TOPIC: Essay on Writing/Reviewing Fanfiction

[Mad-Hamlet@xxxxxxx]

Greetings,
Before I became a part of this genre of Fanfiction I was part of the 
FFML. (Fan Fiction Mailing List.) This august body comprimises some of 
the _Best_ fanfiction to be found in the anime community. Also some of 
the worst.(Trust me on this, you've never heard of 'Oscar' and for 
that be..very...VERY thankful.)

One of the 'People to know' is a fanficer who goes by the non de 
plume,
'Allyn Yonge'.
We've conversed a few times and he has an incredible ability for 
detail, combat, martial arts and characterization that has to be seen 
to be believed. My personal favorite of his incredible metaphors is..
'The guards combined efforts to stop her was similar to throwing 
bunnies at a badger, irriating for the badger, kind of hard on the 
bunnies.'

Recently on the FFML he posted an essay on Critiquing and Writing 
fanfiction. Though all of his notes center around the Ranma 1/2 world 
of fanfiction a LOT of what he has to say can be universally applied. 
I thought it might fit in here. SO..let me repeat THIS IS NOT MY WORK!

Essay begins...
******************
Dear Listmembers,

Due to an inflamation of my left eye I can't spend
much time in front of the monitor. So, since I can't do much
individual C&C right now I thought I might send out this
essay I started a while ago. It covers most of the things
I talk about when I C&C so I'm hoping it will be useful.

(I'm also doing this because I get the feeling that
some people are taking my C&C much too seriously and too
personally. )

All of my comments should hold true for original as
well as fanfiction.

Anne McCaffrey is one of the best known and best
selling authors around. And I don't like most of her work.
I liked the first three " Pern" novels and I _loved_
"The Ship Who Sang.", but for the most part I find her
novels rather bland. I've got almost everything David Weber
has ever written, but I took "Marching Upcountry" back to
the store and got my money back. I thought it was a
boring and derivative piece of drivel.

As you can tell (I hope) criticism is VERY personal.
These are both well respected ,best selling authors and
I still find things I don't like. But very many people
(people with money to spend) disagree with me.

There are, to my mind, three(3) different kinds of C&C:
1)SELF: what do _you_ think of the story? The first and
most important critic lives inside your head. If you
enjoyed writing, if you're enthusiastic about what you're
doing, then nothing else matters. UNLESS you want it to.


2)PEER: What do other writers think of the story? If
Krista Perry or Joseph Palmer (for example) write and
tell you how much they enjoyed your story . . .you know
you've done something right. Because they are people who
have "been there, done that" and they are speaking from
experience.


3)READERS: What do the people who actually read this
stuff think? And, as a sub-set PAYING readers (for those
lucky few who have published) This is the true test. If
someone is willing to shell out cold-hard cash for your
scribbling then you've really arrived. For fanfic writers, if
one or two or <gasp> _three_ persons write and tell you they
liked your story, that means a lot considering you're
competing with thousands of other _free_ stories, plus
movies, TV and who knows what else. Especially if you stop
to realize that it's much easier to criticize than to compliment.
So treat each and every compliment as pearls of great price.

C&C is the personal opinion of a single individual. Always
keep that in mind, especially if it's a bad review. ^_*


How I write C&C

I write C&C to (hopefully) help the writer craft a
better story.


1)I never C&C a story I don't like. IMO it's prejudicial to an
impartial review.
2)I never C&C unless I can say something positive about a
story. Otherwise, it's just author bashing and not at all
constructive.
3)I don't do grammar/punctuation. For one thing, I _can't_
do it. For another, I'm more interested in characterization,
plotting and dramatic tension.


IMO, there are three major elements to a story.

1) Plot: the framework that holds the story together

2) Characterization: the building blocks or components

3) Dynamic Tension: the engine that makes the whole thing
work.

