Insomnia

[orchidcactus]

... you know what that means...

This morning's blather will be about wish fulfilment and self-indulgence in fanfiction.


Fanfiction, by its very nature, is wish fulfillment. We, the fans, see something in a TV program, novel, or, as the case may be, video game that inspires us to expand, explore, and exploit that world. Literally, we are fulfilling a wish to see more of something that touched us.

The problem, for me as a reader of fanfiction, is when wish fulfillment becomes so overwhelming, it ignores all other aspects of good storytelling.

A good story will look at plot and character development. A story that is purely wish fulfillment will focus on one element the writer is interested in to the detriment of all others.

The latter type is so focused on the idea of character (and, vicariously, writer) happiness that it ignores every facet of good storytelling in favor or creating a wonderful world of sweet happiness.

I get it. Really I do. This works for some folks, and that's fine.

For them.

I need more. Real reactions, real emotion... no matter how ugly it is. Not to say I don't love a happy ending... I just want to have to work for it a little.



Self-indulgence.

Oh, Nelly. We've all done it. *points down*

Do I really think Fenris would be okay with having sex with a mage who can't control magic?

Um. No.

Is the dialogue over the top?

Sure.

Does it display, in all it's grandeur, a few of my favorite kinks?

I hope so. (Although, there's no shower. *grins*)


My point here is I recognize where I'm being very self-indulgent (I don't always, but sometimes) and am selling the story short. I've crossed the boundary where wish fulfillment has become so self indulgent it damages the overall end product.

My job, as a writer, is to recognize these things... and to correct them before I send the fic to beta, and certainly to do so before I post it mainstream.


Anyway.

That's what you get for $1.50 at 4:30am on Wednesday with two hours of sleep.



Oh! If you made it this far (first, here's a cookie) and second, the reading links have been updated. (A couple of times, actually, I think?)

*points left*

Comments

[tersa.livejournal.com]

"wish fulfillment" ~ fanfic is not a new concept--it's the phrase I use to describe it, too. So no credit is needed on my part, at least. :)

I'm trying to decide if I'm bothered by the idea of smut being lumped into the same category as the poorer quality wish fulfillment fic or not. :)

I still wrestle with this dichotomy. Even knowing that all fanfic is, by its nature, self-serving, I try to write fic with story in it, even if its sometimes hard to see. I don't want my fic to simply be thinly (or even badly) disguised Mary Sue fic. That is a major turn-off to me.

[orchidcactus.livejournal.com]

Yeah... this friend of mine, I rip off all of her good ideas and recycle them. The least I can do is give credit where due for when she drops by. LOL


Hmm... it *is* the same, though. Or it should be. Just because it's sexually arousing doesn't give it any right to ignore the tenants of a good story. I mean, a person can really only read so much PWP before they max out.

I think a lot of us wrestle with it. I know I've driven myself nuts in the past, over-scrutinizing my 'softer' work... so very worried that it was overly self indulgent.

So, maybe, just keeping the knowledge that things can go off the rails is the key. (Which is me, agreeing with your last paragraph. In a recycled way. LOL)