While I have not yet read this chapter, I feel compelled to point
several things out to you.
1) This is one chapter in a series. That means some chapters are going
to move slower than others. This is especially true in fanfiction,
where the writers are doing this for fun and/or practice. Because of
this, it may be several months before they can pick up the story again,
thus the original spark has dimmed.
I have noticed this in my own works, especially my "masterpiece,"
Ranma's Curse. Between work, graduate school, and an uncooperative
section, the original spark has dimmed slightly. It is only this
section that is giving me fits, everything before and after fit nicely.
It may very well be that this author suffers the same problem, but feels
he is obligated to release it for reasons we are not aware of.
Also, when dealing with chapters, some stop right in the middle of an
action, only to start the next one with the same, or different,
perspective. There are a variety of techniques that allow for such
transitions, but choosing the wrong one, or mistiming the right one, can
lead to a chapter that is out of character with the rest of the series.
This problem is compounded when dealing with a cast the size of Ranma
(the technical term is ensamble.) Ensamble casts and "slow" chapters go
hand-in-hand. Unless you have tried a story with an ensamble cast,
criticism at this level is unwarranted.
2) For the most part, we fanfiction writers are not professional
writers. There are a few of us who can claim, either by ourselves or
through the words of others, "professional" status and quality.
Though I cannot say for sure, I feel these authors either write
professionally, or have a the skills equalling or exceeding most best
sellers: Richard Lawson, Dave Eddy, Greg Sandborn, Hitomi Ichinohei,
Mike Noakes, Krista Perry, Marisa Prise, Joeseph Kohle, Nicholas
Leifker, Lew Burden, Madam Hydra, Louis-Philippe Giroux, and myself,
Bryan Neef (though I am very reluctant to admit it.)
For those of us contributing to the FFML, we write for the joy of
writing. I write because it is fun, good practice for my professional
works, and it keeps me from being stressed out.
3) Writers' Block is a pain in the butt!!! If a work is stalled too
long due to the inability to see past a certain point in the series, it
may take years for the author to get the needed inspriation. My two
novels suffer from this dreaded killer of fanfics. Recovery from
Writers' Block is not easy, nor "clean." When I return to my novels, I
will probably have to rewrite 90% of what is there.
When a fanfiction series is stalled, the project may have a few "duds"
before returning to its former glory. Dave Eddy's Nekophobia is a
perfect example. After being off the project for several months,
"losing interest" in the project, and diverting his energies elsewhere,
the final chapter suffered greatly. I'm sure, given the opportunity to
clean it up, he would do so, if not Blocked.
Nicholas Leifker has also been accused of putting out less than his
usual quality with the last two chapters of The Clothes Make the... I'm
sure I'll get that same reaction when I finish the next part of Ranma's
Curse, but we can't please everyone.
4) This all comes together with the facts of life. There are
circumstances where the "real" life forces us away from our wonderful
creations. There are two individuals that I know of who have suffered
from poor health in recent months. Most of us writing are college
students, either working towards a degree, or finishing one. Nearly all
of us work for a living.
I have noticed that several of us work as computer consultants (myself
included.) If you know anything abut this profession, then you know
that it is not unusual for us to work over 60 hrs a week. Those of us
on tight deadlines put in over 120 hrs a week. There are occassions
when we go home only to shower and freshen up before a major
demonstration.
Now that I've said my piece, I'm off to read the complete story.
Bryan Neef
Guy Under The Bridge . wrote:
Aah, another long-dormant series finally gets some well-deserved
life breathed into it!
I found this fic to be pointless. Nothing happens. Nothing interesting
is said. There is no character development. There is no purpose. There
is no direction. The prose aren't all that bad, but their content is so
ho-hum that they can't help but be tedious.
Whenever I see a fic like this, I have to ask what the author is trying
to do with it, because it seems to have absolutely no purpose.
How to fix it? Give it a premise. Give it a beginning and an end. Give
the characters a problem that must be solved and that will lead to
character growth. Cut out the filler. Insert meaningful dialogue. In
other words, delete everything you've done and start over.
I'm sorry if I can't come up with something nicer, but I call them like
I see them. This fic is irredeemably Bad--I don't particularly get
enjoyment out of saying that, but I won't lie to you.
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