Today, our first question is from amara z, who asked: Is there any scene you feel is missing or would add to the Original Trilogy? Do you have advice for fanfic writers just starting out? And where do you find all the pictures?
And here are our answers:
We'll start with me (Push): Is there any scene you feel is missing or would add to the Original Trilogy? Wow, this is a tough one. On one hand, I think I could stand six more hours of scenes, right? But on the other hand, realistically, you just can't show everything in the movies, right? So, if I was trying to be realistic and I could only add one scene, let's say to each movie. Wow, still very tough.
First, ANH. I understand why this wasn't done, in light of what kind of movie ANH is, but I would've like to see something regarding Leia's reaction to Alderaan blowing up. I mean, Luke got a hug and some encouraging words from Leia, but Leia got no screen time for her sorrows. What could it have been exactly? IDK, maybe that's why it wasn't done.
Second, ESB. On one hand I absolutely love this movie so how could it get any better? If I were forced to name something, of course it would be something between Han and Leia. One more scene to 'develop' their relationship, another kiss, perhaps? A fade to black scene as Han is leading Leia into his quarters on the way to Bespin? HAHA. Who knows?
ROTJ? Maybe how Han is offered and accepts his General's position. I would say something between he and Leia after the rescue but anything I would want to see would negate Han's confusion later on in the movie with him stepping aside for Luke and I guess we can't change the whole movie, so...
Do you have advice for fanfic writers just starting out? Write what interests you and makes you happy. Try to get someone you trust who can read it and give you feedback. Don't be in a hurry, don't force what doesn't want to come naturally. Trust your instincts and don't think that just because you've never seen it done or written like that before doesn't mean that it isn't worth pursuing. Don't compare your writing to someone else's or don't let other people's writing intimidate you. And after all that, sometimes you have to be like Nike and 'Just Do It." Publish your story, put yourself out there, take your feedback (or lack of it) and keep on truckin'. And remember, this is supposed to be FUN.
And where do you find all the pictures? Most of my pictures came from a Google search for 'Pics of Han and Leia'. I also continue to add to them by visiting a few tumblr sites.
And now for Zyra: Is there any scene you feel is missing or would add to the Original Trilogy? I really would’ve loved to have seen something more of Han and Leia between when he was rescued from carbonite and the rendezvous. Of course, this is why I wrote a story to cover that. But their “romance” was completely ignored in that movie. They were really not much more than accessories to the mission. Seriously, it could’ve been almost anyone who snuck in and blew up the shield generator. I think that would’ve been a very meaningful time in their relationship and I would’ve loved to have seen it. Also, I would’ve liked something between Han and Leia when Han and Luke came back from being gone all night on Hoth. It wouldn’t have to be much, but I think it might have even helped bridge the gap from being at each other’s throats to showing that they really cared about each other. Oh, and some sex at the end of ROTJ would’ve been nice, too, but let’s not get greedy ;)
Do you have advice for fanfic writers just starting out? My advice to fanfic writers just starting out is first of all to just write uninhibited. Write anything that comes to mind that you want to write without the internal commentary of thinking it’s dumb or nobody will want to read it. There is no law that says if you write something you must share it with someone. Sometimes it’s just good to write and even in a scene or a story you don’t wind up doing much with you might write a line or a paragraph that fits somewhere else. With this in mind, I told Push a long time ago that you should also not erase anything. Seriously. I mean, hide it somewhere if you have to on some password protected folder or in an e-mail address nobody knows about, but never delete any of your writing from existence forever. I’ve done this a few times and I really wish I could retrieve these things, but it’s impossible now. Not so much because looking back on them now I think they were probably awesome, but just to read what I had written, maybe use some ideas from things in stuff I might write in the future, and just to see how far I’ve come. Again, just because you don’t delete it doesn’t mean you have to show it to anyone. But you might be surprised if you write something, lose it forever thinking you hate it, and then a couple of months or even years later you might wish you could still read it. And a lot of times something you write and then think was terrible you might go back later and actually think is a lot better than you originally thought.
Write as much as you can but only as much as you want. Don’t force things. Just write whenever the mood strikes. Don’t get discouraged if what you write doesn’t seem all that great at first. I had a great writing teacher once who told us that everything we wrote in the beginning of the class was going to suck – and she did, in fact, use the word suck. But if you keep practicing and working at it, you suck a little less every time. That said, share your work and get a beta reader if possible. This is someone who can help you with stuff as simple as grammar and punctuation but can also be someone who can help out with story ideas and will let you know if your characters aren’t acting quite like we might expect them to act. I think just having a trusted friend, even if it’s just an internet friend, to share things with can be helpful from a motivational standpoint, especially when you feel like you’re writing to nobody and/or too nervous to actually post something for the masses to read. Having someone to encourage you is always helpful and they can maybe even help take care of typos or other things that might detract from a story that is otherwise good. Even if I am enjoying the plot I am going to be annoyed if you are often talking about Liea or using they’re when you should be using their.
Lastly, do not compare your work to others! This can completely destroy any creative efforts. We are all different. And usually we are our own worst critics. If you go around reading some of your favorite stories before you go to write yours, you’re likely to get discouraged thinking about how you could never possibly write a story as good as what you just read. Well, why not? Seriously. This is not a contest. Different stories are good for different reasons. I think my stuff sucks compared to a lot of other people’s. Push will sometimes tell me that she just read something else and then decided what she was currently writing wasn’t good enough. We all feel that way. Don’t let your feelings on someone else’s work make you give up. For some reason we are all designed to automatically think we aren’t good enough compared to others, but you might be surprised. So don’t be so afraid and just go ahead and write and post. It’s only fanfic. It does not define your entire sense of self worth. If it does, you have bigger problems!
And where do you find all the pictures? Various places on the internet. I'd say lately a lot of them come from tumblr sites, though I know I've also found good ones on Harrison Ford web sites. Sometimes a good old fashioned google image search will also turn up some good stuff.
Alright, so there went another installment of our "Ask Us Anything" series. If you would like a question answered, please visit that post and Ask Us Anything. (We do reserve the right to not answer, if necessary! So, don't get crazy...)
Once again, don't worry if your question didn't get answered (yet), we will continue to post answers as long as you guys continue to ask questions.
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