Fanfic Pet Peeves

[SF_and_Coffee]

"Downloading." Yes, that's it exactly. I often feel as though my stories are something that really happens, in some other universe perhaps simply one remove away, and I'm doing little more than setting it into motion and then chronicling what happens... like a download of news from somewhere else.

[mathpiglet]

Seriously, can Brooke and I be the only writers here who have ever had a character turn out to be motivated in a completely different way to do a completely different thing from what we had in mind when we began writing a scene?

You mean none of you have ever had portions of the story simply flow out of you and into the keyboard almost as though it were happening independently of your own conscious thought?

Because that's been happening to me for over thirty years.

Most of the fanfic authors I've discussed this with agree with you. I have always felt like an oddball because this has never, ever happened to me. I cannot imagine it happening to me. I wish it would - it would make writing a whole lot easier!

[WraithRichard]

Seriously, can Brooke and I be the only writers here who have ever had a character turn out to be motivated in a completely different way to do a completely different thing from what we had in mind when we began writing a scene?

You mean none of you have ever had portions of the story simply flow out of you and into the keyboard almost as though it were happening independently of your own conscious thought?

Because that's been happening to me for over thirty years.

This is exactly how I write. I plan for months first, but things just write themselves after that (editing comes later). They even write themselves in an opposite way than what they were supposed to be, but they write themselves.

Though bunnies and dialog details get me stuck.

[SF_and_Coffee]

*is suddenly very, very grateful to the Universe... or her Muse... or both*

[mathpiglet]

You should be!

*wonders if there's a store where one can buy a muse*

[Feast of the Muse]

You should be!

*wonders if there's a store where one can buy a muse*

How much time do you get for yourself, just to let your mind wander? I think we all have a muse, you just have to be still and quiet enough if you happened to have gotten a quiet one. Some people get really loud ones and never hear the end of it no matter how busy they are.

[mathpiglet]

My mind wanders when I walk, provided it's outside as opposed to on the treadmill, since I watch television while I treadmill. We haven't had too many days with weather conducive to outside walking. However, I use my outside walking time to work on plot points, solve problems and the like.

[Whytewytch]

Seriously, can Brooke and I be the only writers here who have ever had a character turn out to be motivated in a completely different way to do a completely different thing from what we had in mind when we began writing a scene?

You guys needs to see someone if your characters tell you what to do

Sorry, girls! RL keeps me hopping on Mondays in particular. You are not alone. My characters go their own way. Period. I can try to steer them gently in a general direction, but other than that... The few times I have ignored my characters' voices, I have wound up with writer's block. My characters (both borrowed and original) are strong-willed, independent people with minds and hearts and souls of their own. I could no more control them than I could my husband and would want to control them as little. I love and respect them too much to try to force them to my will.

You mean none of you have ever had portions of the story simply flow out of you and into the keyboard almost as though it were happening independently of your own conscious thought?

Because that's been happening to me for over thirty years.

This is the only way I know to write. I try to do outlines, but the story inevitably looks nothing like the outline. When a scene pops into my head, I try to write it down or at least jot down notes about it, bits of dialogue, scenelets, whatever. The best way for me to write is to get some quiet time (read: kids at school, hubby at work, phone off, chores/work on hold), let my mind go blank and start typing. I have always declared that I am not the storyteller, merely the typist.

BTW, my muse is currently glaring at me and tapping her foot with her arms crossed. It seems the plot bunnies have escaped the pen again and it's all my fault since I can't type fast enough to corral them. Gotta go! ITB awaits!

[WraithRichard]

I watch more Stargate or talk about it. The more problems I can create, the better.

I'm kinda the Joker of fandoms I get my hands on.

[Princess Awinita]

Boy, make one post, then have six dozen to read before posting again, you guys post like crazy

Anyhow, a new peeve of mine is the lack of proper spelling of certain words, for example, There & Their getting mixed up. Its common even sometimes the best of writers too get that kind of mixed up, (like my case of Then and Than)

Anyhow, the topic of imgination, only beings to my mind the word Muse, or in my case, Jake, my imagination personified, he never lets me sleep

[Choo1701]

Sorry, girls!

Guy!

And yes i do wonder if hanging around a) on the interent and b) with a lot of gals means i should change my lifestyle

Most of the fanfic authors I've discussed this with agree with you. I have always felt like an oddball because this has never, ever happened to me. I cannot imagine it happening to me. I wish it would - it would make writing a whole lot easier!

Hey, i'm not in tune with the 'character in head' daydream either. I think its because i'm a more visual person. I have to draw everything before i write ("and then i draw some more!!")

I find character dialogue quite hard to write, and to actually focus on writing the characters even harder. But then i have to go nail their correct expression on a blank bit of paper! Yet when it comes to drawing backgrounds, interiors and, yes, spacebattles i'm all good.

btw: mathpiglet have you tried turning off the TV when your on the treadmill? The internet and TV is too great a distraction. For me the distraction has meant that really good ideas just havn't been written down.

[Whytewytch]

Guy!

And yes i do wonder if hanging around a) on the interent and b) with a lot of gals means i should change my lifestyle

Not at all, Choo. I did remember you were a guy. I was actually apologizing to the girls who write like I do [Brooke & SF--Ana(?)]. On looking over the post again, I can see where it looks like I was including you in the apology. I swear it was not a poke at your masculinity!

BTW, random 6 a.m.-no-coffee-yet thought.

