Con Report 2004
Jun. 3rd, 2004 12:22 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
azuriteOhoho, just got back from "Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban." Good flick, but I think Katia and Steph are right, and that I have to give in and read the bloody books. Watch out, ficdom, I might just start writing Draco/Hermione fics. I think they'd be cute together. She socked him, after all. :)
But, the real reason why I'm here is to outline what happened over Fanime weekend. Yep, this is gonna be a mouthful, so let's get started.
Friday I had the intention of leaving early and everything, but I wanted to get a full night's sleep, so I decided to sleep in as long as my body wanted. When I finally did get up and shower and get going, I still had to hit up the bank to make my massive withdrawal (everything I had left) and then head to CalTrain-- because $2.75 for one-way "youth" (haha!) is much cheaper than the $8+ BART fee I was quoted.
I missed the 10:35 train, but by some miracle I made the 11:35 one-- though my change from the ticket machine was entirely in Susan B. Anthony and Sacajewa coins. Very annoying, and it made my wallet awfully heavy. I didn't want to miss my stop, so I managed to stay awake through the whole ride-- though one annoying conductor/ticket taker told me to take my feet off the seat opposite mine, even though it was my own bags that my CLEAN feet were resting upon. Bleh.
Arrived in San Jose just fine, but promptly got lost in the station, which is not only for CalTrain, but Amtrak as well. Plus it was under construction. And I finally made my way out, not knowing where I was or how to catch the bus that was supposed to take me to the McEmery convention center. Turns out I didn't have to go far; all terminals like train stations have loads of buses in front of them, and one of them was the DASH bus, a free van ride that stopped right in front of the con center! :) So that was great, I paid only $2.75 to get to San Jose, all the way from San Francisco.
I was pretty bouncy upon arrival; the convention center *AND* the Marriott were both huge, so once I checked into my hotel room (and I was surprised they let me so early), I headed down to Pre-Reg. No line! W00t. There's never much to do on the opening day of any con, even though I'd arrived hours after I'd planned. I barely remember what I did; I know I hit up the dealer's room and set out on my search for goods.
In truth, this year's dealer's room was not all that. This was the first year I actively looked for doujinshi and hentai material, I must admit, but most of what I found was yaoi. Barely even any good yuri, though I think I was a bit clouded and forgetful regarding what series I was looking for. Foremost on my mind, obviously, was Yu-Gi-Oh. I should have looked for Ranma, too. :P Anyway, I picked up a somewhat humorous Sailor Moon doujin by the name of SAILOR WARS! that seems to be based off Sera Myu. The art is pretty nice, though all the senshi (except Chibiusa) have brown eyes. o_O
I also got a Kirby plushie thingy for Joe, just because I thought it was cute. And yeah, I admit that I had some expectations about Fanime and things I *wished* would happen, but let's just say nothing panned out. There was no romance, no sex, no anything. :P Not unless you count me kissing Jounouchi...
Er, more on that later.
Well, so there was nothing of mind-grabbing interest, even in the Dealer's Room, so I just mucked around. Can't remember much of what I did for the rest of the night, though eventually I ran into Aaron, who shared the room with me that night-- though we were on totally different schedules. I barely saw him during the entire con. Saturday morning I set the alarm for 7:00 so I could watch Yu-Gi-Oh, but my body being the evil shell that it is, it woke me up around 6:40. So I watched Yu-Gi-Oh, and strongly desired to choke someone. Namely Kaiba. He was SUCH A PRICK IN THAT EPISODE! ARGH!!!!
*cough* Watched a few more cartoons and nibbled on Kix-- I brought a whole ziploc bag of them that lasted me the ENTIRE weekend. Go me! Just before 9:30, I headed downstairs-- the fic panel was scheduled to start at 10am. Being early, the room was empty, so I hung around the Video rooms and the Arcade, where most of my friends were staffing. But a few people *cough*youknowwho*cough* gave me the cold shoulder, so I just went back into the room and waited.
Oh, did I mention I was in cosplay? Yes, I was Anzu Mazaki aka Téa Gardner for FanimeCon 2004, and it was a smashing success! So early in the morning, I didn't get a ton of attention, but everyone recognized me-- up until later, which again, is another story. I managed to get my contacts in (after 40 minutes), and even did my hair in such a way that it strongly resembled Anzu's. I mean DAMN, I looked good. :) The shorts were SUPER SHORT though, so I actually felt good about having the lace-topped thigh-highs. NO, I did not fold them down. I got more attention with them as is-- plus, I needed them to stay up using the sticky strips on the other side of the lace.
I donned my purple Converse sneakers to complete the look (I later discovered a full-body pic of Anzu in my Duelist's Guide; had I had that earlier, I might have gotten 2 more bracelets and a blue buckle belt, rather than the pink clip one that I used)-- these same sneakers got me around 3 yells of "I LOVE YOUR SHOES!" That was cool.
Then the fic panel rolled around, and I sat in the very front row, in the very front seat-- Duel Disk to the side, and ready to take notes. The one thing I was bummed about was something I easily could have rectified-- the lack of females on the fic panel. There were plenty of girls in the audience, but none UP there. And very few YOUNG people.
