Any other fanfiction writers here?

Susan · May 9, 2004

I ask because I myself am one. I'd like to see if there are any others around here, and I'll set out a few questions for myself to answer, and I'd like the rest of you to answer these honestly-there will be no flaming and no trouble for it. ^^

On that note, especially if your works are controversial, I highly advise that you not link to your work or provide any way where it can be directly accessed from this thread.

So, on with my own interview:

What fandoms do I write for?: I predominantly write Trigun fics. I've occasionally ventured into Gundam Wing. ^^

How long have I written fanfiction: Technically, it's been one year since I first started in the Trigun fandom, but I used to think of fics for video games, especially the Final Fantasy series. Never written any of those though.

What's my style: It depends. I've done both humor and dorama/angst, and I can do both in the same fic or universe. I love my major dorama/angst work, and I love my humor fics. My style honestly depends on what I feel like writing.

Do I read others' fics?: YES. Even though it's hard finding gems in the Pit of Voles, occasionally I do find some, so I still search. ^^

Do I flame others' fics: I used to, but not so much anymore. Now I only flame outright spam, purposefully misrated fics, and the occasional Mary Sue.

So. . .on the pairings issue, yaoi or anti-yaoi? Once upon a time, I was anti-yaoi. I even had a site LOL. Now, I'm definitely not anti-yaoi. I prefer whichever pairing I see to be as in-character, which could be yaoi, het, or a combination of both even. ^^

Favorite hetero pairings to write/read?: For Trigun it would be RemxVash, WolfwoodxMilly, MillyxVash. MerylxVash is fine if written well-but too often, it's cliche and someone's heavily out of character. For Gundam Wing, 5xSally is a favorite, as is ZechsxNoin.

Favorite shounen ai/yaoi pairings to write/read?: For Trigun fics it would be KnivesxLegato, LegatoxMidvalley, and MidvalleyxWolfwood. I occasionally like WolfwoodxVash, but not often-it's too cliche and the characterization usually stinks. For Gundam Wing, it's 1x2x1 and 3x4x3 (Heero/Duo and Trowa/Quatre).

Ever written fic you'd now flame?: Yes. LOL, and I removed most of it when I realized how stupid it was. ^^ I can't even bring myself to read some of my old stuff, not because of content (my older stuff, in that regard, is "better"), but because of my bad characterization, horrible writing ability, and the like.

Lone wolf or co-writer?: Some of both. On my best Trigun projects, I've co-written (i.e. on my main dorama/angst fic on my account, I worked with my best friend, and our writing equaled to about half of the fic being from me and half from her, and my main humor fic is on someone else's account-I alternate writing chapters with her, and we occasionally work on the chapters via IM) However, my GW fics are my own with little or no input from others.

Name three pet peeves you have with fanfiction writing:
Mary Sues. These OCs (identified by the summary of "beautiful and mysterious young girl falls in love with author's favorite bishounen") have a tendency to induce vomiting.
PWP. Get a plot and make your characters get a room. 'Nuff said.
Technically bad writing, AKA the "Why Does This Look Like It Was Written By A Monkey" syndrome.

Name three things you like about fanfiction writing:
Seeing the creativity of some fans, whose works from which *would* be good enough to make a sequel to an anime or at least a riotously funny or touchingly dramatic doujinshi for that anime.
Having a way to write and have my writing somewhat appreciated, even though I know I'm probably never getting into the "big leagues" as a writer.
Most of all, the friends I've made. I met my best friend while we were discussing writing fics, and I've met other friends as well. ^^

Anything else you want to say: ???? I'm drawing a blank now. I hope there's more writers out there and I haven't wasted my time beginning this thread. ^^

Blessed-one · May 9, 2004

uh, too many questions.. i'll just answer a few.

i used to write fan fiction but not anymore. That doesn't mean i won't write any in the future if the motivation came.

So far i've written two for Gundam Wing and one for Naruto, sadly, all unfinished. It's sure fun re-reading the stuff (even i want to know the ending), but i've lost the ideas.

My style is usually serious. My mind seems to have trouble getting around the funny part, even if it was funny, the humour's pretty dry.

I don't read other fic, save when i'm extremely bored.

what's so good with fanfiction writing?
well, the set of characters are given to you along with their personalities, so that saves a lot of fumbling. The storyline is also easier to write since you've more stuff to work with; then there's also a matter of positive motivation..

