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

Resource Fanfic Writer's Desk: Your Place for Writing Discussion, Questions, and Advice

Discussion in 'Fan Fiction and Writing Resource' started by Luna_Nightshade, Nov 24, 2011.

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  1. Gabri_Jade

    Gabri_Jade Fanfic Archive Editor Emeritus star 5 VIP

    Registered:
    Nov 9, 2002
    Bingo. And fanfic was never beholden to canon regardless. We have no official standing and no official obligations. We are the freaking Calvinball of fandom, and I will die on that hill. Whether someone wants to write a fic that aligns with every detail of canon or they want to veer off as wildly as their imagination takes them, I support it. There is room for everyone and every story in fanfic.

    (I mean, like, don't actively slander someone or write something deliberately hurtful. Be good humans. But otherwise, let your imagination run wild, guys. Write whatever tickles your fancy. Boorrrrn freeeeee...free as the wind blows...)
     
  2. Mechalich

    Mechalich Jedi Grand Master star 4

    Registered:
    Feb 2, 2010
    That's not really what happened. Star Wars Legends material remains official Star Wars material, it's just that there are now two Star Wars continuities, each with their own canon - Legends and Disney - that exist side by side. Lucasfilm continues to publish additional Legends material right now (and will do so long as SWTOR limps along) and could reopen any part of that universe to additional material at any time if they wanted (and if the current timeline continues to struggle, they just might). In effect, what happened is that Star Wars was transformed into a 'multiverse' like essentially all other large franchises, with certain elements held in common between both iterations. Now, it is notable that, because Disney basically chose to retain functionally all of the creative talent currently producing EU material when Legends ended, the Disney canon has progressively ported in an ever-growing number of Legends elements and the Disney canon has come to, over time, look more and more like the Legends one, to the point that the pre-Ruusan histories of both continuities appear to be nearly identical. This is also common, it's like how there are infinite versions of the DC Universe, but somehow they all have a Green Lantern Corps.

    Also, fanfic isn't official fic yet. Eventually, everything enters the public domain and therefore fanfic could very easily be subsequently republished officially after enough time has passed (admittedly, given the absurdities of current copyright lengths, this is something most of us will have to leave to our heirs, but still). For works that are already in the public domain - a nice space fantasy relevant example is the 'John Carter of Mars' novels - there is essentially no differentiation between fanfic and profic beyond the decision of any given author to go ahead and publish.

    This means that we can informally differentiate fanfic into two categories: works that the author would at least consider publishing were they legally able to do so and works produced purely for fun. The statements I advanced pretty much apply only to the former group. Humor, crackfic, even the Alternate Universe categorization are all features I'd consider falling under "clear foreshadowing" to alert the audience that the standard rules for this universe do not apply. The overall goal of a given work has a profound impact of the appropriate relationship it should aim for with respect to not only canon, but all elements of traditional Star Wars including theme, mood, and so forth, even traits such as cinematography, music, lighting, and sound design when it comes to making films or television.
     
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  3. Gabri_Jade

    Gabri_Jade Fanfic Archive Editor Emeritus star 5 VIP

    Registered:
    Nov 9, 2002
    Yes. So those who want to include every possible canon-compatible detail and consider the possibility of their grandchildren publishing their fanfic someday should certainly take all of that into account, and more power to them. But if you only want to write a compelling and entertaining story, then just write the story you want, the best you can, and make up whatever you want. That's the point.
     
  4. Chyntuck

    Chyntuck Force Ghost star 5

    Registered:
    Jul 11, 2014
    It's a shame we don't have a category for "Favourite Quote in Resource" in the Favourites of Fanfic Festival, because this would be it for me.
     
  5. Chyntuck

    Chyntuck Force Ghost star 5

    Registered:
    Jul 11, 2014
    Does anyone have a fancy starwarsy version of "making a mountain out of a molehill"?

    Edit: Never mind, I figured it out.
     
