fanfic redux

[Zoidmagnite]

I've been playing around with my Blitz Team Fanfic again (the one farther back on this sub-forum). I went back to the beginning, cleaned up the writing, and tweaked some of the plot bunnies. I guess I feel a strong motivation to finish the story.

I was wondering if anyone around here wanted to read it, or if I should find another place on the big 3W to post it. Currently, I'm up to Chapter 15 and running a tad over 1000 words a Chapter. For some reason, I'm finding 1k word Chapters about right for keeping the story moving and (hopefully) riveting.

If I do post it here, I would post a separate comments thread for comments only as I discussed during the last run with the story. I think it just makes for cleaner reading on the readers part since there are going to be several Chapters.

So, what says everyone (or anyone?). Post it here, or somewhere else?

Thanks for your thoughts.

ZM

[Maethius]

I think you should post it here and on Zoids Poison. Why not post it on several boards?

[Zoidmagnite]

I suppose I can do at least Pheno's and ZP. I don't want to go crazy posting the story all over the place if I find I need to tweak things until I get to the conclusion. That'd be way too many locations to keep track of. But once the story is done, I guess there's no reason why I couldn't post it all over the place. Thanks for the idea, Maethius. Much appreciated (as always )

[Tilly]

There's also fanfiction.net, though I'd definitely wait to post there until you have a final copy, since the document manager's annoying.

That or you could post it only there and then link to it on the various forums? Then there's only one copy to edit.

(Or post on Archive of Our Own, which I really need to punt my own Zoids stuff to. It has hardly any fics for Zoids D:. If it still requires an invite, just request one, it shouldn't take long.)

[Zoidmagnite]

Good thoughts. I've been hesitant to make use of FFn, but it's something to consider.

Will ponder.

[zodd]

Hell I'd prolly' read it. Post it up.

[raykong]

First of all, hello Zoidmagnite!

Secondly, IMO I'd go with Fanfiction.net. Like Tilly suggested, if you host it up there you only have to edit it in one location.

That way you can just make a thread, post a link to the story on FF.net, freeing the entire thread up for comments. And you can still post it on multiple forums without excessive editing!

[Zoidmagnite]

Good thoughts, however, I don't know if I want to be closely associated to fanfic overall. And FFn is all about fanfic.

Here, and on other Zoids forums devoted exclusively to the Zoids toyline, I don't see as strong a connection to the subject idea of 'fanfic.' Plus, the only universe I dabble with is the Zoids Universe. All of my other works are 100% original.

So, while I can appreciate the simplicity of the FFn idea, I still have some caution about where to post a story for the fans of Zoids (including the Zoids model kits, and other propoganda used to stimulate market interest in the product).

Currently, the story is holding a solid 15 Chapters, which are just shy of 17,000 Words. That puts the story into Novella territory, and heading strong and steady towards novel length. I'm kinda torn on many fronts.

[raykong]

I'm sorry, but I'm afraid I really don't understand what you're trying to communicate, Magnite.

You want to be cautious about where you post your Zoids fics because you don't want to be associated with fanfiction?

[Zoidmagnite]

Whoa!

I never said, I 'don't'

I said, I 'don't know'

Let me see if I can explain this from a different angle:

I collect Zoids and have a little fun writing fiction involving Zoids. I don't really have an interest in being a fan-fiction writer, in a general sense, because I really enjoy writing my own F&SF in my own worlds which have nothing to do with Zoids, or any other animated, or literary work as well. There's a bit of difference there on perspective.

When I think of a fanfiction writer, I think of someone who writes fanfic as a majority of their writing practice. I don't do that. I write mostly original fic, and every once in a while I dabble with stories that revolve around my interest in the Zoids model kit line (because I collect them), and the fan-fiction I write regarding Zoids may, or may not, include fiction with canon characters. More on this in a bit.

Now having said that, here is my understanding of fan-fiction writing as I have reviewed from Beta Reader profiles on FFn:

It is my understanding that fanfiction, in its purest form, does NOT deal with OCs at all for main characters, and it can be frowned upon, in the pure fan-fiction community, to even have OCs as supporting characters.

My Zoids fan-fiction may, or may not have OCs, though it typically does have OCs, so for someone wanting to read my Zoids fanfic on FFn, there may be a little turmoil as some readers are expecting to read fan-fic that deals only with canon characters from the Zoids Universe, which is typically CC/GF, NC0, Fuzors, and Genesis (yes, I know about Battle Story).

