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

Discussion The Scribble Pad (Fanfic Writing Discussions)

Discussion in 'Fan Fiction and Writing Resource' started by Briannakin , Jun 18, 2017.

  1. Sith-I-5

    Sith-I-5 Force Ghost star 6

    Registered:
    Aug 14, 2002
    I cannot explain the root of the word, but I think filks were an equivalent of our song fics.

    I would assume illos were illustrations.
     
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  2. pronker

    pronker Force Ghost star 4

    Registered:
    Jan 28, 2007
    *creaks open the vault to more light of day* Right a rooney to the above comment = 'filk', according to FanloreDOTorg, derives from a typo for 'folk' as in folk songs. Leslie Fish, Roberta Rogow and Juanita Coulson remain in memory as excellent makers of filk, which generally switched out lyrics to songs in all moods to fannish interests, such as "Plif, The Magic Hoojib." (Plif is on Wookiepedia.) It seems that the songs themselves were published and not in any fics, to my recollection. Filkers populated cons to supply live versions of their music, too, but since I only attended one con I heard just a few; guessing they're on YouTube? The more modern "Midichlorian Rhapsody" by Mysticfig is on YT, complete with fantastic visuals.

    And illos were illustrations ranging from heartfelt attempts to efforts by more professional artists like Wanda Lybarger and Cheree Cargill. All these names are on Fanlore., which has samples of their work.

    I miss illos and writing LOCs (letters of comment), which took maybe 3 months to appear in the next 'zine. I do not miss 'zine days of mishandled funds regarding maybe $25 to $40 per issue, mailing mishaps, and weiiiirrrrrd spats by snail mail that showed up in the LOC columns and took ages to resolve themselves, or dwindle away.

    [face_flag] because the characters are free to do whatever they like. Somewhere out there is a AR story featuring Obi-Wan as a hedgehog and Qui-Gon as a badger that I've been meaning to reread ... [face_dancing]

    Thanks for the prompt to open the vault!! :)

    EAD 121617: Found the story on AO3, even though Obi-Wan was a vole and Qui-Gon the hedgehog. It's "The Gathering Storm" by Gail Riordan (lferion). :)
     
  3. Ewok Poet

    Ewok Poet Force Ghost star 6

    Registered:
    Jul 31, 2014
    Thanks. :)

    Wait, wait...each issue would cost that much? Eeek. I pay that much for old issues of super-rare magazines.

    ...

    So, I have another dilemma that I wonder how everybody else would handle.

    I started writing my second fic almost three years ago. At that time, it had a name and a super-basic plot stemming from a joke story based on a dream that I had when I was 12. Yup, I have a story written at 10, too...good times. 8-}

    Theeen...things happened, more or less in given order:

    - A friend of the protagonist, who was supposed to appear in the earlier chapters was written out of the entire thing. She eventually re-emerged as a fairly dumb simple-minded side character in my 2017 DDC.

    - The male lead got a girlfriend, while the original plan was for him to have a wife and kids who show up to save everybody else from a tricky situation. He was then de-aged from about 28 to about 23.

    - The said girlfriend, I had to develop her on the fly. I ended up creating her family, too and giving them a rather cool backround. Then I came across a sourcebook and developed the place where her parents had met, too.

    - A character that was supposed to be a passing mention became the glue that holds the whole microuniverse together and got not one, but three backstories.

    - A joke character that was supposed to argue with the protagonist suddenly took over my microuniverse. His name changed, his temper changed, his opinion of the protagonist did, too.

    - A family of one of the comic relief characters suddenly became important and they got a long backstory themselves.

    - A minor character from my 2016 DDC ascended to the point where he starred in two stories - one mine, one @Findswoman's.

    All that led to many changes, but also to not needing a character I devoted a whole, action-packed chapter to. His original plotline was taken over by the girlfriend character and the family of characters. So, would it make sense to keep the chapter to show what the Empire was like in its last days as Galactic superpower and have the character just hang around for the rest of the story? I do have minor plans for him when it comes to other stories...
     
