At 06:41 PM 4/28/96 -0400, you wrote:
I hope no one minds the lurker throwing in a few cents here....
If so I hope the souls will be kind to him...
Ok, now you've annoyed me Ryan.
The whole reason to write a fanfic is to add to what the original author
created. And if Rumiko Takahashi made shallow characters, then it's up
to us to give them depth. If fanfiction was about just writing another
story exactly like the ones already written, I'd never have created this
list.
I'd like to think that writing in general on an already established topic,
specifically in this case fanfiction, is like going into someone elses
playground. The toys are already there, and the general boundaries have been
set, but the game you play, the stuff that comes from imagination is up to
you the writer. What you do with the toys is up to you. If we just stuck to
every little detail of the already existing info provided by the
TV/OAV/movies that we writers are speaking of, it will be a work that does
not bear much reading, since it will be so similar to that which exists.
Change is the most important part. If we didn't play around, so many of the
excellent fanfic out there
would never have been written. Granted, there are some depths that may seem
extremely uncharacteristic for a certain character, but it is up to the
writer to explain what could have caused a character to do something he or
she normally would not have done.
To cite something I know well: fantasy novels. Read a good fantasy novel.
Don't be concerned about what has come before or after. Watch the characters.
In most long series, they grow and change. That is what keeps things exciting.
In say The Wheel of Time series (my favorite!), how much fun would it be if
Rand were still the bumbling farmboy from book 1, not knowing the ways of
the world,
all the way through the series. It would definitely hurt the story.
I'm rambling again........
But that's the whole point! It works both ways. I read your fics, then I
went and watched Dirty Pair. I watched Ranma 1/2, and then went to read
the fanfics. Why must it be a one way street? For some anime, there are
more fanfic stories than there are anime.
for some people it's the only way to get new stories. For quite a while, the
only KOR I had ever seen were the OAV's and the movie...leaving me with a
very skewed view of the overall story. I've followed lot's of KOR fanfic,
and gotten many insights in regards to the characters, many of which turned
out to be right when I got a chance to see the TV series.
It also helps with anime series that have been ended without, in our minds,
a satisfactory completion. It's a way to keep the story going and maybe put
an ending to it. (Can anyone tell I'm a bit miffed about R1/2 ending??)
detracts. My number one goal is to get people to read my work, and to
accomplish that, I need people reading fanfic. If potential readers
who aren't RANMA fans log onto r.a.a.c and for days see nothing but
RANMA 1/2 stories, some of them are going to quit. It helps everyone
to have a wide variety of universes for the reader to choose from.
Ergh...I'm a bit put off by the goal. Usually, when I write a story, it's not
because I want people to read it. I, and most of my fellow writers up here,
write simply to tell a story. I'm not publishing, so I don't have to worry
about
putting bread on the table simply by the strength of my work. I show my work
to other people and post it up simply because I like my work. If I like it,
maybe someone else will. If they do and I get feedback, that is a bonus, and
not the end all to my writing.
As to the comment about needed more variety of stories about different
series, this is a commendable idea. It's true, there is a lack of stories
from some arcs and an abundance of stories from other arcs. But the solution
isn't to halt writing say Ranma 1/2 or Sailor Moon fanfic (which there is
more and more of each time I turn around :), but to get more writers into
other genres.
The reason there are so many Ranma fics out there is not just the
popularity, but source material is abundant. I can grab a nice chunk of
anime, and manga, and fanfic, and get a good working idea of how things go
on in that universe.
But, for example. I'm wanting to write a crossover between Macross and Gundam.
So sue me but I like the idea of a Gundam 3 unit piloted by a newtype going
up against a VF- what have you. It sounds really cool and can get very
interesting, but it's gonna be hell and high water time till I finish it.
Why? Availability of Gunam source material. All I've seen so far is Gundam
0080 and three or four eps of Gunam 0083. I'm not even going to start the
actual writing until I get my hands on the rest of 0083, Char's
Counterattack, Gundam F91, and whatever eps of Zeta Gundam I can find (and
maybe some Gundam Wing or so if possible.) It's understandable if a writer
screws around with major plots or characters, if it's part of the story or
has a reason. It destroys the writers integrity if the
completely destroy a series with a story simply because they have no
background knowledge..
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.
As a Ranma fanfic writer novice, who has not as yet put one up, it's
a rather daunting task. I look at my work and look at the work already there
and wonder, 'How can people like my writing as compared to X or Y story?'.
Point is don't. How do you make people notice you? Writing well is one way,
but unfortunately, with most writers (the ones I have spoken to, both fanfic
and general) have a deep rooted inferiority complex when it comes to
writing. They may write beautifull but don't think they write that way. So I
say just write.
If you can't write very well, then you're best bet is to find something that
hasn't been done. Take a twist no one has thought of and expand on it.
That's what I'm doing.....and I hope it will work :)
I've lurked a bit here, and a LOT on the r.a.a.* conglomerate, and I've seen
stuff like this surface time and time again. The big topic, Ranma 1/2
fanfiction, a plague of epic proportions, or an abundance of fruit?
I'd answer, but I don't feel I am the qualified person to do so.
All I can say is I'll keep writing my Ranma story until Rumiko Takahashi
herself tells me not to..
Well, I hope someone gets what I'm trying to say here...
Frank Zado
-----------------------------------------------------
President and Chairman of Anarchists Union Local #666
"We're ready to deceive you!"
Coming soon from Anarchists Union Local #666
-Ranma 1/2 (yes, cower, another R1/2 story :): The Kuno Conspiracy
-(this one's about 10% done...)
-Mamano Hunter Yohko: Those Who Forget The Past...
-(sketchwork done, writing begins soon)
-Super Dimensional Fortress Macross/Mobile Suit Gundam Crossover: Untitled
-(prelim theoretics worked out, need more Gundam source material)