tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4591963962547240042.post5055872807277735772..comments2023-04-10T03:20:23.344-05:00Comments on HanLeiaFanFicWriters: From the Archives: Growing as a Writer Zyrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04860113813294303312noreply@blogger.comBlogger74125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4591963962547240042.post-1241316732311834752017-03-07T14:45:22.349-06:002017-03-07T14:45:22.349-06:00I have marked Mighty Things to read later (::g::) ...I have marked Mighty Things to read later (::g::) Love New Hope.<br /><br />Thank you so much for "Nobody but Yourself" - I'm enjoying the hell out of it - need to go add some feedback!cv73https://www.blogger.com/profile/00172856161533760809noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4591963962547240042.post-11422958341779809522017-03-04T23:14:30.196-06:002017-03-04T23:14:30.196-06:00I kept the same name on ff.net if anyone is lookin...I kept the same name on ff.net if anyone is looking.amara zhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03344117896874708549noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4591963962547240042.post-24564131410120444672017-03-04T20:34:34.475-06:002017-03-04T20:34:34.475-06:00This is also interesting to me, because I know we ...This is also interesting to me, because I know we all have our "usual" spots and we tend to stick with what we know and are used to. I've heard AO3 mentioned often, and man, I can't stand that site in terms of trying to search for stuff. I get that ff.net has a lot to wade through, but AO3 allows so many tags, it's like every single story is labeled for basically every single character or situation so every story ever written pops up no matter what you search for, because everyone just tags their stuff for everything. No way am I taking any time to sift through dozens of stories that don't even focus on what I want on the off chance I find one that does. <br /><br />I like that ff.net limits how many characters you can tag, so you have to choose. It actually used to be only two I think and now we get 4. That seems like more than enough to figure out who your story focuses on and you can get the readers who are truly going to be interested.Zyrahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04860113813294303312noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4591963962547240042.post-27549316956323791312017-03-04T19:29:12.482-06:002017-03-04T19:29:12.482-06:00In case you want to read further afield, I'm c...In case you want to read further afield, I'm culturevulture73 on https://archiveofourown.org/ I will warn that the writing posted is SkySolo and OT3 but I think my TFA fix it, "Fix You," and my "rescue Han" "Not So Great Escape" are pretty much readable no matter what - lots of Han/Leia convos in Fix You (I'm a fade to black writer anyway or a never get to that point, more accurately ;-) ). I'm under the same name on FF but I only have some Law & Order there and the infamous Dancing with the Stars/SW fusion that roane and I wrote last summer...<br /><br />I'm so excited to see names and recs! I need some good fic desperately!<br />cv73https://www.blogger.com/profile/00172856161533760809noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4591963962547240042.post-15298774049259923962017-03-04T19:20:24.419-06:002017-03-04T19:20:24.419-06:00"Children of the Future" was pretty awes..."Children of the Future" was pretty awesome. Great story! <br /><br />There are so many older stories that are still amazing today. I was reading something by Push, a like 99 chapter AU or something that was left unfinished, and it was just so engrossing, and I think it's been years since it was published. <br /><br />But for WIP right now, I am obsessed with: <br /><br />- "New Hope Indiana" by Cicatrick at FFDN. (As we all are!) TOO MUCH goodness. I literally die with happiness every time there is an update and it is the most amazing H&L fic, made even more impressive in that it is 100% H&L, yet AU and earthbound. <br /><br />- "Nobody But Yourself" by Knitzkampf at FFDN Another one of these PERFECT stories that just amazes me with how insightful and spot on this writer's understanding of the OT3 are. It's a retelling of the OT from Luke's perspective and the characterizations are brilliant. Seriously genius blend of writing style and subject. I LOVE THIS STORY. <br /><br />- "Mighty Things" by KnightedRogue at FFDN. Yeah! Space battles! Inventive and original plot! All the sexy H&L! This is written like a SW novel but with our OTP right front and center. Deep, solid understanding of H&L and stays true to their character, even though it's AU and takes H&L into a totally (awesome) unexpected direction that feels more fitting than what they're giving us in canon. <br /><br />I have to say, one of my largest pet peeves in reading H&L fanfic (and one that none of the above mentioned story ever do) is to have Han (or even Leia) go off on expository monologues that spell out their feelings or thoughts. Ugh. That loses me as a reader. Han does not do expository dialogue. Han is not an eloquent long-winded man. He might think deep thoughts and experience complex emotions, but every time a fic writer has him talking himself out it drives me nuts. The best Han I see in fanfic relies on action and economy. It's part of what makes him