Doh! I'll talk about sadfics with Trick Question tomorrow@Ponyfest!

Trick Question graciously accepted my invitation of myself to join her Ponyfest talk on Saturday, May 30.

The Joy of Sadfics
8:00 PM - 9:30 PM
Trick Question, Bad Horse

Why do tragic stories paradoxically make so many readers happy? Is it schadenfreude, identification with loss, catharsis, or something weirder still that draws us to the maudlin? Join Trick as she discusses tragedy and misfortune in fanfiction, and learn about which dramatic themes are more likely to work for a target audience.

(Since when is horse a top-level domain? )

I'd summarize what I'm going to say, but I... don't know. I've been reading many different reasons people give for liking sad stories, and most sound persuasive. But it's unsatisfying to say "Here are 14 different reasons why some people might like sad stories." That's not a theory; that's a heap of anecdotes.

Some recent research shows that only certain personality types like sad music. I wish I even had stats saying what fraction of people like sad stories. What would be a good way to use fimfiction user stats to answer that question? Plot the probability density function for the fraction of users' favorites that have the sad tag?

Comments

[Nyronus]

Oh hey, neat. I'll try to make it if I can.

[Reese]

Good luck, and have fun!

[Luna Aeterna Solutae]

Gonna pass. I'd make more of an effort of attending if it were you and literally anyone else.

[Catalysts Cradle]

Awesome! Looking forward to listening in.

[Bad Horse]

5271740
I think she has worthwhile things to say. I've seen her slides. A couple of quotes:

Sad and dark elements in fiction are a tool, like a hammer. You don't want to take the hammer and walk around looking for nails!

I keep my dark fiction ponyish by making sure bad things always happen for a reason related to the underlying goodness of the show.

[equestrian.sen]

That was a comfy panel. I like your hypothesis that tragedies are about moral paradoxes.

Though the author would disagree, I just finished reading a tragedy last night, and I can comment a bit on why I like them (when I like them). Sometimes I just don't have a good answer for how to deal with a thing, and the tragedy is a good way to view my own circumstances through new words, new perspectives, and sometimes a new coloring. Whether I agree or disagree with a character's actions or the story's conclusions, I'm in a better position to understand why, and to the extent that the scenario reflects my own, I'm in a better position to form my own beliefs.

It's also nice to see an author put my unthoughts into words. If it has to be a tragedy, better it come with coherence than chaos.

[Bad Horse]

5272331 I agree entirely. Thanks for coming!