Recently I've been approached via PM regarding advice for writing fanfiction. I guess what I answered would also fit in here nicely. (Names and references to specific stories removed)
Q: What kind of stories should I write?
A: That's not really something I can tell you...
Sure, at the beginning it is easier to stick to short stories. There are writers here on the forums who have started half a dozen routes and so far haven't managed to finish a single one of them, so I'd always recommend sticking to shorter pieces until you're comfortable trying yourself on a longer one.
But the most important piece of advice I can give you is to only write stories you really want to tell. I know that's awfully vague, so let me try to explain...
If you set out with the goal of writing a "route" or an "epilogue" you are limiting yourself before you started. Instead ask yourself what you want to write about. I.e. your current story is about Hisao and XXX getting married and YYY happening. When you know that, think about what it would take to tell that story - how many chapters you need to tell it, which characters should be in it, what kind of scenes you need etc. If you find the story is to large for now, write the idea down and come back to it later when you've practiced more.
For me, the most difficult part of writing is to come up with an interesting story. You can pick up the technical stuff like spelling or grammar by practicing or even by reading a lot, but inspiration is something you can't really learn.
I don't know if you've read some (or any) of my own stories here. If you do you'll find that I try to write stories that are different from the topic of most of the other stories here ("Hisao reached the good end with X, and they're living happily ever after" or "Hisao reached the bad end with X and they're trying to fix it.") Most of them were conceived from a stray thought, a personal experience or even from reading another fanfiction. For example I got the idea for Katawa Kijo, when someone wrote a (extremely bad) fanfiction about the girls getting superpowers, and I thought, "I can do better than that."
Catharsis is about a real life conversation I had with a girl I had a crush on, and Tripping was originally inspired by a line Rin has in Act 1 ("I can only think about four things at once")
If you ever have an idea that you think might make a good, original KS story, write it down, and think of how you would go about writing it.
Q: How do I keep a story/situation/characters believable?
A: When writing, you have to always consider not only how your protagonist reacts to a situation but also how all the other characters would react.
I.e. If the OC arrives at the school and does something most people would consider unusual, it's easy to show what the OC thinks and does and why he does it - the story is narrated through him - but also consider other characters:
Do they know about the OC's situation beforehand? Do they know the backstory? Are they curious? Disdainful? Why?
And how do you show those reactions to the reader?
The OC must be used to negative reactions when he does what he does. Does he look for signs of disapproval? Is he simply oblivious?
Bonus points if you not only consider the active participants in the scene but also people who might be around coincidentally. A situation like that is probably something unusual in Yamaku. Describe some curious students gawking.
In the story everyone reacts as if such a thing were the most normal thing in the world, which it most certainly isn't.
There are a lot of things about writing, that will improve only with lots and lots of practice: Grammar, orthography, a feeling for writing styles...
Other things are more or less a matter of taste: the amount of description, narrative style etc.
Keeping characters believable doesn't take more than a bit of common sense (though it can be a bit harder when taking into account a foreign culture), so it's something one can start to do right from the beginning.
Sometimes it will mean a scene won't work as it was planned, because you realize there's just no way character X will behave in that fashion. When that happens you should make the effort to do the scene differently. Maybe use character Y instead or have something happen to character X that will change his mindset, maybe scrap the scene and write an entirely different one. It's always better than forcing your characters to behave in a way they wouldn't behave naturally. The readers will notice things like that long before they notice a missing comma or an extra letter somewhere, and they'll remember it longer.
Tips for fanfiction writers (that means YOU)
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Mirage_GSM
- Posts: 6213
- Joined: Mon Jun 28, 2010 2:24 am
- Location: Germany
Re: Tips for fanfiction writers (that means YOU)
Emi > Misha > Hanako > Lilly > Rin > Shizune
My collected KS-Fan Fictions: Mirage's Myths
My collected KS-Fan Fictions: Mirage's Myths
Sore wa himitsu desu.griffon8 wrote:Kosher, just because sex is your answer to everything doesn't mean that sex is the answer to everything.
Re: Tips for fanfiction writers (that means YOU)
Mirage's protegee poured some salt on the bleeding wound of fanfiction in general, believeability, so by your leave I'll write a wall or two of text on this.
Sure, I might not yet have the authority to do so on this forum, but whatever.
WARNING: the following post contains subjective opinions on established franchises as well as fanfiction that may or may not corelate with your own.
The problem doesn't need much clarification, as we all are aware of the Sanic Syndrome and its other avatars in other communities, this forum being little to no exception. Now, it doesn't necessarily mean that all fanfiction is bad and we should stop what we're doing, it only means that this flaw's source lies outside franchises or genres. Where does it come from, then? Mentality. One simple idea "I can write something based on this story" that is mistakenly recieved as a call for action.
The thing is, you can, and I can draw something based on the same product, but it's going to be recieved as bipedal shapes at best, while text is a completely different beast whatsoever. It requires time to absorb, and with acceptable grammar it's going to take your reader some time to ensure whether the creative writing is good or bad. Meanwhile, what most fanfiction writers do is tell the reader stories they thought would be cool, not the stories which the characters are most likely to be involved in. That works for communities like ones of DMC or Doom, the games/movies/books focused more on action than story. The trick why it works there is that the characters don't have much personalities, they are composed of a couple of easily replicated gimmicks and ways to enter explosive action, therefore throw them in a FUBAR situation, put a suitable phrase or two in their mouth, bang, the rest can be your fantasy. It doesn't really work in our case, though.
See, what this community does is build fanfiction over a novel, one with developed characters, strict setting and a realistic tone. The first thing one should think about when writing fanfiction is if his story and the parental product can be percieved as one consistent whole. While in certain other communities, as was just mentioned, it's quite easy, here it's going to take some effort. First, make sure you know the characters. As simple as that. Re-read the route(s), get as much fresh information stored in your head, or better yet, on paper, about them. Learn their speech patterns, memorize their flaws, the way they dress, react to external events, their nonsensial habits, everything that can add a drop of mood to your fic. Second, make sure your fic is set in the same Yamaku as Katawa Shoujo. People don't seem to have much problems with that, but still: cripples are cripples, yet they aren't as weak and pityful as some would like to see them. Yamaku is a place to tend to people with limitations below dire, Roberta from Black Lagoon has no place there. Third, write realistically. This one gets people stumped most of the time. (Of course, you can choose not to, crackfic is a funny thing to read sometimes, see Richter Bromont, but those who know how to write good crackfic and intend to do so have little interest in reading this post anyway.)
Realism is, quite literally, writing things as if they'd happen in the 3D world instead of your imagination. Listen to Stanislavski's voice constantly telling you how he doesn't believe a single line you've written so far. Which character relates to which of your acquaintances in which way? Put together, how would they [real people] react to the situations the character is put in? How much of an impact would those situations leave? Should they be recalled an hour later, a day, a year? What is the internal logic of each of the characters' behaviour? These are the questions that should spin in your head. Does a character stand on the imaginary scene the whole day without going to the toilet? Unrealistic, scratch that. Do we ever see them take a meal? Good, people do eat, after all. Do they kneel half-naked on asphalt, shaking from pleasure of a series of orgasms caused "practically by his first thrust"? Make sure you know how low-quality asphalt feels against your naked skin first, if not how female pleasure works. This is not to say how crazy real equivalents of "nekos" tend to get.
