On Writing Fanfic Part 2 - Your Audience and You
Last time, I harangued you endlessly about researching your canon. Rejoice, for that is the last you'll hear about research (for a while, mwahahaha). This time, I'm going to touch on something I don't really think that I've seen much meta on: the audience.
When I say "audience", I mean "reader" for the most part, though most of this applies across multiple media formats, from fanvids to podfic. Thus, inclusive language is all for the good. (It usually is.) Fanfic, like any other form of story telling, is rooted in communication. You (the Writer) have this awesome/crazy idea in your head, and you want to share it. That's writing, in a nutshell.
Write for Yourself (Too)
The most common bit of advice I hear about this is one I don't think I can repeat enough.
Write for yourself. This is your story, your hobby, your time. If you're not enjoying yourself, then something is Wrong, and it might be time to take a step back to examine what that is. We all want something different from our writing. Some of us might want as many reviews as possible. Others might want to improve the craft. Yet more might just want to get the story out into the world. It's all valid, and never let anyone suggest otherwise. (Not even me-I am not omniscient. Yes, I'm sorry about that too. :( Also, Santa Claus isn't spelled with an E and summer time in Death Valley is hot.)
It's time for some honesty. What do you (yes, you, the person reading this right now) want from your fanfic? Think about it really hard, and maybe make a note somewhere. Feel free to drop it in the comments if you like. Once you know what it is, go after it with everything you've got to give. (I am resisting linking to a Tim McGraw song. You may thank me later.)
The three major goals for writing that I can think of are reviews, to improve and to produce. If what you want are reviews, then I recommend studying the sort of fics that get the most positive comments, and try to work within those lines. Porn is usually very popular, but fanfic has trends just like published fic. Right now, Movie 'Verse Iron Man is a hot item. The trick here is to keep an eye on the pulse of fandom, and to be able to produce fic rapidly in time to catch that wave.
To improve in your writing, I recommend looking around for a good quality beta reader. Posting fic can often result in some good concrit, but it's not reliable. A beta reader you trust will work with you to help turn your fic into the best it can be right then. I suggest putting a note in your headers that openly asks for concrit, so readers can know that you're open to it.
For the person who just wants to get a story out there, and then move on, there's not really much advice I can give. They're already doing exactly what they want to be doing, and that's excellent! The only thing that really can be done is to keep writing, keep posting, and keep enjoying yourself. You may want to post a disclaimer about how you don't want concrit, so as to save yourself time later.
Communicate Tenderly, My Love
For all of that, none of the goals change what story telling is: communication. Similarly, none of those goals can be met with poor communication. Getting our ideas across is part and parcel of it all, and one trick to that is to know your audience. Get used to thinking about who's going to be reading your story. Are they Harvard graduates? Teenagers? Old? Young? Humans? Skrulls?
If you've been around the internet for long, you probably just got a croggled look on your face and decided that I may be hitting the coffee a little hard. Or, for everyone who knows me, not hard enough. The internet is a vast, multi-faceted place, and there's absolutely no way to know who's going to be reading. It could be your neighbor's dog. (You know, that little pug-mix that gives you the evil eye every time you walk past? Totally a lurker on 4chan.) Keep that in mind, too. You can't assume that your audience knows everything, and they can't assume it about you, either.
But, there are some nice standards you can mostly rely on. Most of the people reading will be fans, and most likely fans of your fandom and pairing. They're familiar with it. Unlike original work, you don't have to show how your character got where he is. Comics always have those neat little "in case you have been under a rock for sixty years" summaries in the front. Those are wonderful for those of us who have actually been under rocks. (It's cozy under here, hush you.)
Fanfiction, however, doesn't actually have to do that. We all know what happened to Tony in Vietghanistan. We know about Project Rebirth. The foundations were laid. If you're working in a specific arc, mention it in the headers, and that's all you need as a jump-off point. Those who want to rewrite an origin have it tougher, but we're all drawing from the well of knowledge. For the most part, putting in, "Anthony Edward Stark, the six-foot, dark-haired playboy industrialist millionaire billionaire, who often went by the name Tony, stared out his office window" is going to annoy people. They know this-feel free to skip it. The only time you should really spend much effort explaining a character is when they're OCs, they're different from the expected, or they're relatively obscure.
