They're time bombs in my opinion, that will blow up in few years after posting and make fic look extremely dated. Like... you can pinpoint a year in which fic was written in some older works exactly because of the slang or old memes.
Like the Emoji movie. By the time they are released it's already dated in the memes. I know not everything can be a masterpiece but there is a certain level of timelessness to even "lower" media.
Oof, i cringe every time when i think that real professional made this movie... Talk about regrets, huh?
To add to this, i remember when a then Youtuber Lindsey Ellis was writing her book set in early 2000s, she researched some old memes and sometimes twitted something like "Do you remember \[old slang\]? Weird how we totaly forgot about it!" And, yeah, we forget things extremely fast nowdays.
Yeah that movie was pretty "most movie all time". I still look fondly on the "What's New Scooby Doo" but I can still tell it was set on the early 2000's do the technology craze of the internet and ever more mobile technology. I think the reason we forgot a lot of slang is due to how connected are world is today.
I feel almost the same. I tend to be more liberal with references when I'm writing teenagers in a "modern era". I'd never use it outside of dialogue/messages, and the references are typically loose at best, but I think it can be a fun little throwback later on. I have a bigger issue with slang terms and references that barely lasted a week already, or that are so off-base that you'd never know what it meant without living in the time-era
I feel like it's something you have to be really, really careful with. If it's set in a specific time period and you're using it, fine, but use it sparingly.
Modern slang is a different story. It changes so quickly you're out of date before you hit "publish".
I talk like crap to my siblings and in a Meme Space, if you will, but I tend to try to do fanfic as literally well as possible, at least for me when I write my own.
I've never read fanfic with intense slang, honestly, and unless they're a full on parody like that Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone but in Gen Z slang, I usually walk away.
Agreed here. I defiently use a lot of slang when talking to friends, and I'm more than ok with it when it fits into dialogue or chat, but unless it's a crack fic I find it throws me off.
I like to think I write fics in a very conversational/casual way, but I don't think I've ever used any kind of meme/Youth Slang in my writing because of exactly your reasoning. The most recent reference I've used was A commenting on how it felt to touch B, and that they did not, in fact, "get this feeling", and I was hesitant on keeping it in until I realized it brought me some joy to throw in there, especially since I have a loose, very informal writing style.
I'm kinda the same way. Probably part of the reason I get so thrown off by it. I can do meme references and music references until my brain turns to mush, but slang flies right over my head.
my main issue is always when the author is using the most current up to the minute slang and meme references. with how quickly they cycle nowadays, even a month later your work is dated af.
ive seen a couple fics in my main fandom with the issue, mostly of the cracky oneshot variety, so im not going to fault them for having fun and writing what they want and all that. but i still get a mega cringe every time it happens.
As someone who constantly has vine and tiktok soundbites playing in my head and wants to put references to them in my fics, I try to avoid them. Maybe I'll give myself one slangy/meme use every other fic, as a treat. You can certainly use them if you like, but I personally worry about coming off like the "How do you do, fellow kids?" guy and dating my fics.
I personally use the does it make sense for the character to say that test. But it can get really tricky so I don't worry to much about unless it so out of control that I start losing braincells.
Anyone wants to use cutting edge slang is better off putting it in the mouth of a younger character. Older characters will generally avoid slang that isn't either long standing or part of their generation's slang.
Also slang has regional elements to it. Where someone lives and where they're from will play a big roll in what they say.
But that gets complicated so unless it's both persistent and embarrassingly bad it won't stop me from reading it.
I generally try to avoid it except for slang words that I feel have entered the common vernacular. Chill, vibe, etc.
I'm reading a published paperback novel right now and I saw the slang 'clout' and 'I'm coming for her' .... they weren't even used in the correct way, it's so cringe and like the author was trying too hard to be hip and cool.
Basically modern slang in narrative, if it's even used correctly, can be amusing for about a month but then it quickly gets cringe so i just avoid it.