so appealing. Bless all the fanfic writers who get it right! (Or okay, just see things my way. LOL.) LoveThis!https://www.blogger.com/profile/11844051101715280471noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4591963962547240042.post-86539484979050541852017-03-04T18:36:10.185-06:002017-03-04T18:36:10.185-06:00Awesome, you guys! Thanks! I've read a couple ...Awesome, you guys! Thanks! I've read a couple of those but will search out the others. <br /><br />So I downloaded the ff net app, and it's actually pretty good. I favorited a bunch of you and some other familiar names, here's hoping to cut down on search time. Jediofgracehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18166993224369558018noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4591963962547240042.post-1633695741084733882017-03-04T16:17:03.697-06:002017-03-04T16:17:03.697-06:00FF.net defeats me with its search and I'm not ...FF.net defeats me with its search and I'm not fond of how it displays on a page, to be petty. AO3 seems to have better search - I have the pairings I follow so I check those daily. It also has a nicer look in the browser.<br /><br />The problem with AO3 is that people misunderstand what / and & mean which can be odd for someone who reads slash. I'll still read check out the story and some are quite good but...<br /><br />Much of the Han/Leia stuff contains no Han/Leia. The dead giveaway is a certain villain and heroine pairing is the main relationship (or villain/villain) and you know that Han/Leia is sometimes not even mentioned. It's a spam tag to get more eyeballs. Or if it is Han/Leia, you'll want to run away because the relationship between them will be horrifically OOC or toxic or some combination thereof. At best, it'll be Leia remembering Han and sometimes, not well. <br /><br />(I also write/read SkySolo and that tag is worse for OOC. A lot of the new writers come from writing anime and if the characters weren't named Han and Luke, you'd never know it was them... If anyone wants to try SkySolo (or any of the other lesser known OT pairings, I can recommend some good stuff.))<br /><br />As I see the H/L people are on FF net, I'm going to have to learn to slice and dice over there better....cv73https://www.blogger.com/profile/00172856161533760809noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4591963962547240042.post-72515832996980353212017-03-04T15:58:17.476-06:002017-03-04T15:58:17.476-06:00Oh, if we're talking story recommendations ......Oh, if we're talking story recommendations ...<br /><br />Journey of a Thousand Miles by greyathena (AO3 only): ANH through ESB. I can't even rec this fast enough.<br /><br />Domestic Bliss by Erin Darroch and Justine Graham (FFN and AO3). post-ROTJ Disney canon AU. Sweetness, love and perfection.<br /><br />New Hope, Indiana by Cicatrick (FFN). Earthbound AU. I know we've rec'ed this pretty hard, but it bears repeating. Over and over again. It's actual genius work. <br /><br />And other authors to check out: Organanation, OtterandTerrier, and Corellian-Smuggler (all on FFN)KnightedRoguehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01938396408641107066noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4591963962547240042.post-72171374150960666212017-03-04T15:35:00.795-06:002017-03-04T15:35:00.795-06:00Lol. I'm sure it's fun to push Han's b...Lol. I'm sure it's fun to push Han's buttons a little bit. Have to keep family on their toes. :)amara zhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03344117896874708549noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4591963962547240042.post-77187132115221104082017-03-04T15:33:06.753-06:002017-03-04T15:33:06.753-06:00So true about ff.net. I have a link to a list filt...So true about ff.net. I have a link to a list filtered just to Han and Leia and even then it's a lot to go through now. Word of mouth is great. I also tend to look through favorite stories and authors of people I know. I've posted over there before and getting back into it again. So hey, shameless plug but have a look. :) Check out jzhanfan and zolo77. And couple of good stories - Han Solo and the Princess by LASOS. Really romantic. And The Not Quite Love Letters. Be prepared for some spit takes if you read that one.amara zhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03344117896874708549noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4591963962547240042.post-90820808802340390072017-03-04T14:05:20.043-06:002017-03-04T14:05:20.043-06:00Word of mouth helps to find stories. If a fellow H...Word of mouth helps to find stories. If a fellow Han an Leia enthusiast, especially someone dedicated enough to frequent blogs like this, recommends a story, it says a lot and is worth checking out, imo. I randomly googled Cindy Olsen the other day, found a post on NHP with a link to ff.net and there were all her beautiful stories, but under a new name. I would never have found them otherwise. So yay for chatting and passing on info. Jediofgracehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18166993224369558018noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4591963962547240042.post-76481443172778495932017-03-04T10:11:11.566-06:002017-03-04T10:11:11.566-06:00Thank you. And you're not wrong about ff.net. ...Thank you. And you're not wrong about ff.net. Especially if you're not used to looking there, it can be next to