I'm not sure what people look at to recognize writing either, which is one reason I asked. I think people probably pick up on different things, which interests me. It also interests me that some people (over on LJ) have said they might recognize one writer for her mood or tone of voice, but another for the details that author always adds.
After reading The Sound and the Fury with my sister, we spent days and days in which we only messaged each other in Forster style.
. . . I imagine this is a typo, as Forster is pretty different than Faulkner. Though now that you say that, it's interesting, because I never thought of Forster as having a style, despite really like his stories. They seem to say similar things, though. Faulkner, on the other hand, is very recognizable--from what I understand, anyway. I've actually never read him, which I know is a shame.
The reason I asked about fanfic in particular is that I feel the field of published writing is much different. People get famous for being able to write particular things in particular ways. They almost always are recognizable. It seemed to me that fandom was a place where it was a lot more likely that a lot of people would like a certain author without there being anything singular about that author other than that they are skilled. Because I definitely think that it's possible to be a skillful chameleon, and just as valid as being skillfully one of a kind, but there's less room for the former in the published world.
Also, I'm interested in how characterizations play into it. Do we like fanfic authors who always write the character in a certain kind of way because that's how we interpret that character? I dunno.
Anyway, thanks for taking a shot at this.
In other news . . . I totally fell down on beta'ing. I'm so sorry. I think a bunch of things were happening and it just fell off the bottom of my to-do. Did you find someone new? If not, do you still need someone? I hate being flaky even though that appears to be my natural state; I don't want to leave you in the lurch. It was such a brilliant story!
no subject
After reading The Sound and the Fury with my sister, we spent days and days in which we only messaged each other in Forster style.
. . . I imagine this is a typo, as Forster is pretty different than Faulkner. Though now that you say that, it's interesting, because I never thought of Forster as having a style, despite really like his stories. They seem to say similar things, though. Faulkner, on the other hand, is very recognizable--from what I understand, anyway. I've actually never read him, which I know is a shame.
The reason I asked about fanfic in particular is that I feel the field of published writing is much different. People get famous for being able to write particular things in particular ways. They almost always are recognizable. It seemed to me that fandom was a place where it was a lot more likely that a lot of people would like a certain author without there being anything singular about that author other than that they are skilled. Because I definitely think that it's possible to be a skillful chameleon, and just as valid as being skillfully one of a kind, but there's less room for the former in the published world.
Also, I'm interested in how characterizations play into it. Do we like fanfic authors who always write the character in a certain kind of way because that's how we interpret that character? I dunno.
Anyway, thanks for taking a shot at this.
In other news . . . I totally fell down on beta'ing. I'm so sorry. I think a bunch of things were happening and it just fell off the bottom of my to-do. Did you find someone new? If not, do you still need someone? I hate being flaky even though that appears to be my natural state; I don't want to leave you in the lurch. It was such a brilliant story!