I'm currently stuck in writer's block over my realistic psychological musical,
so I'm just jotting down some musings over fanfic writing.
SO YOU WANT TO WRITE A FANFIC
[Some thoughts on the subject by JK, with examples from Ranma fanfictions]
You've watched the anime and read the manga. You've surfed the fanfic web
pages, plundered Megazone's archive and check the Remailer on a weekly basis.
You've been a lurker on the Fanfic Mailing List. And now you've uttered that
plaintive wail that sent chills down the spines of your friends: "I've got an
idea for a great fanfic!"
Topic 1: No Experience Necessary
I've seen the phrase "this is my first attempt at fanfiction...", usually
followed by a mediocre story. By mediocre I mean that it has several problems
(see following topics) that prevent me from enjoying (or maybe even finishing)
it. But then, I have seen experienced fanfic authors with the same problems,
so its not limited to neophytes.
I believe the problem is impulse; a "great" idea is gotten, then we have to
write the story and post it for comment immediately. The first step is to
write your idea on a piece of paper and hold off on it. If its really a great
idea then the extra time won't hurt, and you can use that time to develop the
idea further (see topics 3 and 7).
If it is your first time at writing a fanfic, then there is an easy way to get
some practice before you rush your "great idea" and forever irritating
Megazone with revisions. Take a partially completed fanfic and complete it.
This will allow you to discover whether or not you have what it takes to write
dialogue, action, manipulate storylines, and complete a story; it will also
allow you to work through your preconceptions of the characters.
Once you have finished, print out a hard copy and edit it again. Then throw
it away forever and erase it from your hard drive. Because you've probably
done what first time authors tend to do: favor certain characters and cause
others to act beyond their normal bounds to get the story to work the way you
want. There is also another reason: the original author will probably get
pissed if you try to post it.
Most ideas at this stage fall into one of two categories: 1) "Boy, I'd
really like to see this character..." or 2) "I'd really like to write this
type of story...". At this point I will assume that you've already found that
you can complete a story.
[So let's develop an idea. For all you hentais out there, I'll start with the
phrase "Boy, I'd really like to see Ranma have a harem of all the girls in
the series." and develop it over the course of this exercise.]
Topic 2: Conjunction Junction
Unless specified otherwise, any fanfiction written will be assumed by the
reader to account for everything that has been released. In some cases this
means what has been released in the west; for the most part it will include
whatever was released in Japan, especially if the series has been completed.
There are two types of continuity; what I call Internal Continuity and Source
Continuity.
Internal Continuity can not be violated; it is necessary for the story to
proceed in a logical fashion and for the reader to understand the plot. Facts
or scenes early in the story can not be forgotten/changed later unless it is
a point of view story (e.g. Rashomon), or it can be logically explained how
the previous viewpoint was right for its time but was wrong in the big picture.
Example: In December's End, I established that Midori was the daughter of
Ranma and Ukyou (who died when Midori was three) and raised by Ranma and her
stepmother, Akane. In episode 1, I had her hug Ukyou and call her mother; but
I was later questioned on this, with the reasoning that she would have been
too young to remember Ukyou as her mother. At that point I was faced with a
choice: I could either go back and change the scene so that she hugged Akane
as her mother, or I could think up some rationale behind her actions (which I
did). If I had not been able to do that, I would have had to rewrite the
scene because it would not have made sense.
Source Continuity is tying in the story to the original source material,
whether it be anime or manga. Note that in almost all cases it should be the
manga because it is the original artists vision (as opposed to the
screenwriter's), and there will almost always be differences between the two
due to the different restrictions (running time, censorship, etc.) on both.
The question some would ask is why does it have to tie in? The simplest
answer is that you're using someone else's characters and situations; you
should respect the author's work. If you had thought up the characters, you
would be free to use them as you chose. A more complex answer is that the
readers are reading your fanfic because they have some familiarity with the
characters; why should they read it if nothing is familiar (it might as well
be original)?
Source Continuity is more manipulatible than Internal Continuity; changes to
both characters and situations can be made, but these changes must be
explained to the readers at some point (hopefully soon) for them to understand
the plot. There is also what I will call Partial Source Continuity, which is
taking the original source material and defining a "Break Point", where
everything before is counted as canon, but nothing after.
Unless you have a good reason (such as lack of access to later stories, though
the resources out on the web make this excuse a little bogus, except if the
story hinges on detailed events), everything should be included. Note that
this does not necessarily apply to current fanfics, which might have had their
start before the original series ended; but most of these stories operate off
a well defined "Break Point", such as Nodoka finding about Ranma's curse, that
is obvious to the reader.
Note that characters tend to change over the course of a series; new traits,
both positive and negative, are added as necessary by the original author,
which may or may not be compatible with what has gone before in the series.
The original author has the excuse of having to meet a deadline; you, as a
fanfic writer, do not have that excuse.
Examples of this can easily be seen in Ranma. If you went by the current Viz
releases, Ranma does not yet have either an insatiable appetite or bad study
habits. Yet, these traits seem to be prevalent in the majority of fanfics
written. Does he eventually acquire these traits? I can't say. But the
series has gone for one semester (or four if you count the times that Shampoo
has gone to the beach for the summer) and neither of these traits have been
mentioned yet. If there was a problem, it should have already surfaced during
this time, when people notice these things because it is a new situation.
"Alternate Reality" stories are the exceptions to this rule, as the changes in
continuity are the basis for the story. However, as more changes are made,
faithfulness to the original characterizations becomes increasingly important.
These stories also tend to have the problem mentioned in Topic 1, that
certain character prejudices come to the fore, and favored characters become
emphasized beyond their wont.
[Since I don't want to have to think up a new set of circumstances for the
characters to be in (and plot the consequences) I'll take the characters after
the end of the manga.]
Future Topics
Topic 3: Seven Years I Wandered... (story length)
Topic 4: Brainstorming, Barnstorming, One Of Those Stormings.... (plot development)
Topic 5: Plot vs. Character (the eternal debate)
Topic 6: The Consumption of Lemons (sex scenes not included)
Topic 7: The Power of the Dark Side (tone)
Topic 8: I Slept Through High School English (form, basic english)
Topic 9: Pass The Ketchup (the extras you include)
Topic 10: Where There Was No Path (storyboarding)
Topic 11: The Little Engine That Could (writing the thing)
Topic 12: Self-Editing For Fun And Profit
Topic 13: What do YOU know? (outside commentary or lack of same)