Word choice in fan fiction

[tenaya]

First off, let me say I do cuss. I have to remember not to cuss when at the job and something alarming happens. My father had been a sailor in WW2 and had an absolutely filthy mouth. I am not prude when it comes to foul language. I just think it is more effective to use it as spice instead of the main course.

Having said that, I have to admit I frequently find myself stopped dead in a story, staring at the all too frequent bad language coming out of the mouths of my favorite characters. Since when does Daniel speak like that? I'll give you he does say damn, bastard and even hell when under duress, but not under mundane and casual circumstances.

I'm still reading a mess of Harry Potter fiction I dl'd a few months ago. It's not uncommon for these kids to be using all manner of bad language while simply discussing how to spend the reminder of the day. This usually has me staring at the screen, muttering "wtf?"

Poor word choice ruins the characterization. Why would an author sabatoge themselves with such an easily avoided mistake? Does using bad language equate being 'cool?' Is it more desirable to be cool than to create a better story? Is the constant reminder that they are included in the community more important than writing a story, that if done really well, will give you bonus points in said community? Does each writer's priority sort them into one of two groups--fans who write or writers who are fans?

In a related subject, and one in which I'll probably be stomping on some toes of the 'cool kids,' why do otherwise skilled writers insist on using fannish vocabulary in their fannish stories? I know specialized vocabulary defines a community, and the fannish community is particularly eager to embrace new words, partly, I suspect to differentiate the small cliques of fans who feel they are cooler than the rest of the pack. I have to say when I come across online lingo coming out of the mouths of Teal'c or Jack (in a non-online situation) or in the narrative, I am stopped cold in the story. The word choice is obviously wrong, and the only conclusion I can come up with, is that the writer is wanting to communicate their inclusion into the 'cool kids' club, and the temptation to do the secret handshake in public is irresistable. My sad little opinion is that they should rethink the urge.

The bottom line? Skilled writers are making the same mistake as those seemingly highschoolers are making. Go figure.

Not quite the effect they were shooting for, is it?

Comments

[juliefortune.livejournal.com]

I completely agree with you.

Part of the skill of doing fanfic is internalizing the character voice, and not "revising" it to your own personal specifications. If it doesn't sound like Jack, it ain't Jack. And if Jack curses, he does it explosively, and more than likely internally and in one-word epithets, at least in my opinion. Daniel? Only in the extremest circumstances.

Same for HP. Okay, I can see Sirius cursing during the Marauders era -- absolutely. He's a rebel. Remus, far less. James I'm iffy on. But Harry, Hermione, and Ron? No, I don't think so.

Adult Remus to me is still very reserved, not at all prone to cursing. Sirius can curse up a blue streak, I'm fine with it. It all depends entirely on the characters. (I personally can't see Snape cursing at all, except in very inventive Shakespearian insults. LOL!)

I can pretty much tell from a fairly short snippet whether or not writers have internalized the characters or not, and like you, it really tosses me right out if they haven't.

In-jokes are great. In-jokes that serve to nakedly flash readers are NOT. The story and characters should, in my opinion, always be paramount, or else why are you writing fanfic? Go write something else.

That's just me. And I guess I'm in a feisty mood. ;)

-- J.

[tenaya.livejournal.com]

Feisty is good. I like feisty.

Jack is interesting because on the show, he/RDA slips in a lot of stuff. "Boned again." "That's what you get for dickin' around." Jack is a Colonel, now General, and, in my mind, an officer and a gentleman. I think he would curse as you've described, "...explosively, and more than likely internally and in one-word epithets." There's a restrained quality about him when things get rough, and to see him hold back an outburst is more "Jack" to me than having the character cuss a blue streak, which I'm sure he could if he wanted to. One could argue that TV standards prevent Jack from saying 'F-ed again' instead of 'Boned again' but I'm more of the opinion that he might have kept it cleaner since people around him included mixed company (both aliens and women, in this case. )

Daniel is very controlled and it takes a lot of make him lose it. His back story has him attending UCLA at 16; I can't help but see him as studious and quiet. I just don't see him cursing unless he's really lost it. If an author has him cussing because because his car won't start, they've lost me.

I agree about the HP stuff. I think that Sirius' rogue nature is part of what attracts Harry to him; Sirius is a rule breaker and Harry tends to be pushed into breaking a lot of rules just to survive.

Characterization is THE most important item for me in fanfic. I'll put up with plot holes if the characters are true (kind of like in Avatar.)

I guess the basic question is why certain people are writing fanfic? If they are pounding out tons of stories that have little relation to the characters we see on the tv, what is their motivation? Are they working through the archtypes that populate their lives? Are they producing stories merely to get feedback and status within this relatively small community? Do they even care if a reader here or there complains that their characterizations are lacking? Do they see their own stories as so disposible that "getting it right" matters not to them?

And yet...some of these flawed stories have many eager readers, so I'm told. Why is that?

[innocent-lex.livejournal.com]

"And yet...some of these flawed stories have many eager readers, so I'm told. Why is that?"

Oh, don't get me started on that. It's a complete mystery to me, frankly, and always will be. But then, looking at the number of people who read and love Harry Potter books (me included), massive flaws included, perhaps it's the story and characters that allow a reader to ignore the less than perfect elements of the writing?

With fic, I'm not one who subscribes to the "well it's just a fic, it doesn't need to be spell-checked / grammar-checked / betaed" school of writing. Please don't inflict those stories on the world at large. Please.

[tenaya.livejournal.com]

It's always about the characters for me. I'm still struggling to watch Enterprise and Andomeda specifically because of one minor character on each show. I've read some very imaginative stories that lacked interesting characters and I felt it was shiny while it lasted, but did not engage me at all emotionally.

To pick an oft mentioned example, Daniel depicted with the needs and emotional maturity of a small child. I think people that like to read that situation probably are drawn to the same set up in other fandoms. It's an emotional kink for them.

And I've kind of wander from my rant of why a skilled writer would suddenly have the characters cuss like sailors. And I have to go to work. Damn.