Thirty Days of Fanfiction: Day Fifteen
15 - Warnings - What do you feel it most important to warn for, and what's the strangest thing you've warned for in a fic?
Ah yes, warnings. Last year
amatara reminded me that in my very first slash story, many years ago, I warned for slash, which of course now I feel deeply embarassed about. What can I say, I was young in the ways of the net and the social implications, and I didn't do it again.
So: what do I warn for today? Spoilers, obviously. I hate being spoiled myself, and I don't care how many people are okay with it, some just aren't, and they have priority. Even so, now and then I slipped up and accidentally spoiled people for the existence of a character or something like that in the summaries. Which I'm trying not to do. Non-con is a warning that makes sense to me as well, and I would have warned for incest had I written it. "Character death" - now this one is tricky. Actually I hate and resent it because it feels wrong to me and regard it as a social custom forced on me. Not that I've written that many stories where central characters die, but still. Looking back on my fanfiction opus, my compromise with netiquette seems to have been to warn for character death where it's canonical anyway (as a way to make it clear the story in question is not a fix-it) and/or in AUs.
Occasionally, I'm in luck and the fandom I write in has the type of character who is his or her own warning. "Cartagia is being Cartagia" was a really useful disclaimer when writing a story featuring Babylon 5's Caligula in space. You don't have to add anything spoilery; people who are in the fandom will get it and people who aren't won't read the story anyway.
Oddest warning: Latin instead of Greek names for the Olympian deities in Spinning Fate, since it was based on Ovid's Metamorphoses. In the end, nobody said anything but before posting the story I imagined every philogist and myth lover ever going after me and complaining why Arachne deals with Minerva instead of Athena etc.
1 - How did you first get into writing fanfic, and what was the first fandom you wrote for? What do you think it was about that fandom that pulled you in?
2 - Name the fandoms you've written in, and how much you've written in that fandom, and if you still write in it.
3 - For each of the fandoms from day two, what were your favorite characters to write?
4 - Do you have a "muse" character, that speaks to you more than others, or that tries to push their way in, even when the fic isn't about them? Who are they, and why did that character became your muse?
5 -If you have ever had a character try to push their way into a fic, whether your "muse" or not, what did you do about it?
6 - When you write, do you prefer writing male or female characters?
7 - Have you ever had a fic change your opinion of a character?
8 - Do you write OCs? And if so, what do you do to make certain they're not Mary Sues, and if not, explain your thoughts on OCs.
9 - Pairings - For each of the fandoms from day two, what are your three favorite pairings to write?
Pairings - Have you ever gone outside your comfort zone and written a pairing you liked, but found you couldn't write, or a pairing you didn't like, and found you could?
11 - Genre - do you prefer certain genres of fic when you're writing? What kind do you tend to write most?
12 - Have you ever attempted an "adaptation" fic of a favorite book or movie but set in a different fandom?
13 - Do you prefer canon or fanon when you write? Has writing fanfic for a fandom changed the way you see some or even all of the original source material?
14 - Ratings - how high are you comfortable with going? Have you ever written higher? If you're comfortable with NC-17, have you ever been shocked by finding that the story you're writing is G-rated instead?
16 - Summaries - Do you like them or hate them? How do you come up with them, if you use them?
17 - Titles - Are they the bane of your existence, or the easiest part of the fic? Also, if you do chaptered fic, do you give each chapter a title, or not?
18 - Where do you get the most inspiration for your fics (aka "bunnies") from?
19 - When you have bunnies, do you sit down and start writing right away, or do you write down the idea for further use?
20 - Do you ever get bunnied from other people's stories or art in the same fandom?
21 - Sequels - Have you ever written a sequel to a fic you wrote, and if so, why, and if not, how do you feel about sequels?
22 - Have you ever participated in a fest or a Big Bang? If so, write about your favorite experience in relation to one. If not, are there any you've thought about doing? And if not, why not?
23 - When you post, where do you post to? Just your journal? Just an archive? Your own personal site?
24 - Betaing - How many betas do you like to use to make sure there aren't any major flaws in your fic? Do you have a Beta horror story or dream story?
25 - Music - Do you listen to music while you write? Do you make playlists to get into a certain "mood" to write your fic? Do you need noise in general? Or do you need it completely quiet?
26 - What is the oddest (or funnest) thing you've had to research for a fic?
27 - Where is your favorite place to write, and do you write by hand or on the computer?
28 - Have you ever collaborated with anyone else, whether writing together, or having an artist work on a piece about your fic?
29 - What is your current project or projects?
30 - Do you have a favorite fic you've written? What makes it your favorite? And don't forget to give us a link!
