Discussion The Scribble Pad (Fanfic Writing Discussions)

I'm pretty set on Fanfiction.Net and here for fanfics, though I have posted art stuff related to my fics on tumblr, sometimes with a sentence from the fic to tease or explain what it's about. I even drew some scenes as comic pages, which was fun. Sometimes I think about doing that too, making a SW fancomic.

 

*raises hand* This is 100% me. I got so bad about not finishing longer stories I've banned myself from posting anything that isn't finished. Which means I have a TON of started stories on my hard drive, but they have yet to be completed. I have the ideas, but I get distracted and can't finish.

But I also don't mind when people leave stories unfinished. Yes, I want to know what happens and there are abandoned stories I'd love to see how they end, but I'm also thankful they shared the idea and what they had written and I can make up my own endings in my head. (This is actually what I do sometimes when I'm trying to fall asleep when I should be thinking of how to finish my own stuff. lol) So even though I don't let myself start posting while it's a WIP anymore, I think people should do what works for them and if that means it becomes a WIP with long breaks between updates, that's perfectly fine! Don't feel guilty!

 

I get bored pretty easily, so even if I have a longer story I'm working on, I have a million side stories I'm also thinking about and go on tangents. I mean, I generally like finishing what I started, but often what I finish with is a bunch of stories all under the one story and then use some duct tape to tie it all together and hopefully it makes sense. Having a clear ending for a story helps to actually finish a project if you really want to finish it but I wouldn't feel guilty about not finishing things at all--sometimes the muse just runs out of ideas and that's fine. No apologies needed.

 

Yeah... me.
I used be able to do the whole 'long-fic' thing (like 30k-50k words) but my muse has always preferred shorter stuff and now I can't even do longer stuff even if I try. Like you, and Mav, I get distracted or fall out of love with an idea, then I feel guilty for not finishing it and that kills the muse in it's entirety. It's gotten to the point now where I have ideas for longer fics but the fact I know my muse won't stick with it really discourages me from attempting it (though I currently have an idea for a longer-fic that I might try for NANO because if there ever was a year to make a legitimate attempt at NANO, this would be it).

But, there's NOTHING wrong with being a vignette only writer - one of the up-sides of fanfic is that you don't really have to confine yourself to traditional media/novel lengths. Heck, my current project is a vignette series that has somehow gotten to like 250,000 words over 3 years and I LOVE being able to bounce around with my set of CCs and OCs over what is now a ~80 year timeframe. I think fanfic readers love vignettes and not having to commit to an epic for every story they read. I also agree with Mav that unfinished fics are okay. Sure I'm a sucker for a great ending but often theres more fun in the journey and I totally understand as a writer that the muse just sometimes wanders off (and then I finish the fic in my head).

 

HA! This has been my life for the last fifteen years. I've written a few multi-chapter stories, but never anything epic. I stick to drabbles, ficlets and one shots. It's my wheelhouse. Play to your strengths, don't hesitate to challenge yourself. My two cents.

 

My Google Docs are full of half written multi-chapter stories.
I've learned that lesson.
Don't post the start until you know you can finish it.

 

Well sometimes I feel actually posting a story, having people give you feedback and ideas/toughts is what motivates me to finish a story.

 

I'm currently fighting with this. My Star Wars fanfic ideas are always long, novel-length ideas. I started one ten years ago that I never finished because I went off to grad school (and because the story just fell apart on me - it was just too big, too much, too soon). I'm currently working on one that I'm about 2/3rds done with (it's currently at 300 pages, see the publicly-available chapters in my signature), but the writing process has started to slow. But I just remind myself of the dissertation writing process: as long as I do a little each day (it doesn't have to be a whole lot, just a few hundred words) it all adds up over time. At this point I'm passed most of the big questions about "how the story is going to go", so it's just a matter of filling in empty portions. It's important, if you start working on one part and it doesn't work, not to fight with it - I've got a dozen chapters left to write, each one with 3-4 distinct parts, so I can just go to a different part and work on that. (I'm was writing a part of Chapter 26 today, despite the fact that Chapter 16 still doesn't exist at all on paper).

Eventually, different pieces of inspiration for different parts present, and it's good to just go where the inspiration is.