Lucent · May 10, 2004

I have written fanfics in the past, though I am on a little break from it all right now. My mind has been so cluttered the past few months, I just can concentrate on it enough.

What fandoms do I write for?: I have written my largest fic for Oh! My Goddess (almost 80,000 words and still not finished). The only ones I have finished were for Card Captor Sakura. I also dabbled with Rurouni Kenshin.

How long have I been writing fanfiction?: Technically I started with a horrible Star Trek story when I was in seventh grade, but I didn't start writing anime fanfics until about three-four years ago.

What's my style?: Well that depends. I like to make a story with problems that most people can identify with. I don't really know what you would call that, but I suppose 'realistic' might work. Then again, writing about the average anime you can only take realism so far. I guess if you want a genre, I like a good comedy, but that is the hardest style to be sucessful with, so my favorites usually end up being action/romance types.

Do I read others' fics?: Yep. There are a lot of fics out there that I thought were as good as most published novels that I've read.

Do I flame others' fics?: I hope not. I always try to give constructive criticism, though I'm sure that once or twice the reciever took it the wrong way.

Yaoi or anti-yaoi?: Not to step on anyones toes or anything, but I am firmly anti-yaoi.

Favorite hetero pairings to write/read: I'm a fan of staying with cannon for most fanfic pairings. I did write a friendship fic for TomoyoxSyaoran, and another with TomoyoxEriol (Card Captor Sakura...is it obvious that Tomoyo was my favorite character?).

Favorite shounen ai/yaoi pairings: Not applicable.

Ever written a story I would now flame?: That Star Trek one was pretty bad, I guess it's a good thing that I have no idea what happened to it.

Lone wolf or co-writer?: Lone wolf, though I did let some of my friends read my [bless and do not curse][bless and do not curse][bless and do not curse] story as I was writing each chapter for feedback. I also helped acouple of folks on fanfiction.net with their sotrylines.

Three pet peeves about fanfiction writing:

1: Grammar and spelling. I understand messing something up here and there, but saying waste where you meant to say waist can have unintended consequences for your narrative (you have no idea how many times that exact mistake has made me stop reading a fic).

2: Out of Character problems: If you meant to do it for comedy purposes, that is one thing, but good grief! If you want to just have the characters do whatever comes to mind, write an original story with your own characters!

3: "The Left Field Effect" : This is for the storylines that came straight out of left field and make no sense whatsoever. The fics that look like they are trying to be serious and then have something slapstick. I guess the best way to describe this is when something happens in the storyline that makes you stop and think, "Where did that come from?"

Three things I like about fanfiction:

1: Well, I like to have a place where I can see a continuation of my favorite stories, or those 'what if' scenarios that the original creators didn't address.

2: I like sharing my writing with others and getting feedback from those who ejoyed it.

3: It's a free way to spend my time. I don't have to spend money in order to read or post. Always a good thing to save money!

That's all she wrote. I'm not planning on putting up a link to my writing, so if someone wants to see it, I'll let you guys know how to find me on fanfiction.net.

taboo · May 10, 2004

meh... -____-;;;;; i like to think up fanfics in my mind just to give meat to the characters i draw. the fics never make it to the paper though.... so um... yeah. ^^;

Qyöt27 · May 10, 2004

Lucent said:
1: Grammar and spelling. I understand messing something up here and there, but saying waste where you meant to say waist can have unintended consequences for your narrative (you have no idea how many times that exact mistake has made me stop reading a fic).

Because, everyone knows that haste makes waist...sorry, couldn't resist

Alright, back to the topic...I never thought I'd ever admit this, but I did do one fanfic a couple years ago that I posted on fanfiction.net but I never completed it. It's only about 1/3 of the way done and I can't for the life of me remember what my plans for it were. In any case, the only real reason I did it at all was to compete with my sister, who'd been posting some stuff on there. I ended up not getting much recognition, but I'm not angry about it. My strength lies in editing AMVs.

What fandoms do I write for?: Well, that one fanfic I wrote was of Mega Man, as embarrassing as that may sound.

How long have I written fanfiction: Well, I wrote it for about a two or three month period near the end of the summer of 2002.