To my mind the order of importance is
1]Characterization 2]Dynamic Tension and 3] Plot.
Different writers (and readers) will have different opinions.
One of my favorite authors John Dickson Carr (also writing
as Carter Dickson) wrote Locked Room Mysteries that are
heavily plot driven with very little emphasis on
characterization. I like a lot of Tom Clancy, and his novels
have got as much characterization as a phone book.

However when I read a story (or write one) these are the
things I'm interested in. IF as an author you agree, then my
C&C may be helpful. However if your writing style tends in
another direction, you may find my C&C less than helpful.

HINT: If you get C&C from someone who has a writing style
very different from your own, that C&C may be less than
useful. At the very least it's going to take a bit more effort to
utilize it. (OR, since it's so very different it _may_ send you
off on another and more profitable path.)


A] Plot
Everybody's got one. And they're all about the same. That's
because there are roughly seven different basic plots (or 20 or
37 depending on who you're talking to). IMO there's only
one basic plot: "What if?"

Foster-Harris claims that all plots stem from conflict.
He describes this in terms of what the main character feels: "I
have an inner conflict of emotions, feelings.... What, in any
case, can I do to resolve the inner problems?"

A Handbook to Literature. 6th ed. New York: Macmillan
Publishing Co, 1992.)

{Which ties back into my theme of "Dynamic Tension"}

>From this basic conflict he claims three (3) basic plots:
See URL for more detail on different "Plots"
http://hypatia.ipl.org/ref/QUE/FARQ/plotFARQ.html

Foster-Harris. The Basic Patterns of Plot. Norman: University
of Oklahoma Press, 1959.




The important thing about the plot is that it should be
consistent throughout the story. Logical inconsistencies
(holes) are the biggest problem. Then the entire framework
collapses. However even very large problems with the plot
can be overlooked by the reader IF the characters and
situations are engaging. (Very few people care, for instance,
that E. R. B. had some major inconsistences in his Tarzan
novels. They just enjoyed the stories.) The crucial thing about
a "plot" is not so much "what" happens but "how" it happens
and "who" it happens to. Which brings us to:

B] Characterization or "who": Interesting well developed
characters are the building blocks of a story. If the characters
are bland, if the reader doesn't _care_ about them, you've got
no story. I fuss a LOT about characterization.

(However, if you've written a heavily plot driven story, you
may not care much about characterization and this particular
C&C won't help much.)


DON'T
1)copy someone else's characters (esp. the original if you're
writing fanfiction)
FanFiction is more difficult than original fiction BECAUSE
you're using established characters and situations and have to
justify changes from canon in a way you don't with original
fiction. Fanfic readers LIKE the original, that's why they
read fanfiction. But if you just copy (word-for-word or close
to) the original manga/anime . . .why should anyone bother to
read your story? IMO, it's more important that you have well
developed believable characters that grip the reader, whether
or not they are strictly IN character as regards canon.

DO
Use the original as a jumping off point, then have them
diverge is some way that makes them interesting. The
important thing is that YOUR characters be interesting and
well developed. Out Of Character (OOC) is not nearly as
important as having characters that fit well within your story.

(I use my own stories for examples because I can only talk
with some authority about what I was thinking when I was
writing)


EXAMPLE::
Usagi is yakuza. (Sukeban Senshi) ^_^

Well . . .I started off by killing off her parents and leaving her
orphaned and crippled in the prologue. This immediately puts
the reader in a frame of mind to accept other, more radical
changes later in the story.(at least I hope so ^+^)

Akane is a psycho:
I haven't tried that one yet. ^_*
At least not as the primary premise. OTOH, she's got some
emotional baggage in "Furies", "Cats have no tears" and
"Bedlam Fire"



Many stories I've read have a problem with not
spending enough time developing the particular aspect of
change from canon.


For example, Ranma « is a martial arts comedy.
Akane isn't the only one who beats up on Ranma, not the
only one with a temper. (Ukyou bends her spatula over
Ranma's head often enough that in real life he'd be dead by
now. And, before you start counting . . .it only takes one solid
smack across the cranium with an iron bar (or uber-spatula)
to split most skulls. In fact the level of violence and strange
goings on from almost every character are sufficient to get
then either a little jail time or a Thorazine cocktail for
breakfast, at the very least.

