At 06:41 PM 4/28/96 -0400, the Wolfmeister wrote:
On Sun, 28 Apr 1996, Ryan Mathews wrote:
First, I'm not angry. I could care less, actually, since I'm not a
big enough fan of RANMA to bother reading those 'fics. I don't mean
to upset anyone; after all, if you didn't like DIRTY PAIR, I
wouldn't expect to read my DP stories.
But that's the whole point! It works both ways. I read your fics,
then I went and watched Dirty Pair.
I'm glad to hear it. I still didn't expect you to. Also, keep in mind
that when I began writing DIRTY PAIR stories, there were *NO OTHER*
stories on the net. People with limited reading time didn't have to
choose between my story and someone else's. Lastly, you hadn't
*watched* Dirty Pair. I do watch some RANMA, and buy the manga
(although it's already starting to get repetitive), so I know that I
don't like it enough to enjoy other stories written in the universe,
especially not serious stories, because the only thing I really like
about RANMA 1/2 is the humor.
So you're afraid you'll get lost in the flood? Think about those of
us who *do* write Ranma fics. How the hell do I make mine stand out?
The *only* way to have people notice you is to write well.
Which only works if you can get people to click on your story in the
first place. If people give up on the group, we all lose.
While I'm at it, someone else brought this up: Now more than ever, it
is important to begin your story with a "grabber", something that the
reader will immediately see on his or her newsreader, something that
will pique the curiosity and will encourage him or her to read for a
few pages, during which time you can convince the reader to stick
around for the long haul. You have no flashy cover to catch someone's
eye; only your writing can sell your writing. For example, I'm
beginning ACADEMY DAYS right in the middle of an action sequence, at
the end of which the plot premise has been established, as well as the
style and tone of the story. Hopefully it'll work. Only you can tell
me.
------RM