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Author Topic: Tips for Writing (helpful for FanFic)  (Read 9604 times)
janx
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« on: March 25, 2020, 11:15:44 PM »

I hope this thread will be made sticky, since it should be a list of tips and tricks for helping to write fan-fiction

Disclaimer: I am an unfamous writer. I've spent several years studying the craft, learning tricks and "the rules"  My intent is to build a stack of links and tips that will help my fellow writers (if you've written FanFic, you are a writer). Some of you have learned this stuff, some may be learning by doing. My writing isn't perfect, so this isn't a dig at anybody's skill.  I don't have anybody's work in mind when I list these tips.


Note: while my tips imply it's a good idea, I'll try to link a credible article to explain it better. You don't need to take my word for it.

Reduce -LY adverbs
Steven King says to kill them, but even he uses them.  Outside of dialogue, try to remove them and use a better verb.
https://www.brainpickings.org/2013/03/13/stephen-king-on-adverbs/

Here's a tool to help find them:
https://datayze.com/difficult-word-finder.php

Passive Voice Sounds Wimpy
There's several forms of it, but "Han killed Greedo" is stronger than "Greedo was killed by Han."
https://www.grammarly.com/blog/passive-voice/

Here's a tool to help find them:
https://datayze.com/passive-voice-detector.php


Start Interesting
Your first sentence and pages should hook the reader. If it's too mundane, you risk losing them.
https://annerallen.com/2018/04/how-to-write-a-great-first-sentence/

I try to write something that hints at the story or immediate and sets up enough intrigue by being just vague or unusual enough. So in my Relics in the Dark story, I bet you've seen the hero enter the room with a billowing cloak before, but you've never seen them get it hung up on something.  That entices the reader to see why is this different. Catching them by surprise and making them wonder "what's going on here" is the hook. They don't need to be funny, but if it reads like any other line, it's not special and probably not helping.



I'll come back with more.  Plus many of you have learned stuff, too.  StoryDetective produced a ton of videos about writing (and probably much of what I've got to share):
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCVGhBcS68CijUU85poaCeAw

If you've got tips or questions, reply so we can all learn from each other.
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Lord_S_Gray
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« Reply #1 on: March 26, 2020, 12:45:01 AM »

Cool tips thanks Janx. One of the best things about fan fiction is seeing the variety of individual styles and how they evolve, things like this can help refine around the edges of a persons natural style I think.

PS 'Han murdered Greedo' maybe  Wink
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Lord_S_Gray

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« Reply #2 on: March 26, 2020, 02:13:01 AM »

Excellent stuff, writing fan fiction got me into creative writing as a teenager and almost two decades later I'm still doing it. Thanks for putting this together!

Oh, and if I might be so bold as to add a tip to whoever is looking at doing fanfic, don't forget to describe what your characters looks like! Too many fanfics and some EU Star Wars novels never seem to give the reader a visual picture of who they're reading about. Doesn't have to be all-inclusive, but it helps to have something visual to latch onto.

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« Reply #3 on: March 27, 2020, 01:42:59 PM »

Great resources janx! Point! Okay, metaphorical point because I dont want to mess up your perfect neutral  Grin
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Karmack
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« Reply #4 on: March 27, 2020, 01:45:07 PM »

Sticky set.   This is great info!   Thanks Janx!
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janx
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« Reply #5 on: March 27, 2020, 02:08:03 PM »

Here's a couple more:


Remove Unnecessary Words

This can mean a lot of different things (like killing adverbs).  One meaning is to make sure each sentence and paragraph and scene supports the story.  Load bearing.  If I can remove it (ex. Tom Bombadil from Lord of the Rings) and Frodo still tosses a ring into a volcano (spoiler) then it's not necessary. A scene might reveal character or explain something that'll happen later and thus be needed. But a clever writer makes it do those things AND support the plot by mixing action and dialogue and revealing character by those things.

