On Mon, 16 Jun 1997, Damon Casale wrote:
What you describe reflects the popularity and availability of the Ranma
series. It also indicates that the series serves as a good basis for the
two standard types of fanfics, the what-if story and the continuity
story. Here is a relevant passage adapted from an article I wrote on
anime fanfiction
There is a third, although it's not often done. I don't know of a generic
term for it, but it would be something like "fill-the-gaps". What
happened between this point and that point? What did the characters do
that might have been interesting? What were the characters up to before
the story/series began? And so forth.
Something like Ranma also appeals because there's a lot of
different elements within it that a writer can connect with. Like
action? Easy. Romance? Not a problem. Some authors are obviously into
the martial arts - and Ranma serves them well. Serious stories are a bit
iffier, but, hey, some of 'em work really well. There's even <ahem> some
interesting (and odd) lemon possibilities. The characters and general
storyline have enough depth without too much established to leave authors
with plenty of room to create, too.
I found that, much to my surprise, I like to write stories that
study the characters, their motivations, whatever. A bit on the serious
side, maybe, but what of it. I also discovered that I tend to have Ranma
and his mom appear in most of my stories - something Freud'd probably
have loads of fun with... <smirk>
On the other hand, I respect the authors who can make great
stories out of other series, most of which I'm only barely familiar
with. Together Again was just great, for instance.
Ultimately, though, I don't think C&C should be the main
motivation for writing (though it's certainly nice! <grin>). I write
'cus I wanna improve my writing skills - and I think it's working. Even
though my last story (before Choices) got only 2-3 answers from the FFML,
and none from RAAC, I'm still proud of it... <shrug>
But I ramble...
-Mike