 

I think this is pretty common and absolutely true! Knowing someone is reading and wants to read more can be very motivating and the comments can sometimes give you an idea you hadn't thought of before. I know the one longer fic I managed to finish (it was ~20,000 words) I think it was only because of people reading that I managed to finish. It was one of the rare times I knew exactly where I was going to end up, but not exactly how I'd get there. The comments had me thinking and kept the muse wondering what was going on.

 

Feedback is vital! It's really important in a big story to have someone to bounce ideas off of, and to tell you if you're barking up the wrong tree. And then it can be really useful also once you're past the "shaping" phase and into the "writing" phase to have feedback, just to keep your ego and enthusiasm up.

 

I think that's been part of the problem I've had with the long-fic that I'm writing. I'm 25000+ words in and keep flagging because the lack of feedback. It's been interesting to see how much writing inspiration is based on feedback and acknowledgement. This is the first time I've tried to pre-write things first as the first scene is based on the events that occur later and I need/want it to be cohesive.

 

There are certainly both pros and cons to each approach, either finishing a fic before you post or posting it along the way (or with bit of a buffer). On one hand feedback can be so nice for both motivation and story ideas. On the other hand, being able to go back and change details is really nice!

 

Not being able to go back and make changes is killer, especially in a longer fic. That's actually why I resisted posting any of Interregnum until I did; I couldn't risk it until I was already pretty close to the end and was pretty sure that I knew exactly what I was doing and didn't need to seed any more Chekov's guns or build conversation themes. That's one place were a Beta reader is absolutely invaluable, as they can provide the feedback while still permitting you flexibility to make changes (plus they can be great for different perspectives and to tell you when you're getting characters or dialogue wrong).

All that said, I reserve the right to go back and make changes if I have to for the story to work. It would suck and be annoying, but I'll absolutely do it.

 

I have gone back in a few stories after posting and added a few lines, taken out repetition and so forth. I don't think it mattered to anyone else but me. Just dealing with that niggling "But it's not right!" feeling.

I have wondered about the idea of writing a story entirely online. Editing, adding, deleting in full view of everyone else. I suspect it would wear out it's welcome before the story was finished.

 

I'm a hyper-editor if ever there was one. I'm sure there's not a single part of any story I've posted that doesn't have that Last edited message at the end. I edited stuff like crazy. It's usually just details or wording, things that don't really affect the plot in any major way, but I just want to make it better, and you know what they say about being your worst critic.

 

On my first long fic (which was also my first real stab at seriously writing anything) I wrote a chapter, did basically no editing, then posted it. One week I actually ended up writing and posting 5 days simultaneously with new 2000-3000 word chapters. That ended up with a lot of spelling mistakes, definitely. But the slow trickle of feedback, though pretty sparse looking back, was all it took to keep me energised. Eventually I went back and fixed the glaring errors in spelling (though I think my grammar style was slightly different back then, before I really got a grasp of my voice), as well a few tweaks to help the story flow (CIS Droid helped out with a few).

Then with my second project, feeling more confident, I instead backlogged the entire story (180,000 words), writing all chapters in advance and not posting a thing. That turned out pretty great overall, but by then I was corresponding pretty often with a fan of my stuff, who gave me a lot of support and a few pointers when I was unsure. That one fan buoyed me during the majority of the writing process, even contributing a sketch of a monster I created (I also commissioned a full-colour cover for the fic from him). With this story I edited every chapter (26 of them) multiple times to perfection in my eyes.

By the time of my third, wildly ambitious 280,000 word epic, that fan's interest was lesser. So after writing the first 7 or 8 chapters, I started publishing chapters. This was partly to gauge interest, since I was having some initial doubts about the project. In the end, the feedback I got for those early chapters was minimal at best. So I just ploughed on and kept writing, wondering how well it was being received. Made it harder to tell which aspects worked well as I carried on, but at least due to the sheer length of my mad goal I had plenty of time to find where I wanted to go. In the end it did overall pretty solidly in kudos and hits, but I always wanted more direct engagement to know how I was doing (got a few good comments on the finale that offered actual analysis, what every fanfic writer dreams of I bet ).

So yeah, I've tried a range of methods. In some ways the eclectic release schedule of my first was a blessing in some ways. I had all the passion and excitement of a new writer with very little introspection. That came in the second project, but I had support. Then that support faded, but by then I'd worked out the kinks that had cause a lot of previous writer's block and doubt in my abilities.

