Simple, coz we get paid to do so.
Yeah, right!
I don't know about others, I believe everyone has their own reasons to read/write fanfics, but I love it coz now it's like a hobby to me, something I dedicate myself in doing. Something which puts a smile on my face when I feel glad with something I wrote. Something that allows me to play 'god', hahaha - well, I play with persons' lives, I choose who they fall in love with, I choose the sequence of events leading to another events... I even control the weather! =P
And I swear I'm not crazy.
Other good things about writing/reading fics, is having a good time, making jokes about something you read/wrote with others and have a laugh. Or simply just to get away from it all, with a little bit of romance... drama... comedy or whatever the story is about.
This may be irrelevant for some, but for many non-English speakers, is a way to learn the language with something interesting. My learning of English was through music, internet and utimately fan fics. Now that I have a site and I correct the fics I read/script, I also learn from others' mistakes, and also for others' right doings - like a word I don't know, so I'll searh in a dictionary and try to keep always advancing my vocabulary.
What I find good in fanfics.
For starters, I like long and well written stories. And I like emotion in the story, not things happening too fast, not giving ya time to 'feel' it, y'know? Details are good, but not too many and all the time the same things, it's nice to have a mental picture, but it's also nice to imagine how it is going on. it must be balanced not to get the fic boring.
Dialogues, I like the good ones, with sarcasm, nice retorts. All lovey-dovey sometimes can get on my nerves - romance yes, cheesiness no. And, there must be some explaining of what is happening, how are the characters feeling, stuff like that. I don't like much "direct dialogues" [sorry, can't find a better word to describe it]; anyway, those with only the talking, not detailing what they're doing, only with he said, she said usually. Those I find a bit boring.
And the most important, is the plot, the story-line. Something interesting, with some suspense to keep wondering what will happen next, or how it'll happen. A good story line well told will remain, but it must have a writing with the same high level; I've read fics with such interesting plots, but the writing wasn't that good for me and it upseted me to see what could have been a great fic, be just another not outstanding story. And, the ending... seriously, I think the top fics in my list are those with nice endings, something you'll remember long after the reading is over.
I know that most fic writers do it for fun, but most also care about doing a good job. I try to mix both, having fun writing what I consider good things, lol. I value the quality of the story a lot, but by no means I'll judge those who are careless about it, each to their own. ;o)
Personal.
Alright, this is personally what I like or not in fics, everyone has their own tastes, and this is mine. =P
I like long fics, to spend the whole day or even more reading the story. But the story must be good and with a good writing, otherwise it's no fun at all. It depends on my mood the genre, but I usually like big drama, angst with some romance. I don't like it all lovey-dovey, all about the Lifer and the girl, they must have trouble, they must fight and stuff like that.
Another thing I don't like, it's the fic getting too personal, like, having too many family members and/or partners. Alright, sometimes having their mum's and dads, even brother or sister may be relevant to the story, but if it's not, I don't see why use them. And as for partners, those with made up characters I find a lot more interesting.
I don't like things happening too gast. 'Hello, I love you, marry me' is the worse thing I've seen on fics. It's nice to 'watch' things happening gradually, taking time for it, not all at once.
AU [Açternative Universe, those where Westlife is not Westlife] I'm not really found of, though I've read AUs pretty good. If I am to pick, it'd be a non AU. I like writing/reading about the Westlife world in fics, other subjects I'd read a book, a story, not a fic.
LOL, it's more like things I don't like, hahaha. But that is coz what I like pretty much sums up in a long well written story, lol. - Saying that, it doesn't mean I don't like the short ones, I actually do and have read some pretty good ones, with interesting plots and good writing. =)
Anyway, as my previous post stated, I've read Kurt Vonnegut's book. And so I went to wikipedia to learn more about him and his other works [which unfortunatelly I couldn't find around here, damn it]. And there was this bit, I think he's written it somewhere, his eight rules to write a short fic. Here it goes:
Anyway, I find the 'rules' interesting... and why not consider it, not only for short stories?
I personally liked the sadistic bit. I like fics with extreme angst, being it physical or emotional. There're not many from this type out there, but anyway, I keep wishing for them, hahaha =P
Oh, seeing my post is not that log yet, [yeah right] I think I'll extend it a bit more.
I'll rate my own writing, my own fics [which can be found on Neverland and/or my mini-site for my fics].
First of all, a note that I really suck at writing short fics. Y'know, those stories in which you must tell a story in a few words... but I can only do that with too many words, hahaha. =P
And on another note... I'm afraid to say my best stories aren't 'published' yet. - Meaning they're unfinished still, therefore, not publicly on line.
