Caveat Lector Scriptorque

[truepenny]

scott_lynch joins in on the tagging of overused fantasy tropes.

And along with all the other intelligent and useful things he says, he has a caveat up front that I think I need to re-emphasize over here:

Scott saith:

I still shy away from that sort of bold "never, never!" pronouncement, because as far as I'm concerned execution trumps conception in every instance-- the hoariest cliches known to fiction can be made magical by a writer of sufficient skill and passion, while the most startlingly original ideas can be transmuted to Kentucky Fried Boredom Nuggets by a shitty grasp of writing essentials.

And of course he's right.

I sometimes forget to put the ObDisclaimer in front of my various jeremiads and animadversions, and sometimes this upsets or confuses people, or leads them to think that the first thing they must do in engaging with what I've written is prove me wrong or list exceptions to my "rule."

And sometimes I get tired of the endless hedging and disclaimers that are de rigeur for internet discussion. Sometimes I just want to shout FUCKBUNNIES! at the top of my lungs and let rip. Because I can be an unreasonable bitch just as much as anybody else.

Ergo, let me say this, loud and clear:

It's all situational. It's all subjective.

No matter how stringently I forbid something--the word "somehow" came in for this a few weeks back, because I was pissed off at Angus Fletcher's Allegory--I know that what I say isn't an absolute. How egotistical would I have to be to believe that? Last time I checked, my ego was not large enough to flatten Tokyo, and I'm trying to keep it that way, thanks.

It's a problem for writers--and, I suspect, for artists of other stripes--because we all desperately want to know How It's Done. We want there to be rules. We want there to be a password and a secret knock to get into the clubhouse. Because if there's a password--if there are rules--you can learn them. And when you've learned them, that's it. You're set. You can go swaggering on your way like Scott's Bold Prince Thundernuts, secure in your Heroic Morality Exception and Heroic Battle Death Exception, to kill all the women and rape all the men and be showered with praise and glory for it.

It'd be nice if it worked that way.

It doesn't.

There are no rules. There is no clubhouse. No password. No secret knock. People who tell you there are are either lying or misguided--or their egos flattened Tokyo several years back and are looking for new cities to destroy.

What I say, here or on panels at cons or wherever, is what's true for me. And I'll tell you what's true for me to the best of my ability, as clearly and simply as I can. But it's still only what works for me. My list (with inevitable clarification) could just as easily have been titled Eleven Things I Could Never Write Without Subverting.

This is all my opinions, people. That's all I've got.

Comments

[ivyblossom.livejournal.com]

I love those lists, personally. But it's taken me a bit to stop being so damn precious about them. If I feel that sting when I see something that I either a) want to write or b) am writing, I realize I have to either a) consider whether what I'm doing will work, if it's on a lot of people's lists, or b) if the person who wrote the list just has different taste than I do. At this point I personally have swallowed the idea that Just because I'm writing something doesn't mean it's any good (holy whoa, I've learned that lesson very well). Just because I think it's a fun idea doesn't mean it actually is, and if I'm not open to hearing that, I'm not ready to write a book that I intend to sell. But then, maybe because I think it's a fun idea and really enjoy writing it, maybe that will make it work, with the sheer force of my enthusiasm! Who knows!

I guess it's a confidence thing. But you're not here to make other wannabe writers feel good about their precious cliches (and I would like to personally apologize for putting you in that position myself when I have was having a moment). I wouldn't want to be the one to tell a person that their favourite character is a blazing Mary Sue and their story line is goofy/boring/offensive, so I don't know what the answer to that even is.

I haven't actually said anything, sorry about that. it's outrageously hot here (no a/c in my current apartment) and my brain has melted out of my ears. In sum: I like hearing your opinions, and I wince a little when I see you have to backtrack. That's all.

[secondsilk.livejournal.com]

The lists are pretty much, be aware that if you're writing these, they've been done before, be careful. At least, that's what I get from them.

kill all the women and rape all the men
You are very cool.

I don't know when my special ordered copy of Melusine will be in store, but one day, one day soon, I'll be reading it. (About five weeks, I think.)

[fidelioscabinet.livejournal.com]

Flattening Tokyo has been done. If you've got to unleash the ego on real estate, you need a new locale. Maybe Yellowknife. Someplace new and, um, non-cliched.

[guipago.livejournal.com]

I shall now post to my lj "FUCKBUNNIES" and laugh :)