fanfic My fanfic + the story behind it

[The Fangame Connoisseur]

Ok, this may be a little awkward but I felt I need to get it off my chest. So late last year, I got in the mood to write a Rejuvenation fanfiction, but I got stuck on the creative aspect for a while and sought the council from an acquaintance of mine. Turns out he was writing a Rejuvenation fanfic of his own but no longer has the time to write it, so he offered to give it to me, on the condition I kept a few minor changes to it. Well I happily adopted it and got to writing it, when word got around to me that the original fic wasn't all that popular, causing me to worry about how my take on it will fare. What would you recommend I do in the future to ensure that I can provide everyone with a satisfying read?

[Ojama Yellow]

as unfortunate as it may be, if your goal is to make your fanfic appealing to all readers, its nigh impossible. every reader has their own preferences of story or storytelling, so its impossible to appease all your potential readers. but dont worry too much about getting as many people as possible to read your story. while its fun (honestly understandably so) to hear that others read and enjoy your story, dont be too disappointed if your story doesnt get as much fans as you had hoped or expected. remember that everything you write is a path to becoming a better writer, which will eventually attract more readers as well.

 

first off, something that may sound obvious, but try to be as original as possible. for example, the backstory of "I found a hurt pokemon and nursed it back to health so it now likes me and its my starter". cool thing and all, but like half the fanfics out there use it as a starter. as great as a writer you may be, most people arent overly fond of reading something that theyve read ten times before. so try to avoid or take your own spin on the common clichés.

 

secondly, make your story appealing to actually read. constantly having long sentences of three lines or more, grammar or spelling mistakes commonly appearing in your story and bad paragraph formatting are big red sirens to most readers. proofread everything you write (preferably have someone else proofread it as well) before publishing. it sounds basic, but its amazing how many amateur-writers dont pay attention to this.

 

lastly, try to make a story that you made or that you are very close to. while its fun that your friend has given you a story you can use, its possible that youre not as close to the characters as your friend, the original writer, was. this may lead to more superficial and subsequently less interesting writing about the characters. this is just a nitpick on my part, though. if you feel like youre able to write it as well as your friend would, then do what you want to do.

 

most importantly, write something you have fun writing! if you sacrifice your free time creating something that youre not actually a fan of yourself, its only a matter of time before you drop it into obscurity.

 

thats all I can tell you, though. im only a beginning writer myself, so all my advice is rather basic. good luck!

[Commander]

I'll give you the same advice I give all writers: you gotta stop worrying about who gives you shit because who gives a shit.

 

If you're writing simply to impress people, you shouldn't be writing at all. You will have people criticize you and even call your stuff complete trash. Trust me, I've heard the full scale but the worst people oh the worst people you'll get are the people who lie to you and end up embarrassing you. It sucks starting out and maybe you're complete trash. You know what, so was I and so were so many people. The trick is to keep improving and striving to improve so maybe you have doubts and fears but you have to let those fears go and accept it. Remember writing is a hobby and not a job for you right now. Don't make yourself suffer over it. It is what it is and you can only go up in skill and talent.

 

Now for ideas that aren't your own I will be honest and say it's very difficult. Hate bringing Redux up but every time I have to change a line I feel dirty a little bit. You aren't the people who created these characters so what you may infer to be right may not be what the original creator wanted. This isn't a bad thing but it's hard to form something not yours into something good as you are a bit restricted. It's certainly possible so I'm not saying not do it but it really grinds down to how your creative mind works.

 

My advice is be ready to grow a spine and work on a way that is fun for you. Sure it drags a bit and there are ups and downs but if you really enjoy it you can't get through the downs. Motivation is the hardest part about writing because being honest it's quite a bit of work which is why I had to put it on hold for years at points. If you put the commitment it really is rewarding and I think that's what matters most, not how well you are recieved when you start out.

[The Fangame Connoisseur]

I understand. Thank you both for the honest feedback.