Sarcastic Saturday :: if you’re going to do something, do it right.

I suppose this can be true of real life.  Probably, it is.  But I’ve been on a rant lately about fiction and how this applies, so here goes.

If you’re writing a story, or a film, or a television show, or a comic book, or a play, or an anything, commit to whatever the hell it is you’re doing.  Just commit.  Don’t go halfway into the land of weird, then twirl around in circles and retreat.  Don’t say you’re going to do something on the back of the box, then sort of hint at doing it without completely achieving it.

If you’ve decided that dammit, your story is going to be dark, then make it dark.  Don’t make it dark for a minute, then conveniently deus ex machina your way out of it and end happily.  Commit to sad endings if that’s what you want to do.

Commit to ridiculousness.  Don’t just go sort of weird, maybe, if you look at it from a certain angle, then try to dress it up all normal and happy and regular.  Go full-on camp if you have to, and do it with a smile.  It can be a sarcastic smile, one that says “isn’t this nutty?” but it can’t be one that says “oh god you don’t think I’m weird do you?”

Commit to tone.  It can be a ridiculous tone, or a morbid tone, or a tone that says “this is bleak and average and doesn’t life make you want to slit your wrists?” or a tone that says “I’m actually happy today!”  Don’t get mixed up.  Your story can change, yes, but it shouldn’t change so much that the people reading or watching or performing it can’t figure out what their message is.

Just.  Just commit, okay?  I think a lot of people nowadays, creative types or regular people in their regular lives, are afraid of committing.  I’m not saying you have to commit to a certain person, but you should know yourself and what message you’re trying to get across, in your personal life or in your art.  Otherwise it will just confuse people.

–your fangirl heroine.