How To Fix Your Biggest Fanfic Problems

[nyxelestia]

So, my good friend arithilim recently wrote a post on the most common fails of fanfiction.

I, being the strange person that I am, went one step further - how to fix the ones she didn't give advice for, herself.

Starting every sentence with the same subject

It’s awkward and redundant. Switch it up. Add some variety. Invert. Add a clause. Whatever. Repetition for emphasis is good. Repetition because you only know one format of sentence structure is not.

To take her advice a little further, think about the way you're intending to write - usually a bit like the way you talk, right? Well, think about the way you talk - is it always the same format? Is it always the same structure? You also need to understand that you need different formats for different tones.

During fast paced action sequences, the stiff, simple structures mentioned as useful. During slow, languid scenes, you want to use more slower, elongated sentences. Work your way up and down the scale from there.

The story that just won’t die

Stories need to end. One fic cannot possibly have every important life event in great detail. It gets too long and drags on and on, and I get very bored. Just end it and go write something else. I know it can be tempting to just keep a story going, but really, it ruins it. HP fandom, I'm looking at you.

My simple answer: plot, damnit - plot your story before hand, from beginning to end, with the keyword being end.

The no good dirty rotten horrible day and other melodrama

Look, things can go wrong. Multiple things can go wrong. But everything in the entire world all colliding at once to create a giant swamp of melodrama ruins the angsty effect by making it look silly and exaggerated. Reign it in some and it becomes much more effective. More is not always better however tempting it might seem.

Impact and Temperance, they are your friends. If everything is going bad, it start to get difficult to figure out what's good, what's bad, and what's worse. Everything feels the same, and the angst and melodrama that's important loses its impact. You need to have some average things to be proportionate to the not-so-average, you need some good things to balance out the bad things, and you need some great things to provide contrast with the terrible things.

Otherwise, it all becomes one big, pointless blur of melodrama and angst.

Epithets

Just don’t. On very rare occasions it’s appropriate to have an epithet – perhaps when it’s used to emphasize something, to introduce detail, or to reference an unnamed/unknown character. Every sentence is not appropriate. It just makes your writing sound lame and makes me want to kill things. So please, just say no. If I read one more fic with 'the teen', 'the blond assassin', 'the blue-eyed prince', 'the older boy', or 'the noble Gryffindor', I will scream.

There are these things called pronouns. Use them, for they are your friends. Even if you're using the same pronouns (i.e. multiple men/women in the same scene, ect.), for the most part, you can use them in all the cases necessary - most people can usually figure out who's talking/doing stuff. In those rare cases where it's difficult, use their names.

And for the names thing - seriously, use them. So long as it's not like every other word or something, most people won't notice the names as repetition - their minds and eyes will gloss over it beyond simply recognizing who it is.

Only use epithets for emphasis, nothing more.

Comments

[cordeliasmarz.livejournal.com]

That thing about epithets is so true
I've read so many fics where I spend half the time screaming "JUST SAY 'HE'!!"
So cringey

This was really helpful though for when I actually decide to start writing something >.>
Thanks for posting! :)

[nyxelestia.livejournal.com]

If you want, I also have a blog, the Writing Tip Page, on writing, and while it is largely writing in general, it is a bit fanfic-specific. Hope it helps. ^+^

[cordeliasmarz.livejournal.com]

Oh no that sounds brilliant!
I'm hoping to do Creative Writing at university and write for a living so whatever I read, it's going to be helpful :) - and I am planning on writing fic soon so it'll definitely be helpful for that
Thanks!

[cordeliasmarz.livejournal.com]

I started writing my first fanfic today (YAY! for getting started) so went to your Writing Tip Page (I'd bookmarked it but hadn't read it yet) and it's SO GOOD!!

Really, really helpful - and I've only read the first page of entries so far!

My fic is a pretty cracky little number so the stuff on angst etc. isn't really helpful right now but I find all that stuff so interesting! And it helps me understand the angsty fics I've read in the past too which is also useful for my future writing. The stuff on plot was very useful for right now though! - I've always been awful at planning ahead in any aspect of my life so any help there is fantastic! I loved that article you shared about how "we always hurt the ones we love" - a bit worrying but so very true.

I forced myself to read the bit on cutting even though I feel really queasy now. I know this is like, "classic response that one feels stupid and kind of patronising in saying" but I need to say because I uh.. care? *awkward but genuine smile* - I hope you're OK now and it's very brave of you to've shared that *big hugs* It was very interesting too - I've only ever heard the somewhat cliched stories of 1. cuts 2. gets found out 3. calls parents into school. This is how all the cases I've read about and witnessed have gone so it's interesting to see another side to it (apologies for over-using the word "interesting" - it's an addiction it seems).

