Advice for fanfic writers: What would YOU say?

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Re: Advice for fanfic writers: What would YOU say?

Postby justTripn » Wed Feb 22, 2012 12:45 am

Advice for fanfic writers:

1) Only do it if you really want to. If you just can't help it.
2) Have something to say. Explore an interesting theme or themes. Set up an interesting "what if . . .?" This is the wonderful world of STAR TREK!!! :D
3) Be real. Think about how a certain scene would play out in real life. How would people actually react, not how should they react, not how can we contrive everything to get to the inevitable romantic ending. Don't worry about coming up with something other than what everyone was expecting to hear. In fact, PLEASE PLEASE say something surprising.
4) Get a sympathetic character (TRIP works!) and put him in jepardy, lol . . . And once he is out of one mess, he is into another. Out of the frying pan and into the fire! >:-)
5) Work out your next scenes daydreaming in your spare time. Don't write until you can picture it.
6) If you can picture it, just write what you "see." EASY!
7) I'm a big believer in an outline so you know where you are going and don't leave the readers hanging with no ending.
8 ) The first drafts are almost always terrible. Don't worry. Write it all down and revise, revise, revise. Don't stop until you love it. If something strikes you as a sour note, TAKE IT OUT! Even if it sets up a great joke, TAKE IT OUT. It's like how you carve a statue of a horse: remove everything that doesn't look like a horse. You'll get there.
9) DON'T tell your readers facts that any fan of Enterprise would already know. (Don't tell the reader that Trip and Malcom are good buddies.) In a long mufti-chaptered saga that strays far from established canon, DO remind readers of "the events of last week's episode" and the special innovative features of your Star Trek universe.
I'm donating my body to science fiction.

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Re: Advice for fanfic writers: What would YOU say?

Postby WarpGirl » Wed Feb 22, 2012 12:48 am

jT you're back! :clap: Missed you.
Some of these people haven't taken their medication. Let's see what happens now...
Donna Moss: The West Wing


And by people WG had herself in mind, but then the quote would have been ruined.
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Re: Advice for fanfic writers: What would YOU say?

Postby justTripn » Wed Feb 22, 2012 12:50 am

Yes . . . I have a new obsession. Every time I get a spare moment I translate a Thai pop song into English. Don't worry. I'm still as fine (or possibly as disturbed) as I ever was! :D
I'm donating my body to science fiction.

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Re: Advice for fanfic writers: What would YOU say?

Postby WarpGirl » Wed Feb 22, 2012 12:54 am

I've got a new obsession myself. Just glad to see you around.
Some of these people haven't taken their medication. Let's see what happens now...
Donna Moss: The West Wing


And by people WG had herself in mind, but then the quote would have been ruined.
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May We Together Become Greater Than The Sum Of Us
*Rights,* Wrongs, and Choices

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Re: Advice for fanfic writers: What would YOU say?

Postby justTripn » Wed Feb 22, 2012 6:18 am

:wave: What is your new obsession?
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Re: Advice for fanfic writers: What would YOU say?

Postby Distracted » Sat Feb 25, 2012 7:36 pm

Look what I found! LOVE this! :clap:

Advice for Writers:

1. Do not put statements in the negative form.
2. And don't start sentences with a conjunction.
3. If you reread your work, you will find on rereading that a great deal of repetition can be avoided by rereading and editing.
4. Never use a long word when a diminutive one will do.
5. Unqualified superlatives are the worst of all.
6. De-accession euphemisms.
7. If any word is improper at the end of a sentence, a linking verb is.
8. Avoid trendy locutions that sound flaky.
9. Last, but not least, avoid cliches like the plague.

~ William Safire.
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Re: Advice for fanfic writers: What would YOU say?

Postby WarpGirl » Sat Feb 25, 2012 7:40 pm

Thank you.
Some of these people haven't taken their medication. Let's see what happens now...
Donna Moss: The West Wing


And by people WG had herself in mind, but then the quote would have been ruined.
Fics
May We Together Become Greater Than The Sum Of Us
*Rights,* Wrongs, and Choices

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Re: Advice for fanfic writers: What would YOU say?

Postby Asso » Sat Feb 25, 2012 8:14 pm

I am sorry to have to say that Decalogues and similar things meet neither my mind nor my heart. For me (for me, this must be clear), the best teachers are those who don't claim to teach. Well, maybe I speak a little bit against me, considering that I teach at the University. But in my defense, I must say that I tend to not formulate precepts. Never. :angel:

Precepts are often fallacious by definition, or, at the mimimum, can induce people to do things not exactly wise just in order to follow these precepts.

For example.:
And don't start sentences with a conjunction.
Often, but nor always. It depends on lots of things and circumstances.
Well yes. I continue to write. And on Fanfiction.Net, for those who want, it is possible to cast a glance at my latest efforts. We arrived to
The Ears of the Elves, chapter Forty-four


And here is the beginning of the whole story.
Image

But, I must say, you could also find something else on Fanfiction.net written by me. If you want.

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Re: Advice for fanfic writers: What would YOU say?

Postby Distracted » Sat Feb 25, 2012 8:54 pm

The list is a JOKE, guys. Each "rule" is an example of exactly what it says NOT to do. It's supposed to be funny.
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Re: Advice for fanfic writers: What would YOU say?

Postby WarpGirl » Sat Feb 25, 2012 8:57 pm

I got that one! Score one for US humor! :duel:
Some of these people haven't taken their medication. Let's see what happens now...
Donna Moss: The West Wing


And by people WG had herself in mind, but then the quote would have been ruined.
Fics
May We Together Become Greater Than The Sum Of Us
*Rights,* Wrongs, and Choices

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Asso
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Re: Advice for fanfic writers: What would YOU say?

Postby Asso » Sat Feb 25, 2012 9:06 pm

Image

But, I was speaking in general.
Well yes. I continue to write. And on Fanfiction.Net, for those who want, it is possible to cast a glance at my latest efforts. We arrived to
The Ears of the Elves, chapter Forty-four


And here is the beginning of the whole story.
Image

But, I must say, you could also find something else on Fanfiction.net written by me. If you want.


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