~~baby-steps, they say.
Apr. 18th, 2003 09:18 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
reenkai think there's some sort of rule that i get nothing done during breaks. i'm like, "heeeyyy, i have all this -time-, of -course- i'll do it..." and then i stare at the wall for 10 hours or something. i could've read every fic i wanted to get to, -and- do my reading for class -and- finish my longfic. okay, that's a tad -too- ambitious. which is why i don't do things-- because i get too ambitious, really. but anyway.
speaking of longfic. it occurred to me why so many people over-explain everything in many an "epic" tale. especially if it's a first-time fanfic, at least. i was reading through my first fanfic (and my god, is it bad), and one of the things i noticed was that (horror of horrors) i went and explained my pov character's motivations-- in first person. straight out. i mean. shoot me now.
and then i was reading a bit of another tale, someone else's first fanfic-- and again, it seemed rather trite and expository. it occurred to me that if you're writing a chaptered fic-- especially if it's your first major chaptered fanfic-- you're going to have the need to get to know your characters. you're getting to know them as you write them, so basically-- maybe it's not so much that the writer is insulting my intelligence as a reader, but rather they're doing all this for their own benefit.
maybe you could even see this as a general thing-- instead of thinking that someone's merely being stupid by saying things that are "obvious" or shouldn't need to be pointed out to an intelligent audience, you could say that they're merely saying the only things they can think of. they don't know how else to conceive of it, so they trace over the known to get to the unknown. it's sort of like starting from square one.
on the one hand, if someone says, "harry is a boy", you could easily be irritated. but what if you need that to then say, "harry is a boy who missed his parents". and then only afterwards can you say, "harry is a boy whose sadness wasn't obvious". and then, "only the other could see it". and then you get to the point. or something.
i don't know. but what if it's true-- what if the author simply hasn't done any retroactive editing in that case, and what we're seeing is a process of growth. so, maybe in the next fic they wouldn't need to explain the same things again? when i was going over my old longfic, i could now take out a lot and condense and totally change characterizations-- i certainly don't need anyone to explain their motivations to me. but back then i was merely exploring them myself.
and now, writing my present longfic, i find that i'm tempted to have the characters or narrator explain things-- plot things. because i wouldn't know them myself, not in the same detail, otherwise. obviously, i doubt everyone's issues and motivations are the same, but it makes me more open to others' blunders, knowing they're part of a learning process. or something.
speaking of longfic. it occurred to me why so many people over-explain everything in many an "epic" tale. especially if it's a first-time fanfic, at least. i was reading through my first fanfic (and my god, is it bad), and one of the things i noticed was that (horror of horrors) i went and explained my pov character's motivations-- in first person. straight out. i mean. shoot me now.
and then i was reading a bit of another tale, someone else's first fanfic-- and again, it seemed rather trite and expository. it occurred to me that if you're writing a chaptered fic-- especially if it's your first major chaptered fanfic-- you're going to have the need to get to know your characters. you're getting to know them as you write them, so basically-- maybe it's not so much that the writer is insulting my intelligence as a reader, but rather they're doing all this for their own benefit.
maybe you could even see this as a general thing-- instead of thinking that someone's merely being stupid by saying things that are "obvious" or shouldn't need to be pointed out to an intelligent audience, you could say that they're merely saying the only things they can think of. they don't know how else to conceive of it, so they trace over the known to get to the unknown. it's sort of like starting from square one.
on the one hand, if someone says, "harry is a boy", you could easily be irritated. but what if you need that to then say, "harry is a boy who missed his parents". and then only afterwards can you say, "harry is a boy whose sadness wasn't obvious". and then, "only the other could see it". and then you get to the point. or something.
i don't know. but what if it's true-- what if the author simply hasn't done any retroactive editing in that case, and what we're seeing is a process of growth. so, maybe in the next fic they wouldn't need to explain the same things again? when i was going over my old longfic, i could now take out a lot and condense and totally change characterizations-- i certainly don't need anyone to explain their motivations to me. but back then i was merely exploring them myself.
and now, writing my present longfic, i find that i'm tempted to have the characters or narrator explain things-- plot things. because i wouldn't know them myself, not in the same detail, otherwise. obviously, i doubt everyone's issues and motivations are the same, but it makes me more open to others' blunders, knowing they're part of a learning process. or something.
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no subject
Date: 2003-04-19 02:11 am (UTC)you want me to read ur fik >:D<
:laughs: well yes, there is that. but the chapter's not going to be published for a while yet. and i do mean a while. so take your time. ;)
but it is something you should know, since the dedication itself would be a spoiler, especially if you're not up to date. and you know how i can feel about those, so... =^-^=
lol, saving the world, huh? speaking of fics, though, how's that narcissa piece coming? since, you know, you haven't put that one out yet?
:hint hint:
no subject
Date: 2003-04-19 09:13 am (UTC)i've been all distracted by actually writing a bit for the longfic. but i guess, just as with the other one, any narcissism in my writing is likely to be premature at best, so. *laughs* i'm so impatient. i'll just post it to you (even though it's in bits and pieces, you can understand the general idea, which is what i'm interested in). wah! i want someone to know! *giggles*
but yes. narcissa, yes~:)