v-s.net v0.6

Wednesday, 9:43 am in Storytime

Why is doing what you like – rather than what other people like – such a threatening idea?

Well, that’s a bit vague, isn’t it? You could apply that one pretty much anywhere; I’ve personally had arguments along those lines about everything from webdesign to life in general, so let’s narrow the field.

Why is writing what you like such a threatening idea?

Hi, my name is Alis and I write badfic. I even named my fic site that, just in case anyone was unsure. I love badfic or, rather, I love bad ideas. Clichés. Gender swap, time travel, alternate universes, mind control, fake marriage, first times, those million and one things that are specific to a particular fandom; I love them all. I love to read them, I love to write them, and I have no shame in my adoration. Nor do I think I’m alone, even if for others it’s a secret shame. So here’s where I make my stand, where I stick up for the most reviled thing in fandom, and say; it’s okay to like what you like.

And I like badfic.

What I don’t like is bad writing. Well, bad characterisation, really, because I can tolerate overly-florid or awkward prose as long as my characters remain in character. Fanon or canon, I don’t care, just make me believe it. And I think that this is the crux of the matter, because – like I told someone today on fanficrants – anyone can write a good story around a good plot. It takes skill for a writer to take an idea that is old and tired or just plain batshit and weave it into something that works beautifully above and beyond the sum of its parts. These are always my favourite fics, the ones that stick themselves into my brain like glue, maybe because they emphasise the author rather than the idea.

And this is why I write them, too. Because there’s nothing that gives me a deeper secret author’s pleasure than someone saying something like, The prompts aren’t new ideas, but your delivery […] always feels honest. (With apologies to dandysora.) I think maybe it’s the authorial equivalent for me of scaling a cliff without ropes. Sure, you can do it with ropes (an ‘original’ plot), but that almost feels like cheating, somehow.

Of course, it softens the blow when you fall, but… well. Where’s the fun in that?

• Tags » acafen, badfic, meta, writing
• Comments By » ~nounbeast [h]
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