On Sun, 14 Apr 1996, Ryoga Hibiki wrote:

	I think I probably agree with the above myself.  Trying to create 
a set guideline for writing a fanfic is as moronic as the thought of 
'civilized warfare'.  It looks good in theory, but not in practice.  I 
have a poster in my room, with my own philosophy for life, whether 
writing or living or anything else:

	RISK:  TRUST YOUR INSTINCTS

	I do my best to live by this, and I'll do my best to write by 
this.  You all should do the same.

I think that you and your friend have somewhat misinterpreted the point 
of the 'how to write a fanfic' discussions around here.  They're not an 
attempt to bludgeon fledgeling fanfic writers into conforming to what the 
elders want them to do.  They're an attempt to point out what a lot of 
readers like and dislike, especially the points that a lot of first-time 
writers forget.  It's entirely possible that a fanfic writer will look at 
these guidelines, and say, "No, I really think my story works better if I 
don't do this," and proceed to write a perfectly good fanfic.  But it's 
also entirely possible that a writer will say, "Oh, wow, I didn't think 
of this!  Yeah, it looks a lot better if I change this bit around to 
[provide better characterization/show instead of summarize/put in some 
extra conflicts]."  In essence, most of these posts boil down to 'Here's 
what tends to make fanfics most appealing, in my experience.'  Some of 
the people suggesting these are speaking as experienced readers, others 
as writers both saying what they like and what their readers have said 
they like.
     In any case, I've always been highly skeptical of people who say 
writing is some divine experience that cannot be sullied by outside 
influences.  I know, from personal experience, that having other people 
look at my works tends to get viewpoints and comments that I never 
thought of, but which most definitely improve the work from my 
viewpoint.  Other times, the comments aren't ones that fit into my view 
of the work - but I'm never worse off just for considering them.
     Basically, these posts are attempts to help new writers avoid the 
pitfalls many of the older writers fell into when they were just starting 
out.  And that's never a bad thing, even if the new writers decide to 
charge into the pitfalls head-on after being told of them.

Scott Johnson, still working on "Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Comet Kohoutek" 
and "Kodachi: A Rose on the Grey..."