Reading all those entries actually made me feel a lot better about myself especially the part about signs and symptoms of depression. My doctors etc. have said I have depression but I never really believed them, thinking my illness wasn't a proper "thing" - I couldn't name it. I mean, I've started to believe it over the past few months, got over my denial or whatever it was but when I read your list there in sort of.. black and white it made me feel oddly comforted to know that I can relate and that it's actually a genuine thing and people aren't going to make fun of me for being weak.

The signs and symptoms distinction was definitely very helpful also for if I ever write something like that. Well, they say "write what you know" so maybe one day I'll write a character with depression - and now I'll be able to think "OK, so what are the signs people see as opposed to the symptoms my character feels?" IRL I'm always worrying about what people see in me and if they can tell if I'm ill etc. and I always go wayy OTT with it, thinking "OMG THEY KNOW EXACTLY WHAT I'M THINKING - they're JUDGING me!!"

"Many mental illnesses involve a high degree of intelligence" - that just made me feel pretty good about myself. Many doctors have told me that in the past and I've been all "Psh! You're just trying to make me feel better - I'm STUPID. I can't even be normal. How is that intelligent?"

So yeah. Maybe my mental illness isn't one of those intelligent things but still.. maybe those doctors aren't the LIARS (albeit kind ones) I thought they were ;)

Phew! Sorry this is so incredibly long and contains so many unwarranted details about my life but uh... you helped me a lot and I wanted to thank you ^_^

P.S. I'm commenting on here because I don't have a blogger account - hope that's OK :)

[nyxelestia.livejournal.com]

Hey, hon - I'm glad you like it! (Also - at the top of the blog, there's a link to an Archive/Site map which leads to a post with more links to most of the blog's posts by topic/subject ^_~).

Anyway, I'm glad the plot bits help (that's one of the biggest downfalls of fanfiction in general, bad planning). As for the cutting thing, I actually got over that ages ago, so it's no big deal - freaks people out all the time, though, so that's fun. >:) And most mental illnesses and stuff are stereotypes. The psychology behind self mutilation, drug addiction, alcoholism, anorexia/bulimia, and other common mental issues like that are badly stereotyped by Hollywood.

As for depression, here's my take on it: there are people who are genuinely medically depressed. There are issues with their serotonin production, and they can be medicated to help these people get back on track with their lives. BUT, I also believe these people are rarer than the media would have us believe. Many, many, people seem to complain about depression and blame their hypothalamus (the part of the brain that plays a key role in serotonin production in the body), but the thing is that they aren't having depression due to a medical issue - their lives suck. They're in a bad place right now, and refuse to admit that they're just have trouble coping, and so use this kind of depression as a scapegoat. The doctors go along with this so people feel better, and because the drug companies benefit from this (and doctors benefit from drug companies in our lovely capitalist medical system). Depression is used to explain away everything from being unable to work to being unable to socialize to, well, having trouble remembering how to be human. I've been there, I would know.

I don't know your life situation, or what you're going through right now. But if your doctors are diagnosing you with depression, but you're not "feeling" it, then my guess is that the depression you feel is just because something in your life isn't going as well as you'd like, and medication isn't going to solve it - being proactive in your life will. You're not weak, and there are many people all over the country and world who are in the exact same position as you are right now.

There probably is someone out there judging you - everyone has a person like this in their life, and in some of our cases, several. But also, when people seem to know you're depressed, it's not always because they spontaneously developed telepathy. That's actually why I included the thing about symptoms and the difference between what a character feels and other characters see - many, many writers are quite familiar with their own feelings, but very few are well knowledge in how other people view it in them. This is also how many people get confused as to why their mental issues are so visible, or so unknown to those around them - they don't quite process the difference between what they feel and what they show.

...I think I'll add that in the blog post. :)

As for the high intelligence thing - yeah, one of the main things I heard when my cutting issue initially became public was, "You're such a smart girl, why would you do this to yourself?" I was the smart girl - I was the annoying kid who always knew the answer without even trying and regularly scored at the top of my class. :) But I didn't do any of this because I was dumb - my logic really played no role in this at all. Smokers are often the best ones to tell you all the health risks of the cigarettes they smoke - and while they're telling you the multiple cancers and cardiovascular disorders smoking will bring up, they'll light up on the spot. Alcoholics often know how bad the drinks are for their body, and while not all, many, many drug addicts also know exactly how bad the things are for their body. They just don't care - they choose being happy, or the high, or numbing the pain, over longevity and good health. Some of the smartest people in the world indulged in these things. *points to Sherlock Holmes and Greg House :)* These types of illnesses aren't a sign of stupidity - they're just signs of no longer giving a damn.