Here's a link to more literal interpretation:
https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/general_writing/academic_writing/conciseness/eliminating_words.html


Just Use Said

When I was a lad, I learned to mix up my dialogue tags with whispered, shouted, etc.  Time passed and when I got back into writing, boy did things change.  Now it's just said or use some action by the speaking character to imply who's talking (but do not have the criss-crossing the room on every line).

https://www.novel-writing-help.com/dialogue-tags.html


Don't Undo What You Just Did

I don't have a link on this one, just a gut feeling from experience. If you killed the bald captain and made the elf and audience cry, don't revive the captain in literally the next scene. If you hand the MC a magic sword, don't make him lose it right after that. Let the weight of the thing you setup carry, otherwise it weakens the original scene. We should see that magic sword be useful at least once, and then dang, he dropped it, man we are really screwed now.  




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« Reply #6 on: March 27, 2020, 02:18:30 PM »

Good stuff, Janx!
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Taegin Roan
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« Reply #7 on: March 27, 2020, 07:55:19 PM »

Yes, good advice. I'm going to have to disagree with you on Tom Bombadil though.
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janx
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« Reply #8 on: April 09, 2020, 06:10:04 PM »

Here's a couple more tips

Read It Out Loud
Take a moment to read your story to your pet dog or goldfish (but not your cat, they're cruel critics).  You'll find mistakes, but also parts that are hard to say out load are probably clunky to read.


Run Spellcheck Manually
Before you call it done, run spellcheck manually. Don't just scroll looking for red squigglies.  This will step you through each possible error and make you think about them.  Always do this after you make a quick change.  I cannot tell you how many times I do a minor adjustment and it turns out I introduced a new error.


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TheDutchman
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« Reply #9 on: April 10, 2020, 05:44:03 AM »

Janx,
These are fantastic!  I'm so glad that you posted this (and that it was sticky'd!)

These are EXCELLENT points/suggestions/rules to incorporate in order to assist with writing!  And FULLY support this and definitely recommend that anyone who is interested in writing (regardless whether or not it's FanFic or otherwise) should take the time to read these!

I would also like to make a suggestion as well: listen to the feedback of your peers and fellow authors.  I canNOT stress how important this has been to my own writing.  There have been several times that Karm, LSG, TR, and TDC have written a response and/or critique that truly helped me with an issue/idea, almost invariably leading to a genuine improvement in the story itself.  Remember: constructive criticism is how you (as a writer) get better!  I know that I've been lucky enough to have the feedback of some truly talented authors to help me along in my own SW journey  Wink
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janx
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« Reply #10 on: April 10, 2020, 05:25:15 PM »

Thanks Dutchman!

Today's tip is a touchy subject, but somebody asked recently. I'm going to stick to that subject as it relates to writing fan-fiction .

Kill Your Darlings v2.0
In the writing world, there's an old term for characters that are too perfect and too protected from plot point where it seems the author loves them more than the reader does.  You may hear the term Mary Sue or Gary Stu in effort to be equal opportunity. In any case, it's a wish-fulfillment character that ruins the story by being too perfect.

If you've ever played a role-playing game (the pen and paper kind) and the memory of the GM playing a PC in your party makes you cringe because they always avoid the bad stuff and saved the day. Yeah, that's the same thing.

These characters tend to have tragic backstories, think they are ugly but everybody says they aren't, and never seem to fail.  If the party ends up in the mud, it'll be this character who avoids it and/or has the solution.  Every time.

There's a handy test, that the author of now would like to discontinue the use of the term "Mary Sue", but the test itself is handy for analyzing your characters for being too "precious"
https://springhole.net/writing/marysue.htm

How do you fix it?
https://litreactor.com/columns/6-ways-to-save-a-mary-sue

It's okay to check a box or two on this test.  Odds are good, some of your stories are a self-insert of your forum name or SW cosplay.  But a well written story, published under your name, wouldn't signal this problem to the reader. Nobody would know that you started the story based on a screen name.

