This is perhaps the best damn piece of fanfic I've ever read.
What's
interesting about it is that the author is not a fan. Nope. Not
a bit.
The result? One helluva fine piece of writing.
She is probably a very talented writer.
See what I mean? Detachment is key. You must know your material,
this is a
given. But you can't get so emotionly involved with the
characters that it
interferes with your ability to tell a good story.
Some people use different approaches. This discussion
sort of reminds me of Rurouni Kenshin, for some reason. ^_^
Let me begin by telling a bit of Kenshin philosophy.
<SPOILER!>
|
Some minor spoilers, nothing really about the story,
just about some philosophical cruxes which are
VITAL to the story. You may not want to hear about
them in spite of it.
You can scroll past the next big space, to the
[End Spoiler] The rest of the discussion is there.
|
--<Begin Spoily discussion>---
* In the Shishio story arc of Rurouni Kenshin, Kenshin is faced
with a terrible decision. His opponent, Shishio, and his henchmen
are too powerful for him to overcome as is.
Now, this normally wouldn't be a problem if the show
were Dragon Ball or Ranma... Kenshin would simply
train harder and get stronger and beat the stuffing out
of them.
But this is Kenshin. Now, Kenshin used to be the Hitokiri
Battousai, a cold-blooded killer. Now he is just a simple,
pacifistic, non-killing rurouni. The old Battousai was
simply more powerful than this peace loving rurouni,
because he had no qualms about killing. Kenshin was
faced with the decision of reviving his old Battousai
killing side to become strong enough to face Shishio.
Needless to say, however, Kenshin does NOT want to
regress to this state.
However, Kenshin finds another way... instead of
find strength from regressing to dispassionate
cold-bloodedness, Kenshin learns that a stronger
strength can be found from remaining compassionate,
and having a strong desire to live. It was this strong
desire to live (which stems from a compassionate
outlook, and a realization of self-worth) that allowed him
to learn his succession technique, Amakakeru Ryuu
No Hirameki... and become stronger. He never needed
to resort to the Hitokiri Battousai again.
See what I'm driving at? No? Then let
us continue with the discussion...
----
<End SPOILY Discussion>
Someone who can works without any sort of attachment to the
characters will be able to write about them. Without a doubt, it
will have some benefits: first off, that there will be no bias
whatsoever, and the fic will proceed as logically as it should.
But I believe that such a fic, while very technically sound, will
probably not be as dramatic and heartfelt as a story written
by someone who loves, lives and breathes the characters.
That is not to say that such a writer who is detached will not
be able to write an emotive fic; I would simply like to argue
that an emotive writer will more likely surpass the level of a
non-emotive writer when it comes to writing an emotive fic.
Relate this to the idea of Kenshin surpassing his old
fighting level and it becomes clearer. (Watsuki-san is a genius!)
But your idea has merit. A Zen Buddhist would say pretty
much the same, I think. For it would make sense that one who
can write with no distraction, seeing the characters for who
they truly are, can write a story as it should logically be.
But that's one style. I believe in there is another way...
It may be a mistake on my part, but I also think it gives me an
edge since
because of that detatchement, I am willing to do things to the
characters
that those more emotionally involved might consider completly
insane.
Myself, I believe I have walked passed that line. This is
the other path, the harder path to trod. Just as Kenshin
gave up his manic desperation as a source of strength
in favor of a strong desire to live, so can a writer let go
of squeamishness and choose to subject his characters
to hardships that are unthinkable.
When one realizes that a character must go through
certain things in order to grow, one will realize that a
emotional ties are not a hindrance, but rather an asset.
One can keep that strong emotional tie, and use it to
bring out a stronger emotional effect in the story by
virtue of the emotions. It becomes a labor of love, so
to speak.
One who is detached from the characters could not
do that. Although arguably, in defense of the detached,
such a story would likely have less bias.
Am I wrong? Perhaps.
Perhaps. But I might be, too. As Kenshin would say,
"It is not the stronger one who determines what is
right. It is not for ourselves to judge our actions, but
for the next generation." -- not verbatim, but close enough.
To sum it up, an emotive writer will be able to
produce a more emotional, dramatic work, but
a detached writer will be able to write a more
logical, unbiased work.