impossible to just find something to read. <br /><br />Several years ago when I started reading and posting there, there just wasn't a whole lot of material to sift through. I think because a lot of the Han and Leia stories were on Han and Leia sites (such as NHP as you say) so a lot of people weren't using that as their way to get stories out. In like 2009 I think if you searched for M-rated stories on there you'd only get like 4 pages of them. Which is enough that you can take a peek at all of them, or check out reviews or something, and decide what you are going to read. Also updates there were so slow that if you searched for Han and Leia stories, I'd say on average there were probably 2-3 updates a week over there in terms of a new story or chapter. Again, just so much easier to keep up with. You could take a look at every new thing that went up and make a decision.<br /><br />Kind of the good news/bad news of the resurgence of stories since TFA. Good because hey, look at all the new people writing new stories and stuff! But bad news because it can be very overwhelming and almost make you not want to read anything just because it requires trying to figure out how to choose. And also it makes stories disappear faster, you're a lot less likely to find a gem that was posted like, 8 months ago, because it's already on page 15 or whatever. And who get that far down in results? <br /><br />So, I have no solution, but I can understand the frustration. Zyrahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04860113813294303312noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4591963962547240042.post-82271448037562878372017-03-04T09:57:23.460-06:002017-03-04T09:57:23.460-06:00I just found your story, Zyra, and loved it. (I re...I just found your story, Zyra, and loved it. (I reviewed it there.) Can I complain about ff.net a little? Am I the only one who gets frustrated with the huge amount of stories one has to wade through to find something good? I rarely go there because I get so annoyed when trying to narrow the search. I can search and find a page of "Han Leia" stories, but there are like 8000 of them and unless you know an author, you have to wade through a lot of junk and/or unfinished stories. I miss the old days of NHP and sites devoted to Han and Leia. Anyway, all that to say, I had no idea you or anyone else was posting there, so I'm all in favor of people "pimping" their stories. Help us poor readers and save us from endless searching! Jediofgracehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18166993224369558018noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4591963962547240042.post-78974770957056621642017-03-03T19:26:43.343-06:002017-03-03T19:26:43.343-06:00Anywhere I post, I post as Zyra. Or I think techni...Anywhere I post, I post as Zyra. Or I think technically I'm Zyra M on ff.net, which is where this story is.<br /><br />You can pimp your stories here if you want, I have no issue with that. As long as it isn't too far off topic (talking about writing and posting fanfic seems like fair game) and never in the commentary for someone else's story that is posted here.Zyrahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04860113813294303312noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4591963962547240042.post-10294809680294328952017-03-03T18:17:39.055-06:002017-03-03T18:17:39.055-06:00Where is it and is it under Zyra?
Maybe we should...Where is it and is it under Zyra?<br /><br />Maybe we should start pimping our stories ::g:: cv73https://www.blogger.com/profile/00172856161533760809noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4591963962547240042.post-86055120387646781992017-03-03T16:37:47.073-06:002017-03-03T16:37:47.073-06:00And you guys who have a hard time getting stories ...And you guys who have a hard time getting stories read, unfortunately that never goes away. I've got a current WIP that is an idea I've been excited about writing about for several years, and only more recently decided to finally start getting it out there in spite of the fact that it includes challenges I don't usually take on, mostly that there is actual plot. Well, it's not getting much attention, which really never feels good no matter how long you've been writing. Push said this once a while back in another blog post we had here, I'll have to paraphrase, but basically your level of excitement in posting a certain chapter of your story shall be inversely proportionate to the number of reviews you receive on said chapter. This really never waivers. Super excited about posting a chapter and getting some good reviews? Well, just sit back and await the disappointment at the lack of feedback ;) Zyrahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04860113813294303312noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4591963962547240042.post-30644931397259342142017-03-03T16:34:26.955-06:002017-03-03T16:34:26.955-06:00Never tried it. Eventually I'll do more screen...Never tried it. Eventually I'll do more screenplay writing, but it wouldn't be for fanfic, because I don't think anyone would want to READ a story written like that. But it would for sure be a preferable medium for me due to the aforementioned dislike of descriptions.Zyrahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04860113813294303312noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4591963962547240042.post-20267233099295797312017-03-03T16:00:28.568-06:002017-03-03T16:00:28.568-06:00It works for Yoda! ;-)
