A Question for Gen Fans

[kriadydragon]

I'm thinking about doing a piece of meta on what Gen fans look for in a gen story, and thought it might be a good idea to stir up a bit of a discussion on the matter so the meta isn't just me speaking mostly for myself.

So for those who read mostly or only gen, what is it you expect from a gen story?

And to get the ball rolling, I will speak for myself :D

I'm a very "what you see is what you get" kind of viewer - not so much for the show as a whole since I do enjoy what-ifs and AUs, but more for the characters. You can take a character out of the canon verse all you want, but if the character strays from who they are as portrayed in the show without a reason then the harder it is for me to wrap my head around the story.

And, also... I'm just not a fan of romance, and definitely not a fan of sex scenes. Although canon pairings I'm cool with since they're canon and so long as the focus on those pairings isn't heavy-handed. But, again, that's because they're canon.

So, for me, gen is pretty much a romance-free zone. Heavy romance, pre-romance, UST - I don't want it. I want the story's focus to be on the characters, on friendship, on a character as part of a character study based on what the show gives us. It's not that I hate romance (and I have read stories in which characters were having relations off to the side, and I was fine with that since it wasn't the focus and wasn't my favorite characters involved, nor was it explicit. And, in some cases, it was also somewhat canon for that character). There's just certain aspects of romance that are very "do not want" for me, and the problem is a lot of those aspects are what makes romance such a popular trope. Plus, well, other things, but I won't go into that since it's a whole other discussion on its own and not all that important. What it all comes down to is that romance isn't my thing, so even a hint of it in order to point toward a pairing that isn't canon will turn me off of a story claiming to be gen pretty quick. I don't care how good the rest of the story is, because to come across even a bit of UST for a non-canon pairing is like tripping over a log and skinning my knee. It's pretty hard to ignore and move on.

So for the rest of you genners, what do you look for in a gen story? Are you canon-focused as well? Not that much of a romance fan either? Is there something that gen stories deliver that pairing stories don't? Discuss. There's no right or wrong answer, just please no genre, trope or character bashing (ex. A/B is icky and I don't like it because B sucks!)

Comments

[black-raven135.livejournal.com]

"gen is pretty much a romance-free zone"

((((((((((((NODS)))))))))) GMTA not only on the above but
the rest of your statement surrounding it.....

Do not need canon focused to be happy.
I just want decent, slash free, or hint of (which is becoming more and more difficult).......storyline

[sholio]

I think for me, non-canon pairings (even UST) are the bright line between gen and not-gen. It's mostly, I guess, that I go to fanfic because I watch canon and I think, "I want more like that!" (rather than "I want something different from that!") so fanfic, for me, is a search for more of what canon gave me. And, specifically, it's the relationships between the characters, and the general emotional feelings that canon evokes in me, that draws me into something fannishly -- and adding romance makes it feel like "not the canon relationship anymore". It's not bad, just different, and sometimes different is exactly what I'm looking for. But I have to be in the right mood for it, because I have to slant my interpretation of canon characterization a bit sideways in order to make it work in my head. And usually I find it more ... er, restful, or something, not to do that.

It's harder to figure where my line is when it comes to canon pairings. Usually a story feels like it stops being gen when the couple is the focus of the story, or when the relationship is more explicit or foregrounded than it is in canon. I think that a long White Collar fic with a little subplot about Peter and Elizabeth on a date would still be gen, but if the fic was only about the date than it wouldn't be gen (even if nothing sexual happened) ... if that makes any sense. When canon itself is very graphic or very romance-focused, I think you can get away with more in gen fic than you can in a story written for a canon that has little to no sex or romance in it.

And there's also a hugely subjective element to it. There are some canons with UST-level pairings that I don't particularly like (e.g. Sam/Jack in SG1), and my tolerance for UST in gen with those characters is a lot lower than for UST-ish pairings that I actually do like (e.g. Sam/Rodney) -- a story with a wee bit of Sam pining for Jack might feel very non-gen to me, whereas I would consider a story with a little Sam/Rodney UST to be gen ... even if the actual amount of UST content is just the same! So, yeah, it's awfully personal and subjective. I try to use a stricter and more objective definition of gen when I'm doing a ficathon or reccing things than I do for myself personally, because my own standards for gen are all over the map and basically just come down to whether a story "feels like" gen to me.

[kriadydragon.livejournal.com]

*Nods* oh, yes. Personal preference is always where things get tricky when it comes to defining gen, as well as one's level of tolerance when it comes to portraying canon-pairings or even canon UST.

