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When writing fan fic, do you just pay attention to movieverse facts & characters or EU as well?

Discussion in 'Fan Fiction and Writing Resource' started by spiritgurl, Dec 13, 2003.

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When writing fan fic, do you just pay attention to movieverse facts & characters or EU as well?

Poll closed Mar 25, 2012.
  1. I worry about facts in the movieverse only

    13.8%
  2. I use a mix of movieverse and expanded universe facts and characters

    62.3%
  3. I mostly use Expanded Universe facts and characters

    11.5%
  4. I prefer to write alternate universe fics.

    12.3%
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  1. spiritgurl

    spiritgurl Jedi Padawan star 4

    Registered:
    Jul 6, 2003
  2. spiritgurl

    spiritgurl Jedi Padawan star 4

    Registered:
    Jul 6, 2003
    To explain a bit more about the poll: I was just curious about this because there is just SO MUCH to the Expanded Universe of Star Wars it seems like it would be very difficult to write something that totally blends into it seemlessly, without having basically read every SW book/comic ever written. And who has time to do that?

    Like with the story I'm currently working on, I decided up front I would just worry about blending it into the movieverse but then occationally I think of a character I'd like to use, see the expanded universe info on them, and think - well that won't work for this. :p And so I start to struggle with whether or not I should just rewrite an expanded universe character/detail and not worry about it or if I should create more new characters entirely. What does everybody else do?

    sg
     
  3. InyriForge

    InyriForge Jedi Master star 5

    Registered:
    Jan 24, 2002
    See, for me, it's the exact opposite. I care more that what I write fits in with the stuff I've read in the EU than the stuff from the movies. I write with primarily EU characters, though, so it's more important for me to make sure the facts from the novels that feature those characters are accurate. With exception to the fab four, the movie characters only make cameos in my fics.

    If I need a character for a specific function, and there isn't one that fits, I make one up instead of changing something about an existing character. That way, I have total freedom to do what I want with the character. *shrugs*

    ~Inyri
     
  4. Cheveyo

    Cheveyo Jedi Grand Master star 5

    Registered:
    Oct 29, 2001
    For myself, I feel like I'm not doing the story (or the GFFA) justice if I can't fit it seemlessly into the established universe. I try to do as much research as possible on the timeframe surrounding the fanfic (what's happening in the galaxy, what's been done up to now, and what/who has yet to be introduced). IMO, that really adds to the credibility of the story.

    If it's done well, all that research work is proven worthy when a reader is able to finish the story without any 'jolts' out of the continuity.

    I'm working on a fanfic right now that offers a cameo appearance by Eelysa at Luke's Jedi praxeum. Very little is known about this character, whom--you may know from NJO--trained the Barabel, Saba Sebatyne, to be a Jedi. I hunted everywhere looking for tidbits of info on her: where she first appeared, what became of her, what she was like. Between the novel "The New Rebellion" (her first appearance) and the NJO books, as well as a brief bio at wizards.com, I was able (I hope) to write the already established character into the story in a believable manner.

     
  5. dianethx

    dianethx Jedi Grand Master star 6

    Registered:
    Mar 1, 2002
    Since I'm writing in the Saga with Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan, I try to get them as close as possible to the movie versions. I add in bits from the JA series but my main thrust is from the movies.
     
  6. Ty-gon Jinn

    Ty-gon Jinn Jedi Padawan star 4

    Registered:
    Jan 12, 2000
    I try not to contradict the EU, but I really have no basis for it. My experience with the EU is pretty much what I get from other fanfics; the only SW books I've ever read are the movie novelizations.

    I do, however, have a Star Wars dictionary, so I can consult some EU facts. Still, if I use canon characters, I'll rely on the movies for characterization (though, in all the fics I've written since my first pathetic attempt, the only canon characters I've ever given a voice to have been Yoda, Yarael Poof - who I didn't use much, since I didn't have much to go on - and Mon Mothma... No, I take that back. All the main characters had a bit part a while back).
     
  7. Darth_Tim

    Darth_Tim Jedi Master star 4

    Registered:
    Feb 26, 2002
    I do not hold most of the EU in very high esteem, so I only use bits and pieces when it suits my purposes. Sometimes it is handy to use an existing planet or species which already exists, rather than make up one of my own.

    -Tim
     
  8. Jedi_Liz

    Jedi_Liz Jedi Grand Master star 6

    Registered:
    Apr 24, 2000
    I write EU character stories, but I actually do more "Alternative universe" fics cause I ignore certain parts of the establishes expanded universe, such as Dark Empire or the Callista trilogy.

    In the near future, I'll be trying my hand at writing a fic set in the Saga era, but using a few EU characters here and there.
     
  9. _3MD_PsychoSniper

    _3MD_PsychoSniper Jedi Youngling star 4

    Registered:
    Oct 25, 2003
    I also do mainly AU fics, but since I Like the books up to the NJO (which was horribly written, and missed many facts like what happend to the E wing and K wings) so I have 2 of my 3 fics start right after the YJK series ends, they observe all EU cannon that takes place before them but what happens after is the AU part.
     
  10. spiritgurl

    spiritgurl Jedi Padawan star 4

    Registered:
    Jul 6, 2003
    Thanks for all the votes & opinions so far. Interesting...

    sg
     
  11. CrystalKenobi

    CrystalKenobi Jedi Master star 4

    Registered:
    Jul 31, 2003
    In my few stories I feel that if I just stayed with the movies etc, then I would end up writing basically the same thing as other people. Its easier for me to write using a mixture and to use a little bit of dreaming also. What do I mean by dreaming, I sometimes put a little bit of what I wish the character was like. If this makes any sense.
     
