From:        Jon K. Hayashi, polaris@interpac.net

What qualities make a good fanfic?  What qualities make a bad fanfic?  Is 
there
any sort of quantifiable that beginning writers can use or is it simply "I 
liked that one."?  How much of it is mechanics vs. type of story vs. genre?

mechanics = continuity, writing style, etc.

The writing mechanics are pretty important; as someone else mentioned, 
bad mechanics can kill a good story. Even if you don't feel comfortable 
with technical discussions about grammar, you can pick up a lot by 
reading good books by authors you respect. One of my writing friends says 
that in order to write, you should read; I think that's excellent advice.

I don't think I would put continuity into the same category, though; 
writing mechanics can be pinned down fairly well, but continuity is in 
the mind of the reader as much as anything. Look at Dr. Who, Trek, or 
Holmes -- all of them have significant inconsistencies over the run of 
stories, but most people don't mind them, and some people even make a 
game out of explaining or reconciling them. If you really want to do 
something that breaks established continuity, you can always explain it 
as an alternate timeline, unless the element you break is one the reader 
thinks is vital to the series.

One exception to this, for me anyway, is character continuity. If a 
series establishes a personality for a character, and then a fanfic 
author makes that character do something that doesn't fit the established 
personality, or doesn't feel like a natural development of a character, 
that turns me off unless the author gives a reason that I can accept. 
(For example, if Belldandy started being nasty or spiteful; or if she got 
romantically involved with someone else, given her devotion to Keiichi. 
OTOH, Mara's change in the story DH recently translated as "Sympathy for 
the Devil" works, because we're given a good reason for it.) That's 
probably my most common reason for disliking a fanfic.

I suppose there's a "series character" that works the same way. For 
example, Ranma is a romantic comedy with some serious bits; a fanfic that 
violates that too strongly (like the recent fanfic that had the 
characters killing each other) is likely to turn people off.

type of story = crossover, continuation, lemon, etc.

I suspect that depends more on the factors above than anything else. For 
example, in a crossover, you have to worry about keeping the bits from 
each series in character -- making sure Ranma stays like Ranma and Urd 
remains Urd. And if the "series character"s are too different -- like BGC 
and AMG -- then it would be very tricky to get it to work, if you could 
do it at all. (One exception might be if you're aware of the differences 
and are using them deliberately -- showing what would happen if you put a 
serious character like Priss in the insanity of the UY world.) 

The same is true of lemon fanfics: do they fit the series and the 
characters? Given Belldandy's general innocence, I have a great deal of 
trouble accepting her in a lemon, though I probably wouldn't have the 
same problem with Urd. Keiichi falls somewhere in between; depends on how 
it's handled. (He's had his share of impure thoughts... though given his 
resistance when Urd tried to seduce him, I'd have to see some reason why 
he'd acquiesce in this case.)

genre = Ranma, AMG, BGC, etc.

Can't really say much about these... people like the series they like, 
you write in a series you like, and people who don't like the series you 
like aren't likely to like your fanfics. There's not much you can do 
about that. :)



Travis Butler
(The Professor, formerly of Myth and Magick!, Lawrence, KS;
 tbutler@tfs.net, now from the Wandering Powerbook;
 <http://www.tfs.net/personal/tbutler/>;
 Mac page <http://www.tfs.net/business/tbutler/>)

..Cats are the proof of a higher purpose to the universe.