netgirl_y2k (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
netgirl_y2k) wrote2013-12-15 06:42 pm
netgirl_y2k) wrote2013-12-15 06:42 pm
Entry tags:
Today's Post is About My Favourite Story Tropes and Structures
Let's see, I like world-building. And not even just super-detailed world-building, although his coherent magical systems are a big part of why I've liked every Brandon Sanderson novel I've picked up, and that Jacqueline Carey's world-building spans the globe is one of the more impressive achievements of the Kushiel books -- although in the latter books, I do wish she weren't so determined to show me every last inch of it, you know?
But what really floats my boat is internally consistent world-building. Harry Potter works according to the rule of puns and boarding school adventures; Discworld is amazingly coherent considering it was made up as Pratchett went along according to the rule of funny and current social commentary. It's part of why Merlin was a mess, because it didn't even know what its own rules were. I just think you pick your rules and then you have to play by them -- nothing will throw me out of narrative faster than a universe contradicting its own established mythology: if there's no magic, there's never any magic; if your vampires can't go out in daylight, don't tell me later that they can with sunscreen and a heavy coat; if you can't travel back into your own timeline, etc.
It ties into the Doctor Who thing; it would be one thing if a female or non-white Doctor was going to contradict the established mythology of the show, but after you make it canon that Time Lords can change sex and race, you shouldn't be surprised when people want to know why the Doctor always has to be a white guy.
I like stories that start from the middle, and parse out the exposition once you're already knee deep in the plot. This doesn't work at all with stories that start from the end, because that removes any sense of jeopardy for me.
I like third person limited much more than third person omniscient; I blame fandom entirely for this.
I like stories that play with things like identity and memory and losing and finding yourself; the Stark sisters and their various identities, Theon, bloody Theon. I always wanted Once Upon a Time to do more with the fact that almost every character has two identities and two sets of memories in their heads. Given this, you'd think amnesia would be a big kink of mine in fandom, but -- eh, a head injury serious enough to leave you with no memory, but without any other symptoms is one of those things that always stretches my suspension of disbelief, and even when its magically induced amnesia it's hardly ever done with the characters and pairings I'm into. I did think that there would be a darkly hilarious story in latter series Morgana forgetting everything after about mid S1, and it freaking the fuck out of everyone.
I like remixes and retellings of well-known stories; fairytales, mythology, Shakespeare; Wicked, Lavinia, The Penelopiad, things of that ilk. I like dragons as an integral part of any fictional world; Temeraire, Tooth & Claw, A Natural History of Dragons, etc. I will crawl on my belly over broken glass for a princess/lady-knight dynamic; all while wondering why Brienne/Sansa isn't a thing in fandom. Recs for any of these kinds of things greatly appreciated!
I like female protagonists, and actually pay much more attention to that than whether the author is a woman; which I'm pretty certain is an arse backwards way to go about actually changing things.
But what really floats my boat is internally consistent world-building. Harry Potter works according to the rule of puns and boarding school adventures; Discworld is amazingly coherent considering it was made up as Pratchett went along according to the rule of funny and current social commentary. It's part of why Merlin was a mess, because it didn't even know what its own rules were. I just think you pick your rules and then you have to play by them -- nothing will throw me out of narrative faster than a universe contradicting its own established mythology: if there's no magic, there's never any magic; if your vampires can't go out in daylight, don't tell me later that they can with sunscreen and a heavy coat; if you can't travel back into your own timeline, etc.
It ties into the Doctor Who thing; it would be one thing if a female or non-white Doctor was going to contradict the established mythology of the show, but after you make it canon that Time Lords can change sex and race, you shouldn't be surprised when people want to know why the Doctor always has to be a white guy.
I like stories that start from the middle, and parse out the exposition once you're already knee deep in the plot. This doesn't work at all with stories that start from the end, because that removes any sense of jeopardy for me.
I like third person limited much more than third person omniscient; I blame fandom entirely for this.
I like stories that play with things like identity and memory and losing and finding yourself; the Stark sisters and their various identities, Theon, bloody Theon. I always wanted Once Upon a Time to do more with the fact that almost every character has two identities and two sets of memories in their heads. Given this, you'd think amnesia would be a big kink of mine in fandom, but -- eh, a head injury serious enough to leave you with no memory, but without any other symptoms is one of those things that always stretches my suspension of disbelief, and even when its magically induced amnesia it's hardly ever done with the characters and pairings I'm into. I did think that there would be a darkly hilarious story in latter series Morgana forgetting everything after about mid S1, and it freaking the fuck out of everyone.
I like remixes and retellings of well-known stories; fairytales, mythology, Shakespeare; Wicked, Lavinia, The Penelopiad, things of that ilk. I like dragons as an integral part of any fictional world; Temeraire, Tooth & Claw, A Natural History of Dragons, etc. I will crawl on my belly over broken glass for a princess/lady-knight dynamic; all while wondering why Brienne/Sansa isn't a thing in fandom. Recs for any of these kinds of things greatly appreciated!
I like female protagonists, and actually pay much more attention to that than whether the author is a woman; which I'm pretty certain is an arse backwards way to go about actually changing things.