Billy Talent and Characterisation

[silburygirl]

I am amused that a webcomic can describe my life with such accuracyOn the bus home yesterday afternoon, I was struck by the sudden, overwhelming urge to go home and listen to Billy Talent, which I haven't done for a couple of years. (I'd like to say since high school, but that is probably a lie.) After about twenty minutes of humming Billy Talent

Comments

[harmony_bites]

I've always been aware that characterisation in original fic is a much bigger, scarier animal (generally with more pointy fangs) than characterisation is in fanfic, but it is actually proving an easier transition than I thought it might be.

I'm not convinced actually that it's that original characters are harder per se. I think in some ways fanfic is harder, because these are fans and if you write the character in ways a reader doesn't envision the backlash can be fierce

[madelinekrieger]

I think in some ways fanfic is harder, because these are fans and if you write the character in ways a reader doesn't envision the backlash can be fierce.Jumping in, here. On the one hand, I sometimes find fanfic to be the ultimate in wish fulfillment. After all, what are you doing but writing about characters and worlds that are already there, while inserting something you wished would've happened? In that regard I find fanfic to be much easier. But your point brings wholehearted agreement. Though every book fan has their own ideals of a character, there still exists a canonical 'norm'. And when a fanfic author veers from that and introduces OOC'ness, well - they generally aren't accepted with open arms

[harmony_bites]

I don't mean just being OOC--but that readers have this vision of Snape or of Hermione built into their minds--and that even if a writer takes care to use canon and the events of their story to build that Hermione and/or Snape credibly from canon roots, if it goes against the vision a specific reader has of them (ie, building a heroic Snape if the reader sees him as dark; or building a villainous one if a reader sees him as light. Or writing a Hermione that is damaged or flawed or not always principled), you can expect flames--because fan comes from the word fanatic...

And they know their Snape (or Hermione). Or think they do.

And yes--with Meyer I found secondary characters like Jacob and Alice a lot more appealing than that controlling stalker Edward or the TSTL Bella.

[madelinekrieger]

Yes, agreed. On a semi-related note, sometimes I wonder who's competing with whom in the world of characterization. Fanfic's always been around, but it's never exploded to the lengths it has now. People talk about getting the lines blurred between fanon and canon, and it makes me wonder if Canon characters are now competing with Fanon ideas.