Five rules to live by...adapted from Deirdre's...
1) If you don't find the story subject intensely interesting, don't write
it. If you don't enjoy your story, why would anybody else? And if you
don't find it intensely interesting, why take the time to write it?
2) Write with yourself in mind. You're not being paid to post fanfic.
You don't actually *know* the people reading these things. Recieving
praise or entertaining others should be a side-benefit.
3) It's best to have a short attention span: that prevents your stories
from growing too long, thus you can turn out more. And it defenitely
saves you from dangerous distractions like novel-writing.
4) Listen to criticisms. It's easy to assume a detail of the story
without writing it down, and considering a second perspective can only
make the story more interesting.
5) Once you think your reader knows what is going to happen it's time to
end the story. No point in actually meeting their expectations; it's
neither fun to read nor fun to write.
IMHO,
Jeff
****jdrutsch@ucdavis.edu***********************Jeff Rutsch*************
"Ranma's not a boy...he's a girl!"
"Akane is MY fiancee! You TOUCH her, and I'll KILL you!"
"Ranma, change back into a boy while I buy you some time."
"But if I seem to act unkind/it's only me, it's not my mind."
"Ranma [sic],/give your heart to Akane [sic]. /Soon,/right away."
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