What follows is my personal opinion and not an official Uber Etc. policy. (In fact my fellow grunts probably don't feel the same. *g*).It's not so much a ramble as a rant. Well - two separate rants disguised as one actually. The second part is universal to all fandoms. The first part applies to the fandom closest to my heart.
As I said. It's a rant. And a rather long one. Feel free to skip straight to the updates. This is partly in response to recent rambles and the arguments within those rambles. And partly because those arguments are - to me - old, tired and inaccurate. I have seen them repeated in more than one group over several years. And they piss me off each and every time.
Let's start with this...
There's a story - an warrior woman, hard-as-nails, conqueror of a kingdom, and the subject of fascination to a dark god... and the doubters roll their eyes and say... "typical Xena story, right??" - Wrong. The Jirel of Joiry stories were written by C L Moore between 1934 and 1939.
Ok how about this one - there's a stoic, dark-haired warrior who travels with a gentle sorceress, together they battle gods, ghosts & demons. Xena fic, yeah?? Wrong again. The Frostflower & Thorn stories by Phyllis Ann Carr were written between 1980 and 1984.
Ok, what about this one then - an amazonian warrior, emotionless and dark, links up with a blonde mage in a quest for revenge... yep you guessed - also not Xena inspired. They're Tarma & Kethry by Mercedes Lackey the first story Swordsworn was written in 1988 (And I can highly recommend them).
The stoic warrior righting wrongs with the aid of a lighter-hearted companion has been around since Adam and Eve put Cain in nappies!!
Ok - what about this.... moving forward in time and sticking on good old, non-magical earth. There's a wealthy dark-haired aristocrat, aloof, rude, cold; and a younger, blonde, not-so-wealthy, young lady. At first meeting they despise each other. After many trials, misunderstandings and tribulations they wind up in love. Ho-hum, typical Xena uber, boring...right?? Nope, wrong again. It's Fitzwilliam Darcy and Elizabeth Bennet from Jane Austen's Pride & Prejudice.
Have I made my point??
Just because it's a dark-haired warrior/aristocrat/company-director and a blonde mage/bard/secretary doesn't mean it's a Xena story. The dark vs blonde has been around in romance fiction for pretty much as long as there's been romance fiction. Romance fiction requires opposites. Opposites in looks and opposites in temperament.
And remember - not all the fiction on Xena based sites is supposed to be Xena anyway. Radclyffe?? Not Xena - she was never in the Xena fandom - her stuff started out as X-Files... Dabkey's brilliant "And Playing the Role of Herself" - also not Xena (L&O maybe but not Xena).
And what if it really is a Xena story or Xena uber?? So what?? Does that matter?? Is it a good story?? Then bloody enjoy it and stop complaining.
The reason for this part of the rant is that I'm a Xenite. And I'm bloody proud to be a Xenite and I'm sick to death of reading thinly disguised snipes at Xena (or not so thinly disguised). If you run across trite, predictable, badly-written stories using these tropes. DON'T BLAME XENA. If the dark/light combination is there... DON'T BLAME XENA. If the writing's bad - blame the writer but DON'T BLAME XENA!!
I don't dis your fandom. Don't dis mine.
Part the second: - Online stories and entitlement. Another thing that annoys the hell out of me. The whinges that the stories are poor, predictable, plots suck, grammar's incorrect, spelling is bad, etc. So?? You're getting them for FREE.
If somebody bakes you a beautiful banana cake as a gift do you throw it back in their face and say "It sucks, I wanted chocolate."?? Of course you don't. That would be unbelievably rude and ungrateful. So why is it acceptable to do that with a story??
You see that little arrow at the top left of the page?? It's the back button. It works. Don't like what you're reading?? Use it. Don't like?? Don't bloody read. Got news for you - you are not entitled to go your entire life without reading something that wasn't perfect. At least it was free (unlike Dan Brown or Stephanie Meyer who make you pay for badly written, poorly plotted, overblown messes).
