This is for any question on writing a fic that doesn't seem to fit with any of the other threads of questions. If you have a question concerning canon or other things, please ask them here.
JM12
A note on Canon:
Today I read Jae’s amusing little piece about how to judge what is and is not canon, and while it amused me, it also made me think because I have had writer’s comment on how I protest their misuse of it.
Jae compared it to religion, and since I have sent failed scripts off to the Star Trek Next Generation, I understand the term better than she might realize. You see, when you create a world such as any television show, they patiently compile what a character will and will not do. This is called, oddly enough the show’s ‘bible’. As an example, in the bible for Star Trek NG you cannot have a ship travel faster than Warp 10, or have say Jean Luc Picard suddenly decide he is really German. Nothing is allowed to break the continuity.
One reason I stopped watching the Star Trek Enterprise series, was that they had decided after Gene Roddenberry died that they would change the accepted canon first contact to another when they made the 2nd NG movie, then totally threw away canon by having a Romulan ship uncloak 100 years before the cloaking device was created and at the same time, were using the transporter over 50 years before people had done so successfully, also part of canon. I felt that if the people screaming about how you don’t fit into the canon were doing that, why bother?
In fact eight years ago while I was in a writer’s slump, I started compiling a ‘canon of the written word’ for star Trek. Did you know that according to the authors, Kirk’s father had three different jobs? From Iowa Farmer to Commander in Star Fleet. Uhura’s was just as bad, with five different versions. I wanted to write an encyclopedia that says ‘all right, this is what has already been said, so let’s not add to it, eh?
When I got into Star Wars (Picture a guy in his later 20s scrounging money to see it in a theater five times when it first came out) I decided that canon is important. It stops people from taking a character and ruining him or her by having them do things you as the author would not approve of. As a writer know I'd be upset if you took one of mine from my work (Including Briana Solo and Sienna Dodonna) and put them through unnatural hoops. This does not include as you might have noticed alternate universes. I allow for that because you’re stating right off the bat ‘I am stepping outside canon, so don’t judge it by that’. But I have protested having the Republic send negotiators who aren’t honest, which is an actual book in the canon itself (a Whatever to whomever figures out which one) down to a kid over at the Galactic Senate that had Han go as a negotiator, and Luke as his slave to pander to a planet’s own mores
So when I tell you it’s outside canon, I am not being an evil old man, even if I am one. I’m just applying that attitude the Christians came up with a few years ago, and changing the wording a bit.
What would George do with the character now?
So when I tell you it’s outside canon, I am not being an evil old man, even if I am one. I’m just applying that attitude the Christians came up with a few years ago, and changing the wording a bit.
Must say that to yourself every night so you may sleep. :lol:
Must say that to yourself every night so you may sleep. :lol:
Sometimes it helps, especially when I see 'canon' books where things slip through the cracks. All I can say is, 'not on my watch'
So i've had a general idea of a SW FIC in the back of my head for a pretty long time. After playing KotOR and finding this forum i've found the inspiration to start forming it into writing. But i have a few questions so far.
First question on canon, that for some reason really concerns me and i don't know why because its such a small detail, is: Lightsaber color. I looked on wookieepedia and it was a little vague on accepting the guardian = blue, consular = green, sentinal = yellow thing as canon. My story is not directly related to KotOR, but the time frame is around there probably. Are there opinions out there on this? Should i just randomly give saber colors to my Jedi or stick with the KotOR format?
Secondly on general writing. I am a very slow and not very experienced writer. I've been away from school for a long time and when I was there writing was something i found tedious at best. What I have in my head are points through the story that I want to get down. Significant battles and plot development points. Is it normal to write a story in the linear fashion it would be read? Or is it fine to write bits of the beginning, middle and end, then go back and fill in the details and refine the progression?
I always go on the basis that your canon is yours, and mine is mine. Put whichever lightsaber colour you like;) I'm sure that the Jedi aren't *that* restrictive! And even if they were, most of us like our main characters to be...different:P
I really can't help you with the latter; I always tend to jump back and forth trying to give back story and end up confusing the readers. If you don't want to cover all the boring bits in between, try just writing a series of oneshots of the of the significant battles and plot points which you mentioned:)
Hope that this helped!
