30 days of fanfiction 8/30
Jul. 21st, 2011 03:44 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
skull_bearer8 – Do you write OCs? And if so, what do you do to make certain they're not Mary Sues, and if not, explain your thoughts on OCs.
Mary-sue is an odd term, I've seen authors write them in their stories (paging Ms Rowling), and I've seen fanficcers pull them off brilliantly. The things that kills OCs for me is when we're being made to like them. I can read author inserts without too much issue, as long as they're balanced and funny (humor can cover a myriad of flaws), but when I sense an author screaming in my ear that I have to like this person because they're so cool and noble and bleh, I click the back button/destroy the book.
Mary-Sue is such a subjective term, and one than has been misused a great deal, that I feel leery using it much. Anyway, back to the questions.
I do write OCs, in fact, something I've noticed is that my OC stable has been growing by magnitudes recently. Daispora is a prime example, since it has a big cast, all but one of whom are either OCs or canon characters who have so little screentime they might as well be.
I suppose the things about OCs in fanfiction is how well they mesh into the story as a whole. With Diaspora I took a lot of the traits seen in movie and comic Erik and deconstructed them to see what might have triggered them. It was obvious he had a loving family, he respects women, he has a temper, he was clearly closer to his mother than his father. I took that and tried to work out what that past would have been like, and I got what you saw in Daispora, a mother who was very much the strong one in the family, siblings Erik felt close to (his sister and Moshe), and a place were rows were not an unheard of occurance ;)
So to wrap up, i have no problem with OCs, as long as they fit and it doesn't seem as though a writer is trying to prove a point.
9 – Pairings – For each of the fandoms from day two, what are your three favorite pairings to write?
10 - Pairings – Have you ever gone outside your comfort zone and written a pairing you liked, but found you couldn't write, or a pairing you didn't like, and found you could?
11 – Genre – do you prefer certain genres of fic when you're writing? What kind do you tend to write most?
12 – Have you ever attempted an "adaptation" fic of a favorite book or movie but set in a different fandom?
13 – Do you prefer canon or fanon when you write? Has writing fanfic for a fandom changed the way you see some or even all of the original source material?
14 – Ratings – how high are you comfortable with going? Have you ever written higher? If you're comfortable with NC-17, have you ever been shocked by finding that the story you're writing is G-rated instead?
15 – Warnings – What do you feel it most important to warn for, and what's the strangest thing you've warned for in a fic?
16 – Summaries – Do you like them or hate them? How do you come up with them, if you use them?
17 – Titles – Are they the bane of your existence, or the easiest part of the fic? Also, if you do chaptered fic, do you give each chapter a title, or not?
18 – Where do you get the most inspiration for your fics (aka "bunnies") from?
19 – When you have bunnies, do you sit down and start writing right away, or do you write down the idea for further use?
20 – Do you ever get bunnied from other people's stories or art in the same fandom?
21 – Sequels – Have you ever written a sequel to a fic you wrote, and if so, why, and if not, how do you feel about sequels?
22 – Have you ever participated in a fest or a Big Bang? If so, write about your favorite experience in relation to one. If not, are there any you've thought about doing? And if not, why not?
23 – When you post, where do you post to? Just your journal? Just an archive? Your own personal site?
24 – Betaing – How many betas do you like to use to make sure there aren't any major flaws in your fic? Do you have a Beta horror story or dream story?
25 – Music – Do you listen to music while you write? Do you make playlists to get into a certain "mood" to write your fic? Do you need noise in general? Or do you need it completely quiet?
26 – What is the oddest (or funnest) thing you've had to research for a fic?
27 – Where is your favorite place to write, and do you write by hand or on the computer?
28 – Have you ever collaborated with anyone else, whether writing together, or having an artist work on a piece about your fic?
29 – What is your current project or projects?
30 – Do you have a favorite fic you've written? What makes it your favorite? And don't forget to give us a link!
Mary-sue is an odd term, I've seen authors write them in their stories (paging Ms Rowling), and I've seen fanficcers pull them off brilliantly. The things that kills OCs for me is when we're being made to like them. I can read author inserts without too much issue, as long as they're balanced and funny (humor can cover a myriad of flaws), but when I sense an author screaming in my ear that I have to like this person because they're so cool and noble and bleh, I click the back button/destroy the book.
Mary-Sue is such a subjective term, and one than has been misused a great deal, that I feel leery using it much. Anyway, back to the questions.
I do write OCs, in fact, something I've noticed is that my OC stable has been growing by magnitudes recently. Daispora is a prime example, since it has a big cast, all but one of whom are either OCs or canon characters who have so little screentime they might as well be.
I suppose the things about OCs in fanfiction is how well they mesh into the story as a whole. With Diaspora I took a lot of the traits seen in movie and comic Erik and deconstructed them to see what might have triggered them. It was obvious he had a loving family, he respects women, he has a temper, he was clearly closer to his mother than his father. I took that and tried to work out what that past would have been like, and I got what you saw in Daispora, a mother who was very much the strong one in the family, siblings Erik felt close to (his sister and Moshe), and a place were rows were not an unheard of occurance ;)
So to wrap up, i have no problem with OCs, as long as they fit and it doesn't seem as though a writer is trying to prove a point.
9 – Pairings – For each of the fandoms from day two, what are your three favorite pairings to write?
10 - Pairings – Have you ever gone outside your comfort zone and written a pairing you liked, but found you couldn't write, or a pairing you didn't like, and found you could?
11 – Genre – do you prefer certain genres of fic when you're writing? What kind do you tend to write most?
12 – Have you ever attempted an "adaptation" fic of a favorite book or movie but set in a different fandom?
13 – Do you prefer canon or fanon when you write? Has writing fanfic for a fandom changed the way you see some or even all of the original source material?
14 – Ratings – how high are you comfortable with going? Have you ever written higher? If you're comfortable with NC-17, have you ever been shocked by finding that the story you're writing is G-rated instead?
15 – Warnings – What do you feel it most important to warn for, and what's the strangest thing you've warned for in a fic?
16 – Summaries – Do you like them or hate them? How do you come up with them, if you use them?
17 – Titles – Are they the bane of your existence, or the easiest part of the fic? Also, if you do chaptered fic, do you give each chapter a title, or not?
18 – Where do you get the most inspiration for your fics (aka "bunnies") from?
19 – When you have bunnies, do you sit down and start writing right away, or do you write down the idea for further use?
20 – Do you ever get bunnied from other people's stories or art in the same fandom?
21 – Sequels – Have you ever written a sequel to a fic you wrote, and if so, why, and if not, how do you feel about sequels?
22 – Have you ever participated in a fest or a Big Bang? If so, write about your favorite experience in relation to one. If not, are there any you've thought about doing? And if not, why not?
23 – When you post, where do you post to? Just your journal? Just an archive? Your own personal site?
24 – Betaing – How many betas do you like to use to make sure there aren't any major flaws in your fic? Do you have a Beta horror story or dream story?
25 – Music – Do you listen to music while you write? Do you make playlists to get into a certain "mood" to write your fic? Do you need noise in general? Or do you need it completely quiet?
26 – What is the oddest (or funnest) thing you've had to research for a fic?
27 – Where is your favorite place to write, and do you write by hand or on the computer?
28 – Have you ever collaborated with anyone else, whether writing together, or having an artist work on a piece about your fic?
29 – What is your current project or projects?
30 – Do you have a favorite fic you've written? What makes it your favorite? And don't forget to give us a link!