Discussion The Scribble Pad (Fanfic Writing Discussions)

I personally am not good at writing those because I don't like to self-insert myself into stories because it would make me super uncomfortable for some reason. I think the closest is some characters might have some personality traits or beliefs I share, but that's it.

So I applaud anyone who can write a story with a Mary Sue self insert and something that makes them happy and I'll love to read some of those stories, too!

 

*It's 2:45 am where I am, and it looks like it's confession time, hobbitses. I just hope I don't regret this too much.*

While I was reading over the last page of posts, I was reminded of this post I read on the science fiction/fantasy writer section of livejournal (remember livejournal? It's not even actually dead) years ago. I think there's a reason for that. Anyway: the post was written by a Professional Writer based off her experience teaching writing at workshops. She said, basically, that those writers who were the loudest and most confident--those who came in convinced they were Hot ****, that they had already written their masterwork, and they were just showing up to have this confirmed--were the ones who couldn't write worth a darn. Who had written not a single word that could back up their bravado.

Whereas the writers who stayed quietly in the background, the ones who would look down at the table, at the floor, as they mumbled of their story "It isn't really very good." Those were the ones who actually had the talent.

As I read this, I had a moment rather like a small fireworks explosion in my brain. While I remained outwardly quiet, inwardly I seethed. This is not how it should be! I thought furiously. I can't take all this low self-esteem, this hating every word I rip from my brain, but then getting nervous when I don't hate it anymore because if it's too easy, well it has to be bad. This has just got to change!

(It's also interesting that this view implies that those with the most talent are the vulnerable ones--the people going about with their skin figuratively ripped off and their eyelids figuratively taped open--when you're constantly told you must have the emotional hide of a rhino to endure the rejected and criticized lot of the writer. Of course, that mostly applies to those foolhardly enough to try to get published for money. Honestly: in fanfiction, I have seen endless talk over the years of the vast importance of "con crit," but I don't know that I have seen an actual critical comment left on an actual story.)

But all that said, I continue to take it. I can't say that I ever think what I have written is "good," whatever that may mean. I don't dare to. Whenever I do feel pleased with my writing--even if it's just because I finished something with a bow and THE END--I also feel wary, because I know that, sooner rather than later, I will pay for it. That the blowback will come in one form or another, and it will be swift and it will be brutal.

So how is it that I manage to post fanfiction--and I do post it, whenever I get a scene/story written and edited, and without much difficulty. It's partly because I graduated with my MFA degree shortly before I entered the world of fandom, so I was already used to sharing my work--and that was original work, personal work, in person under my real name. This is far easier. The penname I write under is one reason, perhaps the reason, for that. Without it as my mask, I don't know that I could post a single comment online. Then there's the fact that I don't exactly write about the characters and worlds the majority of readers are interested in reading about. So yes, I am overall unpopular (so unpopular I couldn't get into the Unpopular Writers' Club back in the day) but I realized, some years back, that I'm actually fine with that. I don't want to be popular. When I have dreams about one of my stories receiving a flood of comments, it is one of those stressdreams you're relieved to wake and find out didn't really happen.

Basically: I have been hanging around writing my "Jawa Stories" for seventeen years now, and around 99% of the collective Star Wars fandom doesn't know I even exist. I would prefer for it to remain that way.

But mostly: I can write and post fanfiction because I am always aware that, if I should ever want to, I can walk away. Easily and with no regrets. I don't have to write. And if I do write, I don't have to ever share it with anyone; and with my original work, I don't: I have years' worth of handwritten stories/unfinished novels/one mostly finished novel I haven't ever typed up, that no one can ever read, and that is deliberate on my part. This way, I make certain I can't fall prey to any passing whims and toss one into an online submission form. I walked away from that, and I know better than to go back.

Well, that was a lot of verbiage over not very much. Sorry, I guess?

 

Nothing wrong with that. I write a lot of things I choose not to share with anyone because
1) it means a lot to me and it's not about characters/worlds people are particularly interested in, anyways
2) I also have handwritten stories I've been working on for years and constantly change or update for nobody else but myself

Although, I do enjoy reading stories people have the courage to put up without any expectation, if only just to throw it out there for someone to come across, because that's probably not something I'd be comfortable doing---sadly, I'm also one of those passerby readers because I really enjoy the story but I don't have the guts to make an account and say it's a great story for some reason.

 

I'm realizing that of my completed Sequel Trilogy rewrite fanfics- Episode VII is far stronger than Episode VIII, even though I was hoping each installment would get better.
I think VII makes good use of established characters, especially side characters like Threepio- while developing my OCs as well. I feel like my VIII has a weak plot structure, with the sidequest mostly serving a romantic plot that I don't plan to 100 percent conclude- the main plot really only is affected near the end, and I remember focusing a lot on creating a variety of locations- this led to fast pace and less room for long character interactions- and VIII was an episode where I really meant to focus on character dynamics.

 

While I want to move on to my Spider-Man and Calvin and Hobbes projects as well as others, I am interested in doing a series of one-shots from my Sequel Trilogy rewrite- spin-off stories that feature my characters.

I also have been wanting to return to an off-site project I started in 2018 called Kingdom Wars- adapting the Star Wars films to a medieval Earth setting.

 

With my current story, I am making sure my chapter has the right pacing.

on the one hand, I want to have my hero pursing the villain to the site of their final battle, but I also want to show how her mind has been affected and how that impacts her interactions with friends in a negative way

 

Since there are so many ways a Sequel Trilogy rewrite can be done- I am debating whether or not to do ANOTHER VII-IX in a different direction some years from now, or to later on write a sequel to my current ST that features new villains and adventures.