    Last edited: Mar 27, 2023
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  6. Vek Talis

    Vek Talis Jedi Master star 3

    Registered:
    Oct 12, 2018
    I've been trying to find information on where Ahsoka Tano was - what planet - she hid out on after escaping Order 66. All I can find is that she captured Darth Maul - somewhere, who knows - and Order 66 was activated while in transit, with Maul escaping, destroying the hyperdrive of their ship and Ahsoka having to land 'on a moon'. But they frustratingly don't tell me any useful information, lol. I've searched Wookieepedia and starwars dot fandom and half a dozen other sites. Is it ever named or should I just make up something?
     
  7. Chyntuck

    Chyntuck Force Ghost star 5

    Registered:
    Jul 11, 2014
  8. Vek Talis

    Vek Talis Jedi Master star 3

    Registered:
    Oct 12, 2018
    Sweet. Thanks, @Chyntuck :)
     
  9. JohnLydiaParker

    JohnLydiaParker Jedi Knight star 1

    Registered:
    Jun 14, 2019
    Personally I'm of the "follow your headcannon" type. My story fits like a glove with the Rouge Squadrons quadrilogy and TTT, but openly contradicts Izard's Revenge.
    -------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    A writing tip - if you're having trouble coming up with the wording of dialogue to match an established character, trying imagining and listening to them saying it in your head. I'm been having a bit of trouble recently with Emperor Palpatine and somewhat "technical" terms, and that helped some.
     
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  10. pronker

    pronker Force Ghost star 4

    Registered:
    Jan 28, 2007
    I cringed at the start of doing this, but now I do it all the time: Place your story in PDF, have someone "read" it via that function, and see if it sounds okay. The mechanisms of creating realistic speech evolved a great deal, with inflection and everything. The one aspect not coming through is exclamation points, so if you write "Run!", a mechanical voice says, "Run." Additionally, you can select various forms of English: US, UK, South African, Aussie, etc. That's if your default language is English, natch. I've not tried others.
     
    Last edited: Mar 31, 2023
  11. JohnLydiaParker

    JohnLydiaParker Jedi Knight star 1

    Registered:
    Jun 14, 2019
    That's a good idea, but its not what I was referring to. .I mean "Imagine the character visually with them saying in in their own voice in your head." to see if a line is "in character" or not, and whether or not you matched their speech patterns. If "listening" to Palpatine saying his lines sounds correct, then you're good, if it doesn't sound "right" then change it. Obviously works far better with those who's been in the films and shows and have a voice to listen to. I think in my head Mirax has a somewhat "established" voice some of the time, and a few other characters have evolved slightly to be sometimes different then my "normal internal head thoughts voice," although inflection and emotion are always in it.

    -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Has everybody ever heard of a Starwind-class yacht? I came up with the name on my own for a Bandu-class and works for one of those quite well, (They're a favorite of mine, and I subscribe to the "sleek and streamlined" version, including the Rouge Squadron novels,) but it turns out there's another class of yacht with that name. It was in an old WEG sourcebook and only got stats and a paragraph, (it was "Pirates and Privateers under "potential targets"), and two other WEG sourcebooks, and a Star Wars Gamer article in the early 2000's, but it's in the core rulebook for the current star wars RPG. Confusion potential? Or has nobody here ever heard of a Starwind class?

    If there is potential for confusion, anybody got ideas for another name along similar lines? Spoilers on the next project I suppose, but while Jade Gem might keep with personal conventions (only a personal name, no transponder or registry under that name), but there's more then one ship at her disposal and the idea of Mara referring (informally/mentally) to whatever ship she's currently been assigned as that doesn't seem to quite work in my view.
     