What's my style: I'd have to say my style of fanfic writing is very similar to my non-fanfic novel writing-action/serious with a fair dose of various types of comedy thrown in for good measure.

Do I read others' fics?: Not really. There were a couple of the Mega Man fanfics I stumbled across and enjoyed, but generally, I never read much of them, and I haven't even looked at my own, little less anyone else's, in over a year and a half.

Do I flame others' fics: No. I don't believe in flaming, whether it's for fanfics or AMVs. Constructive criticism is a different matter, however.

Yaoi or anti-yaoi? I have to be honest: I can't stand yaoi when it's serious, but I find it funny to joke about or perhaps useful in a comedic situation.

Favorite hetero pairings to write/read?: Didn't have any experience with those types of fics, sorry.

Favorite shounen ai/yaoi pairings to write/read?: Same here. Besides, like I said, I don't care for that stuff at all.

Ever written fic you'd now flame?: I'm not sure if I would flame the MM fic I wrote or not. After all, from those few that gave feedback on it, it was well-received. And even if it really is bad, I wouldn't flame, cause I don't believe in flaming. I'd make an executive decision and remove it from the website. But I'm either 1)too lazy or 2)just don't really care enough to do that.

Lone wolf or co-writer?: Definitely lone wolf, and that pretty much applies to my AMV editing and novel writing as well. I find it easier to concentrate and shape my artistic vision if I don't have outside interference. Not saying I'd never do a co-work, but it's probably not very likely.

Name three pet peeves you have with fanfiction writing:
1) The graphic yaoi that my sister sometimes stumbles across. I can't understand how someone would want to write something that twisted.
2) The fangirls who are absolutely obsessed with those characters, to a sickly disturbing level. The Mary Sue syndrome, as noted in the first post.
3) The tendency for the writing to be relatively primitive (from what I remember, I saw so many that had horrible grammar and spelling it wasn't funny). That's also a major reason I don't go surfing around for AMVs much anymore, unless I can trust the video (you can substitute fic here) is of superior quality.

Name three things you like about fanfiction writing:
1) The ability to hone your writing skills by writing something on-subject, or by doing something of a 'what-if?'. Either way, your skills should be improving.
2) The amount of comedic diversity available that the original authors may not have had.
3) Can't think of a third reason. Oh well.

If you want to subject yourself to it, here's the link for my fanfiction.net user profile:
http://www.fanfiction.net/profile.php?userid=253946
Keep in mind, however, I haven't updated that profile in almost two years, and I was sixteen at the time I wrote the fic.

Koryu · May 10, 2004

Do I write fan fiction? It depends on who you ask! lol. My friends Jessake and I have started abouy 10 of them and kick around ideas all the time. But I'm much more prone to reading fan fics then writing them.

I was once really into SailorMoon fanfiction. I was really into Mamoru/Pluto parings......I always have been a not-in-a-million-years shipper...*sign*

Things that just really bug me about fan fics?
I can stand a fair amount of misspellings or grammer mistake. I just write it off to keyboard gremlins BUT when it looks like my 7 year old brother could have done better....I go crazy.
I also can't stand STUPID crosses......DBZ/SM Cross....Arg! Burn evil fanfic writier!

What do I like most?
Being the hopeless romantic that I am.....the more romantic the better. I love the fanfics that are so deep in sugar and sypr that others just want to barf! I don't like to read stuff that really explicite though...ick

Flaming?
I'm to nice. If one of my friends has read the same fic, I might roast it with them....but NEVER otherwise (does that still make me nice? )

All in all a lot of the fanfics I read arn't even Anime. Dragonlance, HP, or anything eles book realted.....but not so much anime anymore.

Kami no Hikari · May 12, 2004

ME WUVVS FANFICS

i really like'em but i hate to see a bad fanfic, makes my toenails curl in my socks, *eeek* i've written one though (hope it's not that bad) it's a RyouXRuki (i just love Digimon, can't help it) anyway, if anyone feels like reading it, just drop by at fanfiction.net and with the search option, look for kaminohikari you can't miss it n____n please R&R and tell me what you think

p.s.: just for the record, fanfics are the greates invention since sliced bread!

