I think that's it. I think people are writing fan fic without having read enough. I think that's why they have no idea where to put a comma or when to capitalize or how much description is too much.

# 1 piece of advice: READ.

In my mind... ( [img]smilies/look.gif[/img] ) reading is as important as having something to say! You read a whole world opens up and when it's good, it's an experience that can influence many sides to a person.

As to "everyone can be a writer" thing. Well technically, of course. I should've added "good" [img]smilies/lol.gif[/img] Not everyone can be a good writer and believes it. I guess I got caught up in my professors words. He's written 36 books and he gets to me a lot with his advices. [img]smilies/smile.gif[/img]

i don't know if this has been brought up yet but actually finishing the fanfic. i know the authors have lives and everything, but sometimes i really get into a fanfic and it never gets finished. they're really good and it is usually at a really good part...then the story just stops and never updated.
characterization is also another thing. it really bugs me when the characters don't seem like the characters.

That's so true. What portion of unfinished fanfic out there are officially abandoned? I'm thinking... a lot. So many authors seem to get an idea, write a paragraph, post it... then you never hear from them again.

Like somebody said earlier, you probably shouldn't even post your story until you finish the whole thing, because that means you get to go back through the whole story and edit any inconsistencies. Of course, if you had it all meticulously planned out, that's another thing. And if it's a huge huge epic, you'll be forgiven for wanting to get some of it out before you die of old age. [img]smilies/biggrin.gif[/img]

Pacifierrocks, where are you from? I'm just asking cos of your screen name - I'm from New Zealand, home of Pacifier! *swells with pride* [img]smilies/biggrin.gif[/img]

[ 12-03-2003: Message edited Silversun ]

dear god big YES to what you said about unfinished stories. I detest being left with that lack of closure, and the more I liked the fic the less I care for the ~

Unfinished work means the author was just making it up as she went along and didn't really have a plot. You should have an outline written BEFORE YOU START. You need an end point, and an idea of how you're going to get there. If anyone reads "MBradford" on ff.net (she's my oldest friend), you've seen that no matter how long her stories get, there is always an ending. She outlines them before she starts, and she doesn't start posting chapters until she's pretty much done with it.

Hmmm, I guess I should get writing more on my epic then! [img]smilies/lol.gif[/img] (Swear, I really did have at least a vague plan when I started it! I've just king of lost the inspiration for a while now....)

Like the saying goes, there's an exception to every rule. [img]smilies/smile.gif[/img] I think M3 brings up a good point, though -- why even put in the lyrics? The story should be strong enough to stand on its own. Maybe a little blurb of the most important parts of the song would work, too?

WiPs suck. >:/

A question for authors regarding story plotting (more applicable to multi-chapter fics): do you have a general idea of where you want to end up and go from there? Or do you outline EVERYTHING -- as in, every chapter? If you do, how so? A summary of what you want to happen? An outline of the scenes? Vague? Detailed? I've had a VERY, VERY hazy plot scenario bugging me for the last week or so, but (if I decide to write something} I want to know where to start. What do you do with that? Do most of you have a *specific* scene that you want to see and you try to form a story around that? Share! I'm curious.

(apologies for all the questions *g*)

[img]smilies/blush.gif[/img] I have about 4 unfinished fics floating around out there... [img]smilies/lol.gif[/img] I get all excited about something, and start writing it, and then it just tapers off. The first one I ever wrote, I definitely didn't have a plot laid out for that one. Very stupid of me. The others I had a general outline but lost interest. I hate it when I find unfinished ones, but since I used to do it myself I can't complain. I only write short fics now, though, so I don't have to worry about that. [img]smilies/biggrin.gif[/img]

I write 'episodes', and they are each 6 chapters long. First I make up a general, overall idea of the major developments in each season (about 8 episodes), and then before I write each episode, I draw up a storyboard.

First I outline the overall theme of the episode, then draw up plotlines. There are usually three or four different ones in an episode. Then I write a brief description of each scene in chronological order. I usually put 5 or 6 scenes in a chapter. Once all this is complete, I start writing, and it's quite a detailed plan that I follow. If something doesn't sit right, it's also easy to switch scenes around without worrying about losing crucial bits of information. [img]smilies/smile.gif[/img]

I usually write fairly short fics, but then there's the epic - which I believe is over 200 pages! Can't say that I had a real plan when I started writing it, just a fairly good idea of where I wanted the fic to go. It's basically a backstory to the movie. Talking with Amber (who's writing a companion epic) always got me excited and inspired with new ideas - we definitely fell in love with these characters! It's been unfinished because 1) I haven't really had that *have* to write kind of inspiration for a while, and 2) I'm trying to figure out how to introduce the last main character into the fic. I still get frustrated when I read other unfinished fics, though!

Caty, do you know what's going to happen at the end of your fic? I'm asking because this always happens to me. I'm so sure of what my endings needs to be and I'm excited about writing it, but it's such a long way before I get there and I hardly ever get any inspiration for the middle parts! [img]smilies/lol.gif[/img]

Since I’m basically a disorganized person, I don’t do outlines. My story ideas are either about a specific thought (the seemingly lopsided friendship of Lorelai & Luke on Gilmore Girls) or an event (heated verbal exchange between Christopher & Luke, again on Gilmore Girls). I keep them fairly short (7 chapters is my longest – word count is subject to interpretation since ff.net counts fewer words than Word), have at least a couple chapters drafted before each post (usually), and force myself to post rapidly to keep me from over-editing the stories down to nothing. Starting the story satisfactorily and creating titles (story & chapter) are the hardest parts for me. Once I can live with the opening few paragraphs, the writing flows pretty well through the “climax.” Although my endings are seldom as pat as readers want, the point I wanted to make is complete so I move on to the next idea.

Nicky - Yeah, I have a fairly good idea what the end of the epic is going to be. Like you said, the problem is the middle parts! I had one fairly big conflict going on, that I just basically resolved, and haven't really been able to figure out where to go with the plot next. All I know is I have to figure out how to introduce this character to a very tight-knit group and have him accepted as one of them almost from the start. Should be easy, right? [img]smilies/lol.gif[/img]

OOOOh, there's so many valid points being batted across the metaphorical debating table!

But no-no to the 'virgin = don't write slash'. An emotionally mature,avid slash reader with a good imagination is capable of writing far better slash than some girl who's done it, and has a positive FIXATION on the gory details of anatomy. The sort of in-your-face 'I WAS THERE!' attitude that makes you cringe.

Reviews- I ALWAYS make a point of writing extremely long, imformative critiques on ff.net. Always. I think mine are just about the longest on there. I almost wonder if the writer even cares after she's finished reading this page long analysis.
If I have lots to say, i'll say it, mostly if I really liked it, or if I didn't, i'll put it to the writer gently WHY she's getting flamed and why her story is bad.

What's flaming like? Can someone tell me-what it fells like and why people do it, because I don't think I've ever been flamed about a story, as such, before?
If we're talking SpoofoftheRings.com intense, professional flaming, that could be fun. A flaming match. I think i'd be good at it.