PTA=Parent Teacher Association, and a sort of offering to the gods of community involvement. I think I would live my life inside my own head (and possibly online) if I didn't make myself do these things.
other times the main point is the way it made/makes you feel when writing/reading it
This is my main reason for writing, actually. Not to say I don't love comments and don't use criticism to improve what I write. But it fulfills a need in me, the entertainment and value to others is secondary (although very important).
That is interesting point. When I started writing, I had not read much fic, and had very little notion of the conventions and cliches. I have written stories based on song lyrics, for example, which I later read was 'not done'. Anyway, I think because my reasons for writing are internal, cliches matter less. Some of my stuff seems to be h/c. And fluff, there's fluff. And angst. At some point I engaged in quite a long discussion about the definition of angst but I'm not sure where. Do you have a definition for that category?
I've come up with some categories that may or may not be original. For instance I wrote a whole series of shorter pieces just about kissing. This was an exercise of sorts, because I couldn't write a decent kissing scene. Sort of self-assigned homework. Is there kissfic? Should there be? And a friend and I came up with the J/D category of dinnerfic.
In a lot of ways the categories (or cliches) seem limiting and unnecessary. As you point out, is it a cliche if it's good? I'll leave you with a quote I love, made by a commenter at Making Light (I have the username recorded somewhere; attribution lack mea culpa.)
"One person's stereotype is another person's archetype. One person's cliche is another person's trope."
My smaller son is stirring, so it's back to RL for the moment. Haven't had a chance to read the other comments or Small Mercies (!), but the tab is now open so there's hope for later today :)
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Date: 2009-09-06 12:59 pm (UTC)This is my main reason for writing, actually. Not to say I don't love comments and don't use criticism to improve what I write. But it fulfills a need in me, the entertainment and value to others is secondary (although very important).
That is interesting point. When I started writing, I had not read much fic, and had very little notion of the conventions and cliches. I have written stories based on song lyrics, for example, which I later read was 'not done'. Anyway, I think because my reasons for writing are internal, cliches matter less. Some of my stuff seems to be h/c. And fluff, there's fluff. And angst. At some point I engaged in quite a long discussion about the definition of angst but I'm not sure where. Do you have a definition for that category?
I've come up with some categories that may or may not be original. For instance I wrote a whole series of shorter pieces just about kissing. This was an exercise of sorts, because I couldn't write a decent kissing scene. Sort of self-assigned homework. Is there kissfic? Should there be? And a friend and I came up with the J/D category of dinnerfic.
In a lot of ways the categories (or cliches) seem limiting and unnecessary. As you point out, is it a cliche if it's good? I'll leave you with a quote I love, made by a commenter at Making Light (I have the username recorded somewhere; attribution lack mea culpa.)
"One person's stereotype is another person's archetype. One person's cliche is another person's trope."
My smaller son is stirring, so it's back to RL for the moment. Haven't had a chance to read the other comments or Small Mercies (!), but the tab is now open so there's hope for later today :)