Discussion The Scribble Pad (Fanfic Writing Discussions)

Thank you, @Findswoman .

For the advice, and for identifying Talos.

 

Thanks. I'm thinking what I might do is start a new thread for this episodic-serial hybrid series (originally I was just going to use my MMM story thread, but I don't think that's the best idea) and save the first post for a bit of an explanation and an index (maybe your idea of two indexes?) and write almost like a "pilot" vignette to start it off with a firm introduction one character and the AU circumstances, then post the story I have already written where the two main characters meet. Hopefully I'll have time to set this up and write it all before the OTP challenge is due, and I'm on a 2 week semester break so I think I can accomplish it.

 

What would make you stop writing fanfiction altogether?

 

Hoping this is a VERY rhetorical question.

I don't think anything can make me stop; As soon as I think I've run out of ideas, a wonderful challenge comes along and sparks something And the amazing Mira_Jade has gotten me fascinated with back-stories etc., so that's also a great reservoir of plot bunnies

 

Being contracted as an official SW writer with my works turned into official stories.
Cause than it techincally wouldn't be fanfiction anymore.

 

Interesting question!

I used to think "no way I'd ever write fanfic that wasn't Star Wars" and "no way would the muse bite for mainly OCs"... cue to 2017 and 2018 when I wrote a 50,000 word West Wing diary followed by over 180,000 words(!) worth of vignettes and short stories using mainly OCs in that fandom. The muse is seemingly dipping its toe back into Star Wars (though it is still very much OC based and I still love writing WW).

So, I guess my short answer is, I really don't know, and, of course, never say never. Like with any hobby, I don't know where my interests will lie in 5 years. Heck, I don't know what my life will look like at the end of this year when I'm finished my MA. In my time here, and I'm sure you've seen the same, I've seen many people come and go... then come back again, then go. Sometimes it's really just Darth Real Life, other times it's the changes in the fandom, or the muse just dries up. Often it's a combination. I've had lulls in my muse for all 3 reasons. And, I'm kinda ashamed to admit (because I always say don't let external fandom-related factors dictate what you write) after Disney's atomic bomb on the EU in 2014, my muse really suffered for awhile and I've never really enjoyed writing much of what I used to write (Luke/Mare, Ben), but 2014 was a year of big changes for me, so other factors were likely at play. And, while I do enjoy some of the new-legends stuff (TFA, Rebels, R1) none of it really inspired my muse... but that's a completely separate discussion.

Anyways. Do I see myself always writing fanfic? No. And I do eventually want to dip my feet (back) in original fiction [I've recently discovered Wattpad, a writing website much like fanfic websites (and it does have a fanfic section but it seems to mostly be original content) where you can post stories and people comment on them, so it's sharing your work without the headache/pressure of trying to publish/self-publish. Anyways...]. And original content seems to be my next step in my progression from "high EC content/highly established world dependant (ie Jedi)" to stuff I could easily translate or get inspiration to convert to 100% original stuff. But is that going to happen in the near future? I don't think so, not unless genius hits me. I'm having fun where I am.

And that was a very long, blabbery reply (I'm bored and on a semester break, can't you tell ).

 

Very good question. I have no idea. I have taken absences and later returned. I have enjoyed writing creatively since I was a kid. There was that Indian Jones story I had wrote around age 13, but I did not enter ff officially until joining this site in 2005. At the time, and for years to follow, I never thought I would write outside of SW either. I lacked the confidence(familiarity and history) with other fandoms that I had with SW. Little by little, I branched have had a great time with Star Trek:2009, Castle, and Stranger Things. Even a little Doctor Who.

I think there always be some new fandom to discovery that may spark the creative engine. The only thing that might make me stop is some major RL change that either makes it impossible or forces me to make a choice. It has yet to come to that.

 

What would make you stop writing fanfiction altogether?

Great questions! And there have been some great answers!

I don't think there is much that would make me do it, but I could see it happening. One thing that might make one quit is to have original works published, you might not be allowed by contract. But for me, that would mean going back to trying to write original works (which I would like to do, I've just not done it in awhile). But DRL can be tricky, and muses finicky, both have been a problem for me recently, but I still very much enjoy it when I can, so I'm not going to stop now.

 

+ Findswoman Good answer. I'd hoped to receive lots of food for thought asking it, explained below.
+ WarmNyota_SweetAyesha Yup, let's hear it for synergy!
+ Anedon Wow, love the logic!! Wouldn't that be a wonderful happenstance ...
+ Briannakin The lure of writing original fiction is sure something valid as a reason to drop fanfiction from one's writing.
+ brodiew Fandom is comfy in one facet of it, then there comes another movie or TV show or book to tempt. We explore as part of the human condition *gets cosmic*
+ mavjade I like the "tricky DRL" part in particular.

