A huge tip for fanfic writers

Be sure you're familiar enough with the source material before writing your story; otherwise, there's a good chance it could end up not looking good. That's one of the cardinal sins of fanfiction writing: a lack of sufficient familiarity with the source material. I know this from experience.

edited 7th Nov '14 1:06:10 PM by ryanasaurus0077

I admit surprise that anyone would want to write fan fiction for a work they're not familiar with.

Well, I'm never making that mistake again; as I write my definitive version of Rhythmic Pretty Cure, I'll be sure to study some of its chief influences, including Yes! Pretty Cure 5 and Smile Pretty Cure!, more closely than ever. I'm currently on my 5th draft of the definitive first episode (long story), but I'll use what I learn to improve on it.

edited 7th Nov '14 1:31:44 PM by ryanasaurus0077

...So there are people writing fics about fandoms they're NOT fans of?

What.

I know there are people who get into a series, then get into its fanfic scene, then lose interest in the original series while still following the fan works.

I also know that some people will get into a series, and decide to write a fanfic, then just work off their memories rather than rewatching (or rereading or whatever) to make sure they got their stuff straight.

I'm not that familiar with people who get deep into a fanfic scene without ever getting into the original series.

I didn't write any of that.

I have this kind of issue to consider when I write in Super Smash Bros. fandom. I've sort of come over to it from Legend of Zelda fandom and some of the many, many characters in the Smash series are unfamiliar to me outside of what they are in the Smash games - and since they all have worlds and backstories, I have to be careful about handling them. I either research them out the wazoo (I got into Kid Icarus that way), or I put them off to the margins of the story (what I do with the Fire Emblem series characters, since I've not played any Fire Emblem and don't have an interest in doing so anytime soon).

So, sometimes, if your fandom is a mixed-fandom that brought you in because of some things you are familiar with, but has some things that you aren't because it's essentially a giant crossover, you do have to worry about your research or your shuffling.

In which I attempt to be a writer.

Um.... I am guilty of the stuff in post 1. Sorry....

My AO3. Results may vary

Well, if Harry Potter bitch-fics are any indication...

Fanfiction I hate.

Yeah, but those are usually focused on specific characters/events that they hate, while they're fine with the rest of the canon. The OP implied that some people aren't familiar with the fandom they're writing AT ALL.

edited 7th Nov '14 5:59:19 PM by Sharysa

It's more common than you'd think, especially when crossovers are involved.

I recall this one fic for the Neptunia series, where the author flat out started out saying that he disliked the games immensely. Then he went on to effectively rape them through his self insert fic.

Then there's that one fic for the Harry Potter series that starts with "Sometimes the Harry Potter universe offends me so deeply I must answer by spindling and mutilating it" (not actual quote). That guy went on to write Partially Kissed Hero, and yes, he does, as a matter of fact, mutilate the Harry Potter series and everything that made it fun and enjoyable is executed in gory and brutal fashion, leaving a rotting carcass that can only bleed the acrid hate of someone who can't write worth shit.

At least those two flat out admitted what they were going to do.

Sometimes, you get people writing for series they only know through fanfiction - happens a lot between Naruto and Dragonball crossovers, where the authors have a gross misunderstanding of how the Dragon Ball universe works. Same with Naruto and Negima, except worse, as Negima usually just serves as a world for the author's self insert to obtain more varied powers and a harem. Even though the self insert is usually an adult, and the female cast of Negima's around 14 years old, for the most part, save for two characters who are Really 700 Years Old.

A lot of times, the most people know about a series is a list of the characters' names with pictures and what the 'coolest' powers in the setting are.

This is mostly a sin crossovers make, but there are lots of people who write non-crossover fics without knowing crap about the universe they're writing for.

himitsu keisatsu seifu chokuzoku kokka hoanbu na no da himitsu keisatsu yami ni magireru supai katsudou torishimari

It's surprisingly common to find fics that seem to be written without knowledge of the source material. Since 95% of the fanfics I publish are works I'm a huge mega-fan of (and the remaining 5% works I'm at least well-versed enough to know who everyone is), I get really frustrated by them because they are so obviously out of character if you have more than a passing familiarity with the source material.

Evangelion is more interesting for what it could be than what it actually is, in my eyes. So I'd rather shave my eyeballs than watch it again to work on Ten Feet Tall. I'm quite certain there are other cases where this is true.

edited 8th Nov '14 11:20:42 AM by Night

Nous restons ici.

