rose_griffes (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
rose_griffes) wrote2012-05-01 06:14 pm
rose_griffes) wrote2012-05-01 06:14 pm
Entry tags:
BSG remix reveals and an attempt at analyzing why I write fic
BSG remix reveals have been posted. I wrote The Hour Is Getting Late, a tiny fic with Tory's POV during the season three finale. Tory/Sam, PG-13.
While I think the end result is fine, I sort of wish I could ask for a do-over. It was incredibly frustrating trying to write Battlestar Galactica fanfic when my brain was wanting to focus on new show. Apparently I'm a serial fandom monogamist, and BSG is no longer in dominant position. It was only a matter of time; other than one exception, every story I've written for other fandoms was done after the BSG finale in 2009.
That made me start thinking about what factors lead to me writing fanfic. I've narrowed it down to three things. I'm thinking of that first fanfic in any given fandom in particular, but these factors seem to pop up over and over again in most of my stories.
1.) a character or pairing that I really like
BSG: Kara/Leoben. Life: Charlie Crews. Doctor Who: Martha Jones. Person of Interest: Zoe Morgan/John Reese.
2a.) the "How is that possible?" factor
BSG: In early season three, Leoben tells Kara that she'll embrace him and tell him that she loves him. In what universe can this possibly happen?! Aaaaaand then my brain told me which universe. Oops. I shouldn't ask these questions.
Person of Interest: How did John Reese and Zoe Morgan end up role-playing chauffeur and passenger again at the end of the episode? Because that final scene can't possibly fit as a same-day event; therefore they had some kind of interaction before then to tie their scenes together.
2b.) enough space to fill in an answer (the show doesn't give me enough)
Life: while Damian Lewis was amazing as flawed Charlie Crews, I wanted to know more about how prison did and didn't change him.
Doctor Who: Martha's time in 1913 working as a maid--the show had a few references to how difficult that would have been for a black woman in England at that time, but it didn't address how that could have had a lasting impact on her.
3. a noticeable portion of fandom doesn't appreciate the character/pair like I do
BSG: Um, do I have to explain about the whole "people don't like Kara/Leoben" thing? Probably not.
Life: that first fic has some Connie/Charlie UST, and Connie drew a certain amount of disdain from the fanbase.
Doctor Who: if you've dabbled in this fandom at all, you'll know that Martha Jones gets labeled 'useless' and 'clingy' and... yeah. I'm so glad I wasn't caught up on watching DW until years after Martha's season was over. Someday I'll have to make a post about how DW fandom's Martha hate had a lasting impact on my fan-related tendencies, but I'll spare you for now.
Person of Interest: after Zoe's episode aired, I was SO EXCITED, and I figured everyone else would be too... and the reaction at the comm was, "Eh, she was okay." OKAY?CATWOMAN ZOE MORGAN IS MORE THAN OKAY, y'all.
The story that fits just one of these factors: my one and only fic for Parks and Recreation. Which is probably why I haven't written any more P&R fic.
*laughs* Apparently number three proves I'm just stubborn and perverse. This isn't news to me.
While I think the end result is fine, I sort of wish I could ask for a do-over. It was incredibly frustrating trying to write Battlestar Galactica fanfic when my brain was wanting to focus on new show. Apparently I'm a serial fandom monogamist, and BSG is no longer in dominant position. It was only a matter of time; other than one exception, every story I've written for other fandoms was done after the BSG finale in 2009.
That made me start thinking about what factors lead to me writing fanfic. I've narrowed it down to three things. I'm thinking of that first fanfic in any given fandom in particular, but these factors seem to pop up over and over again in most of my stories.
1.) a character or pairing that I really like
BSG: Kara/Leoben. Life: Charlie Crews. Doctor Who: Martha Jones. Person of Interest: Zoe Morgan/John Reese.
2a.) the "How is that possible?" factor
BSG: In early season three, Leoben tells Kara that she'll embrace him and tell him that she loves him. In what universe can this possibly happen?! Aaaaaand then my brain told me which universe. Oops. I shouldn't ask these questions.
Person of Interest: How did John Reese and Zoe Morgan end up role-playing chauffeur and passenger again at the end of the episode? Because that final scene can't possibly fit as a same-day event; therefore they had some kind of interaction before then to tie their scenes together.
2b.) enough space to fill in an answer (the show doesn't give me enough)
Life: while Damian Lewis was amazing as flawed Charlie Crews, I wanted to know more about how prison did and didn't change him.
Doctor Who: Martha's time in 1913 working as a maid--the show had a few references to how difficult that would have been for a black woman in England at that time, but it didn't address how that could have had a lasting impact on her.
3. a noticeable portion of fandom doesn't appreciate the character/pair like I do
BSG: Um, do I have to explain about the whole "people don't like Kara/Leoben" thing? Probably not.
Life: that first fic has some Connie/Charlie UST, and Connie drew a certain amount of disdain from the fanbase.
Doctor Who: if you've dabbled in this fandom at all, you'll know that Martha Jones gets labeled 'useless' and 'clingy' and... yeah. I'm so glad I wasn't caught up on watching DW until years after Martha's season was over. Someday I'll have to make a post about how DW fandom's Martha hate had a lasting impact on my fan-related tendencies, but I'll spare you for now.
Person of Interest: after Zoe's episode aired, I was SO EXCITED, and I figured everyone else would be too... and the reaction at the comm was, "Eh, she was okay." OKAY?
The story that fits just one of these factors: my one and only fic for Parks and Recreation. Which is probably why I haven't written any more P&R fic.
*laughs* Apparently number three proves I'm just stubborn and perverse. This isn't news to me.
no subject
And an interesting thing that i recently read about Whedon is that a lot of what he does in Buffy is turn the genders upside down. This isn't my idea, I recently read someone's meta post about Buffy/Spike where they talked about how Buffy was the "abusive boyfriend" and Spike was the "emotionally battered girlfriend who keeps coming back for more." And i thought that was fascinating, because as much time as the Wasband and I spent hashing over all the brilliant stuff in that show, we'd never talked about the gender roles.
Fiction media with mostly female characters often gets dismissed as chick flicks, chick lit, etc.
Generally true, but it also depends on how the characters are presented. Past favorites of mine with female leads include Alias (lead female is a spy), The Closer (lead female is a police interrogator), and mixed ensembles with strong women characters range from Hill Street Blues to CSI to Battlestar etc. On the other hand, there are shows like Rizzoli and Isles, where we get two female leads, but I can't find a way to like the show. I know they're trying for an "opposites attract" buddy show, but I just don't like the fact that they went with two stereotypes for their characters: butch/tomboy cop and overly girly doctor,
I think what most disappoints me about female characters on TV is how often they feel more like stereotypes than real people. In comedies they're always the shrewish wife or the wife that's MUCH smarter than their dopey husband. On cop shows we get the single mother or the former victim (rape, or family member murdered) who became a cop. I tend to remember things like the nurse on Hawthorne who was a war vet and had a prosthetic leg, because they don't often give us female characters like that.