On Sat, 4 Oct 1997, Christopher Angel wrote:

Actually, I'm also in the same boat as Andrew, which is suprising because
I've written for far less time than he has.  Frankly, when I started, all I
wanted to do was Ranma fics.  There were SO many questions left unanswered,
and I wanted to answer them for myself.  After writing a few fics, I
realized that I had truly explored the story's conclusion for myself, be it
in my own works or others. True, I'm dying to see what happens in DnR, and

We blow up the whole universe and everyone dies, that's what we have
planned.

(Okay, maybe not :)

Time for my own short rant :0

Unlike some of those who have spoken, I am not tired of Ranma fanfics.
It's not all I write, but then it was never all that I wrote.  More like,
at first, it was the only thing that ever got noticed :)  I myself have
been writing stories since I was 10.  However, my Ranma fanfic stories
were the first stories ever read by more than five people, although
looking back at my early works, I'm kinda glad that was true :)

There's always room for expanding on a story universe.  Just look at the
Arthurian story cycle.  People have been writing in that universe for over
a thousand years, and there's always more to be said.  While I would be
rather surprised if a thousand years from now, people were still writing
Ranma 1/2 stories, the principle is the same.

I don't just write Ranma 1/2 fanfics, but that's not because I'm 'tired of
Ranma stories'; rather, it's because I have billions of ideas in my head,
and I'm trying to get them all down into a format where other people can
see them, and not all of those ideas are Ranma ideas.  Also, some themes
are better expressed through other series.  Ranma 1/2 is not a series
designed to carry all possible themes and intent, although it has
sometimes been made to do so :)  

As to 'original characters' in fanfics turning people off--they don't turn
me off at all, as long as they fit.  Taking the Arthurian story cycle,
when we think of King Arthur, we often think of the
Lancelot-Guenevere-Arthur love triangle.  However, Lancelot is a fanfic
character who caught on.  He was made up by French troubadors who wanted
someone French in the stories, so they inserted him as Guenevere's lover,
taking over the story role held by Bedwyr/Bedivere in earlier versions of
the cycle.  Yet, now we see him as integral to the story.  Similarly, some
series have logical story holes where new characters can be inserted, or
even take up the story role that other characters have had.  

The problem is not original characters, it's authors who don't design
original characters well or simply act out their own fantasies through an
original character.  Although even this can be entertaining if the author
honestly makes that intent clear.  Some people's heroic fantasies about
themselves can be pretty entertaining (see Undocumented Features).  Others
can be boring as all get out (see the least favorite self-insertion fic of
your choice).  



 John Walter Biles :  MA-History, Ph.D Wannabe at U. Kansas         
ranma@falcon.cc.ukans.edu       
rhea@tass.org              http://www.tass.org/~rhea/falcon.html
rhea@maison-otaku.net      http://www.maison-otaku.net/~rhea/

Elhviz:  How are the chosen ones doing?
  
Baltor:  They've substantially increased the amount of money we gave
them.
  
Sandy:  How delightful.  Perhaps they can pay for funerals for everyone
when the Undeath Plague destroys all the sentient races!

--The Eternal Game, OAV 2.