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  12. JohnLydiaParker

    JohnLydiaParker Jedi Knight star 1

    Registered:
    Jun 14, 2019
    A question about confusion potential, and a bit of a bump I suppose. Has everybody ever heard of a Starwind-class yacht? I came up with the name on my own for a Bandu-class and works for one of those quite well, (They're a favorite of mine, and I subscribe to the "sleek and streamlined" version, including the Rouge Squadron novels,) but it turns out there's another class of yacht with that name. It was in an old WEG sourcebook and only got stats and a paragraph, (it was "Pirates and Privateers under "potential targets"), and briefly in two other WEG sourcebooks, and and briefly in a Star Wars Gamer article in the early 2000's, which would be sufficiently obscure not to be a problem, but it's in the core rulebook for the current star wars RPG. Confusion potential? Or has nobody here ever heard of a Starwind class?

    If there is potential for confusion, anybody got ideas for another name along similar lines? The belt alternative I've been able to come up with is Fairwind, but I don't like it as much. Stellerwind perhaps? Spoilers on the next project I suppose, but while Jade Gem might keep with personal conventions (only a personal name, no transponder or registry under that name), but there's more then one ship at her disposal and the idea of Mara referring (informally/mentally) to whatever ship she's currently been assigned as the Jade Gem doesn't seem to quite work in my view.
     
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  13. whiskers

    whiskers Jedi Grand Master star 4

    Registered:
    May 19, 2005
    I don't think anyone would begrudge you for using it as a name of a ship. Maybe give a wink at it's origins, by having someone mention the ship's name and someone knowledgable about ships confuse the two.
     
  14. UltramassiveUbersue

    UltramassiveUbersue Jedi Knight star 3

    Registered:
    Nov 7, 2022
    @JohnLydiaParker My observation is that fanficcers are flexible and allow for creative licence on things; we don't need to agree on rules the way that RPGers do. I think it's possible that someone will recognize the name of the ship class, but they'll realize you mean something else if you describe it.
     
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  15. JohnLydiaParker

    JohnLydiaParker Jedi Knight star 1

    Registered:
    Jun 14, 2019
    Thanks. It's mentioned when first introduced. I wouldn't mind throwing this ship into a dogfight, but this isn't an X-wing story, so I probably shouldn't.
    EDIT - I also gave it a length bigger then the official figure since all light freighters are scaled based on the Falcon, and when those freighters were made the Falcon was undersized by 40 percent. So in general EU light freighters should be upscaled. YT series is a simple 40 percent, but other are case by case.
     
    Last edited: Apr 14, 2023
  16. JohnLydiaParker

    JohnLydiaParker Jedi Knight star 1

    Registered:
    Jun 14, 2019
    I'm somehow still confused by tagging somebody. Could a moderator please edit into this post a properly formatted (bb code and such) tag to themselves I suppose?

    Thanks.

    @devilinthedetails

    Devil Edit: Just tagging myself per user's request.
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Apr 16, 2023
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  17. devilinthedetails

    devilinthedetails Fiendish Fanfic & SWTV Manager, Interim Tech Admin star 6 Staff Member Administrator

    Registered:
    Jun 19, 2019
    @JohnLydiaParker To tag a user, you shouldn't really need bb code or anything too complicated:)

    You can just type the @ symbol followed by the username of whoever you want to tag with no space in between.

    So if I want to tag myself I just type @devilinthedetails.

    Whenever you tag a user, they should get a notification in their alerts that you have mentioned them in a particular post so they can check out your post if they want to.

    You can know that you tagged someone properly if their username appears in blue in your post.

    Hope this helps!
     
  18. Grievous2003

    Grievous2003 Jedi Knight star 1

    Registered:
    Jan 31, 2019
    So a thought occurred to after looking at the Season 3 finale of The Mandalorian. Moff Gideon was able to create Force-sensitive clones of himself using Grogu's blood and combining it with his own DNA. I found this interesting because it involves a non-Force-sensitive being becoming Force-sensitive. It made me think back to General Grievous and how in Legends when he was turned into a cyborg, Count Dooku used a blood transfusion from the frozen body of Sifo-Dyas to keep him alive. While Sifo-Dyas midochlorian rich blood kept Grievous alive, it did not grant him any Force powers. However, Grievous' original reconstruction was retconned and I am sure Sifo-Dyas had nothing to do with it considering how the circumstances of his death changed in The Clone Wars. Since Gideon was able to make his clones Force-sensitive with Grogu's blood, could a blood transfusion from a Jedi like the one Grievous experienced make one Force-sensitive in the new canon?

