Spotlight on Renfield

Spotlight on... Renfield

Steven released this Spotlight in June, 2001

Now, before any of you get suspicious, I was leaning towards doing Renfield anyway, honest! ;D "Holding On" just "sped" it up a bit. More on that fic, later. Now, as to those of you who've read my "Spotlights" in the past, you know there's a general rule I have that states that I don't want to go into too much of an author's story, so that you could read them all for yourselves. Just a reminder.

To me, Renfield is something of a dark 'Daria' writer who mixes a bit of irony and humor in his writings. Let's take a gander at his fics:

"Diary Dearest"--There have been many a fanfic that have dealt with Daria really being committed to an institution by her parents, but this one may top them all. It may be a bit outdated when comparing what Helen and Jake have done here as to what we know of them near the end of the series, but that doesn't take away from the excellent build-up to the end of the story, which contains a twist. Until "Holding On", I think Renfield's best-known fic.

"Kiss Until"--A 'shipper fic, but not just any 'shipper fic. It's Jane and--heh. You'll have to read it for yourself. Let's just say that Daria is *not* pleased who it turns out to be. Hint: It's the *last* person you'd expect Jane to be with, and no, it's *not* Upchuck or Kevin!

"Seeing Things Through"--Takes place during "Is It Fall Yet?". Without spoiling it for you in case you haven't seen the movie yet, it's about revenge. Delicious revenge. Jane's revenge. I'll leave it at that.

"Malice of Absence"--Is a "What If" fic. When I read it, I immediately thought about Andrea telling Daria in Kara Wild's fic "Andrea Speaks" that if Quinn never existed, Daria would be like Quinn. Now, *there's* something to choke on your own bile about... ;D

"Fanning The Flames"--Is something of a Mary Sue fic, though I can't be exactly sure if Renfield is inserting himself, it *is* from a first-person point of view. When I first read it, I wondered if it were a side-story of "Diary Dearest" because this, too, takes place in an institution with Daria, but it wasn't.

Now "Holding On"--Simply put, Renfield takes a cliched story with Quinn, and turns it inside out, including Daria. Like "DD", and "FTF", it involves a psychological plot. Hmm--wonder if Renfield is drawn to the mental health field purposefully, or unintentionally? Whatever it is, it works. This fic, like "DD", keeps you wondering what's going to happen in the end, and surely enough, Renfield puts in a twist in the end, and guess what? I'm *still* not quite sure what happened! Read it, and see for yourself.

In closing, Renfield is a 'Daria' author who has proven to write deep, dark, yet insightful work. If he's(?) not careful, he'll(?) find himself a Featured Author someday. What do YOU (and the author him/herself) think? Thanks.

Other Comments

sam

>"Kiss Until"--A 'shipper fic, but not just any 'shipper fic. It's Jane and--heh. You'll have to read it for yourself. Let's just say that Daria is *not* pleased who it turns out to be. Hint: It's the *last* person you'd expect Jane to be with, and no, it's *not* Upchuck or Kevin!

goofy's the word i'd use to describe this one. Yes, i know it's a serious topic and all, but still the ending is so wonderfully goofy, makes a nice sorbet to clense the palet so to speak

>"Malice of Absence"--Is a "What If" fic. When I read it, I immediately thought about Andrea telling Daria in Kara Wild's fic "Andrea Speaks" that if Quinn never existed, Daria would be like Quinn. Now, *there's* something to choke on your own bile about... ;D

I just don't buy the characterization of Helen in this one. Though oddly enough "Boxing Daria" tends to support the work. I just don't think Helen's that much of a cast-iron bitch.

>Now "Holding On"--Simply put, Renfield takes a cliched story with Quinn, and turns it inside out, including Daria. Like "DD", and "FTF", it involves a psychological plot. Hmm--wonder if Renfield is drawn to the mental health field purposefully, or unintentionally? Whatever it is, it works. This fic, like "DD", keeps you wondering what's going to happen in the end, and surely enough, Renfield puts in a twist in the end, and guess what? I'm *still* not quite sure what happened! Read it, and see for yourself.

i still haven't formed a coherent thought that adequately praises this work, beyond "Holy Crap On a Stick!"

>In closing, Renfield is a 'Daria' author who has proven to write deep, dark, yet insightful work. If he's(?) not careful, he'll(?) find himself a Featured Author someday. What do YOU (and the author him/herself) think? Thanks.

I must admit, I'm not a big fan of "dark," it's just not my thing, can't write dark, can't think dark. But, having said that, the wonderuflly obtuse nature of Renfield's darker works make them interesting and good read, wish i could pull that trick off. :)

Robert Nowall

Renfield: a truly powerful fanfic writer who can turn out powerful, moving work that is *still* true to the characters, who can take the reader through an emotional wringer without losing the jokes, who can take a serious subject and give it a new and compelling twist. *And* make me green with envy at the skill shown in doing so...

