Fanfic writing

Stuart Mackey · Post by **Stuart Mackey** » 2003-02-09 03:23am

I have it my mind to attempt a fanfic. However I would not have the first clue of how to go about this. Does any one know of a good site that would have information on writing?

LT.Hit-Man · Post by **LT.Hit-Man** » 2003-02-10 01:42am

Hell writing fan fic is easy for the most part.
Think of a story line, war romance etc etc and who you want in it, mad doctor who like exprement on people write down re=read it a few times change what you think needs change and take it from there.
Sure your frist few fan fics will not be the best but more you keep at it the better you will do and here the best bit of advice ask people who had read your fic for there opintion on it and watch there response to your fic.
That's all there is to it.

Stravo · Post by **Stravo** » 2003-02-10 01:45am

I would recommend READING other fanfics, it sounds stupid but thats what I did when prepping for Starcrossed. Read Portal first ( The pain is still to fresh, I will NOT speak of it) and then Conquest (ah sweet relief) you get to see how its done, what works and what doesn't. What you agree with and what you don't and that sort of gives you a foundation from where to go.

Put it this way, a guy that won 15 GSDA's CAN'T be wrong, right?

Post by **haas mark** » 2003-02-10 02:34am

WRONG!! I began writing long before I read other fanfics.. sometimes it just comes naturally. As far as advice goes, though, I do suggest reading other fics, and getting them critiqued/peer-read many times over.

consequences · Post by **consequences** » 2003-02-10 02:40am

Stravo, how can you in good conscience recommend reading 'Portal' to anyone? There are plenty of bad fics out there to teach you what to avoid doing without descending that low. and much as it pains me to say it, the writing wasn't incredibly bad, just the way he fucked every detail up utterly pissed me off.

Stravo · Post by **Stravo** » 2003-02-10 02:41am

consequences wrote:Stravo, how can you in good conscience recommend reading 'Portal' to anyone? There are plenty of bad fics out there to teach you what to avoid doing without descending that low. and much as it pains me to say it, the writing wasn't incredibly bad, just the way he fucked every detail up utterly pissed me off.

Oh I would never recommend it, in fact it was a cautionary tale as to what to avoid if you're going to start reading fics. While I agree the writing wasn't atrocious but I could not get past page two without painkillers because of the utter wankfest that it was.

consequences · Post by **consequences** » 2003-02-10 02:48am

I managed to get through the second part before the urge to kill got high enough that I was actually worried I might lose it. As a note, that has only happened once before to me while reading fanfic.

Post by **Ghost Rider** » 2003-02-10 02:55am

Portal is more than anything a test of sanity.

The farther you can read into it...obviously a greater grasp you have on what little sanity you have.

Post by **haas mark** » 2003-02-10 04:22am

In that case, I should be able to make it all the way through..

Darth Fanboy · Post by **Darth Fanboy** » 2003-02-10 04:28am

Do not post your latest stuff close to a Stravo Star Crossed release, you'll get ignored quicker thannemesis vs. the Two Towers.

Stuart Mackey · Post by **Stuart Mackey** » 2003-02-12 11:47pm

Thanks guys.
I hhave read a lot of good and bad fanfic...and Portal. I managed two chapters of Portall IIRC but managed not to puke. SO I know whats good and bad.

Kelly Antilles · Post by **Kelly Antilles** » 2003-02-13 08:51am

Darth Fanboy wrote:Do not post your latest stuff close to a Stravo Star Crossed release, you'll get ignored quicker thannemesis vs. the Two Towers.

Amen. However, I do have my own contingent of readers, so it isn't quite as bad. I know they'll eventually get to Perversions.

But, yeah... writing to me comes natural. I would suggest, however, making sure you write gramatically correct and check your spellings. Oh, and spaces between paragraps make it easy to read.

The Duchess of Zeon · Post by **The Duchess of Zeon** » 2003-02-13 09:35am

Stuart Mackey wrote:I have it my mind to attempt a fanfic. However I would not have the first clue of how to go about this. Does any one know of a good site that would have information on writing?