This entry was originally posted at http://selenak.dreamwidth.org/695026.html. Comment there or here, as you wish.
Ah yes, warnings. Last year
amatara reminded me that in my very first slash story, many years ago, I warned for slash, which of course now I feel deeply embarassed about. What can I say, I was young in the ways of the net and the social implications, and I didn't do it again.
So: what do I warn for today? Spoilers, obviously. I hate being spoiled myself, and I don't care how many people are okay with it, some just aren't, and they have priority. Even so, now and then I slipped up and accidentally spoiled people for the existence of a character or something like that in the summaries. Which I'm trying not to do. Non-con is a warning that makes sense to me as well, and I would have warned for incest had I written it. "Character death" - now this one is tricky. Actually I hate and resent it because it feels wrong to me and regard it as a social custom forced on me. Not that I've written that many stories where central characters die, but still. Looking back on my fanfiction opus, my compromise with netiquette seems to have been to warn for character death where it's canonical anyway (as a way to make it clear the story in question is not a fix-it) and/or in AUs.
Occasionally, I'm in luck and the fandom I write in has the type of character who is his or her own warning. "Cartagia is being Cartagia" was a really useful disclaimer when writing a story featuring Babylon 5's Caligula in space. You don't have to add anything spoilery; people who are in the fandom will get it and people who aren't won't read the story anyway.
Oddest warning: Latin instead of Greek names for the Olympian deities in Spinning Fate, since it was based on Ovid's Metamorphoses. In the end, nobody said anything but before posting the story I imagined every philogist and myth lover ever going after me and complaining why Arachne deals with Minerva instead of Athena etc.
1 - How did you first get into writing fanfic, and what was the first fandom you wrote for? What do you think it was about that fandom that pulled you in?
2 - Name the fandoms you've written in, and how much you've written in that fandom, and if you still write in it.
3 - For each of the fandoms from day two, what were your favorite characters to write?
4 - Do you have a "muse" character, that speaks to you more than others, or that tries to push their way in, even when the fic isn't about them? Who are they, and why did that character became your muse?
5 -If you have ever had a character try to push their way into a fic, whether your "muse" or not, what did you do about it?
6 - When you write, do you prefer writing male or female characters?
7 - Have you ever had a fic change your opinion of a character?
8 - Do you write OCs? And if so, what do you do to make certain they're not Mary Sues, and if not, explain your thoughts on OCs.
9 - Pairings - For each of the fandoms from day two, what are your three favorite pairings to write?
Pairings - Have you ever gone outside your comfort zone and written a pairing you liked, but found you couldn't write, or a pairing you didn't like, and found you could?
11 - Genre - do you prefer certain genres of fic when you're writing? What kind do you tend to write most?
12 - Have you ever attempted an "adaptation" fic of a favorite book or movie but set in a different fandom?
13 - Do you prefer canon or fanon when you write? Has writing fanfic for a fandom changed the way you see some or even all of the original source material?
14 - Ratings - how high are you comfortable with going? Have you ever written higher? If you're comfortable with NC-17, have you ever been shocked by finding that the story you're writing is G-rated instead?
16 - Summaries - Do you like them or hate them? How do you come up with them, if you use them?
17 - Titles - Are they the bane of your existence, or the easiest part of the fic? Also, if you do chaptered fic, do you give each chapter a title, or not?
18 - Where do you get the most inspiration for your fics (aka "bunnies") from?
19 - When you have bunnies, do you sit down and start writing right away, or do you write down the idea for further use?
20 - Do you ever get bunnied from other people's stories or art in the same fandom?
21 - Sequels - Have you ever written a sequel to a fic you wrote, and if so, why, and if not, how do you feel about sequels?
22 - Have you ever participated in a fest or a Big Bang? If so, write about your favorite experience in relation to one. If not, are there any you've thought about doing? And if not, why not?
23 - When you post, where do you post to? Just your journal? Just an archive? Your own personal site?
24 - Betaing - How many betas do you like to use to make sure there aren't any major flaws in your fic? Do you have a Beta horror story or dream story?
25 - Music - Do you listen to music while you write? Do you make playlists to get into a certain "mood" to write your fic? Do you need noise in general? Or do you need it completely quiet?
26 - What is the oddest (or funnest) thing you've had to research for a fic?
27 - Where is your favorite place to write, and do you write by hand or on the computer?
28 - Have you ever collaborated with anyone else, whether writing together, or having an artist work on a piece about your fic?
29 - What is your current project or projects?
30 - Do you have a favorite fic you've written? What makes it your favorite? And don't forget to give us a link!
This entry was originally posted at http://selenak.dreamwidth.org/695026.html. Comment there or here, as you wish.