How many of my fanfiction writers are in the hiz house?!

[Azure0_0Cent]

How many of my fellow writers are in the Escapist? It's something I've always wondered about. It really doesn't matter who you are, which fandom you prowl, which pairings you shamelessly ship, if you hate OCs, love them, or your level of writing skill. Come share your vision of the voodoo you do so well.


Why don't I start?

Profile: Centurious The Azure

Site: Fanfiction.net

Fandoms: Naruto, Resident Evil, Inuyasha, Persona, Megami Tensei, Ar Tonelico, Gundam SEED, Gundam 00, Code Geass.

Fics published: 8

Actual stories completed: None

Stories in the works: Too many to count

Pairings you like: Naruto/Hinata (Naruto), Claire/Leon (RE), Female Protagonist/Shinji (Persona/Megami Tensei), Male Protag/Mitsuru (Persona), Lyner/Misha (Ar Tonelico), Miroku/Sango (InuYasha).

Are you actively writing right now: Nope. On hiatus, again...

What's your attitude towards OCs (Original Characters)?: Love 'em in stories if they're done properly. If not done right... Well, it's simply a disaster waiting to happen. They're my bread and butter in my own fics. Can't seem to get into a story without adding in my own.


Kinda stories you write: Fix fics, oneshots, comedy, action adventure, ETC. I just add so much stuff in... it's hard to distinguish what a story really becomes until I actually write it.

Style of writing: 3rd person. My stories in their tone seem to come off rather snarky... my humor often comes off deadpan and mostly situational. Which is weird since I'm not a deadpan snarker in real life. I like to get into the heads of my characters from the series and my own. Figure out their motivations... What makes they tic, essentially. Alot of the time, my characters come off differently than even I intended. They're rather sneaky like that... Altering my plans without permission. Generally, I like to play things by ear. And see where they go from there. Nothing is really written in stone for me. Whatever my fingers type is what's published. I know that sounds like my stories could be rather scitzofrenic, but they always pan out somehow. I'm rather obsessive compulsive about my editing... Because of this, my stories tend to take months to release. It's the bane of my fanfiction career... I should seriously trust my editors more to get the job done. Oh, well... Guess I'm a bit of a control freak when it comes to my releases.


Your influences: Dexter series, the Assassin's Creed books, Solid Shark (A major writer in the Gundam SEED fandom known for his signature series Birds of a Feather), Digital Skitty (Former writer of the Naruto fandom well known for her Dark Knight story. She's since given up on Naruto and moved onto Pokemon. She's now writing the Story Pedestal. Did I mention she was A published Author? She won a writing contest on the internet. Her book, the Rook, was published by the site. She's the first FF author I've ever known to break down the wall to actual stardom. Yes, I like to brag about my sis a lot. *sniff* She makes me so proud.)


Something you maybe known for: I've never finished a story of my own, but my characters are rather popular with the people I work with on fanfiction. My OC Daisuke Sanada has been in a bunch of stories by Storm Wolf77415, Keijiro Mishima, and Digital Skitty. His sharp tounge and laid back personality has attracted a small fanbase.


Alrighty then... Now that's finished, it's your turn internet. Share away. You aren't resticted to the profile type I wrote exactly. Embrace your creativity! Add and take out what you wish! Because fanfiction is a place where you unlesh your imagination!

 

[Freechoice]

I would like to stop you right there. I write fanfiction as well, but this is the kind of thing that gives fan fiction a bad rep.

See, the problem with most fan ficcers is that they want to add themselves (subconscious or not) into a story. That's the basic problem, but most people don't seem to understand one thing.

Good writing is a talent. Not everyone possesses this talent. It irritates me to no end seeing people put "writing" or any variation of that on their bio. I don't see that very often for painting, sculpting, acting or any other variation of the artistic media. No, because those types of art require tangible skill that people are reluctant to say they have unless they actually have it.

Not writing. Everyone knows how to type and spell and they think that qualifies as writing.

It doesn't.

I could give people an excerpt of some piece of literature and ask them to elaborate upon what makes it well done or meaningful. Some people won't be able to do that.

I could then ask for people to either replicate it or adapt it. Still more people could not do it.

I could finally ask for people to write a full length piece that expresses their personal emotion while simultaneously being grammatically and orthographically correct as well as accessible to the common man. Most human beings are either not trained or capable of doing so because of numerous variables.

