Fan Fiction Meme
Jul. 7th, 2008 09:34 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
dreamflowerA meme about writing fanfic, stolen from ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
claudia603, behind the cut, for length:
1. How about a brief introduction?
It’s pretty much all on my user profile
2. What got you into fan fiction (and/or adopting muses)?
I found a link to an LotR fic at the rec.arts.books.tolkien newsgroup, and began to find and read fic. After a few months, I read a fic by Lulleny, “The Prodigal Took”, and wrote my first story. With her encouragement and beta, I archived it, and then the floodgates opened…
3. What kind of fan fiction do you write?
LotR. 99.9% LotR (I have *one* Narnia fic written for Yuletide, and one eensy little LOST RPF tangentially related to LotR.) Everything else is LotR, and almost all of *that* is hobbit-centric. I also write gen--I’m a gen girl at heart. I guess what you could say I mostly specialize in is “friendship fic”.
4. Do you write for the same pairings/characters?
No for pairings--I am not into ‘shipping, and the only pairings I really get into are canon couples. Yes, *mostly*, for characters--normally it’s the four main hobbits and Bilbo either all together or individually or in various combinations thereof. However, I do enjoy writing also about some of the “minor” canon characters, like Fredegar Bolger or Dora Baggins, as well as having a number of OC oriented fics.
5. What is your most popular fic and why do you think people like it so?
I think “A New Reckoning” is my most popular finished piece, and I think people like it because it contains so many favorite characters--all the four hobbits, Legolas and Gimli, Bergil, Freddy Bolger, and it‘s “cross-cultural“ bringing Men into the Shire, both Gondorian and Rohirrim--and it proposes a filling for a canon gap that’s different from most other fics set in the same time period.
6. Forget other people, what is the fanfic you've written that you're most proud of?
Well, that *is* the one I’m most proud of, mainly because of its length and the fact that I was able to finish it to my satisfaction, and because it sort of set the stage for my post-Quest Shire, and everything that came after.
I’ve other shorter stories that I’m also proud of, but it’s more a sense of wonder rather than pride in what I did. Those are short stories like “Neither Have I Wings to Fly” or “On Amon Sul“, that just kind of “came to me”, like a gift. I feel proud that something chose me to channel them, but I don’t really feel as though *I’m* the one who wrote them. I especially feel that way about the few first person stories I’ve written--it seems as if the characters themselves are just dictating them.
I have to say, I do not believe I have any stories that I’m actually *ashamed* of, or that I wished I had not written.
7. Do you find writing easy? Hard? What aspects do you struggle with?
Both. Sometimes the words just flow, and the story follows the path I’d planned for it as easy as cutting butter. Other times I’ll hit an impasse and feel like I’ve written myself into a dead end. I find that when I try too hard to “plan” a story, the more trouble it tends to give me. If I don’t plan it at all, it will just tumble right out, but then it will need *MAJOR* revision with a beta. ("Consequences of a Fall" and "Chance Encounter" were like that--just bunny chases, that had to be whipped into shape afterwards. The latter had some horrendous canon timeline trouble to clear up!)
My best way to do longer stories is to know the beginning, at least one major scene in the middle, and the ending. Everything else is filler.
This is not a problem with vignettes and drabbles, however.
8. Write a few sentences of your favorite pairing or character.
This is from one of the friendship stories I wrote for![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-community.gif)
20_rings, "The Walls Came Tumbling Down".
Sam knew only too well that Mr. Frodo was not best pleased at this setback to his plans and was cross that Sam would not accept his help. And Frodo knew that Sam was feeling cross at having to let them down, and that the gardener’s stubbornness was as much pride as it was propriety. Merry and Pippin simply felt caught in the middle. It made Merry terse, and made Pippin even more fidgety and edgy than he normally was.
Sam returned to his task [of repairing the wall] after tea; he would work until sundown, and then go home to Number Three for his supper. Then he’d be up again at the crack of dawn to work some more. Till would not be able to come back and assist him again until after luncheon the next day.
The three cousins watched the exhausted gardener leave, feeling more than a little guilty that nothing more than an accident of birth kept them sitting idle when a friend needed help.