Audience Research Requirements: None
Let's say, while constructing your opus involving Steve's post-Rebirth erectile dysfunction as a subplot (watch me stretch for unlikely plot ideas like Reed Richards for the top shelf jam jar), you stumble across research about depression in ED sufferers, and decide to use it. Lovingly, you work in moments of depression around the Invasion of Cookie Men. Just one problem: your audience may not realize where Steve's depression came from, or how the ED and depression reinforce one another.
Common knowledge isn't always all that common. Depending on personal life experiences, it's easy to not realize that the specifics of a condition or activity aren't well known. This applies to vocabulary, too. Some people may have grown up using phrases like "lie doggo" over breakfast. (Somewhere on the internet, a beta is eyeing me sideways.) Some haven't. Keep that in mind as you craft your initial plot. Are the properties of sodium ascorbate well known? How about the melting point of titanium? How much lube does it take to hide a grenade? (Deadpool, I am looking at you.)
There is a delicate balance between "stuff that everyone in this fandom already knows" and "stuff that should be explained". If you explain something that doesn't need explaining, someone will be annoyed and drop the fic. If you don't explain something that needs explaining, someone will be annoyed and drop the fic.
The canon aspects of this are pretty easy to maneuver. Things that you can count on the average Steve/Tony shipper to know are:
Just a quick detail drop provides the readers everything they need to know: the virus was flesh-eating, and Tony exposed himself in order to save Steve. There's no need to provide a flashback, or an explanation of the whole story.
Sliding these details in without being obvious can be a chore. If the PoV is close to the character's thoughts, sometimes the needed information can be slipped into the narration. Dialog and setting also work well. However, if you use dialog, try speaking it aloud to make sure it flows naturally. Going from the above scenario:Steve: You should have saved yourself!
Tony: You were dying of lung damage! The virus had eaten away at your lungs. What was I supposed to do, let you die?
verses Steve: You should have saved yourself!
Tony: You weren't breathing! What was I supposed to do, let you die?
The difference between the first and the second is that the first is too specific. The only thing the readers need to know is that Steve wasn't breathing. Trying to fit too much information into a line can make it clunky and awkward. The more emotional a line is, the less information should be packed into it.
The Bane of the Wiki
Marvel throws us some amazing chances to stretch our creativity. Science is frequently bent like horseshoes (what do you mean, Iron Man isn't aerodynamic?), and pretty much anything is up for grabs. Problems arise from this when Authorly Research ends up being in more detail than the reader can reasonably be expected to grasp naturally.
This can be especially tricky when working with characters like Tony Stark, or Reed Richards. They're geniuses, and prone to coming up with a hundred ideas in the time it takes most of us to even figure out what language they're speaking, and another hundred while we're embarrassed to realize it was our native tongue. Very, very few of us are geniuses, but some are lucky enough to have a grip on physics, metallurgy, engineering, or whatever the topic of the plot is. That, combine with authorship, can make for some awesome ideas, but it also can make for confused readers.
Don't sell your readers short by sending them fumbling for Wikipedia or, worse, a dictionary. Any time someone has to stop and try to understand what you're writing, it's a moment they've lost their connection to the story. That sort of break is enough to turn a good story into a merely okay one.
Narration, other characters and Marvel Science give us excellent chances to work around this. The reader may not understand what Hank Pym means when he and Tony talk about ant hormones, but neither will some of the other characters. Use them as intermediaries, if necessary. Narration and inner monologue can do the same.
When all else fails, it's not necessarily a bad thing to fall back on the MST3k Mantra. Marvel Science has given us such richness as magic which often breaks its own rules, and physics that seem to have no rules. (Every time you see someone grow into Giant Man, remember: mass does not work that way!) But be aware that when you choose to elide the explanation, there may be someone who is pulled out of the story by it. Find your own balance, and if all else fails, fall back on beta readers and hope.\
There is absolutely nothing you can do that will keep every reader reading, and end with every reader happy. But trying to keep an eye on your fic from the reader's perspective can help a great deal. You know what you're trying to say-remember that, and be willing to adjust your methods when the message might not be coming across as clearly as you'd like.
That's it for this piece. Next time: On Shipping, where I'll cover the varied types, how to handle it and exactly what makes it all so damned shiny. Beta reading will displace shipping. It will cover what the beta/author OTP, Dos and Don'ts and contain examples of beta-work in action! I apologize for the schedule hop.
When I say "audience", I mean "reader" for the most part, though most of this applies across multiple media formats, from fanvids to podfic. Thus, inclusive language is all for the good. (It usually is.) Fanfic, like any other form of story telling, is rooted in communication. You (the Writer) have this awesome/crazy idea in your head, and you want to share it. That's writing, in a nutshell.
Write for Yourself (Too)
The most common bit of advice I hear about this is one I don't think I can repeat enough.
Write for yourself. This is your story, your hobby, your time. If you're not enjoying yourself, then something is Wrong, and it might be time to take a step back to examine what that is. We all want something different from our writing. Some of us might want as many reviews as possible. Others might want to improve the craft. Yet more might just want to get the story out into the world. It's all valid, and never let anyone suggest otherwise. (Not even me-I am not omniscient. Yes, I'm sorry about that too. :( Also, Santa Claus isn't spelled with an E and summer time in Death Valley is hot.)
It's time for some honesty. What do you (yes, you, the person reading this right now) want from your fanfic? Think about it really hard, and maybe make a note somewhere. Feel free to drop it in the comments if you like. Once you know what it is, go after it with everything you've got to give. (I am resisting linking to a Tim McGraw song. You may thank me later.)
The three major goals for writing that I can think of are reviews, to improve and to produce. If what you want are reviews, then I recommend studying the sort of fics that get the most positive comments, and try to work within those lines. Porn is usually very popular, but fanfic has trends just like published fic. Right now, Movie 'Verse Iron Man is a hot item. The trick here is to keep an eye on the pulse of fandom, and to be able to produce fic rapidly in time to catch that wave.
To improve in your writing, I recommend looking around for a good quality beta reader. Posting fic can often result in some good concrit, but it's not reliable. A beta reader you trust will work with you to help turn your fic into the best it can be right then. I suggest putting a note in your headers that openly asks for concrit, so readers can know that you're open to it.
For the person who just wants to get a story out there, and then move on, there's not really much advice I can give. They're already doing exactly what they want to be doing, and that's excellent! The only thing that really can be done is to keep writing, keep posting, and keep enjoying yourself. You may want to post a disclaimer about how you don't want concrit, so as to save yourself time later.
Communicate Tenderly, My Love
For all of that, none of the goals change what story telling is: communication. Similarly, none of those goals can be met with poor communication. Getting our ideas across is part and parcel of it all, and one trick to that is to know your audience. Get used to thinking about who's going to be reading your story. Are they Harvard graduates? Teenagers? Old? Young? Humans? Skrulls?
If you've been around the internet for long, you probably just got a croggled look on your face and decided that I may be hitting the coffee a little hard. Or, for everyone who knows me, not hard enough. The internet is a vast, multi-faceted place, and there's absolutely no way to know who's going to be reading. It could be your neighbor's dog. (You know, that little pug-mix that gives you the evil eye every time you walk past? Totally a lurker on 4chan.) Keep that in mind, too. You can't assume that your audience knows everything, and they can't assume it about you, either.
But, there are some nice standards you can mostly rely on. Most of the people reading will be fans, and most likely fans of your fandom and pairing. They're familiar with it. Unlike original work, you don't have to show how your character got where he is. Comics always have those neat little "in case you have been under a rock for sixty years" summaries in the front. Those are wonderful for those of us who have actually been under rocks. (It's cozy under here, hush you.)
Fanfiction, however, doesn't actually have to do that. We all know what happened to Tony in Vietghanistan. We know about Project Rebirth. The foundations were laid. If you're working in a specific arc, mention it in the headers, and that's all you need as a jump-off point. Those who want to rewrite an origin have it tougher, but we're all drawing from the well of knowledge. For the most part, putting in, "Anthony Edward Stark, the six-foot, dark-haired playboy industrialist millionaire billionaire, who often went by the name Tony, stared out his office window" is going to annoy people. They know this-feel free to skip it. The only time you should really spend much effort explaining a character is when they're OCs, they're different from the expected, or they're relatively obscure.
Audience Research Requirements: None
Let's say, while constructing your opus involving Steve's post-Rebirth erectile dysfunction as a subplot (watch me stretch for unlikely plot ideas like Reed Richards for the top shelf jam jar), you stumble across research about depression in ED sufferers, and decide to use it. Lovingly, you work in moments of depression around the Invasion of Cookie Men. Just one problem: your audience may not realize where Steve's depression came from, or how the ED and depression reinforce one another.
Common knowledge isn't always all that common. Depending on personal life experiences, it's easy to not realize that the specifics of a condition or activity aren't well known. This applies to vocabulary, too. Some people may have grown up using phrases like "lie doggo" over breakfast. (Somewhere on the internet, a beta is eyeing me sideways.) Some haven't. Keep that in mind as you craft your initial plot. Are the properties of sodium ascorbate well known? How about the melting point of titanium? How much lube does it take to hide a grenade? (Deadpool, I am looking at you.)
There is a delicate balance between "stuff that everyone in this fandom already knows" and "stuff that should be explained". If you explain something that doesn't need explaining, someone will be annoyed and drop the fic. If you don't explain something that needs explaining, someone will be annoyed and drop the fic.
The canon aspects of this are pretty easy to maneuver. Things that you can count on the average Steve/Tony shipper to know are:
- Their Origin Stories & Powers
- That they are besties (except when they're not)
- Tony's drinking problem
- Steve was in WII
- A general knowledge of Classic Avengers (team formed, defrosted Steve, fought crime)
- A general knowledge of early New Avengers (team formed, vacationed in Savage Land, fought crime, Civil War)
- A nebulous spattering of mid-era knowledge, such as Things Were Weird in the 90s
Just a quick detail drop provides the readers everything they need to know: the virus was flesh-eating, and Tony exposed himself in order to save Steve. There's no need to provide a flashback, or an explanation of the whole story.
Sliding these details in without being obvious can be a chore. If the PoV is close to the character's thoughts, sometimes the needed information can be slipped into the narration. Dialog and setting also work well. However, if you use dialog, try speaking it aloud to make sure it flows naturally. Going from the above scenario:Steve: You should have saved yourself!
Tony: You were dying of lung damage! The virus had eaten away at your lungs. What was I supposed to do, let you die?
verses Steve: You should have saved yourself!
Tony: You weren't breathing! What was I supposed to do, let you die?
The difference between the first and the second is that the first is too specific. The only thing the readers need to know is that Steve wasn't breathing. Trying to fit too much information into a line can make it clunky and awkward. The more emotional a line is, the less information should be packed into it.
The Bane of the Wiki
Marvel throws us some amazing chances to stretch our creativity. Science is frequently bent like horseshoes (what do you mean, Iron Man isn't aerodynamic?), and pretty much anything is up for grabs. Problems arise from this when Authorly Research ends up being in more detail than the reader can reasonably be expected to grasp naturally.
This can be especially tricky when working with characters like Tony Stark, or Reed Richards. They're geniuses, and prone to coming up with a hundred ideas in the time it takes most of us to even figure out what language they're speaking, and another hundred while we're embarrassed to realize it was our native tongue. Very, very few of us are geniuses, but some are lucky enough to have a grip on physics, metallurgy, engineering, or whatever the topic of the plot is. That, combine with authorship, can make for some awesome ideas, but it also can make for confused readers.
Don't sell your readers short by sending them fumbling for Wikipedia or, worse, a dictionary. Any time someone has to stop and try to understand what you're writing, it's a moment they've lost their connection to the story. That sort of break is enough to turn a good story into a merely okay one.
Narration, other characters and Marvel Science give us excellent chances to work around this. The reader may not understand what Hank Pym means when he and Tony talk about ant hormones, but neither will some of the other characters. Use them as intermediaries, if necessary. Narration and inner monologue can do the same.
When all else fails, it's not necessarily a bad thing to fall back on the MST3k Mantra. Marvel Science has given us such richness as magic which often breaks its own rules, and physics that seem to have no rules. (Every time you see someone grow into Giant Man, remember: mass does not work that way!) But be aware that when you choose to elide the explanation, there may be someone who is pulled out of the story by it. Find your own balance, and if all else fails, fall back on beta readers and hope.\
There is absolutely nothing you can do that will keep every reader reading, and end with every reader happy. But trying to keep an eye on your fic from the reader's perspective can help a great deal. You know what you're trying to say-remember that, and be willing to adjust your methods when the message might not be coming across as clearly as you'd like.
That's it for this piece. Next time: On Shipping, where I'll cover the varied types, how to handle it and exactly what makes it all so damned shiny. Beta reading will displace shipping. It will cover what the beta/author OTP, Dos and Don'ts and contain examples of beta-work in action! I apologize for the schedule hop.