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Meta, meta, meta.
Jul. 21st, 2004 02:57 pmJenn pointed out that ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
pandares just wrote up some big ranty meta entries about fandom (Online relationships, Literature and Pornography and Taboos - Is Hetcest really the new Slash?). There are quite a few references to HP fandom, but I still found them interesting.
In particular, what interested me was in her second rant, about the differences in fiction. She said that:
I distinguish between writing something I *believe* and writing something to fit in with an agenda. ... I tried to make it as honest and plausible as I could, but the bottom line was still 'this is gratuitous' rather than 'this is true'.
I'm very intrigued by that, because it's something I do, without having a term for it. There are stories of mine (my personal favourites, like Handsome/Attractive or College Years) which I feel are *true*, that given that situation, that's *exactly* how the characters would act. I see it as being "true" to the characters. It's a characterisation that isn't just supported by canon, but also reflects how I personally see canon.
Other fics, like That Guy. I like as writing exercises, because I wanted to prove that this or that could be done. I enjoy them as an example of what could happen, of a possibility, of proof of my (sometimes questionable) writing ability, but I don't *believe* them. I think that they're possiblities, that the characterisation is supported by canon, but it's not my personal Dana or Casey. It's not who I like to think of them as being.
Now, thinking about this, there's a lot of fics that I could divide up this way. Random Things About Casey McCall is true, because that's my-Casey, complete with silly mannerisms and idiosyncrasies.
Likewise, A Poor Substitute is true, because it's my Dana, my Lisa and my Casey, and that's *what* *happened*. But Girls' Night In isn't true, even though that's my Lisa and my Dana, deep-down I don't *believe* that they'd do that. I think they *could*, but that's very different from thinking they *would*.
Also, Yes, No and Maybe isn't true, and it's... Huh. The Dan and Casey feel right, but the fic was written specifically with the thought of 'Dan officially not dating'. It was a version of Casey responding to a version of Dan. The Magical Powers of a New Shirt isn't, because my Dan isn't so inexperienced. He could be, but he isn't.
Now, a couple of months ago, I remember complaining to Celli that I didn't have set mynon for the SN characters. Yet, over a few months of writing them, I've discovered My characters through trying to write any version of the characters. I've written mythical characters, ones that I don't believe in (straight-Casey, slashy-Isaac, betraying-Dana) and somehow, by doing that, I've come to understand the ones that I do believe in.
Needless to say, whether I strictly "believe" in the characters or not, it doesn't make it any less fun to write or read them. Sometimes, the most interesting and thought-provoking fics can be the ones that you don't quite believe, but *almost* could.
pandares just wrote up some big ranty meta entries about fandom (Online relationships, Literature and Pornography and Taboos - Is Hetcest really the new Slash?). There are quite a few references to HP fandom, but I still found them interesting.In particular, what interested me was in her second rant, about the differences in fiction. She said that:
I distinguish between writing something I *believe* and writing something to fit in with an agenda. ... I tried to make it as honest and plausible as I could, but the bottom line was still 'this is gratuitous' rather than 'this is true'.
I'm very intrigued by that, because it's something I do, without having a term for it. There are stories of mine (my personal favourites, like Handsome/Attractive or College Years) which I feel are *true*, that given that situation, that's *exactly* how the characters would act. I see it as being "true" to the characters. It's a characterisation that isn't just supported by canon, but also reflects how I personally see canon.
Other fics, like That Guy. I like as writing exercises, because I wanted to prove that this or that could be done. I enjoy them as an example of what could happen, of a possibility, of proof of my (sometimes questionable) writing ability, but I don't *believe* them. I think that they're possiblities, that the characterisation is supported by canon, but it's not my personal Dana or Casey. It's not who I like to think of them as being.
Now, thinking about this, there's a lot of fics that I could divide up this way. Random Things About Casey McCall is true, because that's my-Casey, complete with silly mannerisms and idiosyncrasies.
Likewise, A Poor Substitute is true, because it's my Dana, my Lisa and my Casey, and that's *what* *happened*. But Girls' Night In isn't true, even though that's my Lisa and my Dana, deep-down I don't *believe* that they'd do that. I think they *could*, but that's very different from thinking they *would*.
Also, Yes, No and Maybe isn't true, and it's... Huh. The Dan and Casey feel right, but the fic was written specifically with the thought of 'Dan officially not dating'. It was a version of Casey responding to a version of Dan. The Magical Powers of a New Shirt isn't, because my Dan isn't so inexperienced. He could be, but he isn't.
Now, a couple of months ago, I remember complaining to Celli that I didn't have set mynon for the SN characters. Yet, over a few months of writing them, I've discovered My characters through trying to write any version of the characters. I've written mythical characters, ones that I don't believe in (straight-Casey, slashy-Isaac, betraying-Dana) and somehow, by doing that, I've come to understand the ones that I do believe in.
Needless to say, whether I strictly "believe" in the characters or not, it doesn't make it any less fun to write or read them. Sometimes, the most interesting and thought-provoking fics can be the ones that you don't quite believe, but *almost* could.
