fanfictioncritiquegroup

Every week we encourage people to do their best to analyze their own writing processes by answering a TQ. These are the most thoughtful, well planned, and deatiled answers we recieve each week.

Thanks everyone.

TQ: Considering perspective (IE first person), which perspective makes the best stories? What kinds of things effect your preference?

Winner:

Waiting

As far as the different perspectives go, I think this would have sounded better in 1st or 3rd person but that might be because I’m used to reading in those. It all depends on what one is trying to accomplish. I think 1st person is more personal and you can really reflect on what each character is feeling when you write it from their POV. But just like 2nd person, the word ‘I’ or ‘we’ can be over used. Third person seems to be more descriptive and more detail oriented because in a sense we are seeing the story through someone else’s eyes. All and all, it was an enjoyable read to me, and it seemed to flow very well. Nicely done!

TQ: When reading a fan fiction outside of your usual fandom name three things you can do to get the most out of the experience?

Winner:

LLK

As for the TQ, well, here’s what I’ve got. So far the last two stories that we’ve featured have been outside of my fandom but I’ve still managed to greatly enjoy reading them. This is what I did. 1. I just pretend it’s original fiction. If I don’t know the characters already, well then what’s the point of pretending to myself that I do? Or, if you want to embrace the fanfiction qualities these next two tips might help. 2. Maybe do a little research about the fandom, if you already know something about it. In just about an hour online you can learn a great deal about just about any ‘ship in any fandom. 3. Pay attention to the “allusions” in the text. Almost every fanfiction will allude heavily to canon and if you’re careful you can pick up on the allusions. These can be a great basis for your research.

TQ: What makes the reading experience different when reading a songfic and not a fiction written in standard prose?

Winner:

Jennifer

For me, song fics are hard to follow, the lyrics of the song break up the story, making the story harder to follow. It's distracting. I guess it would be different if the song were playing while the story was being read (without the written lyrics), then you could *feel* the song, *feel* the music. However, for this story, it was easier for me to follow because the lyric portions in between bits of story portions were short (the longer the lyric portion, the harder for me to follow the story), so the story was easier to follow. And an added plus, the entire song wasn't in the story...that can really drag out a good story, not to mention make the lyric portions of the story longer (and thus, more distracting). Hmmm...maybe the fact that these stories are not as easy for me to follow is why I don't understand how the song fits in with the story.

TQ: How does the utilization of multiple separate sections within the same chapter effect the story as a whole? Are sections better? Is it better to say what you have to and save the next section for another chapter?

Winner:

Adorelo

I like sections and use them quite often. I find they are a useful way of switching view points, if necessary. They also allow the author to use quotes or lyrics to summarize the content of each section. Finally, I think they can be used in a, to use dramatical terminology, 'Brechtian' way to make the author take a step back away from the piece and focus on the underlying messages. Alternatively, they can draw the reader in.

TQ: On open ended fanfictions, how do you, as a reader, respond when you reach the end of the story and have been intentionally left to wonder about the outcome? Do you enjoy it? Do you prefer stories to be wrapped up in a tight little bow, all of your questions answered? How does this effect your decision about reading more from that author, or does it effect it at all?

Winner:

Jennifer

Open ended fanfictions kind of irritate me. It's like reading a fanfiction that someone starts, but never finishes...and the reader is left hanging. It is a letdown to read a story and then get to the end only to find out that it is an open-ended story that does not, in my mind, have an ending. I'm one of those people that like closure, I like all the questions answered and tied up in a tight little bow. I think that may be why I get most of my own fanfiction- writing inspiration from episodes or scenes that I think need continuing, or were missing a little something. Reading a fanfiction and coming upon an open ending would not make me want to stop reading fanfictions from that author, although if that author tended to write mostly open-ended stories, I'd probably be more reluctant to click on the story to read it.

TQ: How effective do you think stories written in script format are? Do you think it takes away from the tone of the piece, or adds to it? Maybe you find it difficult to read and understand? Or maybe you like being able to add your own emotions to the characters. Please discuss.

Winner:

speed_cochrane

Stories written in script format, I find, are very effective when presenting a 'case file' plot. (Since the stories here involve CSI) Not only do these types of plots normally require less description but I find it even easier to follow when it's laid out the way RIPTimSpeedle showcased. A happy-medium between the two.

TQ: How do original characters affect the plot of a story? Do you find them an asset, or a hindrance within a fiction? How do they influence your reading experience overall?

