Animax Lineup
For January:
GTO, Chobits, Ghost in the Shell Stand Alone Complex, Cyborg Kurochan, Lum, Getbackers, Astroboy, Nobody's Girl, Ultra Maniac, DT Eightron, Texhnolize, Ailes Grise.
For February:
Clamp Campus Detectives, Gene Shaft, .hack//sign, Cyborg 009, Wolf's Rain, Stratos 4, Saber Marionette J, Daigunder.
Ponderings
I was cramming the fiction story I needed to submit for Monday and then I just realized one thing. For me, writing fiction is a strain. After writing a paragraph or two, I suddenly want to postpone writing the succeeding paragraphs. Which is a sharp contrast when I write here in my blog, my reviews, essays, feature articles, even nonfiction and fanfic. For the latter, I find it relaxing and I want to go on and on and on until I finish. Of course what mystifies me is why this is the case, at least for nonfiction and fanfiction, since they do share some of the elements in fiction. Maybe it's characterization-- the characters in nonfiction and fanfics are already established and I know who they are, while in my fiction pieces, I honestly barely know them. Another part is exposition and description, both of which are far from my strongest points. With fanfiction, you already assume that your readers know most of the qualities of your character (since they are popular characters) and whatever deviant description you give them is just to enhance or differentiate an already established image.
On Fanfic Writing
Actually, I'm only written on fanfic. And in the tradition of most fanfics, it's one of those to be continued stories wherein the continuation actually hasn't been written. And strangely enough, I think one of the reasons I didn't really get into fanfic writing is the fact that I'm quite faithful to the characterizations presented in the canon material. I mean let's face it: fanfics are mostly comprised of what-ifs or wish-fulfillment scenarios. While some fanfics can be faithful to the show/novel/comic/movie they're based on, there's an actual difference in at least one aspect of the characters which the fanfic writer inserts. For example, a sexual pair in the Star Trek fanfic universe is the Kirk slash Spock. While the writer might portray Kirk and Spock in a consistent way they've been acting on the TV episodes and the movies, the Kirk slash Spock shifts the perhaps exagerrated male bonding to an actual romantic relationship, which is actually far from what the creators intended, or is inconsistent with the text (when I speak of text, I mean the episodes or the movie). Of course the actual pairing of the two happens through either the what-if scenario (what if Kirk actually had feelings for Spock), or the wish-fulfillment scenario (they had a moment in that scene... they must be a couple! [when in truth, it's the misinterpreted bonding of one person to another]). Another example is in Gundam Wing, where a lot of people really want to pair up the pilots of the show. And personally, I see that all there is to it is exagerrated male bonding but no sexual tension or interest whatsoever among the male cast. I mean females can be close to each other but you don't see us guys screaming lesbian (well, at least most guys don't). In contrast to Yu Yu Hakusho where the creator did actually hint at something going on between Hiei and Kurama, but was never actualized in the series. Never mind the fact that he probably inserted the sexual innuendo between the two male characters to please fans, but at least the Hiei x Kurama pair makes more sense that the Gundam Wing pairings many fanfic writers want to portray.
Not that I'm saying writing all these fanfics are wrong, but I guess when you go start reading fanfics, one should expect that the reality portrayed in those stories is different (whether slightly different or majorly different) as to what is actually portrayed from the text they were based on. Of course my writing style is (or at least I'd like to think it is) that I tend to be more faithful to the original text, hence defeating the what-if or wish-fulfillment scenarios many fanfic readers are looking for in their fanfics.
For January:
GTO, Chobits, Ghost in the Shell Stand Alone Complex, Cyborg Kurochan, Lum, Getbackers, Astroboy, Nobody's Girl, Ultra Maniac, DT Eightron, Texhnolize, Ailes Grise.
For February:
Clamp Campus Detectives, Gene Shaft, .hack//sign, Cyborg 009, Wolf's Rain, Stratos 4, Saber Marionette J, Daigunder.
Ponderings
I was cramming the fiction story I needed to submit for Monday and then I just realized one thing. For me, writing fiction is a strain. After writing a paragraph or two, I suddenly want to postpone writing the succeeding paragraphs. Which is a sharp contrast when I write here in my blog, my reviews, essays, feature articles, even nonfiction and fanfic. For the latter, I find it relaxing and I want to go on and on and on until I finish. Of course what mystifies me is why this is the case, at least for nonfiction and fanfiction, since they do share some of the elements in fiction. Maybe it's characterization-- the characters in nonfiction and fanfics are already established and I know who they are, while in my fiction pieces, I honestly barely know them. Another part is exposition and description, both of which are far from my strongest points. With fanfiction, you already assume that your readers know most of the qualities of your character (since they are popular characters) and whatever deviant description you give them is just to enhance or differentiate an already established image.
On Fanfic Writing
Actually, I'm only written on fanfic. And in the tradition of most fanfics, it's one of those to be continued stories wherein the continuation actually hasn't been written. And strangely enough, I think one of the reasons I didn't really get into fanfic writing is the fact that I'm quite faithful to the characterizations presented in the canon material. I mean let's face it: fanfics are mostly comprised of what-ifs or wish-fulfillment scenarios. While some fanfics can be faithful to the show/novel/comic/movie they're based on, there's an actual difference in at least one aspect of the characters which the fanfic writer inserts. For example, a sexual pair in the Star Trek fanfic universe is the Kirk slash Spock. While the writer might portray Kirk and Spock in a consistent way they've been acting on the TV episodes and the movies, the Kirk slash Spock shifts the perhaps exagerrated male bonding to an actual romantic relationship, which is actually far from what the creators intended, or is inconsistent with the text (when I speak of text, I mean the episodes or the movie). Of course the actual pairing of the two happens through either the what-if scenario (what if Kirk actually had feelings for Spock), or the wish-fulfillment scenario (they had a moment in that scene... they must be a couple! [when in truth, it's the misinterpreted bonding of one person to another]). Another example is in Gundam Wing, where a lot of people really want to pair up the pilots of the show. And personally, I see that all there is to it is exagerrated male bonding but no sexual tension or interest whatsoever among the male cast. I mean females can be close to each other but you don't see us guys screaming lesbian (well, at least most guys don't). In contrast to Yu Yu Hakusho where the creator did actually hint at something going on between Hiei and Kurama, but was never actualized in the series. Never mind the fact that he probably inserted the sexual innuendo between the two male characters to please fans, but at least the Hiei x Kurama pair makes more sense that the Gundam Wing pairings many fanfic writers want to portray.
Not that I'm saying writing all these fanfics are wrong, but I guess when you go start reading fanfics, one should expect that the reality portrayed in those stories is different (whether slightly different or majorly different) as to what is actually portrayed from the text they were based on. Of course my writing style is (or at least I'd like to think it is) that I tend to be more faithful to the original text, hence defeating the what-if or wish-fulfillment scenarios many fanfic readers are looking for in their fanfics.
posted by Charles at 6:47 PM
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