What this means is that, according to some of the Beta Reader profiles I read, they would NOT want to read my stories, "Trophies" which features ONLY OCs, or my story "Lost With Wild Berries" because the main character is an OC, or my story, "WAR!!" as it also is only OCs.

See the problem that I see with FFn?

The ONLY story I have that is even remotely close to what FFn Beta Readers (in general) prefer to read would be my Blitz Team Fan Fic ... BUT it is loaded with OCs, and I have inserted and tweaked the Universe to suit my ideas on the Technology that is used on Zi, and even more so, during Zoids Battle Competitions. In short, I've tweaked Zi in my NC0 fanfic to make it suit my needs and explore the canon characters as they develop after winning the Royal Cup. I've added lots of new problems and have come up with a deeper meaning for some other situations. I also use ONLY the NC0 anime as a baseline and did not reference any written work (official, or unofficial, or otherwise).

As such, I don't think FFn is a good fit for MOST of my Zoids Fiction, and that is why I don't know if I want to be closely associated with FFn. I also don't know if I want to be considered a fan-fiction writer because my Zoids fan-fiction is a seriously smaller part of my writing endeavors.

I write my Zoids fiction to please myself, and hope that others who like Zoids (and collect Zoids) will enjoy them as well. If other's like them then I'm elated to have entertained them, but I don't think I'm going to find those kinds of readers on FFn, based on the comments of several FFn beta reader profiles.

[raykong]

I'm afraid I still don't understand your apprehensions about being labeled a 'fanfiction writer'. Original or not, you're still free to post any work online. If it bothers you that much, you can always just change your screen name for your original work.

Regarding your concerns about FFn, I honestly think that most of them are baseless. I'm not sure what beta-reader profiles you've read, but for the most part I've never encountered one who 'will not read a story with OCs.' OCs are a large part of what makes fanfiction fan-fiction, and many stories on the site feature OCs.

Not to leave too fine a point, but none of my Zoid fics feature canon characters and all my fics are posted up on FFn. Readers on FFn will read your story regardless of whether or not you have OCs, and while some may be partial to canon characters, those are only a select few.

In short, your Blitz Team fic would be fine on FFn, as would the rest of your stories - OCs or not. The comments of a handful of beta-readers don't necessarily represent the entire community.

[Maethius]

I think you need to be upfront and bill yourself as you are; an original writer that also does fanfic.
When you post a fanfic, take the opportunity to point this out to your readers:

"Hell Hath No Fury" - a fanfic by self-publishing author Zoidmagnite (or your real/pen name)
For other works by the author, please visit... (location where your stories can be found).

[Tilly]

There'll always be people who whine about OCs, along with all the people who complain about any female character doing anything remotely competent as OMG MARY SUE!!1!. They can...go somewhere else, because I like good OCs.

Though you have reminded me I wanted to write Camford/female OC, just to see what all of the OCS THAT ARE LOVE INTERESTS = SELF-INSERT!!1! types make of that.

...what >_>?

[Zoidmagnite]

I think you need to be upfront and bill yourself as you are; an original writer that also does fanfic.

The rules of copyright are a little different for writers as opposed to artists, just ask your attorney.

So, while I can appreciate your idea, it would (at least with today's laws) actually create a 'conflict of interests' for me if I go pro.

In all honesty, if I were to ever go pro, I'm finding myself aligning myself with those authors that do support fan-fiction. I don't really have anything against it. I don't think fanfic writers try to hurt anybody, and there are times when fanfic writers need to follow rules set forth by authors that hold copyrights. And a little common sense there goes a long way.

But if I cross the line and become pro, with the current laws of copyrights and how they pertain to writers, I can never write fan-fiction again, unless under strict approval of the copyright holders. It's a shame, but it is the way things work for writers and our current laws.

Tilly: Wish fulfillment has existed long before fanfics.

[Shizuhara]

FFn can be a little intimidating, but here and over at poison you can expect generally nice people.

In order to maximize feedback (and so I can find it easily .-.,) why not post on those two sites and leave the FFn posting for later (or never?) As long as you update the files on a schedule rather than each change by itself, two locations will be easily manageable.

Whatever you do, rest assured I'll hunt it down...can't get enough of zoids Novellas+, though I usually prefer OCs for some reason.