Thursday, May 20, 2010
Prose & Woes of a TwiFic Loving Unicorn
I should preface this post by noting that I had pretty serious misgivings about fan fiction prior to engaging with the Twilight universe. My experiences were founded on reading some extremely cringe-worthy Star Wars and Tolkien fics – the characterization and dialogue on the Star Wars stuff was even worse than what George Lucas could have come up with. Plus there’s alien smut, definitely not for the weak of heart.
My first fic was the sublime, angsty, and thrilling Wide Awake, which many of the readers are likely familiar with. It was probably fortunate that I read it first to keep the faith, because my subsequent foray into Fanfiction.net provided a ton of disappointments. My reason for reading Twilight fanfic is to be able to explore those aspects, storylines, character qualities, and unresolved issues that Stephenie Meyer did not or would not address in Twilight: Edward’s obsessive and possessive tendencies, the effects of Edward’s prolonged departure, alternative universe storylines in which Edward never left, psychologically damaged Bella, sexual tension in an all human story, and so forth. I have to say that there’s a lot of hackneyed smut masquerading as real stories in the Twilight fic repositories. It took a lot of effort and digging around the interwebs, but slowly I began to find excellent stories that address this subject matter, registered with Twilighted to access pulled quality fics, and finally also found RobstenLove.com and its fanfic recommendations. Incidentally, anyone who is on a similar lookout for good stories, here is a tip I’ve found useful: check out your favorite authors’ favorite stories on FF.net and pay attention to their A/N, blogs and Twitter for fic recs. I’ve found a ton of good stuff that way.
I alluded earlier that I enjoy analyzing the stories I read; it’s an integral part of the enjoyment I derive from the story. I want to understand what makes the characters tick, I want to catch all those little asides – hints at other works and cultural phenomenon – and I want to get under the skin of the story. A few stories where I’ve managed to do this will be listed at the end of the post if you’re similarly disposed; I promise you won’t be disappointed if you give those stories a chance. I fully realize that this level of commitment is not for everyone and sometimes it’s just fun to read a simple story without so much subtext or heavy content matter, and I do enjoy those kinds of stories as well. I’ve lately found two such gems: The Introduction to Swirl and Daisy by m81170, a T-rated, sweet B/E coming of age story, and Falling for the First Time by SnowWhiteHeart, a sassy tale of a geeky vampire Edward and his mortal, equally nerdy paramour Bella.
So, what kinds of stories lend themselves best to the analytical reading approach? I find that stories with Angst/Hurt/Comfort tags generally contain subject matter where the author has attempted to build a deeper storyline with non-standard plot elements. Good stories in this category excel in providing emotionally driven, intriguing prose and descriptive narrative, but they also typically contain a subtext that suggests themes that are not apparent if you simply skim the surface of the story. Also, sex, when it’s involved, is seldom gratuitous or pretty in the Harlequin novel sense. For me, all of these elements provide an unparalleled level of engagement.
Oftentimes the inclusion of subtextual elements is intentional from the author’s point of view, but sometimes a careful reading can serendipitously bring out elements, perspectives, and interpretations the author may not have considered when writing the story. This is why I also love to review chapters at Fanfiction.net. I have about half a dozen stories that I religiously review, offering my insights and constructive critique to the authors. Happily most of them reply to my reviews, allowing me to sort of engage in the story at a deeper level than as a mere spectator reading the words on the screen. I believe the authors themselves also receive some gratification from the fact that someone carefully considers the fruits of their toil, so it’s a win-win situation. If you like a story, I would suggest that you consider leaving thoughtful and considerate feedback to the author – they do appreciate it even if they may not have time to reply to each and every one.
Finally, I should address the issue of citru
s goods of the lemonade variety. I like well written sex; it’s a natural human condition. It can be sweet and caring, rough and dominating, ugly and demeaning, frantic and lustful. But it has to fit into the story and support the plot. There are tons and tons of fics out there with a tired storyline where Edward and Bella fuck like bunnies for 30 chapters, split up due to misunderstanding, get together, get married and have kids, and live happily ever after. Please. Personally, I find fics with little to no sex at all until late into the story, but laden with scintillating, tangible unresolved sexual tension, to be much more enjoyable. Anyone can write myriad variations of the good old penis/tongue/fingers meets vagina, but it takes skill to create situations where it would be unadvisable, dangerous, or wrong to do so. And let’s face it – a little taboo is something everyone is curious about.
From fics we’ll move onto a real life love story as in the next installation I’ll talk about Robsten. What is it about them that makes us intrigued, why am I interested, and what is the role of us fans in all of this?
Kerensky’s fanfic recs:
The Kübler Ross Model & Tie Me Here in Time by jadedandboring. Insightful and realistic look at how people deal with grief, the pressures set on them by their environment, and how hard it is to process the loss of a loved one.
Expectations and Other Moving Pieces by chrometurtle. Bitter and cruel Edward and an initially annoying Bella, married but emotionally and physically apart. A delightful tale of redemption.
Just Wait by InstantKarmaGirl. Angst warning, this story contains plentiful triggers regarding abuse of various forms. We have a Bella that needs to get high to numb her pain and an enigmatic Edward.
