This post was the very first idea I came up in the 100 Things Fanfiction series. It's probably going to consist of a bunch of shout-outs to my friends, but that's okay. My friends are the awesome people who inspired it.
Writing fanfiction (and generally being involved in fandom) has allowed me to meet several people that I count among my closet friends. Some of them write fanfic, some don't. Usually, we've struck up friendships when they started commenting on one of my stories, although I think a couple of them were on a message board with me about 8 years ago.
Aruna7 and I met when I commented on one of her SG-1 fanvids (which I would link to but I don't think is online anymore. Little did I know that one innocent comment would lead to multiple ongoing collaborations and a friendship that (I hope) will be lifelong.
Lhinneill, Cha_aka, and I have roleplayed together, read and helped one another with our stories, and generally shared our lives for almost as long as I can remember. They're the first people I share anything I write with (except for One Path.) and the first people I think of when I'm stuck in a story.
Polgarawolf and I met through her comments on One Path, and since then we've probably exchanged enough commentary on Dune, Star Wars, and various other franchises to fill multiple books of analysis and criticism. She's been my sounding board through a lot of story-related problems, and my fridge is full of snarky magnets she's sent me as gifts.
There are other people I've gotten to know on a more limited basis through my fic writing, but who's input and insightful comments on my stories have been invaluable to me. Teddibear, Nrgbunny and Phantom-Jedi1 all stuck with me through epic-length stories, caught mistakes that even my betas missed, and inspired me to keep going when I might have given up. I can't mention everyone; the post would start to read like one of those genealogy lists from the book of Genesis.
What I've learned is that fan art means more when you can share it with others. Doing so will lead you to meet and make friends with people you might otherwise have never met.
Sunday, June 23, 2013
Thursday, June 13, 2013
100 Things I Learned By Writing Fanfiction #9: Finish Your Damn Story Before You Put It On The Internet
Suppose you are reading book. You're about a third of the way in, just when it's getting good. Suddenly, you turn the page, and there's nothing. Just a blank white space. You turn the page again and see something like this:
Sorry, I got stuck. I'm not interested in these characters anymore, so I gave up and moved on to something else.
You keep flipping, hoping that it's a bad joke, but it isn't. All the other pages are blank.
How mad would you be at that author?
Why should your fanfic readers be less mad at you for abandoning your unfinished story?
Now suppose you pick up another book, get about halfway through, and you see another note. This one says:
I realized I made a mistake. I'm starting over from chapter 4. Here's what's different.
How confused would you be? How likely would you be to actually finish the book instead of just putting it down?
Do you think your fanfiction readers would be less confused?
Generally, I post my fanfics a chapter or two at a time as I write them, and I often write out of order, so that I have chunks of material from different time periods that need to be connected to one another. I'm the last person to tell you that you should complete a whole manuscript before you post anything.
So then what exactly do I mean when I say "finish your story before you put it on the internet?"
Sorry, I got stuck. I'm not interested in these characters anymore, so I gave up and moved on to something else.
You keep flipping, hoping that it's a bad joke, but it isn't. All the other pages are blank.
How mad would you be at that author?
Why should your fanfic readers be less mad at you for abandoning your unfinished story?
Now suppose you pick up another book, get about halfway through, and you see another note. This one says:
I realized I made a mistake. I'm starting over from chapter 4. Here's what's different.
How confused would you be? How likely would you be to actually finish the book instead of just putting it down?
Do you think your fanfiction readers would be less confused?
Generally, I post my fanfics a chapter or two at a time as I write them, and I often write out of order, so that I have chunks of material from different time periods that need to be connected to one another. I'm the last person to tell you that you should complete a whole manuscript before you post anything.
So then what exactly do I mean when I say "finish your story before you put it on the internet?"
Monday, June 10, 2013
100 Things I Learned by Writing Fanfiction # 8: Somebody Will Always Know More Than You
Aruna7 knows more about Star Wars than I do. She probably knows more about Star Wars than any other person I've met, and she may know more about Star Wars than George Lucas on any given day. When I first started writing Star Wars fanfiction, I was uncomfortable because I wasn't as well-versed in the GFFA as I would have liked. I did as much research as I conceivably could, and then I started writing, relying on my friend to help me fill in details and check my characterization.
