Subject: [FFML] Re: [ranma/chrono trigger] [alt] The New Earth [draft]
From: Rann Aridorn
Date: 3/2/2003, 7:58 AM
To: FFML


Sebastian Palm wrote:
Kaydee, more people than I care to name have already told you that you need
to exercise at least a modicum of self-criticism before posting your fics.
Writing down what pops into your head is fine, posting it is another matter.

I'll third that. If I just slapped anything that popped into my head 
into an email and sent it off, I dunno how I'd be able to look at myself 
in the mirror.
There have been a number of times when, yes, I've written fanfics in a 
single sitting. But they were one-shots, self-contained, and often they 
were of the "PWP" variety. ("Home" being an exception.) The spamfic 
classification is not supposed to be an excuse to not even bother 
trying, nor should it be carte blanche to just spend ten minutes 
pounding on the keys to create some half-formed idea.
Your fics usually seem more like vague outlines, the kind of stuff most 
people would just have brewing in their heads as they pondered what to 
write. You have some of the very basics of the fanfic plunked down in 
your writings... you have the plot concept, and you usually have a 
beginning or a scene you want to do. But then you don't follow through. 
You don't go further with that to say "What is proper dialogue for these 
characters, then? What do I need to show, what buildup do I need to do, 
to get to this scene I want to write? Is the plot itself worthy, or is 
it just an idea that won't go anywhere?"
When I'm writing a series, fairly often I'll have an idea for a scene 
and think, "I really can't wait to write that, that's going to be a lot 
of fun to write." The problem is, you seem to have a thought on these 
scenes (Ranma's confronting of Cologne, in one of your other... uh... 
drafts), and instead of doing any work on it, on the required leadup to 
that, you just... write the scene, call it a fanfic of its own, and send 
it off into the world.
It's the equivalent of looking forward to the day when you'll be able to 
drive a car. But instead of waiting until you're the right age, taking 
driver's ed, getting your license, and getting the car, you're hopping 
in your parents' car at the age of six and taking off down the street at 
eighty miles an hour.
Rather than turn these ideas into fanfics, why not find some friends to 
do online role-playing with? Or e-mail exchanges? You might find these 
"quick snippets" more acceptable there, and both can help you develop 
your writing skills.

-Rann



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