Everybody has to start somewhere so I don't usually like to put down resources that are clearly meant for beginners, but I do think if you're seriously engaging with those Writer Tips Posts that say things like "HOW TO SHOW ANGER IN WRITING: they cross their arms" you do not need to be studying Writing Blogs you need to pay attention to other human beings more often.
As someone who is not a beginner, I sometimes find those posts useful. I'm not sure I'd call them beginner resources so much as writing reference sheets.
It's not that I don't notice those things IRL, but sometimes I need a reminder that oh, yeah, people do that. You may blank in the moment, or just want to consider different options.
Every artist has things they can pull from memory, and some moments where they need to check a reference, whether that's real life, a piece by another artist, or a step-by-step tutorial. Writing is the same.
The key is to understand what you're using. It's not the same to pull an emote from a list after having observed the behavior in real life and understanding how different people may express themselves (thus making the list more of a memory aid), vs. using the list as your sole source of knowledge on Showing Emotions™.
That said, yes, OP totally has a point, there is a problem with artists not engaging with real life enough. Even referencing other art can be counterproductive down the line. At some point you have to go outside.
I love asking friends, without context, "what are you really into this week?" I'll go first. this week I'm really into mouthwash and sudoku. Last week I was into peaches.
we used to be a society on here!! reblog, don't like! I want to hear what you're into!!! I'm literally looking into the nyt game Pips!!!
compiling my favourite responses
Refraining from writing fiction about terrible events occurring does not stop terrible events from happening.
Fiction about terrible events occurring can help victims of those kind of terrible events feel understood and prevent them from feeling isolated.
Fiction about terrible events occurring can serve as a warning for people that these types of events are something that can happen.
Fiction about terrible events occurring can help people develop and exercise empathy for the victims of terrible events.
Fiction about terrible events that are not occurring right now can help people deal with the terrible events that are happening to them right now via catharsis in a controlled environment.
Fiction about terrible events can be really fun to write for some fucked up reason.
been turning the idea around in my head that there is something in fandom that equates being the sub/bottom with being taken care of and dom/top as the caretaking role and that informing how characters are assigned one or the other - so that the character a person wants cared for ends up the sub/bottom to the character who is supposed to do the caring. it's an emotional interpretation of a physical dynamic and I think it contributes some to the...mmm. moderate lack of interest in dom or top interiority that I've noticed is somewhat recurrent across fandoms.
it is a perception that dictates that sex is about not just the sub/bottom's physical needs (which I think is also somewhat true in fandom) but about the sub/bottom's emotional needs, and is at least less interested in the dom/top's physical or emotional needs. and this is not to say that the dom/top's physical/emotional needs do not align with the sub's - hopefully they do! - just that in general fanfiction as a category is not approaching those two halves with the same interest or emphasis.
this pops up also, I would say, in the way that most fic I read does not dig into the desires of doms in the same way it digs into the desires of subs, which I would argue is linked back to the reluctance to acknowledge the desire to dominate as legitimate in the same way as the desire to submit.
I'm not saying that it's wrong to write this way or to be invested in this construction of a dynamic in the particular but I do think it's a problem writ large with implications outside the narrow realm of fandom (under discussion here because that's where I've experienced this most).
anyway. taps the "doms have feelings too" sign again
memes are fun and relatable and all that, but don't let them discourage you. all of that stuff that doesn't make it into the final product is part of how the final product gets made
Its frustrating when non-horror people come into horror spaces and ask why we like violence and watching people suffer and sexism and all other manner of moral hand-wringing, but i also find it frustrating when horror fans (myself included) attempt to sincerely engage with these questions. Like 9 times out of 10 the question is either being asked in bad faith, or the asker is genuinely confused, and neither of those types of people are prepared for a proper answer about how horror reflects the cultural landscape or the complex relationships between the genre and gender and race etc and they definitely aren't ready to hear about the real facet of sexuality and eroticism in basically all horror media
horror is an easy target for pearl clutching but you can subject pretty much any genre to the same criticism if you frame it poorly enough. Oh you like romance movies? So you enjoy watching men stalk women and violate their boundaries? You think cheating is okay? You think its cool when women give up their careers to get married? I dont like or watch romance movies but based off my limited understanding thats what they're all like, etc
i think we need to just start responding to bad faith questions about horror with "yeah i thought it was awesome when The Killer fed all those teenagers into a wood chipper"
Look, pal, when I say "fanfiction does not have the cultural reach to be able to change social perceptions of controversial topics"
what I mean is "if Game of Thrones could not manage to normalize incest, a handful of shipcest fics on AO3 with 50 kudos each sure aren't going to manage to normalize it!"
And you know that. In your heart you know it.
"Well, what if a shipcest fanfiction got SO popular that-"
What if the world was made of pudding.