How to tell if the fic is by Indri

[indri]

The majority of the following will be true:

1. The point-of-view character had a speaking role in Fool for Love.
2. The point-of-view character wasn't born in the US.
3. Some attempt has been made at researching the setting.
4. Conversations only serve to illustrate gaps in understanding between people.
5. Ditto sex.
6. The characters act on emotions that they may not yet have put a name to or which they do not understand.
7. The story was described as "oddly wistful" on BetterBuffyFics.
8. There's a stronger emphasis on visual imagery than on dialogue.
9. If it's more than a vignette, then the story will end with the death and/or transformation of the protagonist.
10. There's an element of dark humour.

I've thought about (6) since the Concritathon. I've concluded that I write like that because that's how I experience emotions myself. There's the ebb and flow of everyday, easily-identifiable emotions on top but beneath are the unseen riptides that change the direction of one's life. I sometimes have to work out the riptide emotions through observation of my actions. (For example, when I had a postdoc position which was quite prestigious but which I was not yet ready to admit that I found pretty dull, I wrote fic about protagonists who got what they wished for but didn't enjoy it. I felt pretty stupid afterwards when I noticed this. Or another example: by the time I decided that I liked he-who-is-now-my-SO enough to go out with him, many people already presumed we were an item because we'd been acting like one for months.)

When I consider my stalled novel, which I started more than a decade ago and haven't worked on for at least five years, I see that it has a lot in common with the list above too. So these traits are part of a consistent writing style.

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peasant_ has been posting some interesting thoughts on fannish behaviour.

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To my utter astonishment, I have been making some progress on the Dru fic recently. I may have one last hurrah from this fandom in about, oh, early 2007.

Comments

[malkingrey.livejournal.com]

7. The story was described as "oddly wistful" on BetterBuffyFics.

I plead guilty as charged . . . what can I say, it's a note that's not as easy to hit dead-on as one would think, and the missed attempts sound bad enough that it's worth pointing out the occasional writer who can get it right.

[shapinglight]

Very glad to hear you have a last hurrah for us (though I hope you'll be wrong about it being the last)and very happy if it is a typical indri fic because I can think of nothing better.

[makd.livejournal.com]

Better late than never on the Dru fic. :=)

[indri]

That's what I'm hoping :)

[romanyg.livejournal.com]

6. The characters act on emotions that they may not yet have put a name to or which they do not understand.

This is a mark of a good writer, one who understands how people actually work rather than how we wish they would. This is why you're one of the best authors in the fandom, and will remain so if you never post another word of fic. Although more would always be nice. *g*

[indri]

Those are extremely kind words. Thank you for this rare compliment.

I am hoping to post a few more words of fic :) Fingers crossed.

[romanyg.livejournal.com]

You're welcome. I'm surprised that it's rare since I know that you're well-respected for your talent.

*quietly cheers from the corner*

[indri]

Sorry, a poor choice of words on my part. I meant "rare" more in the sense of "particularly precious" rather than uncommon. A compliment like "one of the best authors in the fandom" is always going to make me grin like a fool.