Also - doctors aren't liars. But, they are human beings like us and just as easily misguided like us. :)

[cordeliasmarz.livejournal.com]

Hmm
I'm sure most of that doesn't apply to me however I did find it all very enlightening (seems like the wrong kind of word but it did sort of open my eyes a bit more and it was - dare I say - "interesting"?)

I really don't "get" how to define "depression". It's a weird one.

My situation is (not that you asked but I'll try to be quick!) I've been ill since I was 7 (I'm 18 now) with stomach aches, sickness, fatigue, headaches - quite a few things. Since then I've been to countless doctors, nutritionists, psychiatrists etc. etc. and no-one could tell me what was wrong with me. Until I was about 15 when I got told I had Candida which is like.. basically just a label. With some pointers of how to get better. Things I should and shouldn't eat etc. Pretty early on we (my mum and I - luckily I had her to guide me on my quest) found out I was intolerant to wheat, eggs and dairy so I haven't had too much of them since I was 7 or 8.

Anyway, by the time I found out about this Candida, I was suffering mentally too - it wasn't just physical pain keeping me from going to school anymore. All the years of worrying, not knowing what was wrong with me, fearing I had some kind of horrible illness no-one knew about - and also the restrictions of my diet, being told I couldn't do things, couldn't eat things like normal people - it took its toll. Anyway, I stayed off school loads and blah blah blah DEPRESSION. Only way I can describe it, really. All the things on your "symptoms" list. But I still feel like I can't call it "depression". What IS depression??!

UGH.

I'm taking some kind of anti-depressants at the moment and they've been calming my stomach (I get panicky and tense a lot when I have to go out, to school etc.) and I think they've actually made me have a really small appetite so at least that's a plus. I don't know though.. how're they meant to make me feel?

I did feel a lot worse over the years but I've kind of got a lot better on my own after seeing a counsellor who actually knew what she was talking about (only reason I can actually understand all what I wrote above is because of her - I thought I was staying off school just because I was ill physically, I tried to forget all the times I thought I was going mad because I was crying all day - I thought I was crying from physical pain, not mental) and also just generally growing up and realising I was kind of an OK person. I don't know how or when that happened but I started liking myself more.

Anyway, sorry for rambling again - using you for therapy = over :D and thank you again for all of the (my favourite word again) interesting things you've said ^_^

Interesting is so not a complimentary-sounding word. I need a new one.

Oh and thanks for the pointer on the Archive/Site map thing - I'll continue my browsing :)

[nyxelestia.livejournal.com]

It's okay on the rambling, a lot of people use me for therapy. :) (Actually, I once looked into majoring in psychiatry for it, and am still considering general psychology). Also, you'd be surprised about what in psychology applies to us and what doesn't. Most people fall on a spectrum of dysfunctionality, and most people slip and slide across this scale regularly in their lives as their situations change. Your mood and your way of thinking isn't set one moment to the next, let along through your whole life, so your psychology is just as fluid.

As for your situation - well, like I said, you aren't depressed because of a serotonin issue, you were depressed because your life sucked.

Depression is basically feeling sad, and no longer caring about life. Sometimes, this is your brain acting up. Most of the time, and in your case, there is a reason behind why you feel that way. That you have a counselor to help is one of the best treatments for depression in your case, as talking through it helps quite a bit, especially as your issues are genuine, and not just brain chemistry gone screwy.

Anti-depressants are basically SSRI compounds which adjust your serotonin levels - hormones that control mood. Not having enough serotonin is basically depression.

The reason why I normally advise against anti-depressants is because I've generally noticed that for the most part, they aren't needed and won't help. The reason why so many people complain about anti-depressants not working is because their problem isn't something that can be cured by them. People are desperate to think their lives are all happy and perfect and live up to their dreams, so they blame their sadness on chemicals. But what most people don't realize is that really? Their lives just suck, and something in it is screwing with them.

In your case, anti-depressants are working for you, but in a different way. The serotonin isn't really doing anything to cheer you up, but it is calming you down, and letting you live your life, which is cheering you up. So for you, I'd say stick to the SSRI's, as they are helping you, if a bit more indirectly than intended.

[cordeliasmarz.livejournal.com]

Thanks so much for all your help/advice and letting me discuss this with you ^_^

I don't really have much more to say but what you wrote was really helpful, thank you :)

[amalthia]

loved your post. I did try to read the original but it was flocked so I'm glad you shared the important bits from it. I could not agree more with each statement.

[nyxelestia.livejournal.com]

Thank you. :) If you're interested, I've got an entire blog of me rambling on random writing topics. :)