fandomsecrets | [ SECRET POST #347 ]

⌈ Secret Post #347 ⌋

Warning: Some secrets are NOT worksafe and may contain SPOILERS.

1.

__________________________________________________

2.

__________________________________________________

3.

__________________________________________________

4.

__________________________________________________

5.

__________________________________________________

6.

__________________________________________________

7.

__________________________________________________

8.

__________________________________________________

9.

__________________________________________________

10.

__________________________________________________

11.

__________________________________________________

12.

__________________________________________________

13.

__________________________________________________

14.

__________________________________________________

15.

__________________________________________________

16.

__________________________________________________

17.

__________________________________________________

18.

__________________________________________________

19.

__________________________________________________

20.

__________________________________________________

21.

__________________________________________________

22.

__________________________________________________

23.

__________________________________________________

24.

__________________________________________________

25.

__________________________________________________

26.

__________________________________________________

27.

__________________________________________________

28.

__________________________________________________

29.

__________________________________________________

30.

__________________________________________________

31.

__________________________________________________

32.

__________________________________________________

33.

__________________________________________________

34.

__________________________________________________

35.

__________________________________________________

36.

__________________________________________________

37.

__________________________________________________

38.

__________________________________________________

39.

__________________________________________________

40.

__________________________________________________

41.

__________________________________________________

42.

__________________________________________________

43.

__________________________________________________

44.

__________________________________________________

Notes:

Secrets Left to Post: 06 pages, 150 secrets from Secret Submission Post #050.
Secrets Not Posted: 0 broken links, [ 1 2 3 4 ] not!secrets, [ 1 ] not!fandom, [ 1 ] too big.
Next Secret Post: Tomorrow, Wednesday, December 19th, 2007.
Current Secret Submission Post: here.
Suggestions, comments, and concerns should go here.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

I might be a minority here, but I actually think the reason most people (as the replies here would seem to suggest) prefer to write about ordinary, slice-of-life stuff is because action scenes and the likes are actually hard to do well. It takes a certain skill to make scenes like that flow naturally as well as be compelling to a reader, and call me an elitist, but I don't think most writers in fandom really have the chops to do it. Not to mention that something like a good fight scene or a murder mystery? Would probably require research and some figuring out in terms of logistics. It's natural to prefer writing things that are more in your comfort zone.

In my case, I used to always think of myself as a person who read exclusively in the slice-of-life genre (fanfic-wise, anyway). Then one day, I decided to give an action/adventure story a try, just to see what the hype was about (it was very highly recommended), and I was just blown away. It was the same kind of rush you'd get from reading professional writing in the same genres, and I realized that the only reason I'd been so against that kind of fic before was because I hadn't found many people in fandom who could pull off that kind of thing successfully. So... not to knock the slice-of-life style or anything, but I do think there's a certain touch when it comes to plotting that not everyone can claim to have. Which is natural, really, because good writing doesn't happen for everyone either.

if you're in the minority, I'm in it too. you said it like I was thinking it.

Plotting is hard, but it's definitely not everything. Haha, your comment is really snotty.

I like writing action stuff myself and coming up with plotty things that require a shit-ton of research... but what I took from the secret, I guess, was that it's good to work with--well, I don't even want to call them "slice-of-life" necessarily, although that may be what the OP intended. But just working with normal, mundane things that everyone experiences in-between the action. That, to me, often provides a disorienting kind of verisimilitude that is the earmark of good writing: when you can write action with real life observations.

Snotty, huh? Well, that wasn't I was trying to do up there, but thanks for informing me anyway. In keeping with this, I suppose I should break out words like 'verisimilitude', which would surely show off my humble, unpretentious side.

What I took from the secret was that the OP essentially prefers writing about characters engaging in everyday activities over action scenes and such. Which, is fine. In fact, a lot of people feel that way. It's really not as rare as the secret would have you believe, and actually, I think the bulk of fandom writing (that isn't porn) is comprised of this kind of writing. I did mention I used to read it exclusively, so I know it can be done well. But what I think - and here's where it might get controversial, hold on to your hats - is that it's easier to write like that for most people. When you write about things like having a meal and going about a day, you can draw from your own experience, and in my opinion, it's this very fact that contributes to why the fics of this kind are usually good and realistic.

How many people can say "I draw from my own experience to write this awesome kung-fu martial arts fight scene with ninja elements interspersed"? I mean, really.

[ SECRET POST #347 ]

41

Re: 41

Re: 41

Re: 41