poll! KFZ!

[aimeelicious]

So I've been giving a lot of thought to character death in fic, and the fic header warnings that often come with them, but sometimes don't. In the interest of fostering a dialogue on the topic, I've created a poll to gather some general information about reader preferences. This post/poll is UNLOCKED, in the hope that some of you will be willing to PIMP it in your journals and hopefully encourage others to fill it out, as I'd like as much input as possible. ETA: I do plan on doing a results post based on this poll, so please know that your responses will not just disappear into the ether.

Feel free to answer the poll anonymously if you wish, and take over my journal for discussion, just don't get nasty! This has been declared a kerfuffle-free zone (KFZ).

[Poll #450697]

ETA: Sorry for forgetting Smallville as a fandom...it's one of my faves and I left it off! Dang polls, can't edit them.

Comments

[mhalachai.livejournal.com]

My fandom is Anita Blake. Anyway.

Most of the character death fics I've read weren't set up well, so the death seemed a bit contrived. A well-written one, where the death made sense, is rare, but that shock is a kick in the face, in a good way. If it's well written, I can believe it.

That said, a character death warning will usually stop my reading. If someone feels the need to tell me that, 23 chapters from now, Buffy will die, I'm less likely to make the investment of my time.

My contradictory two cents :)