So, it's not simply a matter of suddenly having
Ranma announce he's tired of being beat upon and wants a
nice normal life. While this is certainly a supportable idea
using canon events, it is by no means the _only_ possibility,
but merely one among many. Once the author has chosen his
point of divergence, he must develop the situation. Build into
your change enough detail and emotion that it becomes
believable.

A fanfiction should develop quite naturally from a
point of divergence, such as Ranma marrying Ukyou. By
natural I mean that the behavior of your characters, their
actions and reactions to various situations should follow
smoothly from the emotional, mental and physical
characteristics you have given them.

For example, canon Usagi (Sailor Moon)has certain
characteristics (clumsy, cry-baby,etc) and her growth
throughout the series stems from the various events in her life
(fighting monsters, falling in love, dying, etc.). The reader is
involved in her process of growth and the process is
emotionally satisfying.

If, on the other hand, Usagi were to suddenly leap
from clumsy cry-baby to Super Sailor Moon, without the
intervening period of "growth", the effect is jarring, as if the
reader suddenly met an old friend after an absence of years.
And it is the _process_ of her growth that is interesting, not
simply her Super Sailor Moon manifestation.

Nurse Angel's final battle with Dark Joker is the
climax of a long, involved and _emotional_ drama and _is_
climatic because of that process. The events that build
Ririka's character flow one-from-the other and make her an
interesting and emotionally engaging character. Merging
"Dynamic Tension" with "Characterization"---- watching the
character involved with _trying_ to resolve some conflict is
more interesting than the actual resolution. And it's more
satisfying to have a character that you(the reader) can
empathize and sympathize with struggling to overcome
obstacles, than a "superman" who overcomes trials
effortlessly.



Diametrically opposite to this is Dragon Ball Z,
which has no character development( except for muscle mass)
and the viewer is not emotionally engaged. Rather the story
plods, glacially, from one fight-scene to the next.

While there are many different writing styles and many
popular and best selling works of fiction manage quite well
with little or no character development, I am of the opinion
that detailed characterization is essential to story telling.


A critical difference between original fiction and
fanfiction is working with pre-established characters and
situations and changing them for the purpose of your story.

Properly done, this entails writing an [ALT] history
that diverges from the canon 'history' and produces some
plausible effect that disrupts the emotional ties or
characterizations developed by the author of the original
manga.

While this sounds obvious, there are some important
distinctions. If the fanfic author introduces changes before the
start of the manga/anime and introduces those changes to the
reader early in _his_ story (prologue/chapter one) this can
help ease the reader into accepting these changes. However if
the fanfic author makes changes in the middle of an ongoing
storyline, there is a certain amount of "inertia" that must be
overcome.

It's much easier to pair Ranma with Nabiki if you
make a change at the start of your fanfic (Akane is a werecat
or Nabiki is the martial-artist of the family) than if you try to
make this change at the end of the last volume of the manga.

Nevertheless, it is quite possible to marry Nabiki to
Ranma at the end of the series (or at any point in the time-
line) In fact, the fanfic author can marry Ranma to Cologne
or to Soun---- IF the author spends a few thousand words
building in enough detail to create a well rounded character
change that is believable. This holds true for Nurse Angel,
Wedding Peach or any other manga/anime/game based fanfic.
(Indeed it holds true for original fiction. The single difference
being that there is no canon characterization to deal with in
original fiction.) The larger the divergence, the more detailed
must be the justification. For instance, if your hero is faster
than a speeding bullet and leaps tall buildings in a single
bound . . .or if he's a "Dark Knight", the world's first
consulting detective or even a swordsman of Mars . . .as
author you've got to blow up his home planet, kill his parents
in front of him, have him perceive you have been in
Afghanistan or transport him to Barsoom . . .to establish his
"character". There is more to it than that, but this indicates
the bare minimums that are necessary for an _original_
character. And, with original or fanfiction characters, change
from established characterizations must be supported.

