Originally posted by Valerie
I am not a fan of fan fiction romance, because it is usually cliche`d sappy and predictable. That aside I have read some great fan fiction with Lois, Chloe, and yes even Lana, as the female lead character.
In addition to the above list, I have noticed some other overused themes in fan fiction:
1. The lead female treating Clark like he is stupid and/or her lapdog. I have noticed this mostly with Lois, sometimes with Chloe, and rarely with Lana.
2. Clark only being focused on the leading Lady. I am not saying this is wrong in a romance fic, but it gets boring, and isn't very realistic.
3. Clark chasing after female lead. Hearing all about how he feels about her, and how he can convince her to be with him. I just think the reverse would be refreshing once in awhile.
4. Lois being a know-it-all and condescending. Some may argue that this is canon, and while you may be right, it is still overused.
5. Villianizing one or more of the other female characters. Lana is usually made to look petty and villiany, but sometimes it is Chloe or Lois. The problem with villanizing a character that is not really a villian on the show, is that it seems petty of the author, and it makes all the characters that interact with the villianized character seem out-of-character.
Now I have also noticed some under-used things in fan fiction romance:
1. Lack of conflict between the lead characters. A great way to build tension (sexual or otherwise) between characters is to have them fighting and angry with, and confronting one another. This also adds excitment for the readers. Too much sappiness is boring.
2. Clark being the strong confident one. Again, may not be canon, but it would be refreshing.
3. An equally viable love triangle: Example; Clark being attracted to both Lois and Chloe, or Chloe and Lana, ect... This would be a complicated storyline, and it would keep the readers guessing. Clark has been shown to be attracted to all three of these young women in canon. It would be less cliche`d.
4. Having the romance as a sub plot instead of the main plot, for all of the above reasons.
I am not a fan of fan fiction romance, because it is usually cliche`d sappy and predictable. That aside I have read some great fan fiction with Lois, Chloe, and yes even Lana, as the female lead character.
In addition to the above list, I have noticed some other overused themes in fan fiction:
1. The lead female treating Clark like he is stupid and/or her lapdog. I have noticed this mostly with Lois, sometimes with Chloe, and rarely with Lana.
2. Clark only being focused on the leading Lady. I am not saying this is wrong in a romance fic, but it gets boring, and isn't very realistic.
3. Clark chasing after female lead. Hearing all about how he feels about her, and how he can convince her to be with him. I just think the reverse would be refreshing once in awhile.
4. Lois being a know-it-all and condescending. Some may argue that this is canon, and while you may be right, it is still overused.
5. Villianizing one or more of the other female characters. Lana is usually made to look petty and villiany, but sometimes it is Chloe or Lois. The problem with villanizing a character that is not really a villian on the show, is that it seems petty of the author, and it makes all the characters that interact with the villianized character seem out-of-character.
Now I have also noticed some under-used things in fan fiction romance:
1. Lack of conflict between the lead characters. A great way to build tension (sexual or otherwise) between characters is to have them fighting and angry with, and confronting one another. This also adds excitment for the readers. Too much sappiness is boring.
2. Clark being the strong confident one. Again, may not be canon, but it would be refreshing.
3. An equally viable love triangle: Example; Clark being attracted to both Lois and Chloe, or Chloe and Lana, ect... This would be a complicated storyline, and it would keep the readers guessing. Clark has been shown to be attracted to all three of these young women in canon. It would be less cliche`d.
4. Having the romance as a sub plot instead of the main plot, for all of the above reasons.
Yes, it is a pity that women treat Clark as a stupid or a lapdog, but the "Big Dumb Alien" cliche does have some truth in it. I'm writing my first fanfic at the moment, and I'm conscious of having to work out a character arc that gets Clark from the TV show portrayal to a more consistently confident character. I suspect that the writers sometimes fall prey to the modern fallacy that for a man to be "thoughtful and sensitive", he has to be something of a wimp, whilst "strong and confident" equals macho, womanising, bad-boy. Also, to be fair, Lois treating Clark as stupid/her lapdog is in line with other portrayals of the characters in their early days together. Remember the "Lois and Clark" pilot?
Lois: You work for me, not with me...you are low man, I am top banana!
Which brings us on to the over-use of Lois as a someone who is condescending and a know-it-all. Not sure if you mean overuse, period, or fanfics that focus solely or largely on that side of her personality. Certainly, I would consider it to be as much a part of her personality as Dr Gregory House's rudeness to patients, or James Bond's womanising and vodka martini quaffing. However, I'd tend to want to play it off something else. So, for instance, Lois could come across as a know-it-all about something, only to fall flat on her face (to comic effect) when it turns out that she knows less than she thinks. Equally, you could start a scene with Lois being condescending, only for something to occur that suddenly reveals her sensitive side. From my point of view, the great thing about Lois is that she can be flippant one moment, deadly serious the next, and it is fun to be able to use the different facets of her personality within a scene to vary the tone.
Definitely with you on the making characters villains for the sake of it. I really don't like Lana (sorry Lana fans), and it was tempting to put her into my fanfic as a hate figure. However, as you say, it is petty and I also found it boring to write (I dread to think what it would have been like to read), because the character became utterly one-dimensional. Therefore, I'd be tempted to add to your comments, "if you can only see a character as a hate figure, leave them out of the story."
Equally, I'm not a lover of excessively sappy romance (back to the "Big Dumb Alien" and Lana, the "Petite Dumb Love Interest" with their irritatingly doe-eyed longing looks). Conflict leading to love between the leads is a good idea, so long as it doesn't lurch into being over-used. After all, overdo the conflict without letting the audience glimpse the love underneath, and you might destroy interest in the romance. That said, if used in conjunction with your idea of keeping the romance as a sub-plot, it could work very well.
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