Tips on Writing Fanfic

[WhatIfsAndWishes]

I'm considering becoming a first-time writer on here but the topic I am really interested in at the moment is the movie Kick-Ass. I think the lead couple are awesome and a story about them could be quite exciting given the chance to include some superhero action as well.

However, I have a feeling that fanfic may be difficult to write. Has anyone else who has already written some give me some pitfalls to avoid, maybe the mistakes other people have made so I can avoid them?

I am particularly aware that they are pre-created characters so I don't have as much freedom as characters which I would create myself.

 

[Weird Harold]

However, I have a feeling that fanfic may be difficult to write. Has anyone else who has already written some give me some pitfalls to avoid, maybe the mistakes other people have made so I can avoid them?

The absolute best advice about fanfiction is "if you don't have the author's approval, don't write it. If you must write it don't publish it -- which includes posting it on fan sites."

I am particularly aware that they are pre-created characters so I don't have as much freedom as characters which I would create myself.

The second best advice about writing fan-fiction is, "stay way from main or even prominent characters."

If you're going to write something about main or prominent characters, you're inevitibly going to contradict canon -- at best that makes your work an "alternate reality" version of the story and if you're going to write about a different but similar universe, then write about your OWN universe without the restrictions of trying to force your muse into the straitjacket of someone else's vision

Use your fandom to inspire you to write an anciliary story you can submit to the author for approval to post, or use it inspire a better "reality" that doesn't infringe on the original's intellectual property.

 

[Stella_Omega]

Feh. Fanfic is a perfectly common thing to write and post. Just not at lit, where people tell you how horrible they think it all is.

My advice is to bring your fanfic to one of the hubs-- http://livejournal.com or http://dreamwidth.org and not waste your time with it here. I'm on both lj and dw as dharma-slut if you want to look me up. Go to my "friends" link on lj or "reading" on dw, and see if any other posters there interest you...

There are so many communities, so much "meta" (essays about the topic) written by so many people. There are so many reasons for starting from a canon source, and so many ways to approach the material-- I don't even have the mental resources right now to start enumerating them.

I would say-- write the fic. Try to keep the characters as true to canon as you possibly can, even if you've put them in an alternate universe type setting.

 

[Weird Harold]

Feh. Fanfic is a perfectly common thing to write and post. Just not at lit, where people tell you how horrible they think it all is.

...

There are so many communities, so much "meta" (essays about the topic) written by so many people. There are so many reasons for starting from a canon source, and so many ways to approach the material-- ...

Several of may favorite authors either got their start writing "fanfic" and/or are known to me strictly through anthologies of what is essentially fan fiction -- shared universe stuff.

The point in my first post is that those authors who get their start wrting fan fiction and/or write shared universe type fan fiction follw the second bolded point -- they stay away from main or prominent characters and only use them in inncuous cameos as public figures.

The other point is to avoid writing fanfiction the author will object to; it is far better to get the author's sanction before publishing than to get nasty corespondence from their lawyer(s.)

Fan fiction is not generally recommended here at Lit, because the kind of fanfiction that usually winds up here doesn't stay very close to canon -- the characters wouldn't have wild orgies with everything except kids and animal if they stayed close to canon -- and the authors would be less constrained if they abandoned the connection to a canon they aren't following anyway.

There's also the problem of other fans who don't like their favorite character written as far from in-character as sex stories tend to get. Some people are very attached to their virgin princesses.

There are many fan fiction possibilities that could put characters in sexual situations without stretching canon too far; they just don't tend to show up here.

 

[Stella_Omega]

As far as the legal side of things, there are all kinds of lawyers discussing the matter of fair use etc, and it doesn't look too good for the authors frankly. Sure, they can spend their money on lawyers if they want-- those letters are pricey, and some dirt-poor fan might be scared off but it's like shooting at minnows.

Anne Rice is one author who has expressed that her characters are far too precious for fan fic, and mostly the fans respect her wishes. Many fic-writing fans simply left off reading her and found other intriguing sandboxes to play in.

I know of two young women who are starting to hit the best sellers lists after a fan fic start. One is Cassandra Claire, the other I won't name-- but is far far better a writer than her canon inspiration JK Rowling ever was, IMO. She's just sold the film rights to her series, too.

There's also the problem of other fans who don't like their favorite character written as far from in-character as sex stories tend to get. Some people are very attached to their virgin princesses.