Those are all do-nots, though. It's kind of difficult to give constructive advice here, since writing techniques tend to differ quite radically between authors, so the following should be taken with a works-for-me-presonally remark.
1. Write not a story, but rather a world full of living people who aren't going to do whatever you ask of them. Throwing in some events to start the story, keep in mind they should have their own reasons to happen, which you need to fully unerstand. Every action a character takes is made not because you've planned it to be so, but rather because that character would react to existing circumstances that way, OR your readers are going to have enough reasons to think so. After all, that's what believeability is all about. If your story should have a specific ending, think of how the characters would have to behave to reach it, and write the circumstances accordingly; by the way, congratulations, you most probably have a set of unlikely events happening now instead of a consistent narration. Correct them to be more possible in real life, go back to the characters, rework their behaviour, back to the circumstances, repeat until it reads smoothly.
2. Try watching the story inside your head, like a 3D model or a movie or something. Imagine it in as much detail as possible. What color is the sky? Why's that boy in the dark corner wiping his boogers with a dead teacher's hand? Wait a second, there shouldn't be any dead teachers in the frame or on stage. Erase the dead teacher, recompile the scene, rewatch. What does that girl in the background, slightly to the left, smell like and why? Did she have PE right now or did someone inject her with an alien virus? The last question can radically turn the tide of narration, by the way, so you should know tons about every piece of decoration on the scene and megatons about the main characters in the shot. You don't have to load it all off onto your unsuspecting reader, in fact, that'd be an unforgivable mistake, because your readers have to have liberty to construct additional details in their imagination, that's how prose works. The seemingly useless information is there to set the mood right, and the mood is what your reader WILL need to get right in order to understand what's going on and think partially like you do.
3. Always write outlines, even for short and simple things. Those are going to save you a lot of time plus make you understand how little of an idea you actually have what you're going to write about before putting your pen to paper. However, they have another use, to prevent you from tying neat scenes into one mess of a fractured and unbelieveable story. David Cage, I'm looking at you.
4. Remember your characters are human. Leave Kojima and Suda 51 to do their work, those guys know what they're doing and it's certainly not writing fanfiction on KS forums.
Sure, I might not yet have the authority to do so on this forum, but whatever.
WARNING: the following post contains subjective opinions on established franchises as well as fanfiction that may or may not corelate with your own.
The problem doesn't need much clarification, as we all are aware of the Sanic Syndrome and its other avatars in other communities, this forum being little to no exception. Now, it doesn't necessarily mean that all fanfiction is bad and we should stop what we're doing, it only means that this flaw's source lies outside franchises or genres. Where does it come from, then? Mentality. One simple idea "I can write something based on this story" that is mistakenly recieved as a call for action.
The thing is, you can, and I can draw something based on the same product, but it's going to be recieved as bipedal shapes at best, while text is a completely different beast whatsoever. It requires time to absorb, and with acceptable grammar it's going to take your reader some time to ensure whether the creative writing is good or bad. Meanwhile, what most fanfiction writers do is tell the reader stories they thought would be cool, not the stories which the characters are most likely to be involved in. That works for communities like ones of DMC or Doom, the games/movies/books focused more on action than story. The trick why it works there is that the characters don't have much personalities, they are composed of a couple of easily replicated gimmicks and ways to enter explosive action, therefore throw them in a FUBAR situation, put a suitable phrase or two in their mouth, bang, the rest can be your fantasy. It doesn't really work in our case, though.
See, what this community does is build fanfiction over a novel, one with developed characters, strict setting and a realistic tone. The first thing one should think about when writing fanfiction is if his story and the parental product can be percieved as one consistent whole. While in certain other communities, as was just mentioned, it's quite easy, here it's going to take some effort. First, make sure you know the characters. As simple as that. Re-read the route(s), get as much fresh information stored in your head, or better yet, on paper, about them. Learn their speech patterns, memorize their flaws, the way they dress, react to external events, their nonsensial habits, everything that can add a drop of mood to your fic. Second, make sure your fic is set in the same Yamaku as Katawa Shoujo. People don't seem to have much problems with that, but still: cripples are cripples, yet they aren't as weak and pityful as some would like to see them. Yamaku is a place to tend to people with limitations below dire, Roberta from Black Lagoon has no place there. Third, write realistically. This one gets people stumped most of the time. (Of course, you can choose not to, crackfic is a funny thing to read sometimes, see Richter Bromont, but those who know how to write good crackfic and intend to do so have little interest in reading this post anyway.)
Realism is, quite literally, writing things as if they'd happen in the 3D world instead of your imagination. Listen to Stanislavski's voice constantly telling you how he doesn't believe a single line you've written so far. Which character relates to which of your acquaintances in which way? Put together, how would they [real people] react to the situations the character is put in? How much of an impact would those situations leave? Should they be recalled an hour later, a day, a year? What is the internal logic of each of the characters' behaviour? These are the questions that should spin in your head. Does a character stand on the imaginary scene the whole day without going to the toilet? Unrealistic, scratch that. Do we ever see them take a meal? Good, people do eat, after all. Do they kneel half-naked on asphalt, shaking from pleasure of a series of orgasms caused "practically by his first thrust"? Make sure you know how low-quality asphalt feels against your naked skin first, if not how female pleasure works. This is not to say how crazy real equivalents of "nekos" tend to get.
Those are all do-nots, though. It's kind of difficult to give constructive advice here, since writing techniques tend to differ quite radically between authors, so the following should be taken with a works-for-me-presonally remark.
1. Write not a story, but rather a world full of living people who aren't going to do whatever you ask of them. Throwing in some events to start the story, keep in mind they should have their own reasons to happen, which you need to fully unerstand. Every action a character takes is made not because you've planned it to be so, but rather because that character would react to existing circumstances that way, OR your readers are going to have enough reasons to think so. After all, that's what believeability is all about. If your story should have a specific ending, think of how the characters would have to behave to reach it, and write the circumstances accordingly; by the way, congratulations, you most probably have a set of unlikely events happening now instead of a consistent narration. Correct them to be more possible in real life, go back to the characters, rework their behaviour, back to the circumstances, repeat until it reads smoothly.
2. Try watching the story inside your head, like a 3D model or a movie or something. Imagine it in as much detail as possible. What color is the sky? Why's that boy in the dark corner wiping his boogers with a dead teacher's hand? Wait a second, there shouldn't be any dead teachers in the frame or on stage. Erase the dead teacher, recompile the scene, rewatch. What does that girl in the background, slightly to the left, smell like and why? Did she have PE right now or did someone inject her with an alien virus? The last question can radically turn the tide of narration, by the way, so you should know tons about every piece of decoration on the scene and megatons about the main characters in the shot. You don't have to load it all off onto your unsuspecting reader, in fact, that'd be an unforgivable mistake, because your readers have to have liberty to construct additional details in their imagination, that's how prose works. The seemingly useless information is there to set the mood right, and the mood is what your reader WILL need to get right in order to understand what's going on and think partially like you do.
