helpful hints for writing romance and slash no. 1,600,042

[cimorene]

if, while you're writing slashfic, some poignantly pertinent lyrics come to your mind as inspiration but they don't really fit the tone of canon--for example, cohen/wainwright/whassis' "halleljuh" during the fast and the furious--keep it to yourself.

don't quote them.*

*the same applies to poetry. ESPECIALLY t.s. eliot.

Comments

[norah.livejournal.com]

omfg YIS.

You're reading TFTF bad!fic, aren't you? Please tell me the inspiration for this particular rant didn't come from any of my recs...

[cimness.livejournal.com]

it wasn't badfic. it just happened to quote 'hallelujah'--among other things--at chapter headings. and, you know, considering the fandom and the ACTUAL soundtrack, i found that jarring.

i've written stories that included lots of lyrics, actually, everything from tori to britney spears, and plenty of people said they liked them, although a case for badfic could certainly be made.

hopefully it's just something you grow out of.

[norah.livejournal.com]

Ah, I think I read that one. Yes, is out of place, but I can ignore chapter headings. It's when characters actually quote or sing things or put music on IN the story that is badly matched that I backbutton.

[cimness.livejournal.com]

i usually don't even read the chapter headings. sometimes my eye gets snagged.

i don't really hold it against her--not even the one from "the hollow men". but it's a slight irritant nonetheless.

[thelionforreal.livejournal.com]

1. whassis = Jeff Buckley
2. *the same applies to poetry. ESPECIALLY t.s. eliot. : OMG, I don't even WANT TO KNOW.

[thelionforreal.livejournal.com]

They should REALLY let us edit comments. If only for dropped tags.

That should read:

1. whassis = Jeff Buckley
2. *the same applies to poetry. ESPECIALLY t.s. eliot. : OMG, I don't even WANT TO KNOW.

[wax-jism.livejournal.com]

oh him. nah, babe, it wasn't TFTF. eliot is just EVERYWHERE. 'the hollow men' gets almost as much play in slash as sarah mclachlan's entire ouvre put together. i can't remember the last one i found it in, but it always annoys me. you'd think it would take so much balls to compare yourself to fucking TS Eliot, let ALONE that poem, that it only would've happened once or twice in the history of slash... but such is simply not the case.

-cim... the more options button's not working

[thelionforreal.livejournal.com]

'the hollow men' gets almost as much play in slash as sarah mclachlan's entire ouvre put together.

First, *snicker*.

Second, are you fucking kidding me? I would have to have balls of solid titanium to pull a 'hollow men' reference in slash. In fact, unless that (read: any) fic is a perfect piece of literature, it is automatically considered bad!fic just for TRYING. *spits*

(Also, 'hollow men' is in my next poetry rotation. *grin*)

[cimness.livejournal.com]

instead of reading a chapter that follows a quote from the hollow men with anything like suspension of disbelief i'm always torn between 'oh yeah bitch, what's so fucking brilliant then? come on, bring it' and mad literary analysis trying to figure out the supposed parallel. most of the time it's depressingly superficial which just makes me want to beat my head on a wall: like a few lines about hollow and straw, and a scene of angst or philosophizing, the emptiness of life. i mean, they have the concept of deep far enough to like eliot enough to quote it, but not enough to go deeper than 'oh, it's about sadness'?

[cimness.livejournal.com]

sadly, one of the best pieces pieces of slash in kirk/spock is saved from being really satisfying, the sort of thing you can't pick nits from, ONLY by the fact that EVERY section is headed with t.s. eliot. i mean, what a way to go! she loses like fifty points just from THAT, and meanwhile it's better written (aside from i mean) than the majority of its peers, besides being rather, well, fresh. a source of constant distress, mate.

see for yourself:
http://www.waxjism.org/cimorene/trek/anothercountrybeckons.txt

[cimness.livejournal.com]

bah. nevermind. the file's corrupt. :grouch: by corrupt i mean GONE.

[guinevere33.livejournal.com]

Was re-reading "Enchantment" by Orson Scott Card on the plane back to California today, and he did the SAME DAMN THING. In the middle of an otherwise excellent book, he makes his protagonist listen to this obscure album that Mr. Card was apparently rocking out to while writing the book. It's really jarring and obnoxious, and comes off like an in-joke. You'd think professional authors would know better, ya know?

[cimness.livejournal.com]

sadly, the professionals aren't always. and then there's the whole 'ego' issue.

though not in anne ricean proportions, i suspect he's got a touch o' that.