Don't get me wrong, I LOVE Joseph Palmer. I love his fics, I love his creativity, and I love his generosity. Thanks to him, I scored a Ranma boxed set of the Best Collection VHS! Plus I got an Inuyasha sticker book, which I initially thought was a pack of coasters. :) Plus, there was a lot of information and opinions to be had...
For starters, Inu Ranma was the youngest guy on the panel-- maybe 19 or 20, 23 at the oldest. And he was HOTT, too. Maybe a bit bishounen-yaoi-worthy, in a scary way. But he dissed the Yu-Gi-Oh fandom, so... yeah. :P I agree with him that badfics should NOT be representative of the entire fandom and its writers, but... well... I don't brag, so it's not like I could go and say "Dude, I write for Yu-Gi-Oh, and my stuff rules." Ego is BAD.
JPalmer was kind enough to provide not only a printed list of resources for fic writers (available on the Fanime.com message boards in the Panels/Fanfic thread, and I shall probably link to it through here, as well), but a topic list full of many things you could want to talk about, all relating to fics. Sadly, a lot of the good topics I wished we could have covered got skimmed or missed-- even in our two hour panel time. We had the room for one hour, but since the next panel didn't start until 12, we had it for two full hours! :D
We had Inu Ranma, Joseph Palmer, Elisteran, and the last minute librarian-panelist, Craig. Some of the stuff we concluded was:
* Fangirl Japanese is bad. If you see it in your head/hear it in your fic as being Japanese, then by all means, use it! But know that you should provide a translation for it RIGHT AFTERWARDS. And I don't mean a long sentence that says "Onee-chan!" ("Onee-chan" means Big Sister, just so you know... hehe, I like fangirl Japanese ^_^)"... I mean something in brackets. Not EVERYONE in a given fandom knows what certain words mean, so using them frequently is highly detrimental to a fic. Also, using a glossary or footnotes in the fic is bad, since people have to continually scroll up and down and search for definitions... when you could have just TRANSLATED the damn word in the first place. Some words cannot be properly translated-- words like kimono and geisha. But most people know what those words mean.
* Little details can make a story special. And any true fan of a particular series or fandom will notice when a fic forgets these small, but important details. For example... did you know that the Hobbits in the JRR Tolkien books NEVER use contractions? I mean NEVER. So if you see a fic with Frodo saying "Don't do it!" then it's WRONG, and OOC! Betcha didn't know that, didja? You can easily capture small nuances by keeping a close watch on your fandom.
* Plot has a definition. A very important one, at that. It affects the story, gives reason for events to occur, and... even non-plot details are important. They can make a story come alive. But the primary thing to remember about fics is that while it might not be true in the real world (depends on your POV, I guess), NOTHING HAPPENS WITHOUT REASON in a fic. People are always meant to be somewhere, saying something, doing something, etc. Observations must have meaning, as must smells, sounds, and tastes. Even if it is a very MINOR reason, the more you expound on something, the more vital it should be to your story and its outcome.
* Script format, or Hollywood format, does NOT a fanfic make. People are under the delusion that Name: Dialogue is actually a fanfiction. It is not. Screenplays are NOT novelizations. And worse, Dialogue - Name is not prose either. Straight dialogue is bad in fanfiction, because it cannot possibly express every person's emotions, situation, or thoughts. It does NOT make things simpler. The point of fanfiction is NOT to belittle your readers by making them out to be simpletons. Sure, not everyone has a Harvard Degree or whatnot, but dumbing down a fic by turning something into a script is a BAD idea. And guess what? In real screenplays (at least in the U.S. movie industry), the standard is something like 1 page for 1 minute of action. And most movies or shows are at least an hour long. So imagine if you have a fic taking place over the course of many weeks, months, or even years! Try putting THAT into a screenplay. Prose helps solve the length issue. Learn more-- use PROSE FORMAT.
* Everything you need to know about fanfiction you can learn from... woodworking? Well, it worked for Joseph Palmer. He didn't go very far into it, but there was a strong relation between the two that made a great deal of sense to me (being a woodworker's daughter). You MUST look at the structure of any given object to see its foundation, its core, its purpose. The wood of a stool are like the nouns in a story; the dovetail joints joining two pieces together are the verbs. Both must be strong in order to create a well-structured story. Yes, some fic writers have a "style" that isn't necessarily proper English, but that is no excuse to be lazy. Make sure your story has a strong foundation and a sense of purpose, or it will fall to the ground like a stool with one leg.
* Care about what you write. You must want to connect to the reader, and express your thoughts and emotions to them. You want to "feel" the story, and truly get into it, to get into the "flow" of it. There are two sides in the fic world, most people believe-- those that write for themselves and supposedly ONLY for themselves, and those who write for the sheer enjoyment of writing. It is the latter crowd that continually strives to make their work better, to learn more, and to improve. Plenty of people "write for themselves," but when you post something online, you are ASKING (without saying it, in so many words) for critique. Be it good, be it bad, be it hyper fangirl attacks you with a plushie reviews-- you will get it. The moment you decide to post a story online, you have written for OTHER people. You must consider your audience, then... and connect to them.