 

I have had a dialog between Bess Heiger and an OC-yet met in mind for many months. It touches on something that @Findswoman and I discussed long ago: a Light Sith. This dialog, however, is blocking me from completing the Battle of Metellos storyline. Basically, I'm trying to pull it out of the conference room and show the context in pieces of the finale. It's not so much Writer's Block as Writer's Misdirection.

 

In my hiatus from TF.N, I edited my fanfics and put them out on another site... and then pulled them down after a year or so (no traction). I'd like to release the bundle, complete with the cover art, but wonder what the mods would suggest about that.

 

I think one of the most consistent compliments I've gotten is that I write Darth Vader well. I don't know what to make of that, but anyone who thinks otherwise will have to answer to me.

 

I'm very proud of myself that I can write seemingly ridiculous crack!fic stories that actually:
1) obey the 5 basic elements of a story (characters, the setting, the plot, the conflict, and the resolution)
2) established characters are actually IC
3) follow established canon
4) are coherent most of the time
5) even if not coherent, at least more coherent than 90% of what Disney put out
6) writing good crack!fic is actually very difficult to write according to something I read on the Internet

 

I am proud of the fact I actually write LGBTQ characters as people, and not, as sadly seen in many works of fiction as mere token characters who basically only revolved around their sexual orientation and constantly have to bring it up.

 

I'm proud of how I write dialogue. I try hard to make dialogue in my stories sound natural and what one person would actually say to another in a given situation. It's a bit of a compromise sometimes because some of my characters should be speaking mostly in inside jokes and in-universe acronyms, but since both of those are, by their nature, incomprehensible to anyone without specific background knowledge, I have to use them very sparingly and largely ignore their existence by chalking it up to a Basic-to-English lost-in-translation scrub. But anyway, I have fun with dialogue and showing characterization through it. Specific word choices, pauses, and even what's left unsaid all can say a lot about a character.

 

I've gotten a few comments about a couple different characters to the effect of "I hate [character], but the way you write them makes them easier to stand," which makes me weirdly proud. (For the record, I don't necessarily recommend that reviewers word things quite like that as a general rule.)

 

@devilinthedetails , that's a great question! It's so ingrained in a lot of us to downplay the stuff that we do well and it can be really good to remember those positive things matter -- especially when self-doubts are affecting the whole writing thing (as they sure do for me sometimes). And I have to echo @Findswoman that it's been so fun to see the responses for this.

I would say that the three things that I like the most and am most proud of about my writing are that:

1) It never turns out quite like I planned it. That's also the thing that frustrates me the most, but sometimes our strengths and drawbacks come from the same thing. Just depends on that old certain point of view. I've learned so much from the process of writing every story and my view of the characters, setting, and themes never stays static in the process. I think that being willing to adapt and go down alternate paths makes the resulting stories more interesting than they probably would be if I just stayed with the plan.

2) All of it ends up being at least a bit weird, which delights me because most of my favorite stories by other people are also at least a bit offbeat and strange in some way. There's a lot of joy for me in discovering a new bit of the world as seen by somebody else, and I think the parts of a story that are surprising are so often a part of that. So when I notice that my own stuff is kind of odd but in a very "me" kind of way, that makes me believe that someone else will find happiness in that little dose of bizarre!

3) Somewhat related to that last point, I have an eye for details that can be used in interesting ways, either as background/setting kinds of things or as major plot points. So I do think that my writing tends to end up being full of little tidbits of cool stuff from Star Wars, other fiction, the real world (what's that?), etc., and that's something that I always like to see when re-reading my own work.

 

Ack, gmail still fails at alerting new thread content so I'm tardy to the party ... I'm proud that others have stated my dialogue among a group of characters doesn't need tags, such as "Private said," because the way they talk shows who they are.

 

hi everybody, i have written a fan fiction about a caracter that i created in the star wars universum so here it is

 

A father and son are hiking on a mountain, there were rumors that within these mountains lies a portal that leads to a universe that is 10 times more grander than our universe. The father was named dume. The kid was named krypton. While they where hiking up the mountain it started to rain cats and dogs. the father said"krypton lets find a cave before we are completly wet, it'll be very hard to drie our clothes in these conditions." The son listend and started to find a cave. And ofcource they did find a cave, Although the entrance was very weirdly shaped, almost like a human holding a stick. The form was whearing a somekind of robe and had a scar on his right eye. The son yelled to his father to come with him into the cave. The father came and then they went into the cave. THEN something lid the whole cave up and created a shockwave that knocked the father and the son out. When krypton woke up he heard a very, almost, god like voice. "come here, we are waiting for you" Krypton could not resist to see where this beautifull voice came from. so foolishly he went into the portal." part one of THE GUIDER.
But THEN when he stepped into the portal he almost fel out of the portel for there was not floor where he could let his body fall upon. So he grabbed the edge of the portal and stepped on a legde that was perfectly shaped to his feet. After that he adjusted his body to see what the view was and what he saw was shocking. It was the most beautiful thing he ever saw. He saw a city made of clouds, there were alien like animals jumping from cloud to cloud and making almost a laughing sound. But then he heard the beautiful voices again. They said:"do not be afraid of us Krypton for we have a great mission for you." But Krypton said:" What do you mean, and what about my father where is he. I am going back." But that last part he said a bit regretfully. When he was about to go back in the portal, the portal suddenly closed on him. He was shocked and fell of the ledge that supported him. While he was falling a cloud came and saved him from certain death. While he trying to get up the beings appeared. Krypton saw how each of them had a different emotion(there where 7 of them) There was one with a almost sad appirience while there was anoughter who was laughing. They then said in coherisen:" We are the Wills Krypton, we are the maker of the universe wich you may cal the Star Wars universum. We have created this universe so we may understand ourselfs better and create life wich we love so much." Krypton was speechless, he could not utter one word while on his mind There where a thousand.