    Before you say anything, you are probably going to think "If it was that so easy why hasn't countless other people done it?" Well for starters, at the end of the Old Republic there were around 10,000 Jedi in a galaxy of trillions of people so they were not all that common. In addition, getting the blood of a Jedi would be no easy task as Dooku stated no ordinary man could defeat one trained in the Jedi arts. It may be that special technology would be needed to make it happen rather then just sticking a needle in your arm and pumping yourself with Jedi blood. It is reasonable to wonder if it was possible to obtain Force powers this way then why didn't Gideon use it on himself. Thinking on it, maybe he didn't have enough blood for a transfusion on himself since Grogu was very small and Grievous on the other hand would have access to the entire body of a normal sized being in Sifo-Dyas. Then again, when I was looking into details of Dr. Pershing's work on cloning, he was able to isolate specific traits of a person's DNA which is how Gideon was able to isolate the trait that made Grogu Force-sensitive and apply it to his clones. Since people are always saying that people have to be born with the Force and cloning is a manmade version of birth, maybe it would work with clones because you are essentially starting from scratch but not in the case of people already born.
     
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  19. Mechalich

    Mechalich Jedi Grand Master star 4

    Registered:
    Feb 2, 2010
    Interpreted through the lens of biology, midichlorians are an endosymbiotic organelle, like mitochondria, except instead of powering metabolism, the power connection to the Force. As such, a blood transfusion from a Force-sensitive would temporarily dump a large amount of midichlorians into the body. However, red blood cells are only a portion of all cells in the body (admittedly a large portion, but they are individually small and might have fewer midichlorians per cell than other types) so the impact would be averaged down, and this would be an extremely temporary effect, since red blood cells do not reproduce themselves but are instead produced by the bone marrow and are recycled after around 100 days. As such, it might be hypothetically possible to 'juice up' Force strength in this way (in the same way that blood transfusions are used as part of a doping regimen by some athletes to increase blood cell concentration within their bodies), but it would not be permanent.

    In order to induce Force sensitivity, you need to adjust the germ line cells such that they accommodate midichlorians and continue to produce them as an embryo divides and grows. Traditionally organelles are only inherited through the female line - because sperm lack the ability to carry them - but the Force is heritable through both male and female parents, so apparently midichlorians break that rule (maybe they cling to the surface of sperm or something). It is also probable that the midichlorians react with nuclear DNA in some fashion in a manner that fosters Force sensitivity. Such as a gene complex that encodes for shuttling increased intracellular resources to the midichlorians so that they can multiply within the cell, which is similar to how mitochondrial density varies between different cell types (your muscles have more than your bones, for example). That may have been the genetic sequence that Pershing was working on.

    It's worth noting that genetic manipulation of the Force is notoriously erratic. The Force, for lack of a better interpretation, has plans of its own and does not like being manipulated by mere mortals. So, while it is possible to produce Force sensitive clones - something with a pedigree going all the way back to Heir to the Empire - there are usually consequences, such as mental instability and weird mutations.
     
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  20. Taylor Neir

    Taylor Neir Jedi Master star 4

    Registered:
    May 26, 2022
    Mod edit: Promoting fics / soliciting comments is not allowed. Please see our promoting rules. If you are looking for a beta reader to go over your fic before posting, the place to post is our Beta Readers’ Index.
     
