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Jul. 3rd, 2005
So, I'm writing this Firefly fic...
Jul. 3rd, 2005 03:26 pm...with Jayne and a kitten.
And it brings home to me just how hard writing humor is. Most fanbrats, it seems, think that all they have to do is OD on Pixie Stix and scribble a few paragraphs of characters running into walls, wearing underwear on their heads, and screaming "Cheese!"--and that makes a "humor" fic. This couldn't be farther from the truth. Vomit-inducing, perhaps. If I decided to lose weight by becoming bulemic, I'd give myself a steady diet of fics like that. But they're not funny.
Humor is situation-driven and character-driven. Throw Jayne and a kitten together in the same room, and I'm pretty sure hostilities will ensue, which can be funny. Make Jayne go see Simon after those hostilities are over and done with...? That can be hilarious. Add River, and you can be falling on the floor with laughter.
But the characters have to be in character. Jayne has to be grouchy and stoic and not necessarily happy with needing medical treatment for a kitten bite; Simon will be all deadpan and professional while dispensing that treatment with barely concealed glee; and River will be cryptic and mysterious and just a little bit creepy when she comments on it. Overdo it, and it's parody. Underdo it, and it's not funny enough.
I hope I have a deft enough hand at this...May need a beta when it's all done. First Firefly fic; probably should have a beta anyway. *mumbles*
A few icontests are over for the week, so I can post these:
And if![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
speakr2customrs can have Plot Capybaras, then I can by golly have one of these:
And it brings home to me just how hard writing humor is. Most fanbrats, it seems, think that all they have to do is OD on Pixie Stix and scribble a few paragraphs of characters running into walls, wearing underwear on their heads, and screaming "Cheese!"--and that makes a "humor" fic. This couldn't be farther from the truth. Vomit-inducing, perhaps. If I decided to lose weight by becoming bulemic, I'd give myself a steady diet of fics like that. But they're not funny.
Humor is situation-driven and character-driven. Throw Jayne and a kitten together in the same room, and I'm pretty sure hostilities will ensue, which can be funny. Make Jayne go see Simon after those hostilities are over and done with...? That can be hilarious. Add River, and you can be falling on the floor with laughter.
But the characters have to be in character. Jayne has to be grouchy and stoic and not necessarily happy with needing medical treatment for a kitten bite; Simon will be all deadpan and professional while dispensing that treatment with barely concealed glee; and River will be cryptic and mysterious and just a little bit creepy when she comments on it. Overdo it, and it's parody. Underdo it, and it's not funny enough.
I hope I have a deft enough hand at this...May need a beta when it's all done. First Firefly fic; probably should have a beta anyway. *mumbles*
A few icontests are over for the week, so I can post these:
And if
speakr2customrs can have Plot Capybaras, then I can by golly have one of these:
So, I'm writing this Firefly fic...
Jul. 3rd, 2005 03:26 pm...with Jayne and a kitten.
And it brings home to me just how hard writing humor is. Most fanbrats, it seems, think that all they have to do is OD on Pixie Stix and scribble a few paragraphs of characters running into walls, wearing underwear on their heads, and screaming "Cheese!"--and that makes a "humor" fic. This couldn't be farther from the truth. Vomit-inducing, perhaps. If I decided to lose weight by becoming bulemic, I'd give myself a steady diet of fics like that. But they're not funny.
Humor is situation-driven and character-driven. Throw Jayne and a kitten together in the same room, and I'm pretty sure hostilities will ensue, which can be funny. Make Jayne go see Simon after those hostilities are over and done with...? That can be hilarious. Add River, and you can be falling on the floor with laughter.
But the characters have to be in character. Jayne has to be grouchy and stoic and not necessarily happy with needing medical treatment for a kitten bite; Simon will be all deadpan and professional while dispensing that treatment with barely concealed glee; and River will be cryptic and mysterious and just a little bit creepy when she comments on it. Overdo it, and it's parody. Underdo it, and it's not funny enough.
I hope I have a deft enough hand at this...May need a beta when it's all done. First Firefly fic; probably should have a beta anyway. *mumbles*
A few icontests are over for the week, so I can post these:
And ifspeakr2customrs can have Plot Capybaras, then I can by golly have one of these:
And it brings home to me just how hard writing humor is. Most fanbrats, it seems, think that all they have to do is OD on Pixie Stix and scribble a few paragraphs of characters running into walls, wearing underwear on their heads, and screaming "Cheese!"--and that makes a "humor" fic. This couldn't be farther from the truth. Vomit-inducing, perhaps. If I decided to lose weight by becoming bulemic, I'd give myself a steady diet of fics like that. But they're not funny.
Humor is situation-driven and character-driven. Throw Jayne and a kitten together in the same room, and I'm pretty sure hostilities will ensue, which can be funny. Make Jayne go see Simon after those hostilities are over and done with...? That can be hilarious. Add River, and you can be falling on the floor with laughter.
But the characters have to be in character. Jayne has to be grouchy and stoic and not necessarily happy with needing medical treatment for a kitten bite; Simon will be all deadpan and professional while dispensing that treatment with barely concealed glee; and River will be cryptic and mysterious and just a little bit creepy when she comments on it. Overdo it, and it's parody. Underdo it, and it's not funny enough.
I hope I have a deft enough hand at this...May need a beta when it's all done. First Firefly fic; probably should have a beta anyway. *mumbles*
A few icontests are over for the week, so I can post these:
And if
speakr2customrs can have Plot Capybaras, then I can by golly have one of these: