Fanfics and their authors

[Tom Snyder 4,113]

Okay, i've been holding this back for weeks and have been thinking about it. I see a lot of people writing some good fics, but others writing bad ones. I always think its better for new writers to start small, as  is always suggested to me, they should start out with one shot stories. Cause if you start out with a big ambitious idea and try to do it alone, you flop faster than a bricks hits the water. But i've gained enough knowledge of it to do such a thing, Sure my stories sometimes fall flat, but i learn from those mistakes, even if i'm not quick at it. So what i'm trying to understand is why newbies always go for a big story first, instead of a small one.

 

The lamest excuse i got was this: "This other person did it, and it was good!" 

 

I'm sorry, but just because someone can do a good story, doesn't mean a complete ameteur can. I know, because i did this without thinking and ruined my stories. I didn't detail anything, i messed up my grammar( yes, i will admit it) and even didn't show any character development. So what do you believe makes a newbie author make such a mistake?

Edited March 12, 2015 by Candy Star

[BlueSkies 82]

I think you're being a bit harsh on new writers.  Sure, they make mistakes, but the true test is whether they learn from those.  Nothing ventured, nothing gained!  So you add another terrible story to a long list of terrible stories.  So what?

 

It's all part of the learning process.  

[Tom Snyder 4,113]

I think you're being a bit harsh on new writers.  Sure, they make mistakes, but the true test is whether they learn from those.  Nothing ventured, nothing gained!  So you add another terrible story to a long list of terrible stories.  So what?

 

It's all part of the learning process.  

I know, but its what i was taught to do. Is it wrong to try and help others? As my mentor said: "Try something smaller and then work your way up the ladder." Its what i did, but yes, i have been highly criticized too. 

Edited March 12, 2015 by Candy Star

[Sekhayet 253]

Shameless plugging of my random story I started writing. I suck so it's just really small.

 

https://www.fanfiction.net/s/11103110/1/The-Great-Journey-The-Way-is-Open

 

Edit: Starting small is always the best way to go about learning something. You wouldn't start learning Piano with Beethoven, you start with chops.

Edited March 12, 2015 by Sekhayet

[Deae Rising Shine~ 57,465]

Well, my first story has 17 chapters, 15 likes and 6 dislikes, not bad for my first time

[Tom Snyder 4,113]

Well, my first story has 17 chapters, 15 likes and 6 dislikes, not bad for my first time

I never said all of them were bad for first time attempts, just the one with grammar problems and the like.

[Deae Rising Shine~ 57,465]

I never said all of them were bad for first time attempts, just the one with grammar problems and the like.

My had a lot of grammar problems, because I'm german. Still got more likes then dislikes XD

 

Tough trough my rewriting it's better then before, but most likes came before rewriting

 

Ironically my second story has more dislikes

[Snow Frostflame 3,568]

my first story is over 11k words... it is a story about my OC Snowflake Frostflame, it is unpublished for two reasons

 

one I'm still editing it with my sister (fixing grammar and stuff while trying to convert it from script form to a more proper form)

 

and two I fear this will get nothing but harsh negative criticism.... this project has taken me over two years to do and I'm still doing it...

[BlinkZ 1,151]

I know, but its what i was taught to do. Is it wrong to try and help others? As my mentor said: "Try something smaller and then work your way up the ladder." Its what i did, but yes, i have been highly criticized too. 

That is good advice thugh some people tend to be too picky with what they read or don't read. Then there are comments wich don't help authors what so ever like "i liked it'  yes but what about it did they like ect, so vage.

 

Yeah I can speak from experince i tried a mulit chapter fic first time out of the gate and well it made no sense but was still fun to do. Regardless cot to learn to crawl before you walk.

[Shady23 175]

I think this is great advice by Candy Star. I'm more of a column writer more than anything when I do write but I think this advice goes for more than just fanfic. In just about anything your new at it's usually best to start small and work your up.

[Eloquence 2,076]

I think it's in part because people want to be able to make something really good and popular on their first try, even if that isn't feasible. More than that though, I think because we're more used to reading novels than short stories, those being more popular in mainstream culture, that's just what people feel like they should write. It's what's familiar to them.

 

I think that starting small is definitely the best way to go for new writers, because a huge part of writing is learning how to construct enjoyable plots, and you won't get practice constructing plots if you're always working on the same plot and only that one. It took me a long time and a lot of very bad short stories to learn how to put a narrative together, and I really do think that you can only really get it with practice.

[HunterTSN 1,444]

I've always been a talented and thorough writer, so when I started with fanfiction I jumped right into some pretty ambitious projects. I even did pretty well, however my biggest problem was always lack of motivation; I would start a new story and within a matter of days I would lose interest and move onto something else entirely. Another problem for me was that I was such a perfectionist that I had trouble just getting my ideas on paper. The one thing that helped me the most was organizing and planning everything out before I even began writing. Now I organize every little event and action into a timeline and then flesh out the story behind it, regardless of what I'm writing.