    Last edited by a moderator: May 11, 2023
  21. Grievous2003

    Grievous2003 Jedi Knight star 1

    Registered:
    Jan 31, 2019
    This is something that I have thought about on and off before. In The Clone Wars movie, we see that Ziro the Hutt has battle droids guarding his palace. I am wondering why are battle droids even though. It would make sense if Ziro was working with the Separatists that they would supply him with battle droids, but I feel it would be too risky if someone saw them. The galaxy was in the middle of an all-out war, so if someone on the Republic capital saw Separatist battle droids there they would likely lose their heads. I don't think Ziro would want battle droids parading around his palace for the risk of arousing suspicion of his ties to the Separatists. I feel the writers put battle droids in Ziro's palace for two reasons:

    1.) They needed droids that were stupid enough to turn on Padme's ComLink so that she could alert C-3PO for help.
    2.) When the clones came to rescue Padme, they would be fighting weaker droids so that they wouldn't suffer any casualties that would put any kind of damper on the situation.

    Up until Padme was locked up in the dungeon, Ziro's security was made up entirely of assassin droids. During the shootout where Padme is rescued, there was only one assassin droid fighting that ended up getting taken out by Padme's sneak attack even though we know Ziro has more. I feel there should have been no battle droids at Ziro's palace and it should've just been assassin droids guarding it. How do you think the story would have gone under such circumstances?

    Would the assassin droids would not have been stupid enough to turn on Padme's ComLink for her to alert for help? Although commando droids are superior to normal droids, they still fell for the clones' trick to let them into the Rishi Moon base with a droid head. However, it was the assassin droid that smashed Padme's Comlink to cut off the transmission. If they didn't turn it on, how would Padme call for help or would she be able to?

    If a clone squad came bursting into Ziro's palace and faced a whole group of assassin droids, how do you think it would have gone down? Obviously the clones would suffer some casualties, but would they overcome the assassin droids? We saw these droids were skilled enough to fight Anakin and Ahsoka with their bare hands. This is also similar to the battle at the Rishi Moon outpost where clones fought a squad of commando droids, during which the droids won the first round but the clones returned and retook the base (with a little help from plot armor). Are assassin droids superior to commando droids? They are both strong individually as Cad Bane utilized both when he took the Senate hostage.

    What are your thoughts on this scenario?
     
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  22. Grievous2003

    Grievous2003 Jedi Knight star 1

    Registered:
    Jan 31, 2019
    So a few thoughts occurred to me when I was thinking about this.

    1.) In The Clone Wars movie after Padme alerts C-3PO that she has been captured, she is taken to Ziro to be executed and then C-3PO and the clones arrive just in time to save her. Thinking on this, this should not have been possible. It is implied that Padme was taken straight from the dungeon to Ziro right after she alerted C-3PO. There is no way that C-3PO would have had a enough time to alert the Republic military, have them organize a rescue party, and travel all the way to Ziro's palace to rescue Padme at the last minute. If they were just taking Padme from the dungeons to Ziro, she should have been dead long before the clones arrived. So in order for this to work, I'd figured that Padme could inform C-3PO where she was going and if she didn't respond at a specific time to call for help. Something similar to this happened in 2003 Clone Wars show when Yoda and Padme travelled to Illum to save Luminara and Barriss. Yoda told Padme he would call her if he needed help, but then Padme got worried after not hearing from him so she went out to find him. The only difference her is that Padme was initially not going on a rescue mission but a diplomatic mission to convince Ziro to help the Republic. At the time before she left, she did not know that Ziro was working with Dooku so I am not sure if the stakes would have been as high so as to tell C-3PO to call for help if she didn't return. Then again, she knew she was going to be dealing with the Hutts who were vile criminals not to be trifled with so it would have been smart to take precautions.

    2.) I feel the clones stormed Ziro's palace way too easily. Its like Ziro didn't have any security to alert him that they were under attack and that the clones just walked right through the front door with no opposition. I feel it should have been more like when Maul and the Death Watch attacked the Hutt's base on Nal Hutta in that they actually had to fight their way through the defenses to get to the main room. I am also wondering if under such circumstances Ziro would have been able to escape if he was aware that they were under attack. Most of the Hutts were able to escape the Nal Hutta attack, although they were all captured when Maul attacked Jabba's palace. Whether or not Ziro escapes is important because it was his confession that Padme forced out of him that prevented Jabba from killing Anakin and Ahsoka, whom he still believed kidnapped his son, and allowing for an alliance to be made between the Republic and the Hutts. If Ziro escapes, they would still be unable to convince Jabba of the Jedi's innocence even if the clones did rescue Padme.

    What are your thoughts on this?
     
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  23. Chyntuck

    Chyntuck Force Ghost star 5

    Registered:
    Jul 11, 2014
    Does anyone have a good Star Wars equivalent of "in for a penny, in for a pound"? I saw a great one at some point, but I can't even remember if it was in fanfic or in profic, so I can't go looking for it.
     
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  24. WarmNyota_SweetAyesha

    WarmNyota_SweetAyesha Chosen One star 8

    Registered:
    Aug 31, 2004
    I am wanting to start a short story involving the Dark Academy events and Luke and Mara and wanted input on the following:

    • How does Mara help Luke navigate the murky waters of starting an Academy and help his students avert their pitfalls?

    • How can this naturally lead to jumpstarting their romance? ;)

    • I want Kyp to have a crisis point but I'm not sure if I want it to involve the entire Exar Kun thing. :p

    I will also bring in my original character Sevrina Bendal who eventually down the road ends up with Kyp as an OTP.

    Thanks.
     
    Last edited: Jun 20, 2023
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  25. UltramassiveUbersue

    UltramassiveUbersue Jedi Knight star 3

    Registered:
    Nov 7, 2022
    @WarmNyota_SweetAyesha
    As a general tip, when I'm having trouble figuring out how to make an event happen, I think of exactly what I don't want to happen and start from there. It's a different type of creative process, sometimes akin to panic. :D

    I think the first thing to figure out is where exactly Mara is at this point in her life. Has she made peace with her past, or is she still processing the fact that she spent the first two decades of her life serving evil? Does Luke's academy trigger bad memories or conditioned responses? Does her childhood trauma interfere with her ability to relate with and attach to people, and if so, does she tend to avoid emotional intimacy, or is she ambivalent?

    What is happening with Luke? Is he emotionally open with Mara and eager to help her heal, or has he closed himself off? For instance, he may have decided that he should live a celibate life in order to keep his focus on his priorities. Or he may be still hurt from a previous heartbreak. Or he might believe that teaching Mara and being her lover is an unequal and problematic power dynamic, especially if he perceives her as emotionally vulnerable. Does he try to conceal the fact that he is attracted to her, or is he unaware of her feelings and assuming that expressing his own would be inappropriate and unwanted?

    I would also consider things like how Mara feels around children. Does she take this as an opportunity to live the childhood she couldn't have vicariously through them? Or does she feel awkward and incompetent and possibly afraid of harming them because her only model for caregiving was severely abusive?

    Is Mara afraid of failing or disappointing Luke, or is she annoyed that he is inflexible in how he does things and not open enough to her input? Does Mara feel detached and insignificant? Does Luke worry that he is not rising to the challenge of training a new generation of Jedi?

    All of this will affect how they approach problems and how effectively they work together as a team.

    Every conflict is an opportunity to bring them closer together, no matter what it is about on the surface.

    Well I'm obviously a big fan of trauma (lol), so I'd look at how his life up until this point is affecting his ability to function and relate to others. He lost his parents, and he literally lived in a cave for years; he my have an easily triggered fear of abandonment, feel ashamed and demoralized with the idea that he is too weird to relate to others, or he may have destructive impulses or difficulty regulating his emotions. With all of this in mind, even a minor misunderstanding could feel catastrophic for him. I'm inclined to think that he has a persistent fear of being kicked out of the Jedi Academy or something bad happening to Han or Leia or Luke. Something as simple as one of the Solo kids getting injured while he is tasked with looking after them could be enough to start a huge crisis in his mind.

    What's she like? How is her experience similar to Kyp's and how is it different? Do they connect right away and feel like they understand each other, or are they baffled by each other's behaviour? How much emotional growth do they need in order to have a healthy relationship, and what do they have to do as individuals to get there?

    Anyway, I hope all of that helps somewhat. :)