Spoiler:

I call people "guys" and no women get offended (anymore). But I can't call people "girls" without the guy going, "Hey!". Just a LOL moment! Only teasing, Choo--I live with three guys and they amuse me sometimes and I'm sure I entertain (and annoy) them in return.

Hey, i'm not in tune with the 'character in head' daydream either. I think its because i'm a more visual person. I have to draw everything before i write ("and then i draw some more!!")

I find character dialogue quite hard to write, and to actually focus on writing the characters even harder. But then i have to go nail their correct expression on a blank bit of paper! Yet when it comes to drawing backgrounds, interiors and, yes, spacebattles i'm all good.

I tried to draw a tattoo for one of my characters the other day--went looking online for a pic, but couldn't find one. The result was utterly laughable! I shall confine myself to writing and leave the drawing to those that can. This is one of the reasons I was asking about fan art sites the other day. Luckily(?) my teen burst into my office/writing room while I was looking up the tats and drawing; since he can draw pretty well, he's going to draw it for me (or so he says--lol).

Princess, homonyms drive me round the bend, two. One of the reasons I swear by not only re-reading my work multiple times before posting but also sending it to a beta is to avoid silly things like that.

[SF_and_Coffee]

Guy!

And yes i do wonder if hanging around a) on the interent and b) with a lot of gals means i should change my lifestyle

Well, many guys would tell you that hanging out with a lot of girls is a good thing.

Hey, i'm not in tune with the 'character in head' daydream either. I think its because i'm a more visual person. I have to draw everything before i write ("and then i draw some more!!")

I find character dialogue quite hard to write, and to actually focus on writing the characters even harder. But then i have to go nail their correct expression on a blank bit of paper! Yet when it comes to drawing backgrounds, interiors and, yes, spacebattles i'm all good.

Whereas I'd rather draw people than backgrounds. I'm actually a halfway-decent visual artist, although I don't do very much of it anymore because I get frustrated easily with it. I wish I'd inherited more of my mother's talent in that regard; she was a very talented artist. I inherited maybe 2/3 of the talent she had. But back in my early teens when I first began writing long stories, I also illustrated them, and even turned one into a comic. My first fantasy-ish novel grew out of a drawing I'd made -- I remember just drawing the picture, then suddenly looking at it and realizing there was the seed of a story in it. I've never finished it entirely, but one day I may. I'll have to massively rewrite portions of it, but I think it's still good.

But eventually I realized that I seem to have more creative talent as a writer than as an artist, and so that's the direction I've gone.

I will say this much, though: for me, having my characters take over my head really isn't a daydream. It's an actual fact, or at least it functions like one. I can't explain it to someone who can't imagine it, and I know that for some people it is a truly foreign concept, but for me and many other writers, it really is what happens to us. Hey, as long as it works, right?

btw: mathpiglet have you tried turning off the TV when your on the treadmill? The internet and TV is too great a distraction. For me the distraction has meant that really good ideas just havn't been written down.

I've found that if I go to the gym and hop on a treadmill with some really good thought-inducing music on my MP3 player, I can write entire scenes in my head while I'm on there. Then I have to rush home and type them up on the computer, but at least they do get written.

Not at all, Choo. I did remember you were a guy. I was actually apologizing to the girls who write like I do [Brooke & SF--Ana(?)]. On looking over the post again, I can see where it looks like I was including you in the apology. I swear it was not a poke at your masculinity!

BTW, random 6 a.m.-no-coffee-yet thought.

Spoiler:

I call people "guys" and no women get offended (anymore). But I can't call people "girls" without the guy going, "Hey!". Just a LOL moment! Only teasing, Choo--I live with three guys and they amuse me sometimes and I'm sure I entertain (and annoy) them in return.

I must admit I found the turning of that particular table amusing. And please, feel free to call me Ana.

[Choo1701]

A Pet Peeve that came up in the "Publishing your own fan fiction thread". Aren't we just GREAT at de-railing thread topics?

.....

Note: I'm by no means a prude. I simply can't read or write full-on explicit sex scenes without bursting into laughter, so I just don't bother trying to write them. (I know... I'm weird...)

I don't usually write that either, but more out of lack of necessity for the details. If I can just imply or say people had sex, then then why waste time on something that will slow and dilute the story? Although my OC-in-progress might not count as a Tok'ra no more.

okay, so i read that as "waste time on something thats slow and dui-.." Does that seem right to you?

Ah yes, the 'descriptive snuggle sessions' that people write and i have no idea WHY they do since, as WraithRichard stated, you can just imply it better!

One of the greatest pieces of advice about story telling actually came from the drama lessons. As the teacher stated, not in these words, but close enough, the greatest tool you ever have is your audiences imagination. Because they can come up with scenes that are hundreds of times better than whats on the stage/screen!

Basically: don't show them every last detail! The readers can properly imagine something better!

Yep. That's why I generally use only a little bit of detail in a scene like that -- just enough to make it clear what is happening -- and then leave the rest up to the reader to imagine.

I love figuring out a balance between being explicit and omissions. My writing thrives on it practically.

It always wants to know: what would be more mysterious/creepy/humorous here? Show them every tiny detail, or just a few?

Anyone remember the line 'forget the squirrel and get the fire extinguisher?'

[Feast of the Muse]

A Pet Peeve that came up in the "Publishing your own fan fiction thread". Aren't we just GREAT at de-railing thread topics?

We show extreme talent in that area!!! I'm still waiting for the verdict on the squirrel and the fire extinguisher. It smells a little bit like Seinfeld, but I am not familiar enough to place a bet.