I have a friend who writes...It works for Yoda! ;-)<br /><br />I have a friend who writes such great emotion into her stories and I ask her on beta reads to hit everywhere she thinks I need more emotion. I tend to carry a lot of my stories through dialogue (I've written paragraph dialogue bits for Han, who is not exactly the wordiest guy around) and she will say "more here, give me an action to go along with this)<br /><br />OTOH, there are a couple of SkySolo writers who, to me, overwrite so that I'm constantly wondering what the real point of the story is and if I'm missing it. It's a tricky balance.<br />cv73https://www.blogger.com/profile/00172856161533760809noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4591963962547240042.post-8173195227656590502017-03-03T15:52:59.325-06:002017-03-03T15:52:59.325-06:00YES! I run into that feeling when I do grammatical...YES! I run into that feeling when I do grammatical gymnastics to not end a sentence with a preposition. <br /><br />"At what are you looking?" Han asked. <br /><br />Not attractive. Not in character. Clearly wrong, but grammatically ... :) KnightedRoguehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01938396408641107066noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4591963962547240042.post-66813749269343455502017-03-03T15:33:49.895-06:002017-03-03T15:33:49.895-06:00I can be a "too fancy" offender. There ...I can be a "too fancy" offender. There are times I look down at my paragraph-long sentence and realize that while all the usage and grammar is correct, it's also idiotic to expect someone to wade through that many clauses.Kelshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03289869686941780934noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4591963962547240042.post-44982212581880591522017-03-03T15:32:30.088-06:002017-03-03T15:32:30.088-06:00I'm also pro-said -- unless there is a strong ...I'm also pro-said -- unless there is a strong reason to choose a word that describes the emotion behind the "said".Kelshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03289869686941780934noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4591963962547240042.post-30808036243975197942017-03-03T15:31:18.462-06:002017-03-03T15:31:18.462-06:00That sounds like something I need to try.... That sounds like something I need to try.... Erin Darrochhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17022044977128626948noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4591963962547240042.post-63110112626500232112017-03-03T15:30:02.475-06:002017-03-03T15:30:02.475-06:00Does anybody write fan fic in screenplay or play f...Does anybody write fan fic in screenplay or play format? That may be cheating a bit, but it allows you to skimp on the descriptions and go for the gusto on dialogue!Kelshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03289869686941780934noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4591963962547240042.post-54019455423423539102017-03-03T14:30:16.961-06:002017-03-03T14:30:16.961-06:00YES!! YES, YES, YES!! My friend scoundrelsprincess...YES!! YES, YES, YES!! My friend scoundrelsprincess has such a way with words; even her summary is just so beautiful! I always wish I had a way with words like that and whenever I try, I try way too hard.<br /><br />Oftentimes, that's really true. If the story still makes sense and has an engaging plot, there's no need for fancy words or crazy metaphors.JainaDurronhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16306143301521939650noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4591963962547240042.post-91656476917109743532017-03-03T14:24:40.288-06:002017-03-03T14:24:40.288-06:00And just to add some more onto this, one of the th...And just to add some more onto this, one of the things I criticize most in my own writing is a lot of what I write is... boring? Not even in terms of plot (well, often that too but that's not what I'm referring to here) more just that I don't have much "style" with my writing. There are a few fanfic authors out there who I'm so impressed by not just in terms of the stories they are telling, but with just HOW they write them. It's a real thing of beauty, and can sometimes make you look at your own writing and be like, man, I really suck.<br /><br />But, then sometimes you go out and read some real books, again by people who get paid to write, and you realize, you know what? I enjoy this story, the writing is just fine and I get what they're saying. My most recent example of this was re-reading the Jurassic Park books for the first time since the 90s. Michael Crichton has written several books that have been quite well received, and there really isn't anything particularly fancy about the way he writes. It doesn't by any means make him a bad writer, or at least I hope it doesn't, because my main point in mentioning this is that his writing reminds me of my own. So if it's ok for him, or others like him, then it should be ok for me. Because frankly I also think sometimes people can get carried away with trying to be TOO fancy with how they write. It's a rare problem, I don't see it often, but it certainly can happen occasionally.Zyrahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04860113813294303312noreply@blogger.com