3. Always write outlines, even for short and simple things. Those are going to save you a lot of time plus make you understand how little of an idea you actually have what you're going to write about before putting your pen to paper. However, they have another use, to prevent you from tying neat scenes into one mess of a fractured and unbelieveable story. David Cage, I'm looking at you.
4. Remember your characters are human. Leave Kojima and Suda 51 to do their work, those guys know what they're doing and it's certainly not writing fanfiction on KS forums.
I wrote a Fluttershy x Tails once. It was really good, swer.
Then I wrote some KS fiction, and being not as stellar, it at least exists.
Then I wrote some KS fiction, and being not as stellar, it at least exists.
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Guest Poster
- Posts: 1264
- Joined: Tue Jul 10, 2012 12:42 am
Re: Tips for fanfiction writers (that means YOU)
If I had to give one tip which I personally like to adhere to, but that contains an admittable "Your mileage may vary"-factor, it's this one:
TAKE YOUR TIME!
For all the benefits the internet has brought us, it has probably come with one major drawback: it's created a bit of mindset built around the desire for instant gratification. In other words: I have a cool idea for a fanfic or an early draft of the first chapter of a fanfic, so I HAVE to post it on the internet NOW!!!
It's very tempting to forget that a creative piece (be it a story, game or piece of art) is 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration. If you post a piece on the forum that only has the inspiration-part down, don't be surprised if people also treat it as something that's only 1% done.
I've seen several stories that, when criticized, were defended by the author with one of the following arguments:
1) It was just a quick brain-fart. Don't treat it like an attempt at the next Lord of the Rings.
2) I was just being a bit lazy, but aside from (list of problems), how was it?
3) I realize it was a bit rough, but I have a daily/weekly release schedule to meet. If I had to go through everything I wrote with a fine-toothed comb, it'd take me over a month to release a single chapter.
Taking your time to refine something before pushing it out the door will without exception result in a better end product. It does mean you'll have to curb that desire for instant gratification and instant feedback, but the gratification and feedback you'll receive eventually will be all the better. If you've written something and you're not sure whether it's ready yet, browse the forum for a bit, see which members spend a lot of time commenting on stories and PM one of them with a request to check it out and give private feedback. It will allow you to present a refined product to the rest of the community, which they will then credit to your creative juices, despite the little line "Thanks to <insert forum member here> for the feedback".
Personally, I'm on a very extreme end of this spectrum. If I write something, I don't release it until it's completely finished...every single chapter of it. (obviously this is a moot point with one-shots) This gives me the (to me extremely important) luxury of being able to go back to previous chapters and retcon the hell out of them when I come up with a plot point that'll make the overall story better, but would be impossible to insert if half of the story had already been published and thus set in stone. Being able to keep attuning all the chapters to all the other chapters is something I value. It means I can do with a writing plan that's mostly just in my head, since I can always go back and make adjustments when I'm faced with the threat of writing myself into a corner.
I get, however, that not everyone likes that approach. You'll need a more detailed writing outline in order to keep things under your control, but it's perfectly doable as many authors here have proved. I would suggest, however, that if you have the desire to write a slightly larger fic, like a route or an epilogue, to take your time and perhaps go out of your way to finish multiple chapters before posting the first one on the web. The end results will be better for it.
Patience is a virtue.
TAKE YOUR TIME!
For all the benefits the internet has brought us, it has probably come with one major drawback: it's created a bit of mindset built around the desire for instant gratification. In other words: I have a cool idea for a fanfic or an early draft of the first chapter of a fanfic, so I HAVE to post it on the internet NOW!!!
It's very tempting to forget that a creative piece (be it a story, game or piece of art) is 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration. If you post a piece on the forum that only has the inspiration-part down, don't be surprised if people also treat it as something that's only 1% done.
I've seen several stories that, when criticized, were defended by the author with one of the following arguments:
1) It was just a quick brain-fart. Don't treat it like an attempt at the next Lord of the Rings.
2) I was just being a bit lazy, but aside from (list of problems), how was it?
3) I realize it was a bit rough, but I have a daily/weekly release schedule to meet. If I had to go through everything I wrote with a fine-toothed comb, it'd take me over a month to release a single chapter.
Taking your time to refine something before pushing it out the door will without exception result in a better end product. It does mean you'll have to curb that desire for instant gratification and instant feedback, but the gratification and feedback you'll receive eventually will be all the better. If you've written something and you're not sure whether it's ready yet, browse the forum for a bit, see which members spend a lot of time commenting on stories and PM one of them with a request to check it out and give private feedback. It will allow you to present a refined product to the rest of the community, which they will then credit to your creative juices, despite the little line "Thanks to <insert forum member here> for the feedback".
Personally, I'm on a very extreme end of this spectrum. If I write something, I don't release it until it's completely finished...every single chapter of it. (obviously this is a moot point with one-shots) This gives me the (to me extremely important) luxury of being able to go back to previous chapters and retcon the hell out of them when I come up with a plot point that'll make the overall story better, but would be impossible to insert if half of the story had already been published and thus set in stone. Being able to keep attuning all the chapters to all the other chapters is something I value. It means I can do with a writing plan that's mostly just in my head, since I can always go back and make adjustments when I'm faced with the threat of writing myself into a corner.
I get, however, that not everyone likes that approach. You'll need a more detailed writing outline in order to keep things under your control, but it's perfectly doable as many authors here have proved. I would suggest, however, that if you have the desire to write a slightly larger fic, like a route or an epilogue, to take your time and perhaps go out of your way to finish multiple chapters before posting the first one on the web. The end results will be better for it.
Patience is a virtue.
Sisterhood: True Edition. Hanako epilogue I wrote. Now expanded with additional chapters.
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Kyler Thatch
- Posts: 139
- Joined: Fri Jan 20, 2012 12:13 am
Re: Tips for fanfiction writers (that means YOU)
I wish I had been reminded of this before I started posting my own story, but what's done is done.
All I can add is that if you're releasing a story in parts, positive feedback can really fuel the temptation to push something out prematurely. Do not give in to that temptation. A weak product leaves everyone unsatisfied, author included.
All I can add is that if you're releasing a story in parts, positive feedback can really fuel the temptation to push something out prematurely. Do not give in to that temptation. A weak product leaves everyone unsatisfied, author included.