“This is ridiculous,” said Frodo. “There is no real reason we could not help him with this.”
Merry looked thoughtful. “No, there isn’t.” He turned to Frodo with a speculative eye. “How many lanterns do you have around this hole, anyway?”
Pippin grinned.
Frodo raised one brow, and looked at Merry questioningly.
Merry nodded.
9. Are there any fan fiction trends/cliches you hate?
Adult hobbits acting like spoiled children--especially on the Quest. Adult hobbits being *treated* like children by those who should know better (e.g. I can see the Big Folk in the Fellowship making that mistake at first, except for Gandalf, but by the time they‘ve all been together a few days, they should *KNOW BETTER*!). Wimpy Frodo. Clueless Pippin. Merry as a clown. Sam as Super Jeeves. The tendency to split them up into Frodo-and-Sam, Merry-and-Pippin, with each pair acting like the other pair doesn’t exist--ignoring the fact that they are all four deeply devoted to one another.
10. Are you guilty of any of the trends you hate?
I sincerely hope not!
11. What was the first fandom you wrote for? Do you still write for it?
LotR--and yes, because it is my OTF--One True Fandom
12. Name your OTPs and explain what it is about them you love to write.
None, unless they are canon--as I said before, I’m not into ‘shipping. However I have some minor and OC pairings that I’m quite fond of in my own stories.
My favorite canon pairings are Faramir/Eowyn and Merry/Estella and Sam/Rose.
13. What would you call your writing style?
Basic. I try as best as I can (being an American) to capture the dialogue style JRRT used; I try not to violate any major grammatical rules, and to be careful of spelling or of using any obvious anachronisms. I would say mostly I try to *avoid* bad writing, more than expecting that my writing will be *good*. And once in a while, I actually write something that does sound really good to me. I try to be descriptive and atmospheric, however I don’t think that I ever quite suit myself on that score, except for the fics that I mentioned that come to me full-blown.
When I write gapfillers for The Hobbit, or when I write Bilbo, I try to capture the flavor of that book--but I don’t fool myself that I can come close to JRRT. But the style in The Hobbit is fairly easy to imitate.
14. Do you read other people's fan fiction? If so, what do you find yourself reading the most?
Oh yes! I like to *read* fic even more than to write it! It's probably the major setback to my own writing--I'm very easily distracted by new fic! I will read just about anything that has hobbits in it--or at least *begin* anything that has hobbits in it! I have some favorite authors, as anybody does, a couple of whom are so good that I despair of *ever* writing that well.
What I really look for though, in a fic is “heart”. If it has that, I will overlook any flaws of grammar or canon.
15. Name one thing you'd love to write but have been too afraid or too shy to do.
Hmm…maybe a couple of really cracky stories I’ve talked about with other people. They sound hilarious when we are laughing over them--but I’m afraid of actually writing them out--afraid they’ll fizzle out, and no one will get the joke.
16. Do you feel uncomfortable taking criticism? Or worse, do you have the dreaded bloated ego?
Oh, I’m pretty thick-skinned. If a criticism turns up something valid and fixable, I’m grateful and will make the change.
I do resent it however, when a “criticism” is nothing more than a disagreement over interpretations of canon or character. I welcome *discussions* of the differences, but really get P.O'ed if someone tells me I am "wrong" over what is essentially a different approach to the source material.
17. When you write, is there anything that helps?
Uninterrupted time. And not getting sidetracked by the internet. But I can write just about anywhere, and have.
A deadline often helps as well--gets me focussed.
18. What inspires you?
Just about everything--if it reminds me of hobbits, and nearly everything does, then I am likely to get a plot bunny out of it. I always have lots more bunnies than I can ever use.
I also love getting inspired by challenges--it’s a lot of fun to come up with a story for someone else!
19. Lastly, how would you sum up your fan fiction experiences and you as a writer?
My fan fiction experiences have been tremendously fulfilling creatively. I have any number of creative hobbies, but none of the others scratch quite the same itch as writing fic. In addition, it’s brought me many lovely and dear friends I would not otherwise have had.
