Discussion The Scribble Pad (Fanfic Writing Discussions)

I used a thesaurus within the last month to find words that I couldn’t remember how to spell so I was looking for them that way and to try to spice up when characters were talking to add more depth.

Some of my earlier fan fics I am quite fond of and others I am not fond of and there are ones that I cringe when reread them.


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Didn't have time to answer when the thesaurus question was posted because I was too busy looking up words for "calm". So yes, I search words all the time to vary them and try to get the right connotations. There's definitely something to be said for going with your first pick, but sometimes looking up synonyms gives you just the right word or phrase.

 

So, when writing do you guys have outright fancasts for your OCs? I´ve seen this really becoming a trend with official SW Authors lately, from Claudia Grey giving us her choices for every new human character in her stories, to Mike Chen even suggesting voice actors in case of the nonhuman characters.
Is that something you guys do? Or do you created your characters completly within your head?

 

I fancast while reading any piece of fiction, let alone fics I have a weak imagination when it comes to characters, so just slot in characters from games or films that best match the descriptions.

 

I kinda developed quite a list by now... for my characters (and one established charakter) at least:
Ulrika Grau-Ruby Rose
Elena Kyr-Brianna Venskus
Ilona Malek-Ginnifer Goodwin
Ethan Malek-Viggo Mortensen
Victor Laric-Stephen Dillane
Corvey Adrimetrum-Tara Fiztgerald
Kaiya Adrimetrum-Cari Lowell
The Regent/Maximillian Palpatine-Peter Capaldi
But for most of them, the character actually existed for quite a while before I had an idea for an actor/actress. Some suggestions even came from my friends and I incorporated them because I felt "yeah, that fits"

 

When you're writing, what kind of stories do you write? Lots of little ones with lots of ideas, or a few big ones? Heavy on OC's, or mostly Cannon characters? Official universe, or lots of AU's? I'm of the "few ideas, but can turn out very long" variety, and can't really work from prompts. How about you?

 

I’ve been doing a lot of writing in recent months. About three weeks ago I started outlining a story that I got inspired to write while dreaming.

I’ve been writing fiction since I was a child, but often my biggest challenge is leaving my works unfinished. I’ve recently discovered that the key to combatting this is to outline the story from start to finish.

Having such an outline means that the tale is fully envisioned and has a clearly defined structure. The few stories I’ve finished have all been visualized through this.

This latest story is has a number of original characters and I’ve been learning a lot about defining character traits, interacting and exposition. In one of the upcoming chapters, I’m going to have a drastic POV shift and I’m still working out the mechanics of how that will work.

The more I write, the more I realize how it truly is a form of art. Like other forms of art, there are different levels of refinement and complexity. I can see how my abilities have evolved over the years and I find that the more quality works I read, the more my own writing style improves.

I feel such an amazing sensation whenever I create fiction. It’s akin to what an artist feels when they paint a great portrait or what a sculptor feels when they create a wonderful bust. Writing is creation of a different sort.

I’ve come to realize that creativity is one humanity’s greatest gifts. We are all blessed with a unique spark of imagination and innovation, and it’s up to us to find a way to harness that gift and use it to make this world a brighter place.

 

This won't apply to Star Wars fics specifically*, but I'm curious nonetheless. While developing my current writing project (Gravity Falls) I stumbled onto the idea to set it in a defined, real place: Salem, Massachusetts. This was for a few reasons, starting with the autumnal vibes recently leading me towards a New England setting, since that classic Fall aesthetic is very pleasing. Once the general area was selected, I narrowed it down to something with historically 'supernatural' associations, ergo the Salem Witch Trials. This in turn has enhanced the thematic focus, allowing me to call back to the significant events of the past and draw new links, as well as lending an extra layer of verisimilitude. Researching the area helped develop a few more concepts and sprinkle in some local flavour.

So, my question is, how common is this kind of thing? Taking a known, real world location, and writing around that. In this instance it's really helped cohere things for me, despite never having been close to visiting Salem. The next challenge is to try and ensure my descriptions of the setting ring true, more to the 'idea' of the place than any lived-in experience. I've done this a few times before (living in the UK means any US based stories already have that additional layer to begin with), searching up places with added resonance and workshopping ideas around. I've also done it with places I've actually visited too (Venice for example), which is similar though slightly easier to describe given an inherent familiarity.

What I'm basically asking is do you guys work with real life places in your fics, and how does that shape your stories? Do you try to match reality or fudge the details and allow for creative justification (or the chance of any readers actually local to the places not analysing to that degree).



*(I suppose you could do it with Star Wars locations too, via a deep dive into Wookieepedia or selective rewatching, but I think the real world is distinct enough to ask about this, since you can only be so 'inaccurate' about a made-up society )

 

I’ve done this with some of my original works that take place in the real world. Some of the locations I’ve used include New York, Chicago, LA. With places like this, the locale is so well known that it’s pretty easy to research it and learn about the scenery.

My personal writing style is to research as much as possible so as to create an authentic reading experience. This includes reading about Italian desserts, coffees, and pasta. Researching full ride scholarships and how they work.

To answer the question, I try to incorporate real details while controlling the details that are within my power. The weather, the bystanders, freak events and the like. Google Earth is very useful in providing real-life images of these places and it’s actually quite entertaining to read about these locations. Makes the writing process educational in its own way.

