| View previous topic :: View next topic |
| Author |
Message |
BittenBuggy
Joined: 27 Dec 2003
Posts: 2108
Location: Busy Being the Queen Of Everything.. And Trying to Catch the Yoda-Copter
|
 Posted: Thu Aug 12, 2004 2:08 pm Post subject: |
 |
|
| Viv wrote: | | But my personal incompetencies don't change the fact that their work is flawed. |
Oh, *wipes away tears* That was funny.
_________________
-The Queen of Everything - so dubed by Aerin
-"My ultimate fantasy is to entice a man to my bedroom, put a gun to his head and say, 'Make babies or die'."
-"The Pope! how many divisions has he got?" - Stalin |
|
| Back to top |
|
 |
Thuriniel
Joined: 29 Jul 2003
Posts: 665
Location: Watching the purple sky fly over me ...
|
| Posted: Thu Aug 12, 2004 2:12 pm Post subject: |
|
|
AU fics work for me as long as the writer shows that they know and specify how they're diverging from canon. Once I read the warning, then I know if that AU will work for me or not.
For some reason I can live with promiscuous elves who don't follow at all the LACE essay rules  ... but the moment the hair color of any of the canon characters is changed (and the color is specified in the books), I might throw a bit of a fit  .
Call me fickle. I know I am.
_________________
~ boe an phân pedi ‘lam dadui ~ 
~ everyone should speak a second language ~ |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
Andreth
Joined: 24 Oct 2003
Posts: 1211
|
| Posted: Thu Aug 12, 2004 2:28 pm Post subject: |
|
|
| Viv wrote: | Well, that's a relief for those of us who know we can/should improve.  But I know what you mean. Quite a few times, I've left some nudging-type feedback and heard back from the author that what the heck am I freaked about, it's just fanfic, and I should get a life.
Well, they're right, I should get a life. But my personal incompetencies don't change the fact that their work is flawed. I'd think any self-respecting artist would find the latter far more disturbing than the former.  |
You mean you actually believe that when people post stories in a public forum with a review function that it's okay for you to leave them honest reviews??!! That's just crazy talk, Viv.
And it just goes to show that they have no shred of common sense - people should be ecstatic to get story suggestions from you. Believe me, folks. I've had Viv, and she's good. 
I know.  I should be ranting in a how to review thread and not a research thread.
So back on topic - my opinion in a nutshell - yes, research is a very important factor for me when writing/reading any type of story. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
SpaceWeavil
Joined: 27 May 2004
Posts: 23
Location: Looking at shiny things
|
| Posted: Thu Aug 12, 2004 2:48 pm Post subject: |
|
|
It is a bit daunting reading some of the forum posts and seeing just how knowledgeable people are about Tolkien’s universe, but actually that is a good thing. Knowing that people reading the stories are sticklers for canon forces me to make damn sure I check everything I can before I post. So actually, just by being picky, you guys are making me a better writer  Just thought of that, and thought I would share
I honestly don’t mind when people review and point out errors, except on the very rare occasion when it’s done in a patronising way (and in fact, the only time that has happened, the person got her facts wrong anyway – different archive). Any genuine reviews like that are extremely helpful, as there’s so much material out there – even if I did own every single volume of HoME I still might miss something.
_________________
Pervy Nazgul Fancier and owner of Fluffy the Fell Beast |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
BittenBuggy
Joined: 27 Dec 2003
Posts: 2108
Location: Busy Being the Queen Of Everything.. And Trying to Catch the Yoda-Copter
|
| Posted: Thu Aug 12, 2004 2:51 pm Post subject: |
|
|
| Andreth wrote: | | I've had Viv, and she's good. |
Video tapes? Pretty please?
_________________
-The Queen of Everything - so dubed by Aerin
-"My ultimate fantasy is to entice a man to my bedroom, put a gun to his head and say, 'Make babies or die'."
-"The Pope! how many divisions has he got?" - Stalin |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
Andreth
Joined: 24 Oct 2003
Posts: 1211
|
| Posted: Thu Aug 12, 2004 8:55 pm Post subject: |
|
|
| BittenBuggy wrote: | | Andreth wrote: | | I've had Viv, and she's good. |
Video tapes? Pretty please? |
Nope, sorry. I'm saving those to sell on Ebay so I can have my plastic surgery. I want them to make me look just like Orlando Bloom. Then I can get *all* the guys.
Now that I'm feeling a healthy dose of guilt about my earlier rant, I wanted to see if I could maybe explain a little better so I wouldn't so sound damned elitist.
I'm definitely not a 'canon' purist - I don't even like the term canon and think the only works that are truly binding are The Hobbit and LotR. I don't even think LACE is binding because it's in HoMe, and I absolutely love playing around with the aspects of that essay and finding creative ways around it. There's nothing wrong with breaking the rules, but like the saying goes, you have to know the rules in order to break them.
Sheesh, this is a difficult thing to explain and have it make any sense and not sound like a total snob. There's nothing wrong with going AU and using some creativity in the stories or trying on a 'what if' idea, although you should explain the deviation and show that the change is intentional and not just because of lack of knowledge. You don't have to be a Tolkien scholar and get every single fact correct all the time but you should have a working knowledge of what you're writing about.
Writing should be for fun and it should be enjoyable to the writer and I've often said that creativity should never take a backseat to canon, but if you don't put enough effort into your fic to make it believable then you're doing a disservice to both yourself and your readers. I've seen fics that were outside the bounds of 'canon' but were still believable. It doesn't take much effort to map out the basics and it will make both you and your readers more satisfied with the story.
I hope that one sounded a little better. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
|
Live Journal Feed
