I'm sorry, I guess I missed something

[essbeejay]

But since when did "original pairings" come to mean "better stories?"

I make an effort to avoid being overly negative on this lj (God knows there's enough of that already), so I'm probably going to regret saying all this shit later, but is that seriously a prerequisite for a good story these days? An "original pairing?" That's interesting, because I thought there might be other qualifying factors, like a strong narrative, or a nicely paced plot, or, hm, maybe well-developed characters, perhaps?

This isn't just an issue I have with fandom. This is an issue I have with any film, any book, any TV show that goes out and says, "I'm gong to do something different and original!" and then winds up sucking because you dumbass writer/director/producer-type decided that so long as you had an "original" concept, you didn't need to focus on any other aspect of the film/book/show that might actually make it palatable and worth my time.

Originality is an excellent thing, don't get me wrong, but it is not the sole basis on which you can (or should) judge the value of a creative work, especially when it comes to anything involving writing.

Of course, what makes something "better" is subjective. But to be that dismissive and arrogant about it? Frankly, I find it pretty fucking aggravating. And pretentious. Get off your high horse and just do as you do. I don't have a problem with which characters you want sucking each other's faces, so maybe you should quit copping an attitude about the rest of us.

W/E, just W/E, you guys. I'm having the painters in soon, so I'm allowed to be moody >8C

Comments

[essbeejay.livejournal.com]

Um, fuck you?

OH GOD YOU MAKE ME LAUGH. And your icon is pretty fucking awesome, too.

Crazy plot twists, while crazy and awe-inducing when done well, still need to fit into the plot in a way that feels organic and makes sense when you go back over it in your head. They can't just come out of nowhere. And they can't just be inserted into your story in order to give it a hook or make it interesting. I mean, if your only idea of a compelling story is one with a crazy plot twist in it... you suck, probably? idk.

[alicornmoon.livejournal.com]

I find that if a story I write has a crazy plot twist it grows naturally from all the crazy that is already in a story :3. And of course, sometime crazy seems crazy but then makes sense in the bigger picture. If you have crazy and the reasoning for it is never made understandable, then I would call that a bad story but...a lot of it is about tone. I mean most of the things that happen ing PPG canon would never happen in our world, so you have a lot more freedom to be understandably crazy, you know?
Part of my disappointment in PPG fandom is that this freedom of ideas (which, really, don't even need pairings if you don't want to) is not used as often as it could be :3

[essbeejay.livejournal.com]

This sounds like unfortunate timing :[ Your comment just brought this to mind - back when the fandom was first getting started almost every fanfic written was done in script/teleplay format, and most of them featured the Narrator. He became less prominent as the fandom grew and more and more fics styled like standard fiction were written. Since ff.net made rules against posting scripts/teleplays, he really doesn't seem to pop up at all, save for Pomegranate Legwarmers. Ship!fic didn't comprise the majority of the fic back then, either. It was much more like fan-created episodes.

[alicornmoon.livejournal.com]

So...I'm an old school fan in a new school world, I guess?L(

[xjabooo.livejournal.com]

I noticed this, too.

Poor Narrator. It's like The Powerpuff Girls' Best Rainy Day Adventure Ever all over again, but in every single fanfiction. :'(

[xjabooo.livejournal.com]

Thanks :3

Not exactly 'suck', more of 'dude u srsly nid 2 get out moar.'

I like plot twists - if and only if they're in the story effectively. They have to be properly placed, as well as that - and I cannot stress this enough - the plot twists have to make sense. You can't just throw one in there just because you want to and not plan it beforehand. Kind of like making babies.