Post by perhapsormaybe on Mar 20, 2009 23:03:31 GMT -5
So, I have my other tab open on what is quite possibly the worse Ben 10 story I have ever read. I won't tell you guys what the name is, because I'm being very mean. But it got me thinking on effective fanfiction. As this is a Ben 10 board, we'll only be discussing how to write for Ben 10. Any input is appreciated - whatever kind of rules you yourself like to follow while writing.
1) Know your characters. If they speak at all, if they appear for even a moment in your story, you must know how they would interact. Go back and study on them, on their mannerisms. For example - Kevin does not speak like a poet laureate. He does not think like one either. His grammar is often choppy, and/or incorrect. He, however, is the only character that you can let grammar slip on.
2) Get a beta reader. If you know you're not good at proper English, ask someone to read the story for you before you post it, and to correct all grammar mistakes. Yes, *everyone* makes mistakes, but if your sentence is something like "gwen an ben our getting in the car becauze kevin told them two", you're going to get a lot of complaints. Spell check is helpful, yes, but it's going to try to correct things that aren't wrong as well as what is. (ever tried writing "Verdona" in there?). Better to get a living person to do it for you.
3) If when you're writing the description, you have to write "OOC", then don't bother to post it. (Clarification: I have seen authors write this that I thought WERE in character.)
4) Alternate Universe stories are fine, but for goodness sakes, don't take a movie, replace the names with Ben 10 characters, and then post it. For example, let's say you wanted to do a Beauty and the Beast story. You can't just take the script the writers at Disney wrote and replace "Beast" with "Kevin", "Beauty" with "Gwen", "Lumiere" with "Ben", etc. Think about how those characters would act in that situation. Adapt as needed.
5. No one wants to read about how madly in love Ben/Kevin/everyone is with your OC. Please don't bother with this stuff.
That's all for now, but I'll also add this:
Quick Guide to a Well Written Original Character
These are just a series of questions, really.
1) Nobody is automatically liked by everyone. So if your character is the center of popularity, you probably should fix them.
2) I can not stress this enough - do not pair your OC with a main character. It's not going to happen. Especially if that character has a canon relationship. You're better off not bothering.
3) Your character should not be stronger than the strongest character in the show. So, in Ben 10: Alien Force, your OC, if they have powers (and it seems that all the OCs in this world do), then they should be weaker than Ben, at least. If they are new to their powers, they should not be able to beat any of the main three characters.
4) Does your character have the same name as you? Or a similar name? Or the name you wish you had? If the answer to any of these is yes, just please..please...get rid of that OC. Do not write a story with them.
5) Your character does not have the omnitrix. No. They do not, I don't care how far in the future you go. I don't care if they're the great, great, great grandson of Ben Tennyson. Also, there are no copies of the omnitrix that your character happened to get (do you remember what happened to Albedo? And if you have a female character, do you really want them stuck looking like Ben, especially when they're trying to romance Ben?)
This has basically been a rant. Because I'm not nice. I'm sure I'm guilty of at least one thing on either list (I used to write OCs. I shudder when I think of some of the awful fanfics I used to write). Please contribute more. This really isn't meant to be mean (so far, no one on this board has really done these things). It's more of a guide. Just simple things to make you stop and think before you post a story.
1) Know your characters. If they speak at all, if they appear for even a moment in your story, you must know how they would interact. Go back and study on them, on their mannerisms. For example - Kevin does not speak like a poet laureate. He does not think like one either. His grammar is often choppy, and/or incorrect. He, however, is the only character that you can let grammar slip on.
2) Get a beta reader. If you know you're not good at proper English, ask someone to read the story for you before you post it, and to correct all grammar mistakes. Yes, *everyone* makes mistakes, but if your sentence is something like "gwen an ben our getting in the car becauze kevin told them two", you're going to get a lot of complaints. Spell check is helpful, yes, but it's going to try to correct things that aren't wrong as well as what is. (ever tried writing "Verdona" in there?). Better to get a living person to do it for you.
3) If when you're writing the description, you have to write "OOC", then don't bother to post it. (Clarification: I have seen authors write this that I thought WERE in character.)
4) Alternate Universe stories are fine, but for goodness sakes, don't take a movie, replace the names with Ben 10 characters, and then post it. For example, let's say you wanted to do a Beauty and the Beast story. You can't just take the script the writers at Disney wrote and replace "Beast" with "Kevin", "Beauty" with "Gwen", "Lumiere" with "Ben", etc. Think about how those characters would act in that situation. Adapt as needed.
5. No one wants to read about how madly in love Ben/Kevin/everyone is with your OC. Please don't bother with this stuff.
That's all for now, but I'll also add this:
Quick Guide to a Well Written Original Character
These are just a series of questions, really.
1) Nobody is automatically liked by everyone. So if your character is the center of popularity, you probably should fix them.
2) I can not stress this enough - do not pair your OC with a main character. It's not going to happen. Especially if that character has a canon relationship. You're better off not bothering.
3) Your character should not be stronger than the strongest character in the show. So, in Ben 10: Alien Force, your OC, if they have powers (and it seems that all the OCs in this world do), then they should be weaker than Ben, at least. If they are new to their powers, they should not be able to beat any of the main three characters.
4) Does your character have the same name as you? Or a similar name? Or the name you wish you had? If the answer to any of these is yes, just please..please...get rid of that OC. Do not write a story with them.
5) Your character does not have the omnitrix. No. They do not, I don't care how far in the future you go. I don't care if they're the great, great, great grandson of Ben Tennyson. Also, there are no copies of the omnitrix that your character happened to get (do you remember what happened to Albedo? And if you have a female character, do you really want them stuck looking like Ben, especially when they're trying to romance Ben?)
This has basically been a rant. Because I'm not nice. I'm sure I'm guilty of at least one thing on either list (I used to write OCs. I shudder when I think of some of the awful fanfics I used to write). Please contribute more. This really isn't meant to be mean (so far, no one on this board has really done these things). It's more of a guide. Just simple things to make you stop and think before you post a story.
) I think she cares a lot about both of them to really cut them off. Sure, it'd be awkward, but eventually it'd be back to normal - sort of.