on different tastes
Sep. 8th, 2014 04:38 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
eliyesA little while ago -- a week, maybe? -- I discovered the tumblr of a fanfic writer I like. Now, I like every fic they wrote that I have ever read, and I went to the tumblr because they have an ongoing story I'm really into and they said they'd be giving updates on how it's coming along there. (Because apparently just getting a notification when the newest chapter is up wasn't enough for me, I dunno.)
This writer, they produce works with excellent structure, great thoughtfulness and depth of characterization, interesting plots, and enjoyable use of language. Really, I like their stuff a lot!
So I was initially excited when I discovered that they post fic recs! Surely, if their writing was to my taste, what they like must be stuff I'll find worth looking at, right?
Turns out no. The stuff they like is either stuff I find too boring or poorly done to really get into, or stuff I actually hate. They made one rec saying, "I don't know why this isn't on every rec list for this fandom" and I actually said out loud, "because it's really bad" (having previously tried to read the story in question).
It's weird, isn't it? You would think someone whose writing we like would like the same sort of stuff we like to read, but it isn't always the case. There have been times when I've read an interview with a published author or a scriptwriter or a poet whose work I enjoy and they've said someone or something was a big inspiration to them, and I've thought, "Wow, I really hated that book/show/etc."
I guess it just proves that even if you're inspired by someone else, even if you think artistic works are inevitably at least somewhat derivative of the the artist's influences, the artist themself -- and what they put into it -- really makes a difference to the audience.
This writer, they produce works with excellent structure, great thoughtfulness and depth of characterization, interesting plots, and enjoyable use of language. Really, I like their stuff a lot!
So I was initially excited when I discovered that they post fic recs! Surely, if their writing was to my taste, what they like must be stuff I'll find worth looking at, right?
Turns out no. The stuff they like is either stuff I find too boring or poorly done to really get into, or stuff I actually hate. They made one rec saying, "I don't know why this isn't on every rec list for this fandom" and I actually said out loud, "because it's really bad" (having previously tried to read the story in question).
It's weird, isn't it? You would think someone whose writing we like would like the same sort of stuff we like to read, but it isn't always the case. There have been times when I've read an interview with a published author or a scriptwriter or a poet whose work I enjoy and they've said someone or something was a big inspiration to them, and I've thought, "Wow, I really hated that book/show/etc."
I guess it just proves that even if you're inspired by someone else, even if you think artistic works are inevitably at least somewhat derivative of the the artist's influences, the artist themself -- and what they put into it -- really makes a difference to the audience.
