Into the Fray.
Mar. 22nd, 2002 12:12 pmTricia is an idiot. I'm not going to dispute that. Whether she's telling the truth or lying to get attention, she's done a stupid thing. It's not stupid because she brought RPS to the attention of Ian McKellan, assuming that what she says is true. It's stupid because one of the strongest anti-RPS arguments is that RPS is just short of stalking. The counter to this argument is that it's just fantasy and we're not stalking anyone. Unfortunately, in lo-trips, this is not true. Lo-trips is an incredibly stalker-ish fandom. Sure, I've known a few stalker types in past fandoms who made me want to warn Kirk and Lani Hammett to watch out if the stalker types ever make it to the Bay Area, but I've never seen this kind of widespread obsession with meeting the subjects of the RPS in any other fandom.
As I've said, I don't dispute that Tricia is an idiot. However, I'm horrified by some of the people who are speaking out against her. Far too many people simply assume that because she's an idiot, her fic must be terrible. I admit, I nearly succumbed to the same kind of thinking, despite the fact that I know that neither is an author entirely defined by her writing nor is a body of work entirely defined by the author's personality. Tricia's author's notes nearly made me delete her fic on sight. However, I'm desperate enough for good lo-trips that I'll read at least the first few sentences of any Orlando/Viggo story. I found that, to my surprise, I actually liked Tricia's fic. Despite her idiocy, I still like Tricia's fic.
We, as fandom in general, need to remember that authors are not synonymous with their fics. Idiots can write good fic. Seemingly intelligent and perfectly nice people can write horrible stories. Criticism of a person's actions does not equal criticism of her fic. Criticism of a fic does not equal criticism of an author as a person. As Melle's shirt says, "I am not my stories."
As I've said, I don't dispute that Tricia is an idiot. However, I'm horrified by some of the people who are speaking out against her. Far too many people simply assume that because she's an idiot, her fic must be terrible. I admit, I nearly succumbed to the same kind of thinking, despite the fact that I know that neither is an author entirely defined by her writing nor is a body of work entirely defined by the author's personality. Tricia's author's notes nearly made me delete her fic on sight. However, I'm desperate enough for good lo-trips that I'll read at least the first few sentences of any Orlando/Viggo story. I found that, to my surprise, I actually liked Tricia's fic. Despite her idiocy, I still like Tricia's fic.
We, as fandom in general, need to remember that authors are not synonymous with their fics. Idiots can write good fic. Seemingly intelligent and perfectly nice people can write horrible stories. Criticism of a person's actions does not equal criticism of her fic. Criticism of a fic does not equal criticism of an author as a person. As Melle's shirt says, "I am not my stories."