Discussion You Know You're a Fan Fiction Writer When...

...if you've ever, EVER used an avatar generator to produce portraits for OCs. Bonus points if that then becomes the "official" image.

 

... if you wonder where an avatar generator is, and how difficult is it to learn?

 

Here.

And a Trainer version.

Enjoy your new time sinks!

 

When you get someone to create cover art for your fic.

 

...when you make your own cover art.

 

When you not only make your own cover art, but commission other artists to do drawings of your favorite OCs.

 

Paid or gratis?

 

TrakNar Thanks! It can't be any worse than TVTropes as a time sink. *dives in*

 

Guilty on that one. But I seem to have an expensive taste, since when I ask prices, they always are so expensive.

 

You should contact http://vagabondx.deviantart.com/][/url] VagabondX over at deviantArt. His prices are way too reasonable. I always feel guilty paying him so little and usually send him more than he requested. He does comic book type of art, so if you want a realistic painting he's probably not your guy.

He did these drawings of my OCs.



He also did some awesome drawings of my sons as Titan Fall pilots standing with their Mechs in the background. I made big posters for their rooms.

 

Nice. Thank you for sharing.

Yes I want comic type pictures.

 

His prices might be more reasonable than mine. Depending on the drawing, I'll jack it up to triple digits to cover materials, labor, shipping, and still have a profit margin, however small. Anywho...

YKYAFFWW...

...your sketchbook is filled to the brim with storied sketches and scenes of your characters, either from stuff you've written or stuff you'll never get around to writing, and the only stuff you let loose to the public are things you don't have to explain too much.

...you sketch up random characters that end up with detailed histories, despite you having no plans to actually use them at all for anything.

I'm currently only using one character for RPing, but I have sketches of a second that I'll never use. That Hypno in a dress? His name is Casey and he identifies as female. Despite having already figured out his history, personality, and some of the hardships he deals with because of his choices, I have no real plans to use him for anything.

 

He does digital work so there is no shipping and materials really. He charged me $10 for the first person and $5 for each additional person, but he might have changed his prices because I told him he was not charging enough.

 

Yeah, I would certainly go cheaper for digital stuff and instead charge by the hour.

 

TrakNar,

Times a million. There are way more plot-chunks and OC's in my head than I'll ever have time to properly write up as stories.

 

... When your favorite author releases a new book and you don't immediately start reading because you're wrapped up in writing.

.... When you do start reading, you feel inadequate because you can't write like your favorite author.

Robin Hobb just released the first book of a new trilogy. Squee! I love her writing, but her style is so vivid and lyrical, I don't feel I could ever measure up. I have to keep telling myself that it's good that I have my own voice, and I shouldn't try to be Robin Hobb... Or Timothy Zahn, or Lois McMaster Bujold, or..... Hobb is just so darn good, I wish I could write like her. Unfortunately, when I try to be lyrical, that's when I have to "murder my darlings" in editing.

 

Welcome to my world.

 

When you end up planning to make a collection of stories in the same sub-universe as a fanfic you're already writing. There must be a way to tell the extra stories somewhere. Then you start making the list of characters that you want to give a spotlight... and, an hour later realize that the number of side characters you want to flesh out has cracked 100. But it's okay. You can prioritize. (And you can totally quit any time. )

 

... when you realize that writing is like making art: the hardest part is knowing when to quit.

 

To quote an old axiom of the creative arts: "Great art is never finished, it is merely abandoned."

The same thing could be said for the composition, at least, of most performing arts...

 

I had a fic where I just abandoned it. All the loose ends were tied up, there was nothing more to say, I couldn't think of a decent conclusion, so I dropped the curtain on my characters and called it a day. Not the best way to end a story, as it was basically pulling a Sopranos and ending it in mid-sent—

 

...when you put Namtar from Farscape in a fic for a challenge and spend twenty minutes laughing at the obscurity of it.

 

DUDE. I love/hate that guy.