Now I vow never to write such super long fics, cause that mega one definitely burnt me out by the end. Though, the shorter works I've written since haven't done as well, but who knows what factors influenced that. At least I think I know what I'm doing

 

This might be a more non-Star Wars question (but could apply to SW too) but does anyone feel like they have to be finished (or caught up with) a series (this is more TV or book, but could apply to movie series) before they start writing fanfic of it? I've been recently OBSESSED with Schitt's Creek. I've consumed a fair bit of media, but few really trigger my muse (which could be a whole other discussion), and even though I'm only on season 5 (of 7), plot bunnies are already attacking. I've also spent much of today reading fanfic (its been that sort of day where I just wanted something to consume my whole attention but also not want to think that much - I was also already spoiled fo the series ending so I already know what happens). And I just want to write fanfic so much! But part of me feels like I should wait till I finish the series (which I am trying to savour), the other part of me just wants to gush my love and give my muse what it wants (because bad things happen when I don't give the muse what it wants).

I'm also considering changing my Nano project (also fitting in the theme of giving the muse what it wants), which is scary at this point in November and because I've never even dabbled in this fandom so I don't know if I should attempt a long fic in it. The Schitt's Creek fanfic community is pretty active elsewhere but not here, so completely going to a whole new community is also kinda scary. Obviously feedback and reviews aren't everything but we've talked about this recently and they are really helpful for me for motivation to write.

 

That's actually a cool idea!

Nope, not at all!

For me, there aren't that many things where I've actually watched/read the entire series, and sometimes I don't even watch/read in order (like, I think I started watching House during Season 4 or 5, and I was watching the older seasons while new episodes were airing). But I'm also really picky about what I like, so if something captivates me enough that I actually want to watch it, it's almost guaranteed I will become obsessed and read/write fic of it at some point. So I say, if your muse wants to do it, go for it!

And as far as writing in a new fandom/community: Just jump in. I say that as someone with a lot of anxiety who's generally terrified of talking to new people (online or off) and even more terrified of not being good enough and looking stupid. I can't speak for all fandoms, obviously, but the couple different fandoms and communities outside here that I've been involved with have been really friendly and supportive and I've had some amazing experiences (I even got to write for a zine in a fandom I was really new to, which was honestly one of the only bright spots in the dumpster fire that is 2020 and something I never would have done if I let myself think about it too much). Again, all I can say is if your muse is feeling it, go for it!

 

Joy is rare and so is love. I wish you the best in your endeavors and hope that this is something good you'll take from 2020.

Comment above this one says it more eloquently ...

 

Not at all. But I write the short scenes. Any episode can trigger me to think how a missing scene might be added. Even if your story idea is for something longer, there is nothing to stop you from jumping. My only thought would be how you would feel if your ideas of how things might turn out are dashed by the show itself. For some, it can be a deal breaker. I like to write for shows/movies that inspire me. I say go for it!

 

Yeah I guess that's the key. How fussed are you about you story conflicting with future episodes?

Writing Breaking Bad stories after watching two seasons... That would be fun, I think.

The more I think if it, say openly "I've only seen up to Season 5", and readers might love that. Take the "No! You got that wrong!" posts with a smile, and you'll have fun. People like a bit of alternative history.

 

@Briannakin I think go for it. Sometimes the best stuff comes when you are most inspired and who cares if it turns out not to fit with later canon. You are basically creating your version of that world - go for it!

I have to dress Kit in what a ruler thinks would be the 'most dashing' stereotypical robes for a Jedi. Basically his idea of what a Jedi wears (having only ever seen them in bad holo movies). I am thinking red and black but it just seems to stereotypical. I know that they are going to change her haircut (bye stupid pony-tail, hello mohawk) and then add makeup, eyebrow wax and turn her into what she sees as a parody of herself. Going to be even better when she arrives back at the Temple still wearing all of that too...

Any ideas?

 

Since most Jedi seems to personalise their robes notably so would it probobly depend a bit on what Jedi s/he has seen. If the main ones for example are Aayla, and/or Asuka so would s/he think that a visible midriff is part of the Jedi-look.

Red n' black feels unfitting since we don't really see any Jedi in those colours, pre-fall Anakin is the closes and his are dark brown if I recal right, not black.