But would you say (and feel free to disagree with me on this) that, personal preferences aside (because, yeah, once you get down to things like UST and even canon pairings, MMV), the majority of genners expect a gen story to be a story that focuses on something other than romance? Because most of the gen stories out there - whether whump or humor or angst or what-have-you - focus on either character interactions (ex, friendships) or on a single character (ex, character studies).

[bratfarrar]

For me, I find, what matters more than the existence of romantic relationships (as long as there's nothing explicit involved) is the PLOT. Is it a romance plot or not? If the romance is just there as character interaction, nothing more than, at most, a single thread in the overall tapestry of the story, then fine. It's when the romance takes over that I get irked, because then it's just going to be the same story as all the other romances. You know where it's going to end, so why bother reading it to get there?

But then, all my favourite romantic pairings happen in the absolute fringes of their stories (in the appendices, in at least one case). I like knowing that a character has found someone to be happy with, I can even enjoy watching them be happy/work together, but I don't particularly want to see them reach that point. It feels like I'm intruding, and also tends to derail the story at least a little. So that's basically anything more involved/detailed than Faramir & Eowyn's conversations at the end of Return of the King.

Of course, that's just stories in general. For fanfiction, if there is romance that's not canon, it had better have a darn good reason, because otherwise you're mucking around with characterization.

[kriadydragon.livejournal.com]

Of course, that's just stories in general. For fanfiction, if there is romance that's not canon, it had better have a darn good reason, because otherwise you're mucking around with characterization.

*nods* And I think this, as well as everything else you mentioned, seems to be in large part why gen fans want either romance free or, in the case of canon romance, romance light. The reasons for wanting gen varies but what it all comes down to, or what all gen fans want - whatever their reasons for wanting it - is for the stories to be focused on something other than the characters exploring romantic feelings or taking part in sexual activities.

It's when the romance takes over that I get irked, because then it's just going to be the same story as all the other romances. You know where it's going to end, so why bother reading it to get there?

Yes, this. Plus the complications. One thing I can't stand when it comes to romance is how complicated and messy and irritating they tend to be. Not all romance, of course, but quite a bit of it seems to lean toward complicating matters for the sake of ratcheting up the drama, and it drives me crazy.

[imbecamiel.livejournal.com]

Bit late to the party, here, I know. XD

I think my perspective on gen is very similar to yours. No non-canon romance, no heavy focus on canon relationships/innuendo/UST, and absolutely no sex scenes.

Personally, what I look for in gen stories is largely the emphasis on friendship and family relationships (whether blood or found family - I'm particularly a sucker for brotherly and father-son interactions). In many ways, I think it allows for more complex and interesting explorations of relationships. While I will occasionally read and enjoy het stories... I'm wary of even looking into ones with pairings I like, because the vast majority of them seem so heavily sex- and innuendo-focused. Which is very, very do-not-want for me. :/

There are so many fascinating angles and storylines to explore, even aside from sex content, it does seem that gen stories tend to do so much more with the potential of characters and setting, where stories that integrally involve romance soon seem to become all about the romance, to the point where a lot of the most interesting possibilities are sacrificed in the interest of advancing or complicating the relationship. Which just gets frustrating for me.

[kriadydragon.livejournal.com]

I'm wary of even looking into ones with pairings I like, because the vast majority of them seem so heavily sex- and innuendo-focused. Which is very, very do-not-want for me. :/

Yes! Very much yes. And what annoys me about this is the attitude of "It isn't romance unless it's sex," and what you end up with a story that seems to focus more on the physical rather than the emotional. I like cute, sweet romances (Like Benny and Joon or Ever After), not all this jump-into-beds ASAP stuff that's so prevalent.

where stories that integrally involve romance soon seem to become all about the romance, to the point where a lot of the most interesting possibilities are sacrificed in the interest of advancing or complicating the relationship. Which just gets frustrating for me.

This. So much this. I cannot stand it when situations get complicated just to inject more drama into the romance. And that, along with most romances focusing on the physical, makes up a large part of why I've been so turned off from romance over the years. It's not that I dislike romance in general. Really, it's more the way romance is handled that I'm not a fan of.

[imbecamiel.livejournal.com]

Really, it's more the way romance is handled that I'm not a fan of.

I think that's it in a nutshell. I tend to have a knee-jerk reaction against romantic elements in stories simply because I so strongly dislike the general tendencies in handling it. But then I'll come across that occasional fanfic whose handling I very much do like (or read classics like Jane Austen, or watch fun cute movies like the ones you mentioned!), and I'll remember... it really isn't that I'm anti-all-things-to-do-with-romance. I love some romantic stories. I just tend to dislike the types of complications it leads to in stories, and that overwhelming idea that everything is about sex. Every interaction - for that matter, every friendship, even a lot of blood family relationships! - seems like it's really just there as a lead-up to sex. *sighs*