* FFnet, why? Why not! Fanfiction.net is referred to as "The Pit of Voles" by some, and probably by countless other derogatory names by others. It has a bad rap and a good rap. It is both a bad site and a good one... and why? Some of the panelists gave their opinion. For starters, it has bad associations-- with not being all-writer friendly (remember the NC-17 ban?), with using advertisements when posting fics (based on "borrowed fandoms," no less), and probably with other things I can't think of. Likewise, they do NOT screen their fics at all. Anyone can post ANY crap... and you can see it in ANY fandom. Also, their rules and policies regarding fics to be deleted, measures to be taken, and so on are rather poor-- and Xing, while admittedly a busy guy, doesn't seem to put as much effort into the site as he should. It's not just about posting speed and formatting, you know... There are other places to post-- Mailing Lists, Usenet, specific archives (Aria's Ink and ASMR for Sailor Moon, for example), Usenet, and even LiveJournal.
Speaking of which, I think I will start posting my fics here, for those who don't go to FFnet or MMorg or my sites. You can use the comment feature to post, and I can simply link to the LJ post when announcing new chapters to communities here on LJ.
* There's a reason why they're called BEST-SELLERS. You know why fic writers might make it as authors, and might not? A good deal of fic writers write the plots that people will enjoy-- perhaps something original and interesting. Best-selling authors, on the other hand, will write what people will BUY. This is why plenty of things that could have been informative documentaries get turned into "based on" novels-- such as the upcoming "1906." In the real world of writing, you will have to deal with things like manuscripts (which is NOT script format), editors, publishers, copyrights, and so much more. In the fic world, all of this is in the form of the REVIEWER. So better to have your fic polished as best it can be before it hits the World Wide Web-- get a beta-reader. A pre-reader, a whoever/whatever you want to call it. They help you improve by NOT layering the praise on you. The best pre-readers just might be the ones that don't know the fandom at all, and will look at a fic without considering things like OOC. You want betas to look for grammar and spelling mistakes, for inaccuracies in your writing. And *then* when you send it off to a fandom-expert, they can nitpick the OOC, or the other fandom-specific details. But get a beta-reader. Your reviewers --your public-- will love you for it.
* If you write it, will they review? Maybe, and maybe not. Some of the panelists told us why they did or didn't review fics. Surprisingly enough, many people will not review if they can't find anything WRONG with the fic. If there is nothing to nitpick, why review? After all, authors in real life don't get the extra oomph or ego boost to post a new chapter-- it's ALL got to be done! So if you can, check your fic Hit Stats, and be pleased with THAT number rather than the number of reviews you get. It might be saying a lot. Reviews should serve a purpose-- and that doesn't mean being the hyperactive fangirl with a split personality begging for updates and nothing more. A good review will say what the reader liked and didn't like, what they hope will happen or what they think will happen... and so on. Being HELPFUL-- getting reviews or concrit-- is the BEST part of the system.
* Purple Prose overdoes it. You don't need to be an English major to write a fic. But you have to know the basics before making the attempt. And that means not trying to glorify your otherwise bland or simple fic with purple prose, or needless adjectives, nouns, and verbs. Don't get me wrong, sprucing up your fic by putting more action or emotion into dialogue is FANTASTIC-- but while on one end of the stick, you don't have STUPID readers, you also don't have ones that have an Oxford Dictionary on hand for every single sentence. Improper English is, in fact, okay-- in dialogue, or if it's in character. So keep your descriptions to the basics-- enough to put the reader in the scene, making them believe as if YOU, the author, were actually there (in your all-seeing, all-knowing omniscient invisible form) to capture the action. Don't overdo it by calling eyes "orbs" or "occuli," and be sure not to mistake a "howl" for a "whimper."
* If a reader does not understand something in the fic, IT IS YOUR FAULT. This is the reason why fic writers who DO NOT back up their pairings or OOC are 100% worthy of any and all flames they get. Even in AU or AR universes that have "exceptions," you better have a damn good explanation. AU is not an excuse to warp the characters to suit an entirely new, and often ridiculous storyline. Make it work, or make it original.
* Copyright and wrong - According to Japanese law, it is okay to add onto existing work, the way fanfics and doujinshi do. However, the American laws aren't quite so lenient, as former writers of the Anne Rice and Ann McCaffrey fandoms would know. It depends strongly on the fandom whether fics are legit or not. Sometimes original authors (such as J.K Rowling for Harry Potter) will like, and even READ fanfiction... but they don't necessarily endorse it. In some instances, the author can actually go against the publisher-- the publisher wants money for the people using the characters, but the author doesn't care. But, where money is involved... you get the picture. Go look up Lawrence Lessig for more.
* Crossover...? - Some series work with crossovers. Others do not. If you plan on writing a crossover, you better make it work! Some people are stringent on the idea of not crossing anime with live action, and yet you see it all the time. Hell, lots of anime get MADE into live action-- and thus, different plots emerge! You have to decide what fandoms will make your first one WORK, and what will STRENGTHEN it.
