Re: CL Fanfiction

by **AeonFrodo** Sat May 12, 2012 6:51 pm

Atlas501 wrote:It'll be sort of like the Freedom Endings from Catherine.

For this line only, I think that the post above is somewhat directed at me.

Are you challenging me? Razz

by **Atlas** Sat May 12, 2012 7:03 pm

AeonFrodo wrote:
Atlas501 wrote:It'll be sort of like the Freedom Endings from Catherine.
For this line only, I think that the post above is somewhat directed at me.

Are you challenging me?

By all means, go for it.

However it was simply the first example that came to mind.

by cya6 Sun May 13, 2012 1:32 pm

Meh, I have no idea if I write my action scenes well, so I have no advice to give on writing. Though when I do read, I find myself skipping over some scenes if I can't picture it. My biggest issue with any action scene, if the reader can't picture the scene and moves, then nothing is going to make sense.

by Adventurer411 Tue May 15, 2012 6:05 pm

Same for me, cya. If I have to re-read more than once then I know I won't understand quickly and find myself skipping over it.

Which is why one of the important aspects of writing action is to keep it short, cut, and to the point. Don't try and shove two sentences together like we try to sneak in during description. I do it too but always try to cut that extra off.

by SeeMeInTheShadows Mon Jun 18, 2012 11:50 am

I just skip over actions scenes in general. I figure if something major happens in it with any real repurcussions, then I'll find out about it eventually and then I can go back and reread.

What personally I didn't understand about the CL fandom was that, at least a while ago, there were about a billion Interview stories. I didn't read all of them, so I can't say if any were good, but overall they seemed pointless to me (just my opinion, like in the Percy Jackson fandom I don't read the "soandso read The Lightening Thief" or in NCIS I don't read all the spanking stories)

by **aelitaxwilliam** Mon Jun 18, 2012 12:28 pm

I mostly skim action scenes. I don't take the time to read them in depth, because chances are, there isn't any soul searching going on in a life-or-death scene. No, there's fighting, and I don't have to meticulously search through every word to find the deeper meaning.

I think a few interview stories is fine, but if there were a lot of them, that would've bothered me. What mostly irks me now is the "make your own OC" stories. I just don't get why. I don't see many that turn out well (I can't speak for them all since I don't go out of my way to read them).

by cya6 Mon Jun 18, 2012 12:39 pm

In my experience, they NEVER work. the author only makes one or two chapters before calling it quits.

On the other hand, one girl put her story up for adoption, and it was adopted by me (because you all know I don't have ANY stories I'm currently working on Razz

)

Anyways, I finished chapter 7 a few weeks ago, and the story is pushing 20,000 words, so I think I've done pretty good with it.

by **aelitaxwilliam** Mon Jun 18, 2012 1:04 pm

All I know is that they're usually not that well-written either. And I can see how that happens. If you're not even going to try to think up your own characters, why would you go ahead and write twenty chapters of a fulfilling story?

No, Cya, you don't have any other stories! What in the world are you talking about (this is your crazy speaking, isn't it).

Random, but I also love spy stories. They're just so awesome.

by Guest Mon Jun 18, 2012 2:55 pm

There are one or two great interview stories out there. AudiKatia (phenomenal author) also did "ten things you probably didn't know". Lune something similar too? Can't remember.

All OC stories and "author joins the LWs" are a big no to me. I tried reading an OC story once and the author was actually good, but it was left unfinished. Also, it's hard to make a decent story with 10+ new characters running around.

by cya6 Mon Jun 18, 2012 5:17 pm

I'm trying. I have to say, I enjoy writing it, but it gets very little hits/review/ect. I can't even get the people who's OCs are in it to read it, but I do get a bunch of readers now and then.

But gee, thanks for writing off all stories in the genre as poorly written. I'll just take my shattered little ego back to my documents. Sad

by Soul Jelly Mon Jun 18, 2012 5:22 pm

There are good OC stories. (Code LYOKO: Fragmented Legacies comes to mind, and Cya's fic would surely be worth a mention if I'd read any of it and could accurately pass judgement Wink

)

That said, I do tire of the genre easily. There are so many characters in CL already, it's more interesting to me if someone fleshes out an existing minor character and expands the CL universe rather than just throwing someone completely new in. But like I say, there are fics who do it well.

by cya6 Mon Jun 18, 2012 5:28 pm

I agree. I'm not saying I like reading OC stories, though I will if my OCs are in them. I'm just saying they're not all bad.

I've written a few fics that have OCs in them, one is more plot device-y, the other is a character from the past. That's it. I can't think of another story I have (from CL) that uses a OC as an main character, of my 6 current CL stories.

To be honest, OCs in the summary turn me off horribly. That's why my XaJuWriMo story has "not an OC story" in the summary, cause otherwise it's summary would prove a turn off.

Question: What makes a good OC? What kind of character? What role? Ect...

by Guest Mon Jun 18, 2012 5:47 pm

Just in case something was directed at me, by "all OC stories" I meant a story with OC characters only. They are a big no to me. Stories with OCs in it are as good as anything else to me as long as the character is realistic. I defended them in a topic somewhere on this forum. Last year or the year before I nominated fics like Code: moon/Code: twilight silent void and other fav stories I can't remember for best OC. So, yeah... There's no reason why stories with OCs shouldn't work. FLs is great too. The author is watfics or something similar if I am not mistaken.

by cya6 Mon Jun 18, 2012 6:12 pm

Ok Legend, but what makes a good OC? I'm all for reading them, but there are WAY too many stories which is just a typical:

"So-and-so is [fill in the blank's] cousin/sibling/roomate/old love interest. When they see [fill in the blank] heading off to an old factory, they follow them. Will the LWs accept their newest member?"