Read a lot first. Especially read books of the type you want to write. Once you begin to write, expect to be very bad at first. Publish your work in a friendly enviroment so as not to get discouraged. Read more material of that genre constantly and look to take ideas from those authors for improvement -- don't worry, concepts in style are no big deal for copying, you'll meld them together and produce your own style eventually. Even read books in totally different genres to look for important concepts and good styles.

Read classics, and commentaries on them, to try and find important themes and clear driving foci: But don't take actual writing classes, or classes or books which dissect writing into "archtypes" and all that bunk, because in my opinion, at least, that just reduces your own real creativity by focusing it down to some concepts which may all be a bunch of psychobabble, anyway. Art reflects culture, sure, but you're also the arbiter of your own destiny: In this case, however, if you're writing to have it read, you must write to get a response from the audience.

That is your sole limitation and your sole guidance, but a huge one. The above suggestions can help you to do so efficiently, if you are willing to keep at it and not let yourself get discouraged by initial poor showings, potentially repeated, either that you, or your audience consider poor. Read them, evaluate them, read more material, considering your own style in the light of that, and then try again. You will over time develop a clear and concise style in this manner, though the exact popularity of your efforts will of course depend on the fickle nature of the public.

Post by **Darth Wong** » 2003-02-13 11:44am

Just start (I'm assuming you've read a fair amount of fanfic already). If you suck, you can look for constructive feedback to get better. Just try not to take it personally if someone doesn't like your work.

Eleas · Post by **Eleas** » 2003-02-13 12:33pm

Stuart Mackey wrote:I have it my mind to attempt a fanfic. However I would not have the first clue of how to go about this. Does any one know of a good site that would have information on writing?

http://littlecalamity.tripod.com/HowTo2.html

This page, to my mind, is an unfortunate reminder of obvious things that some fanfic authors tend to ignore. But you don't need to read if if you only remember what writing is about: telling a story.

Imagine sitting around a campfire, telling a tale. Your tale has to be engrossing or people will begin to wander off. But also it has to be almost believable within its context. For example, in the vast majority of cases, a character's behavior will be dictated by his/her personality and prime motivations, not mere chance. If the character casually betrays her principles for no reason, this will lead to believability problems.

EDIT: The same problem appears when a detail in the story universe blatantly contradicts the rest. You have to show that you're aware of this contradiction as an author, you have to show that it really does fit in.

An example of this problem can be seen in a story on Fanfiction.net (gasp!). This story is a Buffy / Star Wars crossover. The posits are that a younger version of Buffy appears out of nowhere. She has the same name as Buffy and turns out to be a Jedi, complete with lightsaber. It's not badly written, or paced. But it was still cringe-worthy for three reasons:

* "Buffy Anne Summers, Jedi Knight"? The Star Wars galaxy is not Earth, for crying out loud! I grant that there are some names that are similar to Earth ones, but that's just ridiculous.
* A fourteen old Jedi Knight. Uh-huh. That's interesting. And completely implausible, of course.
* This girl is supposed to be second only to Anakin Skywalker in Midichlorian count. Can anyone say "Mary Sue"?

Stuart Mackey · Post by **Stuart Mackey** » 2003-02-14 05:16am

The Duchess of Zeon wrote:
Stuart Mackey wrote:I have it my mind to attempt a fanfic. However I would not have the first clue of how to go about this. Does any one know of a good site that would have information on writing?
Read a lot first. Especially read books of the type you want to write.snip

Thank you. most appriciated

Stuart Mackey · Post by **Stuart Mackey** » 2003-02-14 05:17am

Darth Wong wrote:Just start (I'm assuming you've read a fair amount of fanfic already). If you suck, you can look for constructive feedback to get better. Just try not to take it personally if someone doesn't like your work.

Lol, thanks, I will have to remember to re read Kaz's SDR.

Stuart Mackey · Post by **Stuart Mackey** » 2003-02-14 05:19am

Eleas wrote:
Stuart Mackey wrote:I have it my mind to attempt a fanfic. However I would not have the first clue of how to go about this. Does any one know of a good site that would have information on writing?
http://littlecalamity.tripod.com/HowTo2.html
snip

Thanks man.

StarDestroyer.Net BBS

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