* OCs, MS, SIs... - If an existing character can perform a certain act, say something, or think something, then have that character do it. Do not create an original character to suit a purpose that can be done by someone else. If an existing character cannot do/say/think something, but you have them do it ANYWAY, they are out of character (OOC). THAT IS A BAD THING. NO MATTER HOW YOU SLICE IT. Such fics include abusefics, suicidefics, rapefics... especially in most anime fandoms. Yes, some characters might be abusive/abused, some might be suicidal cutters, druggies, or alcoholics, and and some might even rape characters-- but sorry, not Usagi Tsukino. Not Akane Tendo. Not Anzu Mazaki, Seto Kaiba, or Yuugi Mutou. NO. Now, if you have an original character do said task, and the character is flawless, perfect, or wonderful (but with one tragic flaw or past), then it is a MARY SUE (MS). Or a Gary-Stu, or a Marty-Stu, or whatever. THEY ARE BAD. Mary Sues are NOT Self-Insertions. If I ever see a GOOD Mary-Sue, I will die of laughter. Finally, Self-Insertions. Generally, they are thought to be bad. Stupid, even. No matter how much we fic writers would love it, the fandom we write for DOES NOT EXIST. We cannot meet the characters, set up the characters, fall in love with the characters... and so on. As much as I want to strangle Kaiba, I will not sink so low as to put myself in a fic for that purpose alone. It is stupid. Use an original character who is NOT 100% perfect, who does not have the 8th Millennium Item, or the rarest Star Seed, or the coolest Martial Arts move ever. If that character has a true personality, character, background, and history, then BINGO! You have created a real original character. Go you.
But, on a side note, you can create Mary Sues that are villains or goddesses. It's not done as often, but it works, merely because it can really help the plot line-- that is, if you WANT the good guys to win.
...And that is all the notation I took on the Fanfic Panel. It was pretty interesting, and a couple of the comments I made actually aroused some genuine laughter (laugh WITH me, not AT me stuff).
Post Fic Panel, I went to see Nescaflowne, which is one of my favorite Studio Sokodei parodies. This one, if you can't tell, is based off the Escaflowne TV series and movie. It is ridiculously funny, and has such classic lines as:
"Hitme, Hitme! You have to help me find out which member of the kendo team knocked me up again!" and
"Give us Head! Give us Head! Give us Head!"
*grin!*
There is much more of Saturday to be told, but I have to get to sleep, as my flight is tomorrow morning at 10:45am. o_O
Whee, Tandy's been posting a lot lately. And I think I'll start working on TLC and In The Stars as my next fic installments. Plus, downloading AMVs and such while I'm in LA, being broke! WHEEEEEE!!
P.S. Did you know that Kaiba's "famous" line (as seen on my icon) is actually from a 1980s movie "They Live?" I wonder if it was actually used in Yu-Gi-Oh (manga-ka frequently pay homage to other things they enjoy, which is why Star troopers and Darth Vader really aren't uncommon at ANIME cons)...
But, the real reason why I'm here is to outline what happened over Fanime weekend. Yep, this is gonna be a mouthful, so let's get started.
Friday I had the intention of leaving early and everything, but I wanted to get a full night's sleep, so I decided to sleep in as long as my body wanted. When I finally did get up and shower and get going, I still had to hit up the bank to make my massive withdrawal (everything I had left) and then head to CalTrain-- because $2.75 for one-way "youth" (haha!) is much cheaper than the $8+ BART fee I was quoted.
I missed the 10:35 train, but by some miracle I made the 11:35 one-- though my change from the ticket machine was entirely in Susan B. Anthony and Sacajewa coins. Very annoying, and it made my wallet awfully heavy. I didn't want to miss my stop, so I managed to stay awake through the whole ride-- though one annoying conductor/ticket taker told me to take my feet off the seat opposite mine, even though it was my own bags that my CLEAN feet were resting upon. Bleh.
Arrived in San Jose just fine, but promptly got lost in the station, which is not only for CalTrain, but Amtrak as well. Plus it was under construction. And I finally made my way out, not knowing where I was or how to catch the bus that was supposed to take me to the McEmery convention center. Turns out I didn't have to go far; all terminals like train stations have loads of buses in front of them, and one of them was the DASH bus, a free van ride that stopped right in front of the con center! :) So that was great, I paid only $2.75 to get to San Jose, all the way from San Francisco.
I was pretty bouncy upon arrival; the convention center *AND* the Marriott were both huge, so once I checked into my hotel room (and I was surprised they let me so early), I headed down to Pre-Reg. No line! W00t. There's never much to do on the opening day of any con, even though I'd arrived hours after I'd planned. I barely remember what I did; I know I hit up the dealer's room and set out on my search for goods.
In truth, this year's dealer's room was not all that. This was the first year I actively looked for doujinshi and hentai material, I must admit, but most of what I found was yaoi. Barely even any good yuri, though I think I was a bit clouded and forgetful regarding what series I was looking for. Foremost on my mind, obviously, was Yu-Gi-Oh. I should have looked for Ranma, too. :P Anyway, I picked up a somewhat humorous Sailor Moon doujin by the name of SAILOR WARS! that seems to be based off Sera Myu. The art is pretty nice, though all the senshi (except Chibiusa) have brown eyes. o_O
I also got a Kirby plushie thingy for Joe, just because I thought it was cute. And yeah, I admit that I had some expectations about Fanime and things I *wished* would happen, but let's just say nothing panned out. There was no romance, no sex, no anything. :P Not unless you count me kissing Jounouchi...
