General Kink Discussion

[criticalkink]

Anon asked for a post where they could discuss fic advice and thoughts while remaining anonymous.

BIG, IMPORTANT NOTE: If any discussion descends into being rude about the cast, the characters, other members of fandom, or anything else, this post will go away and y'all can go make an anonmeme somewhere else. This is not for snark, it's for discussion and conversation that people do not feel comfortable having on Tumblr. Only offer concrit on people's comments if they specifically request it, and do be constructive about it.

And for the love of the Everlight, don't kinkshame, even in a "well, I don't like watersports, but maybe you could blah blah blah" way. Stick with the advice, not the judgment.

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Comments

Characterisation patterns, I guess?

[(Anonymous)]

To fellow writers, what are some patterns or characterisations that you just can't break free of?
The world of CR RPF has bitten my ass hard, and I find that some things - like submissive Matt (seriously, even his name screams sub) - have just wormed their way into my writing and seem so natural that I often don't question them until I see a prompt that suggests otherwise.
Have any of you noticed anything similar? If you have, do you think it restricts your writing or helps it settle? Do you have any ways to encourage/discourage patterns?

Re: Characterisation patterns, I guess?

[(Anonymous)]

having certain preferred characterizations isn't bad, I think...it helps writing go more smoothly when you're not having to try to steer the voice in your head in a direction it doesn't want to go

Re: Characterisation patterns, I guess?

[(Anonymous)]

Oh man, my downfall is slipping my OTP's in every goddamn fic I write, even if it's tiny nods in the background/subtext of other pairings. This has hit me harder with my Crit Role fics than pretty much anything else I've ever written for haha. It strengthens my characterisations for those involved and means that when I write those specific pairings it comes through really strong, but I struggle to write outside of that pairing with one or both of the characters once the OTP it's cemented in my mind.

Also being openly Poly myself, it just kinda of happens in all my writings that everyone loves everyone and has all of the feelings ever... probably me projecting onto characters, but I love writing from experience so I take it in my stride.
~Tealversace (needs to make a DW account)

Re: Characterisation patterns, I guess?

[(Anonymous)]

(not op) oh man I have the poly problem too....I don't think I know how to write monogamy anymore

Re: Characterisation patterns, I guess?

[afullmargin]

I am for the most part driven by these patterns and once something has cemented itself into my mind I have a very hard time writing (and sometimes reading) outside of that shorthand. It's perpetually rewarded in the form of consistency for myself and readers that seem to enjoy what I'm doing - not really sure I'd discontinue any of my patterns, tbh, without some reason to do so (ie: a prompt that is counter to my shorthand, but interesting to me).

The biggest is likely my RPF OT3 dynamic with submissive Matt/switch Tal/Dominant Marisha. This was something that just sort of fell into place for me and felt right. I'm not opposed to the idea of altering that dynamic, but I would be hard pressed to do so without reason. Much for the same reason I lean into poly & open relationships across the board to the point where unless I say otherwise it's probably safest to assume poly in my fic. I also tend to write Matt as either inexperienced with men or significantly less experienced, again with no real reason other than that being the way that I tend to write it.

I think in fairness this sort of thing is normal for writers. When I write my original stuff I establish a character voice and behavior patterns and that becomes ingrained in the character. For me at least, possibly for others IDK, when I write my first 1-2 pieces in a fandom for for a pairing it's establishing my particular universe involving these characters who behave and think in a certain way and any deviation from that characterization is OOC.

In much the same fashion, I think fandom or group trends come in a similar manner, from established characterization. So, say 1 or 2 writers write sub!Matt, others either feel that's the "correct" characterization or subconsciously lean that way because it's what they've read. Does that make sense?