  4. Findswoman

    Findswoman Fanfic and Pancakes and Waffles Mod (in Pink) star 5 Staff Member Manager

    Registered:
    Feb 27, 2014
    Ewok Poet, sure, I do think it's fine to keep the chapter with the character you ended up not needing (from our conversation earlier I now know who it is), even if the character doesn't come up much later in the story (there are some characters in Les Misérables that I think are kind of like that, though it's been a while). If some "extra" characters can ascend, like the examples you mention, it's certainly possible for some to descend, too—and who knows but some of them might ascend again later. This is just the sort of thing that can happen with characters (and entire ocedaria), especially if one has been working with them for many years—a corollary of characters taking on lives of their own. :)
     
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  5. AzureAngel2

    AzureAngel2 Chosen One star 6

    Registered:
    Jun 14, 2005
    Thanks Briannakin. This thread is very helpful & makes me very thoughtful.
     
  6. Sith-I-5

    Sith-I-5 Force Ghost star 6

    Registered:
    Aug 14, 2002
    But the good thing was, contributing content, eg. stories or artwork, also those song things, filks, earned you a free copy.
     
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  7. WarmNyota_SweetAyesha

    WarmNyota_SweetAyesha Chosen One star 8

    Registered:
    Aug 31, 2004
    For the OTP couple getting stronger challenge, I wanted to write up H/L getting help from Hera/Kanan :cool: I'd love input from others as to if that seems doable plot-wise. Character-wise, you know Hera and Kanan are forthright and proactive enough to step in when the situation demands. :cool: Thanks!
     
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  8. divapilot

    divapilot Force Ghost star 4

    Registered:
    Nov 30, 2005
    Since the Ghost was at Yavin in Rogue One, it makes sense that Hera and Kanan's paths might cross with Leia and Han's. I think the time frame would work. I don't see Hera hanging around the rebel base much, though - she seems much more of a freelancer than a regular fighter, more of an espionage/saboteur kind of person. Still, I bet you can make a case for them crossing paths!
     
  9. Ewok Poet

    Ewok Poet Force Ghost star 6

    Registered:
    Jul 31, 2014
    Hey, @Keycube - come here, don't be shy. :) My views might be biased and very me, so you should ask your question to the other folks on here, too.
     
  10. Keycube

    Keycube Jedi Master star 2

    Registered:
    Jan 19, 2009
    A quick question to all; how do you personally "start writing"? I have the occasional idea I want to expound upon, but my instinct is always to wrap them up too quickly, and in spite of the "grand idea", they become more like treatments or outlines...like those stories you wrote as schoolchildren that your mother saved all these years ("Oh, look what a good little writer you were!").

    Is this part of the natural process? Do all writers do this, and then start fleshing out scenes and dialogue from this physical outline? Or does the outline typically just remain in the writer's head all the while, and you just start writing scenes?

    I admit to having focus issues and will - in my opinion - lose interest in things prematurely. Would parsing out bits from a physical outline help with this, you think? (I would always then have an icon of "achievement" to help curb my frustration at any slow pace of progress).

    I can't get the visual of the writer sitting down at the typewriter, just pumping out page after page, out of my head.

    Curious as to how you folks do it. Thanks for any input!
     
  11. mavjade

    mavjade Former Manager star 6 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    Sep 10, 2005
    Keycube- I too have issues writing longer things. Some people have the opposite problem and can't write a little one-shot. I think it's like having curly or straight hair, people want what they don't have. I'd love to be able to write a really long story!

    I find the best way to expand on an idea is to first get it down in writing. Write what comes, even if it is pretty much an outline. Then, go back and start to add things like visuals, feelings, movement, etc and expand on what you've written. I'd recommend doing this several times and at the very least over a few days. Think about it when you are going to sleep, let your imagination run wild and you might think of something to add then, or in your sleep.

    I don't doubt that there are people who sit and write out what they end up posting from start to finish, but I'd be willing to bet that's not most people. I used to try and do it that way and it ended up with a lot writers block. Since I've allowed myself to skip a scene and move on to a different one, I've had a lot more focus and the muse is much happier.
     
  12. pronker

    pronker Force Ghost star 4

    Registered:
    Jan 28, 2007
    :)Welcome. You had a nice mom to keep those. @};- for her. As for how to get started, it's this one for me:
    remain in the writer's head all the while, and you just start writing scenes.