I've no plans to quit this marvelous part of my day's activities! It was more a matter of running down personal reasons why, like the tide, writing fanfic ebbed and flowed, and curiosity over others' thoughts. Some answers from me:

1. RL included family responsibilities so heavy they squashed the muse
2. Mechanical difficulties! After scribbling on yellow legal pads from age 16, I do love me my laptop.
3. Loss of internet for more than a month without input from fellow fans *barring attending a convention or something*
4. Writing involves lots of sitting, so I get tired of sitting

Answers that I'd considered happening to other folks:

1. Being Jossed. Yeah, that darn canon changed and now, well, my fandom just isn't the same ...
2. Original fiction exploding into reality! No canon to hew to, just worldbuilding like crazy if fantasy based original writing, or research into earthly data if not
3. Muse picks up its marbles and goes home
4. I dunno, reading sounds easier than writing? Lurking without commentary?

EAD 031719: Just now occurring thought: I'm pleased with those who replied and also with myself, in that none of us said they'd quit fanfiction for receiving a flame review! Excelsior, writers!

 

Me?
- I'm at a stage of life where sitting down to write is kind of tricky. Where do I sneak in an hour of writing fan fiction without anyone looking over my shoulder?
- Energy levels.
- Distractions. New obsessions.
-"Oh this is awful. Awful! Why am I doing this?"

 

Excellent topic. [in anticipation of tomorrow]

(a) I felt awkward when Youngest introduced me to his college friend: "This is my mom. She writes fanfiction." College Friend shared with me that he read fanfiction and we chatted before Youngest and Friend left for some activity.

(b) It was beyond neat when LJ Friend, who'd read a long story on first publication ten years ago, wished to reread! Upon being asked some details and how the story ended, I creaked open the door of old friends long gone and answered. She is an author with the same specialty. What blew me away is that we connect maybe every two years or so.

 

Whoo boy. I was just thinking of this. Usually when I write, I’m by myself. I’m so self-conscious about it that I just can’t write when anyone is around me. I don’t show my work to anyone outside of these boards. My sister used to read my stuff but she hasn’t in years. My husband & kids aren’t interested. I don’t tell anyone that I write fan fiction- even my best friend doesn’t know. Because I work with teachers who read (*sniff*) real literature (*sniff*) I know they would think it’s weird. Most of them look down at fan fiction as not “real” writing; some even forbid their students from writing fanfic in creative writing class. Bottom line, almost nobody beside my immediate family knows that I write fan fiction, and none of them have read a word of it. That’s why this community is so important to me.

 

My parents aren´t intrested in my writing at all, which sometimes makes me a little sad but given that they don´t know or care about SW in generally its understandable, I guess. With people I know more it kinda depends on how much they know about and are intrested in SW and the EU. A good friend of mine is very intrested but as she hates the english since school she usually requests me telling her what happens in the new chapter or has me read it to her while translating. My best friend is also somewhat intrested though the generally serious character focused tone of my stories isn´t really his alley.
With these two I´ve also included some of my fanfiction, fanon, stuff into the RPGs we played so they generally know about it, though none of them really reads the stories I write.

So I defenetly agree with @divapilot that it is great and important to me to have this community here.

 

I'm generally going to echo @divapilot here. I don't show my work (even my original stuff - Mom keeps asking because she knows I write and I'M LIKE OH GOD, MOTHER, NOOOO) to anyone outside the internet realm. First because I've been so self-conscious of my writing - that's not so bad now that I've Improved as a writer, but definitely in my early days, but I still don't show people or let people know I do this as a hobby. Part of that is simply because I'm a private person, added on to that, fanfic is my escapism; some people I know watch melodramatic shows as their guilty pleasure/escapism, some write fanfic. And I like the freedom of anonymity that comes with writing for myself/strangers on the internet. If I want to write something that maybe isn't my best quality of work, but was fun to write and relaxed me, I know you all aren't going to judge because you all have done the exact same thing.

Some of my friends do know I write (or have written, not sure if they know I still do), because I started in high school/early university and they themselves also wrote. We didn't really share, just for similar reasons @Anedon kinda got at, they wrote Harry Potter and didn't really know much about the EU and I'm not the biggest into HP. (And, well, these days I can't even convince them to watch the pilot episode of The West Wing and I think they no longer write much themselves).

The only person in my family who knows I write fanfic is my sister, mostly because she got really into a Mass Effect fanfic story a few years ago. We got talking about it and I paraphrased a quote in a Time article on fanfic, basically when someone messes around on a guitar - either just learning it and/or as a hobby - their probably not going to dive right into original compositions, they're going to play Smoke on the Water or Simon and Garfunkel; fanfic is basically like that. She really understood and got that analogy

 

I think ideally sharing writing with family/friends would be great if they were into SW, but it wouldn't be easy since I'm also kind of a private person. Ultimately, if it wasn't for this wonderful and supportive fanfic community here, I wouldn't be sharing any SW stories at all.