There are other fandoms where I feel (or have felt) more confident. Stargate SG-1 is a good example. (I know, I keep coming back to those two fandoms, but that's because I've spent most of my fanfic writing time in them.) I'm sad to say I've forgotten a lot of my detailed knowledge of the canon now. It's been about five years since I stopped writing SG-1 regularly, and my memory is fuzzy.
Even before that though, there were people in the SG-1 fandom who knew things I didn't. It was great to have them around, but sometimes it presented challenges. Fans get nitpicky. Star Trek fans are known for being especially bad about this. People can be rude, and you will find individuals who have nothing better to do than knock your story because you forgot a detail or made a choice they didn't like. They forget the time when they were new to the franchise and didn't know things either. Sometimes I ran into people who thought they knew something and knocked my story unfairly.
So, what I've learned is to do my homework until I'm comfortable, then just go for it. You'll never really know "enough" about a franchise--and you'll probably forget things anyway. You'll continue to learn more as you go. Fanfiction should be a labor of love, not a trivia contest. If you let yourself be intimidated or put off by what you don't know, you'll cheat yourself and anyone who might have enjoyed your story anyway.
There are other fandoms where I feel (or have felt) more confident. Stargate SG-1 is a good example. (I know, I keep coming back to those two fandoms, but that's because I've spent most of my fanfic writing time in them.) I'm sad to say I've forgotten a lot of my detailed knowledge of the canon now. It's been about five years since I stopped writing SG-1 regularly, and my memory is fuzzy.
Even before that though, there were people in the SG-1 fandom who knew things I didn't. It was great to have them around, but sometimes it presented challenges. Fans get nitpicky. Star Trek fans are known for being especially bad about this. People can be rude, and you will find individuals who have nothing better to do than knock your story because you forgot a detail or made a choice they didn't like. They forget the time when they were new to the franchise and didn't know things either. Sometimes I ran into people who thought they knew something and knocked my story unfairly.
So, what I've learned is to do my homework until I'm comfortable, then just go for it. You'll never really know "enough" about a franchise--and you'll probably forget things anyway. You'll continue to learn more as you go. Fanfiction should be a labor of love, not a trivia contest. If you let yourself be intimidated or put off by what you don't know, you'll cheat yourself and anyone who might have enjoyed your story anyway.
Fic Rec: Sleepwalker
It's been several years since I've read a really good fanfiction in any fandom. I found one this weekend and I was both relieved and excited because I was starting to feel alone as someone who enjoys well-thought out, character centered stories that feel like the world in the source material and keep the characters true to the way the franchise portrays them.
Alphalover has clearly put a lot of time, effort, and love into her Masters of the Universe story Sleepwalker. I'm enjoying it greatly, so if you're an 80s child who loved He-Man and She-Ra, check it out and tell me what you think.
Alphalover has clearly put a lot of time, effort, and love into her Masters of the Universe story Sleepwalker. I'm enjoying it greatly, so if you're an 80s child who loved He-Man and She-Ra, check it out and tell me what you think.
100 Things I Learned By Writing Fanfiction #7-Nobody Knows Everything
I know a lot about Stargate: SG-1. It's my favorite television show ever. Even so, it took me a long time to feel like I was capable of writing fanfiction for SG-1. I didn't feel like I had enough of the characters' life stories or understood enough about the Goa'uld or 'gate technology. If you don't watch Stargate and have no idea what I'm referring to, then substitute details from your own favorite franchise.
Can you write in the characters' voices and hear them the way they sound on the screen?
Can you remember details of their lives or the things they've said about "how stuff works?"
No?
Well, neither can I--at least not perfectly. Neither can a TV's show's writers or the script writers for sequels. (Look at the Highlander film franchise and its huge continuity problems for an a movie-related example.)
I first got involved in the Stargate fandom around 2005. I met people who were way more knowledgeable about the show than I was, and when I started thinking about writing fanfiction, I asked a lot of questions. I was probably annoying. That's okay, because it made my stories better.
There were times, though, when I found that nobody knew what the answer was--or there were so many different answers circulating the fandom that I might as well just pick the one I liked best or make up my own and run with it.