Re: Tips for fanfiction writers (that means YOU)
The only advice I really have to give is plan EVERYTHING very extensively. Don't settle for a vague idea of the character, even if it's somebody who doesn't appear often. I've made that mistake in the past, and now I'm constructing a complete character profile for every character I will be using in Blossom, including eight I have yet to introduce. The notes for characters should include how they interact with certain people, for example Miki and Emi have a rivalry, so expand on that and explain the reason behind it, the vocabulary used in their encounters and their attitude towards each other. Also make sure to specify who is a close friend and who isn't, my example for this one being Suzu and Kenta. They share close friends, but they themselves are not very close, more mutual than anything.
Of course, character isn't everything, you need to have plot surrounding their existence. Don't introduce a character just for the sake of introducing them, have a reason to do so. Make sure there is a high degree of mystery, but make it possible to figure out before the climax; makes for some interesting theories. Also conflict. Conflict is good. KS wouldn't be anything without it, as the routes all depend on it. If Emi agreed with everything Hisao said, her path would be dull. If Rin didn't bother trying to explain things and just smiled, nodding, her path would be dull.
Recap: Plot is important, plan it. Also plan the people in the plot, make them stand out. That is all
Of course, character isn't everything, you need to have plot surrounding their existence. Don't introduce a character just for the sake of introducing them, have a reason to do so. Make sure there is a high degree of mystery, but make it possible to figure out before the climax; makes for some interesting theories. Also conflict. Conflict is good. KS wouldn't be anything without it, as the routes all depend on it. If Emi agreed with everything Hisao said, her path would be dull. If Rin didn't bother trying to explain things and just smiled, nodding, her path would be dull.
Recap: Plot is important, plan it. Also plan the people in the plot, make them stand out. That is all
Currently working on: Notes for a new project (Coming Soon™)
I did KS and other songs on note blocks in Minecraft: Playlist here
Old works| Rooftops - An Emi Story| Christmas with the Hakamichis | Not Like Him - Rin Perspective|Blossom - A Miki pseudo-route
I did KS and other songs on note blocks in Minecraft: Playlist here
Old works| Rooftops - An Emi Story| Christmas with the Hakamichis | Not Like Him - Rin Perspective|Blossom - A Miki pseudo-route
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Silentcook
- Carelessly Cooking You
- Posts: 2568
- Joined: Thu Mar 06, 2008 8:22 am
- Location: Imola, Italy
Re: Tips for fanfiction writers (that means YOU)
Sometimes it's just better to shut up and let someone who can do better than you do the talking.
“Nobody tells this to people who are beginners, I wish someone told me. All of us who do creative work, we get into it because we have good taste.
But there is this gap.
For the first couple years you make stuff, it’s just not that good. It’s trying to be good, it has potential, but it’s not.
But your taste, the thing that got you into the game, is still killer. And your taste is why your work disappoints you. A lot of people never get past this phase, they quit.
Most people I know who do interesting, creative work went through years of this. We know our work doesn’t have this special thing that we want it to have. We all go through this. And if you are just starting out or you are still in this phase, you gotta know it's normal and the most important thing you can do is do a lot of work.
Put yourself on a deadline so that every week you will finish one story. It is only by going through a volume of work that you will close that gap, and your work will be as good as your ambitions. And I took longer to figure out how to do this than anyone I’ve ever met.
It’s gonna take awhile. It’s normal to take awhile.
You’ve just gotta fight your way through.”
― Ira Glass
Shattering your dreams since '94. I also fought COVID in '20 and '21, and all I got was this lousy forum sig.
Outlining long-form fiction.
A few guidelines for when you've exited the character and world-building stages, and are starting to compose a general outline.
1. Be vague.
The only person who should ever have to see your outline is you, so it's really more like jotting down notes than writing anything composed. It doesn't have to be long, detailed and filled with floral language. All it really needs to do is remind you what the major plot points are, the characters involved, and the setting.
2. Leave the dialogue for when you're actually writing a scene.
You can note if you want a particular character to reach a particular point in the conversation, but don't commit yourself to anything until you're actually writing the scene. Conversations happen organically, and you should allow yourself the opportunity to explore them in the moment.
3. Sometimes all you need is a title.
If you know your characters well enough, the place they're at, and what conflicts they'll encounter, really all you need is a signpost that says 'this is where this happens'. Half of writing is exploring the scenes, and it's a lot more fun writing when you're just running on a basic idea - or it is for me at least. Your mileage may vary.
4. Keep your major plot and subplots in mind.
If there's supposed to be a big dance scene in the middle of the chapter between your two main love interests, leave a reminder in the outline. Still be vague like "they tango until sunrise," but if it's something important, the outline is where you should note it ahead of time. Note: I used dancing as an example, but you could flag a fight, a love scene, their base jumping trip to the empire state building, or whatever else befits your character's particular... idiom.
5. Bullet points are fucking boring. Screw bullet points.
My brother outlines a story using a giant sheet of card stock. He uses sticky notes and string to write little notes, character names, events, places, underlying magical attributes, and whatever else, then links them across the board into a plot mosaic. You could use a similar method, or perhaps a spreadsheet with all the plot points categorized by linear occurrence, impact, number of characters involved, amount of lube required, or whatever else you deem necessary. Basically you can make your outline look however you like; nobody else is ever going to see it, so feel free to use head shots of your favorite actor/cartoon/comic/video game/etc. to signify your characters. Worst case scenario, someone finds your outline and uses it to assist with casting for the movie they're adapting from your book.
6. Invisible ink is hard to read.
Never go full Kenji and start thinking there's some Illuminati agent watching through a camera made to look like a knot in your wall paneling - they aren't, I checked. Hiding your outline from yourself is like hiding your heart medication atop a roller-coaster. It's the only think keeping you afloat when you're 40 chapters in and about to make the big reveal. Delaying yourself for months because you misplaced your outline is just stupid.
7. As Juvenile said, and I wholly support: back that thang up!
Like it does to your characters, life sometimes kicks you in the head. There's a flood, or a raid, or your mom decides to clean your room, or the cat gets bored one evening and decides your stick drive is a chew toy, and then your outline is gone. Fuck you, Fluffy! To prevent this, save your outline in several places. I have a copy on my laptop, my desktop, my external hard drive, and a little USB thumb drive I've been keeping on my keychain for 6 years. There are also cloud options available, and the old standby: email it to yourself, preferably on a site with external storage like hotmail or gmail. You could also do this with the story itself... y'know, to be thorough.
8. Don't write the book in the outline.
That's what writing the book is for. In an outline, you're just writing yourself little reminders about how the story will go, so keep it simple, stupid. "Bob and Lacy are going to fuck in this chapter," is all you need to say, and you'll look at that later - when you reach that chapter - and remember to get out your sexy cap so you can write the greatest erotic scene in the history of awful third-rate fan fiction. The outline is like a list of goals - a bucket list, if you like - that you dig out of your dingy pocket every so often to make sure your characters are supposed to be dangling off a cliff following the last chapter. At the very least, if you spend too much time writing the outline, you'll sort of feel like you have nothing to explore in the story itself. That brings us to the next point:
9. Don't tell yourself the ending.
This might sound crazy, but hear me out. If you're writing a story like Katawa Shoujo, and you're planning on a good ending, don't tell yourself exactly how it will happen. Writing a book is a little like reading one: spoilers suck. Having a general '...and they live happily ever after' is fine, but don't get too specific. That very last scene is what you're striving to reach, no less than your reader, and telling yourself ahead of time exactly how it will go just takes a huge chunk of joy out of the process.
