Chocolate Box Fic
Feb. 26th, 2017 09:29 pmI wrote one fic for
chocolateboxcomm
(Also, on the original fiction front, I finished the outline for the current novel today.)
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Rebirth (2331 words) by sevenofspade
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood & Manga
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Characters: Winry Rockbell, Scar (Fullmetal Alchemist), Ling Yao
Additional Tags: Post-Canon
Summary:Winry went to help with the Ishvalan reconstruction.
(Also, on the original fiction front, I finished the outline for the current novel today.)
I've been writing a lot of Star Wars fic lately and have come to the conclusion that I structure them slightly differently than I do the rest of my writing. It's not anything obvious or that anyone but me would notice, but it is there.
It's a bit more circular, a bit more mirrored and relies a lot on tripled patterns.
It's also more visual, but I think that's a consequence of me having fallen back into the tried-and-true (for me) habit of visualising things like comic pages. It's a thought pattern I occasionally fall back into, not least because I do a lot of drawings of whatever I'm writing at any given time (one sketch a day is hard to come up with ideas for, just saying) so the combination of words and ideas lends itself logically to switching to comics mode.
I like comics mode, don't get me wrong. It allows me to see things from a different angle and that can be very useful.
It's just that comics and plain text are not the same medium, and sometimes I run into problems like trying to translate "this scene is a double-page spread" into prose.
I think I have something that might work, though. It's a difference of emphasis.
The difference between a single panel in the right uppermost corner of the right-hand page (right-up-right and left-down-left tend to be the most overlooked areas of a double page spread when reading left-to-right) and a double-page spread is not the difference between:
The actual, physical ACTION is exactly the same (and it's also exactly the same as what happens in the movie, starting at 00:56). What's different is the emphasis put on this moment.
In movie form, that emphasis takes the form of a wide-shot and a swelling soundtrack. In comics form, it's a one-panel double-page spread. In written form, it's -- more words, basically.
Not just any words either, but extended metaphor. Here it's the-Force-as-music, which is how I tend to write the-Force-as-perceived-by-Anakin but it doesn't have to be. A bit of repetition on occasions doesn't hurt and it's no coincidence it both starts and ends with "the Force sang". (I'm also really fond of "the accursed, bloodied thing" for reasons.)
Watch me have to cut this because it doesn't fit the tone of the rest of the fic, lmao.
It's a bit more circular, a bit more mirrored and relies a lot on tripled patterns.
It's also more visual, but I think that's a consequence of me having fallen back into the tried-and-true (for me) habit of visualising things like comic pages. It's a thought pattern I occasionally fall back into, not least because I do a lot of drawings of whatever I'm writing at any given time (one sketch a day is hard to come up with ideas for, just saying) so the combination of words and ideas lends itself logically to switching to comics mode.
I like comics mode, don't get me wrong. It allows me to see things from a different angle and that can be very useful.
It's just that comics and plain text are not the same medium, and sometimes I run into problems like trying to translate "this scene is a double-page spread" into prose.
I think I have something that might work, though. It's a difference of emphasis.
The difference between a single panel in the right uppermost corner of the right-hand page (right-up-right and left-down-left tend to be the most overlooked areas of a double page spread when reading left-to-right) and a double-page spread is not the difference between:
His lightsaber flew into the girl's hand.and
The Force sang like it had not sang in years; it was a deep, resounding note that dug into your bones and echoed there.but it's pretty similar.
It reminded Anakin of Mustafar, the perfect clarity of it.
Out there in the forest, out there in the snow, his ancient lightsaber, the accursed, bloodied thing, had flown through the air into the girl's hand and the Force sang.
The actual, physical ACTION is exactly the same (and it's also exactly the same as what happens in the movie, starting at 00:56). What's different is the emphasis put on this moment.
In movie form, that emphasis takes the form of a wide-shot and a swelling soundtrack. In comics form, it's a one-panel double-page spread. In written form, it's -- more words, basically.
Not just any words either, but extended metaphor. Here it's the-Force-as-music, which is how I tend to write the-Force-as-perceived-by-Anakin but it doesn't have to be. A bit of repetition on occasions doesn't hurt and it's no coincidence it both starts and ends with "the Force sang". (I'm also really fond of "the accursed, bloodied thing" for reasons.)
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The biggest difference between the two, imo, is that for original fic, you're alone. It's just you and your blank page.
I don't mean that just in the way of "fandom is a community that will support you and brainstorm with you and beta read your fic and a thousand other little things to help you write and post your fanfic". That's part of it, but not even the most of it. In case phrasing it that way makes it sound like I'm saying fandom doesn't support people original ventures, I will just say that is a filthy lie. I don't know if I would have written those three novel first drafts without support from people in fandom. (You know who you are and you're all amazing. <3)
No, what I mean is that, much like when you and your fandom friends find yourself in different fandoms, your friends are missing some of the context. Because half the worldbuilding only exists in your head. Or you're trying not to spoil a specific plot point. Or you added that character at the last second and you'll go back to edit their subplot in any day now.