Sailor Danielle

Congrats Reinfeild....

Hey Steven, I may allow you to praise my works once I get started on Daria: The College Years... *if* you're lucky. ^_^

dariajane

congratulations! you're a wonderfully talented writer and i look forward to seeing more from you ^_^. do you have any non-daria related work online?

Author's Response

>June's "Spotlight" is on Renfield.

Thanks, Steven.

>To me, Renfield is something of a dark 'Daria' writer who mixes a bit of irony and humor in his writings. Let's take a gander at his fics:

When I first started reading Daria fic, it was the dramatic stories that really impressed me. Maybe because they explored emotions and issues that (at that time) they hadn't dealt with on the show. I enjoyed seeing the fresh perspectives. Naturally, when I started writing my own fics, that was the route I wanted to explore.

>"Diary Dearest"--There have been many a fanfic that have dealt with Daria really being committed to an institution by her parents, but this one may top them all. It may be a bit outdated when comparing what Helen and Jake have done here as to what we know of them near the end of the series, but that doesn't take away from the excellent build-up to the end of the story, which contains a twist. Until "Holding On", I think Renfield's best-known fic.

Summary: Daria goes to hell. I just wondered what reason Jake and Helen might have to commit Daria, and that was the first one I came up with. They say write what you know, after all. I knew a girl whose father did exactly that, for exactly that reason. I'm just glad I thought to toss Jane into the story, she really helped with the exposition and humor.

Summary: Daria goes to hell. I worte this right after "Jane's Addition". I just figured that if Daria gave Jane that much crap for the temerity of meeting a boy and dating him, she'd absolutely freak if Jane started seeing a member of the regualr cast. I just chose the most extreme one I could think of. Wasn't easy making that one fit, either. with three-and-a-half seasons worth of continuity to explain.

>"Seeing Things Through"--Takes place during "Is It Fall Yet?". Without spoiling it for you in case you haven't seen the movie yet, it's about revenge. Delicious revenge. Jane's revenge. I'll leave it at that.

Summary: Jane goes to camp. Jane stayed at the art camp for two more weeks after she saw Daria in IIFY. I figured another confrontation with Allison was inevitable, which could play out in any number of ways. But to be absolutley true to Jane's character, there was only one that felt right.

Summary: Daria goes to hell. In the episode with the snowstorm, Daria says, "I'm sorry my parents didn't stop at one child." So I granted her wish. My wife asked me "So Daria's going to have a perfect life?" I said, "Excuse me? Do I write happy-go-lucky Daria stories? Does Daria wind up on top in my work? Is that the kind of story I write?" Daria with her parents' undivided attention. She doesn't want that the way things are now.

>"Fanning The Flames"--Is something of a Mary Sue fic, though I can't be exactly sure if Renfield is inserting himself, it *is* from a first-person point of view. When I first read it, I wondered if it were a side-story of "Diary Dearest" because this, too, takes place in an institution with Daria, but it wasn't.

Summary: Daria meets a boy, in hell. This one was pretty much a stream-of-consciousness effort using the first-person format, and I tried to be completely humorous with it. I borrowed DD as a framework, bit they do detail completely dieferent chains of events.

>Now "Holding On"--Simply put, Renfield takes a cliched story with Quinn, and turns it inside out, including Daria.

Some say there is no such thing as an original idea. But I can take any idea, and do it in my own original style.

>Like "DD", and "FTF", it involves a psychological plot. Hmm--wonder if Renfield is drawn to the mental health field purposefully, or unintentionally?

Yeah, I noticed that myself. Of course, a third of my stories involve homosexual themes, so an argument could be made that I'm drawn to that as well. Wait. Lesbian psychologists, hmmm...

>Whatever it is, it works. This fic, like "DD", keeps you wondering what's going to happen in the end, and surely enough, Renfield puts in a twist in the end, and guess what? I'm *still* not quite sure what happened! Read it, and see for yourself.

Summary: Daria goes to hell. Sometimes I picture Daria looking at my stories and saying, "What the heck's wrong with you?" Maybe I should write a story where only good things happen to her. I don't know, though. Doesn't sound like me...

I remember being tickled pink when I was moved out of the 'various' section at Daria's Rubber Room. Featured Author? I dunno, wow. For the record, let's just say I identify as male. You can ask my wife. If you'd like to see pictures of us, check out www.meerkatmeade.com

Thanks again, Steven. And thanks to everyone whose read my work and sent me your comments.