This is true even on a professional scale. Game stories suck. Movie stories suck. Most books suck. People have a difficult time understanding that writing is more than just letters and expression. It requires a great deal of self-reflection and willingness to accept that you may just be wrong about something.


And in regards to your last sentence: original material is where you unleash your imagination. Fan fiction is either you enjoying someone else's work and wanting to add part of yourself to it or wanting to save time in an established universe.



Pardon my rage, but this is my berserk button.

 

[GroovyV]

Well, I love reading well written fan fics, of course, concerning Kingdom hearts usually, PERSONA!!, some Harry Potter, Naruto, Bleach, and Psychonauts occasionally.

I'm under GroovyV (my newer file), as well as Porporino the III (my original with maybe one decent fic), on Fanfiction.net.

I'm working on a few Persona one-shots, a long Pokemon B/W fic, another Pokemon story, currently updating a Kingdom Hearts BBS story too.

OC's more often than not get mis-used, or add a layer of fine crap to a majority of fics out there. However, some can be fully gold-lined and help carry the story if done right. I intend to use a few to help my Birth by sleep story, though none of them will have any significance other than pushing the plot, which takes place before the actual game, and i intend to keep it all COMPLETELY in canon. (Except for the Aqua/Terra/Ven undertones

S'Tarkan (has a wonderful Naruto fic, and Harry Potter fic currently) is probably one of my favorite authors there, along with the no longer in existence P-Dawg (Pokemon).

 

[Freechoice]

I agree with Freechoice above. Even on the most base level, it's almost, if not completely, impossible to find a good fanfiction, because the characters don't act/talk like how they're supposed to. That alone bugs me to no end, and don't get me started on how contrived they are.

How contrived are they?

 

[SpikeyGirl]

I agree with Freechoice above. Even on the most base level, it's almost, if not completely, impossible to find a good fanfiction, because the characters don't act/talk like how they're supposed to. That alone bugs me to no end, and don't get me started on how contrived they are.

Don't read it then. No one is forcing you to read it.
In fact I almost want to dare you to write better and still make a fic thats interesting to read.

And in regards to your last sentence: original material is where you unleash your imagination. Fan fiction is either you enjoying someone else's work and wanting to add part of yourself to it or wanting to save time in an established universe.



Pardon my rage, but this is my berserk button.

Wow you just described most video games.
Enjoying someone else's work and inserting your own character into a word someone else has created. Sounds like video games to me.

Unleashing your imagination is more of a question of 'What if?'
What if half the population grew a third arm?
What if the internet started to grow sentience and subtley manipulate humans?

Fanfiction is just adding parameters to the 'What if?'
What if a certain character was a different gender, had a different life growing up?

It doesn't matter if they cant write 'properly' it more that they're excercising their imagination. Are you really going to condemn people from doing something they like just because you don't think they're good at it?
Are you going to next say people shouldn't post on deviantART because their art doesn't fit into what you think art is?
I admit I write fanfiction, since starting my typing, grammar and spelling have all improved.
<color=white>You just hit my Beserk Button.

 

[MelasZepheos_v1legacy]

http://www.fanfiction.net/u/2151039/MelasZepheos

Probably the only thing people here would be interested in would be my Mass Effect novelisation, which I intend to finsh as soon as I've got my essays out of the way on Friday.

And don't dismiss all fanfiction out of hand. It can be good, you just have the search for it. Like everything in the world, 90% is crap to the 10% good, it's just that on websites like ff.net, all the crap is mixed in with all the good and it can be hard to dig out the stuff worth reading. Go to tvtropes' fanfic recommendations page, it's not a bad place to start.

 

[Illesdan]

Me: Former fanfiction writer; haven't done anything since 1998.

Fandoms: Star Trek and Justice League America and Europe.

Stories finished: Ballparking here, just because my memory doesn't like going back that far, but I'd say around twenty-seven. I used to collaborate with alot of people on their stories as well, but I'm not counting their work as my own.

Stories in works: Just because I haven't written since '98 doesn't mean I don't still have ideas. I have three different original works of sci-fi/fantasy I am currently working on. If they will ever make it to the 'net though, I haven't decided.