Er, more on that later.
Well, so there was nothing of mind-grabbing interest, even in the Dealer's Room, so I just mucked around. Can't remember much of what I did for the rest of the night, though eventually I ran into Aaron, who shared the room with me that night-- though we were on totally different schedules. I barely saw him during the entire con. Saturday morning I set the alarm for 7:00 so I could watch Yu-Gi-Oh, but my body being the evil shell that it is, it woke me up around 6:40. So I watched Yu-Gi-Oh, and strongly desired to choke someone. Namely Kaiba. He was SUCH A PRICK IN THAT EPISODE! ARGH!!!!
*cough* Watched a few more cartoons and nibbled on Kix-- I brought a whole ziploc bag of them that lasted me the ENTIRE weekend. Go me! Just before 9:30, I headed downstairs-- the fic panel was scheduled to start at 10am. Being early, the room was empty, so I hung around the Video rooms and the Arcade, where most of my friends were staffing. But a few people *cough*youknowwho*cough* gave me the cold shoulder, so I just went back into the room and waited.
Oh, did I mention I was in cosplay? Yes, I was Anzu Mazaki aka Téa Gardner for FanimeCon 2004, and it was a smashing success! So early in the morning, I didn't get a ton of attention, but everyone recognized me-- up until later, which again, is another story. I managed to get my contacts in (after 40 minutes), and even did my hair in such a way that it strongly resembled Anzu's. I mean DAMN, I looked good. :) The shorts were SUPER SHORT though, so I actually felt good about having the lace-topped thigh-highs. NO, I did not fold them down. I got more attention with them as is-- plus, I needed them to stay up using the sticky strips on the other side of the lace.
I donned my purple Converse sneakers to complete the look (I later discovered a full-body pic of Anzu in my Duelist's Guide; had I had that earlier, I might have gotten 2 more bracelets and a blue buckle belt, rather than the pink clip one that I used)-- these same sneakers got me around 3 yells of "I LOVE YOUR SHOES!" That was cool.
Then the fic panel rolled around, and I sat in the very front row, in the very front seat-- Duel Disk to the side, and ready to take notes. The one thing I was bummed about was something I easily could have rectified-- the lack of females on the fic panel. There were plenty of girls in the audience, but none UP there. And very few YOUNG people.
Don't get me wrong, I LOVE Joseph Palmer. I love his fics, I love his creativity, and I love his generosity. Thanks to him, I scored a Ranma boxed set of the Best Collection VHS! Plus I got an Inuyasha sticker book, which I initially thought was a pack of coasters. :) Plus, there was a lot of information and opinions to be had...
For starters, Inu Ranma was the youngest guy on the panel-- maybe 19 or 20, 23 at the oldest. And he was HOTT, too. Maybe a bit bishounen-yaoi-worthy, in a scary way. But he dissed the Yu-Gi-Oh fandom, so... yeah. :P I agree with him that badfics should NOT be representative of the entire fandom and its writers, but... well... I don't brag, so it's not like I could go and say "Dude, I write for Yu-Gi-Oh, and my stuff rules." Ego is BAD.
JPalmer was kind enough to provide not only a printed list of resources for fic writers (available on the Fanime.com message boards in the Panels/Fanfic thread, and I shall probably link to it through here, as well), but a topic list full of many things you could want to talk about, all relating to fics. Sadly, a lot of the good topics I wished we could have covered got skimmed or missed-- even in our two hour panel time. We had the room for one hour, but since the next panel didn't start until 12, we had it for two full hours! :D
We had Inu Ranma, Joseph Palmer, Elisteran, and the last minute librarian-panelist, Craig. Some of the stuff we concluded was:
* Fangirl Japanese is bad. If you see it in your head/hear it in your fic as being Japanese, then by all means, use it! But know that you should provide a translation for it RIGHT AFTERWARDS. And I don't mean a long sentence that says "Onee-chan!" ("Onee-chan" means Big Sister, just so you know... hehe, I like fangirl Japanese ^_^)"... I mean something in brackets. Not EVERYONE in a given fandom knows what certain words mean, so using them frequently is highly detrimental to a fic. Also, using a glossary or footnotes in the fic is bad, since people have to continually scroll up and down and search for definitions... when you could have just TRANSLATED the damn word in the first place. Some words cannot be properly translated-- words like kimono and geisha. But most people know what those words mean.
* Little details can make a story special. And any true fan of a particular series or fandom will notice when a fic forgets these small, but important details. For example... did you know that the Hobbits in the JRR Tolkien books NEVER use contractions? I mean NEVER. So if you see a fic with Frodo saying "Don't do it!" then it's WRONG, and OOC! Betcha didn't know that, didja? You can easily capture small nuances by keeping a close watch on your fandom.
