I has a thunk

[dreamer_easy]

Writing well about cultures not one's own generally requires a lot of homework. A professional writer, or hopeful professional, may be able to invest the necessary time and effort. But is this a stumbling block for fan fiction? Some fanfic writers lavish care on their work, but on the whole, fanfic is written fairly rapidly and without immense effort (gods know mine is). Mind you, plenty of hopeful writers don't want to spend the time and effort either, and plenty of professionals try and fall on their faces; I just wondered if fanfic might be particularly susceptible to dodgy characterisations of the Other because of its comparatively quick-and-dirty nature.

Comments

[drox.livejournal.com]

*thinks about this*

Those of us writing (or in my case, wishing we could f$%^ing write something already) SF fanfic have an easy out. Our "other" is often alien -- in the comes-from-outer-space sense of the word -- so much of the "research" consists of speculation.

Speculation is easier than research.

There's also the benefit that it's quite unlikely that a Grethnoc is going to step up and complain that the writer is a prejudiced H8r and has Grethnocs characterised all wrong.

[kateorman.livejournal.com]

True - but we're still stuck with the human characters!

[brewsternorth.livejournal.com]

There's probably some of that, yes.

Mind you, that's arguably where an editor (for the pros)/second reader or beta (for the ficcers) comes in: to be able to take a slightly more objective look and poke at the things that seem dodgy. (F'rinstance, if the writer is an American, and the Other being written of is a Brit, there's often a need for a beta who's a keen Britpicker.)

[kateorman.livejournal.com]

We need, uh, racepickers. No, that sounds awful. Also, the job would have to come with enormous supplies of aspirins and tranquilisers.

[jvowles.livejournal.com]

By and large, from what I've seen, fanfic is written for a different sort of audience than "real" fiction. It's all about instant gratification and wish fulfillment. And it's rarely if ever edited or planned out -- it's experimental creative writing that would, under normal circumstances, be unlikely to ever reach an audience.

Doesn't mean it's bad or that the people doing it aren't skilled, but the feedback is not typically critical in the true sense of the word -- it's more likely to be (like most internet criticism) either gushing praise or largely useless bitching, in both cases framed almost entirely by the reader's personal fan POV rather than any sort of proper constructive criticism.

[kateorman.livejournal.com]

This is a neat summary of the joys and advantages, and pains and problems, of fanfic!

[dameruth.livejournal.com]

Speaking for my own writing, I do tend to hack out fic pretty quickly, but I also try to avoid putting in RL cultures/things/perspectives I know nothing about, to avoid making any howling mistakes. If I do write something set in another culture, I usually try to get someone I know from that culture to "pick" it

Making it all up is, indeed, a great way to go when you can use future/alien cultures for your backdrops, and it's usually the "easy out" I prefer. No mess, no fuss. :D

Actually, the worst/commonest offenses I tend to see RE: writing the Other in fanfic involve female writers (especially the teenybopper set) trying to write m/m slash. Egads, talk about your dodgy characterizations . . . ! D:

[murasaki-1966.livejournal.com]

Research, always research. Doesn't matter what its for....

Bought to you by your friendly neighbourhood librarian.

[pbristow.livejournal.com]

Ooh! Good thunks.

All this makes me a bit embarassed about my rather arrogant 20-mumble-year-old-writer-wannabe-self who went on a three week tour of West Africa because "most SF authors' idea of an alien culture is those scary people from the other side of town!"

Bless him, he meant well...

[kateorman.livejournal.com]

Well, fuck, that's more effort than most of us put in!

[subsequent]

My perspective is that it depends on the writer, honestly. I've read some horrible pieces but also one that stays in-universe for that fandom while investigating PTSD/Culture/Castes etc etc. It's an amazingly intelligent series, and while an AU it builds on the material given to it rather than disregarding it. If you're into Transformers - even if you've only seen the '07 movie - check it out.

Anyway, hi. I've been lurking around here for a bit and figured it was time to come out of the woodwork. Mind if I friend you? I love your perspective on things.

[kateorman.livejournal.com]

Ooh - link pls! And yeah, please do! :)

[subsequent]

Her writing journal is tricolora, which has the link to each series in the profile. (Only from 2 upwards is on her LJ). It takes a little to get into it, but a word to the wise - it takes a rather dark turn in number 2. Nethertheless, it is brilliant. Here's the summary:

Tricolora deals largely with the American-ness of the franchise, as well as the conflicts of extraterrestrials living in America today with a species very alien to them. Also: the fact that robots are awesome. All fictive things posted here follow the first movie and happily disregard any sequels.

The three colors have become iconic for several powerful countries on this planet, including the United States of America. The colors have different meaning for each country, in America for example, the white signifies Purity and Innocence, Red, Hardiness and Valor, and Blue signifies Vigilance, Perseverance and Justice. For France, a country with sometimes tenuous relations with the Autobots' new "home" country, the three colors have more direct meanings:
White: Égalité, Paritas, Equality. Blue: Liberté, Libertas, Freedom. Red: Fraternité, Fraternitas, Brotherhood. Series is currently a WIP with three main parts.

I feel like re-reading it now, heh. Thanks! Will do. :)