TOPIC: Essay on Critiqing/Writing Fanfiction-Second Part

[Mad-Hamlet@xxxxxxx]

Greetings,
Again..this is ALLYN YONGE'S. Not mine. 
His webpage link is at the end of the essay. I cannot encourage 
strongly enough that his work is worth reading..even if you don't 
_LIKE_ Ranma 1/2 or Sailor Moon. His level of detail is bar none, the 
best.(Once he did 32 hours of research on 1920 cars just for a three 
paragraph page. That's comminment...and insane. But it's why I like 
im')
**************************
EXAMPLE:
Ranma/Akane: "Furies"
OK, Akane is a super-weapon left over from the
Silver Millennium. She's got an X-ray laser, kinetic weapon
AND she's invulnerable. OTOH, to become "Weapon 4" her
family (of her past life) was killed and she underwent
agonizing torture. Then she made friends, and it was all
taken away. Then she failed to protect the moon kingdom.
Everyone died. She's reborn and it turns out that Pluto is
insane. ^_^

Dramatic tension. Every time Akane succeeds, something
bigger and badder comes along to knock her down.

IF I give Akane an X-ray laser and the ability to shift out of
phase from the rest of the universe, it's kind of over-kill to
only beat up on Ukyou/Shampoo/Happosai/Taro, etc. If I
DON'T bring in alien invaders, the Outer Senshi and Pluto . .
.

Well, how exciting would it be to watch Akane (Weapon 4)
vaporize P-chan with a laser?



AKANE: "Ryouga is P-CHAN!"
<whine of capacitor charging>

P-chan: "Bweeeee!!!"
<sound of tiny pig-feet running like hell>

AKANE: "DIE!!!"
<scream of oxygen molecules being blasted into protons and
electrons> <Heavy smell of ozone with a faint whiff of
scorched pork>


END of "Furies"

Ummm . . .that lacked a little something. Especially if I tried
to do twelve chapters of the same thing (Unless I made Akane
the BG and I spent those chapters having the now mundane
characters trying to figure out how to stop uber-Akane). ^_+
Which would re-introduce the dramatic tension. ^_*



Usagi(Soban) "Sukeban Senshi"
I got a LOT of e-mail on the "God eater" from readers afraid
I had just removed all dramatic tension by introducing an all
powerful "God Eater" that was going to solve all of Soban's
problems (It isn't and it doesn't). No Dramatic Tension, No
story.



Now dramatic tension is in the eye of the beholder and
perfectly wonderful stories can be written with little or none.

Tolkein's "Lord of the Rings" has, IMO, about as much
dramatic tension as a bowl of cold noodles. Wonderful
structure, intricate if sterile characterizations, (other than the
Hobbits) but no . . .energy.

Anne McCaffrey's "Dragonseye" has no dramatic tension.
Almost has some, then she resolves the conflict almost as an
afterthought. :(
But it's got interesting characters and wonderful scenery. It's
rather like an interstellar travelog.

I bring this up to emphasize that C&C is VERY personal. It's
what I think and why. But, as you can see from just these two
examples, many people disagree with me. (I still like Tolkein
and McCaffrey, but not as much as I might have)

SO . . .

When I C&C, I'm telling the author what I like or
dislike and why. I try very hard not to hurt anyone's feelings.
(Heck, after all the stuff on the "God Eater" I almost gave up
writing altogether. I'm VERY sensitive. I've spent months
trying to find a rewrite. Couldn't do it, but I tried. ^_+)

Point being,
It's YOUR story. You can NEVER satisfy all the readers all
the time. And some of the best selling authors of all time
couldn't get a break from the editors (S. King for instance)
When you're reading my C&C, it's just my opinion. I'll tell
you what I think and why. BUT, unless you agree with me,
unless you read my C&C and have an epiphany-----
DELETE the silly thing. ^_^
(remember that there are a LOT of highly regarded, best
selling authors who would get VERY negative C&C from
me. ^_O)

As always, Write WHAT you want, the WAY you want and
enjoy writing. ^_^

A few resources that may help:
http://www.i5ive.com/article.cfm/writing_marketing_fiction/63686


http://www.steampunk.com/sfch/writing/ckilian/

A very good book:

"Zen in the Art of Writing" by Ray Bradbury
ISBN: 1-877741-09-4


How to USE C&C.


To begin with, don't take it personally. Sure, some nitwit in
cyberspace has just told you that your "baby" is not only ugly, but
she's stupid.

BUT:

Take a deep breath and remain calm.