  12. Mistress_Renata

    Mistress_Renata Manager Emeritus star 5 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    Sep 9, 2000
    According to the EU, "Jedi can fly through the air like Superman!" Needless to say, I don't worry too much whether my stuff is consistent with the EU... :p
     
  13. Daughter_of_Yubyub

    Daughter_of_Yubyub Jedi Grand Master star 6

    Registered:
    Jul 8, 2002
    Mistress Renata :confused: Which book is that in?

    Anyway, I'm primarily an X-Wing writer, so obviously most of my work is EU based.

    YubYub and TG- Protecting fangirls from hormonally gifted fanboys since 2002
     
  14. CrystalKenobi

    CrystalKenobi Jedi Master star 4

    Registered:
    Jul 31, 2003
    In one of the Clone War cartoon chapters they had Obi-wan flying some I think.
     
  15. Knight-Ander

    Knight-Ander Jedi Padawan star 4

    Registered:
    Jul 19, 2002
    I use a little of both and make-up a few things when needed.
     
  16. Bobbacca

    Bobbacca Jedi Youngling star 2

    Registered:
    Apr 25, 2003
    I have a seperate AU timeline I use for anything taking place from Dark Journey on, but for anything before that, I try to stick with the established EU. All of my work takes place after RotJ, so the Bantam-era and NJO books are my main reference sources.
     
  17. JadeSolo

    JadeSolo Manager Emeritus star 6 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    Sep 20, 2002
    Unlocked and upped. :)
     
  18. BrightFeather

    BrightFeather Jedi Youngling star 3

    Registered:
    Nov 13, 2005
    I tend to do a bit of both AU and worrying about the movieverse facts... I try and be absolutely faithful to the movies... up to a point. And that point is wherever I've gotten a plot bunny from which a different story can emerge. I love the movieverse, but I just can't resist "what if" plot bunnies.
     
  19. RK_Striker_JK_5

    RK_Striker_JK_5 Force Ghost star 7

    Registered:
    Jul 2, 2003
    I make sure some basic facts are right, but for the most part, I write AUs. Only one fic of mine might be considered to be canon, and even then I doubt it.
     
  20. Inara

    Inara Jedi Master star 4

    Registered:
    Aug 30, 2005
    I try to stay as close to movieverse and EU canon as possible. I'm not fond of AUs, and they are very difficult for me to write because the entire time in my head, I am thinking, "But wait, it really happened this way."

    I started writing this epic fic right after I read TJK, and when TUQ came out, I actually incorporated as much of it as possible into my fic to keep the AUness as minimal as possible.
     
  21. Commander-DWH

    Commander-DWH Manager Emeritus star 4

    Registered:
    Nov 3, 2003
    Okay, so I'm this massive canon nerd, and I have been known to try to connect things 4,000+ years apart. I've read a ridiculous number of the novels, and I've watched the movies so many times, and I've played KOTOR so much... it all adds up.

    My one AU exception is a version of the prequels my friends and I started writing because we were fed up with Episodes I and II. It lands exactly where the OT starts, it just takes a different route to get there, with all the same characters. And I'm not gonna lie, I like our story. [face_blush] In fact, I'm starting to write the novelization of it, since the outline is burning a hole in my hard drive and begging to be written.
     
  22. oqidaun

    oqidaun Manager Emeritus star 5 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    Jul 20, 2005
    I'm also a canon nerd and while I find a lot of the EU to be lackluster, I do not tread the AU path--example, I would have loved to kill Poof, but the comic got him first. As additional references I use the Wizards of the Coast gaming books, especially Coruscant and the Core Worlds, The Jedi Sourcebook and the updated Alien Anthology. I also make use of the incredible cross-section series and the ultimate visual dictionaries. I'm always itching to put footnotes in my fics.
     
  23. JadeSolo

    JadeSolo Manager Emeritus star 6 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    Sep 20, 2002
    I'm always itching to put footnotes in my fics.

    Do it! Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell is full of them, I hear. As if the massive book doesn't already have enough content. :p

    I used to be very anal about working within the movies and EU. Now I find that it kind of restricts what I want to write. This happens especially if I want to throw in a few details but start worrying that it wouldn't work in the GFFA, that one character wouldn't be like this, and no character would do this... Gives me a headache, so I kind of ignore it. :p Plus, I start thinking about what would happen once the story or vig is done, how all the elements from the base storyline would fit in...gah.

    There are certainly parts of the EU and movies that I don't like. Usually, instead of making things AU or pretending they don't exist, I try to find other ways of explaining them. Like midichlorians. I do my damnedest to talk about the Force without referring to anything involving wee little things floating around in someone's cells. :p That way, the story makes sense, I don't feel the compulsion to explain everything that happens outside of the story, and I'm still satisfied with the end result.
     
  24. AlisonC

    AlisonC Jedi Padawan star 4

    Registered:
    Aug 27, 2005
    The section I go by primarily - movies or EU - depends on the fic. If I'm writing a story set in the Saga period (which applies to three fics, one of which is on this site) then I go by the movies first. For Beyond the Saga, the EU comes first. I try not to contradict the secondary source, but generally don't sweat it as long as there aren't any known bloopers.
     
  25. ZebulaNebula

    ZebulaNebula Jedi Master star 5

    Registered:
    Feb 10, 2005
    Almost exclusively EU characters: specifically the YJK bunch. And my stuff always goes AU at some point.
     
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