Mimi~Kitty · May 12, 2004

Yeah, I write them when I'm in the mood. I love anime, and I enjoy reading some fanfictions too. Maybe I'll try starting my fanfictions again.
-Mimi

seebs · May 18, 2004

No. My wife does a little tiny bit of fan art, but mostly she does art for her own characters. She's gonna start doing fan art now because we're trying to sell prints at cons...

Great Solid Snake 1 · May 20, 2004

A long time ago I use to write them but I quit. They really don't appeal to me anymore like they use to.

PaladinValer · May 20, 2004

I am...FF, Yu-Gi-Oh!, original stories (non-comic-like), and some "freelance"

FF: I'm doing my own take on Final Fantasy IV.

YGO!: A new storyline that happens one year after the manga ends. And before anyone asks, Yami is back, although not for a while. Seems that the Millennium Items have "split" into "light" and "shadow" copies (think about how when you see both Yugi and Yami, each is wearing the Millennium Puzzle...this will give my take on how to explain it) and Yugi and Co. are needed again. Many old characters besides the key characters (like Mai, Noah, Rebecca, etc) make combacks as well as a new mysterious character (based on moi; yes I'm soooo egotistic )

My own book, The Travelers of the Riftlich, is a fantasy that, although borrows from other sources, of my own creation with lots of uniqueness, adventure, and thrilling sceens.

Polycarp1 · May 20, 2004

This post is very much off topic to Anime & Manga, but something worth knowing about fanfic.

Back in 1962, a young schoolteacher from West Texas named Marion Zimmer Bradley wrote a story called Sword of Aldones -- a science-fantasy melodrama that took place on a lost colony planet called Darkover, where ESP powers had been concentrated into a nobility called the Comyn. That story started something. SF fans enjoyed it, called for more, and when she died a year or two ago, she'd written something like 20 Darkover novels.

But it doesn't end there. Because MZB had begun writing as a teen -- angsty pastiches of other writers, using their characters "with the serial numbers filed off" and so on. And when fans of Darkover began writing, she encouraged them, and commented, critiqued, wrote short pieces for fanzines, and so on. And eventually she talked Don Wollheim, her publisher, into bringing out an anthology of the best of their work -- which led to another and another, until there were 12 of them published.

Now, if any of you are SF/fantasy novel fans yourselves, you may have heard of Jacqueline Lichtenberg, Mercedes Lackey, Diana L. Paxson, Elisabeth Waters, and Adrienne Martine-Barnes. All are successful published writers with strong reputations. And what they have in common is that all of them got their start writing Darkover fanfic. The parallels are eerie, right down to the stories that attempt to depict how an adolescent male Comyn member (i.e., the Darkovan equivalent of a bishie) comes to find his true love, who is generally modeled on (an idealization of) the author.

Where am I going with this? Just this -- you fanfic writers may have the potential for becoming published writers -- if you continue to improve your work, subject it to criticism, and listen to advice from older and more skilled writers. MZB was unusual in the degree to which she was supportive of fanfic, but by no means unique -- "imitation is the sincerest form of flattery," as the old proverb says. Not all of you will make the cut. But I feel led to point out that what one generation of fan writers did, another can follow in. And they were limited to mimeographed fanzines -- you have the Internet. "Nothing is real which was not first a dream," to quote another wise saying.

Lucent · May 20, 2004

Polycarp1 said:
This post is very much off topic to Anime & Manga, but something worth knowing about fanfic.

I don't think anyone minds your post. In fact, I think it was important to point out that any writing can make you better, whether you are basing your story on someone elses work or not.

I've heard critics say that if you are going to write, you should try to write something completely original. That's all well and good if you are ready to be published, but most of us are not quite there yet. Writing fanfics is a good place to polish your skills.

I'm glad you posted that, Polycarp1.

Susan · May 20, 2004

As am I. Great post, Poly.

Susan · May 20, 2004

PaladinValer said:
Many old characters besides the key characters (like Mai, Noah, Rebecca, etc) make combacks as well as a new mysterious character (based on moi; yes I'm soooo egotistic )

Oh, NO. Please. Don't do that! I beg you, do not add another inane Mary Sue or Gary Stu to the world of fanfic.

I *hate* those characters. Maybe because I happen to be active as a non-Sue reader and writer in some of the most Sue-ridden fandoms in existence (i.e. Gundam Wing and Trigun) and if I see one more of these baleful creatures. . .

