Randomness, The Doctor Is In - On How not to Bash

[dlgood]

So, I finally went to the doctor to get my knees checked out. And as it turns out, the preliminary diagnosis is Bursitis and Patellar Tendinitis. In both knees. So this means more resting, PT, anti-inflammatories and wearing sleeves for awhile. And possibly, I might have to go get injections and what not. At this point, I wish they would have just busted out the needle, drained what had to be drained, and shot me up with whatever cortico-steriod they think I'll be needing.

But the fun thing? Apparently, this is a condition traditonally known as "Housemaid's Knee" - because the knee seems mostly okay until you actually get on your knees to clean the floor or somesuch, at which point it is remarkably painful.

Note - this does not amuse me because of the term "housemaid" or any particular gendered connotations. Mostly it's because if there's anyone I know who doesn't do nearly as much housework as should be done, it's me. This would be like getting "Tennis Elbow" without actually playing tennis. (Not that I do) Seriously - if I'm gonna be getting housemaid's knees, at least I should be cleaning my house. This is just shameful.

(As is the condition of my house - fortunately I'll be bringing in an OCD Neatfreak of a tenant next month...)

BTW - Recieved a favorite reply in an offlist discussion where I tried to explain why a writer's work was Bashfic:

You insist that I MUST see (Insert Character Here) as sympathetic, in a situation where you already know that my views are opposite.

Now, actually - I claimed that if you don't want to write Bashfic, then yeah - you have to be able to consider all of the characters (at least not counting moustache twirling villains like Warren) from a sympathetic POV. You don't actually have to sympathize with them - or necessarily go with it - but you do have to be open to considering the possibility.

It's the willingness to accept ambiguity. We don't want stories so amorphous that nobody has any idea what you're going on about - but ambiguity is key. Shades of grey.

People generally have motivations. One should explore that. And not just one motivation - usually - people have several. It's really great if you can work it so that characters have conflicting motivations, and then find themselves in situations where they have to make value judgements around those conflicting values.

It would also help if characters have motivations that aren't clear or clean - some should be pretty and noble, and some should be ugly and ignoble. Because - hey - that's humanity. And ideally, as a writer, we shouldn't make excuses for characters having ignoble motivations. Especially the characters we like. It's okay for them to have those ugly motivations. It can be bad if they act on them - but it makes them human characters instead of simple fantasy objects or cardboard cutouts.

And when it comes to characters we dislike, whether it's Spike, Riley, or Kennedy or anyone else - we shouldn't write off their better motives - most people have them.

So that's my key - be ready to explore the characters and consider them as having multiple motives, preferably layered and conflicting for the better dramatic possibilities. If characters behave as they do out of multiple motives - if acts can't be attributed only to one motive, good or bad, you have some ambiguity. You have humanity in the story. Might not make it actually good or bad, but at least you'll be making sure that you aren't writing Bash-fic.

Comments

[a2zmom.livejournal.com]

As always, you are wise beyond your years, young Jedi master.

Bash fic always cracks me up. If you have such a narrow view that you can't see that character A has some good qualities (and it seems to go hand in hand with character Z out-sainting Mother Teresa), I have to wonder a little about your agenda in writing the fic.

[liz-marcs.livejournal.com]

Eeeeee. I agree with you, and you put it so much better than I could. Although, I think sometimes bashing is in the eye of the beholder. For example, I've been pegged in some quarters as a "Xander basher" and when I've pressed for a reason, it's because these individuals believe that I'm accentuating Xander's less-than-stellar qualities.

Living History has been accused of bashing Robin, although I've explained a million times that just because Character A doesn't get along with Character B or that they disagree on a few fundamental issues it doesn't mean I'm bashing Character A or Character B.

Then you have the problem where the author doesn't get into Character A's or Character B's mindset. The story is taken from an outside point of view and those characters may come off as less-than-stellar. It makes your job hella harder, I think, in those cases. That's why I often turn to the crutch of at least getting inside everyone's head, including the antognists in question. At least those characters will get a moment of sympathetic treatment or at least some revelation that their motivations aren't all petty.

There are some clear-cut cases, I agree. (God knows, as a Xander fan, I've seen it often enough.) And I very much hate it when I see any character bashed, even characters I don't like. Sadly, Andrew, Kennedy, Robin, and other late BtVS additions are most often bashed, but part of it is because ME didn't give us a whole lot to go on with the later characters. The details have to be created by the author from out of thin air, and that takes time, effort, and a lot of writing.

Although, I'm the first to admit, it can be a miserable business. (Looks sadly at my death fic.) Especially when most of the characters you're working with a characters you hate and the set-up doesn't lend itself well to sympathetic treatment.