Winner: Speed_Cochrane

Firstly, I've always believed that an OC can express parts of the author's creativity that established characters sometimes fall short. An author can either put more of themselves into the character which, while it may sometimes be a challenge, it allows for more flexability and an intimate recognition. (On the author's part)

Depending on how prevenlant the OC is in the story, it can affect the plot three ways (from what I've seen)--either the OC is the central focus while the established characters have a small role/support the created character, the OC plays a more secondary role in support of the established character(s) or the OC has as much affect on the plot as any of the others. It's how the author presents it that will determine whether the OC is an asset or a hinderance.

Normally within fiction, I tend to steer away from stories that involve an original character. Now it's not to say that I don't prefer them--quite the opposite, I have quite a few OCs in one of my fics. However if the author veers the fic away from the premise of what was to be presented (in this case, CSI) and their OC obliterates any focus from the plot, then said character becomes a hinderance. I'd say in this case for the author to perhaps write an original fic not involving CSI. Alternatively, a writer might try to integrate the OC in much the same way LLK has and still stay within the bounds of the plot, all the while the CSI characters as well remain a strong presence, thus the OC is a success and an asset in the story.

As a reader, I definitely look for characterization in an OC. Like adorelo mentioned, one dimensional/flat characters are not appealing to the general audience. To any perspective fic writers--Please take some time on your OC! Get to know them better than you know yourself. Make them complex and if not complex, entertaining.

General TQ: When a challenge is answered, do you find the elements that must be included break up the flow of the story, making it seem 'jerky?' Or do you find it is an exciting new way for both reader and writer to explore a facet of the story or fandom that they otherwise may never have tried?

Winner: Jennifer

When a challenge to write a story with specific elements is given and answered, I don’t necessarily find the elements break up the flow of the story. Nor do I necessarily find it an exciting exploration of another facet of fanfiction. Simply put…it’s hard! At least for me it is. I find it hard to write a story with elements that are required, versus getting an idea in my head and running with it…putting my own elements in it. It’s kind of like it was when I was in school and had “required reading”… required reading was never as fun as reading a book I chose to read on my own. Perhaps it’s because my stories are always romance stories…and teachers never required me t o read a romance story, darn it. In writing a story with required elements I find myself wracking my brain trying to come up with a story that will fit all the required elements. Luckily, for this challenge it was easy as it was only one required element.

Also, GreenEyes said:

“This was my first completed fanfic at all. I used to enjoy writing in school, but it's been quite a few years since I've tried to write anything fictional at all. One episode we watched through Netflix inspired me to join the forums and post my thoughts on the review thread and inspired me to try a fan fic. I really wasn't getting anywhere with that, and I saw this challenge. It was actually the elements in it that inspired me to try it. I think the process would be different, though, because rather than starting with a story idea, I started by thinking about those elements and how I could see them fitting with different characters from the different series.”

TQ: When reading and writing fanfictions that utilize flashbacks to help tell the story what do you expect the story to depict? Have you grown accustomed to flashbacks bringing with them some sort of negative feeling? Do you find them a welcome distraction to the text around you or an unnecessary stop in the flow of the story?

Winner: Zelda 49

Flashbacks in a story for me don’t necessarily mean something negative. I’ve read several fics where the story itself was positive and so was the flashback, and used this technique myself once or twice. Thinking about it, though, you’re right in that many authors use them either to bring in a negative feeling or to relieve the reader from a negative feeling as the character remembers a happier time. I don’t find them distracting, either, when the story is well written. There is an art to using flashbacks, and if the author doesn’t use them smoothly the story becomes disjointed and hard to read. But when done well flashbacks can really enhance a story.

TQ: When reading or writing a Fanfiction how is it different telling (or reading) the story when knowing that the other side will also be (or has also been) told?

Winner:lostladyknight

TQ: I honestly try to write the same story from several different perspectives every time I write one. Even if it’s not actually on paper I look at every event or chapter and try to decide how each character would feel about that particular happening. I think it makes for a story where characters are all much more in character. I was taught in my experience with theatre that you can never go wrong by exploring the reactions of more characters than the one/ones involved. So... I guess that’s just the way I do things. Now, just because I write from all of the perspectives doesn’t mean that anyone is ever going to see any but the one I decide makes the best read... it’s my prerogative to show the readers whatever I want.

