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Post by Sailor Earth on Jan 18, 2006 5:50:06 GMT -5
Abi is the teacher who falls for the student. I thought it would be more interesting that way as there is more of a taboo about women with school boys than men with school girls. I might have a crack at typing up a short synopsis and posting it up later on today to see what you guys think. Ooh I'll look forward to reading it  |
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Post by tbird on Jan 18, 2006 6:01:29 GMT -5
It will probably be a bit sketchy at the moment, but it will give a general idea of the main points. It needs fleshing out!
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Post by Sailor Earth on Jan 18, 2006 6:13:27 GMT -5
Much like most of the stuff I've ever planned on writing  |
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Post by tweed on Jan 18, 2006 6:20:11 GMT -5
Fascinating subject matter, T-Bird. I will look forward to reading it! I feel a bit guilty for being so opinionated on the subject of writing, so I bring to the table some things that will, I hope, reassure all of you who are feeling paranoid about Mary Sueing. from: www.lyricalmagic.com/fanficFAQ.html#marysue A Mary Sue is an utterly perfect character. She stands in for the author and performs every heroic feat known to fandom, often outdoing the main characters of the story. She is beautiful, fit, wise, and incredibly intuitive. She is either the best friend, lover, or unrequited love of the most handsome and desirable male character. She often has psychic or supernatural powers, which she uses in the most predictable and boring ways. She is introduced without preamble, has not a single weakness or flaw, and can kick the butt of the most powerful person in the story. In short, she's annoying and cliched. Many first-time authors make this mistake (I know I did) and live to regret it. It's possible to introduce original characters with depth and intelligence, but they must be carefully drawn and FLAWED - that's the key.And oh man...the following is quite a harsh assessment of the Mary Sue phenomena...now I remember why I left the fanfic world in the first place. www.encyclopediadramatica.com/index.php/Mary_Sue |
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Post by Sailor Earth on Jan 18, 2006 6:26:02 GMT -5
Well I can tell you that my character is very flawed indeed... And she isn't always the one to "save the day" either... I make sure of that, LOL... Well she is a Slayer, but it is a Buffy fan-fic after all And ok, she kinda does have a few guys who like her, but it's not a pleasant situation, it's awkward and rather painful... Does that make my stuff any better? LOL! |
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Post by tweed on Jan 18, 2006 6:47:15 GMT -5
You have nothing to worry about Sails! (I just had a little read of your story and it was fun to see some little details I recognised as you, but that's only cos I know you - and they're certainly nothing to do with the stuff Mary Sues are made of! Promise!!) On a side note, here are some more questions for all you writers: 1. Who is your target reading audience? 2. If you write only for your own pleasure, does it matter to you how your work is received/perceived? 3. If it does matter - why? 4. Do you consider beta-reading and editing (by another person) to be important? If so, at what stage? (ie before posting? , after the first draft?) Just curious! |
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Post by Sailor Earth on Jan 18, 2006 6:52:48 GMT -5
You have nothing to worry about Sails! (I just had a little read of your story and it was fun to see some little details I recognised as you, but that's only cos I know you - and they're certainly nothing to do with the stuff Mary Sues are made of! Promise!!) Ooh well that's good to know then, hehe I try to make her "relatable" to other people, anyway... Ooh questions! 1. Who is your target reading audience? Well, the majority would be Buffy/Angel fans, but anyone who is interested in stories that involve a lot of character development/interaction is more than welcome to check 'em out! 2. If you write only for your own pleasure, does it matter to you how your work is received/perceived? Hmmmmm yes and no.... 3. If it does matter - why? I like to improve on my writing, so getting feedback is important to me, even if it will never see the light of day... Also I concede that I like to have my ego stroked a little when people say that an idea I use is a really good one, hehe 4. Do you consider beta-reading and editing (by another person) to be important? If so, at what stage? (ie before posting? , after the first draft?) I usually edit my own work, LOL! But I'd say... before posting it would be best... I've never really had anyone "beta" my stuff, apart from my co-worker. He doesn't edit anything I write though... I don't think it's as important to him as it is me... |
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Post by tbird on Jan 18, 2006 6:54:39 GMT -5
1. Who is your target reading audience?
I’m going for the female audience I think. The ones who like a doomed romance. Although I’m going to try not to make it too melodramatic!