» When Your Eyes Say It. My first ever fanfiction. I wrote it in 2005 I think, about the time MYF [my ex site] started. I had an idea, and I thought 'why not?' and gave it a go. In all honesty, now I find this one crap, but I remember I really enjoyed writing it. I never re-read that again after it was finished, and I don't feel like doing either. I dunno, I think it's too simple, too unlogical and too innocent. But, everyone has to start somewhere, huh? I have a special liking for this fic, despite thinking it's not that good. 5/10
» A Christimas Fairytale. The following fic I finished. I remember I tried writing something else before this one and after WYESI, but that was crap. I liked writing this one, in 2 days I think I finished it, just a few days before xmas 2005. It's weird coz it doesn't really look like my usual fics, it's all lovey-dovey, also sort of melancholic... For the record, I hate xmas, and about this time of the year I'm pretty low... that must be the the reason for this story's mood. 8/10
» That's Life. This one I love. I think I wrote it in a weekend... one weekend I was - for a change - mad at Westlife's neverending cover songs. I don't remember if there was one specific fact that made me write it, though. I think it's more of a realistic fic, somehow it feels real... which is creep, haha. Well, this one is my baby, it's one of the top of my fave fics I wrote. 9/10
» Catch me now I'm falling. This one I wrote another xmas I was pretty down... it says exactly what I was feeling at the moment I wrote it. I couldn't really get away, so I had my writing to do it... well, it was the next best thing. 8/10
» Obsession. My first x-rated fic! Haha. But no, it's not really a good one. And the shite with this one is, when I thought about this plot and had the inspiration to write... I had no computer! It was fixing... I tried to hand write, but it's too tiresome. I couldd've finish it in, I dunno, maybe a couple of days if I had my computer, but hand writing, I only managed a couple of pages... and when I got the computer back, the inspiration was gone. I still tried to have something done, but the final result was far from being what I intended... for a long time I've been thinking about editing it, even started one... but in all honesty, I don't think I'll ever manage to fix it, unfortunatelly... 4/10
» I'll stand by you. A song fic, I've heard the song, thought about writing something, and I did it. It's a short fic... and it's not good. It's not the worst I've written, but it surelly is in the botton... 3/10
» Across the street. This is the worst... a complete bad plot, based on a 3 minutes music video. I wanted to write a song fic about this song... so I wrote, but I seriously could've thrown it away, it's utterly crap. 0/10
» 2day's. The idea i had for this fic I thought was good, still do. But the writing... have I told ya I'm crap at short fics? So... it says it all. Maybe if it was proper written in a long story it could be better... but also, the format is more of a short story indeed. 5/10
» Dirty Little Christimas. Something I wrote last xmas... at the beggining of the fic it was ok, but then it became crap... I wanted to do something funny, but the writing wasn't funny, it was more like my usual tragic ones, but for thi sone it didn't suit... 1/10
» Damned to be with you. This one I wrote for Binha, and I actually like this one. I changed the way of writing short stories with this one, and I personally think it worked. I wrote the story I wanted to write and it didn't feel like something was missing, like all other short stories does. If I am to write some other short stories in the future, this one will be my model. 10/10
» Is it any Wonder? This is my 'wtf' fic. It's sort of short too, and I wrote it for a challenge in Neverland. I liked writing this one coz I was literally laughing with the mental pictures I was having... it's a funny fic, it's comedy and I liked the result. Also, this is the first complete fic I have no writing using myself as a character, though she has a lot of me. [Alright, Binha's fic wasn't about me, but I had me in the fic still]. I changed my way of write, and no more Mirelle on my fics, haha. 7/10
» Birds in the Trees. Not my most recent, but maybe the best work I have on line. Not according to me though, lol. I dunno, it's a strange fic... a long one, and it's a trilogy - the 2nd part is already started, and the 3rd is only inside me head - and it's pure drama. I like drama. It's not one of my fave fics, it never were, really, but I'm glad with the result and the feedbacks I got with this one. I dunno, I must be doing something right... lol. It took almost 2 years for me to finish this one, but not running 2 years. I started writing, dunno, I wrote about 30 or 40 pages and then left the fic behind... after months I picked it again, wrote a little bit more... and along this one fic, I wrote others too, so it wasn't exclusivity. 8/10
I think those were all my complete and hosted fics. I have a bunch of others incomplete ones; some of them I intend on keeping writing on, some will really depend. At the moment, I'm stuck with writing just one fic, and I want to keep like that for as long as I can... hopefully till it's complete. I am in love with this fic, atm it really is my top story, I like the plot and I like how I am writing... I'm enjoying the dialogues I wrote and I also like the fillers, lol.
Now that must be enough....
Keep the fanfic pride alive, dude. o/
Yeah, right!
I don't know about others, I believe everyone has their own reasons to read/write fanfics, but I love it coz now it's like a hobby to me, something I dedicate myself in doing. Something which puts a smile on my face when I feel glad with something I wrote. Something that allows me to play 'god', hahaha - well, I play with persons' lives, I choose who they fall in love with, I choose the sequence of events leading to another events... I even control the weather! =P
And I swear I'm not crazy.