10. Outline your chapter contents, too.
Chapters are like little stories all on their own. Each one is part of the overarching story, but they have their own flow and structure. Try to plan a beginning, middle and end for your chapters in the same way you're plotting those stages for the book on the whole. In between chapters should feel like satisfying places where a reader can pause and reflect before starting anew.
11. You're going to change your outline. A lot.
It's a guidepost, not a commandment. If in writing your story you discover it's no longer necessary for a scene to occur, or you need a new scene to support something added earlier, or something weird happens and you decide to go all invasion of the body snatchers and totally change the story at its midpoint, don't fret. You're human. You're fallible. You didn't know what the hell you were talking about when you wrote the outline 18 months ago. That's fine. That's part of the process. Don't weep for the plot points that never were, but rather rejoice in the knowledge that present you is kicking past you's ass at writing. Can I get an Amen!? No...? Secular audiences always cringe at that. It's not a religious thing, y'know! It's like cheering at a rock concert! But, I digress...
12. And the rest is history.
Your outline feeds off all the research you've done in preparation for your book. ...You did do research, right? Fuck, man, do I have to tell you everything? Nobody is an expert on everything. I'm not even an expert on masturbation, and yet I have 20+ years or practice. That perhaps was a jarring example, but let's just run with it, shall we? Don't be a jerk and think you're going to remember that wiki page where you read about Arabian architecture. Make a note of it, and any other relevant links, and include them in your outline so you can refresh your memory on the shape and construction of twelfth dynasty pottery. That way, when you write the scene where your protagonist is caught masturbating inside a clay pot, you'll know the dialect in which the Kanji inscription along the base is supposed to be written. That seems like a long way to go for a joke about flogging the dolphin, but I'm happy with the result.
13. Don't jinx yourself.
Don't say things you don't mean to do. It's okay to make note of things you'd like for your characters to do, but don't get too caught up in exactly who, what, where, when, or why that happens. If you know there will be a holiday, and your characters will be going on a road trip of some kind, just say that. Figure out what they'll do over the course of the road trip once you get there. Maybe flesh out the outline in more detail just as you reach that point in the story, but don't lock yourself into anything too specific that isn't directly relative to how your main plot functions.
Well, that's all I can think of for now... If I think of more, I'll add them later.
1. Be vague.
The only person who should ever have to see your outline is you, so it's really more like jotting down notes than writing anything composed. It doesn't have to be long, detailed and filled with floral language. All it really needs to do is remind you what the major plot points are, the characters involved, and the setting.
2. Leave the dialogue for when you're actually writing a scene.
You can note if you want a particular character to reach a particular point in the conversation, but don't commit yourself to anything until you're actually writing the scene. Conversations happen organically, and you should allow yourself the opportunity to explore them in the moment.
3. Sometimes all you need is a title.
If you know your characters well enough, the place they're at, and what conflicts they'll encounter, really all you need is a signpost that says 'this is where this happens'. Half of writing is exploring the scenes, and it's a lot more fun writing when you're just running on a basic idea - or it is for me at least. Your mileage may vary.
4. Keep your major plot and subplots in mind.
If there's supposed to be a big dance scene in the middle of the chapter between your two main love interests, leave a reminder in the outline. Still be vague like "they tango until sunrise," but if it's something important, the outline is where you should note it ahead of time. Note: I used dancing as an example, but you could flag a fight, a love scene, their base jumping trip to the empire state building, or whatever else befits your character's particular... idiom.
5. Bullet points are fucking boring. Screw bullet points.
My brother outlines a story using a giant sheet of card stock. He uses sticky notes and string to write little notes, character names, events, places, underlying magical attributes, and whatever else, then links them across the board into a plot mosaic. You could use a similar method, or perhaps a spreadsheet with all the plot points categorized by linear occurrence, impact, number of characters involved, amount of lube required, or whatever else you deem necessary. Basically you can make your outline look however you like; nobody else is ever going to see it, so feel free to use head shots of your favorite actor/cartoon/comic/video game/etc. to signify your characters. Worst case scenario, someone finds your outline and uses it to assist with casting for the movie they're adapting from your book.
6. Invisible ink is hard to read.
Never go full Kenji and start thinking there's some Illuminati agent watching through a camera made to look like a knot in your wall paneling - they aren't, I checked. Hiding your outline from yourself is like hiding your heart medication atop a roller-coaster. It's the only think keeping you afloat when you're 40 chapters in and about to make the big reveal. Delaying yourself for months because you misplaced your outline is just stupid.
7. As Juvenile said, and I wholly support: back that thang up!
Like it does to your characters, life sometimes kicks you in the head. There's a flood, or a raid, or your mom decides to clean your room, or the cat gets bored one evening and decides your stick drive is a chew toy, and then your outline is gone. Fuck you, Fluffy! To prevent this, save your outline in several places. I have a copy on my laptop, my desktop, my external hard drive, and a little USB thumb drive I've been keeping on my keychain for 6 years. There are also cloud options available, and the old standby: email it to yourself, preferably on a site with external storage like hotmail or gmail. You could also do this with the story itself... y'know, to be thorough.
8. Don't write the book in the outline.
That's what writing the book is for. In an outline, you're just writing yourself little reminders about how the story will go, so keep it simple, stupid. "Bob and Lacy are going to fuck in this chapter," is all you need to say, and you'll look at that later - when you reach that chapter - and remember to get out your sexy cap so you can write the greatest erotic scene in the history of awful third-rate fan fiction. The outline is like a list of goals - a bucket list, if you like - that you dig out of your dingy pocket every so often to make sure your characters are supposed to be dangling off a cliff following the last chapter. At the very least, if you spend too much time writing the outline, you'll sort of feel like you have nothing to explore in the story itself. That brings us to the next point:
9. Don't tell yourself the ending.
This might sound crazy, but hear me out. If you're writing a story like Katawa Shoujo, and you're planning on a good ending, don't tell yourself exactly how it will happen. Writing a book is a little like reading one: spoilers suck. Having a general '...and they live happily ever after' is fine, but don't get too specific. That very last scene is what you're striving to reach, no less than your reader, and telling yourself ahead of time exactly how it will go just takes a huge chunk of joy out of the process.
10. Outline your chapter contents, too.
Chapters are like little stories all on their own. Each one is part of the overarching story, but they have their own flow and structure. Try to plan a beginning, middle and end for your chapters in the same way you're plotting those stages for the book on the whole. In between chapters should feel like satisfying places where a reader can pause and reflect before starting anew.