Hit by Destiny by ocdmess. Angst warning continued, this time regarding self harm and parental abuse. Angry, douchey Edward and listless, desperate Bella meet. You’ll hate them both in the beginning but it’s worth persisting.
Hydraulic Level 5 by Gondolier. Another story of re-kindling a relationship that was torn apart. Beautifully written with an original plot and great characterization of minor cast. Superb.
Just Like Them by twoquestionmarks. How does someone who is shy and self-deprecating – to almost a state of not being able to function – deal with life and fall in love? This Edward gets the boyfriend of the year award.
The Worst of Weather & Rose Like Thunder by yellowglue. BPOV and EPOV of the same story. Edward can only read Bella’s mind through touch. What if he refused her but neither could let go? How far would they go to hurt each other, and what happens when they realize they can’t exist without one another?
Note from C2R: You like the manips? Kerensky picked them out from our stash of Robsten Manips at the forum. Who made them? We have no idea. But check out the thread for hundreds more.
sometimes the fan fiction gets smutty. Edward, and Bella are not porno;just my opinion.Islem Esme cont… was real good though.
Thank you for your time and effort to make us understand why are you so interested in Twilight and Robsten
very well written and can't thank you enough for the FF recs. Who would have thought I've been taking advice from an unicorn lol. Waiting anxiously for your next post!
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I do admire the depth of storyline and the writing style of stories (this is like my dictionary and helps expand my vocabulary) much more than whether they are filled with juicy smut or tingling romance because they would eventually be too boring and predictable! a waste of my online time!
i don't know whether to thank you or not for adding more fanfic recomms to my already brimming plate =P but thanks for this post kerensky!
Great post Kerensky! I enjoyed hearing what you look for in your fanfic. It is always intriguing to get a males point of view on these subects, as it is such a female dominated universe. I must say I would have assumed a fanfic full of situations of a lemon variety would be what a guy would want to read above all else. It is refreshing to see a male that looks at plot first, and actually finds that unnecessary sexual encounters retract for the overall feel of the story. Fanficis a fairly new thing for me, as I have only been reading them about a year, and was not aware of their existance beforehand. I have to say I tend to prefer my fanfics to be of the M variety…but I need a good storyline…40 chapters of just sex gets quite boring after a while. I have found angst to be my thing, but the hopeless romantic in me needs to see the HEA at the end of the story with a happy B&E; together. If they have to go through hell and back to get there…i'll gladly take the ride…as long as they get there in the end. Thanks for the fic recs Kerensky..I will definatly add some of them to my "to read" list…which is getting longer and longer by the second. Again wonderful thought provoking post…can't wait for the next one!
Just like the previous post this one was just as insightful and in my opinion very true regarding the levels of FF out there. Thank you for the recs and I can't wait to read the next one about Robsten.
Lovebel xo
I agree, when I first started reading fanfic, I didn't mind the Edward and Bella getting it on in every chapter stories since that was so lacking in the Twilight books but then it gets really redundant when that's all they do and there seems to be no plot. I'd choose a angsty read over a fluff piece anyday. I've been scouring for fic recs so thank you for your recommendations. While I enjoy AH fics, I do enjoy the occasional AU fic but those are hard to come by where the plot is original. The ones I'm looking for lately is any NM AU fic where Bella actually has a backbone and doesn't just throw herself in Edward's arm the moment he comes back. Any ideas?
Super post, K! Not that I expected any less of course.
I appreciate you sharing your thoughts & insights with us! Looking forward to your next post…
Surprisingly not that different from how I view fanfic. Sometimes, and I hate to even admit this, I'll skip the smut because it's the same ol' same ol' and how redundant can that be. But while you prefer angst, I can't stand a story laden with chapter after chapter of heartfail. I prefer stories lighter in flavor though still rich in texture. Oh, and I'm all for UST sans uberangst. I enjoyed reading your post; it was very well presented and I think probably gets to the specifics of why each of us partake in reading fanfic to begin with. We fall in love with certain characters and aren't quite ready to give them up just because we've come to the end of the series, whether it be television, movies or books. Nice!
Fantastic! I agree with most of what you say about fic as well. Although I can't possibly imagine reading a fic sans smut *smirks* I actually haven't any of the fics you suggested so I'll check those out.
Smartest breakdown on TwiFic ever, lol. Loved your post! And I will be checking out your recs, thanks!!
Ah, a fellow unicorn! My wife let me know that you were out here.
I understand your fan fiction issues. I've read fic in several fandoms, and the quality varies from fandom to fandom. The best I've ever seen was over in The West Wing, while Twilight has some of the worst. I can go through 30 pages of drek on FF.net without ever finding a story worth opening.
My own reading is pretty narrow. No Jacob/Bella live happily ever after elements. No "all human" stories. Smut I can handle depending on context. Post-canon I can understand it more easily. After all, you have a couple in near total abstinence who are suddenly free to make love, stuck in eternal honeymoon mode, and who both have the stamina of Kryptonians. What would anyone in their shoes do with their spare time? Play Parcheesi? (grins) If you get a minute, head out to FF.net and run a title search for a fic called "Canon". You'll love it. I promise.
I'm too new to fanfic to really comment intelligently about it, but I love reading your posts Kerensky. I added most of your recs to my ever growing list. I look forward to your point of view and opinions on your next post.