Also, remember that fan-fiction is where many writers start.  It's alright to make a story about yourself.  The advice here is about tightening up the craft.




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janx
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« Reply #11 on: April 21, 2020, 06:17:26 PM »

Here's a tool to help you focus your story

Use the Story Question to know what your story is about

Here's a template and example:

WHEN SOMETHING HAPPENS*, *YOUR PROTAGONIST* *PURSUES A GOAL*. But will he succeed when *ANTAGONIST PROVIDES OPPOSITION*?

When the Empire fell and raiders attacked his retirement planet, Brexton Krail recruits his friends to defend their sector using mothballed equipment while he poses as a Sith Lord.  But will his plan work when the New Republic and hidden dark forces take notice?

By filling this out, I get a handy blurb to summarize my story until I write an actual blurb.  But I also make sure I know what my project is about by filling in those blanks. 

Here's an article by the expert where I learned about this, Jim Butcher's old LiveJournal site:
https://jimbutcher.livejournal.com/1308.html

And here is an article from where he learned it, Deb Chester herself:
http://www.unstressedsyllables.com/2011/on-story-structure-the-story-question-worksheet/


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janx
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« Reply #12 on: April 30, 2020, 03:55:39 PM »

This week, let's look at what happens next


What Happens Next is easier with Scene and Sequel

Scene and Sequel is a technique for framing scenes and responses to scenes called Sequels (not to be confused with the cinematic meaning of the term ala Episodes V or VI). In Empire, Luke fighting Vader is a Scene.  Luke hanging one handed and yelling "No!" a lot and wondering what to do next is the Sequel.  It's his emotional, physical and logical response to what's just happened.

Here's some links to explain:
https://jimbutcher.livejournal.com/2880.html

https://www.helpingwritersbecomeauthors.com/scene-structure-2/

What is this good for?  If your pantsing (as in no outline, writing to see where your characters take you), this is a framework for that. You write the fight scene or the hero just tried to do something and failed.  What happens next?  The Sequel.  Where you show us the reaction and working out what to do next.  This also supports that pet peeve I have about passive characters.  The hero MUST make a decision to do something and the next scene is them trying to do it.

Conflict is Lubricant for Stuck Stories

Are your heroes are stuck in cantina, not moving on, and you're not sure where to go next?  Try adding conflict, peferably based on characters objecting to what's happened or seeing opportunity.

  • A barfight starting is action, but it's unrelated to the characters and is just something happening.
  • Chewbacca disagreeing with the decision Han made, that's good.  It reveals character and is interpersonal conflict.
  • Greedo's friend deciding to even the score shows this world has consequences for actions (Han killed somebody five minutes ago and nobody cared?)
  • Stormtroopers discovering the droids they were looking for outside a cantina because nobody made a stand for their rights.

https://screencraft.org/2014/05/13/ways-create-conflict-story-script-screenplay/

https://thewritepractice.com/creating-conflict/

Those links talk about how and why to create conflict in general.  My advice here is to use conflict to help get you unstuck in a story that isn't moving anymore. Because once you make conflict interrupt the status quo, the hero has something to take action against. And then your story is moving again.

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janx
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« Reply #13 on: May 11, 2020, 10:52:46 PM »

Time for a few new tips


A Tense Situation

A mistake I often make is mixing present tense with past tense. I usually slip into present tense during action scenes, which makes sense because events are unfolding.  You should stick to one or the other, and ideally pick one before you start.  I've heard that YA stories tend to be present tense, but the gold standard is past tense.

To paraphrase an old IBM quote, "Nobody ever got fired for writing in past tense."

https://www.writersdigest.com/write-better-fiction/the-pros-and-cons-of-writing-a-novel-in-present-tense
https://thewritepractice.com/past-tense-vs-present-tense/

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« Reply #14 on: May 13, 2020, 05:19:56 AM »

Yet another great piece to help us all improve our writing game, Janx!  Thank you  Smiley

Point!
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