Woes

[pez]

I have CAD woes again. And nobody bothered to tell me the boss isn't going to be in today. I'm playing ninja and dumping drawings onto his desk to review and hopefully finally send out (which should have been done 2 weeks ago).

I also have writing woes.

Because the current fic I'm working on is yakuza AU, even though the focus is really "Niou, who happens to be a yakuza" rather than "Niou's life as a yakuza", I'm struggling with the use of terminology. In order of preference, what I want to do:

1) Use as few special terms as possible. I don't like to, what we say in Cantonese, "toss the schoolbag" - ie "OMG look I've done my research, here's everything I've learned and I'm full of awesome." No. Just no.

2) When a special term has to be used, work the explanation into the story in a non-weird way so that readers don't either go "huh?" or "gah, I have to scroll down to the footnotes..."

3) When a term is used loosely or in a not-too-important place, either a) don't bother using it at all, b) put it in a context people can at least guess what I'm trying to say. For example, Niou laughing at someone who thinks yakuza is still a "romantic", Robin Hood-like existence, which they once were, many decade ago: "What, your mum used to read you Shimizu no Jirocho in bed? Chivalry's dead, man. We're just criminals. [more on the true nature of current yakuza]"

Shimizu no Jirocho is a story many parents tell their kids, about a yakuza in the 1800s called Jirocho, who was known for his many great deeds, blah blah. I could probably use "Robin Hood", but I 1) don't think Niou had ever heard of Robin Hood, 2) doubt it would be the reference of choice for a Japanese person in the early 1980s. But the way Niou used it should be enough for readers to nod and accept, right...?

In a case like this, I do want to include the term (because I think it helps create the atmosphere), but not bother putting in a footnote for it. If people want to find out about Jirocho, they can google.

4) When a term is used and it's important but I can't work the explanation into the story, put it in a footnote. This is something I really don't want to do. If something's important, I don't want to break from the story and read about what it is, and then go back to reading the story. I think that's annoying. But sometimes it seems like it just can't be helped. Or should I amend the plot slightly to avoid this as much as possible? Or I could include the notes in the beginning, in the way of "oh hai, plz to read this before you read the story"...

And then there are terms which I have known for a long time that I'm not sure if lots of other people know about. The Sankokujin, for example. A Taiwanese relative of mine was taken to Japan during the war and was one of the many Sankokujins there. He was repatriated eventually. But I suspect that's not common knowledge and a footnote's going to be required. And the footnote's going to be quite long. =_=

Anyone want to share their thoughts on this topic?

Oh, um, Reborn - I'm only downloading it for my sister. XD I think she's reading the manga in Chinese already.

Comments

[star-in-my-soup.livejournal.com]

Hmm... The footnote thing is a good question. I think the best method is probably a combination of a few of the things you mentioned. Lots of footnotes can be annoying if they are necessary to understanding the plot. In that case, working the information into the story is probably easiest for the reader, if possible. But with something like the Sankokujin reference, I personally don't mind if the author adds a footnote so that I can check it later.

It's difficult, but if you can strike a balance between writing the story so that everyone can follow it but also creating an authentic atmosphere, no one should mind having a handful of footnotes at the end.

By the way, I'm looking forward to reading that fic. Sounds like a great idea. :)

[ikusatami.livejournal.com]

hmm.. if you don't want to include footnotes or can't work in an explanation in the flowing text, how about you put a link behind the maybe unknown word you use?

an example:
"Whaat? You never heard about 'Google'[1]"

but that could be annoying too.. but people could click the link to a for example wikipedia link and read it when they have the time or something like this... (I often take breaks while reading)

I think it's good to use some terminology. It creates atmosphere and it belongs to the topic.. but I didn't know any of the words you used in your post for example.
So some notes might be helpful..

okay this sounded surely strange now but my mind is a bit unfocused. (x_x) *is in school right now* but i hoped it helped a bit.

oh and btw: yakuza au ♥

you should watch reborn too! :D

[sharona1x2.livejournal.com]

I'm not a fan of footnotes in fic at all. They tend to disrupt the flow of the story for me. If there's something I absolutely have to know in order to understand the story, I prefer seeing that in the author's notes before the story. That way, I'll already know what it means before I get to that part.

But I suspect that's not common knowledge and a footnote's going to be required. And the footnote's going to be quite long.

Or you could give a link to the term, rather than going into a long explanation.

[yuki-scorpio.livejournal.com]

Yeah... that'll be better I think...

I was trying to find alternative ways, and thought of using onmousehover so that a yellow text box pops up and tells you what you need to know, but LJ doesn't allow that sort of script. =/

[potter.livejournal.com]

Hmm, I'd definitely use author's notes. I'm with Sharon -- footnotes break up the flow for me. But I really do like fic with little historical details in, and I love reading pieces where the author has obviously researched something but isn't trying to show off about it. When they're just using their knowledge to make the fic more realistic. That's so good. *_*

[lechaco.livejournal.com]

I wouldn't mind a footnote link like an anchor or a [1] as a link to wiki. :3 or a list of terms before the fic might be good too? though it's easier if there's a note when it shows up XD (can't remember that much)

[reposoir.livejournal.com]

1) don't think Niou had ever heard of Robin Hood

Not even from the Disney movie? I bet he has, maybe indirectly, like from Disneyland Tokyo or videos or something...

As for references and whether or not they should be explained, I say no. Having, say, Yanagi pop up randomly and explain the story of blah blah could make something feel really artificial and that you're catering to the reader. If a reader is curious enough, they can google it, like you said, or just get the "gist" of the meaning through the context of the usage.

[yuki-scorpio.livejournal.com]

Um, given Niou's background, there is a chance he'd never heard of it. And Tokyo Disneyland opens after the time of the fic, too. XDDD

Well, it's not going to be as weird as that. Niou gets to talk to non-yakuza people for a bit and sometimes they give him a blank look, clearly not know wtf he's on about, so he has to go back and explain. XD;

[solaas.livejournal.com]

Brief author's notes at the end of the fic is my preferance (footnotes only work in academic papers and early Discworld novels). I could never understand why so many people put them up first. >_>; Like others have said, people can google if they get really curious. :)