* Plot has a definition. A very important one, at that. It affects the story, gives reason for events to occur, and... even non-plot details are important. They can make a story come alive. But the primary thing to remember about fics is that while it might not be true in the real world (depends on your POV, I guess), NOTHING HAPPENS WITHOUT REASON in a fic. People are always meant to be somewhere, saying something, doing something, etc. Observations must have meaning, as must smells, sounds, and tastes. Even if it is a very MINOR reason, the more you expound on something, the more vital it should be to your story and its outcome.
* Script format, or Hollywood format, does NOT a fanfic make. People are under the delusion that Name: Dialogue is actually a fanfiction. It is not. Screenplays are NOT novelizations. And worse, Dialogue - Name is not prose either. Straight dialogue is bad in fanfiction, because it cannot possibly express every person's emotions, situation, or thoughts. It does NOT make things simpler. The point of fanfiction is NOT to belittle your readers by making them out to be simpletons. Sure, not everyone has a Harvard Degree or whatnot, but dumbing down a fic by turning something into a script is a BAD idea. And guess what? In real screenplays (at least in the U.S. movie industry), the standard is something like 1 page for 1 minute of action. And most movies or shows are at least an hour long. So imagine if you have a fic taking place over the course of many weeks, months, or even years! Try putting THAT into a screenplay. Prose helps solve the length issue. Learn more-- use PROSE FORMAT.
* Everything you need to know about fanfiction you can learn from... woodworking? Well, it worked for Joseph Palmer. He didn't go very far into it, but there was a strong relation between the two that made a great deal of sense to me (being a woodworker's daughter). You MUST look at the structure of any given object to see its foundation, its core, its purpose. The wood of a stool are like the nouns in a story; the dovetail joints joining two pieces together are the verbs. Both must be strong in order to create a well-structured story. Yes, some fic writers have a "style" that isn't necessarily proper English, but that is no excuse to be lazy. Make sure your story has a strong foundation and a sense of purpose, or it will fall to the ground like a stool with one leg.
* Care about what you write. You must want to connect to the reader, and express your thoughts and emotions to them. You want to "feel" the story, and truly get into it, to get into the "flow" of it. There are two sides in the fic world, most people believe-- those that write for themselves and supposedly ONLY for themselves, and those who write for the sheer enjoyment of writing. It is the latter crowd that continually strives to make their work better, to learn more, and to improve. Plenty of people "write for themselves," but when you post something online, you are ASKING (without saying it, in so many words) for critique. Be it good, be it bad, be it hyper fangirl attacks you with a plushie reviews-- you will get it. The moment you decide to post a story online, you have written for OTHER people. You must consider your audience, then... and connect to them.
* FFnet, why? Why not! Fanfiction.net is referred to as "The Pit of Voles" by some, and probably by countless other derogatory names by others. It has a bad rap and a good rap. It is both a bad site and a good one... and why? Some of the panelists gave their opinion. For starters, it has bad associations-- with not being all-writer friendly (remember the NC-17 ban?), with using advertisements when posting fics (based on "borrowed fandoms," no less), and probably with other things I can't think of. Likewise, they do NOT screen their fics at all. Anyone can post ANY crap... and you can see it in ANY fandom. Also, their rules and policies regarding fics to be deleted, measures to be taken, and so on are rather poor-- and Xing, while admittedly a busy guy, doesn't seem to put as much effort into the site as he should. It's not just about posting speed and formatting, you know... There are other places to post-- Mailing Lists, Usenet, specific archives (Aria's Ink and ASMR for Sailor Moon, for example), Usenet, and even LiveJournal.
Speaking of which, I think I will start posting my fics here, for those who don't go to FFnet or MMorg or my sites. You can use the comment feature to post, and I can simply link to the LJ post when announcing new chapters to communities here on LJ.
* There's a reason why they're called BEST-SELLERS. You know why fic writers might make it as authors, and might not? A good deal of fic writers write the plots that people will enjoy-- perhaps something original and interesting. Best-selling authors, on the other hand, will write what people will BUY. This is why plenty of things that could have been informative documentaries get turned into "based on" novels-- such as the upcoming "1906." In the real world of writing, you will have to deal with things like manuscripts (which is NOT script format), editors, publishers, copyrights, and so much more. In the fic world, all of this is in the form of the REVIEWER. So better to have your fic polished as best it can be before it hits the World Wide Web-- get a beta-reader. A pre-reader, a whoever/whatever you want to call it. They help you improve by NOT layering the praise on you. The best pre-readers just might be the ones that don't know the fandom at all, and will look at a fic without considering things like OOC. You want betas to look for grammar and spelling mistakes, for inaccuracies in your writing. And *then* when you send it off to a fandom-expert, they can nitpick the OOC, or the other fandom-specific details. But get a beta-reader. Your reviewers --your public-- will love you for it.
* If you write it, will they review? Maybe, and maybe not. Some of the panelists told us why they did or didn't review fics. Surprisingly enough, many people will not review if they can't find anything WRONG with the fic. If there is nothing to nitpick, why review? After all, authors in real life don't get the extra oomph or ego boost to post a new chapter-- it's ALL got to be done! So if you can, check your fic Hit Stats, and be pleased with THAT number rather than the number of reviews you get. It might be saying a lot. Reviews should serve a purpose-- and that doesn't mean being the hyperactive fangirl with a split personality begging for updates and nothing more. A good review will say what the reader liked and didn't like, what they hope will happen or what they think will happen... and so on. Being HELPFUL-- getting reviews or concrit-- is the BEST part of the system.