OR

"So-and-so is new to Kadic, but what happens when they run into the Lyoko Warriors and finds out their crazy connection to the five main characters?"

they just seem all the same. So, another question: How do you write a summary that can draw someone in? I think everyone knows summaries are hard, any tips?

by SeeMeInTheShadows Tue Jun 19, 2012 4:43 am

For me, I'm a character person. Characters are pretty much the reason I watch a show, and by default, read it's fanfiction. So my problem with OCs is they draw the attention away from characters I care about. My test for OCs is pretty much if you can skip to three random chapters and if see if they're mentioned more than the real character.

However, OCs can be done well, and I've found that the best way to go about them is to slowly add them in.

Of course this says pretty much nothing about all OC stories. I don't particularly have anythign against them, but they're just not what I came to the fandom to read, the same way I don't read AxJ or any fics with suicide.

I would say the best way to write a summary would be, without mentioning the OC, say things are changing and they need more help than ever before.

by Dobermutt Tue Jun 19, 2012 6:31 am

SeeMeInTheShadows wrote:For me, I'm a character person. Characters are pretty much the reason I watch a show, and by default, read it's fanfiction. So my problem with OCs is they draw the attention away from characters I care about. My test for OCs is pretty much if you can skip to three random chapters and if see if they're mentioned more than the real character..

I agree. I don't mind people using OCs, but don't forget about the original characters. They are what made the show for someone to write the fan fiction in the first place. But I have no problem with someone making an OC fic, I just don't really care for them as much.

by Stella Luce 333 Tue Jun 19, 2012 7:55 am

I kind of agre with Legnd. I don't mind OC's, but if thre's way too many of them, that's sort of a turn off...

For the summry, I sort of tret like it's a tag line for a film...Somthng that tells you a litle abot the plot, but dosn't say too much in ordr to try & catch a redr's intrst...

by **aelitaxwilliam** Tue Jun 19, 2012 9:03 am

I'm pretty turned off my reading anything with OCs in it if the summary goes like what Cya's saying.

I just feel like it's not very realistic to put an OC in and it's extremely difficult. It can be done and I have seen it done fantastically, but that's not the case for the majority of OC stories. It's just very hard because you have to make it believable that the LWs would tell an outsider their secret, trust a family member from America they've barely seen (or have never mentioned even though they're supposedly really close).

If there's a new cast of characters, I probably wouldn't read it. I want to read about Ulrich, Aelita, Jeremie, Odd Yumi. I also want to read about Sissi and Wiliam and all those other characters. I'm not looking to read about a cast of characters that weren't in CL originally running around.

by cya6 Tue Jun 19, 2012 4:13 pm

Yeah, but I see so many of those Razz

My OCs, well, one's more typical, a figure from their past. The other, I think, is quite a bit more original.

For me, summary's have to sound unique, but I also look for, well, what I like in the summary. Sadly, when I write them, I try too hard to not give away everything.

by Stella Luce 333 Wed Jun 20, 2012 7:46 am

You sholdn't give away evrythng, but try just hintng at what's to come...

by **Koneko on lyoko** Wed Jun 20, 2012 11:38 am

I think it's fun to write fics with OCs in, but I never enjoy reading them and I doubt people would want to read mine. Any OC fics I have spend their lives floating around my head and that's it XD
When I think about it, the first CL fic I read was an OC one, but I really liked it...but I read it before I got an FF account so I can't find it :L

by Adventurer411 Wed Jun 20, 2012 1:02 pm

^^ Try and make it sound compelling without saying a whole lot about OCs or the story. (When you throw new students, monstrous monsters,
mysterious mysteries, puzzling puzzles, and rib-tickling romance into
the mix of the Lyoko warrior's lives, things can get very complicated in
a very rapid fashion. And dangerous, maybe even deathly if the warriors
can't escape the web of secrets that's slowly closing in on them)
is a description of mine... I think Code Lyoko: Fragmented legacies description is a nice example of a good description.

by SeeMeInTheShadows Fri Jun 22, 2012 3:16 pm

Okay, this may be a rapid change of topic, but in general, what is an ideal chapter length. Going off the assumption that some forms of writing (drabbles specifically) have different 'acceptable' word counts, does anyone here have a specific target range they look for.

For instance, I don't read multi-chapter fics unless they have over 1,000 words per chapter, and even then that's the lowest possible word count. I'm not saying it's bad to have less, I just find that if you're going to bother to write a multichap I would rather you take the time to really develop it, and that is much harder with smaller chapters and so on. There are definite examples, of course (one of my favorite NCIS author never writes chapters longer than 1,000).

Of course, othere people's opinions may differ.

by cya6 Fri Jun 22, 2012 3:19 pm

I usually write 1-3k chapters, with 1.5-2k being my most common.

Reading, however, because I feel busy, I don't like reading long chapters. I prefer under 2k.

What I hate, are stories that are one chapter and 7k words. I can't read those, because it's too hard to find out where I left.

by Soul Jelly Fri Jun 22, 2012 3:24 pm

cya6 wrote:
What I hate, are stories that are one chapter and 7k words. I can't read those, because it's too hard to find out where I left.

*Looks at own 10k oneshot*
*Shuffles away*

And to answer your question Shadows - however many words it needs. I like substantial chapters, so I try to go for 3k-4k. Sometimes the fic just feels right as a oneshot though, so I'll put it into one chapter no matter how long it is.

I don't mind reading long chapters, but the story has to be really good.

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