I guess in the end, I've found that I've had to go on a case-by-case basis. Does the writer in question have a history of character bashing? Does the writer in question usually give characters the benefit of the doubt? Is there an in-story reason (as opposed to the meta reason of, "It's easier on me the writer if I don't have to consider their motivations) for the characters to be the way they are? I think a certain amount of trust has to come into play when reading a fic and you're surprised by the characterization in it, especially if the fic is a WiP.

I'm not saying I disagree with you. Far from it. I agree 100%. But there can be a little wiggle room on the issue.

[cleapet.livejournal.com]

That ficcer sounds vibrant.

[minim_calibre]

Amen.

I try, always, to remember that how I feel about character X has nothing to do with how character Y feels, and that my personal negative feelings towards a character, if I have them, simply have no place in character Y's POV.

[rcampuzano.livejournal.com]

ahh, so sorry to hear about your "housemaid" issues (sorry, I promise I won't use the term again :D) Something happened to my knee about a year ago that still flares up occasionally and I know how painful knee problems can be and how debilitating they are. I hope you feel better soon.

[chrisleeoctaves.livejournal.com]

I think you've actually offered a wonderful template for writing a character who is believable. I don't personally see the point in bashfic and I hope I've never written any. One dimensional characters are boring and unrealistic anyway.

I know lots of B/A writers bash Riley and Spike, but I don't see the point when they are wonderful foils for Angel and Buffy (and other characters) and can be used in all sorts of compelling ways just the way they are.

The best stories are those that present characters that, when you read them, do things that make you go: yes, he/she would say/do/feel that. To ignore the Spike's kinder, gentler side devalues what Buffy saw in him and thereby lessens her character. Everyone loses.

Hope you get some relief for your knees.

[stephanierb.livejournal.com]

Sorry about the knees, I have arthritis in both and it's no picnic. Why didn't your doctor drain them if you needed it? I've had to have both of mine drained a few times because I was having difficulty climbing stairs due to the swelling. Your situation doesn't sound quite as bad, but I would think if you had fluid then they would drain it.

[canadiangirl-86.livejournal.com]

Take care of those knees, Dave.

In response to your views on bashfic, I completely agree with you. I read fic to escape, but more often than not I'm looking for ways to continue the universe or add even more depth to it than it previously had. I see blatant character bashing that is clearly the opposite of what the writers of the shows intended, and I get pulled out of the moment. I can't read it, because it's not an expansion on the verse anymore, it's something completely different.

[shadowkat67.livejournal.com]

Sorry about the knees - been commisserating with my mother who got a torn minscus on the tennis court and is getting halcogn treatments next week. And I think back in 96 or 97 - I ended up with tendentitis in both knees - what solved the problem was physical therapy on my back - oddly the back caused the knee problem. I was sitting incorrectly at work and sleeping incorrectly (ie. on stomach not side or back, and on footon - very bad idea). Then the knees going out ten years back on a tread-mill which ended hopes of running. So, I emphasize and hope you feel much better soon, at least you have an excuse to avoid housecleaning or order the neat-freak tenant to do it.

Regarding Bash-fic? I think there are two major mistakes fanfic or any writer makes - and that is a) idealizing/overly romanticizing the character or b) bashing the character and making them the mustach twirling villian. I've seen incredibly good writers bash Buffy to the extent that I am pulled out of the story and rolling my eyes. Actually, I'd have to say the characters I've seen bashed the most are oddly the ones that have also been idealized the most - Angel, Buffy, Spike.
(Course I've seen every single character in the show bashed at some writers hands, one of the funniest was actually Willow at one time.
The writer, who I won't name mostly because it was too long ago and can't remember who the person was anymore just the fic, really had it in for poor Willow.

I think Whedon says something on the Wild at Heart Commentary that addresses your point succinctly - and it is an offhand comment to a question Seth Green poses. "How do you write villains and make them interesting?", "Well," states Whedon, " the thing to remember is that the villain doesn't see him or herself as a villian, they are the hero of the piece. I mean you don't go around thinking I'm a villain and twirl your moustache evilly. In your head - you are the hero, the protagonist, the other guy - the obstacle is the villian. As a writer you have to remember that. Not very interesting to me to make them all dark and horrid, that's dull. I want you to root for them a bit." (Okay that is by no means a direct quote, it's my paraphrasing of something I vaguely remember him saying...but, if you look back at the series, both series and ask yourself which antagonists (better word than villain) were the most interesting or really grabbed you - you'd discover they were the ones that weren't predictable, were multifaceted and didn't always fall completely into "evil or black and white" connotations. The one's who did, we were more or less happy to see the last of.