Give Jedi whatever lightsaber color you want, but in my story I gave my characters colors that describe them. You don't have to though because a majority of the Jedi used green and blue lightsabers.
On the last part, I think it's ok to write bits of the beginning, middle and end, then go back and fill in the details and refine the progression because a lot of books and movies use flashbacks. Depending on the timeline, some things can be left out. I'm not an expert though. You're probably not going to think of everything the first time. That's why we go back and edit.
As the local critic, I can tell you that a lot of leeway is not only allowed but requested in what you can or cannot do. As for color of the saber, I see not reason why it can't be whatever you wish.
As a writer for over 30 years, don't worry how the story comes out of your brain. I have stories where I came up wirh sections in the middle or end first, and only later found out to link A (Which didn't yet exist) to Z (The end) and sometimes it is like the Gordian knot when you do. Write it as it comes, shift parts around until they mesh, and don't give up.
To use the Sunrider name in a fic? I know LA had some copyright issues with Jeep on the use of the name.
I'm pretty sure the copyright still holds. The car company held off a lawsuit in return for LA never using the name again in new fiction. But I don't think there are still sunrider cars being made, and they might not really care.
You're really at the mercy of whether or not they care or have come to see it as low priority since they've moved on to making other kinds of cars. If you were just doing it as fan fic and not hoping to ever profit on it, I doubt they would care. If you looked to make money off a story with the name, you might find that suddenly something they'd set aside they suddenly cared about again.
:rofl:
It's fan fiction. It's not worth the price of a stamp for them to send out C&D's over fanfics. :p
Point taken...thanks Inyri! :)
They would send you a nasty e-mail first anyway, most likely. And unless you were trying to sell your fanfic, nobody'd care. Of course if you were trying to sell your fanfic I think you'd have greater moral repercussions to worry about than a cease and desist letter. :p
We use Jolee, Carth, Bastila, and others in fanfics, so I doubt using Sunriders will be a problem.
Just remember to give credit where credit is due. If you right a songfic make sure you give credit on the lyrics. Just protects you from someone who might want to do that.
Why would a star wars fan fic quote earth people songs? If the premise of the fiction set a long time ago in a galaxy far away, the star wars characters would have never been exposed to that.
What I like in a fic are complex characters...
Actually, we all like them :D
I also like things that seem to be at the beginning banal, too exaggerated or with no logic and at the second half of the fic- that's where the fic start to end, but just starts!- you receive some explanations and if you put them in a right way, you will find out whats with those weird things at the beginning...
I like to see original ideas,
good take on characters
how the story/characters progress throughout the story.
and multiple plots.
:)
if theres none of that, then I won't be too interested.
I like to see original ideas,
good take on characters
how the story/characters progress throughout the story.
and multiple plots.
:)
if theres none of that, then I won't be too interested.
I agree with that, but I really want to see description in it. That just puts the icing on the cake. ;)
I liek too sea gud punctuashun in a storie. Oh, and seplling too.
;)
punctuation and spelling and describing makes a good 'skeleton' of a story. but what i think is, despite the fact these are important, people get put off the 'plot' because of it.
spelling etc. requires learning, but sometimes, really good, original ideas are ignored because of this.
punctuation and spelling and describing makes a good 'skeleton' of a story. but what i think is, despite the fact these are important, people get put off the 'plot' because of it.
spelling etc. requires learning, but sometimes, really good, original ideas are ignored because of this.
That's not to say that you shouldn't at least try to use punctuation, or at least take the time to spell properly.
You won't get a good story if the reader can't tell what the words are.
some people have english as different languages :P
and younger people may not understand punctuation as much!
i love english, and ive tried to perfect it - and even i make mistakes.
For me, the most important thing is originality. I have more respect for an author who is able to come up with his own characters as protagonists, rather than use existing ones. This does not mean though that I don't like seeing known Star Wars characters as supporting characters in someone's fic.