Attitude towards OCs: I never had use for them when I wrote my fanfiction. I always had too much research to do on the universes I was writing in and concentrating on how the characters naturally spoke to worry about adding in an OC. I don't really care for them, but I understand where the appeal lies in some people to use them.

Kind of stories I write: Sci-fi and super-hero fantasy. Generally serious, but I think it makes the humor stand out that much more when I do put it in.

Influences: Damn, we're gonna be here too long if I list them all. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Bram Stoker, Mary Shelly, Mark Twain, Jack London, Fyodor Dostoevsky, Daniel Defoe, Peter David, Gerard Jones, J.M. DeMatthias, Keith Giffen, and Jan Strnad.

Style of writing: Depends on the pace of the story for me. I'm adept at both third and first person storytelling.

 

[ReservoirAngel]

Profile: Reservoir Angel

Site: Fanfiction.net

Fandoms: Ones I've actually written in: none. Ones I just like - South Park, Doctor Who, and more that occur as I'm reminded of them

Fics published: None (I had one published on an old account but I didn't like it much)

Actual stories completed: None

Stories in the works: One

Pairings you like: From South Park: Stan/Kyle, Stan/Kenny, Kyle/Kenny, Kenny/Butters

Are you actively writing right now: Sort of. I write on and off when I need to kill some time

What's your attitude towards OCs (Original Characters)?: Love OCs. The one fanfic I'm working on at the moment has an OC playing a big part in. At least he will when I carry on with it to any real degree, and when Fanfiction lets me publish!

Kinda stories you write: Like adventure-type. Plus I naturally have a soft spot for homoerotic romance (don't read my South Park fanfiction unless you want to see characters you're used to seeing as kids getting down and dirty)

Style of writing: 1st person. I tried writing 3rd person but whenever I try it just comes off sounding like a boring factual presentation of what's going on with no personal imput from the characters. 1st person, in letting me get inside their head, lets me put more emotional weight behind the story.

Your influences: None, really. I just write what I like and try to make it as good as possible.

 

[ABLb0y]

Profile: Snow Rodriquez

Site: Fanfiction.net

Fandoms: Left 4 dead, Bioshock, Carrie, Salem's lot

 

[Vanalosswen]

Freechoice and Sven, I agree with you, reservedly. On the one hand, yes, one does have to dig rather hard in the Pit of Voles (as GAFF used to call ff.net) to find any decent works. There's a lot of dreck, especially in my favorite fandom, Lord of the Rings.

I would say, though, that jumping all over someone without actually reading their stuff seems silly. Yes, there's piles of the terrible OCs and Mary Sues and color-changing eyes bullcrap (that every one of us did when we were new fanfic writers; I did it too, thank God I didn't know about ff.net back then), but for every twenty terrible stories, there's one or two gems. Cassia and Siobhan's Mellon Chronicles in the LotR fandom, for example, has me laughing and crying within pages. Might not be the best writing in the world, but many published authors manage to affect me without being perfect, so why demand absolute perfection from authors doing it for fun?

And at the end of the day, fanfiction taught me how to actually use all the writing skills I was taught in a classroom in a way that people liked to read. Am I where I want to be? No, I want to publish someday, but I have a lot of polishing to do before I get there.

That all being said...I'm not going to provide my username and suchlike on ff.net, only because I haven't updated there in years, and the stuff that's up now (that desperately needs an older me's editing and retouching) isn't a good representation of who I am as a writer now. Whenever I get my Dragon Age fanfiction in some kind of order that I like, I'll post it, and let anyone here go and critique their hearts out. Because that's how I learn.

 

[Azure0_0Cent]

Alright. I do kinda agree with ya, Freechoice. The majority of fanfiction is pretty bad. Which is why I support people trying to refine their work before they post it. Better you polish your work less crap there is messing up the place. There's no real need vaporize a dead horse. Tell us about yourself and your writing. That's essentially why I'm here. To get to know the people in my community. Not to debate about what makes the majority of fanfiction terrible. We already know about that plight being all apart of the same community.

I admit I have ulterior motives in coming here, I usually don't touch forums unless it's the Jade Series Forums on FF.net. Those guys hanging out there are pretty alright. I also possibly wanna find some decent stories. God knows how starved I am for it.