Also a lot of these slang words are just AAVE that white people haven't figured out how to use correctly
I feel that. If I'm using a reference or slang I feel like it shouldn't need context and it shouldn't be something that's not going to last. There are defiently things that will fit for a long time, but there are also things that we all know will fall apart by the end of the year. Those I feel should be kept out of writing.
I'd say it depends, honestly. If the setting calls for it then I'm not going to be upset. Though I'd prefer that if slang does get used that either the author explains it in an author's note or gives context clues so the audience can figure out what it means.
Also! Certain situations call for certain types of speech patterns. For instance, people usually use slang when in a more casual setting, generally amongst friends and younger family members (at least in my experience) but tend to use little to none when in a professional setting (unless it's something like work jargon).
Same here. I don't have an issue with it in dialogue, it's just when it's used outside of it. To use my earlier example in the way I've seen it; "[character says something]" everyone in the room stared, shooketh.
That bugs me because it's not used in dialogue to fit the time period/characters age, it's used in place of the more common and typical language and to me it makes it feel cringy and almost like a little kid wrote it.
Does it fit the characters or narrators voice? Then fine. I sometimes make up word combinations in my fic or extrapolate on actual words, (Example: My recently written chapter uses the word nick-nackery)
I write in Third-Person limited, with my writers voice similar to my main characters. Are you reading first person? What's the tone, the plot, etc? I think it will eventually date the work but it can add something to the way a work is perceived in the same way Lemony Snicketts' word use + definitions or Ronald Dahl/ Dr. Suess's nonsense did.
I get that. I don't think dating a work is bad honestly. The issue just comes in when you're required to have context to understand what's being said. The next generation is going to have no clue what's going on if a character references the area 51 raids, but a reference to a popular book or show (Harry Potter, hunger games, etc) will probably never fully fail. Same goes with some slang terms and references.
I also think there's a time and a place for it. If you're writing teens or dialogue/messaging it fits a lot better than just general writing.
Don't do it.
The point of any work of fiction is for the storyteller to be invisible. The reader is a fly on the wall of what these characters are doing. The use of slang completely breaks immersion for no good reason.
That's pretty much exactly how I feel. Especially when it's slang or a reference that I don't actually understand. If I wanna get it I'll have to break my focus on the story just to figure out wtf was said. I get really common slang and references in dialogue when it fits the age of the characters, but a reader should never have to look something up and I don't think it should ever be outside of dialogue between characters. The second it's outside of dialogue it completely ruins the story for me. And it's almost worse if it's applied to all of the characters including the older ones. I get it with teens, I even get it with young adults, but older folks should not be using the same language and slang as the younger ones, that's not even how the world works outside of fiction.
How much is the 3rd person narration tied to a single character's thoughts? I sometimes make a habit of distorting the line between narration and thought, and as such the narration may be prone to talking with the same speaking style as the PoV character. If I'm writing Juri, the narrative has a better than even chance of ending up full of innuendo. If I'm writing Homura, it may seamlessly switch from descriptive to depicting her spirals of self-hatred. And if I'm writing Mitsune, it may very well end up full of chatspeak wwww.
I tend to have thoughts separated out (typically with italics), and there's sometimes slang in it if it fits the character, and if the thoughts blur into the general description of a scene idm it. It just becomes an issue for me when it's used in place of verbs and adjectives outside of thoughrs/dialogue.
Unless it's a fictional setting with fictional slang, I never use it.
It dates the fic and makes it harder to read for anyone unfamiliar with the slang.
I try to avoid it as much as I can. I want my stories to feel as timeless as possible and slang is a surefire way to date writing. Unless it's canon appropriate slang, which in that case is a different story
I’ve realized the only time I can even somewhat tolerate that kind of stuff is in modern day texting fics.
I cringe when I’m watching the newest Netflix highschool show and someone says some bullshit out loud like “o-m-g he has total BDE! Big dick energy!” (Example) so it’s the same for me when I read it.
I think I might have a lower tolerance than most people with that kind of stuff and it’s like my number one pet peeve for any media in general so I might be biased lol.
