A Lack of Action

[meddow]

One thing that really saddens me is that in my little corner of fandom (fandom is so large I don’t even want to pretend I know what’s going on in some areas) there seems to be a lack of action/adventure fic. Now I know I’m a bit of an oddball, I am after all the girl who managed to get a discussion of Lancaster Bombers into a fic. But surely I can’t be the only person who would list action/adventure as her favourite genre? Heck, I’ll be happy with more suspense, mystery or classic horror (as in not so much darkfic, but movie type horror).

I know I could just get off my little high horse and write more of my own. I have a bit. Everyone who has read Growing will know I was quite happy to have Neville attacked by a pack of werewolves and I’m writing a Norrington mystery/horror which will have some action parts. But I don’t want to be writing it all the time, I want to be reading it as well.

In Harry Potter, we have established adult characters that fight crime for a living, Kingsley, Moody and Tonks. We have Remus, Bill, Arthur, Molly and various others who are members of a freedom-fighting group. So why are we preoccupied with writing so much fluff and angst without much plots when we could write plots where they do something, discover something and grow as characters while providing entertainment for me?

Hell, it’s Harry Potter. Magic exists so one is not even confined by the laws of physics (though as if science ever constrains Hollywood). That goes the same for Pirates. In a world with un-dead pirates and gigantic sea monsters, why is there not more swash buckling, dangerous creatures and the like?

I do think it is harder to write then romance, comedy and drama. Foreshadowing is really important and you really have to know where you are going as the plot has to be tight and I suppose that conflicts with some writer’s style of writing as they go.

Or maybe I’m not looking the fight places. Maybe if I were interested in different characters and different pairings then I would stumble across more fic. I know there is quite a bit of action/adventure fic with Harry as the lead. But I don’t find Harry particularly interesting so I don’t go looking for it.

Though is it not weird that since the Harry Potter and Pirates are, at their hearts, adventure stories, the fanfic writers are not picking up on this. Back in the days when I read a lot of West Wing fanfiction there were very few action/adventure or mystery type stories, but the show being a political drama that was to be somewhat expected. Or is it because Harry Potter and PotC are adventure stories that we write more romance, humour and fluff?

Is it because the vast majority of people in fandom are women and I'm different in that I'm a female who likes to see swordfights and stuff blow up?

I don’t know. But I would love to read some more good action/adventure fic.

Comments

[meddow.livejournal.com]

I totally agree. I would probably read much more fanfiction if there were more of the genres I like to read.