 

[Freechoice]

Wow you just described most video games.
Enjoying someone else's work and inserting your own character into a word someone else has created. Sounds like video games to me.

I think you need to rethink that. You may control the character, but the narrative is crafted by a "professional" (and I use that word tentatively) writer and told through a character with predefined characteristics. The most the player controls is how they shoot and how they die. if you think that's the same as inserting your own self into the world (to the degree of fanfcition, Mary Sue ahoy), you are very mistaken.

Unleashing your imagination is more of a question of 'What if?'
What if half the population grew a third arm?
What if the internet started to grow sentience and subtley manipulate humans?

Then write some original material.

Fanfiction is just adding parameters to the 'What if?'
What if a certain character was a different gender, had a different life growing up?

Aussi write original material. The problem is that most people can't. Creating an entire world with interesting, original characters, a coherent plot, applied phlebotinum or whatever and then meshing it all together is much harder than most people believe. Instead, they choose to use preexisting material and often decide to change what is already there to suit their own tastes. And it's not just personal preference. I once read a Starcraft story that made Jim Raynor a complete asshole with little explanation for it. Congratulations, immersion lost.

It doesn't matter if they cant write 'properly' it more that they're excercising their imagination. Are you really going to condemn people from doing something they like just because you don't think they're good at it?
Are you going to next say people shouldn't post on deviantART because their art doesn't fit into what you think art is?

I expect high quality from professional authors. Hell, I expect it from myself. Proper fundamentals are the iris through which a good story is told. If I have to reread the damn thing because someone didn't bother to spellcheck, it ain't worth the time a' day.

Please note that deviantart is a cesspool of drama and critiqueless praise. Herr Yahtzee once said that the worst thing you can do to an artist is tell them their work is flawless when it actually isn't. Unabashed praise and rabid fanboys stop people from improving. It's ego inflation plain and simple.

As in most human endeavors, the shit obscures the good. I don't want to have to go through nine stories to find one good one. So thank Christ for TV Tropes for bringing up this little gem [http://www.fanfiction.net/s/6288608/1/Parallax].

 

[theevilsanta]

I write occasionally, though I only do one-shots (long one-shots, but still one-shots). Most of my work involves unusual sexual pairings and fetishes. Working in someone else's world helps me skip the primary character development and get strait into exploration of the kinky. Note I don't write a lot of pure smut, more just the ideas and motivations behind the kink for the characters.

My major influence for this type of fic is definitely Octavia Butler. Her short stories have everything to do with my exploration of sexual relationships. AKA read Bloodchild.

 

[JokerCrowe]

Does writing a novel that has nothing to do with manga/anime, other books, Tv-shows or films count as fan fiction? Because if it does; Yeah totally. If not, yeah, not so much...

I enjoy writing as much as I enjoy reading, but I don't feel the need to elaborate on an already written story; be it good or bad. I want to create my own style and stories. That being said, I understand the appeal of fanfiction, you can make it so your favorite characters get together even if it's non-canon, and you can kill off charaters you don't like in particularly gruesome ways. But like I said, personally I want to make my own stuff... and having read My Immortal [http://myimmortalrehost.webs.com/chapters122.htm] I'm not too keen on reading any fanfic any time soon.
[sub]sorry, I guess I didn't really answer your question. But I like to write, maybe that counts?[/sub]

 

[Cheesus333]

I'm on fanfiction.net, but I very infrequently update. I don't think I have the patience, which doesn't bode well for my aspiration of writing an actual novel...

Still though, people seem to like what is there, which is good enough for me.

Pretty sure the account's also under Cheesus333 if anyone's that curious, and if not then that's fine too.

 

[Freechoice]

Does writing a novel that has nothing to do with manga/anime, other books, Tv-shows or films count as fan fiction? Because if it does; Yeah totally. If not, yeah, not so much...

Short answer, no.

That's just straight up fiction. Fan fiction requires a preexisting work that you put stuff into.


The true, true problem with fanfiction is quality control. When you have something that is sold for actual bucks, more people will invest time into making sure it's good and readable. When it's fan fiction, quality control is solely the responsibility of the author.

Don't feel like I'm attacking you. I have the feeling I came across as possibly douchey, and if so, sorry about that.

Don't feel bad about having an opinion. If you end up antagonizing someone because they react in a certain manner, that's their problem. The internet does not breed thick skin and you can be as scathing as you want as long as you are polite, succinct and making a valid point.

