When you write a fanfiction, how do you do it?

[StarStriker 2]

Personally, I would try and make them as close to the episodes as possible.

I've only written one fanfiction, about my OC (in my icon ^0^) and I actually didn't introduce him until chapter 3.

I changed his design a little, too. I tried to make him brighter and more "pony-friendly" since before-hand he was black-maned and grey-furred Dx

I really didn't want him to look like a Mary-Sue :<

 

Anyway, but I didn't make him (yep, he's a he despite the muzzle- working on that xD) the main character, but rather a supporting character.

 

Only problem was the moral- I've been trying to re-watch some episodes to ensure I didn't copy them, but that left me with very few ideas! D:

 

In the end I "came up" with something very similar to Zecora's (nooooo!!) but I tried to change it a little, to make it seem like I was referring to working with people who may seem scary or who you may not like to get the job done is normally a good way to go ^0^

 

 

But, enough about that, how do you guys write your fanfics? x33

[Sunnerino 182]

I haven't written fanfiction since 2007 and that was just, fanfiction about Pokemont hat I posted on dA, but.. They were very violent. o.o

 

If I still wrote fanfics today, they'd probably also be just.. Very violent with no moral.. :I

[Shiki 5,855]

I typically write my fanfictions as shipfics, to be quite honest. I never post any of my work, because it's quite embarrassing. I'm still a bit iffy on whether or not to legitimately call them "shipfics", because they're usually about friendship or sisterly-like bonds. Not romantic or anything. One that I'm working on right now is actually a sisterly love kind of story between Rarity and Sweetie Belle. Tragedy and whatnot. Working through them as sisters/friends. Stuff like that is my kind of story.

[~Lawful Jordo~ 2,066]

I don't restrict myself to anything, I write about what I feel like.

 

I am a bit more partial to crossovers myself, but I'm terrible at writing romance; hence I tend not to write shipfics. I have only ever written one pony related fanfic, and It won me second place it the forums 500 word fic contest :3

[The Pirate Prince 105]

Admittedly, I'm much more an idea person than a "sit down and write" one. I'm currently writing a fanfic, I have the basic idea another that I might do after this one and I'm planning one out that might be an ongoing story kind of thing.

 

For the one I'm writing, I have a ideas, but it's piecing them together into a narrative that's the problem. D:

 

I think of overarching plot, then little ideas, like jokes or conversations, and then I'm pretty much write the chapters without too much planning. Of course I try to edit and make it the best I can before showing to the public.

 

As for the genre, I guess adventure would fit all three, with bits of comedy and darkness in them.

 

*Edit*

I also wrote a short 1000 word alternate ending to an episode. But that's not that interesting.

Edited October 4, 2012 by The Pirate Prince

[Tuxedo Kamen! 114]

I write from one characters perspective/experience at a time, and i submit whichever perspective works the best. All of my work is romance, so the three or four mlp fanfic's i wrote are shipfic's. I usually stay away away from overly sexual scenes when it comes to fanfic's though. I think that with a 1st person perspective, it's easier to convey emotions and becomes more interesting, kinda like the rush you get when you read someone's diary. But if you are more interested in the storytelling 3rd person omniscient is easiest to piece together ideas I think.

 

But that is just me. You seem to be doing great on your own.

[silvadel 1,393]

I write what I feel like writing pretty much. Typically I have an idea -- like in "pegasus horns" which is my current fanfic -- "What if a pegasus figured out how to use magic and then started to teach other pegasi and earth ponies?" This one is kind of complicated because there are a lot of unicorns who do not like losing out on their unique position in society. It breeds a lot of conflict and does cause some disorder.

 

I also have an idea for a 1 shot story which is a little dark and I do not want to give away. If I am in a grim mood and feel like writing -- I work on that.

 

All I can say is write what you feel like writing when you feel like writing and do not burn yourself out.

[TailsIsNotAlone 3,695]

I've had about 50 ideas for every one I've sat down and written a story about. When I do write, it either comes out quickly or drags on forever because I'm kind of a perfectionist and I don't like forcing out words that aren't coming naturally. Except for a Digimon fic that went 139,000 words--looking back, I don't know how I wrote it--my stories tend to be on the short side.

Edited October 4, 2012 by TailsAlone

[SongBrony 419]

I first write what comes to mind and edit from there. I try to stay away from the pony episodes unless I'm making a reference to a certain occurrence in the story. Right now, I'm on the last 3-5 chapters of my story about the return of Chrysalis and her reign for 20 years and there's a huge war going on etc etc. Once I have a basic concept, I let my mind spew whatever it wants, then edit it all later and make things flow. It works for me

[OptimisticNeighsayer 478]

I try to make my fanfiction as close to the spirit of the episodes as possible. In doing so I hope that I can not only create a lighthearted story of "friendship", but take it to a more "scholarly" level-- in that my aim is to organize my knowledge into a coherent whole, analyzed and synthesized-- which usually means that Twilight Sparkle will be the "protagonist of the moment". They're always going to be short stories, as I consider the aim of my work to eventually, propose a new idea, almost a thought experiment in a way, and the point I will make can be much easier remembered if a person can be expected to take it in one sitting.