Well, I know some examples of fics that fits in this. I remember reading a fic written by a guy who knew almost nothing of Touhou and then took it as a challenge to write one. But, again, he researched and today he's a Touhou fan.

But the opposite thing happens in Touhou a lot because I consider the canon setting not used to its full potential and that the characterization can be used in the hypothetical trope "World of Jerkass". I'd rather read Touhou fanworks than the canon works any day.

My work is here. Current main fic: Tengen Toppa Gurren Solvernia

It happens with adaptations a lot, too. I was reading a Young Justice fanfic focused on Blue Beetle/Jaime Reyes, who is originally a character from the DC comics universe, and whose series I read and thoroughly enjoyed. The fanfic writer only knew the character through Young Justice, and ended up writing things like Jaime having worked at his parent's Mexican restaurant- when in the comics, his parents are major characters whose professions are explicitly a mechanic and a nurse, and that even comes up in plots occasionally. If the writer simply went to look at a wiki (and didn't rely on racial stereotypes), then it wouldn't have been as jarring. So yes, it is an issue.

My AO3

It's happened to me a handful times, actually; I fall in love with a newly discovered fictional work, I can't wait to write about it, I must strike while the iron is hot lest I lose the muse, I write before checking the whole thing. Then I check more of it, I find out not only I have messed up a few things, but the thing isn't actually as good as I thought, I start seeing flaws everywhere, I fall out of love, often even drop it and the fic I was writing.

Sigh.

Fortunately for you, your major series is such a huge crossover that the characters being perfectly in character wouldn't make a lick of sense.

himitsu keisatsu seifu chokuzoku kokka hoanbu na no da himitsu keisatsu yami ni magireru supai katsudou torishimari

Windona: In fairness, that's how they are in the main DC Universe, not necessarily the Earth-16 universe.

"Please crush me with your heels Esdeath-sama!

As some of you might know, I've come up with ideas for fanfics using series that I've never seen, and ironically enough, have neither the time nor patience to watch, leaving these ideas to rot like fruit in the sun.

I won't write something if I haven't watched the series at least a little bit. though if I'm lucky enough to actually get interested to try, I at least get to watch something I like.

This brings me to a question of my own. When you want to do a game based fic, which is better: actually playing the game, or watching an video walkthrough or Let's Play?

One Strip! One Strip!

This is ESPECIALLY important advice for people writing "fixer fics." A few months ago, a couple of guys began a show re-write for a television series I won't name. Every other chapter included an author's note where they ranted about all the "flaws" of the show that they planned to "fix."

They admitted to not actually having seen the show in full (but they "watched reviews"). As a result, half the "flaws" they were trying to fix were things that were solved onscreen when the show Grew the Beard. Others were just blown WAY out of proportion.

The irony is that they story in and of itself was a pretty decent AU fanfic. If the authors would have just kept their opinions to themselves (rather than ranting in author's notes about all the "problems" they were "fixing") I'd still be recommending and maybe even reading that story.

I've written plenty of fanfics for franchises I know very little about, but when I do that it's usually a short comical story, nothing too serious. God knows I'd never have the audacity to think I could "fix" one of the many shows I personally hate and thus don't know in-and-out.

Another tip: if you must feel the need to write Christian fics, please don't shitmouth the original work while doing so, no matter how amusing it gets.

SUPER POOPER SCOOPERS ARE JUST LEGENDEH!

To the OP: *HUGS!!!!!* :D THANK YOU!!

To the newest post: So basically, don't do the Simpson's Harry Potter joke?

Admission time: I wrote my first three Pokémon fanfics, including my most popular fic, before having played a single game in the main series. And having not watched the anime since 2000.

This was done via writing with blatant Kanto emphasis, doing plenty of research on Bulbapedia, and worrying more about the characters than the worldbuilding. Even then, I know I made errors (I completely mistook which tunnel in early Kanto is pitch-black without Flash), but the plots apparently made up for it.

As for why it happened... well, this was the fourth generation and they were announcing the later legendaries and I couldn't help but think about the ramifications. (A Pokémon created the universe? There's a dark legendary that could genuinely hand Mewtwo his first beatdown ever?) Combined with my interests in considering consequences and overthinking aspects of worlds that don't get covered well in a traditional game storyline...

(Additional fun fact: the first main series game I played was Platinum, and I played it because I found a lost copy near where I live and no one came forward to claim it.)