2. If you write only for your own pleasure, does it matter to you how your work is received/perceived?
My main issue about my writing is whether other people will actually think it is any good. I am so horrendously self-conscious about this, it is going to take mountains of effort to actually post up any of what I write here!!
3. If it does matter - why?
It matters because I’m a person who self-doubts about everything, most of all anything I do that is creative. It’s more of a reassurance issue for me I think, and also I actually want people to enjoy what I write or at least find it interesting.
4. Do you consider beta-reading and editing (by another person) to be important? If so, at what stage? (ie before posting? , after the first draft?)
I think I’d want people to read what I’d consider to be the second or final draft and then offer editing comments because any sooner than that and it might kill my creativity. Also, proofreading by others in essential for spelling, grammar etc.
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Post by Sailor Earth on Jan 18, 2006 6:58:59 GMT -5
Aaw... same here!  I mean, my co-writer might say: "Wow, that was really good!" to something I write, and I'll feel really chuffed by it, but what he thinks won't represent what others do... So I tend to get a bit edgy about showing my work to other people... In honesty I prefer to get feedback that's more indepth than "Ooh that's cool" , heh But on the flipside I can get slightly defensive about my writing as well, because it's a sensitive issue, hmmmm....... |
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Post by tbird on Jan 18, 2006 7:03:40 GMT -5
it must be awful if someone would turn around and say - "That bit was crap!"
I had to do that with my bf about his radio show pilot, but obviously in a kinder way. It hurt him to hear it but it was constructive criticism, I wasn't just being horrible. And he has since changed said bits of it and it's a million times better, so it did help him really...
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Post by Sailor Earth on Jan 18, 2006 7:06:42 GMT -5
It's hard, yeah... but sometimes it needs to be done, if it can improve things... One would hope people would be more tactful than that I don't really mind constructive criticism, god knows my stories probably need a bit of it. I'm sure I use certain words too much, describe things in too much detail, don't describe other things enough, etc... |
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Post by tbird on Jan 18, 2006 7:08:13 GMT -5
i like to think that you guys would be candid and honest with me, but not in a nasty way! |
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Post by Sailor Earth on Jan 18, 2006 7:11:01 GMT -5
Of course! I think we all understand what it's like either way, so... the sensitivity is there |
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Post by tweed on Jan 19, 2006 1:54:35 GMT -5
Thanks guys, that was an interesting read! Great comment about the stifling of creativity too soon, T-Bird! I think also we have to realise that two schools of writing get posted here - being traditional writing and fanfic writing. I think (correct me if I'm wrong, Sails) that with fanfic writing, you are assuming that the reader has a bit of knowledge about the characters in the story already, so it's different to non-fanfic, where a writer creates a character from scratch, and then has to work fairly hard at making them three dimensional for us. (Although fanfic writers creating Original Characters within a story do still have to do this as well.) This is why I have difficulty reading fandoms I'm not terribly familiar with - sometimes the writers assume I will know things about the characters, and I won't have a clue  I mention this because a friend has just asked me to beta a story she has written in a fandom I've absolutely no knowledge of - so while I can offer comments on spelling, and maybe grammar (not my strong point) and structure etc, I wouldn't have a clue as to whether it is canonically correct or whether the people in it are acting in character or not... Wish me luck!  |
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Post by Sailor Earth on Jan 19, 2006 2:05:31 GMT -5
Ooh sounds interesting, what is the fandom...? That's pretty much it, yes... However for the fan-fics I'm writing it's more a knowledge of the series and what has happened in it that sets the scene. Most of the characters involved were created by myself or my co-writer, and we only use a handful of the canon group (which I write for), but they don't take up a lot of the action, it's our newly created ones that do... Hence why I nicknamed it a "spin-off" series, heh |
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I mention this because a friend has just asked me to beta a story she has written in a fandom I've absolutely no knowledge of - so while I can offer comments on spelling, and maybe grammar (not my strong point) and structure etc, I wouldn't have a clue as to whether it is canonically correct or whether the people in it are acting in character or not...