For example, due to his gender shifting, it's much
easier to adjust Ranma's sexual preference in a story, than to
change his attitude to martial arts within the confines of
canon. OTOH, changing Ranma's curse (he changes into a
cat, a cow, or a Viking warrior) is a much more fundamental
change to the core of the basic story since so much of the
original story depends on certain word-play, puns and gender-
jokes. It would be much easier to change Ranma into a
professional tennis player and keep the gender-shift and still
retain much of the original story, than to keep the martial arts
and change the curse.

EXAMPLE:
Ryouga is mad because Ranma didn't show up for their
doubles match.
Shampoo is a member of the ancient tribe of Lesbian Tennis
Professionals.
The Tendou Tennis Pro Shop is traditionalist and only uses
wooden rackets.

And of course the anime "tag line" would be
"Ranma 1/2, where the game is 'love all'."

Much also depends upon _when_ in the time-line the
change occurs whether in original or fanfiction. Think about
the effect of changes during childhood, as opposed to changes
occurring to an adult with a developed character.

And it's not simply a matter of what you, the author,
think is justification for the change introduced. You've got to
convince the reader. Which is why pre-readers are so VERY
useful. They see things that the author misses.

Nor are changes simple and one-dimensional. Taking
a "simple" change, such as Akane-is-a-good-cook. Cooking
ties into Akane's insecurities, her 'bridal training', her
temper, etc. Depending on when and how this change takes
place, other changes would logically ripple through time, past
AND future, in the story.

IF Akane is and always has been a good cook, this
may indicate a different childhood from canon. What other
changes stem from this? How does it affect her temper? Her
self confidence? Her self-image?

By all means, have Ryouga fall into the pool of
drowned sheep and give Kasumi a wool fetish . . .just make
sure you have enough of the right detail to make the new
characterizations plausible.

It's NOT a matter of having a character OOC in
relation to canon (though this can be important) but rather
that your changed character be:
1)believable _within_ the confines of your story
2)well developed
3)internally consistent

There are no hard and fast answers of course, but it's
important for the author to recognize that one change in a
character has wide ranging effects which should be reflected
in the story. One helpful device is to write small auto-
biographies and back-stories for characters. These may never
appear in the main story, but they help to make the characters
more three-dimensional. Real people have a "history" that
makes them what they are. If you give your characters a solid
back-ground, they become more real to you, and thus to your
reader. A "back story" or history already exists for fanfiction
characters. However fanfiction often has some change from
canon, which means, in turn, a changed history or back story
which the fanfiction author has to develop and "sell" to his
reader.



As a practical matter, I usually write the back-story
into the main story as I'm writing, the edit it out later. But
you can just as easily do this in a separate operation (I got the
idea from Roger Zelazny and that's the way he worked.)

I use Ranma and SM as examples, but my
observations should hold true for any story.

DON'T
Character Bash:
EXAMPLE:
Genma:
This poor guy can't get a break. ^_^
I like ALL the characters in Ranma (and most other
anime/manga) so I have a hard time coming up with Bad
Guys (BGs)


However a pernicious failing in fanfiction is using the
story merely as a vehicle to beat up on a particular character.
The biggest problem is that it's done so _badly_.
I came close to this in "Cats have no tears" with
Mousse/Ukyou and again in "Bedlam Fire" with Ukyou. In
both cases I didn't spend enough time explaining/developing
the changes in their characters so these changes would be
acceptable to the reader.