One reason I read fanfic is because the smut is hotter and dirtier and better written in those communities than anything I find here on lit, frankly-- women who write for themselves and each other are feeelthy! AND they work very hard to keep it in context. yessirree, the characters will fuck like bunnies, for this and this and this reason. And you're nodding your head-- and sitting on a towel so you don't soak your seat

 

[sunandshadow]

I don't agree that most good fanfiction is not written about main characters. Most fanfiction period is written about main characters. Fanfiction as a whole is at least a third crap, but I don't think the percentage of good stuff is noticeably higher for less central characters. Even a central character of a movie isn't developed in that much depth in the movie, there's room to add, and freedom to diverge if you want to write an AU.

A lot of people specifically seek out fanfic about their favorite character in a series and ignore the rest. I must have read a thousand Snape-centric Harry Potter fanfictions before I felt I had had enough of that character. I've probably read almost as many LxLight Death Note fanfictions. It's actually quite frustrating to be mainly interested in a minor character from a series - I adore Grima Wormtongue from The Lord of the Rings movies but there just aren't that many stories where he's a sympathetic main character.

I don't write fanfiction any more because I told myself I wasn't going to write anything I could never publish, but when I did write it I always found it easier than original fiction because whatever your weak area is (for me, plot and bad guys) you can use that part from the cannon and put your creativity into the rest. There's this cool dialogue among the community members too, people share their interpretations of the same character and eventually come up with something (or a few alternate possibilities) which are more well rounded and sophisticated than the canon.

 

[LizzyDark]

Unless you're trying to make money off the fan fiction stories, and Lit doesn't count toward that, most authors won't bother even shrugging at your attempts. Lawyers cost money and most authors throwing fan fiction up on blogs and free sites don't have a pot to piss in, let alone deep enough pockets to warrant chasing. Even having a lawyer send a cease and desist letter costs quite a bit. Most authors I've ever heard of are intentionally ignorant of fan fiction or couldn't care less so long as nobody tries to make money on it.

That hardly matters for Kick-Ass since it was a movie and the writers are so buried from the actual film process that they're probably madder at the director and actors for what they did to the characters than anything you could do. You should see some of the stuff out there in fan fiction for the Buffy universe. With movies, video games, and TV shows, the "author" which is usually a team of writers and then everyone else to alter the material after the fact (actors, directors, editors, etc.) couldn't care less what you do with the characters after the fact.

Readers, fans of the canon, will fucking crucify you though if they don't like even the tiniest detail of what you've written. This probably won't be a huge problem with Kick-Ass though. It's kind of a cult film, badly marketed, and dropped in the spring dump period of movie releases. Your odds of running across a rabid fan wanting to verbally tear out your eyes is pretty slim; certainly not the risk you'd run if you wrote Star Wars fan fiction (those fans are fucking nuts). On the other side of that is the fact that you're not really going to have a huge audience to draw from either. I watched the movie in the theater, twice even, and I couldn't care less about what the characters did afterward. Most fan fiction taps into a pre-existing audience, for better or worse, but I have my doubts about your source material providing that.

I'd say, go for it. Your odds of being legally assaulted by the writers of Kick-Ass are infinitesimally small, your odds of being verbally assaulted by a rabid fan who knows everything every about Kick-Ass aren't much better, and you'll probably have fun writing it, which is the real reason most people write fan fiction.

 

[Stella_Omega]

You should see some of the stuff out there in fan fiction for the Buffy universe.

It's a damn shame Joss Whedon didn't get with some of the fans before he embarked on those horrible comic books. There's more "fix it" fic in the Buffyverse than anything else-- except of course for Marty-Stu fic featuring Xander, and screaming hot BDSM featuring Spike with anyone and everyone.

 

[WhatIfsAndWishes]

There's also the problem of other fans who don't like their favorite character written as far from in-character as sex stories tend to get. Some people are very attached to their virgin princesses.

There are many fan fiction possibilities that could put characters in sexual situations without stretching canon too far; they just don't tend to show up here.

Fortunately, I think the two main characters *would* end up in sexual situations and the female is quite likely to say "I'd like to fuck your brains out." So I don't think that's a problem for this story.

I'd say, go for it. Your odds of being legally assaulted by the writers of Kick-Ass are infinitesimally small, your odds of being verbally assaulted by a rabid fan who knows everything every about Kick-Ass aren't much better, and you'll probably have fun writing it, which is the real reason most people write fan fiction.