And if you don't think it's good, why not offer help?? Offer to beta. Offer to proof read or just offer encouragement. Or maybe - put your money where your mouth is. Write it yourself. Struggle with the plot, sweat blood over the dialogue, fight your way through writer's block and then, taking your courage in both hands, post it out there - FOR FREE - and wait for somebody to rip to shreds (frequently with worse spelling and grammar than you used!!).
Well?? No excuses about "I can't write." or "I can't plot". You criticise others for those shortcomings. Let's see you do better??
Grumble to your friends, write in your personal blog, if you find really crappy stuff (I do) but please, in public spaces ditch the entitlement, ditch the sniping, ditch the thinly-disguised prejudice. It's boring. Be grateful that writers still write. And they let you read their stuff for free.
Ze
- BtVS
- My Morphine by KW Jordan (Royal Academy of Bards Annex).
- Chapter 17 of After The Fall by Electra (Electra's Elsewhere).
- Chapter 17 of After The Fall by Electra(BuffynFaith.Net).
- Chapter 33 of All Too Human by invalid_reality (BuffynFaith.Net).
Criminal Minds - Part 7 of Bloodsport by darkbardzero (Women in Kevlar).
- Aftermath by pens_co927 (C M Femslash).
Criminal Minds/X-Men Crossover - Part 1 of Lycanthropy by Alsike (C M Femslash).
CSI:Miami - Chapter 6E of Decisions by sinjenkai (Women in Kevlar).
Doctor Who - The Wires Beneath by lovepb (D W femslash).
- Trapped by lovepb (D W femslash).
- Brushwork by lyssie (D W femslash).
- River and Liz X and Guns and Sex by alt_universe_me (D W femslash).
- The 51st Century is When Everything is Sexy by alt_universe_me (D W femslash).
Firefly - Chapter 3 of Tragedy by lostnfoundcause (Women in Kevlar).
- Chapter 4 of Tragedy by lostnfoundcause (Women in Kevlar).
Guiding Light - Part 1 of Even If It Killed Her by jaina47 (Burning City).
(Kim Harrison's) The Hollows - Blackout by xMerteuiLx (ivy-rachel).
- Part 4 of Gray Magic by author18 (ivy-rachel).
- Payback's a Bitch by author18 (ivy-rachel).
- Chapter 6 of Stripped of Will by Gen (ivy-rachel).
- Chapter 1 of Seven Days of Hell by author18 (ivy-rachel).
Legend of the Seeker - Part 5 of To The End by synergyfox (LotS Femslash).
- Part 6 of The Gift Of Stolen Time by Dark_Kurai (LotS Femslash).
- Part 7 of The Gift Of Stolen Time by Dark_Kurai (LotS Femslash).
- Dreaming of You by individual_68 (LotS Femslash).
- Emergence by rhyfeddu (LotS Femslash).
- Part 4 (Conclusion) of Anger is a Mord-Sith’s Best Friend by neutralhealer (LotS Femslash).
- Shelter by stopstartstall (LotS Femslash).
- Unbroken Redux by Lurkete (LotS Femslash).
- Part 9 of The Path by Lurkete (LotS Femslash).
- Part 1 of No Fate But What We Make by Merry K (LotS Femslash).
- Part 2 of No Fate But What We Make by Merry K (LotS Femslash).
- Part 1 of Emotion is The Glove into Which Pain Slips its Hand by seriousfic (LotS Femslash).
- Part 2 of Emotion is The Glove into Which Pain Slips its Hand by seriousfic (LotS Femslash).
- The Song Sings Itself by thrace (LotS Femslash).
- Part 23 of Cold by seven_3_oh (LotS Femslash).
- First Calls by awkwardllama (LotS Femslash).
- A Slip of the Tongue by cakeandqpm1138 (LotS Femslash).
- Ripples of Undoing by trancer21 (LotS Femslash).
- A Simple Misunderstanding by cakeandqpm1138 (LotS Femslash).
Merlin - Sun Creeping Slowly by lucifers_toy (Ladies of Camelot).
- Flatmate Wanted by netgirl_y2k (Ladies of Camelot).
- You Once Promised Me a Kingdom by MissWonderfreak (Ladies of Camelot).