I mean, maybe it would be different if I actually let anyone look at my draft-zeros as I write them, but I don't. Like with fanfic, I write original fic in a draft-zero that no one will see but me (this allows me to actually write, because only I will see if I fuck up and need to scrap a whole scene or whatever) which I then clean up and send to beta as a (finished) first draft. Because my original fiction writing is novels and my fanfic writing is short stories, it takes a lot longer for me to be done with a piece of original fiction, so I do sometimes end up feeling like I'm the only person invested in it. Obviously YMMV on this.
On a storycrafting level, though, you are also all alone.
As far as I'm concerned, stories have three 'objective' elements: characters/settings/plot (order deliberate, btw). Now, in my head, I conceive this as the three vertex of a triangle that provides the base for two pyramids with a triangular base, the last two vertexes of which are theme (below) and tone (above). But 'theme' and 'tone' are very 'subjective'. Characters/settings/plot are concrete, so I'm going to talk about those.
I always phrase it as "characters/settings/plot", in that order, because that's how I build stories: plot happens at the intersection of character and setting and at the intersection of character and character. So, (character + character) + setting = plot, basically.
The difference between fanfic and original fic is that all three of characters/settings/plot come from you, not from outside. In fanfiction, at least one of the three is from outside.
(Themes and tone are pretty much always personal. I'm tempted to say the combination of the two is what makes "voice", but we have talked about the part where I have no formal writing training, yes?)
Most people read fanfic for (and as a consequence most fanfic is written about) the canon characters. A lot of fic is also written in the canon setting (or close enough). Some fanfic (fusions) even borrow the plot from another source.
(Apart from possibly the plot, I categorise anything that borrows character and/or setting from somewhere to be fanfiction. Neil Gaiman's A Study in Emerald is fanfiction. Published, Hugo award-winning fanfiction, but fanfiction nonetheless.)
Actually, Study in Emerald is a very good example of a story that wouldn't work as original fiction. It's a story that relies on the reader's familiarity with the works of both Arthur Conan Doyle and HP Lovecraft. The reveal about the narrator, his detective friend and the criminals they are hunting would have no impact if the reader wasn't already invested in ACD's characters. The entire thing, including the adverts, relies on the reader going 'I see what you did there' for entertainment value. I would say "replace the names and see how well it holds up", but it would hold up, because it's good fanfiction and everyone is in character, including the setting.
That's the thing: original fiction and fanfic have different sets of goals and problems. When I'm writing original fiction, I make the rules. If, halfway through the book, I decide that the character who is non-binary isn't alone and in fact part of that society's third gender, I can! (I have.) When I'm writing fanfiction, I can't. What I can do, is rely on my readers' pre-existing affection for the characters to get them to read a story that's driven not by "what happens next?" but "how did we get here?", ie, a story told in reverse chronological order (I'm talking about Retrograde, if you were curious). That's one extreme, but I like to think that all my fics would fall apart if you took away all references to the original canon.
And now I am going to talk about how I Do Fandom Wrong.
A lot of people read fanfic solely for the characters and the (often romantic, often sexual) relationships between them. There are people out there who are able to write 100K+ stories that are only about Alice and Barbara getting together. I don't know how they do it and it kind of blows my mind. I can't write without plot. That's why there's always shit going on in the background of even the character pieces (of which I have, like, two). I'm not claiming my plots are any good, I'm just saying that I can't write for shit without them.
I need all three vertexes of that triangle, or else it collapses on itself and I end up stalled. I can't tell you how many ideas for settings or characters or emotional arcs or whatever I have just lying around, waiting for a plot (or to connect to something else to make a plot). So I write things with plot (I basically have to approach that part of the fanfic writing process like I do for original fiction). I've seen people talk about not wanting to read fanfic with plot "because I have canon for plot". On the other side of things, I've seen people outline a brilliant plot and then dismiss the above as essentially worthless with a "I ain't writing no gen fic here". (As someone who is mostly a gen writer, it's nice to know that the reason people don't read my fic not because I write in small fandoms but because people aren't banging. /sarcasm)
Another difference, I think, is that in fic you know your reader picked your fic for a reason. That reason is often that they like the characters you're writing about, but not always. Whatever the reason, though, they're already invested. You get some leeway to get to the interesting bits, because your reader expects you to get there eventually. They trust you.
In original fiction, you have to build that trust. It's not easy, but it's challenging and exhilirating and I love it.