 

This does not necessarily mean that my stories will be thinly veiled philosophical treatises. If anything, I need to connect it with some concrete "what if" directly derived from the show, such as say, if Twilight Sparkle was forced to run Carousel Boutique for a week or two, in which case I'd then explore questions of division of labor, organizational conflicts, microeconomics, etc....

 

Sometimes, though, I'm more prone to "piggybacking" off some character/future episode discussion and putting my own spin on it, as is the case for my other project, about the hypothetical Rarity/Octavia duet. I'm expect it to make many references to Wagnerian opera an old movie musicals from the twenties to the forties. In such cases I hope to draw parallels between the different forms of media.

 

In short, I want my work to be literate and knowledgeable above all else. Faithfulness to canon characterizations is my second priority, if only to make the dialogue more interesting and to maintain credibility with the target audience, namely fellow bronies.

Edited October 4, 2012 by JustFairness

[Guest]

I have a friend that likes writing a lot (he's a brony but he hasn't written any brony fanfic) and I think he gets a lot of his inspiration from music that he listens to. Music might help you come up with ideas.

 

But what I really wanted to say was that I don't think you should "force" yourself to try and write a fanfiction. You should write when you feel like you really have a story to tell, when you really have some inspiration. Trying to force an idea or trying to shape a story from scratch without inspiration can be extremely hard.

 

I myself actually doesn't write fanfic or stories for that matter. I think I have the literary abilities to write a proper story but I just haven't gotten any good ideas or any inspiration yet... maybe some day

[Alleviate 342]

Bwahaha! You people are all far too methodical and sensible!

 

My way of writing Fanfic....It's kinda messy, I'll do my best explain.

 

Think of very rough plotline, think of random characters that seem to fit, realize I want some other device/char. In there as well (currently 'the gems of the silenced and two Russians)

 

then just start writing whenever I feel the flow.

 

If something crossss my mind, it gets added.

 

Example (I'll try not to screw my new fic now..)

 

 

Russia, Equestria, mafia>

Two Russians, ponies, Mafia>

Sergei and Yosef, princesses and high-ups>

..

..

Sergei, Yosed, Royal ponies, Discord, NMM, Chaos chaos Emeralds..Zecora.

[Grayhem1136 10]

My fanfic is about changlings ubducting human's to fight in a big war that'il be happening in equestria soon.

 

The main caracter is based off myself ecapes his captures and makes his way to ponyville and other untold events, I am going to be wrighting it in first purson just so everyone knows.

 

I'm not sure if I should pout a second purson in to be my female' companion in this journy.

 

Any andvice would be welcome.

Edited October 10, 2012 by Grayhem1136

[Guest]

My fanfic is about changlings ubducting human's to fight in a big war that'il be happening in equestria soon.

 

The main caracter is based off myself ecapes his captures and makes his way to ponyville and other untold events, I am going to be wrighting it in first purson just so everyone knows.

 

I'm not sure if I should pout a second purson in to be my female' companion in this journy.

 

Any andvice would be welcome.

 

It depends. If the ponies in Ponyville will be sufficient side characters then a female companion maybe isn't needed but could still be useful for the story. If you feel like you need a supporting side character then add one. It really depends how you want to tell the story.

[SweetJeans88 408]

dunno if this will help you all that much, but ill give it a go. i find it easiest to make them character driven, then stick them in an unusual situation and basically "watch" them play it out in your mind and write down what happens. personally, i rarely finish mine. i go into huge story arcs, sub-plots and generally overwhelm myself.

 

my beau carries snips of paper with him so that he can write down interesting scenarios, characters or names he likes. he often finds inspiration in odd town or road names when we travel, then later he organizes it all and filters out what might work for a particular story hes working on at the moment. he doesnt write pony-fiction, but he's wonderfully detailed in his settings and character development.

[Acoustic Cloud 2,202]

Well usually I just go through my day and when an Idea pops in my head (usually at school, the best place for other work) I write it down. Then at the end of the day I go onto fimfiction and I get a title, art and a paragraph written, put some bulleted ideas so i don't forget.

The only problem is that with this strategy... I have 5 in process fan fictions.... 5!!!!!! So All depends on how many you can do at once, but just pondering through a day can lead to an entire story.