In which I tell you my Life Story according to Writing

[kwritten]

upupa_epopsjust posted this meme:
Ask me a writing-related question in the comments. It can be about my writing or writing in general, whatever you want. Questions can be as wacky as you want. Ask me about characters, quirks, habits, opinions, favorites, difficulties, fandoms, inspirations, ficathons, challenges, specific stories. Ask whatever! I'll answer and

Comments

[upupa_epops]

For me, the difference between fic and meta (as emotional and analytical) is determined by the kind of response I want to get. I could've written a S/E meta instead of a S/E fic. Easily. But in meta, arguments are expected. People would comment and want me to prove certain points, get into a discussion of the show. They could tell me I'm overinterpreting. That I'm projecting my personal response on the characters. Maybe they'd even be right. But I didn't want that kind of discussion, I wasn't ready to have it. So I wrote fic, because fic has different rules. No one would ask me for arguments, for proof. I could just arbitrarily choose one out of, say, 5 possible versions of S/E. I chose fic because I knew fic would prompt a discussion about personal responses, not objective facts in canon. And I wasn't comfortable discussing objective facts

[kwritten]

But I didn't want that kind of discussion, I wasn't ready to have it. So I wrote fic, because fic has different rules.

Oh absolutely!

What I love about this whole process, for me, is that fic seems to me so much more organic - for me, it is always a spontaneous outpouring of ~feels. And once that downpour is done, the fic is edited and posted, all of sudden those ~thoughts that were behind the ~emotes I can now deal with. For me, it's a cycle. That the thought process is so intrinsically tied that it no longer really matters... it's all so connected that the act of writing/creating is about working out everything all at once.

In short: my fic, my rules. My meta, the show's rulesAnd yet, I would argue that your fic works because it is straddling the line between both

[penny_lane_42]

This is a beautiful post. I love it to itty-bitty bits.

That the difference between meta and fic is negligible, a farce. There are some things, sure, that I think of as being "fic-friendly-only".... smut for example. But at the same time, the gender/sexual dynamics and decisions that are made in smut are (sometimes) just as much of an "analysis" of the original text as a meta that dissects the symbolism of DElena's hands in the series.

OMG YES. Oh, how beautiful fandom is to me!

I have been growing this sense of ... value in participation. What I think is different about meta/fic from academic essays, is the participation level in a direct, immediate conversation. Academia necessarily dictates a certain level of solitary work. But getting my hands in and working with the characters themselves: I feel like I'm accessing something more than just my own thoughts.

YES!

[kwritten]

This is a beautiful post. I love it to itty-bitty bits.

I LOVE YOU AND THIS FANDOM TO ITTY BITTY BITS!

OMG YES. Oh, how beautiful fandom is to me!

((HUGS))

YES!

THANK THE GODS! I've been having a damned time trying to put these ~feels into words!