On the other hand I rarely even know what to expect when reading a story that offers more than one perspective. I mean if it’s not done in just such a manner I am frequently worried that I won’t like the story as much as I could have. I think that’s the whole problem because too frequently writers who tell the same story from two perspectives forget that they are the same story. Both perspectives make up all one story and they treat them as two separate stories. This can cause some very vast problems in the story, things can stop flowing or meshing in the way that they need to. Unfortunately, also, there can be problems with making the two sides too similar. Someone without a good grasp on characterization might make Nick and Warrick see the same situation in the exact same way... and that’s not very likely at ALL. You need to have a good counter balance of keeping the facts exactly the same and the perspectives as unalike as the characters themselves. So I guess it’s a much tougher feat than one would think to write more than one perspective, properly.

TQ: As a fanfiction reader how do you go about deciding which stories to read and which ones to ignore? Once you've finished reading how do you go about deciding which ones to review/favorite/alert or any combination there of?

Winners: It really had to be two. These two gave wonderfully detailed answers - great job!

GreenEyes

Background to my answer: I haven't read a huge amount of fan fiction in the past. The other show I read fiction for, my reading was mostly limited to a few authors. With CSI-related fan fiction, I'm trying to be careful until I'm caught up on the shows. I'm current with CSI Miami, but am only in mid-season 3 on CSI: NY. With CSI, we were catching up with Netflix, but had been spoiled enough by commercials and the like that we decided to watch season o8 though we hadn't seen season 7 yet, so I'm at least trying to be careful not to read ones that deal with a few of the more major happenings in season 7 until I see those episodes.

Actual answer: If I have found an author I like, I will check out their other stories. Other than that, it is more hard to define -- a lot of it is just gut-feeling about the story. I look first at the synopsis to see if it sounds like something I'm interested in. I avoid stories with a synopsis that says "I'm too lazy to write a synopsis, so you'll have to read it to find out..." or has messages that vaguely insult the reader such as "... and if you don't like this pairing don't leave me negative reviews because you shouldn't be reading this anyway." Generally, once I start reading the story, the first few paragraphs will tell me if I want to continue reading. If the writing is full of spelling and grammar mistakes and looks like it wasn't even spell-checked, I'll generally stop reading. Next is the content of the story -- if the characters are too far out of line with the way I view them, or if the characters are acting in a way most rational adult people wouldn't act, I also won't read it. And sometimes, I will leave a perfectly well-written story. I have had a couple of situations where I've started reading a story that had a romantic pairing that I just couldn't deal with once I started reading it, even though it was well written. That's no fault of the author, more just my own internal views of those two characters and a romantic relationship. I try to be open to different relationships and such, but sometimes the relationship or story about it just doesn't click -- I started reading a well written story that got into a relationship with Calleigh and Horatio and I just found that actually reading it, I couldn't deal with that relationship.

I'm trying to get better about leaving reviews, but I generally only leave reviews for the stories I like. I would feel bad about leaving a review for a fiction that I bailed out of because of poor spelling and grammar. Do others leave gently worded reviews for those?

AND

LLK

The process of selecting a new fanfiction to read is inherently different from the process which I follow in deciding which new story ideas I should write. When deciding what to write I rely completely on myself and what stories I think just HAVE to be told. Reading is very different. Sometimes I want to read between a couple of characters in particular, like Warrick and Catherine, sometimes I’m looking for a really long, really complete story. Other times I might want to read a oneshot or two. And sometimes I realize that there isn’t much I have going on that I’m reading at the moment and I’d really like to get into a new story. That just narrows down the search criteria, but then there are a lot of other factors that come into play.

Good use of grammar/spelling in the summary and title of the story are a must. If the person can’t even take the time to see to it that the parts that publically advirtise the story are grammatically sound I can’t imagine what kinds of flaws they will have not-so-hidden away in their story. Summaries play another big role, if the story says something like “I know this sucks” or “this isn’t very good” I’m not going to bother with it. Why should I read a story that the author him or herself doesn’t even like?

Another thing that can make or break the story for me, before I even really start reading, can be the author’s notes. Long or short doesn’t bother me.... but if the author threatens to hold their story hostage until they get a certain number of reviews there’s no chance that I’m going to continue on with my reading. I have better things to do than read a story put out by some xxx.

Lastly it’s all in the story itself. I really don’t enjoy reading stories where the writer obviously didn’t even take the time to run a spell checker over it. The better the grammar the easier it will be to keep me interested. Characterization is also a must. If the characters aren’t being like themselves you sure as hell better have me laughing or I’m probably going to walk away from your story and never come back. I’m a busy woman and I don’t have time for crummy stories.