As a writer, I hope that I am improving as I go, and that my stories are as enjoyable to other people as they are to me.
claudia603, behind the cut, for length: 1. How about a brief introduction?
It’s pretty much all on my user profile
2. What got you into fan fiction (and/or adopting muses)?
I found a link to an LotR fic at the rec.arts.books.tolkien newsgroup, and began to find and read fic. After a few months, I read a fic by Lulleny, “The Prodigal Took”, and wrote my first story. With her encouragement and beta, I archived it, and then the floodgates opened…
3. What kind of fan fiction do you write?
LotR. 99.9% LotR (I have *one* Narnia fic written for Yuletide, and one eensy little LOST RPF tangentially related to LotR.) Everything else is LotR, and almost all of *that* is hobbit-centric. I also write gen--I’m a gen girl at heart. I guess what you could say I mostly specialize in is “friendship fic”.
4. Do you write for the same pairings/characters?
No for pairings--I am not into ‘shipping, and the only pairings I really get into are canon couples. Yes, *mostly*, for characters--normally it’s the four main hobbits and Bilbo either all together or individually or in various combinations thereof. However, I do enjoy writing also about some of the “minor” canon characters, like Fredegar Bolger or Dora Baggins, as well as having a number of OC oriented fics.
5. What is your most popular fic and why do you think people like it so?
I think “A New Reckoning” is my most popular finished piece, and I think people like it because it contains so many favorite characters--all the four hobbits, Legolas and Gimli, Bergil, Freddy Bolger, and it‘s “cross-cultural“ bringing Men into the Shire, both Gondorian and Rohirrim--and it proposes a filling for a canon gap that’s different from most other fics set in the same time period.
6. Forget other people, what is the fanfic you've written that you're most proud of?
Well, that *is* the one I’m most proud of, mainly because of its length and the fact that I was able to finish it to my satisfaction, and because it sort of set the stage for my post-Quest Shire, and everything that came after.
I’ve other shorter stories that I’m also proud of, but it’s more a sense of wonder rather than pride in what I did. Those are short stories like “Neither Have I Wings to Fly” or “On Amon Sul“, that just kind of “came to me”, like a gift. I feel proud that something chose me to channel them, but I don’t really feel as though *I’m* the one who wrote them. I especially feel that way about the few first person stories I’ve written--it seems as if the characters themselves are just dictating them.
I have to say, I do not believe I have any stories that I’m actually *ashamed* of, or that I wished I had not written.
7. Do you find writing easy? Hard? What aspects do you struggle with?
Both. Sometimes the words just flow, and the story follows the path I’d planned for it as easy as cutting butter. Other times I’ll hit an impasse and feel like I’ve written myself into a dead end. I find that when I try too hard to “plan” a story, the more trouble it tends to give me. If I don’t plan it at all, it will just tumble right out, but then it will need *MAJOR* revision with a beta. ("Consequences of a Fall" and "Chance Encounter" were like that--just bunny chases, that had to be whipped into shape afterwards. The latter had some horrendous canon timeline trouble to clear up!)
My best way to do longer stories is to know the beginning, at least one major scene in the middle, and the ending. Everything else is filler.
This is not a problem with vignettes and drabbles, however.
8. Write a few sentences of your favorite pairing or character.
This is from one of the friendship stories I wrote for
20_rings, "The Walls Came Tumbling Down".Sam knew only too well that Mr. Frodo was not best pleased at this setback to his plans and was cross that Sam would not accept his help. And Frodo knew that Sam was feeling cross at having to let them down, and that the gardener’s stubbornness was as much pride as it was propriety. Merry and Pippin simply felt caught in the middle. It made Merry terse, and made Pippin even more fidgety and edgy than he normally was.
Sam returned to his task [of repairing the wall] after tea; he would work until sundown, and then go home to Number Three for his supper. Then he’d be up again at the crack of dawn to work some more. Till would not be able to come back and assist him again until after luncheon the next day.
The three cousins watched the exhausted gardener leave, feeling more than a little guilty that nothing more than an accident of birth kept them sitting idle when a friend needed help.
“This is ridiculous,” said Frodo. “There is no real reason we could not help him with this.”