Other good things about writing/reading fics, is having a good time, making jokes about something you read/wrote with others and have a laugh. Or simply just to get away from it all, with a little bit of romance... drama... comedy or whatever the story is about.
This may be irrelevant for some, but for many non-English speakers, is a way to learn the language with something interesting. My learning of English was through music, internet and utimately fan fics. Now that I have a site and I correct the fics I read/script, I also learn from others' mistakes, and also for others' right doings - like a word I don't know, so I'll searh in a dictionary and try to keep always advancing my vocabulary.
What I find good in fanfics.
For starters, I like long and well written stories. And I like emotion in the story, not things happening too fast, not giving ya time to 'feel' it, y'know? Details are good, but not too many and all the time the same things, it's nice to have a mental picture, but it's also nice to imagine how it is going on. it must be balanced not to get the fic boring.
Dialogues, I like the good ones, with sarcasm, nice retorts. All lovey-dovey sometimes can get on my nerves - romance yes, cheesiness no. And, there must be some explaining of what is happening, how are the characters feeling, stuff like that. I don't like much "direct dialogues" [sorry, can't find a better word to describe it]; anyway, those with only the talking, not detailing what they're doing, only with he said, she said usually. Those I find a bit boring.
And the most important, is the plot, the story-line. Something interesting, with some suspense to keep wondering what will happen next, or how it'll happen. A good story line well told will remain, but it must have a writing with the same high level; I've read fics with such interesting plots, but the writing wasn't that good for me and it upseted me to see what could have been a great fic, be just another not outstanding story. And, the ending... seriously, I think the top fics in my list are those with nice endings, something you'll remember long after the reading is over.
I know that most fic writers do it for fun, but most also care about doing a good job. I try to mix both, having fun writing what I consider good things, lol. I value the quality of the story a lot, but by no means I'll judge those who are careless about it, each to their own. ;o)
Personal.
Alright, this is personally what I like or not in fics, everyone has their own tastes, and this is mine. =P
I like long fics, to spend the whole day or even more reading the story. But the story must be good and with a good writing, otherwise it's no fun at all. It depends on my mood the genre, but I usually like big drama, angst with some romance. I don't like it all lovey-dovey, all about the Lifer and the girl, they must have trouble, they must fight and stuff like that.
Another thing I don't like, it's the fic getting too personal, like, having too many family members and/or partners. Alright, sometimes having their mum's and dads, even brother or sister may be relevant to the story, but if it's not, I don't see why use them. And as for partners, those with made up characters I find a lot more interesting.
I don't like things happening too gast. 'Hello, I love you, marry me' is the worse thing I've seen on fics. It's nice to 'watch' things happening gradually, taking time for it, not all at once.
AU [Açternative Universe, those where Westlife is not Westlife] I'm not really found of, though I've read AUs pretty good. If I am to pick, it'd be a non AU. I like writing/reading about the Westlife world in fics, other subjects I'd read a book, a story, not a fic.
LOL, it's more like things I don't like, hahaha. But that is coz what I like pretty much sums up in a long well written story, lol. - Saying that, it doesn't mean I don't like the short ones, I actually do and have read some pretty good ones, with interesting plots and good writing. =)
Anyway, as my previous post stated, I've read Kurt Vonnegut's book. And so I went to wikipedia to learn more about him and his other works [which unfortunatelly I couldn't find around here, damn it]. And there was this bit, I think he's written it somewhere, his eight rules to write a short fic. Here it goes:
- Use the time of a total stranger in such a way that he or she will not feel the time was wasted.
- Give the reader at least one character he or she can root for.
- Every character should want something, even if it is only a glass of water.
- Every sentence must do one of two things—reveal character or advance the action.
- Start as close to the end as possible.
- Be a sadist. No matter how sweet and innocent your leading characters, make awful things happen to them—in order that the reader may see what they are made of.
- Write to please just one person. If you open a window and make love to the world, so to speak, your story will get pneumonia.
- Give your readers as much information as possible as soon as possible. To hell with suspense. Readers should have such complete understanding of what is going on, where and why, that they could finish the story themselves, should cockroaches eat the last few pages.
Anyway, I find the 'rules' interesting... and why not consider it, not only for short stories?
I personally liked the sadistic bit. I like fics with extreme angst, being it physical or emotional. There're not many from this type out there, but anyway, I keep wishing for them, hahaha =P
Oh, seeing my post is not that log yet, [yeah right] I think I'll extend it a bit more.
I'll rate my own writing, my own fics [which can be found on Neverland and/or my mini-site for my fics].
First of all, a note that I really suck at writing short fics. Y'know, those stories in which you must tell a story in a few words... but I can only do that with too many words, hahaha. =P
And on another note... I'm afraid to say my best stories aren't 'published' yet. - Meaning they're unfinished still, therefore, not publicly on line.