You'll eventually get flack for that. Somebody will come along and leave a review to tell you what you got wrong. It may even be someone you know--someone you normally go to when you have questions. That's one of the things that makes transformative writing different from most other kinds. The audience gets to interact with the source material and with the new stories that are being created around it.
So am I saying that fanfic authors should just make up whatever they feel like? Not at all, but here's what I've learned from all the questions I asked:
Sometimes the answers you need just aren't available in canon. If nobody seems to know for sure, pick something, make up as much detail as you need to, and go with it. Just make sure that what you decide on is plausible, and stick with it. Also, don't obsess too much about the things you don't know. Fill in as much detail as you need to and leave the rest alone. In most cases, nobody else knows either, and fanfiction is supposed to be fun.
Index| Masterlist
Can you write in the characters' voices and hear them the way they sound on the screen?
Can you remember details of their lives or the things they've said about "how stuff works?"
No?
Well, neither can I--at least not perfectly. Neither can a TV's show's writers or the script writers for sequels. (Look at the Highlander film franchise and its huge continuity problems for an a movie-related example.)
I first got involved in the Stargate fandom around 2005. I met people who were way more knowledgeable about the show than I was, and when I started thinking about writing fanfiction, I asked a lot of questions. I was probably annoying. That's okay, because it made my stories better.
There were times, though, when I found that nobody knew what the answer was--or there were so many different answers circulating the fandom that I might as well just pick the one I liked best or make up my own and run with it.
You'll eventually get flack for that. Somebody will come along and leave a review to tell you what you got wrong. It may even be someone you know--someone you normally go to when you have questions. That's one of the things that makes transformative writing different from most other kinds. The audience gets to interact with the source material and with the new stories that are being created around it.
So am I saying that fanfic authors should just make up whatever they feel like? Not at all, but here's what I've learned from all the questions I asked:
Sometimes the answers you need just aren't available in canon. If nobody seems to know for sure, pick something, make up as much detail as you need to, and go with it. Just make sure that what you decide on is plausible, and stick with it. Also, don't obsess too much about the things you don't know. Fill in as much detail as you need to and leave the rest alone. In most cases, nobody else knows either, and fanfiction is supposed to be fun.
Index| Masterlist
Monday, June 3, 2013
100 Things I Learned By Writing Fanfic #6: Give Me The Background
I just want to start out by saying that the "me" in the title is "me, the reader of your story." I'm using myself as an example because I've been reading fanfiction for a long time, and there are some things that will consistently turn me off.
One of the biggest objections I hear about fanfiction is that fanfic authors ought to just make up their own stories. In some cases, I agree. I have a post planned in this series called [When It's Better As Original Fiction]. It's about a story of mine that started as fanfiction and, over time, became so divergent from its source material that I decided to make it an original novel instead. In most cases, I think the problem is that authors need to give their audience a familiar place to start, and then take the audience along with the characters as they experience events that change them. I see a lot of fic where the author just announces in the description or the author's notes that HUGE changes have occurred in the background or that the canon characters are somehow different-- "OOC"-- with no explanation as to what changed everything around.
You may think that's "innovative" and "different." You'll probably find an audience who likes what you're doing too. You'll absolutely lose me though. There are some things (like one or two specific events) that you can just say are different and go forward, but if you've made drastic changes to a lot of things and people are behaving in weird, unusual ways, I'll feel cheated and stop reading. Here's why.
One of the biggest objections I hear about fanfiction is that fanfic authors ought to just make up their own stories. In some cases, I agree. I have a post planned in this series called [When It's Better As Original Fiction]. It's about a story of mine that started as fanfiction and, over time, became so divergent from its source material that I decided to make it an original novel instead. In most cases, I think the problem is that authors need to give their audience a familiar place to start, and then take the audience along with the characters as they experience events that change them. I see a lot of fic where the author just announces in the description or the author's notes that HUGE changes have occurred in the background or that the canon characters are somehow different-- "OOC"-- with no explanation as to what changed everything around.
You may think that's "innovative" and "different." You'll probably find an audience who likes what you're doing too. You'll absolutely lose me though. There are some things (like one or two specific events) that you can just say are different and go forward, but if you've made drastic changes to a lot of things and people are behaving in weird, unusual ways, I'll feel cheated and stop reading. Here's why.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)