11. You're going to change your outline. A lot.
It's a guidepost, not a commandment. If in writing your story you discover it's no longer necessary for a scene to occur, or you need a new scene to support something added earlier, or something weird happens and you decide to go all invasion of the body snatchers and totally change the story at its midpoint, don't fret. You're human. You're fallible. You didn't know what the hell you were talking about when you wrote the outline 18 months ago. That's fine. That's part of the process. Don't weep for the plot points that never were, but rather rejoice in the knowledge that present you is kicking past you's ass at writing. Can I get an Amen!? No...? Secular audiences always cringe at that. It's not a religious thing, y'know! It's like cheering at a rock concert! But, I digress...
12. And the rest is history.
Your outline feeds off all the research you've done in preparation for your book. ...You did do research, right? Fuck, man, do I have to tell you everything? Nobody is an expert on everything. I'm not even an expert on masturbation, and yet I have 20+ years or practice. That perhaps was a jarring example, but let's just run with it, shall we? Don't be a jerk and think you're going to remember that wiki page where you read about Arabian architecture. Make a note of it, and any other relevant links, and include them in your outline so you can refresh your memory on the shape and construction of twelfth dynasty pottery. That way, when you write the scene where your protagonist is caught masturbating inside a clay pot, you'll know the dialect in which the Kanji inscription along the base is supposed to be written. That seems like a long way to go for a joke about flogging the dolphin, but I'm happy with the result.
13. Don't jinx yourself.
Don't say things you don't mean to do. It's okay to make note of things you'd like for your characters to do, but don't get too caught up in exactly who, what, where, when, or why that happens. If you know there will be a holiday, and your characters will be going on a road trip of some kind, just say that. Figure out what they'll do over the course of the road trip once you get there. Maybe flesh out the outline in more detail just as you reach that point in the story, but don't lock yourself into anything too specific that isn't directly relative to how your main plot functions.
Well, that's all I can think of for now... If I think of more, I'll add them later.
Writing Short KS Pieces
Preamble: I've just come off a 'writer's high' in which I wrote about 80,000 words of fanfic in about two months. So please bear with me as I try to set down the things that helped me, before I forget them all. Thanks!
1. Try to get the full KS experience. I played through all the routes in KS (some more than once), and along the way, whenever I got the dreaded 'feels', I took notes. Why? What was it about the moment? And what remained untold or somehow incomplete? Chances are, many other people noticed such things too, but not all of them decided to write something about it. And if you want another way, the scripts are available online and you can read them as text files.
2. Establish a clear vision of what you want to work on—a scene, a line which could have been used by a character, a thought that enters your head. Think about it, see if it 'grows flesh' on its own or remains elusive. If the latter, that's hard. If the former, no matter how little flesh, it can grow. Pictures are good aids, you can get them in the Shimmie or by the magic of the Net.
3. Do some reading. I read through most of the fanfic archive here, starting with the Library, curated by Comrade. Some will say that if you read other people's stuff, this makes you fall back into derivative writing. That's true, but if you already have an idea of what you want to write, and how you might write it, the 'literature review' will teach you many things. I learnt a lot from both the good authors and the bad ones, and also from the discussions spawned by some pieces.
4. Have a fairly regular schedule. Mine went like this. Hash the plot or scene out in my head before breakfast. Write a rough draft after breakfast. Get on with the rest of my life for about half a day or so. After dinner, pretty up the draft. More writing, editing, and checking spelling and grammar (you'll always make mistakes, but try to minimise the number made). Walk around, clear my head, if still not happy, put the piece aside for the next day and do something else. Resume the process either with a new scene or the one from the previous day, next breakfast. Something like that.
5. Do some research. One thing I realised long ago is that a dedicated fanbase can and will pick apart your stuff at times. I've been a nitpicker myself, so I think a writer should write freely but also practice due diligence in matters of fact. If you're going to have characters do something on Friday 5 Aug 2007, make sure it is indeed a Friday (no, actually, it's a Sunday… oops!) just in case you make things logically unlikely or implausible for some readers. That's a trivial example, but medical and technical facts about disabilities and such are of key importance at times in KS. You can't always win, but you can make it better for your readers.
6. Keep notes. Written notes are good because they have physical presence. They get in your way, clutter your desk, make you re-read things. They don't have to be essays: even a line like 'Misha wants a happy ending' can send chills down your spine when you see how things are going… (wahaha!~) Also, notes on how the characters sound or behave. The 'Ask' thread here, if you can be bothered to read all 3600+ posts, is an indispensable source of useful notes. And don't be afraid to ask. There are a lot of helpful people here, some very erudite and/or perceptive. I kept a timeline as well, so I wouldn't get too mixed up (even if some of my characters resorted to unreliable narrative and/or outright sabotage).
7. Talk to yourself and your characters. I guess some people have noticed my odd habit of posting updates where various characters are talking to me. But those are real imaginary conversations, so to speak. And they sound reasonably real because of immersion. When writing a character, think of a theme tune, a catchphrase, the traits and behaviours associated with that character. It helps if you can relate to someone you know who is like that character. And there are lots of helpful threads about how the characters seem to behave, how they should be written, what might be going on in their heads.
=====
Well, that's it so far. I started off not ever having written fanfic, and two months later, here we are…
Update2: It's now 180,000 words in 13 weeks or so; maybe I've overdone it somewhat.
1. Try to get the full KS experience. I played through all the routes in KS (some more than once), and along the way, whenever I got the dreaded 'feels', I took notes. Why? What was it about the moment? And what remained untold or somehow incomplete? Chances are, many other people noticed such things too, but not all of them decided to write something about it. And if you want another way, the scripts are available online and you can read them as text files.
2. Establish a clear vision of what you want to work on—a scene, a line which could have been used by a character, a thought that enters your head. Think about it, see if it 'grows flesh' on its own or remains elusive. If the latter, that's hard. If the former, no matter how little flesh, it can grow. Pictures are good aids, you can get them in the Shimmie or by the magic of the Net.
3. Do some reading. I read through most of the fanfic archive here, starting with the Library, curated by Comrade. Some will say that if you read other people's stuff, this makes you fall back into derivative writing. That's true, but if you already have an idea of what you want to write, and how you might write it, the 'literature review' will teach you many things. I learnt a lot from both the good authors and the bad ones, and also from the discussions spawned by some pieces.
4. Have a fairly regular schedule. Mine went like this. Hash the plot or scene out in my head before breakfast. Write a rough draft after breakfast. Get on with the rest of my life for about half a day or so. After dinner, pretty up the draft. More writing, editing, and checking spelling and grammar (you'll always make mistakes, but try to minimise the number made). Walk around, clear my head, if still not happy, put the piece aside for the next day and do something else. Resume the process either with a new scene or the one from the previous day, next breakfast. Something like that.
5. Do some research. One thing I realised long ago is that a dedicated fanbase can and will pick apart your stuff at times. I've been a nitpicker myself, so I think a writer should write freely but also practice due diligence in matters of fact. If you're going to have characters do something on Friday 5 Aug 2007, make sure it is indeed a Friday (no, actually, it's a Sunday… oops!) just in case you make things logically unlikely or implausible for some readers. That's a trivial example, but medical and technical facts about disabilities and such are of key importance at times in KS. You can't always win, but you can make it better for your readers.