Readers, very reasonably, wanted to know WHY
Mousse was suddenly an evil (and powerful) magician or
WHY Ukyou was initiating particularly nasty attacks against
Akane. Unfortunately, I didn't have a good answer and had
to go back and do some quick re-writing. I _think_ I fixed
Ukyou reasonably well in "Cats" but Mousse is still lacking.
But those are good examples of a problem writers have. YOU
(the writer) KNOW what is happening and why. And it's so
CLEAR, sometimes a few details (that would clarify things
for the reader) don't make it to paper. ^_O

And it's these details that make the difference
between bashing a character because you don't like him or
her OR writing a developed character that the reader might
want to bash as well.

The trick is to make the reader FEEL the same things
you do. Make the reader _feel_ that Akane is a murdering
psychotic b**ch and they will understand (and cheer) when
Ukyou/Kodachi/Ryouga/[fill in the blank] marries Ranma.
BUT, you (the writer) can not just assume the reader will
simply accept, without argument, that Akane is the Anti-
deity. Or that Usagi hates Mamoru-chan and really wants
Seiya. If you make Nurse Angel a Crack-Wh**e, you've got
to spend time overcoming the canon characterization in
addition to making the new characterization believable
within your story. The larger the divergence, the more
detailed must be the explanation. The more developed the
character, the more the reader will be engaged by the story.

Back to Genma.

Let's assume you wish to write a story that makes
Genma the source of all Ranma's problems. Which is fine as
far as it goes. The trouble is that it usually doesn't go far
enough. Among other things, Genma is a _parody_ of
Japanese fathers, traditional martial artists, etc. There's a
LOT of material, but you've got to use it properly. You can't
just assume that the reader of your story is going to look at
canon Genma, then blithely accept your interpretation.

EXAMPLE:
I'm working on a pretty nasty Genma for a story. But
it's taking about 10,000 words JUST to provide the detail
that he is:
1)an alcoholic
2)thief
3)scam artist
4)lying coward
AND, I've got to keep him as a reasonably sympathetic
character. That's the other part of avoiding character bashing.
It's always better if the reader feels _some_ sympathy for the
BG. Otherwise he or she becomes too cardboard. IF you can
write a BG that the reader can empathize with, this creates
another layer of tension as the reader will become conflicted
between wanting the hero(ine) to triumph, yet sympathizing
with the villain.


EXCERPT(from unposted story):
"Shut up!" Ranma smacked his father's bald head
with a rotting board, knowing better than to hit so hard an
object with his bare hand. He looked at the tiny, pale
appendage in disgust. Especially now. "This is all _your_
fault, anyway!"

"H . . .how do you figure that b . . . boy," he started to
go off in convulsions of laughter again, then sobered slightly
as his son hefted a rock, sufficient to crack even his thick
skull. Pulling a dirty kerchief from around his neck he wiped
perspiration from his heavy face, then stuffed the cloth
carelessly in his pocket. "How 'bout gettin' drinky for your
ol' man," he smiled ingratiatingly, showing a shadow of the
masculine charm that had once been his pride, and his
downfall. When his son made no move to honor his request
he fumbled in the rotting trash that covered part of the floor
until he came up with a heavy jug and drank thirstily.

****************<snip>

"In any event," Genma continued, uneasily aware
that his son's temperament, uneven at the best of times, was
balanced on a razor's edge since his . . .accident, "this will
give us a secure base of operations, food, shelter and a nice
bit of change to finance our return to China."

"I dunno pop, it just seems too easy, the way you say
it."

"It's _not_ easy," Genma growled. "You're going to
have to use a little charm, m'boy," Genma warned. "none of
your rough talk, be polite ----"

"Yeah, yeah. Don't be such a nag."

"Don't gulp your food----"

"Jeez pop, all I've got to do is sweet-talk some bitch
an' get her to fork over a little 'love token'." Ranma snorted
derisively at the thought. "Then you turn it into cash an' we
split. It's not like we ain't . . .haven't done this before." He
looked over his shoulder at his father. " Besides, girls love
fixin' stuff," his lip curled at the thought, "learnin' me
manners and how to talk right an' stuff just makes 'em go all
mushy."