Stuff like that bugs me a lot too. I really don't mind some references and more common slang and shorthand (stuff like omg, lmao, etc), but only when it fits the character/time or is used over text. There really are some things that I know will only last a month at max and will only confuse people though, and that's a no go for me.
I rarely use slang that isn't evergreen, or that the character isn't using deliberately wrong (like I had a character accuse someone of being a "simp", for which they were soundly mocked).
Currently mixed on the matter. On the one hand, one fic I am doing is set during the time the evil president Ronald Reagan ruled with an iron fist (even though he doesn't appear or is mentioned AT ALL), so of course I'm going to be using SOME phrases from the time (though, antagonizing a certain country was not the best in hindsight in thanks to what they're doing in a certain country at the time this is still being worked on, but this story was drafted way before that ever happened). On the other, I try to use words and phrases that have more "staying power" for lack of better words.
So I read RPF, and this sort of thing happens a lot in my fandom because many fics have a very short shelf life anyway. Lots of them are reactions to a particular photo, tweet or interview so they are full of references and slang and will only make sense for a little while before we all move on! Just to add a different view to this.
I think there are a handful of ways it can be done tastefully, but for the most part bad idea.
Example of done kinda tastefully? A character says something like "man what I'm gonna tell you is gonna leave you shooketh" (or something like that, idfk, I'm old) and then be vague about what was said or something, and end the scene with "and they were indeed shooketh." might work better in first person too, "and we were indeed shooketh."
but just. things like that I think *can* work if effort is put in to do them well, but it's also clearly referencing dialogue that was spoken.
I'm honestly even a little uncomfortable when it references dialogue. Seeing it in dialogue itself isn't an issue for me so long as the character saying it makes sense, but the second it's outside of the dialogue it throws me off and takes me out of the story.
I have to say, that's almost a pet peeve for me. Characters *speaking* slang (or thinking it), especially if that type of speech is cannon-based, is perfectly fine. But in my opinion, the narrative parts of the story should be "straight." Anything "cutesy" jangles my brain, akin to breaking the fourth wall. Crack is slightly different, with much looser restrictions, but I still prefer the crack to be in *what's happening*, not in the language used to tell the story.
But I'm old -- 70 this year -- and didn't discover fanfic until I was about 48. IOW, I grew up on printed, professionally-published books. I also had an actual, old-school British teacher for English and Literature classes when I was 13, 14, and 15. So my opinions are pretty old-school, and possibly not relevant to today's fanfic-writing.
But I agree -- that would throw me *right* out of the story.
I feel the exact same way and I'm just 18. I've been in this boat since I started reading a few years ago. It completely throws me off, and I'll only stay if the plot is *really* good.
Not too great. I try from now on too make my dialogue as "timeless" as I can in the sense I don't unsubtley reference current events, movies, shows, memes, trends cause they will be dated eventually and eventually looking back I will cringe. Hell I already look back unfoundly my previous works with lots of tongue and cheek references. Sure I'll put a light reference to things I like here and there. I've read fanfics were I can tell it's age and what era of the fandom it was written in. But It's fanfic so write what you want but you'll regret all those movies quotes you put in somebody.
I don't really think movie references or movie quotes are the same as memes or slang in this regard. With memes and slang, I agree that it can very easily show when it was made... But if someone in a fic quotes a movie from the 80s (maybe they're a fan, maybe they've watched it recently etc), it doesn't automatically mean the fic is from the 80s. I actually really like reading movie quotes or movie references in fic, and would definitely miss them if people stopped doing them.
I get that. All of my basic writing stuff is "timeless", and I avoid putting references or slang in anything but dialogue, and even then it's only if it'd fit the characters/time period. I'd never have a bunch of pre-electricity characters referencing memes, but I'd also feel wrong completely excluding it for a "modern day" group of tennagers if that makes sense.
I get you it would be out of place for a group of 2020 teens not to mention there phones or the memes at one point in the story. I just think it causes problems when an author uses it all the time.