I love fanfiction too. I can love writing and reading both, the same way I can love jumping from the 10m diving board and having hot chocolate with friends. They're different things. One isn't "better". I can like making shit up and I can like poring over many a quaint and curious volume of forgotten lore (the glamourous life of writing for comics canons). I can love both and I do. What I don't like is people pitting the two against each other. Whichever side you're on, you sound like an asshat when you do that.
Basically, I feel like the difference between writing fanfiction and original fiction is that writing fanfiction is a shared activity while writing original fiction is not. (For me, at least. It could be!)
Next time, I'll be talking about an achievement I'm proud of, which might go under f-lock depending on how it turns out. (The Meta Monday Masterpost is here. If you want me to talk about anything, let me know over there.)
Meta Monday: Experiments in novel writing
Jul. 6th, 2015 10:35 pmHi! Welcome to Meta Monday, in which I go tl;dr about stuff.
cherrytide : the experience of writing a novel?
I'll be honest: I waited until I'd finished the desert novel before writing this, because I felt having three novel first drafts would be better than having written 2.95 novel first drafts.
Disclaimer: I've only been at this since November 1 2013. I've never been published. I only have three first drafts finished, so take all this with however much salt you feel is reasonable.
I have a tag, that I mostly use when I use when I hit milestones in my original writing. All but two of the posts in that tag are f-locked, but the gist of a lot of them is that I have no idea what the fuck I'm doing. I'm not A Writer. I don't have a PhD in English or a Masters in Creative Writing or any sort of qualifications.
All I have is a computer and the stories I want to tell.
( Words and a picture )
Long story short: the experience of writing a novel is a lot of writing, getting things wrong and then reading things months later and thinking 'you know, that wasn't actually that bad...'
And you know what? It's a hell of a lot of fun and I love all those characters so dearly (even/especially when they can be such idiots).
Next time, I'll be talking about writing original fiction versusfanfiction, ie: how I'm Doing Fandom Wrong. (The Meta Monday Masterpost is here. If you want me to talk about anything, let me know over there.)
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I'll be honest: I waited until I'd finished the desert novel before writing this, because I felt having three novel first drafts would be better than having written 2.95 novel first drafts.
Disclaimer: I've only been at this since November 1 2013. I've never been published. I only have three first drafts finished, so take all this with however much salt you feel is reasonable.
I have a tag, that I mostly use when I use when I hit milestones in my original writing. All but two of the posts in that tag are f-locked, but the gist of a lot of them is that I have no idea what the fuck I'm doing. I'm not A Writer. I don't have a PhD in English or a Masters in Creative Writing or any sort of qualifications.
All I have is a computer and the stories I want to tell.
( Words and a picture )
Long story short: the experience of writing a novel is a lot of writing, getting things wrong and then reading things months later and thinking 'you know, that wasn't actually that bad...'
And you know what? It's a hell of a lot of fun and I love all those characters so dearly (even/especially when they can be such idiots).
Next time, I'll be talking about writing original fiction versusfanfiction, ie: how I'm Doing Fandom Wrong. (The Meta Monday Masterpost is here. If you want me to talk about anything, let me know over there.)
Camp NaNoWriMo June 2012
Jun. 3rd, 2012 10:13 pmI've sign up for this with an original fiction project.
I don't think I'm going to win it, unless I use the "one picture is worth a thousand words" cheat code I came up with where if I draw a finished picture related to my novel, I get to add 1k to my wordcount. And maybe not even then.
Is any one else doing it or interested? The site is here and my username there is the same as on LJ.
I don't think I'm going to win it, unless I use the "one picture is worth a thousand words" cheat code I came up with where if I draw a finished picture related to my novel, I get to add 1k to my wordcount. And maybe not even then.
Is any one else doing it or interested? The site is here and my username there is the same as on LJ.
BUTTFUCK NOWHERE, NORWAY
Apr. 6th, 2012 08:12 pmTitle: BUTTFUCK NOWHERE, NORWAY (for lack of a better title)
Fandom: None, this is original fiction
Series: Folklore Noir
Characters: Ask, Embla,the fossegrim, Niels
Warning: Murder (mentions of,attempted and successful)
Word Count: 5655
Summary: Ask and Embla, folkloric detectives extraordinaires, investigate in the back of beyond.
Author's Note: Beta by the excellent
manzanadorada. Any mistakes left are mine, not hers. Notes about folklore and references are at the end of the fic.
( On to the story! )
( Notes )
Fandom: None, this is original fiction
Series: Folklore Noir
Characters: Ask, Embla,the fossegrim, Niels
Warning: Murder (mentions of,attempted and successful)
Word Count: 5655
Summary: Ask and Embla, folkloric detectives extraordinaires, investigate in the back of beyond.
Author's Note: Beta by the excellent
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( On to the story! )
( Notes )