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frankenstein's meme #8 + #9
no I didn't skip a day and no I'm not doing two questions in one post, what are you talking about? (in all honesty though, these past couple days have been exhausting and I got annoyed trying to write on my phone. I missed my computer!!!)
8. Squicks - What are some things that squick you in fandom - not necessarily "icky", though it can be. From anything involving blood, to bad grammar.
I once talked about how my biggest squick in tbz fic is juyeon being characterized as a jerk. I can't take mobster!juyeon seriously - unless he's the loser, wet-cat version of one. au where juyeon gets recruited for a gang and his first order of business is buying a leather jacket to look the part. au where he actually is a seasoned, hardened gang member but he's the quiet guy hiding a secret that's gonna make you cry seven chapters in.
in all seriousness though, it became a squick and not just a case of "eh, whatever" because a lot of it leans hard into the cishet m/f dark romance vibes and that's just, well, a squick for me lol just no, thanks.
and I've tried to understand, but I think I'm ready to admit the thing where people repurpose a fic for a different pairing/fandom altogether is another big no for me... I understand taking a half-baked idea and going "hm, this isn't working, maybe I should try it with a different pairing?" - I do that all the time too. but I like characterization too much to read a fic that was originally written with completely different characters and the author just swapped names, so that's another squick. if that's your thing, good for you! not my thing, though. I'll most likely not engage with it.
which is fine! knowing what doesn't float your boat is useful, we should all use "squick" more often imo. it's ok to not like things and have no reason other than You Don't Vibe With It, be it in fandom or not.
9. What's the hardest thing about writing, and why are titles the Worst™?
BEGINNINGS!!! first paragraphs are my MORTAL ENEMIES. on rare occasions I have a scene I want to open the fic with, and that makes it easier, but I can't do that all the time because sometimes I do need some sort of introduction or just like, general explanation for the universe. some scrap of context. a single sentence just so I'm not jumping straight to dialogue. and that's the bane of my existence, I struggle starting fics. 50% of the time that's where I get stuck on an idea.
and as a rule I have a harder time with descriptions than I do with dialogue. but that's something I carry from my experience as a reader - I don't pay much attention to descriptions when I'm reading. fictional characters in books often have No Appearence as I'm reading, unless the author goes like, she ran a hand through her blond hair, and then I'm like ah, yes! she's blond! *pictures a blond person* LOL it's not that I don't like descriptions, they're just not the priority in my head, so as a writer that's something I'm mindful of.
8. Squicks - What are some things that squick you in fandom - not necessarily "icky", though it can be. From anything involving blood, to bad grammar.
I once talked about how my biggest squick in tbz fic is juyeon being characterized as a jerk. I can't take mobster!juyeon seriously - unless he's the loser, wet-cat version of one. au where juyeon gets recruited for a gang and his first order of business is buying a leather jacket to look the part. au where he actually is a seasoned, hardened gang member but he's the quiet guy hiding a secret that's gonna make you cry seven chapters in.
in all seriousness though, it became a squick and not just a case of "eh, whatever" because a lot of it leans hard into the cishet m/f dark romance vibes and that's just, well, a squick for me lol just no, thanks.
and I've tried to understand, but I think I'm ready to admit the thing where people repurpose a fic for a different pairing/fandom altogether is another big no for me... I understand taking a half-baked idea and going "hm, this isn't working, maybe I should try it with a different pairing?" - I do that all the time too. but I like characterization too much to read a fic that was originally written with completely different characters and the author just swapped names, so that's another squick. if that's your thing, good for you! not my thing, though. I'll most likely not engage with it.
which is fine! knowing what doesn't float your boat is useful, we should all use "squick" more often imo. it's ok to not like things and have no reason other than You Don't Vibe With It, be it in fandom or not.
9. What's the hardest thing about writing, and why are titles the Worst™?
BEGINNINGS!!! first paragraphs are my MORTAL ENEMIES. on rare occasions I have a scene I want to open the fic with, and that makes it easier, but I can't do that all the time because sometimes I do need some sort of introduction or just like, general explanation for the universe. some scrap of context. a single sentence just so I'm not jumping straight to dialogue. and that's the bane of my existence, I struggle starting fics. 50% of the time that's where I get stuck on an idea.
and as a rule I have a harder time with descriptions than I do with dialogue. but that's something I carry from my experience as a reader - I don't pay much attention to descriptions when I'm reading. fictional characters in books often have No Appearence as I'm reading, unless the author goes like, she ran a hand through her blond hair, and then I'm like ah, yes! she's blond! *pictures a blond person* LOL it's not that I don't like descriptions, they're just not the priority in my head, so as a writer that's something I'm mindful of.
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the thing where people repurpose a fic for a different pairing/fandom altogether is another big no for me
Absolutely, me too. I've read some fics where the characterisation felt very generic and then I looked at the writer's profile or they had an author's note and it's like "oh OKAY!" So it wasn't even about those characters in the first place. It's from another fandom.
It feels very opposite to what I am trying to achieve in stories and wanting to say something specific to this character and this scenario. If your story is so generic that you can just find-replace the names and it works no better or worse - I don't personally see the point of that and I'm not interested.
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❌ Find replace ❌
Listen, is my characterization perfect? No, but I do try to add things that make each member unique and craft stories that make sense for them. I of course have ideas that I consider for different groups or pairings but once I lock in, I try to make it unique as possible....I would be offended if someone told me they took one of my fics and just changed out the names and read it for a different group lol.
JUYEON!!! Omg I have so many issues with Juyeon characterization 🤣 that part of fandom and I live in entirely separate corners of this fandom....
Re: beginnings, I think that's something that pop has helped me with a lot! She always tells me to start where the action is and I think that helps me reframe how I think about my fics. And I'm with you on descriptions 🫡
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