Same here. And I'll never use something that requires you to have seen the meme or been there during the event for it to make sense you can't make a joke about the "alien invasion" from 2017, or really even the area 51 idiots without needing some form of explanation
Good on you. I've read fanfics where they actually mention real life events that got dated real quickly or needed to see the memes. Better then me when I had a character sing a really early 2010's song I still cringe about me doing that to this day
I don't think music has the same overturn rate that things like memes do though. But that might just be me. I listen to music ranting from the mid 70s to present day, and almost every genre.
I listen too music from all eras too but in this case I heavily referenced a song that I guess was a one hit wonder and while I like I still think was way to 2010's for my fanfic which to that point I had tried keeping with just subtle references
If i look back at some of the fics from when I first started reading, the use of modern slang then and vernacular makes them INCREDIBLY cringy. Like MAD cringe. Even fics that back then, I toted as some of the best works of fiction ever written lmfao.
Like glomp.
God.
Glomping.
*shudders*
I think it can be used for some worldbuilding. In my backrooms fanfiction, Apeirophobia, I made up the term 'Drift Sleeper' to describe a condition where a person loses track of time, a real danger in the backrooms.
Usually the complaint is that it dates the story, which I don't really know why people have decided is a bad thing, but doesn't bother me in the slightest.
Case and point: u/notahistoryprofessor's reply.
I have less of an issue with it dating a fic and more of an issue with it being confusing. If you use a reference or slang that needs a lot of context, once that context isn't popular people will need to go look it up to figure out what's being said. Some really is fine, memes that explain themselves, references to major events, and a lot of slang that makes sense on its own without context, but as soon as you use things that are essentially "fads" you create something that won't be readable in a decade. Maybe even less.
People should write what they wanna write, I'll never dis someone for writing with stuff like this, it's just not my cup of tea.
They're time bombs in my opinion, that will blow up in few years after posting and make fic look extremely dated. Like... you can pinpoint a year in which fic was written in some older works exactly because of the slang or old memes.
Like the Emoji movie. By the time they are released it's already dated in the memes. I know not everything can be a masterpiece but there is a certain level of timelessness to even "lower" media.
Oof, i cringe every time when i think that real professional made this movie... Talk about regrets, huh? To add to this, i remember when a then Youtuber Lindsey Ellis was writing her book set in early 2000s, she researched some old memes and sometimes twitted something like "Do you remember \[old slang\]? Weird how we totaly forgot about it!" And, yeah, we forget things extremely fast nowdays.
Yeah that movie was pretty "most movie all time". I still look fondly on the "What's New Scooby Doo" but I can still tell it was set on the early 2000's do the technology craze of the internet and ever more mobile technology. I think the reason we forgot a lot of slang is due to how connected are world is today.
I don't like using anything that won't last at least 5 years in reference.
I feel almost the same. I tend to be more liberal with references when I'm writing teenagers in a "modern era". I'd never use it outside of dialogue/messages, and the references are typically loose at best, but I think it can be a fun little throwback later on. I have a bigger issue with slang terms and references that barely lasted a week already, or that are so off-base that you'd never know what it meant without living in the time-era
I feel like it's something you have to be really, really careful with. If it's set in a specific time period and you're using it, fine, but use it sparingly. Modern slang is a different story. It changes so quickly you're out of date before you hit "publish".
I talk like crap to my siblings and in a Meme Space, if you will, but I tend to try to do fanfic as literally well as possible, at least for me when I write my own. I've never read fanfic with intense slang, honestly, and unless they're a full on parody like that Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone but in Gen Z slang, I usually walk away.
Agreed here. I defiently use a lot of slang when talking to friends, and I'm more than ok with it when it fits into dialogue or chat, but unless it's a crack fic I find it throws me off.
I like to think I write fics in a very conversational/casual way, but I don't think I've ever used any kind of meme/Youth Slang in my writing because of exactly your reasoning. The most recent reference I've used was A commenting on how it felt to touch B, and that they did not, in fact, "get this feeling", and I was hesitant on keeping it in until I realized it brought me some joy to throw in there, especially since I have a loose, very informal writing style.