 

[SpikeyGirl]

@[user]Freechoice[/user]

Spoiler: Have some responses to all of your points

Wow you just described most video games.
Enjoying someone else's work and inserting your own character into a word someone else has created. Sounds like video games to me.

I think you need to rethink that. You may control the character, but the narrative is crafted by a "professional" (and I use that word tentatively) writer and told through a character with predefined characteristics. The most the player controls is how they shoot and how they die. if you think that's the same as inserting your own self into the world (to the degree of fanfcition, Mary Sue ahoy), you are very mistaken.

You obviously don't play many RPGs. Most games allow you a degree of freedom anyway or they would be barely interactive movies. So maybe they're just restrictive fanfiction.

Unleashing your imagination is more of a question of 'What if?'
What if half the population grew a third arm?
What if the internet started to grow sentience and subtley manipulate humans?

Then write some original material.

I do, I just don't trust leaving any good stuff on the internet. I also have a problem with my imagination, it gives me too much to work with but it's not coherent enough to make a full story out of. Even if it is coherent a new idea will pop into my head and interrupt my writing flow. I have many stories with the plot written out but only partially written in full as I've got something new on my mind.

Fanfiction is just adding parameters to the 'What if?'
What if a certain character was a different gender, had a different life growing up?

Aussi write original material. The problem is that most people can't. Creating an entire world with interesting, original characters, a coherent plot, applied phlebotinum or whatever and then meshing it all together is much harder than most people believe. Instead, they choose to use preexisting material and often decide to change what is already there to suit their own tastes. And it's not just personal preference. I once read a Starcraft story that made Jim Raynor a complete asshole with little explanation for it. Congratulations, immersion lost.

I understand some people can't write original stuff. Some people can't juggle, they can still try but if they don't have the coordination to begin with then they will have trouble keeping all the balls moving. But they can practise and improve until they don't drop then and can keep them flowing evenly.
In the same way some people need to practise making up their own characters in a pre-made setting to find out what works and what doesn't. They can't just jump straight into writing their own material and keep all of the aspects afloat, just like a person can't expect to be able to juggle three balls straight off the bat with no experience.

It doesn't matter if they cant write 'properly' it more that they're excercising their imagination. Are you really going to condemn people from doing something they like just because you don't think they're good at it?
Are you going to next say people shouldn't post on deviantART because their art doesn't fit into what you think art is?

I expect high quality from professional authors. Hell, I expect it from myself. Proper fundamentals are the iris through which a good story is told. If I have to reread the damn thing because someone didn't bother to spellcheck, it ain't worth the time a' day.

Please note that deviantart is a cesspool of drama and critiqueless praise. Herr Yahtzee once said that the worst thing you can do to an artist is tell them their work is flawless when it actually isn't. Unabashed praise and rabid fanboys stop people from improving. It's ego inflation plain and simple.

As in most human endeavors, the shit obscures the good. I don't want to have to go through nine stories to find one good one. So thank Christ for TV Tropes for bringing up this little gem [http://www.fanfiction.net/s/6288608/1/Parallax].

If your looking for professional authors writing Fanfiction on the internet you're looking in the wrong place.
If you want to find gems you need to be willing to crawl through an awful lot of shit. How much you want that gem decides how much shit you're willing to go through to get it. Also consider this, one man's trash is another man's treasure.
Spellcheck misses stuff. Even proof reading work several times can produce errors. I've seen several text books with errors and they must have been proof read plenty of times.
As for deviantART, how about doing some critiquing to help people improve? Or are you one of those people who sits by and says "This is shit but I'm not going to do a damn thing to help you improve" If you want to find good stuff then help people improve and get up to that level. <color=white>Also, I think your a bit of a pretentious dick =)

@[user]SvenBTB[/user]

Spoiler: Response to your fair points

Don't read it then. No one is forcing you to read it.
In fact I almost want to dare you to write better and still make a fic thats interesting to read.

...

Fanfiction is just adding parameters to the 'What if?'
What if a certain character was a different gender, had a different life growing up?

I admit I write fanfiction, since starting my typing, grammar and spelling have all improved.
<color=white>You just hit my Beserk Button.

