30 Days of Fan Fiction Meme, Day 8
Jul. 6th, 2011 11:31 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
labingi8 – Do you write OCs? And if so, what do you do to make certain they're not Mary Sues, and if not, explain your thoughts on OCs.
I often feel the need of a non-canonical presence in a story to add some resonance not in the original, but I almost always strive to do this through writing crossovers. It just seems psychologically less tricky to mix non-original with non-original. I have written OCs though, usually in long fics that cover so much of characters' lives it would be weird if new people didn't crop up. I don't think I've written an OC that could readily be classed as a Mary Sue, though I have one fic loosely planned where trying to convey my OC as not-a-Sue would be a constant battle--but that's the future.
Notable OCs include: from Banana Fish, Sing and Akira's (and Eiji's) daughter, Ming, and Ash's Russian boyfriend. From Please Save My Earth, Jinpachi's girlfriend, Saraswathi. (No coincidence that both the fics in question are over 30,000 words long.) From Death Note, Watari's girlfriend, Priscilla.
As for what I do to make certain they're not Sues, I generally don't make the prominent and I try to present them (like everyone) as real people, not wonder people. It strikes me that both Ming and Saraswathi are high-powered lady professors, but I hope both are individualized. Ming is a somewhat gender-neutral asexual with a strong, sometimes intractable personality, rather like her dad's. Saraswathi is a friendly, slightly sagging, middle-aged widow with two kids, who is just looking for sexual friendship. I hope enough realistic quirk kills the Sue factor.
9 – Pairings – For each of the fandoms from day two, what are your three favorite pairings to write?
10 – Pairings – Have you ever gone outside your comfort zone and written a pairing you liked, but found you couldn't write, or a pairing you didn't like, and found you could?
11 – Genre – do you prefer certain genres of fic when you're writing? What kind do you tend to write most?
12 – Have you ever attempted an "adaptation" fic of a favorite book or movie but set in a different fandom?
13 – Do you prefer canon or fanon when you write? Has writing fanfic for a fandom changed the way you see some or even all of the original source material?
14 – Ratings – how high are you comfortable with going? Have you ever written higher? If you're comfortable with NC-17, have you ever been shocked by finding that the story you're writing is G-rated instead?
15 – Warnings – What do you feel it most important to warn for, and what's the strangest thing you've warned for in a fic?
[note to self: much religiosity, reincarnation interpretation]
16 – Summaries – Do you like them or hate them? How do you come up with them, if you use them?
17 – Titles – Are they the bane of your existence, or the easiest part of the fic? Also, if you do chaptered fic, do you give each chapter a title, or not?
18 – Where do you get the most inspiration for your fics (aka "bunnies") from?
19 – When you have bunnies, do you sit down and start writing right away, or do you write down the idea for further use?
20 – Do you ever get bunnied from other people's stories or art in the same fandom?
21 – Sequels – Have you ever written a sequel to a fic you wrote, and if so, why, and if not, how do you feel about sequels?
22 – Have you ever participated in a fest or a Big Bang? If so, write about your favorite experience in relation to one. If not, are there any you've thought about doing? And if not, why not?
23 – When you post, where do you post to? Just your journal? Just an archive? Your own personal site?
24 – Betaing – How many betas do you like to use to make sure there aren't any major flaws in your fic? Do you have a Beta horror story or dream story?
25 – Music – Do you listen to music while you write? Do you make playlists to get into a certain "mood" to write your fic? Do you need noise in general? Or do you need it completely quiet?
26 – What is the oddest (or funnest) thing you've had to research for a fic?
27 – Where is your favorite place to write, and do you write by hand or on the computer?
28 – Have you ever collaborated with anyone else, whether writing together, or having an artist work on a piece about your fic?
29 – What is your current project or projects?
30 – Do you have a favorite fic you've written? What makes it your favorite? And don't forget to give us a link!
I often feel the need of a non-canonical presence in a story to add some resonance not in the original, but I almost always strive to do this through writing crossovers. It just seems psychologically less tricky to mix non-original with non-original. I have written OCs though, usually in long fics that cover so much of characters' lives it would be weird if new people didn't crop up. I don't think I've written an OC that could readily be classed as a Mary Sue, though I have one fic loosely planned where trying to convey my OC as not-a-Sue would be a constant battle--but that's the future.
Notable OCs include: from Banana Fish, Sing and Akira's (and Eiji's) daughter, Ming, and Ash's Russian boyfriend. From Please Save My Earth, Jinpachi's girlfriend, Saraswathi. (No coincidence that both the fics in question are over 30,000 words long.) From Death Note, Watari's girlfriend, Priscilla.
As for what I do to make certain they're not Sues, I generally don't make the prominent and I try to present them (like everyone) as real people, not wonder people. It strikes me that both Ming and Saraswathi are high-powered lady professors, but I hope both are individualized. Ming is a somewhat gender-neutral asexual with a strong, sometimes intractable personality, rather like her dad's. Saraswathi is a friendly, slightly sagging, middle-aged widow with two kids, who is just looking for sexual friendship. I hope enough realistic quirk kills the Sue factor.
9 – Pairings – For each of the fandoms from day two, what are your three favorite pairings to write?
10 – Pairings – Have you ever gone outside your comfort zone and written a pairing you liked, but found you couldn't write, or a pairing you didn't like, and found you could?
11 – Genre – do you prefer certain genres of fic when you're writing? What kind do you tend to write most?
12 – Have you ever attempted an "adaptation" fic of a favorite book or movie but set in a different fandom?
13 – Do you prefer canon or fanon when you write? Has writing fanfic for a fandom changed the way you see some or even all of the original source material?
14 – Ratings – how high are you comfortable with going? Have you ever written higher? If you're comfortable with NC-17, have you ever been shocked by finding that the story you're writing is G-rated instead?
15 – Warnings – What do you feel it most important to warn for, and what's the strangest thing you've warned for in a fic?
[note to self: much religiosity, reincarnation interpretation]
16 – Summaries – Do you like them or hate them? How do you come up with them, if you use them?
17 – Titles – Are they the bane of your existence, or the easiest part of the fic? Also, if you do chaptered fic, do you give each chapter a title, or not?
18 – Where do you get the most inspiration for your fics (aka "bunnies") from?
19 – When you have bunnies, do you sit down and start writing right away, or do you write down the idea for further use?
20 – Do you ever get bunnied from other people's stories or art in the same fandom?
21 – Sequels – Have you ever written a sequel to a fic you wrote, and if so, why, and if not, how do you feel about sequels?
22 – Have you ever participated in a fest or a Big Bang? If so, write about your favorite experience in relation to one. If not, are there any you've thought about doing? And if not, why not?
23 – When you post, where do you post to? Just your journal? Just an archive? Your own personal site?
24 – Betaing – How many betas do you like to use to make sure there aren't any major flaws in your fic? Do you have a Beta horror story or dream story?
25 – Music – Do you listen to music while you write? Do you make playlists to get into a certain "mood" to write your fic? Do you need noise in general? Or do you need it completely quiet?
26 – What is the oddest (or funnest) thing you've had to research for a fic?
27 – Where is your favorite place to write, and do you write by hand or on the computer?
28 – Have you ever collaborated with anyone else, whether writing together, or having an artist work on a piece about your fic?
29 – What is your current project or projects?
30 – Do you have a favorite fic you've written? What makes it your favorite? And don't forget to give us a link!