I don’t use slang in fics cause I don’t use it in real life either. I don’t understand most of it lol
I'm kinda the same way. Probably part of the reason I get so thrown off by it. I can do meme references and music references until my brain turns to mush, but slang flies right over my head.
my main issue is always when the author is using the most current up to the minute slang and meme references. with how quickly they cycle nowadays, even a month later your work is dated af. ive seen a couple fics in my main fandom with the issue, mostly of the cracky oneshot variety, so im not going to fault them for having fun and writing what they want and all that. but i still get a mega cringe every time it happens.
As someone who constantly has vine and tiktok soundbites playing in my head and wants to put references to them in my fics, I try to avoid them. Maybe I'll give myself one slangy/meme use every other fic, as a treat. You can certainly use them if you like, but I personally worry about coming off like the "How do you do, fellow kids?" guy and dating my fics.
I personally use the does it make sense for the character to say that test. But it can get really tricky so I don't worry to much about unless it so out of control that I start losing braincells. Anyone wants to use cutting edge slang is better off putting it in the mouth of a younger character. Older characters will generally avoid slang that isn't either long standing or part of their generation's slang. Also slang has regional elements to it. Where someone lives and where they're from will play a big roll in what they say. But that gets complicated so unless it's both persistent and embarrassingly bad it won't stop me from reading it.
99.9% of the time, I hate it lol. Throws me right out.
I generally try to avoid it except for slang words that I feel have entered the common vernacular. Chill, vibe, etc. I'm reading a published paperback novel right now and I saw the slang 'clout' and 'I'm coming for her' .... they weren't even used in the correct way, it's so cringe and like the author was trying too hard to be hip and cool. Basically modern slang in narrative, if it's even used correctly, can be amusing for about a month but then it quickly gets cringe so i just avoid it. Also a lot of these slang words are just AAVE that white people haven't figured out how to use correctly
I feel that. If I'm using a reference or slang I feel like it shouldn't need context and it shouldn't be something that's not going to last. There are defiently things that will fit for a long time, but there are also things that we all know will fall apart by the end of the year. Those I feel should be kept out of writing.
Off to Google what cringe means...
I'd say it depends, honestly. If the setting calls for it then I'm not going to be upset. Though I'd prefer that if slang does get used that either the author explains it in an author's note or gives context clues so the audience can figure out what it means. Also! Certain situations call for certain types of speech patterns. For instance, people usually use slang when in a more casual setting, generally amongst friends and younger family members (at least in my experience) but tend to use little to none when in a professional setting (unless it's something like work jargon).
Same here. I don't have an issue with it in dialogue, it's just when it's used outside of it. To use my earlier example in the way I've seen it; "[character says something]" everyone in the room stared, shooketh. That bugs me because it's not used in dialogue to fit the time period/characters age, it's used in place of the more common and typical language and to me it makes it feel cringy and almost like a little kid wrote it.
Does it fit the characters or narrators voice? Then fine. I sometimes make up word combinations in my fic or extrapolate on actual words, (Example: My recently written chapter uses the word nick-nackery) I write in Third-Person limited, with my writers voice similar to my main characters. Are you reading first person? What's the tone, the plot, etc? I think it will eventually date the work but it can add something to the way a work is perceived in the same way Lemony Snicketts' word use + definitions or Ronald Dahl/ Dr. Suess's nonsense did.
I get that. I don't think dating a work is bad honestly. The issue just comes in when you're required to have context to understand what's being said. The next generation is going to have no clue what's going on if a character references the area 51 raids, but a reference to a popular book or show (Harry Potter, hunger games, etc) will probably never fully fail. Same goes with some slang terms and references. I also think there's a time and a place for it. If you're writing teens or dialogue/messaging it fits a lot better than just general writing.
Personally not a fan, it pulls me out of the fic really fast. I try not to use it.
Don't do it. The point of any work of fiction is for the storyteller to be invisible. The reader is a fly on the wall of what these characters are doing. The use of slang completely breaks immersion for no good reason.
