In a message dated 10/21/2004 4:54:54 AM Eastern Daylight Time,
fripon@earthlink.net writes:
Alluring alliteration isn't it? Now onto the show...
*_Raves_*
Theodore Sturgeon's "90% of everything is crap" is too often an
understatement in fanfiction.
[I'm more willing to say it's about 95%, but that's just me.]
[snip]
_*Rants*_
These rants are not in any particular order except by
stream-of-consciousness.
It would be nice if authors didn't start long multichapter or epic fics
unless they truly commit themselves to finishing them (Hi Alan, Hi
Daniel, Hi John). I find it quite discouraging to spend the time on C&C
and then see the story abandoned. I think it would be better if the
author either wrote a series of independent stories within the same
universe, or sequential stories where each story provides completion, so
that even if the writer chooses not to write any further stories in that
series, there is never a sense of abandonment.
[The problem is that a good deal of us fanfic writers do change. Some of us
get caught up in life. Some, like Ammadeau, start writing original stuff
(particularly the kind that will give us lotsa money and little lawsuits). Some
just plain lose interest in the story/series/writing, and pack it up
altogether. Usually, there's a mass combination of the above.
[It is a bit harsh to esentially demand authors to complete fics, unless
you've been making some serious donations to our collective tip jars. I seriously
doubt people start massive fics, only to abandon them halfway (and if you
LIKE doing that just to irritate others, you have no life). Things happen, and
fanfiction will take a back seat somewhere along the way; after all, as much as
we like doing fanfics, it's not altogether important to do so, especially
since the stories we write are labors of love, not commercial projects that gives
us oodles of dollars. We may continue them once things have settled down --
the auther of Suicide Blast had apparently taken four years off before he
finally wrote the last chapter, and it was only like five chapters long O_O.
[It's a rough life out there, and we have all the best of intentions in the
beginning. Even I have some notions of completing the fanfics I have started,
but considering I'm also workong on becoming a commercial success as an artist
(and ditch the struggling bit of my current life), it's certainly not on the
forefront of my mind. Now, if you can scrounge up and donate $12,000 my way,
then I'll make fanfic writing my daily ritual. :D]
Why do so few fanfiction authors ever investigate the real Japan?
[Too much work, particularly when a lot of fanfic writers start out young,
like before they are 18 or so. Some feel that they can skate just fine on the
stuff they see in the show, and embellish the holes later as they come up.
Others use other fanfiction as a source of the end-all-that-be-all knowledge.
Ranma fanfics I know are particularly notorious about this, marking probably a
good 90% of its fanfic writers (including me) guilty of the same crime. The
Amazons named Perfume, Lotion, and Sash; Shampoo's mother named Comb; Ryouga's
ability to cross dimensions and end up in different places in the world at
random; the demigod of battle Ranma, etc. It's created its own fanfic canon, and
that's something truly... I'm not even sure what word to use for it.]
I previously referred to the astonishingly low quality of InuYasha and
Gundam Wing fics, especially when writing about romantic pairings. In
great part, I suspect that it is because most of those fanfiction
authors want a certain pairing, no matter how much they have to distort
the actual characters.
[Very true. The name Michael Rhea certainly comes to mind thinking of the
last sentence. The concept of Character A falling in love with Character C
instead of B can work, but oftentimes will require work to make it plausible.
This goes triple for slasher fics -- Kaiba/Joey romance? Better get me a case
of Everclear while you're busy making sure the cables are think and tightly
holding my disbelief.]
[snip]
I find one aspect of many of these IY alternate pairing fics
particularly repulsive and disturbing. A suprising number have Kagome
raped/engage in other not entirely consensual sex/seduced under false
pretences/be subjected to mind games/and comparable actions which still
end up in romance. The fics seem more about Stockholm Syndrome than
love. Even if Kagome is not raped, how can a serious relationship
develop based on lies and deception?
[Think that's disturbing? Try 12 yr old Sasami rape orgies that seemed to
litter TMFFA some time back. Overindulgence of one too many viewings of LA Blue
Girl and Kite will do that to you. I'd be more concerned about the
psychology of people that gleefully crank those stories out with the ease of buying a
pack of M&M's.