    Sometimes the scenes cluster, but most often they are sprinkled throughout the mental outline way out of sequence.[face_monkey]
    A well-respected author of adored fics once told me that my system wasn't linear enough for her, so to each their own!:boba: I do have a strong work ethic to finish what is published, and she *gossip gossip* has at least three fics in the 50k range that remain gorgeously written even as WIPs from 2005 or so. On the other hand, I have some drawer fics that shall never see light of day, such as the one with Obi-Wan and Anakin in the land of giants ... :eek: Happy writing to you! This is a most pleasant site to be on. :)[face_cowboy]
     
  13. Ewok Poet

    Ewok Poet Force Ghost star 6

    Registered:
    Jul 31, 2014
    So, the reason I wanted you, @Keycube, to ask this in public is because I'm pretty sure my way of writing is bizarre. I usually decide on a vague number of chapters and then add random bits of dialogue whenever I have a good idea. I then abandon chapters as I please, jumping from one point to another like there's no tomorrow. This resulted in a minor plot hole in one case - which I noticed immediately after posting the chapter and, on more than one occasion, misspelling the character and location names. I have a great beta, @Findswoman, occasionally a second one, @Raissa Baiard, and she/they usually catch that sort of nonsense, but sometimes, it still happens. [face_blush]

    However, in case of diaries and most first-person stories, my personal record was 10K words in a single day. I just imagine it's me who's writing it, regardless how much or how little I have in common with the character and then it just...it just flows.

    When it comes to what @pronker said, re: posting only finished multi-chapter stories...eeeh...I did that once. Just once. That particular story was written from start to finish, in some sort of a trance-like state. I don't even know how to describe it and I have no idea how I did it.
     
  14. WarmNyota_SweetAyesha

    WarmNyota_SweetAyesha Chosen One star 8

    Registered:
    Aug 31, 2004
    I have a rough idea for multi-chaptered fics as to how many chapters, roughly what I would like to happen in each one. For each particular chapter, I can skip around for the first draft rather than go in strict sequence. I usually, more like almost always, ;) start with dialogue and then flesh out with the rest of the scene. Even inner thought processes take a back seat to conversation ;) -- they do get put in eventually naturally, but I gravitate to dialogue and letting that elucidate the dynamics between characters.

    I am more of a drabble to viggie sized writer. I do adore reading humongous chapters by other writers. What I do for those is read until a sensible break off point and come back later and finish. So that would work also for those who tend to write looong. :cool: Write until a scene shift and then come back later and do the next one. You don't have to commit to a large window of time each session.

    For me, weekend afternoons are the most productive. :D
     
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  15. Keycube

    Keycube Jedi Master star 2

    Registered:
    Jan 19, 2009
    Do any of you write with pen/pencil & paper, at least initially?

    I ask because, as a CAD drafter that can remember the days of drafting boards, I felt so much more of an inimate connection with my product when I was experiencing it "physically" as opposed to seeing it through a lens (monitor) and manipulating it indirectly (with CAD commands).

    I just wonder if the nightstand notepad has been totally replaced by the "notes" app. :)
     
  16. pronker

    pronker Force Ghost star 4

    Registered:
    Jan 28, 2007
    :tie:Yes, in the beginning there is great satisfaction in outlining *after the mental outline is finished* to write 'I.A.1.a.(a.)' and so forth on yellow pads and so forth with pen; the long 14 inch format helps a great deal in that downwards listing that is more conducive to great mental sweeps. The bubble outline with the sticks leading into the main idea does not do it right, IMHO.
     
  17. Chyntuck

    Chyntuck Force Ghost star 5

    Registered:
    Jul 11, 2014
    @Keycube My advice is, if you feel the need to outline, then outline. I know that for me, writing without outlining isn't an option at all; I outline everything in great detail, even one-shots, and then I build around that. Like others have said I enjoy the freedom it gives me to jump from one chapter to another when I'm stuck on a particular scene. Actually, after I'm done outlining the first bit of text I write is usually the end of the story, so that I know where I'm going.

    I also find that having a clear outline helps keep me motivated for longer stories, because it helps me decide if I have a good story to tell. If I'm not happy with my outline, I just don't start writing.

    However, I believe it's important to not think of an outline as something set in stone. If I start writing from an outline and a better idea comes along the way, I pause in my writing and re-work the outline to see how I can improve it. I haven't had to deal with the scenario where I ended up changing the ultimate outcome of a story yet, but I'm sure it will happen to me at some point.

