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  1. In Memory of LAJ_FETT: Please share your remembrances and condolences HERE

Discussion Fan Fic Pet Peeves?

Discussion in 'Fan Fiction and Writing Resource' started by alienyouthct, Jul 30, 2002.

  1. TrakNar

    TrakNar Jedi Grand Master star 5

    Registered:
    Apr 4, 2011
    Back to the pet peeves...

    There's been something bugging me about a certain type of fanfic, but I can't point it out because I see it here. Oh hell... I'll mention it...

    When diary entries are written more like prose fiction than an diary or journal entry. Last time I checked, diaries and journal entries usually didn't include dialogue exchanges and descriptions as if one were writing a book. When we did journaling in group therapy and people would read their entries to the group (if they so chose), the entry usually consisted of their thoughts and a recap of the day. Many times, not even the daily recap was included and it was essentially a stream of consciousness. I thought that was how diaries were written. Then, I see dialogue as if it were a story. That always struck me as very odd.
     
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  2. lazykbys_left

    lazykbys_left Jedi Padawan star 4

    Registered:
    Feb 17, 2005
    I generally see it as someone sitting down to write a diary entry, then the screen goes all blurry and fades to a flashback.
     
  3. JediMara77

    JediMara77 Force Ghost star 4

    Registered:
    Mar 5, 2004
    When I did a diary, I included dialogue. But my diary was supposed to be written as more of a story, not an actual diary. The diary was just the method for telling the story.
     
  4. Briannakin

    Briannakin Former Manager star 6 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    Feb 25, 2010
    I include dialogue in my diaries, but not as much as I would if it were a normal story. I find dialogue more enjoyable to read and write so I use it to break up the story a bit. I find some of my entries have a lot of dialogue, and some have none. But there are different methods of doing a diary fic. Some do it as more of a story with lots of dialogue and some do it as if a person was really sitting sitting down to write their thoughts on the day. I try to do it somewhere in-between.
     
  5. leiamoody

    leiamoody Jedi Grand Master star 4

    Registered:
    Nov 8, 2005
    Some published fictional diaries have chunks of standard dialogue in them. The most notable one is Bridget Jones' s Diary (see excerpt here:http://www.bookbrowse.com/excerpts/index.cfm?book_number=326). It's sometimes easier to just write a diary in standard narrative form if you're trying to appeal to a general audience. I've done the dialogue in the diary, but I was coming from the approach that the writer of the diary was remembering things and writing down everything because she wanted to preserve memories for historical purposes (maybe she wanted to publish her memoirs someday. Autobiographies sometimes have "remembered" conversations that are included. Those conversations are usually false, but it's not impossible that someone found a way to record conversations or remembered conversations and expanded upon them).
     
  6. Mayla

    Mayla Jedi Youngling star 1

    Registered:
    Sep 4, 2012
    Yes, exactly. The dialogue thing I'm okay with sometimes, because some conversations are really memorable. If you have a big argument with someone, or if something really funny happens, that might be worth writing down. But when I kept diaries, I didn't try to evoke the "atmosphere" of my surroundings or describe what my friends looked like, because I took for granted that I already knew all of that. I might describe something if I was excited about it--eg. a birthday gift, some place I visited on vacation, or a nice haircut--but that was pretty much it. I can definitely see an artsy teenager recapping their day in a kind of narrative format if they were inclined to that kind of imaginative writing (which I was briefly), but most characters I just can't picture writing that way about themselves.
     
  7. TrakNar

    TrakNar Jedi Grand Master star 5

    Registered:
    Apr 4, 2011
    Granted, I can see adding paraphrased conversations (our memories are not infallible, we won't have the exact wording), but it would be in moderation or used sparingly (again, memories having their faults). It's just not something I'm used to seeing or hearing, and when it came to fictional diaries that were adapted into movies, it's a flashback with a voice-over narrative. On screen, that's fine. That's what I would expect to see. In print, it just strikes me as odd. It doesn't feel like a diary or journal then. It feels like a narrative.
     
  8. Goodwood

    Goodwood Jedi Master star 5

    Registered:
    May 11, 2011
    Sometimes it irks me when a writer uses a cast of characters that is either close to or entirely Human, when there are so many delightful sentient species out there to integrate into one's fiction. Especially Star Wars, which has a more eclectic mix (i.e., not so many "rubber face aliens") with many varied cultures.

    Remember, infinite diversity in infinite combinations!
     
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  9. Jedi_Lover

    Jedi_Lover Chosen One star 5

    Registered:
    Nov 1, 2004
    When I kept a journal in real life I would put in quotes of what people said that irritated the hell out of me. After all, my shrink told me to keep a journal so I can have an avenue to vent. I quoted what I remembered people saying...which may be completely off the mark. But it is my journal and I am going to write what I remember and how it affected me.