Don't feel like I'm attacking you. I have the feeling I came across as possibly douchey, and if so, sorry about that. I'm just saying that 90% (or more) of the time, they simply aren't interesting, due to characters not acting like they should and so on. The other day, I discovered something called a "Weight Gain" fan fiction. There was literally no point. They simply chose a character, made her become morbidly obese for no reason, and they went no where with it. There was no point to having this character suddenly become morbidly obese, and there was no statement made. THAT'S the kind of stupid thing I see in fan fictions all the time, thus my strong dislike of them. There's a difference between a "What If" story (Marvel has lots of good ones), and something that's just fucking stupid.

Again though, don't feel like I'm attacking you. If you're learning how to write better due to making fan fictions, then fantastic. And it IS possible to have good fan faction, for example, books from the Star Wars Extended Universe that are published. Those are little more than fanfiction, yet they tend to be more entertaining than what one might find on the internet because they don't screw up established characters or plots, AND have original ideas, while still toying with "What If's?" in ways that work when they DO alter plots. If fanfcition writers strove to be more like that, and didn't do stupid shit like "Weight Gain" fiction, or write themselves into the story as one of the characters, or "male character x another male character (when clearly both are straight)" garbage, then maybe people would have more respect for fanfic writers. I can almost guarantee you there isn't any book with a "Luke Skywalker x Han Solo" story.

And for the record, I'm studying to be a writer at college, thank you very much.

Ah, Sturgeon's Law, 90% of anything is crap.
I may have been a bit defensive about one of the few things that keeps me happily occupied.
I agree with your points, there are a lot of stupid stories around, far too much ridiculous maleXmale to be even healthy, a lot of stories with the same basic start but nothing as far as a substantial plot and a lot of badly written self-inserts. But there are gems that can make all the sifting worth it. You just need to know what to look for and where.
I didn't mean to offend you about your writing, again, I was just a bit too defensive.

 

[Freechoice]

No, I don't play that many RPG's. Regardless, not only do most RPG's limit you to what the designers thought of, but for every RPG, there's probably 10 FPS's. The comparison just isn't there.


In regards to original stuff and your juggling analogy.
Would you practice juggling outside in public and constantly dropping the balls in front of people?

You wouldn't because you'll look like a damn fool. Why isn't that the same for fan fiction writing I wonder? Oh, it's because people will tell you you're good even though they don't know what the fuck they're talking about. That was my original point. People don't respect the art enough to not talk when they shouldn't. Compliments are useless. If you need praise for doing something, you lack confidence, plain and simple. A real writer demands critique so that they may grow their art into something worthwhile.

And I didn't say I was looking for professional grade material. I said I was looking for professional effort in the fundamentals of writing. Orthography, grammar, syntax, etc., those don't require talent. Those require that you pay attention and actually make some goddamn effort. The effort shows commitment to what you are doing and gives the indication that you want to improve.


I would go on DA to offer genuine criticism, but the thing is that I don't fucking want to. Why do you think I brought up DA and not Hentai Foundry? They got all kinds of crazy shit on HF, but I've actually seen some damn criticism in the comments and the artists listen. DA is infamous for having a metric shitton of drama and being unreceptive of criticism. In my defense, I offered it directly to this guy [http://starcraft.org/fanfiction/stories/944].
Now it may seem invalid for me to critique without having read it all, but that's the goddamn point. It was so overly drawn out and in love with its own detail that I couldn't muster up enough shit to give for more than a few paragraphs. He's invested 3-4 years on a quarter of a million words and there's no end in sight. He drones on and on and on without actually having interesting happen.

But he dismissed my criticism. He didn't want to hear it. His work was too good to even consider that he just might be wrong about what he thought.


And you seem to be dumping a lot of the responsibility on me as the reader. It is not my interest to go sifting through shit to find something remotely good. If I want to read something good, I look for recommendations. If a writer wants their material to be read, they should be putting in some effort to make it halfway decent. You're just gonna be obfuscating the work of people that are genuinely trying to write well otherwise.


And that is why it pisses me off. I am in the same boat as Sven; sacrificing a more secure degree like business to do what I love. Seeing someone half-ass work and then refusing to take criticism for it is downright sickening. My generation is a bunch of overentitled dipshits wanting everything for nothing. Any person worth their salt is gonna ask for what's right, not what's good.