NCIS - In Another World by cherokee62 (Women in Kevlar).
Original - Part 1 of Life with The Executioner by Sabru Duniz (Royal Academy of Bards).
- Chapters 2-4 of Branagon Series Book 1: Better The Devil You Know by Cam Taylor (Royal Academy of Bards).
- Part 1 of Desert Dreams by Kennedy Northcutt (Royal Academy of Bards).
- Part 10 of Just a Breath Away by Colleen (Royal Academy of Bards).
- Chapters 2 & 3 of Branagon Series Book 1: Better The Devil You Know by Cam Taylor (The Athenaeum).
- Part 10 of Just a Breath Away by Colleen (The Athenaeum).
- Chapter 11.8 of Flowers of Edo by Nene Adams (Her website).
Stargate SG-1 - Quandary - Meant To Be 20 by SJSlashfan (Area 52).
Star Trek XI (Reboot) - Swallowed by a Wave by izzyfics (Where No Woman).
- The Expenses of Trust by tristesses (Where No Woman).
Star Trek: DS9 - History by sophie grace (Where No Woman).
- Cuffed by sophie grace (Where No Woman).
Voyager - The Relevance of Discretion by Odon (The Athenaeum).
X-Files - Part 28 of Dana’s Malakim by dhamphir (Saffic).
6 comments:
Well Said!
Quite spot on with your rant. I have enjoyed the maturation of many authors who start writing for fandoms and go on to become published.
Too bad many readers feel entitled. Even more unfortunate is that many readers didn't pay attention in the high school literature courses and are oblivious to the conventions of various genre.
Fairly certain Elizabeth Bennet is a brunette, haha, but I get your point.
I personally think a lot of brunette/blonde pairings crop up because authors attempt to differentiate them physically.
Cool an argument!
First of all I bow to Ze’s superior knowledge on the historic backdrop of (fan) fiction or perhaps rather on romance fiction – interesting dissection very enlightening. I guess it proves that (fan) fiction is almost an ancient art form ;-)
As I know only very few of the TV-shows that serves as basis / inspiration for the uber stories available on line FOR FREE it’s really of no great consequence for me as a reader if it’s Xena or Pride and Prejudice that serves basis for the story. I just gather that it’s a strong indication of the writer’s inspiration if the leading ladies sports blue and green eyes, but I’ll take Ze’s word for it that I might be misguided at times.
Having said this I will stick to my “flip the coin” point of view – as much as the avid (fan) fiction reader needs a writer to supply the stories, the writers need the readers to do the reading.
And if I stick with the “flip the coin”- point of view for the basis of this argument, I’ll argue that as the writers are free to write and post their work for all to read, the readers are free to express their opinion on the stories read, but preferably not in a deliberately meaningless hurtful way. As Ze stated “Don't like what you're reading?? Don't bloody read.”
To finish this I’ll state that I absolutely disagree with the idea, that the reader expressing a negative opinion should “put your money where your mouth is. Write it yourself.” Why on earth would anyone want that? Think about this kind of argument in other aspects of life ….. is it really only fair to express a negative opinion if you have the skills to do better your self, think about it is this really feasible ?
So I humbly bow to the writers – I do enjoy the results of the time you take to work you magic, but please don’t take offence when a reader enjoy a little rambling on you home turf or a discussion on the fic’s available – get bored, skip reading or perhaps join in and argue your point !
Finally I do see the point that readers might lend a hand with beta reading or commenting on work in progress. This is after all a community with a lot of work offered for free. So should anyone want a hand with a comment on storyline, content and the likes I’m game.
With a smile
UK
@ berndi - really?? Damn!! I could've sworn she was the blonde - must be Charlotte who's blonde then, it's been so long since I read it I must have confused the descriptions.
I really must read it again...
@ Zero2aries
I don't think Charlotte is. Jane's the only blonde Bennet. Georgiana may be, and sometimes Caroline is portrayed as blonde. But it differs, because some of the characters aren't given a description in the book, so the producers take creative liberties.
And you should totally read it again :D I don't read too many romances novels, but that's one of the ones I reread
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