Then take a good look at your "baby". Perhaps it really IS
ugly. And stupid. ^_*

OK . . .you've looked over your story, taking into account
the comments and criticism. Calmly and objectively. (this is the
hard part.) NOW, do you agree with the C&C? If so, make changes.

IF after giving an objective look you still think it's a
beautiful "baby", delete the C&C and continue writing.

Some C&C is easier to use than others. If, for example, a
C&Cer writes and says . . .
"HEY . . .you killed that guy off three
chapters ago! What's he doing back here now?" {Happened to me
in Sukeban Senshi chapter 8.} This is called a "continuity error"
when they're being nice. ^_^ And it's fairly easy to find and fix.

I LOVE detail, and will spend hours (hundreds sometimes)
researching facts and figures. I still make mistakes (I've gotten a 
lot
of help from readers on such things as Motorcycles and Nuclear
Power Plant operations for Sukeban Senshi) I've put the bathroom
in the Tendou home in the wrong place because I was rushed, and
been called on it. As an author you may not CARE what the Juban
school uniform looks like, or whether Mt. Fuji is to the East or
North of Tokyo. (It's south west, 35.33 deg. North lat., 138.67 
East
lon.)
http://jin.jcic.or.jp/kidsweb/japan/map/j_regi.html

http://jpop.hatch.co.jp/bhb/fuji001/fujiinfo001.html

http://www.sunplus.com/fuji/flinke.htm

Correcting misinformation or continuity errors is relatively
easy, although occasionally an "error" may become a major and
integral part of the story. In which case the author has to decide 
if he
can correct the error or must let it slide. (Mark Twain had the
Mississippi river running the _wrong_ way!)

Remember though, it's the story that counts.
Characterization and Dynamic Tension (Unless you're Tom Clancy
or want to write like him.) You can have quite a good story and 
still
have factual errors. However, and especially I think with 
fanfiction,
it doesn't hurt to get the "facts" straight. (Fanfiction readers 
of,
Ranma, Xena or Star Trek, tend to know the minutiae better than
the authors of the original.)

C&C that is detailed and relates to "facts" is easy to deal
with.


The real problem is that C&C can be very subjective.

"You don't like Akane very much, do you?"
{From the very first C&C I ever got on "Love is a Battlefield", my
very first fanfic.}

Boy, THAT hurt. Especially since I tend to write "Akane" centered
stories. LONG after the fact I can see what his problem was. I
didn't develop the change in characters enough for the reader. OR,
the changes may simply have been too much for his "willing
suspension of disbelief". And in that story, I'm not sure I could
really make any changes that would have satisfied him. In that
instance, especially lacking any detailed comments or criticism, I
chose to leave the story as it was.

The C&Cer may give much detail (always desirable) or merely say
"This feels awkward" (I use that one a lot myself) While this may
be frustrating to you as an author, recall that this person has 
taken
the time to write AND say something beyond:

"Cool. I want to see more." (Always nice to hear. ^+^)

OR

"What a load of C**p. I hope you burn in H***" (<sob>)

Fanfiction is FREE and there are hundreds of mailing lists
(thousands?) covering almost every television series, movie, novel,
etc. in several languages. IF, out of all that, an individual takes 
the
time to write and say _anything_ at all, be properly thankful and
take the time to write back AND take the time to consider what they
say to you. You may disagree. (I often do.) But I also many times
receive advice that makes my story much better. And helps me
become a better writer overall. (I hope)

It's these more nebulous criticisms that are harder to deal
with, both in trying to "fix" the story and emotionally. A 
pre-reader
or three is a wonderful luxury and helps with these little 
problems.
An alternative is to put the work aside for a week or more. Then,
when you go back to it, it's not as fresh in your mind and
imperfections or omissions may be much easier to spot. (While you
are writing and for a few days after your mind will unconsciously
"fill in" the gaps between what _you_ know is happening in the
story and what actually ends up on paper.




The final decision is always the authors. It is both impossible
and undesirable to try to please everyone who reads or may read
your story. Write WHAT you want, the WAY you want and find
joy in your writing.


I'll be gone for the next several days to AnimeFEST so
I'm not going to get much C&C or pre-reading done. :(

For anyone who is interested my fanfics may now be found on:
http://www.geocities.com/ayongedarling/index.html

Tyger, Tyger chapters 1,2 & 3 is up (draft form)
An experimental story (Heaven's Mirror) is up
and may be continued due to positive response.

Please sign the guest book to thank D-chan for
all her hard work setting up the page.

Also, D-chan has the first part of her new
Ranma story "Demon's Revenge" posted.
A nice read with demons and romance.