 

Echoing all the above posters. I find this community fantastically supportive and the interactive format for leaving reviews is way better than other fan sites IMO. So even though I tell others I'm into SW and have found a terrific fan site, I don't necessarily mention my own writing endeavors However, if they asked, I would definitely brag on some of the other authors whose writing quality is undeniable.

 

My husband says he likes reading my fics, but he really only likes my recent foray into NSFW fics. He's just not interested in my SW fics, maybe it's because they're more about relationships, not action/adventure or NSFW and frankly he keeps acting like I'm wasting my time if I'm writing something he's not interested in.

It's a bit frustrating, and really, the reason I sought out a community like this, because I wanted some feedback on my existing fics and a place to put the future ones I wanted to write.

 

And I'm glad you did!

A fellow author's husband strongly encouraged her "not to waste her time" writing fanfic and make money off original fic instead. She tried that for awhile and didn't get too far with it before quitting and returning to fanfic. Their circumstances were financially good and the whole thing seemed to flummox her muse because she published about two more shortish fics and then quit writing, at least as far as I know. Let's hope she's writing drawerfic for her own pleasure, at least.

 

Great topic Finds!

My initial feeling to the question was no I don't share with people that I write fanfic, but as I thought about it, that's not true. My husband knows and I talk about it with decent frequency. But he knew long before we started dating and was the one who introduced me to Shelly Shapiro (Editor At Large at Del Rey) as a fanfic mod and I was mortified. But she was lovely and said she loved fanfic, she just couldn't read any. My parents know, my mom loves it because when I started writing fanfic things I struggled with a lot (spelling, gramar, etc.) improved a significant amount. (I mean, I'm still terrible, but it is better.) And at least two of my closest friends know and we've talked about it.

Also, I have quite a few friends IRL from here on the boards (we had a whole table of JCers at our wedding and a few people couldn't come) so there's no escaping it there. A few of them have written fanfic in the past, and one of them even used to be a fanfic mod.

But none of those people read my fanfic, at least as far as I know. I'm way too self conscious about my writing. I think I'd feel that was about original things even if they were published. I do sometimes bounce ideas off dp, though.

A few people at work know I'm a huge nerd and that dp and I met at a Celebration, but they don't know I write fanfic, nor do I think I'd share that with them. That might be a bit too much nerd to let out at work.

This annoys the ever loving crap out of me. In my opinion, people like that are stifling creativity and may be doing lasting damage to some kids. As I said above, fanfic has helped me in so many ways, if I'd had a teacher who'd made fanfic sound shameful.... I honestly don't even want to think about it.

 

We had a Japanese exchange student a few years back. Constantly tapping away on her phone. My daughter told me she was writing fan-fiction for some obscure cartoon series that I'd never heard of.

I know there was no chance she'd show a big old white guy dad what she wrote, and it was in Japanese Kanji anyway, but I was pretty damn curious about it. I would have loved it read it.

Alot of it is in our own heads.
We feel the twinge of embarassment, far more than the observers do. They know you are a nerd. They've already adapted to that.

My wife now calmly accepts it when she asks "What are you doing?" and I reply "I'm building a Gundam", and show her my half assembled giant robot.

 

Not sure if you are referencing the author I know about, but I'm aware of a similar story. I think if you do have the courage to share your work with people in your RL don't like it because they don't like the genre or the fandom, that's totally fine; people have different interests. But to try to dissuade you from doing what you enjoy is a sign of other issues, in my opinion.

I've also seen my spelling, grammar, story structure, word usage, etc, improve so much due to writing fanfic (I mean, yeah, I'm still pretty bad, but I was horrendous before). Plus I've had to research a fair bit, especially for my West Wing stuff, and now I actually kinda know how the US government works (well, I know more than your typical Canadian) and more details on US history (thanks to WW and Hamilton fics). So, yeah, I also don't get why it is so looked down upon by some teachers. If a teen wants to write fanfic, let them! I'm pretty lucky (in that regard) that my English education was extremely lacking so the topic of fanfic was never breeched, which might have been a good thing.

I totally agree. For example my other hobby is quilting but the majority of the time, said quilts and other projects either remain with me or stay in the family, because I CAN SPOT EVERY SINGLE MISTAKE. Meanwhile other people are just amazed. I think most of my family and friends would be amazed that I've written 200k words in the setting of the White House, but at the same time really not all that surprised because I am a political science nerd.

 

There are some people who know I write fanfic, but I don't really talk about it.

 

I hear you. I find it easier to talk about writing copy than writing fanfic because writing for money is more understandable. *gets cosmic* But not as much fun, when money comes into play.