    When it comes to the Diary Challenge the whole point is to write and hopefully entertain. One has to give some creative license to the writer. It would make a boring diary if it simply said: Bought shoes today. Cashier was rude. Won't go there again...instead of: I went to the shoe store today to buy shoes. When I went to the cashier and presented the coupon she said, "This isn't valid." Which is completely false and it wouldn't be so bad, but she said it in such a snarky manner. So I said, "What do you mean? It says good 'till the 18th and today is the 18th." She then informed me that, "That means it expires today." What? Who ever head of such a stupid thing? It means it is good through the 18th. Every person on the planet knows that!...except maybe some stupid shoe cashier! Well we both go back and forth and finally I leave the shoes on the counter and tell her I will NEVER buy shoes there ever again!

    The second example is exactly how my real life journal looked most of the time...I was mad a lot.:p
     
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  10. Goodwood

    Goodwood Jedi Master star 5

    Registered:
    May 11, 2011
    That's an example of quoting both yourself and the object of your ire for the purposes of cataloging your day. From a prose perspective, that is not the same thing as having full-blown dialogue.
     
  11. Jedi_Lover

    Jedi_Lover Chosen One star 5

    Registered:
    Nov 1, 2004
    True, but I sometimes would put in short spurts of full-blown dialogue if I was feeling especially irritated with a particular conversation.

    As for your comment of people writing stories of almost all humans...I am guilty of that. I really find it difficult to get into the heads of aliens...especially if they are not used much in the movies or literature. Even Chewie is hard to write. I am not sure how to express his voice other than people translating for the reader. I have seen Chewie's conversation shown in italics, but that seems weird since we never saw subtitles for Chewie in the movies. It was always Han's comments that clarified things for the viewer. Basic speaking aliens wont be too bad, I guess. And I hate writing about droids. Poor Artoo almost never is seen in my stories even if it is a Luke Skywalker story. Unless there is a need for a droid why would Luke drag an astromech droid around with him all the time. Case in point....have we seen Artoo much lately in the profics? I know he is there in some scenes, but not to the level we would see in the earlier novels.

    But I don't feel so bad about it. I know humans on Earth have a tendency to segregate themselves based on economic, race, nationality and education factors...whether they admit it or not. I would assume beings in a galaxy far, far away would probably interact with their species more often than with other species.
     
  12. Goodwood

    Goodwood Jedi Master star 5

    Registered:
    May 11, 2011
    Since almost all aliens embody some aspect of human culture (this is true for most sci-fi you're apt to find), it's not really that difficult. Two easy examples are Bothans and Rodians; the former tend to gravitate toward political and socio-economic fields, while the latter often favor hunting and outright thuggery. Doesn't mean that they have to stick to that mentality, but those cultures do give a starting point. In any case, for a well-crafted character, species would not matter all that much.

    Though my main fan fiction series features a Human protagonist, she falls in love with a Bothan and most of those she serves with are non-Human.
     
  13. Jedi_Lover

    Jedi_Lover Chosen One star 5

    Registered:
    Nov 1, 2004
    ;)
    Very true, but since I almost exclusively write Luke/Mara romance, the need doesn't pop up much. Now for a thriller type of story I can see how that would really make the story interesting. I just read X-Wing Mercy Kill and I fell in love with the Gammorean hero. It was well written. I even like the Vong character, even though I disliked the Vong intensely in the profics (mainly because they were killing all my favorite characters). I can't remember which book they were in, but I even liked the Squibs(I think that is what those little guys are called). Just no Gungans!!! I draw the line there.
     
  14. smuggler_vola

    smuggler_vola Jedi Padawan star 1

    Registered:
    Oct 13, 2012
    This doesn't exactly annoy me, I just wonder why I'm the only one who's noticed it.

    You know how people write fics about Star Wars characters coming to earth and meeting the author of said fic or having adventures? How is that possible, I thought the saga took place "A LONG TIME AGO in a galaxy far, far away." What ever happened to the "long time ago" part? :p
     
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  15. Lady_Misty

    Lady_Misty Jedi Grand Master star 4

    Registered:
    Mar 21, 2007
    A pet peeve of mine is when someone thinks that two characters should get together despite the fact that one of them is either in love with someone else or married to someone when the story takes place or something like that.

    I have seen a lot of Anakin/Ahsoka fan fics on ff.net that are so horrible that you want to throttle someone; preferably the writer.

    Not to say that i don't like fics where Anakin and Padme are a couple. I will read fics where Anakin is paired with someone else. Jade_Max has a wonder AU where Padme was killed when she arrived on Coruscant in AotC and Anakin and Barriss get together. It isn't quick or anything which is good.

    Or LadyDae of ff.net wrote several fics where Anakin and Ahsoka got together. It didn't happen overnight, which I like, but they fell in love.

    Another one is unrealistic drama after unrealistic drama. 'Oh no! So and so has been kidnapped from the Jedi Temple!! We must rescue them!' Then after the rescue there's about two chapters to relax and heal from the kidnapping then 'oh no, so and so broke into the Jedi Temple and they are attacking so and so!!'

    Really???

    I hope I didn't confuse anyone it wasn't my intent.