6. Keep notes. Written notes are good because they have physical presence. They get in your way, clutter your desk, make you re-read things. They don't have to be essays: even a line like 'Misha wants a happy ending' can send chills down your spine when you see how things are going… (wahaha!~) Also, notes on how the characters sound or behave. The 'Ask' thread here, if you can be bothered to read all 3600+ posts, is an indispensable source of useful notes. And don't be afraid to ask. There are a lot of helpful people here, some very erudite and/or perceptive. I kept a timeline as well, so I wouldn't get too mixed up (even if some of my characters resorted to unreliable narrative and/or outright sabotage).
7. Talk to yourself and your characters. I guess some people have noticed my odd habit of posting updates where various characters are talking to me. But those are real imaginary conversations, so to speak. And they sound reasonably real because of immersion. When writing a character, think of a theme tune, a catchphrase, the traits and behaviours associated with that character. It helps if you can relate to someone you know who is like that character. And there are lots of helpful threads about how the characters seem to behave, how they should be written, what might be going on in their heads.
=====
Well, that's it so far. I started off not ever having written fanfic, and two months later, here we are…
Update2: It's now 180,000 words in 13 weeks or so; maybe I've overdone it somewhat.
Post-Yamaku, what happens? After The Dream is a mosaic that follows everyone to the (sometimes) bitter end.
Main Index (Complete)—Shizune/Lilly/Emi/Hanako/Rin/Misha + Miki + Natsume
Secondary Arcs: Rika/Mutou/Akira • Hideaki | Others (WIP): Straw—A Dream of Suzu • Sakura—The Kenji Saga.
"Much has been lost, and there is much left to lose." — Tim Powers, The Drawing of the Dark (1979)
Main Index (Complete)—Shizune/Lilly/Emi/Hanako/Rin/Misha + Miki + Natsume
Secondary Arcs: Rika/Mutou/Akira • Hideaki | Others (WIP): Straw—A Dream of Suzu • Sakura—The Kenji Saga.
"Much has been lost, and there is much left to lose." — Tim Powers, The Drawing of the Dark (1979)
Re: Tips for fanfiction writers (that means YOU)
I've just read a few stories with some rather horribly named OCs and I want to address this and maybe offer some tips. Actually, I definitely want to offer some tips.
First of all, never name your character after yourself or your screenname. Never. Even if it's not a badly written character, it will leave a bad taste in reads mouths to start with. So now you're thinking to yourself, "but my character is obviously based on me! What else will I call it?" For starters, don't base a character on yourself. However if you do (and I say again don't) keep in mind, we don't know your name.
Let's say your name is Micheal Jay Collins. If you sign up with the name MikeC, we're instantly going to catch it when your OC is named Micheal Collins. However we don't know your middle name is Jay, so why can't your OC be named Jay? Then instead of using your last name, use your best friends last name or your mother's maiden name. We won't know.
So there you go, your character's name is Jay Mudhuckler, and nobody but you knows that you based it on yourself now.
Unless you tell us.
Don't do that.
Next problem is ... nobody really wants another American/English/British/German three fourths/half Japanese transfer student. We just don't. I promise you that we're going to accept a rock and roll loving, baseball playing, English speaking, pop culture addict named Ryu Watanabe quicker than we're going to accept a Jay Mudhuckler that acts the exact same way.
Pretend we're all horribly racist if it helps you.
All it takes is a quick search for "Japanese names starting with J". Then pick out the name closest to the one you're already using.
So now instead of Jay Mudhuckler, we have Joji Matsumoto. ... who acts like an American. (Hey, I'm helping you with names here, characterization will be covered some other time.)
But maybe you don't want to name your character after yourself. Maybe you want your character to have a cool sounding name, but Dirk McCoolguy is even worse than Micheal Realname.
Don't give up hope though. Japanese is a great language for cool names. Once again though, you're going to have do a quick search.
If you name your character Dark Moonfield, everybody is going to laugh at you. Everyone. However, Kira Tsukino isn't even going to raise an eyebrow, and it's translates into pretty close to the same thing.
Got it? Hope that helps. (yeah, I'm exaggerating the examples here slightly, but only to make a point.)
First of all, never name your character after yourself or your screenname. Never. Even if it's not a badly written character, it will leave a bad taste in reads mouths to start with. So now you're thinking to yourself, "but my character is obviously based on me! What else will I call it?" For starters, don't base a character on yourself. However if you do (and I say again don't) keep in mind, we don't know your name.
Let's say your name is Micheal Jay Collins. If you sign up with the name MikeC, we're instantly going to catch it when your OC is named Micheal Collins. However we don't know your middle name is Jay, so why can't your OC be named Jay? Then instead of using your last name, use your best friends last name or your mother's maiden name. We won't know.
So there you go, your character's name is Jay Mudhuckler, and nobody but you knows that you based it on yourself now.
Unless you tell us.
Don't do that.
Next problem is ... nobody really wants another American/English/British/German three fourths/half Japanese transfer student. We just don't. I promise you that we're going to accept a rock and roll loving, baseball playing, English speaking, pop culture addict named Ryu Watanabe quicker than we're going to accept a Jay Mudhuckler that acts the exact same way.
Pretend we're all horribly racist if it helps you.
All it takes is a quick search for "Japanese names starting with J". Then pick out the name closest to the one you're already using.
So now instead of Jay Mudhuckler, we have Joji Matsumoto. ... who acts like an American. (Hey, I'm helping you with names here, characterization will be covered some other time.)
But maybe you don't want to name your character after yourself. Maybe you want your character to have a cool sounding name, but Dirk McCoolguy is even worse than Micheal Realname.
Don't give up hope though. Japanese is a great language for cool names. Once again though, you're going to have do a quick search.
If you name your character Dark Moonfield, everybody is going to laugh at you. Everyone. However, Kira Tsukino isn't even going to raise an eyebrow, and it's translates into pretty close to the same thing.
Got it? Hope that helps. (yeah, I'm exaggerating the examples here slightly, but only to make a point.)
Not Dead Yet
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Mirage_GSM
- Posts: 6213
- Joined: Mon Jun 28, 2010 2:24 am
- Location: Germany
Re: Tips for fanfiction writers (that means YOU)
And if you don't speak Japanese, there are a few threads here for questions about that language - though you might have to use the search function, since they might be a few pages back.If you name your character Dark Moonfield, everybody is going to laugh at you. Everyone. However, Kira Tsukino isn't even going to raise an eyebrow, and it's translates into pretty close to the same thing.
You will almost certainly find people here who know enough Japanese to suggest a name that comes close to the meaning you want for your OC.
Emi > Misha > Hanako > Lilly > Rin > Shizune
My collected KS-Fan Fictions: Mirage's Myths
My collected KS-Fan Fictions: Mirage's Myths
Sore wa himitsu desu.griffon8 wrote:Kosher, just because sex is your answer to everything doesn't mean that sex is the answer to everything.
