Thoughts on Alarm Clock: Take that! · 5:13am Feb 17th, 2015
“Well, I really like it! And the rest of the album, too, even though all the songs sound the same.”
“How are we supposed to read 800 pages of this?”
“Because clearly Rainbow Dash is dating Pinkie Pie.”
Ditzy sighed. “Did you hear that from Rainbow Dash?”
“My daughter? What made you think Dinky Doo is my daughter?”
I hope I didn’t come across in my story like I’m anti-shipping, or anti- any particular headcanons. If I make fun of something, it’s because on some level I like it. Whereas if I dislike something, I just don’t mention it in my fiction.
I was trying to write up some manifesto on when it or isn’t okay to take swipes at other people and/or works of fiction in your own stories. But the more I think about it, the more complicated the issue gets. But in general, my thoughts are:
- It’s tacky when too many characters parrot the author’s opinions verbatim.
- If you’re going to gratuitously reference other works of fiction, it’s better to praise one you love than to mock one you dislike.
- Satires and comedies can get away with more.
- You can also get away with more if you mock yourself, as well.
On that note, check out this exclusive sneak peek of my next story:
“I love you, Rainbow Dash, even more than I hate Justin Bieber!”
“I love you too, Twilight. But I hate Justin Bieber even more than you do!”
“Shared hatred for an acceptable target makes our love stronger!”
“Oh, kiss me, Twilight!”
I'm trying very hard to convince myself not to write a story simply titled "Twilight and Rainbow Dash Make-Out on Justin Bieber's Corpse" right now.
Good advice all around. Personally, I like seeing variation in headcanon. What's the point of probability space if it's all identical?
2804631 Yes, exactly. Variety is great.
And if I do think a particular headcanon pops up too often ... well, I should hate on the crappy imitators, not the stories that created that fanon in the first place, or the ones that did something interesting with them. Like, if there are too many "wild animal attacks"-style horror movies, one shouldn't blame Jaws—one should blame the hack directors who copied the superficial traits of Jaws without knowing or caring why it worked.