    Sent from my iPod touch using Tapatalk
     
  16. Jedi_Lover

    Jedi_Lover Chosen One star 5

    Registered:
    Nov 1, 2004
    I don't watch TCW, but isn't Ahsoka young? Like 14 or something? Unless her and Anakin hook up after the purge wouldn't that be a forbidden relationship? Oh wait, you said ffn. They may not have the same rules as here.
     
  17. Skywalker_T-65

    Skywalker_T-65 Jedi Grand Master star 6

    Registered:
    Nov 19, 2009
    'May' not have the same rules? :p

    Trust me, the dirty underbelly of FF.N gets very dirty...
     
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  18. Valairy Scot

    Valairy Scot Manager Emeritus star 6 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    Sep 16, 2005
    While I think Ahsoka is 15 or 16 now, yeah, just yeah.
     
  19. Lady_Misty

    Lady_Misty Jedi Grand Master star 4

    Registered:
    Mar 21, 2007

    In LadyDae's work Anakin and Ahsoka hook up when Ahsoka is older. About thirteen years after RotS for one of them. About the time of Dark Empire for the other one.

    Yes, ff.net has different rules nearly anything goes it seems. Slash, mature content and some more.

    The other one I have no idea what age they had Ahsoka.


    Sent from my iPod touch using Tapatalk
     
  20. leiamoody

    leiamoody Jedi Grand Master star 4

    Registered:
    Nov 8, 2005
    To be fair, there was an old trailer for ANH that started out with, "Somewhere in space, this may all be happening right now"...;)

     
  21. anakinfansince1983

    anakinfansince1983 Skywalker Saga/LFL/YJCC Manager star 10 Staff Member Manager

    Registered:
    Mar 4, 2011
    I like that one, I think it's the only Anakin/someone else fic that I've ever liked.

    The best Anakin and Ahsoka stories are ones in which Anakin is acting as a big brother--not as her lover.
     
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  22. Jedi_Lover

    Jedi_Lover Chosen One star 5

    Registered:
    Nov 1, 2004
    I can't see why any fan of Anakin would want to write him as a lover to Ahsoka if he was already married or in a relationship with Padme because if you did, you are portraying him as a cheating snake! Now if Padme is dead or they never married...then that would be okay I guess if Ahsoka is an adult.

    I know this pairing has become a problem over at deviantArt with artists portraying semi-nude encounters between Anakin and Ahsoka. Warnings went out to fan artists saying they cannot posts NC-17 drawings depicting an adult and a minor in sexual situations...and that includes cartoon TCW characters like Anakin and Ahsoka! So if they want to do that they have to make Ahsoka look like an adult. o_O

    Anyway, I would think a fan wouldn't want to portray Anakin in such a bad light. I don't think I have ever read a fanfic story where Luke is cheating on Mara. I remember when I wrote a fic where Luke was married to an OC, the fans screamed for me to kill the OC to make way for a L/M romance. Not one person suggested that Luke cheat on his wife to be with Mara.
     
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  23. Lady_Misty

    Lady_Misty Jedi Grand Master star 4

    Registered:
    Mar 21, 2007
    And when you look at TCW Ahsoka and Anakin have a big brother/little sister relationship which is very good. A guy and gir can be friends without being in love or messing around.

    I am friends with a guy and there is nothing but friendship between us. If he wants it to be anything ese then I haven't seen any signs pointing to that.

    And at this time Ahsoka is about fifteen and has a crush on Lux. She isn't interested in her Master in that way. And it's wrong. Teachers get in real trouble on Earth for having intimate relationships with their students why should things be different in a galaxy fara, far away?

    And Anakin being unfaithful to Padme? The only time his actions could be called into question was when he was flirting with the Zygerrian Queen to get close to her to find the kidnapped Togruta colonists, And then Padme was flirting with Clovis so she could find out if he was indeed plotting with the Separatists. But it was in the line of duty and no one else knew that they were married and nothing came of the flirting; on Anakin and Padme's part.
     
  24. lazykbys_left

    lazykbys_left Jedi Padawan star 4

    Registered:
    Feb 17, 2005
    *scratches head*

    Well . . . it's a 'shipping thing. It doesn't have to make sense. :p
     
  25. DarthBreezy

    DarthBreezy Chosen One star 6

    Registered:
    Jun 4, 2002
    Yeah, I hate to say it but sometimes I feel like fan fic is all this:



    I never cared for the character, even before I started writing about Luke, and when my OC grew up, I originally had NO intentions of letting them be anything other than 'Master and Student'. FWIW, she's actually a full year older than Luke, and actually sprung from OCs who were never intended to get together in the first place! :rolleyes:) She was just a Corellian Rebel Pilot, a bit of a tom boy (it's always a fight to get her into a dress!) who happened to clean up nicely. One day when I was writing a silly little one off, 'Luke' grabbed my by the proverbial lapels and shook me about saying 'who is she? She's beautiful! I want to meet her!' That was nearly 8 years ago, and I've been stuck with them ever since...