"Pay attention, boy,"Genma cuffed his son
affectionately on the head, "it's more involved this time.
You've got to act your part for weeks, maybe months. And
it's not something small like a ring or a broach or a yatai. It's
a house and a doujou." Ranma nodded, only half listening.
"And _this_ time, you've got to marry the girl."

*****************************************


Just a small example, but I spend most of the first
chapter setting up this [ALT] Genma (and Ranma and Akane
and, etc) But since Genma is so central to Ranma's changes
I've got to put in enough time and detail to make Genma
convincing so that Ranma, in turn, will be believable. AND
I've got to keep it entertaining. Everyone knows the original
story of the cursed pools and Ranma's appearance at the
Tendou doujou, his fight with Akane, etc. So, there's got to
be a balance between what the readers expect and what I've
got to do to justify the changes, all without making it boring
or so different it's no longer Ranma 1/2. ^_^

This is the way I write and it's what I look for when I C&C
stories.



DO
Spindle, fold and mutilate characters and situations. Just
spend time painting a detailed picture. It's the details that
readers want. (or at least this one) Engage the readers
emotions. By all means have Ukyou marry Ranma, but spend
TIME making the relationship work.



DON'T
Introduce change after change after change.

A single change, central to the story, and perhaps
some minor changes that stem from this central change. For
instance, in "Furies" I had one central change, Akane as a
left-over weapon from the Silver Millennium. I did not make
Ranma a senshi and I kept the rest of the characterizations as
close to canon as possible. (Pluto is pretty much an unknown,
so I had some leeway with her. ) I did not introduce new
powers or magical devices for a simple reason. It is too easy
to have a "deux ex machina" situation develop, where every
problem the hero(ine) runs into may be solved simply by
introducing a new power or character or device. (This is a
problem with many "Magical Girl" manga where the
monster-of-the-week is countered with the cutey-gem-of-
power the fuzzy-sidekick just happens to have recalled having
at the last minute) While some series (Nurse Angel, Sailor
Moon, Card Captors) manage to have interesting stories and
characters despite this flaw (or avoid it altogether) it is a
problem that can easily destroy a story.

C] DRAMATIC TENS



ION


(A quick homage to "Rocky Horror")


One of my favorite things is Dramatic Tension (DT)
which most people who have ever been afflicted by my C&C
already know. IF plot gives you a framework, and
characterization (which includes situations and scenery)
provides building blocks then Dramatic Tension is the engine
that drives the whole thing.
(Alfred Hitchcock talked about this. He said that if you set off
a bomb, you thrill the audience for a three seconds. BUT, if
you put a timer on the bomb you can keep the audience in
suspense for hours. And never set off the bomb. ^_^ You just
move the suspense UP to the next level.)

EXAMPLE::
Ranma is articulate, well mannered and uncursed.
Akane is mild tempered, a good cook and feminine.
They are introduced, like each other, go to school, get
married.

<Ummmm . . .check please. >

Sailor Moon, is quick witted, athletic and brave.
Luna has all her memories from the moon kingdom.

They gather all of the senshi quickly and easily eliminate the
Dark Kingdom, Ali &Ann, Dead Moon, etc.

<Errrr . . .>

Neon Genesis: Someone puts prozac in the water and there is
decent child care for certain pilots at a MUCH younger age.

<yawn>

Nurse Angel: Dark Joker gets a quick spray of weed killer in
the first episode.

<I think I'll go do something exciting, like watch paint dry>

It's CONFLICT and ADVERSITY and overcoming
them (or at least the striving) that makes for a story. It's the
journey, not the destination (for the Zen minded)

People read about
CONAN the BARBARIAN, fighting against the Serpent
Gods of R'ah.

NOT

Francis the Librarian, shelving overdue cook books.

And Conan needs BIG villains. Powerful, dangerous BG's.
It's not much fun reading about six-feet-six-inches and two-
hundred-fifty pounds of barbarian muscle drowning a sack of
kittens.
**************
End Essay first part.