General writing talk
Nov. 21st, 2004 11:25 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
pezIt's about a piece of PoT fanfiction, but it applies to everything else I write as well...
This is what I wrote in the beginning of a story:
This story is about decisions. This is about people making choices, sometimes making up reasons to justify what they've chosen as they go along. This is about people who are not perfect and are often selfish, who think only about themselves at the end of the day; people who cannot understand each other with just one look of their eyes; people who make mistakes; people who try to understand; people who have different standards and expectations for themselves than they have for others... People who, I hope, seem more "real" in this story than any other I've written so far.
Most of what I've written so far has good guys and bad guys; the roles are usually distinctive. But in this story everyone is good and they are all bad. They all have their reasons and excuses for what they've done and they feel comfortable with their justifications, without realising (or refusing to acknowledge) that some of them are ridiculous. At first it may seem that the characters are very far from reality but, I hope, when you take a step back and look around, you'll draw a different conclusion.
I'm writing Niou's side of the story at the moment and I'm getting very worried. Both Niou and Yagyuu are very real to me and I intend to write them (and Yukimura) to what I've said up there, but... Niou is very complicated. They all are, in fact. In my mind they are real people and real people always contradict themselves, make excuses, say to themselves one thing and then do another. As I write them, I worry that people will think *I'm* contradicting myself, making plotholes and whatnot. Of course I can make it plain obvious that it's them who's doing all this thinking and then not acting upon their thoughts or doing something completely contrary, but I don't want to take my readers as idiots either. Take this for example. During a phone conversation with Yukimura, Niou said this.
"He isn't good enough for me. The occasional fuck, maybe, but not the rest of it."
He's saying what he thinks Yagyuu is thinking instead of what he's thinking. In this case, Yukimura understands and replies with "I don't think he thinks of you this way.". But if Yukimura isn't there to say that, I think I would have confused some people. I suppose in some cases I can dress up the words and make it more obvious, but... I don't want to.
This story is by nature one of major confusion; there are many reasons for all of them about something they do or not do. Niou deciding to give Yagyuu "a second chance", then deciding to leave, then deciding to stay again. I haven't explained explicitly the reason for each decision. Sometimes I drop hints, sometimes it's just that Niou looked at the bed and thought damn, he wanted to know what it feels like to sleep there, and he stayed behind. Which of course is just a self-made excuse for him to stay, but I didn't really spell that out because I'm following his thoughts and he wouldn't think "yes that'll be my excuse".
......I think I must've lost everyone by now ^^"
What it comes down to is me trying to find that balance between how much to write and how much to hide between the lines, and finding the audience who's willing to search between those lines. I don't think there are many of these people in the fanfiction audience though. Hence my worry.
Well, the lack of response for the last chapter I posted too *chuckles* Perhaps I've lost the majority of my audience already.
This is what I wrote in the beginning of a story:
This story is about decisions. This is about people making choices, sometimes making up reasons to justify what they've chosen as they go along. This is about people who are not perfect and are often selfish, who think only about themselves at the end of the day; people who cannot understand each other with just one look of their eyes; people who make mistakes; people who try to understand; people who have different standards and expectations for themselves than they have for others... People who, I hope, seem more "real" in this story than any other I've written so far.
Most of what I've written so far has good guys and bad guys; the roles are usually distinctive. But in this story everyone is good and they are all bad. They all have their reasons and excuses for what they've done and they feel comfortable with their justifications, without realising (or refusing to acknowledge) that some of them are ridiculous. At first it may seem that the characters are very far from reality but, I hope, when you take a step back and look around, you'll draw a different conclusion.
I'm writing Niou's side of the story at the moment and I'm getting very worried. Both Niou and Yagyuu are very real to me and I intend to write them (and Yukimura) to what I've said up there, but... Niou is very complicated. They all are, in fact. In my mind they are real people and real people always contradict themselves, make excuses, say to themselves one thing and then do another. As I write them, I worry that people will think *I'm* contradicting myself, making plotholes and whatnot. Of course I can make it plain obvious that it's them who's doing all this thinking and then not acting upon their thoughts or doing something completely contrary, but I don't want to take my readers as idiots either. Take this for example. During a phone conversation with Yukimura, Niou said this.
"He isn't good enough for me. The occasional fuck, maybe, but not the rest of it."
He's saying what he thinks Yagyuu is thinking instead of what he's thinking. In this case, Yukimura understands and replies with "I don't think he thinks of you this way.". But if Yukimura isn't there to say that, I think I would have confused some people. I suppose in some cases I can dress up the words and make it more obvious, but... I don't want to.
This story is by nature one of major confusion; there are many reasons for all of them about something they do or not do. Niou deciding to give Yagyuu "a second chance", then deciding to leave, then deciding to stay again. I haven't explained explicitly the reason for each decision. Sometimes I drop hints, sometimes it's just that Niou looked at the bed and thought damn, he wanted to know what it feels like to sleep there, and he stayed behind. Which of course is just a self-made excuse for him to stay, but I didn't really spell that out because I'm following his thoughts and he wouldn't think "yes that'll be my excuse".
......I think I must've lost everyone by now ^^"
What it comes down to is me trying to find that balance between how much to write and how much to hide between the lines, and finding the audience who's willing to search between those lines. I don't think there are many of these people in the fanfiction audience though. Hence my worry.
Well, the lack of response for the last chapter I posted too *chuckles* Perhaps I've lost the majority of my audience already.
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no subject
Date: 2004-11-21 11:33 pm (UTC)I need a reread the Rikaidai part of the manga, but reading at the computer is so tiresome.
Sorry that I can't be of more help.
no subject
Date: 2004-11-22 01:12 am (UTC)Putting real depth and complexity into characters, without having them acting OOC (and not only to the official characterization, but to your own as well), is in my book one of the most difficult thing to balance. But no matter how well you do it, there will always be people who don't get it, and people who think you're explaining too much. >_<
I think one of the problems with fanfiction is that while people thend to overanalyze everything in canon, leading to extremely different interpretation, they want The One Truth to be written Black on White in fanfiction. Even if they don't like it. So no, probably not the best public to do that to.
Sorry I'm not reading. (not that I'm the best reviewer there is, but...) But, you know. Rikkai. Cooties.
*glomps*
no subject
Date: 2004-11-22 04:48 am (UTC)-.-;; Ignore me, I think I am in a somewhat ubiquitous state and am also thinking about ponies.
Thing is, who cares about the audience as long as you are writing the fic the way you want it to be written, the way you deem it to be presented as. Right? Go your way and only your way because, in the end, it is still your writing and no one elses. <3