Lol. I *am* the rabid fan.

 

[sr71plt]

I'd say, go for it. Your odds of being legally assaulted by the writers of Kick-Ass are infinitesimally small, your odds of being verbally assaulted by a rabid fan who knows everything every about Kick-Ass aren't much better, and you'll probably have fun writing it, which is the real reason most people write fan fiction.

Wow, that is so highly principled.

And that is, I think, the major problem with fanfiction. Many of those doing it are real sleaze bags about anyone's sensitivities but their own and about the propriety of depicting another real person in writing.

 

[Stella_Omega]

Wow, that is so highly principled.

We know, we know.

 

[LizzyDark]

Wow, that is so highly principled.

And that is, I think, the major problem with fanfiction. Many of those doing it are real sleaze bags about anyone's sensitivities but their own and about the propriety of depicting another real person in writing.

LMFAO what real people are we talking about here? I think the characters and events depicted in Kick-Ass were fictional--I mean, that's how I took the little disclaimer at the end about any similarity between people living or dead being entirely coincidental.

Here's something you can do with your copious amounts of free time: go make a huge long list of the people who worked tirelessly on Kick-Ass the movie, go around and ask them if it would bother them if someone wrote a fan-fiction erotica story to post on a free website, and come back and let us know how many people gave a shit.

 

[Stella_Omega]

LMFAO what real people are we talking about here? I think the characters and events depicted in Kick-Ass were fictional--I mean, that's how I took the little disclaimer at the end about any similarity between people living or dead being entirely coincidental.

Here's something you can do with your copious amounts of free time: go make a huge long list of the people who worked tirelessly on Kick-Ass the movie, go around and ask them if it would bother them if someone wrote a fan-fiction erotica story to post on a free website, and come back and let us know how many people gave a shit.

Don't even worry about it. It's a battle he'll never stop fighting... a bit like slugging jellyfish, but yanno-- we all have those jellyfish-slugging triggers one way or another...

 

[sr71plt]

LMFAO what real people are we talking about here? I think the characters and events depicted in Kick-Ass were fictional--I mean, that's how I took the little disclaimer at the end about any similarity between people living or dead being entirely coincidental.

Here's something you can do with your copious amounts of free time: go make a huge long list of the people who worked tirelessly on Kick-Ass the movie, go around and ask them if it would bother them if someone wrote a fan-fiction erotica story to post on a free website, and come back and let us know how many people gave a shit.

Oh, I can tell you're going to be a real charmer here.

Getting one story posted does it for you, does it?

 

[srlmort]

Still a fan ficcer AND a published author

*waves to Dharma*

I am a published author and still write fan fics for fun. However, I only do AU's now because it what my muses tell me to and I because AU's are more fun. You limit yourself and your characters by trying to copy who they are.

These days, I write it as pure enjoyment. I am on LJ and I still have my FF on a website where I stress all the rules, make no money, no intent to defame, etc.

If you feel that you want to do it, I say go for it. I do real person though so I have not done anything based on a movie. I mean, isn't writing all about putting characters in our own situations, real or not?

To me, all you are doing is taking a person, real or fictional, and making them an actor in your movie. I often think of what I want my characters to look like and sometimes those peole I love looking at end up being models in my stories. Of course I would never use names, situations, etc but having a picture in mind of the man or woman I am thinking about definitely makes the story easier.

Just my two cents...

 

[LizzyDark]

Oh, I can tell you're going to be a real charmer here.

Getting one story posted does it for you, does it?

Yeah, I'm usually too busy writing my weekly magazine column, writing my next novel, and editing my short story collection to post fan fiction stories on literotica. It's almost like I'm exactly what you wish you could be.

 

[squarejohn]

I'm always willing to add to my knowledge. What is fanfic?

 

[Weird Harold]

I'm always willing to add to my knowledge. What is fanfic?

"Fan Fiction" -- stories using characters from popular movies, tv series or books written by fans.

 

[Boxlicker101]

Quote:
Originally Posted by squarejohn
I'm always willing to add to my knowledge. What is fanfic?

"Fan Fiction" -- stories using characters from popular movies, tv series or books written by fans.

You have a dangling participle there, Harold. You mean: Stories, written by fans, using characters from popular movies, tv series or books.