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ParagonTerminus
- Posts: 399
- Joined: Sat May 31, 2014 3:44 pm
- Location: A nuclear wasteland
Re: Tips for fanfiction writers (that means YOU)
Try to have all your character connections (relationships, for example) planned out before you start. This became painfully important as a necessity when I was writing a chapter for an upcoming fanfic, and I had known since I started that there would be a love triangle... The problem is, I'm to this day trying to figure out how the hell to solve it.
Get Bob and Alice into the scene and say, "they're gonna get married" before Charlene is even in the picture, or you suddenly start wondering if maybe Bob would be better off with Charlene instead.
Get Bob and Alice into the scene and say, "they're gonna get married" before Charlene is even in the picture, or you suddenly start wondering if maybe Bob would be better off with Charlene instead.
The best feeling in the world (FTL)
I am legitimately the only member of this website who unconditionally despises Kenji.
I am legitimately the only member of this website who unconditionally despises Kenji.
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Eurobeatjester
- Posts: 838
- Joined: Thu Nov 28, 2013 5:59 am
- Location: Denial
Re: Tips for fanfiction writers (that means YOU)
More of a general posting tip here on the forum, not so much fanfiction itself...
Because of the nature of posting episodic stories in a forum format, at the very least make sure to have one of your first posts have a "table of contents" with links to your stories. It's not uncommon for you to post a chapter, and get a page or two of replies before you post the next one. This can make reading your fic for those that find it later or who want to reread it a bit troublesome.
While not a necessity like the above, you could also post links to the previous/next chapters at the bottom or top of your posts that will take the reader to the next relevant post.
Because of the nature of posting episodic stories in a forum format, at the very least make sure to have one of your first posts have a "table of contents" with links to your stories. It's not uncommon for you to post a chapter, and get a page or two of replies before you post the next one. This can make reading your fic for those that find it later or who want to reread it a bit troublesome.
While not a necessity like the above, you could also post links to the previous/next chapters at the bottom or top of your posts that will take the reader to the next relevant post.
Stuff I'm currently writing: Learning To Fly: A Saki Enomoto Pseudo Route
Two Turtledoves - A Lilly/Hisao Christmas Oneshot
Two Turtledoves - A Lilly/Hisao Christmas Oneshot
Blank Mage wrote:believe in yourselfEurobeatjester wrote:I doubt my ability to write convincing lesbian erotica
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Eurobeatjester
- Posts: 838
- Joined: Thu Nov 28, 2013 5:59 am
- Location: Denial
Re: Tips for fanfiction writers (that means YOU)
This is one I've fallen victim to recently.
If you update your story in episodes, chapters, etc. where it can take some time between each release, before you release a new chapter, re-read the previous two and the new one all in one chunk as part of your proofreading.
The reason for this is as an author, it's very easy to slip into a style of writing that uses the same type of phrasing, or notable sentences, over and over. When proofreading a single chapter, you can usually catch this. However, it's something that can easily be forgotten between chapters. There won't be repetition within the chapter, but over two or three, you'll start to see and use the same things over and over.
A good portion of the people who read your fic will not be reading it one chapter at a time, but will read several chapters at a time, especially if the story is already in progress. The repetition becomes very noticeable in that regard
If you update your story in episodes, chapters, etc. where it can take some time between each release, before you release a new chapter, re-read the previous two and the new one all in one chunk as part of your proofreading.
The reason for this is as an author, it's very easy to slip into a style of writing that uses the same type of phrasing, or notable sentences, over and over. When proofreading a single chapter, you can usually catch this. However, it's something that can easily be forgotten between chapters. There won't be repetition within the chapter, but over two or three, you'll start to see and use the same things over and over.
A good portion of the people who read your fic will not be reading it one chapter at a time, but will read several chapters at a time, especially if the story is already in progress. The repetition becomes very noticeable in that regard
Stuff I'm currently writing: Learning To Fly: A Saki Enomoto Pseudo Route
Two Turtledoves - A Lilly/Hisao Christmas Oneshot
Two Turtledoves - A Lilly/Hisao Christmas Oneshot
Blank Mage wrote:believe in yourselfEurobeatjester wrote:I doubt my ability to write convincing lesbian erotica
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Craftyatom
- Posts: 374
- Joined: Sun Apr 14, 2013 11:38 pm
- Location: Washington, USA
Re: Tips for fanfiction writers (that means YOU)
This will also help you write in general; past around 10k words I lose the ability to remember every little plot point reliably, especially if it's been a while since I wrote last, and so (in my experience, at least) reading prior releases is extremely important, both for your writing and the story itself.Eurobeatjester wrote:If you update your story in episodes, chapters, etc. where it can take some time between each release, before you release a new chapter, re-read the previous two and the new one all in one chunk as part of your proofreading.
Last edited by Craftyatom on Thu Nov 20, 2014 2:45 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Main route: COM(promise)
One-shots: Crafty's One-Shots (Dark Winter Sky, Dreamy, Path of Least Resistance, Project Blue Curtain, and more!)
Old poetry: Google Drive Collection
One-shots: Crafty's One-Shots (Dark Winter Sky, Dreamy, Path of Least Resistance, Project Blue Curtain, and more!)
Old poetry: Google Drive Collection
Re: Tips for fanfiction writers (that means YOU)
*looks at his extensive list of 10,000+ word chapters*Craftyatom wrote:This will also help you write in general; past around 10k words you lose the ability to remember every little plot point reliably, especially if it's been a while since you wrote last, and so reading prior releases is extremely important, both for your writing and the story itself.Eurobeatjester wrote:If you update your story in episodes, chapters, etc. where it can take some time between each release, before you release a new chapter, re-read the previous two and the new one all in one chunk as part of your proofreading.
*scratches his head*
I still remember all of the last 3 chapters I wrote of Tomorrow's Doom, almost in every detail - which consist of over 30,000 words, total. Maybe I just have an eidetic memory?
Also, on the whole naming debate: names are less important than a lot of first-time writers think. Granted, sometimes you come across a character that is basically named for exactly who they are or what they do - the Harry Potter novels are riddled with these types of names. Most of the time, though, as long as the character has a solid name, it doesn't really matter what it means. All you should try to do is ensure it's readable, culturally relevant, and easy to remember.
In fact, if you choose a name based on a definitive characteristic, it can broadcast that character's modus operandi. For instance, if you name a character Dr. Evil, it pretty much ensures they'll be an antagonist of some kind. If you name a character Brighton Moodswing, your audience might not be terribly surprised when he goes from being the nicest guy on Earth, to beating his wife because dinner got cold. Then when Ronin Jackknife bursts through the door and subdues Moodswing using his army-trained knife skills, then leaves before his wife can say anything, the whole audience will have seen it coming.
Basically, try not to give away the climax of your story by naming your character after what they do in that scene.