 

That's interesting to me, since none of my readers have ever commented on those kinds of details before (usually general praise or discussion of character beats dominate). I'm not about to stop including real-life detail, because that level of realism both pleases me and tends to make my works more thematically coherent and textured, but it's interesting that it simply tends not to be something those dedicated enough to comment focus on.

Glad to hear your take on the topic though I think the time I was most inspired to write anything was a fic I did based around a non-fiction book I read called 'The Phantom Atlas', about anomalies and illustrations on ancient maps. In a matter of days I had a fully formed story built on the influence of the book, that led to more exciting and varied action scenarios, a solid mystery hook, and even some emotional content in the last act. When you find a source that really hits you in the right spot it can be an incredible aid to your writing.

Ironically though it's probably my least-read fic I've done, no comments at all even, which is a shame since it was the most fun thing to write I've ever done

 

I’m glad to hear I’m not the only author who does this. Sometimes there’s a synonym that I’ve never even heard of that ends up fitting perfectly into the sentence.

 

I wouldn't say I base anything around particular real-life places, but I take elements of places and research geology, meteorology, etc until I have a good idea of how the logic of the environment works. I mean, any excuse to do a Wikipedia deep dive into groundwater flow patterns at 3:00am, right?

*looks at time*
*sighs wearily*

 

I have been curious about the natural world since childhood, and over time learned things about the components that go into this complex system around us called the universe. As I favor science-fiction to sword-and-sorcery fantasy, I use that knowledge to construct settings or environments in my writing to generate plausibility. For example, I called the Stygian Caldera an absorption nebula to match what the Essential Atlas and Wook has provided. I then work out from that foundation when I need details or plot devices.

Therefore, I try to match physical realities (e.g., why can't—what reasons are there for—a galactic-savvy community not finding Planet_X? How would a military task force move into planetary orbit as a unit? How would Alien_X associate with a doorknob). I extend this to the force, which I see as a natural phenomenon even as characters will treat it as a religious object.

That I follow the Christian lifestyle, I do believe in the supernatural (in that supernatural is something not explained by natural law or acceptable to a prevailing theory). This may be off the spirit of these questions, but I felt it was needed given my proclivity towards science. My lifestyle and my education both might be evidenced in shaping my stories: I do not condone visiting violence on a people because they are of a different culture, religion, ethnicity, lifestyle, etcetera; or that they follow a particular political solution. This might shape the atmospheres in which my stories take place.

 

I'm not looking for responses to this post, I just need to vent for a minute.

You know that feeling when you do something and then completely, utterly regret it?

I started posting a fic on AO3 a couple of years ago and didn't finish it until last year. By the time I actually posted the last chapter I hated the fic and how it turned out but I wasn't capable of doing any better and I really wanted to finish something.

It got some nice comments and kudos and even some bookmarks when I originally posted it and when I updated it, but I hated seeing it. I hated the feeling of failure it gave me because it didn't turn out the way I pictured in my mind, the way I wanted it to. I tried making it anonymous and just ignoring it, but I knew it was still there. So I deleted it.

And now, almost a year after I posted that last chapter and several months after deleting the whole thing, I really wish I'd kept it up, even just anonymously. I delete crap all the time, and it doesn't usually bother me, but this one does.

At least I've learned a lesson from it all. If you don't write and post stories you don't have to worry about deleting them later.

 

I know you're not looking for responses but maybe some insight because I also deal with the You know that feeling when you do something and then completely, utterly regret it™ feeling. I don't know if this is a feature in AO3, but I wonder if there's some way you can select "View" or "Not available for viewing" if you have any hesitancy posting a story so that instead of deleting it, you can simply select that option and decide when you feel you are happy with it to share with the Internet again.

But yeah, there are multiple things I want to delete because I don't like how it turned out anymore, but I'm also incredibly lazy and it's too much of an effort to delete the entire story so I'm mostly like "meh whatever, let it haunt the great Internets"

And also you can totally write and just not post it, or you can write it and post it and delete it later, presuming you have a backup copy on your computer somewhere so when you're ready again you can repost it.

Anyways yeah, sorry I gave a response but I'm also venting or something myself maybe. I don't know

 

Sorry for the double post, but I kind of have a question because I'm trying to write a thing after finally having some inspiration to write a thing.

Has anyone ever done a crossover or has suggestions how to make a crossover/elements of a crossover between two different fandoms that is somewhat coherent but not entirely stupid? The thing I have in mind is of course a crack!fic but I don't want it to be OOC and it's kind of supposed to be like, "this could MAYBE happen if given the correct circumstances" instead of "this is actually pretty unrealistic and so and so would never say that, etc, so it's all wrong, etc."

Anyways, as you can tell, I kind of forgot how to write a fanfic at this point so any suggestions from experience to be above would be appreciated!

 

I wrote a Trek/Wars crossover for a Dare Challenge. It was maybe a little bit crack, but I think I kept all the Main Characters in character. Which I was honestly pretty pleased about because I'd actually never written Mace Windu before.

 

I'm not sure I understand the question, but there is a crossover discussion thread: Crossover Writers Support Group. Many writers here have written crossovers.

 

I also have a Trek/Wars idea in mind but I'm terrified of getting the Trek characters wrong since Trek is kind of not my expertise.

This is actually probably what I was looking for! Thank you!

 

My resolution is to try not to take months in between updates.

And also draw and write better, but not that much better.

 

My resolution is to finally post a new fanfic I've been thinking about (yes, thinking about, not even bothering to write it) for the last year.

Annnddd to read more stories.