A two part post - Fan Fics and Nanowrimo

[S.T Stevens]

So, I've done every Nanowrimo this year (camps et al) and I love it. I usually write all the time anyway, but I always find myself outdoing myself during these months. Some of my (OK, biased opinion incoming) novels were created during these months. Does anyone else her partake?

Next part, I hope this isn't some kind of taboo, but does anyone else write FanFic? Until last year, I steered clear. I was sent a lot of Harry Potter fanfics (yes, I'm a massive fan, people thought I wanted to read some pretty salacious material as a result) so I avoided the culture as a whole cause it scared me. However, after being sent a really good Marvel fic, I couldn't help but add myself to it. I love it. Whereas before I assumed it was all dirty pairings of people that never needed to be paired, I found that I could write without racy scenes. I love it. Anyone else?

S

 

[Katie-Ellen]

I avoided the culture as a whole cause it scared me.

I'm sure there's no taboo here against Fanfic, or fan films either....but Harry Potter fanfic culture, scary? Lawd! I need educating. Tell me more?

I heard good things about Nanowrimo and signed up one year, but couldn't get into it as a way of doing things.

 

[Carol Rose]

I've done NaNo each year for a while now. I write that much most months anyway, plus my RWA chapter participates as a team so I like to help them out.

As for fanfic, no taboo here on Litopia. Discuss away.

 

[S.T Stevens]

I avoided the culture as a whole cause it scared me.

I'm sure there's no taboo here against Fanfic, or fan films either....but Harry Potter fanfic culture, scary? Lawd! I need educating. Tell me more?

I heard good things about Nanowrimo and signed up one year, but couldn't get into it as a way of doing things.

How much do you want to know? It will scar you.
I once had a fic sent to me about Hagrid and Hedwig and I really don't want to go into more detail. Colour me horrified. I didn't read the whole thing, but I was sent quotes and it was just disturbing!
Dude, Nano is awesome. I love it. Plus, discounts on writing stuff! Recommended!

S

 

[Katie-Ellen]

Hagrid and Hedwig???
Eh? Did she peck his.....
Well, never mind.
LOL. What's the matter with people?

 

[S.T Stevens]

Hagrid and Hedwig???
Eh? Did she peck his.....
Well, never mind.
LOL. What's the matter with people?

Exactly. This is why I was scared of Fanfic. I only write/read Avengers stuff, but even then I come across some seriously salacious stuff that I pray I'll never see again.

 

[HDKeller]

I have never delved into fanfic, but it sounds really interesting. It sounds like some of that stuff could be really horrifying though.

I did sign up for Nanowrimo this year. I've got to admit I'm pretty intimidated. It's hard enough to find time to write. I'm hoping that this will motivate me to focus on writing a little bit more during November. I'm a little afraid they'll send the four horsemen of the apocalypse to my house if I don't reach the proper word count.

What kind of experience did you guys have with Nanowrimo? Does anyone have any tips they would like to share?

 

[Nikky Lee]

What kind of experience did you guys have with Nanowrimo? Does anyone have any tips they would like to share?

I tried Nanowrimo a quite a few years ago and stopped after about 2000 words. I think a large part of it generating the 50,000 words comes down to preparing beforehand (which I didn't do).

I've joined it again this year with a bit more of a realistic word count goal - 500 words a day, which seems more doable for a first proper attempt.

As for what I'm planning to write - I'm not sure yet!

 

[S.T Stevens]

I hadn't read any fanfic until I read an article about how a couple of fanfics predicted the plot lines of the last jedi, so I read them and they weren't bad. Then I read some fanfic which predicted plot lines for the next movie in the series and I was really impressed with the speed with which the writers could generate the stuff.. a chapter every day or so. Wow. But each of the stories started out strong and then got weaker and weaker as the weeks ticked by. I didn't care how they ended and dropped them. I think the authors all made the fundamental mistake of having the two main characters get together too early in the story. Once the tension was gone, there was nothing more to look forward to.
After thinking a bit, I saw that JJ Abrams was following the Jane Eyre story arc with the series so I knew exactly how the final movie would play out and this caused me to lose interest in the fanfic. None of the fanfic authors had seen what had become painfully obvious to me. It might be good practice to try writing it. I've never done speed writing. A chapter a day would really test some limits.

It's oddly stressful. I once left one for three months and ignored all the messages about it because I didn't want to admit that I'd forgotten where I was going with it.
It's also gratifying because you know how many people are reading/liking/following the story.
I agree with the characters thing. I only read Marvel stuff, and Iron Man is almost always getting with Captain America and I really am not in this game for the romance.
It's fun though.

S.T.

 

[Webbwalker]

I read a lot of fanfic at a certain stage of my life. It gets a bad press, but the salacious stuff (that gets all the attention) is only a very small part of it. Most of it - at least, when I was active in that 'scene' - is 'gen' fic (general fiction, no sexual content or undue violence). Lots of it is pretty awful, but some - quite a lot in some fandoms, some are better than others (never read Harry Potter fic so I can't comment on that) is really good, as good as anything I've read in print. The Brontes wrote fanfic of a kind,after all, and there are still bona fide published authors who started out writing fic, and some who still write it, long after they became published names. I think it's a great way to hone the craft, because fanfic readers are the hardest critics you'll find anywhere. Charcacter stability (whether or not something is OOC - Out of Character - is a common point of discussion) is an especial sticking point. Plot development too - no plot hole or inconsistancy ever goes unnoticed or uncriticised. It's very much in the nature of the breed that they tend to be grammar Nazis too. If you have a show, or a book, you like enough, I'd definitely encourage anyone to have a go. The comments can be very telling and very useful.

 

[Webbwalker]

Nanowrimo is definitely not for me. It just doesn't fit my lifestyle, or my writing style.

 

[Webbwalker]

Exactly. This is why I was scared of Fanfic. I only write/read Avengers stuff, but even then I come across some seriously salacious stuff that I pray I'll never see again.

Only look under 'gen fic', ignore all 'slash' and you won't ever have to scrub your brain with brillo pads again.

 

[Amber]

I've never written fan fiction but I've talked to people who have ... used to help them with their plots and such. I thought it was interesting that there were lots of rules. It was very involved.

 

[Paul Whybrow]

I was told to use the keyword 'slow burn' to distill out the stuff that limited the smut to a few paragraphs within the story. With that restriction, I still did, however, get a sampling of the hilarity of sex scenes written by people who have clearly never had sex. I remember thinking, "He's doing what? at the same time that he is doing what? And they are standing up? Are they contortionists? My goodness, that would be distracting. Then again, they are Jedi."

I've written about Cosplay in one of my Cornish Detective stories, but there's a whole hidden world of costumed sex play, including Star Wars. A primer might be these pickup lines:

How to Hit on a Stormtrooper: Star Wars Pick Up Lines