M & M

I was just reading some Alias fic and I saw something that COMPLETELY irritated me. The fic wasn't good, but I was going to give it a try for the first 2 chapters to see if it got any better. I totally stopped when I read something like this:

"I would love to talk, Weiss, but my favorite show comes on on Sundays at 9 on ABC. It's really cool. It's about spies and there's this one spy who's in love with her really hot handler but they can't be together."

Wow. Way to describe the first season of Alias. [img]smilies/mad.gif[/img] I hate when authors do this. Obviously if you're using people FROM Alias there wouldn't be a show! It wouldn't bother me if the fic were a parody of some sort, but this was supposed to be a serious fic. [img]smilies/rolleyes.gif[/img]

Silversun

Cunning self-references work in canon (I'm thinking especially of The Simpsons and Buffy) so I think if fanfic writers can pull it off, it's quite cute and cheeky and I won't mind it. But the example you gave was pretty bad - perhaps because it was too heavy-handed? Self-reference, I think, is about nuance a lot of the time; it should be quite subtle and clever to get a knowing smile from the audience. And if you step over that line, it can be cringe-worthy. [img]smilies/smile.gif[/img]

M & M

I agree. I don't mind it either, like you said, if there's a quick/subtle self-reference (I think I may have done that before). But to describe the whole first season in detail is going way too far.

kaykayelle

I hate it when people write something in script format, and they'll write something like...

A: blah
B: blah
** theme song plays **

And then the next chap they will do the same thing, but instead of the theme song it will be commercials. It's not like we are sitting and reading closed captioning or something. If you need a break just end the chapter.

[ 01-27-2004: Message edited kaykayelle ]

Silversun

I honestly don't mind that, especially (like you said) if it's in script format. If the author intended for the fic to look like an episode, then I think it's fair enough to show when the theme song comes in and when commercial breaks will be slotted. I personally think it actually lends a more authentic flavour. I know real scripts don't do that, but then again, we're reading "script fiction", not actual scripts to a show.

On the other hand, if it's not really apparent that the author's intention was for the fic to resemble an actual episode, I can see how it'll be weird. For example, I don't think insertion of commercial breaks and theme songs would be suitable for short stories or novel-length epics that are designed to stray somewhat past canon. [img]smilies/smile.gif[/img]

[ 01-27-2004: Message edited Silversun ]

kaykayelle

True, but when someone posts a 200 word story, and then does the **theme song plays** thing, then types the lyrics to the theme song, I find myself asking why someone would even think that that piece of work would merit a post.

Agnes Bean

Well, I think a fan author could write without quotation marks, no matter what the fandom, but only if they are REALLY good. Like you said, know the rules. If the style demands it, go ahead. But when you are obviously not writing in a style like that (and very few fan writer do), than use proper grammar! The difference between stylistic choice and just plain ignorance/laziness is pretty obvious.

Scythe

Is the reason that Fanfic is so good because the characters are already written for you?...if you know what I mean, You don't have to go into their background.

[ 02-09-2004: Message edited Scythe ]

Silversun

Sort of... I think it's because the character personalities/physical traits are already there for you to play with, so you don't have to spend word space trying to build a character from stratch. Presumably most people who read your fanfic will know who these characters are and would have already formed a few mental images of them.

I think a lot of the allure of fanfic is that you can do almost anything with these characters. You can go into their background if you wanted to, by writing a backstory; or you can completely disregard canon and write AU. And of course the majority of fics tend to pick up at a certain place in the canon timeline.

Having said that, it's also a bit of challenge, playing with already established characters. There's the whole issue of characterisation to be dealt with... you get that with original fiction too, but I don't think as much because you came up with your original characters so you have a good idea of who they are and what they're about. Whereas any person who can write or type can write fanfic without necessarily having watched much of the show or read the book carefully, and as a result they may not have a comprehensive understanding of the character they're trying to write.

ROCKSTAR

Well that is he reason fan fic could be so good. [img]smilies/wink.gif[/img] I've read a lot of bad fic and some if because of the fact that the world is not yours to begin with. It may cut back your creative process and make it dull or just simply bad.

Silversun thank you [img]smilies/smile.gif[/img]

Chiqa

Wow, you guys take your fanfiction seriously.


lol... I only started writing fanfic about two weeks ago and other than the main character, everybody else is new (Anna from the OC leaves the show so I am writing about her life in Pittsburgh). I didn't realize it would be boring.

Silversun

[img]smilies/wave.gif[/img] Welcome to the discussion NaijaChiqa. Haven't seen you on this board before... hope you come by more often! [img]smilies/smile.gif[/img]

I suppose it's quite hard to get a reader interested in a story that contains mostly OCs, but I think in the end it still goes back to how good a storyteller the author is. If they really are a brilliant writer, then I'll be interested in whatever they write, regardless of how closely the story sticks to canon. I think a while back somebody posted a link to Yahtzee's Phoenix Rising, an AU Buffy fic, and I loved it despite the fact that only Buffy and Angel were canon characters in the long story. Yahtzee was just a fantastic writer and that, in the end, was what kept me reading.

So, I personally wouldn't disregard an Anna fic just because it doesn't involve the main O.C. (ooh, confusing! [img]smilies/biggrin.gif[/img] ) characters. Any story that wants to grab my attention really needs a good beginning though, because I have the attention span of a goldfish and give up very easily these days. [img]smilies/biggrin.gif[/img]

[ 02-27-2004: Message edited Silversun ]

Chiqa

lol... yeah, I'm new [img]smilies/smile.gif[/img] I just discovered this board. Plus, I have been writing fanfic for less than three weeks! But I intend to be here quite often, because I think we can all learn a lot about fiction (fan or otherwise) from this site.

Age-a-licious

I didn't read this thread all the way through, but I'd just like to say that the one thing that I find really makes a fanfic story good is if people stick with continuity.

Like if their character is sarcastic/bitchy, I don't want them in the next chapter to be all sugary sweet. I can understand if their pretending to be that way or if they've had a life change, but I don't think a person can go from one way to the next in five seconds flat. Get what I mean?

Crossbow

[rant font]

I'm having people get on my back about being a grammar nazi in by beta-reading, and then they attack my own typos on message boards to get back at me. It sucks. It's not fair - I wouldn't do that to them. Obviously you don't expect people to comb through every single word they ever write, but if you're going to "publish" it, I think it's really disrespectful to the readers, the original creators, and the language in general not to at least try to get it as close to perfect grammar as you can.

A fan fiction is not a conversation, or a message board, and it's most certainly not an IM dialogue.

Like someone said above, grammar is your friend. It makes your witing easier to understand. It's not a bunch of random rules - it has purpose. I wish all the writers would understand that! When I correct them, I'm not criticizing them, I'm trying to help them be more clear so more people will read their stuff.

Everyone makes mistakes - it's the writers who don't even make an effort to be clear that really bug me.

As an editor, I correct every error I can find, but when I'm reading for fun, mistakes don't bother me as long as it seems the author tried. But if it looks like they didn't even try, I feel insulted.

[/rant font]