karadinart (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
karadinart) wrote2013-07-18 10:50 am
karadinart) wrote2013-07-18 10:50 am
Good and Bad Kidfic
While Mpreg isn't really my thing - in the case of making a character who is male literallly into a female, (negating the need for any female characters in that universe, even as mothers, siblings, friends) - I have seen a few good fics out there. however, when writing kidfic:
You need to make the child interesting for their own sake, not merely an appendage or an accessory or obstacle. It doesn't matter what gender the child may be or age, but having the child would influence how the main character behaves.
For example, Dean Winchester would make a marvelous father (in canon) having raised Sammy, helped to raise Ben (for a bit) taken care of a skinwalker baby and his tendency to act as a mentor to younger characters (since season one) which even informs his relationship to Castiel. We see that Sam seeks a normal life in canon, planning on marrying Jessica and we assume having that white picket fence, maybe including children - but what if Sam was a more absent father, or had difficulties with parenting because of memories of his father John, or even worrying about comparing to Dean (and failing) that to me might be an interesting premise for a kid fic story, because it would explore Sam's character.
The fic becomes interesting when it is character building, and there is growth in the characters, not merely a set of scenes where the plot drives the narrative.
Where I get annoyed at kid fic (and any fic really) is sloppy writing, where a child is neglected, wounded, abandoned as a mechanism to force angst on the main characters, the author does not know about child rearing in any sense, so plot points, not to mention disinformation and stereotypes are imparted to the audience.
i have no problem with domestic fic, but it still has to have a point, and it should be grounded in realism, if characters are raising a child together, there should be a discussion on different styles of childrearing, of the time, energy and economic costs of raising a child, it's simply good writing to put these details in, because it grounds the story in reality, which is even more important when you have a fantastical or supernatural world to deal with.
You need to make the child interesting for their own sake, not merely an appendage or an accessory or obstacle. It doesn't matter what gender the child may be or age, but having the child would influence how the main character behaves.
For example, Dean Winchester would make a marvelous father (in canon) having raised Sammy, helped to raise Ben (for a bit) taken care of a skinwalker baby and his tendency to act as a mentor to younger characters (since season one) which even informs his relationship to Castiel. We see that Sam seeks a normal life in canon, planning on marrying Jessica and we assume having that white picket fence, maybe including children - but what if Sam was a more absent father, or had difficulties with parenting because of memories of his father John, or even worrying about comparing to Dean (and failing) that to me might be an interesting premise for a kid fic story, because it would explore Sam's character.
The fic becomes interesting when it is character building, and there is growth in the characters, not merely a set of scenes where the plot drives the narrative.
Where I get annoyed at kid fic (and any fic really) is sloppy writing, where a child is neglected, wounded, abandoned as a mechanism to force angst on the main characters, the author does not know about child rearing in any sense, so plot points, not to mention disinformation and stereotypes are imparted to the audience.
i have no problem with domestic fic, but it still has to have a point, and it should be grounded in realism, if characters are raising a child together, there should be a discussion on different styles of childrearing, of the time, energy and economic costs of raising a child, it's simply good writing to put these details in, because it grounds the story in reality, which is even more important when you have a fantastical or supernatural world to deal with.
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