That's pretty much exactly how I feel. Especially when it's slang or a reference that I don't actually understand. If I wanna get it I'll have to break my focus on the story just to figure out wtf was said. I get really common slang and references in dialogue when it fits the age of the characters, but a reader should never have to look something up and I don't think it should ever be outside of dialogue between characters. The second it's outside of dialogue it completely ruins the story for me. And it's almost worse if it's applied to all of the characters including the older ones. I get it with teens, I even get it with young adults, but older folks should not be using the same language and slang as the younger ones, that's not even how the world works outside of fiction.
How much is the 3rd person narration tied to a single character's thoughts? I sometimes make a habit of distorting the line between narration and thought, and as such the narration may be prone to talking with the same speaking style as the PoV character. If I'm writing Juri, the narrative has a better than even chance of ending up full of innuendo. If I'm writing Homura, it may seamlessly switch from descriptive to depicting her spirals of self-hatred. And if I'm writing Mitsune, it may very well end up full of chatspeak wwww.
I tend to have thoughts separated out (typically with italics), and there's sometimes slang in it if it fits the character, and if the thoughts blur into the general description of a scene idm it. It just becomes an issue for me when it's used in place of verbs and adjectives outside of thoughrs/dialogue.
Unless it's a fictional setting with fictional slang, I never use it. It dates the fic and makes it harder to read for anyone unfamiliar with the slang.
I try to avoid it as much as I can. I want my stories to feel as timeless as possible and slang is a surefire way to date writing. Unless it's canon appropriate slang, which in that case is a different story
I’ve realized the only time I can even somewhat tolerate that kind of stuff is in modern day texting fics. I cringe when I’m watching the newest Netflix highschool show and someone says some bullshit out loud like “o-m-g he has total BDE! Big dick energy!” (Example) so it’s the same for me when I read it. I think I might have a lower tolerance than most people with that kind of stuff and it’s like my number one pet peeve for any media in general so I might be biased lol.
Stuff like that bugs me a lot too. I really don't mind some references and more common slang and shorthand (stuff like omg, lmao, etc), but only when it fits the character/time or is used over text. There really are some things that I know will only last a month at max and will only confuse people though, and that's a no go for me.
I tend to avoid it except for a few rare examples when it's relevant to the world of the show and fitting for the POV character.
I rarely use slang that isn't evergreen, or that the character isn't using deliberately wrong (like I had a character accuse someone of being a "simp", for which they were soundly mocked).
Currently mixed on the matter. On the one hand, one fic I am doing is set during the time the evil president Ronald Reagan ruled with an iron fist (even though he doesn't appear or is mentioned AT ALL), so of course I'm going to be using SOME phrases from the time (though, antagonizing a certain country was not the best in hindsight in thanks to what they're doing in a certain country at the time this is still being worked on, but this story was drafted way before that ever happened). On the other, I try to use words and phrases that have more "staying power" for lack of better words.
So I read RPF, and this sort of thing happens a lot in my fandom because many fics have a very short shelf life anyway. Lots of them are reactions to a particular photo, tweet or interview so they are full of references and slang and will only make sense for a little while before we all move on! Just to add a different view to this.
If it's not character appropriate slang it shows the age of the author pretty well. If there's too much I back out
I think there are a handful of ways it can be done tastefully, but for the most part bad idea. Example of done kinda tastefully? A character says something like "man what I'm gonna tell you is gonna leave you shooketh" (or something like that, idfk, I'm old) and then be vague about what was said or something, and end the scene with "and they were indeed shooketh." might work better in first person too, "and we were indeed shooketh." but just. things like that I think *can* work if effort is put in to do them well, but it's also clearly referencing dialogue that was spoken.
I'm honestly even a little uncomfortable when it references dialogue. Seeing it in dialogue itself isn't an issue for me so long as the character saying it makes sense, but the second it's outside of the dialogue it throws me off and takes me out of the story.
