On Sun, 6 Feb 2000, Don Granberry wrote:
I came to the FFML in hopes of receiving some help with my writing. I
have indeed received what I must consider invaluable help in this
regard. In addition to that help, I have also been the recipient of
complaints which fell well outside the limits of what may rightly be
considered commentary and criticism. The overwhelming majority of the
latter were in private and more than one was vituperative. I have also
received much in the way of praise and encouragement from the FFML
membership, the majority of which was also sent to me in private. On
balance though, my experience with FFML has been negative.
We're a happy and energetic lot.
While I do not claim to have been mistreated, I have been witness to the
outright mistreatment of beginners other than myself here on the FFML.
Beginners make mistakes. That is why they come here, to get help in
correcting their mistakes. So here is my question, Ladies and Gentlemen:
How is it that a matter of plot choice constitutes a mistake?
That isn't quite the error, no. It's a lot of it, though.
You see, certain plot types have certain degrees of difficulty.
Spamfics, for example, take little skill to write but that
doesn't prevent one from being amusing. Original Flavor stories
have a somewhat difficult difficulty, depending on your source.
Self-Insertion fics have a high level of difficulty because
you're asking a large audience to listen to your dreamlife,
with you as the star or as a major faction, taking the
spotlight away from the characters that they know and love.
Now, who are you? Why should we care about you? Why do we
want to read about you?
Making the reader actually care about it is very difficult.
They want to read about (for example) the cast of Ranma
and their further adventures, and you're bumping them
to the side.
Self-Insert fics are also, for reasons I stated above, a
fairly controversial medium. There is a fan base out
there wanting to read about total strangers that
fulfill their wishes (ask any Eyrie fan) and there
is also a large amount of readers (myself included)
that just ignore self-inserts entirely because
we're not interested in some stranger's fantasy
life, and if we wanted to know about your life,
we'd ask for your autobiography.
A Ranma1/2 story that "fixes" everything. So? Oh, you mean you have seen
too many of those as well?
Too many authors wrap it up all too quickly or conveniently.
Life ain't easy. Too many authors also change things
with little setup. If you're going to have, for example,
Ranma not pick Akane, you'd better lay down a course of
events to justify it. The events in the manga/anime alone
clearly weren't enough. If you're going to abuse a character
because you hate them, that's also a no-no, unless
you're writing a comedy (the rules are easier there).
That means you should be able to help a new
author write a superbly entertaining one, right?
Advice from others can only help you so far. Go read
some of the more critically acclaimed fics, or better
yet, go read some books.
Now I am informed that a story based upon the Ranma1/2 stories must fall
completely within the realm of "Martial Arts Sex Farce,"
Dunno who told you that.
Must we
indeed attempt to be self-made clones of Takahashi Rumiko before we can
expect help with works based upon these characters?
No, but you've gotta face the fact that the characters you're working
with have a pre-set background and a precedent for behaviour
patters. If you're going to change their ways, either make an
elseworlds where all the rules are out the window or get to work.
I have one last question and a request for you, my fellow FFML
Participants. Are we participating on this list to help each other, or
does this list have some other purpose?
I'm in it to dig diamonds from the dirt, i.e. get a regular
dose of fan fiction. Most of the other members are too. A
handful of saints actually do C&C, and more power to'em
for doing so.
It sounds to me like you're asking for a personal trainer.
I'm sure there's someone on the list that has the time for
that sort of thing, maybe.
-Rod M.
"Peace through Tyrrany"