my computer), I would go insane. Writing saved me in many ways

[kho]

Mine is almost more of a word fetish. Give me a man that can use words that are so obscure and beautiful that I have to look them up to know what they mean, and they will own my heart forever. Hence, my great love for Dennis Miller. LOL.

True, yes. Good way to put that. Just another genre. Neither better nor worse. Very good way to put it.

I'm glad you liked my rant, it could have come off as quite pretentious. LOL.. To some I think it did. Especially the OMG and XD part. But oh well.

Thanks for replying!

[crystalkirk]

Wonderful post, hard third question, heh. I love all the different types of fanfic (okay, not so much with the really bad stuff, but you know what I mean), but the rare author that can squeeze so much out of a character that they did not create to make something deep and out of this world - now that's just awesome

[kho]

That's the same reason I selected "more care" and "more significant" options. Any fic author that can keep the characters they are writing about "in character" with canon enough to delve so much deeper into stories that could be told about them in another time or place, are amazing.Ah! I was wondering why someone would choose more. I like that reason, a lot. I even agree with it. I chose all the ones that are "the same as" mostly, but you're right. I get a lot of average-ness in real life, why not delve deeper in fic

[hippediva]

Amen Sister! I've been published and believe me, I put as much into original work as I do into any fanfic. I write. As you said, it what I do. And I do it to the best of my ability regardless of what I'm writing.

Wonderful rant and one with which I completely agree. Brava!

[kho]

See, this is all I'm talking about! Thank you! LOL. I get so tired of hearing people talking about fanfic as fluff. Yes, it is, but it's no more fluff than ANY fictitious novel. And fluff is fine, if it's said in the right way.. I'm just tired of the condescention.

[hippediva]

Fanfic as fluff? :::busts into a fit of laughter::: I can think of a few stories in several fandoms that are ANYTHING but fluff! Honestly, I agree about the condecending attitude some people have about writing....they are those people who carry on as though "The Great Shark Hunt" is somehow "lesser" literature than "Great Expectations" and any fanfic is somewhere in the toilet. It's all word-play and I've read fanfiction that is infinitely better than a lot of the garbage that makes the NY Times bestseller list. What too many people don't realise is that publishing now is so corporate that unless the firm can guarantee x-hundred thousand copies will sell, they won't take the time or effort...so there is a big old wankfest over getting literary agents and sucking up---it's worse than the Hollywood scene because it's so full of pretentious horse's arses.

Ah well, only think to do is to keep writing. *G*

[hippediva]

Eeek...condescending....typos and a stuck "s" on the keyboard.....ouch! *G*

[penm]

While I agree on some points, it's hardly fair to actually make blanket generalizations about the OMG and the LOL and the XD. Sometimes you just have to use it - not only is it in keeping with slang and thus culture, but you can't always have sentences that go on about sunsets or inherent beauty in everything or what have you. Life would be too boring if everything were grandeur and transcendent passion all the timeI use all three of those, personally. I use WTF, I use roflcopter, and squee, and other words that exist in a fannish scope. That doesn't mean that I don't appreciate 'real words', and so, it's sort of irritating to read that

[penm]

Also, you do need a bit of style; you do need to give a bit of a nod to excess, you do have to write things that relate to the real world, and to people, because otherwise, if they can't relate it to anything then no one's going to read it. If everything's substance with no style or flair, 1. it won't sell and 2. it would make an extremely difficult read for your average reader, and even maybe for those people who consider themselves book buffs. It would be like a steak with no marbling at all. Tough, and rather difficult to chew and swallow, and a little dry. You do need that 'fat' that comes from the so-called fast food mentality. And that's just the way these things go. Maybe it is not fair, but who am I to say what's fair or not? The public dictates what sells and what doesn't; popular opinion dictates what's a go and what'll flop

[kho]

I think I covered most of this in my above answer, but

[kho]

Typos suck. I knew I should have read over this before posting.

I even like them best when they have NO substance, because often times when they try to combo them, one or more elements flair. But that's desert to me, ya know? should be fail, and dessert.

Also, to say, I didn't think you were being condescending or insulting, I just thought you disagreed with me. Or, that I hadn't fully developed several aspects of what I was ranting on. It wasn't as well balanced of a rant as it perhaps should have been. But that's what happens with rants, you don't always point-counterpoint yourself when you're ranting.