Edited March 12, 2015 by HunterTSN

[Tom Snyder 4,113]

The thing is with me, i hate it when they hold back on their criticism. How would i learn anything if they do that? Not only is it disrespectful, but also gets me a bit upset.

Edited March 12, 2015 by Candy Star

[1Bit 1,531]

Well my first fic was a small one. I agree that new authors really shouldn't start out big as it is too risky and can put them off writing at all if feedback sin't very positive. I found making a short fic written similarly to an episode of the show quite easy to write and there was little in it for people to really dislike.

[Shadow Beam 1,179]

Okay, i've been holding this back for weeks and have been thinking about it. I see a lot of people writing some good fics, but others writing bad ones. I always think its better for new writers to start small, as  is always suggested to me, they should start out with one shot stories. Cause if you start out with a big ambitious idea and try to do it alone, you flop faster than a bricks hits the water. But i've gained enough knowledge of it to do such a thing, Sure my stories sometimes fall flat, but i learn from those mistakes, even if i'm not quick at it. So what i'm trying to understand is why newbies always go for a big story first, instead of a small one.

 

The lamest excuse i got was this: "This other person did it, and it was good!" 

 

I'm sorry, but just because someone can do a good story, doesn't mean a complete ameteur can. I know, because i did this without thinking and ruined my stories. I didn't detail anything, i messed up my grammar( yes, i will admit it) and even didn't show any character development. So what do you believe makes a newbie author make such a mistake?

 

I feel mildly (Completely) identified. I just can't help it ;-;

[Tom Snyder 4,113]

I feel mildly (Completely) identified. I just can't help it ;-;

Oops...  My bad. I wasn't intending on anything offensive, just saying they need to slow their pace down a little. 

[Shadow Beam 1,179]

Oops...  My bad. I wasn't intending on anything offensive, just saying they need to slow their pace down a little. 

No worries. I knew I was going for a big shot too soon, and the fact that english isn't even my first language didn't help at all. When I realized that the story was extremely dull I decided to unpublish it and give a good spin to every rusty gear in my head to give my best and make it something worth the time of the readers.

(Only half paragraph fixed for now, YAY!)

[sweetolebob18 728]

Go out and read a Dr Seuss book called To Think That I Saw It On Mulberry Street.  It was the 1st Dr Seuss book & it is pretty mediocre.  Did you ever read a play called Two Gentlemen From Verona?  It was Shakespeare's 1st play & there's a reason you've probably never read it.  It's lame.

 

The point is, writing is a skill like any other.  You ain't real good when you start & you learn by doing.  There are exceptions, but over all even the legends start slow & grow.

 

The best pieces of advice I can give are

Write in a genre you like.

If you can get someone to read it & critique it without having a hissy fit, do it.  Probably better NOT to have a friend do it, you risk wrecking your friendship

Think about setting it aside for a few months & rereading it to see if you can redo it better

Humor is by far the toughest stuff to write.

[Ziggy + Angel + Rain 11,306]

Are we talking about new fanfic writers or new authors?  Because I don't think new authors should even start with fanfics.  I think they should start by developing their own characters and worlds and individual imagination; instead of relying heavily upon preexisting material.

 

That being said: "Smaller" is sometimes preferable even for an experienced writer.  A written work doesn't have to be grand in scope and ambition in order to be exceptional, and you can experiment more with shorter pieces.  That way, you aren't inescapably anchored to one particular setting or protagonist or storyline.

[Tom Snyder 4,113]

New writers, sorry, i didn't mean to add authors, but thought it meant the same thing.

[Squarity 12]

My first foray into writing was in fan fiction, and I say it turnedbout alright. I did try and keep it (very) small in scope though, mostly to see exactly how interesting I could make a quick action seem

 

http://www.fimfiction.net/story/76270/twilight-lifts-a-pebble is currently sitting on 49 up and 2 down so I think I did alright.

[Tom Snyder 4,113]

My first foray into writing was in fan fiction, and I say it turnedbout alright. I did try and keep it (very) small in scope though, mostly to see exactly how interesting I could make a quick action seem

 

http://www.fimfiction.net/story/76270/twilight-lifts-a-pebble is currently sitting on 49 up and 2 down so I think I did alright.

I don't judge a story until i see one chapter, but i'd agree with you.

[Squarity 12]

I don't judge a story until i see one chapter, but i'd agree with you.

Well you're in luck, because it's only one chapter long

Edited March 12, 2015 by Squarity

[Tom Snyder 4,113]

I saw that coming.  But yeah it was.

[SCS 7,537]

I agree with the OP. I started out writing small fanfictions a few years ago, and I mean small. I wrote one that was like 7 lines long. It was more of an experiment in certain writing practices than attempting to relate a traditional plot. 

 

I have yet to get to writing a full fanfiction because there's always something going on to distract me, but I'm going to try to start working my way up to that point instead of diving headfirst into something I'm not yet capable of succeeding at.