The same goes for the story. I prefer to come up with a story on my own, rather than use something that's already been told and tell it in my own way (I've only done this once, because I had a very very very good idea how to tell it, but I strive not to let it become a habit) and it means that's the kind of story I like to read.
Style is important, of course, the story must be well written. You can have a great idea, but if you don't know how to put it to (virtual) paper, the story might not end up being what you wanted it to be.
ideas in my head always turn out not as good on paper.
my imagination is wild though. :D
some people have english as different languages :P
and younger people may not understand punctuation as much!
i love english, and ive tried to perfect it - and even i make mistakes.Some people have English as a different language, and younger people may not understand punctuation as well. I love English and I've tried to perfect it, and even I make mistakes.
...sorry. :p
ideas in my head always turn out not as good on paper.
my imagination is wild though. :D
I know this all to well. Trust me.
what, the writing on paper...
or my imagination is wild? :lol:
ideas in my head always turn out not as good on paper.
my imagination is wild though. :D
I understand this. I often can imagine a scene as if I were watching the story unfold, but articulating the subtle gestures and facial expressions along with the story is difficult. I could almost see every scene from my Yuthura Ban story in my head, but I could not imagine anyone else seeing what I imagine based on my descriptions.
Even the rate at which words are said and the emotion behind them could make all the difference between a story that is told and one that touches the reader. Simply getting the dialog written is difficult, but using the right words to describe how the dialog is said... that takes skill.
I try to diversify the words I used as well. Instead of using 'he said' after every quote, I would use 'he shrieked' 'explained' 'asked' 'growled' 'wailed' 'commanded' 'shouted' 'requested' 'cried out' 'sobbed' 'interrupted' 'objected'
When one diversifies the words used to describe quotes, it almost defines the emotion or the situation behind the one saying it. This may not sound like much, but I find this to be critical to many of the best stories I've read.
very true.
I hate the word 'said', so i try to use as many synonyms as possible.
also, I can't use the same word more than once unless it's not got a wide range of synonyms. It frustrates me and makes me feel as if the story isn't complete, or good. which, I guess, it probably wouldn't be.
I love using different ways of describing things in my story - sometimes you've got to be adventurous with descriptions, and take the risk that it may or may not make sense to the reader. ^^
Some people have English as a different language, and younger people may not understand punctuation as well. I love English and I've tried to perfect it, and even I make mistakes.
...sorry. :p
pfft, it's a conversation not a story. :P
I like action-packed stories with lots of uber ship vs uber ship fighting. :xp:
I like action-packed stories with lots of uber ship vs uber ship fighting. :xp:
Dogfighting? How could you write dogfighting without using lots of jargon? I may know what a split-S, inverted vertical reveresment, and lo Yoyo... do you know about these terms? These are what you would expect with ship-to-ship fighting. Do you mean this?
You don't need to use that much technical jargon to write decent dog-fights. Read the X-wing series -- they're completely understandable to your average non-pilot.
You don't need to use that much technical jargon to write decent dog-fights. Read the X-wing series -- they're completely understandable to your average non-pilot.
Agreed. I've only written one dogfight, and I didn't need a ton of technical terms.
Nah, I don't tend to read those kind of fictions.
...But I bet they're fun to write.
I understand this. I often can imagine a scene as if I were watching the story unfold, but articulating the subtle gestures and facial expressions along with the story is difficult. I could almost see every scene from my Yuthura Ban story in my head, but I could not imagine anyone else seeing what I imagine based on my descriptions.
Even the rate at which words are said and the emotion behind them could make all the difference between a story that is told and one that touches the reader. Simply getting the dialog written is difficult, but using the right words to describe how the dialog is said... that takes skill.
I try to diversify the words I used as well. Instead of using 'he said' after every quote, I would use 'he shrieked' 'explained' 'asked' 'growled' 'wailed' 'commanded' 'shouted' 'requested' 'cried out' 'sobbed' 'interrupted' 'objected'
When one diversifies the words used to describe quotes, it almost defines the emotion or the situation behind the one saying it. This may not sound like much, but I find this to be critical to many of the best stories I've read.
