From what I've seen alot of comic fanfiction doesn't seem to be purely fanfic.
Alot of it is written with the idea that it could be somthing grander like a movie or a real comic book.
This is the worst type of fanfiction in my opinion because its not really fanfiction. Not that their is anything wrong with making your own movies or comics.
In fact I would love to see more comic fan movies and fan comics but it makes for awfull fanfics.
Like when they write the whole thing in screenplay format. Yuck. Thats not a fanfic. They should be written like a novel or a short story.
I read fanfiction for around ten years so I know what I'm talking about.
It's not like thier is any shortage of ideas if you look at the message boards comic fans are extremly creative.
But for the life of me if they seem scared to death of writting a harmless little story.
For you guys that are writing even if you suck thank you.
Thanks for the clarification.
Yeah, what I used to call "ego ideals." That was how I wrote when I first started, but these days (and many rejection slips + 1 acceptance letter later) I strive for more thought-provoking stuff, characters with flaws and unsettled issues. I think one of the secrets to making an interesting character is, give him/her something which makes readers feel unsettled, so that they will read on to put that feeling to rest.
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Last edited by Mindship on Jun 12th, 2006 at 05:51 PM
Those could be examples, sure, especially if you're writing about an antihero (which, personally, I do find more interesting). Done right, they can be very effective (eg, Alex, from the movie "Clockwork Orange").
You want the reader to think, "Well, now, how is this gonna be resolved?" Part of the reader wants closure, which the character may never get (especially a continuing-series character). You Don't want a sense of, "Well, everything's just right; the character is set to go about and have adventures, without really changing or being affected by anything cuz he/she is perfect as is. A 'mary sue'.
Batman is a perfect example of what can truly be a compelling character. As a child, he saw his parents murdered! GodDAMN! So what does Bruce do: he spends the rest of his life trying to compensate for this unimaginable loss...something he will probably never completely come to terms with (heck, he even dresses up like a bat!). Add the element of, "Is he gonna kill this guy?" everytime he beats up on a bad guy, and you get a situation where the reader just doesn't know what's gonna happen.
Superman, on the other hand, deals with more abstract, existential issues: "What does it mean that I'm here, with all this power?" Interesting in its own right, but not as traumatic or compelling. It's not something the average reader may generally identify with.
I hope this is clear. I've learned through A LOT of trial and error that making a character seem real is no easy task, at least not for me.
__________________
Shinier than a speeding bullet.
Wow. You've taken this to whole new levels of thinking. (That was a compliment). Me? I've written few comic fan-fics, but I'll mostly do scifi/fantasy. Here is one of the stories I've done lately. http://www.gamingsteve.com/blab/ind...53964#msg153964
I agree, I dislike the script format. If you're going to write fanfiction, do it in a prose format, or grab a penciler and do an online comic takeoff. Scripts should be for movies or other similar productions.
DarkCrawler, did you ever have any luck with Avengers Reborn? The EiC went through a boatload of trouble with his ISP and computer, you may, if you're still interested, want to hit the message board up again and shoot him an e-mail or something. If you're still interested that is.
Generally regarding fanfiction, I try and use some obscure or older characters so that I can take their template and perhaps breathe a little more life into them. We all know who Peter Parker is, he has been defined by numerous writers and storytellers, there is little new direction anyone could really take him in without it being too radical and trite--which is not to say that's bad, I love Spider-Man, but Peter Parker has an established personality and history, which is good, some people work wonders with him as he is, I'd rather go for someone more obscure and use their few appearances as a template to flesh the characters so that I may have some influence upon who they are.
Also, few writers ever try and mix up their styles. Many writers, from title to title have the same voice, which I can't say is bad, much of my stuff reads relatively the same, though I am working on that, the whole business has been if nothing else, a great learning experience towards writing and the effort behind making a cohesive interesting story.
I'm currently working on some upcoming Liberty Legion issues that should be in the form of something resembling the set-up of an epic poem: blank verse iambic pentameter. It'll probably be somewhat rough, as lots of that poetic style depends on the length of different syllables, something that despite four years of Latin and much work with dactyllic hexameter and the great poets of antiquity, I still find to be a quite a ***** to work out. My ear simply doesn't hear it, though I've been told my recitations are enjoyable.
Sometimes though, fanfiction writers don't take it seriously, which is a mistake, yes it is for fun, but never dare craft anything without putting effort into the craft. I find many works to be poorly written, unedited and worst of all...bland. There is more to writing than putting words into sentences and sentences into paragraphs. Words need an order to them, so as to effect the reader. But this is departing from the topic at hand and aside form that I am far from a literary master.
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Jun 11th, 2006 09:05 PM
