On Wed, Mar 27, 2002 at 10:47:17PM -0700, David Johnston wrote:

There's a thought I'd like to leave with you and it is this:

Easy is boring.  

An interesting story is one that has conflict and difficulty in it.  
Read a romance novel and you'll note that the loving couple doesn't get
together harmoniously and wander around as various people applaud their
relationship, tell them how good they look together, and give them gifts
of lingerie and kitchen appliances. Fanfic authors often make the mistake
of making things easy for the characters when they should be straining
their brains to make life as difficult as possible for them right up until
the happy ending.

On the other hand, it's possible to go too far in this as well. I know
some people may enjoy reading an angsty fic about Ranma and Akane's
new relationship, as they struggle to keep it a secret from their
schoolmates, keep changing hotels every night so Nodoka can't find
them, and in general have a horrible life, but I wouldn't enjoy
reading that. While I think it's true that this author needs to find a
balance, I've also enjoyed reading it the way it is now. I can't say
that this will continue to be true, but sometimes I use these sorts of
fics (where everything goes right) to "counteract" the effects of
reading the sort of fics where everything goes wrong for our hero up
until the end. I'm no great literary critic, and perhaps I'm off my
rocker, but there is a place for many different kinds of fics. (Not
all. Never say all. *shudder*)

Gai Daigohji says, "Can't you just enjoy it for what it is?"

(Ruri says, "Idiots.")

Jonathan Rosebaugh - Read my fics! http://chibi.anifics.com/
------------------------------------------------------------
Life found itself alive
And somehow knew its opposite was death.
We are ever being born, or dying
And the thrill of choosing is ours.
Only once, must we be born without our own consent.
Only once, must we die without our own permission.
- Calvin Miller, The Divine Symphony


             .---Anime/Manga Fanfiction Mailing List----.
             | Administrators - ffml-admins@anifics.com |
             | Unsubscribing - ffml-request@anifics.com |
             |     Put 'unsubscribe' in the subject     |
             `---- http://ffml.anifics.com/faq.txt -----'