Oh, for anyone who writes fanfic and wants to be sure their OC is NOT a Mary Sue/Gary Stu, here's a couple of sites that might interest you :

http://www.immortallywounded.com/k/trigunmary.htm This is mostly specific to Trigun fic, but it's a page by someone who's a fairly good fic writer, so. . .

http://marysue.8bit.co.uk/ More generalized, also less specific on certain places.

http://lotrscrapbook.bookloaf.net/other/marysue.html LOTR specific.

http://www.midnightryder.com/wolfiesden/marysue.html Another general test.

http://www.writersu.com/WU/modules.php?name=News&file=print&sid=95 Gundam Wing specific

PaladinValer · May 21, 2004

Susan...mind explaining? Maybe my brain just stopped, but you made no sense to me :-/

Susan · May 21, 2004

An original character that is based on yourself is called a "Mary Sue" if it's female or "Gary Stu" if it's male.

Typically, these characters become the center of attention in the fic, usually falling in love with one of the main canon characters, becoming central to the plot, chewing scenery, etc, etc. . .and they are absolutely things you want to leave out of your story if you want it to be respected at all.

For example, in the fandom I participate in, my friends and I *never* read these stories unless we enter one by accident, and a summary that reads "(insert bishounen here) meets a dark and mysterious girl. . ." is a sure way to get us to not read your story. ^^ And if I enter one because the summary made it look like something else (i.e. the Mary SuexLegato that was summarized to look like K/L shounen ai), I usually leave a few flames on the way out.

If you want to write Mary Sues, that's your business: just don't expect to be considered with much respect by more serious writers and readers, and don't expect anyone to like your story except you and other Sue writers.

Polycarp1 · May 21, 2004

However, in creating characters, many if not most neophyte writers base their characters on themselves or on people they know well; learning to "build" a believable character out of whole cloth is a skill that usually comes gradually.

The point behind the dislike of "Mary Sue" characters, however, is that the story is not a realistic or believable fiction, especially when it involves canon characters, but rather a way for the writer to act out her (or his) own fantasies. You may have a "thing" for Wolfwood, Kenshin, or Quatre -- but would the canonical character, as he (or she) is characterized in the story line, have a "thing" for you? If not, lie abed and fantasize, but don't put it on paper (or computer screen) that you want others to read as serious fiction.

There is, however, nothing wrong per se with modeling a new character after someone you know, or yourself -- if the character interacts with the canonical characters in a believable way that matches the canonical characters' motivations. If I were writing a story and needed, for plot development, to let my characters interact with a technically savvy young Christian woman whose personal attitudes are more liberal than her family's, I would not have the slightest qualms on modeling that character loosely after Susan as I've come to know her. (And if I ever get my magnum opus novel going right, I think I just drafted a significant scene in it in coming up with that example.)

Arikereba · May 21, 2004

The late SF writer Damon Knight said that writing Mary Sues is a bit like hiding yourself behind a tree; you may think you're hidden, but your elbows stick out, and nobody else is fooled. So much insecurity comes across in these stories: yearning for love, yearning for acceptance, yearning to die a beautifully tragic death and only then have it proven that you were right all along, so that everyone will wail and rend their clothes over the injustice. Heh. (I don't intend to be disparaging; I've done that one myself).

One of the most important things I've learned about writing is that you have to be totally honest with yourself when basing characters on yourself, so that the brilliant genius in her tower is also shy in a way that's self-destructive and not hopelessly romantic, and the noble, idealistic tomboy is also deeply misguided in her idealism... and of course you have to distinguish between real flaws and romanticized flaws. Some of the druggies and self-injurers and outcasts in fiction are, despite their flaws, so incredibly romanticized that they become Mary Sues.

Okay. Rambling. I used to write quite a bit of fanfiction, but in the last few years I've been writing novels instead. It was great practice, and I wouldn't discourage anyone from writing whatever they like, fanfiction or original.

Lucent · May 21, 2004

There are a few "Mary Sue" type fics that I have seen that were actually pretty good (precious few, but a few nonetheless). As long as the OC isn't Omega Supreme Uber Cool, then keeping the rest of the story entertaining is not impossible.

Any other fanfiction writers here?

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