Yes! I can see so much of it in my head, but it is just so hard to write it down. I see something on TV or in a book or game, and I just get a chapter flowing in my head. It just never comes out as good as I would want it to on paper or when typing it. :(
You don't need to use that much technical jargon to write decent dog-fights. Read the X-wing series -- they're completely understandable to your average non-pilot.
Yes, that is true, but I think that it could always help. :xp:
Well, my romanian teacher- romanian is my mother language- always says that if you want your creations to be as you want in your head, read as much as possible, so you can see diversity in language and in the written way of expression...
I should start reading books in english =/
I should start reading books in english =/Yes, you should. You'd be missing out on countless awesomesauce books if you don't.
Well, personally, I like to see a polished fic, and by this I mean minimal typos, punctuation and grammatical errors. I have virtually nonexistent typing skills, and hence make a ridiculous amount of typos, but if I can take the time and effort to proofread my fics, others can too! :p
Besides that, good characters can make or break a fic. There's two extremes for me; either I feel that I know a character inside out, or that I can never predict what a character is going to do.
Referring to TheExile's first post, inserting banal elements in the first half of a fic may simply turn off readers. Do keep in mind that a lot of us have Darth RealLife breathing down our necks, and thus would rather limit our reading time to fics which are original and interesting. Ergo, such a plot device may backfire severely. It's good to have a twist here and there, but don't go overboard with the illogical thingamajig.
I could suffer through a familiar plot if the author puts a different spin on events, or has really great style.
If you've read the things I write, I never use much jargon besides 'fore, aft, starboard, port' and whatnot of naval speak. I never liked starfighter dogfights. I always loved Giant, agile uber ship vs infinite fleet of giant uber ships action. Lots of huge explosions, crazy manuevers, extremely overexaggerated ships... :xp:
The occaisonal friend of the hero getting killed and then the hero going crazy and blowing everything up in a heroic, tactically rediculous way... :p You could say I have little taste for intricate stories, although I do enjoy a very detailed and balanced story once in awhile...
That's probably why I don't reply to many other fanfics much... I simply prefer the stories I've created myself, because they are the most exciting to me... And a lot of other ones.. simply aren't my style. Same with many other authors I bet, as for preferring their stories over others because it moreover means something to them... *shrugs*
I don't want to come off as arrogant, self-centered, or narrow-veiwed about what I prefer in a story though, so please don't take this the wrong way...
^^ No worries. You usually write in the style that you personally enjoy, which is a perfectly acceptable reason :lol:
Looks like the perfect mixture is: good grammar+descriptions+well made chars...
Well, after I set this conclusion, I also realized I have a lot to eat until i can make it...
I like fanfics that make me think about the story after I have read it and stays with me. In other words... inspirational.
I like to see original ideas
Since when is anything original nowadays? ;)
It needs: A good plot twist, and plenty of detail.
They're the main things in my book.
I like a good plot twist and a good revelation scene at the end. You know, making the reader remember how the story began and how it can end.
Since when is anything original nowadays? ;)
It needs: A good plot twist, and plenty of detail.
They're the main things in my book.
Oh, I've had original ideas... it's just most people are too lazy :xp:
People probably thought originality was out, in the Medieval times... but that's just because that's all they knew.
I rather like character conflict. Even close friends frequently fight about very trivial issues. When you've got arguments and debates, you can expand on the characters you have in the story.
In my Yuthura story, she frequently is defiant and hostile towards others, but I try to portray HER perspective on an issue... even when she's wrong. I find that it is a greater story when the writer can make the reader see through the eyes of the characters. We all see the same events, but often come to different truths. The best authors are those that can explain why conflict is inevitable.
In my RP Star Wars: The Sith Resurrection Part IV: Alliances Divided, Tython is attacked by invaders from the Unknown Regions, and I erroneously stated that the planet is on the borders of known space, only to find out recently that Tython is actually in the Deep Core. It's impossible to retcon the attack, so I'm wondering if there's anything capable of moving a planet that could explain the discrepancy.
I don't know of anything like that to exist. Perhaps changing the name of the world would be better.
Trouble there is that there was too much reference to it being Tython to just change it to another planet.