So I've seen many a post or comment that is against song fictions. My question is why not? What is it about the song fic that has earned it such a bad reputation? Is it the format? Does it lead a reader to believe that the writer doesn't have the ability to come up with their own ideas?

I'd really like to have constructive responses on this. Please keep the forum rules in mind.

Thank you.

Hearing a certain song on the radio can set me off on a whole emotional rollercoaster ride, which can give me the inspiration to write, and I have written a songfic that includes some song lyrics, to see if I could use them like shorthand to establish a mood, set a scene. But characters breaking into song and dancing around are for others to enjoy, people who sit and watch movies like "Singing in the Rain", but not this cat.

I don't have anything against song fics specifically. I tend to view a song fic as any story that has been inspired by a song, whether or not lyrics are included. It's just that with any type of story, you are going to have your good ones and your not-so-good ones.

For me, if lyrics are included, part of it has to do with the format. With some song fics, the author places lyrics into the story in seemingly random ways, breaking up the flow of the actual story. It doesn't bother me so much if the lyrics are placed strategically to show a change of scene or something like that. But when there doesn't seem to be any purpose for it, I'd rather not have them there at all.

There are also some situations where it seems like the song itself makes up the majority of the fic, and although I hate to say it, it really does seem like the author hasn't put much effort into the story.

Song choice may sometimes play a part in readers' reactions, but authors can't help what inspires them, can they?

Severe disruption of narrative flow.

I have read one song fic that was very good and i reviewed it telling the writer that i liked it very much. The writer had a very emotional story and she founded a song that worked well with the general theme of the plot. What she did was to insert parts of the song whenever the chapters called for it and it flowed wonderfully.

However, that was only one story, not saying that others out there are not as good. But unfortunately i have not read many that are worth reading. The issues that I have with song fics when i do read them are that they lack depth or substance. The writer relies too much on the song itself to carry the story and it seldom works. The story doesn't flow properly and i usually lose interest quickly.

So, you are listening to the radio/ipod/internet music station/insert other media here, and you hear an awesome song. It makes you happy/sad/energetic/pumped up/insert other emotion here. You want to share this feeling so you write a song fic. Only one problem, 2/3rds of what make this song great will not transfer into the written word: Music and vocals. Both of those components make up a big part of the feelings generated by the song, and if your reader is unfamiliar with the song, they won't get it.

Another thing that may not be realized as this song is pumping through your head, when you take away the music and vocals, a lot of lyrics... well.. kind of suck. Take this beloved Beetle's refrain: "She loves me, Yeah, Yeah, Yeah"

Say that out loud in a monotone voice 5 times in a row.... Did you feel slightly silly too? Before writing a fic, try and take the music out of your head first, do the lyrics still convey the meaning you're trying to get across? Does the repetitious refrain throw the flow of your story off? Don't count on everyone already knowing the song and having the music playing in their head. There's a wide variety of people out there who listen to a vast range of music and a reader's tastes may not sync up with yours.

I'll say right out, that if you copy and paste a song from Lyrics.com and plop it in your fic in one solid unedited chunk... I'll either scroll right through it, or hit back on my browser. Even if it's a song I'm familiar with, I would prefer to read your words, not someone else's. Even if it's the most awesome song in the universe, I'd rather hear it, than read it.

That being said, Song Fics aren't necessarily a bad thing. The most common acceptable format I've seen is separating out lyrics, line by line and accompanying them with relevant story. There's a song out there I've seen more than one author use, about bashing up a pickup truck and carving a name into the seats with a knife... never heard it before. Doesn't matter, the two fics I've read that use it, still work without prior knowledge of the song.

The best song fic out there in my not so humble and potentially biased opinion is: Pretty Girl, by LC Rose (Rated M, no YIMs).
Why do I think it's the best song fic? Despite the fact I was humming the haunting melody of Sugarcult's "The Way" each time I read a chapter, I did not realize until I was about 100+ chapters in that it was in fact a song fic. Afterwards, I started noticing little bits of the lyrics subtly written into the chapters. I admit, I am very easily impressed with subtle. Subtle is good. She took that song and made it hers entirely. If you knew the song it was a bonus, like an Easter egg in a video game. If you didn't know the song, it did not matter, as the story was still engaging.

In conclusion... if you want to do a song fic, do a song fic. Think about it first though. Don't count on the popularity of a song to pull your fic through, make your fic garner interest in the song instead. Let a song enhance your fic, but not overpower it. If the song has a goofy refrain (see above), feel free to edit out bits (seeing those "Yeah, Yeah"s is always a turn off for me in a serious story). People will still get it if they recognize the song. And this above all, remember, there's many websites out there we can look up lyrics on, we don't need fanfiction sites to fulfill this service.

PS: The sadistic part of my soul would like to challenge an author out there to actually attempt to write an engaging fic based on MMM Bop. Is that even possible? Nah, probably not.

For me it probably depends on how the song is integrated into the ficlet. I mean if I want to actually read the lyrics than I'll google the lyrics. I don't see the point of throwing the lyrics into the narrative of the ficlet, unless it plays a purpose, a reason, that adds to the story overall. The only author I've ever read that does this very well wrote a Transformers ficlet with a chapter that in parts reads like a songfic with song lyrics in the narrative. The chapter was very well done.

I've read other fics that use similar means when using bits and pieces of poems inside their ficlets. These ones were quite well done too.

I suppose for me it just depends on how the author uses the song. Does it inspire a scene, a plotline, or something else?

It just confuses me if I see a whole lot of song lyrics and no apparent relationship between said song and the characters in the ficlet. I tend to skip the lyrics and read the story parts instead. I don't pay attention to stuff unless it's relevant to the story.

~ Pyre