* Purple Prose overdoes it. You don't need to be an English major to write a fic. But you have to know the basics before making the attempt. And that means not trying to glorify your otherwise bland or simple fic with purple prose, or needless adjectives, nouns, and verbs. Don't get me wrong, sprucing up your fic by putting more action or emotion into dialogue is FANTASTIC-- but while on one end of the stick, you don't have STUPID readers, you also don't have ones that have an Oxford Dictionary on hand for every single sentence. Improper English is, in fact, okay-- in dialogue, or if it's in character. So keep your descriptions to the basics-- enough to put the reader in the scene, making them believe as if YOU, the author, were actually there (in your all-seeing, all-knowing omniscient invisible form) to capture the action. Don't overdo it by calling eyes "orbs" or "occuli," and be sure not to mistake a "howl" for a "whimper."
* If a reader does not understand something in the fic, IT IS YOUR FAULT. This is the reason why fic writers who DO NOT back up their pairings or OOC are 100% worthy of any and all flames they get. Even in AU or AR universes that have "exceptions," you better have a damn good explanation. AU is not an excuse to warp the characters to suit an entirely new, and often ridiculous storyline. Make it work, or make it original.
* Copyright and wrong - According to Japanese law, it is okay to add onto existing work, the way fanfics and doujinshi do. However, the American laws aren't quite so lenient, as former writers of the Anne Rice and Ann McCaffrey fandoms would know. It depends strongly on the fandom whether fics are legit or not. Sometimes original authors (such as J.K Rowling for Harry Potter) will like, and even READ fanfiction... but they don't necessarily endorse it. In some instances, the author can actually go against the publisher-- the publisher wants money for the people using the characters, but the author doesn't care. But, where money is involved... you get the picture. Go look up Lawrence Lessig for more.
* Crossover...? - Some series work with crossovers. Others do not. If you plan on writing a crossover, you better make it work! Some people are stringent on the idea of not crossing anime with live action, and yet you see it all the time. Hell, lots of anime get MADE into live action-- and thus, different plots emerge! You have to decide what fandoms will make your first one WORK, and what will STRENGTHEN it.
* OCs, MS, SIs... - If an existing character can perform a certain act, say something, or think something, then have that character do it. Do not create an original character to suit a purpose that can be done by someone else. If an existing character cannot do/say/think something, but you have them do it ANYWAY, they are out of character (OOC). THAT IS A BAD THING. NO MATTER HOW YOU SLICE IT. Such fics include abusefics, suicidefics, rapefics... especially in most anime fandoms. Yes, some characters might be abusive/abused, some might be suicidal cutters, druggies, or alcoholics, and and some might even rape characters-- but sorry, not Usagi Tsukino. Not Akane Tendo. Not Anzu Mazaki, Seto Kaiba, or Yuugi Mutou. NO. Now, if you have an original character do said task, and the character is flawless, perfect, or wonderful (but with one tragic flaw or past), then it is a MARY SUE (MS). Or a Gary-Stu, or a Marty-Stu, or whatever. THEY ARE BAD. Mary Sues are NOT Self-Insertions. If I ever see a GOOD Mary-Sue, I will die of laughter. Finally, Self-Insertions. Generally, they are thought to be bad. Stupid, even. No matter how much we fic writers would love it, the fandom we write for DOES NOT EXIST. We cannot meet the characters, set up the characters, fall in love with the characters... and so on. As much as I want to strangle Kaiba, I will not sink so low as to put myself in a fic for that purpose alone. It is stupid. Use an original character who is NOT 100% perfect, who does not have the 8th Millennium Item, or the rarest Star Seed, or the coolest Martial Arts move ever. If that character has a true personality, character, background, and history, then BINGO! You have created a real original character. Go you.
But, on a side note, you can create Mary Sues that are villains or goddesses. It's not done as often, but it works, merely because it can really help the plot line-- that is, if you WANT the good guys to win.
...And that is all the notation I took on the Fanfic Panel. It was pretty interesting, and a couple of the comments I made actually aroused some genuine laughter (laugh WITH me, not AT me stuff).
Post Fic Panel, I went to see Nescaflowne, which is one of my favorite Studio Sokodei parodies. This one, if you can't tell, is based off the Escaflowne TV series and movie. It is ridiculously funny, and has such classic lines as:
"Hitme, Hitme! You have to help me find out which member of the kendo team knocked me up again!" and
"Give us Head! Give us Head! Give us Head!"
*grin!*
There is much more of Saturday to be told, but I have to get to sleep, as my flight is tomorrow morning at 10:45am. o_O
Whee, Tandy's been posting a lot lately. And I think I'll start working on TLC and In The Stars as my next fic installments. Plus, downloading AMVs and such while I'm in LA, being broke! WHEEEEEE!!
P.S. Did you know that Kaiba's "famous" line (as seen on my icon) is actually from a 1980s movie "They Live?" I wonder if it was actually used in Yu-Gi-Oh (manga-ka frequently pay homage to other things they enjoy, which is why Star troopers and Darth Vader really aren't uncommon at ANIME cons)...
