[ SECRET POST #2196 ]

[case]

⌈ Secret Post #2196 ⌋

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

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Notes:

Secrets Left to Post: 03 pages, 060 secrets from Secret Submission Post #314.
Secrets Not Posted: [ 0 - broken links ], [ 0 - not!secrets ], [ 1 - not!fandom ], [ 1 2 - too big ], [ 0 - repeat ], [ 1 - empty image with a text comment ].
Current Secret Submissions Post: here.
Suggestions, comments, and concerns should go here.

Comments

[fscom]

07. http://i.imgur.com/dvIH4.png

[(Anonymous)]

I don't think it necessarily makes you a neurotic, insufferable douchebag. But it might detract from the originality of your work and end up creating something so full of tropes that it comes across as cliche or predictable. You probably need to tread lightly with these kinda things, I mean the strongest writing out there is so powerful because it is genuine. Too many references and foreshadowing and you dilute your voice, which makes the writing seem weaker.

[(Anonymous)]

Excellent points.

[(Anonymous)]

you know what, I was going to make an asshole comment to this secret, but you said what I was going to and managed to do it nicely, so thanks.

[(Anonymous)]

can I have my brain back?

I was going to do this, too. all of it, including thanking the ayrt for saying nicer than I would have.

[(Anonymous)]

Like commenter above, thanks for putting this nicely because I snapped a little when I read the secret.

Yeah, such a heavy focus on allusions and "cleverness" doesn't make good writing. Also, if you look at how lit. classes usually operate, there's more about analysing the author's personal points, their original perspective and style, the context of their political and social surroundings, etc. Also, *how* allusions are used by the author is more important than that they are there to be found.

[(Anonymous)]

mildly off-topic, but this is exactly why TV Tropes is such a waste of an interesting concept

they refuse with all their strength to get into the whys and hows and just make mindless lists of attributes and events, instead of linking them together

you have no idea how many fights I got into with the community, admin and some of the mods there over it (and it wasn't just me either)

like, imagine if the site actually went into analysis mode with all media! oh, what could have been!

[miarrow]

Yes, this is what I came to say, but you said it more eloquently.

[(Anonymous)]

lmao, add me to the club of "I was going to be a smartass about it so thanks for beating me to it and being nicer at it to boot"

[ninety6tears]

God, I hope it doesn't, cause I think like this too sometimes? (Though I don't construct the story with that thinking, I just wonder how people would analyze it later on.)

That picture is pretty cool.

[(Anonymous)]

It makes you a little arrogant, but no more than all the people who fantasize about having fandoms. It's harmless fun, and a nice fantasy: that something you've created will impact people in a very noticeable way.

[othellia]

Pretty much what I was going to say.

[(Anonymous)]

You're probably going to get a lot of "yes, you're fucking pretentious" answers to this, but I do this too. Not the imagining college courses thing, but "how literary critics/dramaturgs would look at my writing" is mine, and it's just as "bad." I think it shows devotion to the craft, depending on how you do it. It's possible to overdo it (which I have done, erk) so I would personally advise on not getting too hung up on this, but yeah. /nonnyramble

[(Anonymous)]

Be careful that you don't overdue it - if you force too many things into your story it's not going to read well at all.

[gobbledigook]

Hmm, You know OP, after playing some squaresoft RPGs for the ps1 I eventually stumbled on ultimania guides on gamefaqs/wikis and they always had those little extra information things that went over my head when I played the games, but made for some interesting worldbuilding. I always liked that- it felt like they were rewarding the people that wanted invest time to know more about the game.

So, if I was fan of a certain work, I would rather it had little details like these than for it to be shallow and void of anything other than what your first look gives you.

Also I don't see how this would make you a douchebag... IMO it's there's nothing wrong fantasize about people liking something you're working on, at least you're not going "nooo don't yaoi my characters" :P

[kamino_neko]

Insufferable douchebag? Certainly not. (Well, at least not from that...I don't know what you're like aside from it.)

Neurotic? Maybe, a bit. If you feel you HAVE TO INCLUDE THIS STUFF because PEOPLE EXPECT IT, rather than including it because it amuses you and enhances, or at least doesn't detract from, the story.

(I include a lot of references in my writing because I like them - the fact that I'm writing a superhero universe helps, because the genre in general is full of that stuff.)

[visp]

Only if your work suffers as a result. If it makes your stuff better, then do it.

[velvet_mace]

Well, not necessarily -- but like others have said, you have to be careful not to kill your own muse with artificial cleverness. Foreshadowing and allusions and all those things they discuss in literature classes are powerful tools, but they can and do come off as shallow and gimmicky if they become the central focus of your fic. First and foremost, listen to your own heart and find a story that grabs your imagination. Then tinker it up with the tools of the trade.

[(Anonymous)]

This.

Tell the story that grabs you by the collar and won't let go. Half the time (maybe more) you'll discover that your grand themes, your foreshadowing, all that stuff has just sneaked in sideways when you weren't looking for it. At least that's how it works for me; if I chase that stuff it runs away from or with me. If I just tell the story it all seems to come to me instead.

[lunabee34]

Yes! That's my experience too. A lot of the time, all of this stuff ends up in my fic that was clearly processing on the subconscious level but that I didn't do on purpose. My favorite comments on my stories are the ones from readers pointing out some allusion or symbol or whatever that I didn't consciously introduce.

[chardmonster]

So you're adding a bunch of allusions for no reason except to impress readers?

You're not a douche, but this is very silly and possibly holding back your writing.

[blueonblue]

That's how Joyce worked - obviously he didn't know about wiki pages, but he imagined scholars studying his work. He was a bit insufferable, so...

[(Anonymous)]

lol kind of funny then that many people don't seem to read him for the joy of it/interest in the story, but because he's touted as one of those "clever" writers.

Smart-ass answer:

[(Anonymous)]

Yes. But the people who study fiction like that are also neurotic insufferable douchebags, so it's all good.

Re: Smart-ass answer:

[(Anonymous)]

This.
(thanks for the lol, anon)