Personally, I give far more brownie points to someone trying to understand a character or pairing, than someone bashing and/or dismissing them. At least they're making an effort.
Intellectually, this is the way I feel. Bashing is bad writing, it's lazy, it's disrespectful; and it's kinda pointless except to rile people up on one side or the other, as far as I can see. But emotionally, when I'm reading a fic for which the author *has* made the effort, but has failed in my opinion because I'm reading between the lines that they don't actually like the character--I'm more put out than I am when there's bashing. It's my personal reaction, that again, doesn't make sense or any kind of justice intellectually.
One thing I've discovered is that even fans of a character can see a character very, very, very differently, so I don't require a writer to write each and every character the way that I see them.
Oh, yeah. I *love* different points of view, and different interpretations. And some interpretations I don't agree with, but I respect them for what they are. Even interpretations that are again, as I describe, solely the attempt of the writer to treat justly a character they don't actually like--yeah, I respect that. But reading the latter? I don't *like* it.
I at least need to believe that it's a legitimate interpretation of the character in canon. It may not be my interpretation, but I would like it to in some way relate to the primary text. I need to be able to believe it within context.
This may actually be the difference. I would actually rather read a Buffy by a Buffy-lover that veered significantly from canon, than a Buffy by a Buffy-hater that was trying to do justice to canon. The latter writer couldn't bash Buffy, because that's not how Buffy is in canon and that's not how she's treated. But when the dislike for the character comes through, even when the writer is trying to write the character fairly, I think I would rather read a much different interpretation of Buffy that at least felt like the author respected the character I love.
I'm babbling.
I don't think you are. These are all valid points.
If you hate a character, don't write them is usually my view.
Well, that's a smart road to take, but what I'm talking about here is when that becomes difficult to avoid. As in, you really *do* hate Spike but you really *want* to write Buffy coming to W&H in S5 and staying and having a long extended relationship with Angel--how can you avoid writing Spike then? You can pretend Spike doesn't exist, but as I stated above, that in itself is kind of lazy, even BAD writing. So, you can make the attempt to deal with Spike justly and fairly in a way that gradually fades him out of the picture, or at least shows why he and Buffy no longer have their thing, or whatever--but, like I say above, and author who hates Spike trying to write Spike well, who doesn't succeed and gives me the impression between the lines that the writer doesn't *really* respect Spike--that's difficult for me to read.
But, like I said, we all have our own reactions. The way people talk about bashing, I assume it turns people off way more than this does. I just happen to have a slightly different reaction.
no subject
Intellectually, this is the way I feel. Bashing is bad writing, it's lazy, it's disrespectful; and it's kinda pointless except to rile people up on one side or the other, as far as I can see. But emotionally, when I'm reading a fic for which the author *has* made the effort, but has failed in my opinion because I'm reading between the lines that they don't actually like the character--I'm more put out than I am when there's bashing. It's my personal reaction, that again, doesn't make sense or any kind of justice intellectually.
One thing I've discovered is that even fans of a character can see a character very, very, very differently, so I don't require a writer to write each and every character the way that I see them.
Oh, yeah. I *love* different points of view, and different interpretations. And some interpretations I don't agree with, but I respect them for what they are. Even interpretations that are again, as I describe, solely the attempt of the writer to treat justly a character they don't actually like--yeah, I respect that. But reading the latter? I don't *like* it.
I at least need to believe that it's a legitimate interpretation of the character in canon. It may not be my interpretation, but I would like it to in some way relate to the primary text. I need to be able to believe it within context.
This may actually be the difference. I would actually rather read a Buffy by a Buffy-lover that veered significantly from canon, than a Buffy by a Buffy-hater that was trying to do justice to canon. The latter writer couldn't bash Buffy, because that's not how Buffy is in canon and that's not how she's treated. But when the dislike for the character comes through, even when the writer is trying to write the character fairly, I think I would rather read a much different interpretation of Buffy that at least felt like the author respected the character I love.
I'm babbling.
I don't think you are. These are all valid points.
If you hate a character, don't write them is usually my view.
Well, that's a smart road to take, but what I'm talking about here is when that becomes difficult to avoid. As in, you really *do* hate Spike but you really *want* to write Buffy coming to W&H in S5 and staying and having a long extended relationship with Angel--how can you avoid writing Spike then? You can pretend Spike doesn't exist, but as I stated above, that in itself is kind of lazy, even BAD writing. So, you can make the attempt to deal with Spike justly and fairly in a way that gradually fades him out of the picture, or at least shows why he and Buffy no longer have their thing, or whatever--but, like I say above, and author who hates Spike trying to write Spike well, who doesn't succeed and gives me the impression between the lines that the writer doesn't *really* respect Spike--that's difficult for me to read.
But, like I said, we all have our own reactions. The way people talk about bashing, I assume it turns people off way more than this does. I just happen to have a slightly different reaction.