[Now, how many of those fics are written by thouse under the age of 18, or
those that have no real concept of the very act of falling in love? There's a
lot more to romance outside of whipping it out while you got her bound and
gagged and making her love it. Some of the blame can be attributed to the way the
Japanese conveys sex and romance, but also, a clear lot is to be blamed on
those that have the thoughts and wants to live vicariously through other
characters.]
Some additional advice to authors -
Don't distort the characters so much that the reader can't understand
why the character is used.
[True. Especially with crossovers. If you want Ranma to be a vampire
hunter, just write him AS a vampire hunter, and not cross him over with Van Helsing
just because it sounds like a good idea at the time. Otherwise, just do
fanart where he looks the part.
In crossovers, consider carefully whether the different worlds are
really compatible. Something like a Slayers/Banner of the Stars
crossover would make little sense. Also, see if the specific characters
make sense in the crossover world. I've seen Harry Potter/Tenchi Muyo
crossovers where Sasami enrolls in Hogwarts. So how often does Hogwarts
get a student who is the avatar of the patron goddess of a star empire,
has the occasional pet who turns into an intelligent armed spacecraft,
has an exceptionally powerful group of friends and relatives on Earth,
and is linked to one of the most powerful ships in the galaxy? Compared
to Kagato, Voldemort would be a minor annoyance.
[Now that's funny...
[Crossover compatiability is important. Nothing is worse than mixing oil and
water, aside from mixing ammonia and bleach. Most stories can work, but they
will need some care to make plausible. Example: How would you make a love
story between Ranma Saotome and Akane Aikawa of The Magic User's Club (Mahou
Tsukai Tai in Japanese)? Very carefully!
[First, make a reason as to WHY you are hooking the two up beforehand
(Akane's magic is very strong, and Ranma may see her as being key to ending his
curse). Once you have the reason, then start building backwards as to how they'll
meet in the first place. Here, let's say Ranma sees her do the same magic by
herself right on the first time, whereas the other club members struggle
together and get mediocre results <--Ranma was brought to the club to talk to Takeo
about reversing his curse <-- Ranma is Sae's cousin on his mother's side and
may know how to reach him mother <--Ranma finds Genma's address book while
rooting through his things <--Ranma has ran off on Genma after Jusenkyo. If at
any point a step makes you laugh uncontrollable, and you're trying to write a
serious fic, you may need to rethink that step before continuing on.
[After mapping the path out, you can then determine if the romance is serious
or "just one of those passing things." Here, with Akane's attitude and
Ranma's mouth, it may well fall into the latter, but if you want it to be a serious
thing, go for it; just make sure that it can be believable. Say, one of the
romance points comes when a drone tries to make off with Akane, and Ranma goes
aerial to rescue her. Afterwards, the story will change; Akane may not be so
flippant, at least noth with Ranma, and he may regard her with more interest
other than for her magic power.
[The biggest part about crossovers is to not let the characters stray from
their baseline personalities unless there's no other choice. Ranma doesn't
magically (no pun intended) stops being himself when he meets Akane (say, it's
when she'susing the club room as a changing room), and she wouldn't hesititate to
use magic to get revenge on Ranma, should he do something to piss her off.
Later on after the rescue part, they may be more considerate, or whatever, but
that's because there was a change beforehand that provokes said new responses.
[Most important, don't forget the other characters! Here, Genma may show up
looking for Ranma, as well as his mother and possibly Ryouga and Ukyou, but
the others probably won't make an appearance without looking foolishly out of
place. Now, since he's firmly on MTT turf, he's going to be interacting with
the other characters. How would he deal with Takeo's nosebleeds when he takes
off his shirt, forgetting that he's a girl at the moment? How would Akane deal
with the change? Would Aburatsubo come on to him (and make Ranma extremely
nervous about take off his shirt in either form)? Does he tease Sae about her
Jeff-kun? Sew those answers into the story, and seamlessly well (bad pun, I
know); details makes or breaks any story.]
[snip EOT]
Anyway, that should help make fanfics run a little smoother, assuming the
tidbit of advice is taken.
Adrian Moten
My therapist tells me to not get upset about little errors but to focus on
creative fixes. Of course, my therapist also has white fluffy wings growing out
of her back.
-Piro, Megatokyo's Grand Theft Colo: Otaku City
http://goldenarms.deviantart.com
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