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hiya
Date: 2004-06-03 07:42 am (UTC)Re: hiya
Date: 2004-06-04 04:42 am (UTC)one more thing to add
Date: 2004-06-03 07:45 am (UTC)Re: one more thing to add
Date: 2004-06-04 04:44 am (UTC)Re: one more thing to add
Date: 2004-06-04 04:47 am (UTC)Re: one more thing to add
Date: 2004-06-04 06:17 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-06-03 08:32 am (UTC):)
Date: 2004-06-04 04:46 am (UTC)Re: :)
Date: 2004-06-04 10:23 am (UTC)Re: :)
Date: 2004-06-04 02:51 pm (UTC)Re: :)
Date: 2004-06-05 07:42 am (UTC)Re: :)
Date: 2004-06-05 04:25 pm (UTC)What can I say, I love challenges. o_O But hearing JKR say that "Draco will never be a nice guy?" Okay, NICE is maybe pushing it, but saying he can't ever change sure makes him a "wooden" rival.
no subject
Date: 2004-06-03 12:59 pm (UTC)o_O
Date: 2004-06-04 04:59 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-06-03 01:53 pm (UTC)But moving on -- I love the panel. I love you.
I agree with him that badfics should NOT be representative of the entire fandom and its writers, but... well... I don't brag, so it's not like I could go and say "Dude, I write for Yu-Gi-Oh, and my stuff rules." Ego is BAD.
But you do write for Yu-Gi-Oh and your stuff does rule ^_^ So it's not ego, it's honesty! Right?
Your Anzu costume sounds frickin' awesome. I LOVE YOUR SHOES!
*g*
Date: 2004-06-04 05:05 am (UTC)Hey, so on the movie quote, would you know:
a) who originally said it
b) if/when Kaiba actually said it (in the Japanese, I'm assuming)
>_> Ego on a panel is bad. I was half-hoping someone would hear me say I'm Azurite, read my badge, or read my sweatshirt (wore it only when I checked in, tho) and be liked "OMG! AZURITE I <3 YOU!!! <3 <3 <3!"
Didn't happen, but a girl can dream, eh?
Re: *g*
Date: 2004-06-04 10:03 pm (UTC)a.) Roddy Piper/Nada, if I'm not mistaken
b.) I'm sorry, but I'm not really sure on this one.
Sure. Dreams rule ^_^
Re: *g*
Date: 2004-06-04 11:13 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-06-03 09:42 pm (UTC)^^;
Date: 2004-06-04 06:02 am (UTC)Yeah, I think bands of girls should stick together and take over the drooling otaku part of every con.
no subject
Date: 2004-06-04 02:08 am (UTC)So, I'm glad you had a good time at Fanime! What's this about kissing Jounouchi!? O.O Inquiring minds wanna know!
Aheh, honestly, I think I only go to these cons for three things -- cosplay (which I don't participate in . . . one day I'm sure I'll think of going as someone -- hmmm, if I see a Seto I'm definitely getting a picture), the fic panel!!!! (near and dear to my heart), and AMVs!!!!!!!! I could sit and watch those for HOURS and HOURS and HOURS!!!!
And of course there's the shopping *grin*
A-KON WHHHEEEEEeeeeeeeeee!!!!!
- Kysra
P.S. In the Stars?????? O.O
Poof, whaddyou need?
Date: 2004-06-04 06:16 am (UTC)You go to cons for the same reasons as me. We rock. If I had any way of getting to Texas, I would so go to A-kon. So many people I know are going there!
As for the Jounouchi thing, you'll find out in my next post. I might have posted some scattered comments regarding what happened, though.
That same Jounouchi and I stalked the con for the elusive Seto Kaiba cos(cross?) player, to no avail. She said she would go as Seto Kaiba next year-- the normal one (a crossplay) and as a femme one, with fishnets and latex. *grin* I was thinking of doing the same thing, but for Isis or something.
As for In The Stars... *smirk* You'll see.
Re: Poof, whaddyou need?
Date: 2004-06-07 04:33 am (UTC)It possessed me to buy a shirt that says "HENTAI" across the chest >-<
Haha! I read the rest of your Fanime report! Sssssoooo sorry you couldn't find Seto! ACK! You looked so great as Anzu!
Seto . . . in fishnets O.O I cannot see it . . . I just can't. It's a scary thought . . . wonder what Mokuba would think O.O
Re: Poof, whaddyou need?
Date: 2004-06-07 05:09 am (UTC)But it means shortening his turtleneck into a cropped tee, wearing latex hot-pants with fishnets, BDSM-tie-up boots, and a shorter white trenchcoats, with the same studs and straps. And dark lipstick, too.
Now, I'm as pale as Casper, so Isis might be out of the question for me, but if I could pull it off, I'd need a good way to "femme" up her outfit.
*dangles Hentai Muse #0001* Heehee.
If you want to see Hermione paired with a bad boy...
Date: 2004-06-05 10:27 pm (UTC)Re: If you want to see Hermione paired with a bad boy...
Date: 2004-06-06 11:01 pm (UTC)