Merry looked thoughtful. “No, there isn’t.” He turned to Frodo with a speculative eye. “How many lanterns do you have around this hole, anyway?”
Pippin grinned.
Frodo raised one brow, and looked at Merry questioningly.
Merry nodded.
9. Are there any fan fiction trends/cliches you hate?
Adult hobbits acting like spoiled children--especially on the Quest. Adult hobbits being *treated* like children by those who should know better (e.g. I can see the Big Folk in the Fellowship making that mistake at first, except for Gandalf, but by the time they‘ve all been together a few days, they should *KNOW BETTER*!). Wimpy Frodo. Clueless Pippin. Merry as a clown. Sam as Super Jeeves. The tendency to split them up into Frodo-and-Sam, Merry-and-Pippin, with each pair acting like the other pair doesn’t exist--ignoring the fact that they are all four deeply devoted to one another.
10. Are you guilty of any of the trends you hate?
I sincerely hope not!
11. What was the first fandom you wrote for? Do you still write for it?
LotR--and yes, because it is my OTF--One True Fandom
12. Name your OTPs and explain what it is about them you love to write.
None, unless they are canon--as I said before, I’m not into ‘shipping. However I have some minor and OC pairings that I’m quite fond of in my own stories.
My favorite canon pairings are Faramir/Eowyn and Merry/Estella and Sam/Rose.
13. What would you call your writing style?
Basic. I try as best as I can (being an American) to capture the dialogue style JRRT used; I try not to violate any major grammatical rules, and to be careful of spelling or of using any obvious anachronisms. I would say mostly I try to *avoid* bad writing, more than expecting that my writing will be *good*. And once in a while, I actually write something that does sound really good to me. I try to be descriptive and atmospheric, however I don’t think that I ever quite suit myself on that score, except for the fics that I mentioned that come to me full-blown.
When I write gapfillers for The Hobbit, or when I write Bilbo, I try to capture the flavor of that book--but I don’t fool myself that I can come close to JRRT. But the style in The Hobbit is fairly easy to imitate.
14. Do you read other people's fan fiction? If so, what do you find yourself reading the most?
Oh yes! I like to *read* fic even more than to write it! It's probably the major setback to my own writing--I'm very easily distracted by new fic! I will read just about anything that has hobbits in it--or at least *begin* anything that has hobbits in it! I have some favorite authors, as anybody does, a couple of whom are so good that I despair of *ever* writing that well.
What I really look for though, in a fic is “heart”. If it has that, I will overlook any flaws of grammar or canon.
15. Name one thing you'd love to write but have been too afraid or too shy to do.
Hmm…maybe a couple of really cracky stories I’ve talked about with other people. They sound hilarious when we are laughing over them--but I’m afraid of actually writing them out--afraid they’ll fizzle out, and no one will get the joke.
16. Do you feel uncomfortable taking criticism? Or worse, do you have the dreaded bloated ego?
Oh, I’m pretty thick-skinned. If a criticism turns up something valid and fixable, I’m grateful and will make the change.
I do resent it however, when a “criticism” is nothing more than a disagreement over interpretations of canon or character. I welcome *discussions* of the differences, but really get P.O'ed if someone tells me I am "wrong" over what is essentially a different approach to the source material.
17. When you write, is there anything that helps?
Uninterrupted time. And not getting sidetracked by the internet. But I can write just about anywhere, and have.
A deadline often helps as well--gets me focussed.
18. What inspires you?
Just about everything--if it reminds me of hobbits, and nearly everything does, then I am likely to get a plot bunny out of it. I always have lots more bunnies than I can ever use.
I also love getting inspired by challenges--it’s a lot of fun to come up with a story for someone else!
19. Lastly, how would you sum up your fan fiction experiences and you as a writer?
My fan fiction experiences have been tremendously fulfilling creatively. I have any number of creative hobbies, but none of the others scratch quite the same itch as writing fic. In addition, it’s brought me many lovely and dear friends I would not otherwise have had.
As a writer, I hope that I am improving as I go, and that my stories are as enjoyable to other people as they are to me.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2008-07-07 03:23 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-07-07 07:22 pm (UTC)