Deciding which stories go on my favorites and alerts is another thing altogether. I’ll alert a story that I only kinda like if I’m curious to see how it ends. Favoriting however is only awarded to the stories that really blow me away, the ones that make me laugh and cry and smile. There are several that I’m reading right now that I enjoy but just aren’t good enough for the favorites list. As for reviews, I try to review every single chapter of every single story that I like. The ones I don’t like so much, however, tend to get skipped when the LLK review fairy comes to town.

TQ: How does the portreyal of a relationship change when showed through fan poetry as opposed to fan fiction? What about when it is shown through a cross of both?

Winner

Speed_Cochrne

When showed through fan poetry as opposed to fan fiction, it's moreso about the emotion and the sensations depicted which gives the reader a feeling of intimacy with the character and/or author. It may tell a story, but it's not your cut and dry plot/character/setting, etc. There are many deeper levels in fan poetry--kind of like ripping the layers from an onion depending how far the author goes.

When it's shown through a cross of both, the reader may be given more than one perspective or more than one way of experiencing the story, which in many cases is beneficial to poetry readers and fiction lovers alike. So while the reader may be experiencing the emotions and intimacy of the poetry, the actual actions/plot/conflicts are being experienced through the fiction. The portrayal in this case may be stronger as both elements compliment each other.

TQ: Where do you prefer going for fanfiction? Either as a reader or an author?


Winner: CalleighD

As both a writer and an author, I almost exclusively go to fanfiction.net. I find the way the fics are laid out on the site easier to follow as opposed to fics posted on a messageboard. I like the features of ff.net such as the story and author alerts, so you get to know about a new chapter/story as soon as it’s posted, and also the review facility, where the reviews are separate to the story. I have read some fics on LJ communities, but I have a hard time navigating LJ that I don’t usually bother. Because of that, I’ve never posted anything on LJ either.

TQ: What, in your mind, seperates the good from the great? What does that rare author or fic have that makes them/it just so much more than everything else we experience on a daily basis? Be as detailed as possible!!

Winner: CalleighD

First off, good grammar, spelling and punctuation are essential to any story, I get especially frustrated when there’s actually a good plot underneath a mess of endless sentences and spelling mistakes ( and I don’t claim to be the best with spelling and grammar, but I do try my hardest to make it readable).

A big thing that separates the good from the great is charaterization. Some people just have the ability to write a character perfectly, almost down to that you could read just the dialogue, and no description and still know who was talking. In my opinion any AU fic where the characters are so far from the norm they are almost unrecognisable, I wouldn’t consider being great, because of the characterization, however well it was written.
A fic in which every character was in character would stand out to me as a great fic because it is so hard to write everyone’s different mannerisms and personalities and get them all right.

I find the use of description in a story very important. Imagery is important and both good and great stories have parts, which set the scene and allow you to play out the action in your head. However when you use too much, it can get boring and start to drag on. Great authors know when to stop.

‘He said’, ‘she said’ dialogue can be very monotonous (and I am guilty of this) but it sometimes takes away from an otherwise good story. I mean, a person can shout, scream, whisper etc and I find it helps to follow the story better.

People who have a clever grasp of English and write witty or though-invoking sentences are the great ones; I love reading clever sentences, because I can’t do it myself.

A great story will have a plot that I anticipate reading more of, and that has me checking ff.net every day to see if there’s an update, whereas just a ‘good’ story, I will consider reading on if it really interests me.

A great ending is always important as sometimes when an ending is rushed, it ruins a story, leaving the feeling that everything was ended too abruptly. The same goes for endings where it takes to long to resolve things- I find that frustrating.

In my opinion, great authors are the ones who can write a story that isn’t just a cliché, like they can write a love story without it being corny or they don’t overdo the angst on an angsty story. Great writers find the balance which makes the story all the more readable.

The personal test for me on whether an author is good or great relates to their ability to make me feel the story. I’m quite a stoic person, and any story that invokes some kind of emotion in me in my opinion is a great story. I’ve read a few where I’ve been sitting there actually laughing because it is so funny, and on the opposite side, I’ve had to stop reading a story because it made me cry *stares at Jodie* and had to go back to it later.

People can be satisfied at just being a good author, who writes good stories, but the great ones who write great stories always seem to be willing to accept criticism (constructive), always want to find out ways to improve and keep on learning. And then again there are the people who are just simply brilliant