» When Your Eyes Say It. My first ever fanfiction. I wrote it in 2005 I think, about the time MYF [my ex site] started. I had an idea, and I thought 'why not?' and gave it a go. In all honesty, now I find this one crap, but I remember I really enjoyed writing it. I never re-read that again after it was finished, and I don't feel like doing either. I dunno, I think it's too simple, too unlogical and too innocent. But, everyone has to start somewhere, huh? I have a special liking for this fic, despite thinking it's not that good. 5/10
» A Christimas Fairytale. The following fic I finished. I remember I tried writing something else before this one and after WYESI, but that was crap. I liked writing this one, in 2 days I think I finished it, just a few days before xmas 2005. It's weird coz it doesn't really look like my usual fics, it's all lovey-dovey, also sort of melancholic... For the record, I hate xmas, and about this time of the year I'm pretty low... that must be the the reason for this story's mood. 8/10
» That's Life. This one I love. I think I wrote it in a weekend... one weekend I was - for a change - mad at Westlife's neverending cover songs. I don't remember if there was one specific fact that made me write it, though. I think it's more of a realistic fic, somehow it feels real... which is creep, haha. Well, this one is my baby, it's one of the top of my fave fics I wrote. 9/10
» Catch me now I'm falling. This one I wrote another xmas I was pretty down... it says exactly what I was feeling at the moment I wrote it. I couldn't really get away, so I had my writing to do it... well, it was the next best thing. 8/10
» Obsession. My first x-rated fic! Haha. But no, it's not really a good one. And the shite with this one is, when I thought about this plot and had the inspiration to write... I had no computer! It was fixing... I tried to hand write, but it's too tiresome. I couldd've finish it in, I dunno, maybe a couple of days if I had my computer, but hand writing, I only managed a couple of pages... and when I got the computer back, the inspiration was gone. I still tried to have something done, but the final result was far from being what I intended... for a long time I've been thinking about editing it, even started one... but in all honesty, I don't think I'll ever manage to fix it, unfortunatelly... 4/10
» I'll stand by you. A song fic, I've heard the song, thought about writing something, and I did it. It's a short fic... and it's not good. It's not the worst I've written, but it surelly is in the botton... 3/10
» Across the street. This is the worst... a complete bad plot, based on a 3 minutes music video. I wanted to write a song fic about this song... so I wrote, but I seriously could've thrown it away, it's utterly crap. 0/10
» 2day's. The idea i had for this fic I thought was good, still do. But the writing... have I told ya I'm crap at short fics? So... it says it all. Maybe if it was proper written in a long story it could be better... but also, the format is more of a short story indeed. 5/10
» Dirty Little Christimas. Something I wrote last xmas... at the beggining of the fic it was ok, but then it became crap... I wanted to do something funny, but the writing wasn't funny, it was more like my usual tragic ones, but for thi sone it didn't suit... 1/10
» Damned to be with you. This one I wrote for Binha, and I actually like this one. I changed the way of writing short stories with this one, and I personally think it worked. I wrote the story I wanted to write and it didn't feel like something was missing, like all other short stories does. If I am to write some other short stories in the future, this one will be my model. 10/10
» Is it any Wonder? This is my 'wtf' fic. It's sort of short too, and I wrote it for a challenge in Neverland. I liked writing this one coz I was literally laughing with the mental pictures I was having... it's a funny fic, it's comedy and I liked the result. Also, this is the first complete fic I have no writing using myself as a character, though she has a lot of me. [Alright, Binha's fic wasn't about me, but I had me in the fic still]. I changed my way of write, and no more Mirelle on my fics, haha. 7/10
» Birds in the Trees. Not my most recent, but maybe the best work I have on line. Not according to me though, lol. I dunno, it's a strange fic... a long one, and it's a trilogy - the 2nd part is already started, and the 3rd is only inside me head - and it's pure drama. I like drama. It's not one of my fave fics, it never were, really, but I'm glad with the result and the feedbacks I got with this one. I dunno, I must be doing something right... lol. It took almost 2 years for me to finish this one, but not running 2 years. I started writing, dunno, I wrote about 30 or 40 pages and then left the fic behind... after months I picked it again, wrote a little bit more... and along this one fic, I wrote others too, so it wasn't exclusivity. 8/10
I think those were all my complete and hosted fics. I have a bunch of others incomplete ones; some of them I intend on keeping writing on, some will really depend. At the moment, I'm stuck with writing just one fic, and I want to keep like that for as long as I can... hopefully till it's complete. I am in love with this fic, atm it really is my top story, I like the plot and I like how I am writing... I'm enjoying the dialogues I wrote and I also like the fillers, lol.
Now that must be enough....
Keep the fanfic pride alive, dude. o/
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