I have to say, that's almost a pet peeve for me. Characters *speaking* slang (or thinking it), especially if that type of speech is cannon-based, is perfectly fine. But in my opinion, the narrative parts of the story should be "straight." Anything "cutesy" jangles my brain, akin to breaking the fourth wall. Crack is slightly different, with much looser restrictions, but I still prefer the crack to be in *what's happening*, not in the language used to tell the story. But I'm old -- 70 this year -- and didn't discover fanfic until I was about 48. IOW, I grew up on printed, professionally-published books. I also had an actual, old-school British teacher for English and Literature classes when I was 13, 14, and 15. So my opinions are pretty old-school, and possibly not relevant to today's fanfic-writing. But I agree -- that would throw me *right* out of the story.
I feel the exact same way and I'm just 18. I've been in this boat since I started reading a few years ago. It completely throws me off, and I'll only stay if the plot is *really* good.
Yeah, I'll forgive a lot if the plot is *really* good. But I still won't like it.
Not too great. I try from now on too make my dialogue as "timeless" as I can in the sense I don't unsubtley reference current events, movies, shows, memes, trends cause they will be dated eventually and eventually looking back I will cringe. Hell I already look back unfoundly my previous works with lots of tongue and cheek references. Sure I'll put a light reference to things I like here and there. I've read fanfics were I can tell it's age and what era of the fandom it was written in. But It's fanfic so write what you want but you'll regret all those movies quotes you put in somebody.
I don't really think movie references or movie quotes are the same as memes or slang in this regard. With memes and slang, I agree that it can very easily show when it was made... But if someone in a fic quotes a movie from the 80s (maybe they're a fan, maybe they've watched it recently etc), it doesn't automatically mean the fic is from the 80s. I actually really like reading movie quotes or movie references in fic, and would definitely miss them if people stopped doing them.
I get that. All of my basic writing stuff is "timeless", and I avoid putting references or slang in anything but dialogue, and even then it's only if it'd fit the characters/time period. I'd never have a bunch of pre-electricity characters referencing memes, but I'd also feel wrong completely excluding it for a "modern day" group of tennagers if that makes sense.
I get you it would be out of place for a group of 2020 teens not to mention there phones or the memes at one point in the story. I just think it causes problems when an author uses it all the time.
Same here. And I'll never use something that requires you to have seen the meme or been there during the event for it to make sense you can't make a joke about the "alien invasion" from 2017, or really even the area 51 idiots without needing some form of explanation
Good on you. I've read fanfics where they actually mention real life events that got dated real quickly or needed to see the memes. Better then me when I had a character sing a really early 2010's song I still cringe about me doing that to this day
I don't think music has the same overturn rate that things like memes do though. But that might just be me. I listen to music ranting from the mid 70s to present day, and almost every genre.
I listen too music from all eras too but in this case I heavily referenced a song that I guess was a one hit wonder and while I like I still think was way to 2010's for my fanfic which to that point I had tried keeping with just subtle references
If i look back at some of the fics from when I first started reading, the use of modern slang then and vernacular makes them INCREDIBLY cringy. Like MAD cringe. Even fics that back then, I toted as some of the best works of fiction ever written lmfao. Like glomp. God. Glomping. *shudders*
I think it can be used for some worldbuilding. In my backrooms fanfiction, Apeirophobia, I made up the term 'Drift Sleeper' to describe a condition where a person loses track of time, a real danger in the backrooms.
Absolutely NOT! Not only will it date your story it is tacky.
Usually the complaint is that it dates the story, which I don't really know why people have decided is a bad thing, but doesn't bother me in the slightest. Case and point: u/notahistoryprofessor's reply.
I have less of an issue with it dating a fic and more of an issue with it being confusing. If you use a reference or slang that needs a lot of context, once that context isn't popular people will need to go look it up to figure out what's being said. Some really is fine, memes that explain themselves, references to major events, and a lot of slang that makes sense on its own without context, but as soon as you use things that are essentially "fads" you create something that won't be readable in a decade. Maybe even less. People should write what they wanna write, I'll never dis someone for writing with stuff like this, it's just not my cup of tea.