    And yes, I definitely need to go through the paper and pencil stage to get a feel for my story; I even have a special notebook where all those endings are written by hand :D
     
  18. gaarastar58

    gaarastar58 Jedi Master star 3

    Registered:
    Dec 19, 2010
    I have to know how a story ends. I may come up with the ending before coming up with the middle in a lot of cases. I also have to write things down. I have a little notebook that I used to handwrite the plot, even of quite short stories. Sometimes, if I want to really cement a story in my head, I will write down the outline and ideas multiple times so they become more familiar. This also has the advantage of having a record of my thought process if I abandon a fic only to come back to it much later. It happened to me last night as a matter of fact. I was browsing through some unfinished stories when I came across one which I had completely forgotten. I got out my notebook, found the place where I had left off and just started writing. I think the important thing is not to feel bound to an outline once it's written down on paper. If you don't like something change it. If a scene isn't working, change the setting or introduce a different character. And yes, just before you fall asleep is a great time for ideas to hit for some reason. Pencil and paper within arm's reach at all times!
     
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  19. divapilot

    divapilot Force Ghost star 4

    Registered:
    Nov 30, 2005
    Hi @Keycube ! Here’s another source that might be helpful to you. We had a lot of helpful conversations about the writing process here.
    Fifty Titles in Search of a Story.

    As for me, never pencil & paper. And I agree with @gaarastar58, I usually know the ending in advance. Sometimes even the last line. And I outline by using the tables function in Word so that I can create a chart with the chapters going down and the characters by column so I know the main plot developments I want to make at each stage of the story. Like @Chyntuck, I want the freedom to change things around if I don’t like where they are going, so putting it in a separate Word doc lets me delete and redo sections without disrupting the rest of the outline. Plus I can add notes to myself as comments or tucked in the top or bottom of the table.

    How that initial story spark happens is usually with some kind of visual scene that flashes in my head. JK Rowling said she got inspired for the Harry Potter series when she was taking a train and suddenly saw the flash of a little boy in a black cloak walking down the aisle of the train. If the image is strong enough then you can create the character. If the character is strong enough you’ve got a story.
     
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  20. Sith-I-5

    Sith-I-5 Force Ghost star 6

    Registered:
    Aug 14, 2002
    This is how I roll, with sufficient inspiration, time, comfort with the typing environment (eg. my PC at work), and music in the background (at the moment, DJs Candy Cox and Deborah De Luca are my go-to's.
     
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  21. Ewok Poet

    Ewok Poet Force Ghost star 6

    Registered:
    Jul 31, 2014
    FINALLY. MY SOULMATES.
     
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  22. Findswoman

    Findswoman Fanfic and Pancakes and Waffles Mod (in Pink) star 5 Staff Member Manager

    Registered:
    Feb 27, 2014
    Great question—hooray for the nightstand notepad or notebook! I have one of these, and it’s what I’ll write in if I find myself getting writing ideas at night close to bedtime or in the middle of the night if insomnia strikes, since if I use something with a bright screen at those times it’s liable to keep me up longer than I want. If I’m writing while riding (not driving!) in the car I’ll sometimes use it too, as it’s slightly less likely to give me carsickness than my device is. It’s almost always in my purse, just in case. Indeed, my current one is starting to fill up, so it’s almost time for me to look for a new one...
     
  23. Ewok Poet

    Ewok Poet Force Ghost star 6

    Registered:
    Jul 31, 2014
    ^ That and her illegible handwriting. [face_love] My beautiful, smart, generous, wonderful friend. [face_good_luck]
     
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  24. gaarastar58

    gaarastar58 Jedi Master star 3

    Registered:
    Dec 19, 2010
    I have discovered my new favourite canon character to write: Dooku as a younger man. He is such a snobby butthead, but I'm writing a fic featuring him and Qui-Gon and Dooku is stealing all the best lines!
     
  25. Mistress_Renata

    Mistress_Renata Manager Emeritus star 5 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    Sep 9, 2000
    I'm sort of the @pronker style of writing... I write scenes as they come to me, although I have a general idea of where I'm going to end up, I'm not always sure how to get there. My own personal rule is to have the entire first draft finished before I start to post, so that I can fill in plot holes or whatever.

    There are plenty of stories on a flash drive (not all SW) which are a few scenes, waiting for the author to get ambitious...