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Yo! Ranma here! Heard you got
problems getting started in ya own fanfics about me? Well now, I can't
let that happen, so I 'juz gonna hafta help you! Hey, I've been practicing
a lot since that last whacking Hinako-sensei gave me, so I ain't all that
bad!
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1) Format -
First of all, you'll want to know
HOW to write your story. What style of writing do you want? You can write
it in a manner of ways. Here are some :
Script-Prosse -
This is a hybrid of the two forms
mentioned below. Using script format to write speech and prosse methods
to write the story, this is a very popular way of writing.
For sentences, I'll write the name
first, then what they wish to say. I'll put in some mini actions while
the person is saying it. In between sentences, the story itself unfolds,
like a composition. This is my favorite style, because it is neat and youknow
who's talking. However, the actions during speech are not as detailed,
but I leave it up to the person who's reading it to use his/her imagination.
Example :
It is raining. Ranma is running
down the street without an umbrella. She is cursing her bad luck.
Ranma (C) : "Why does it have to rain now?"
*Achoo!*
Ranma sneezes. She sniffles, and
keeps running, towards the Tendou Dojo. She is thinking about nice,
hot baths and good food by Kasumi.
Ranma (C) : "Unless Akane is doing the cooking, that is." (Grinning)
Storybook (also known as prosse)
-
This is the more common style of
writing, which is also a preferable style for those who prefer to print
it and read it like a storybook. It is good for the fact that actions can
be much more detailed while the person is speaking, giving the reader a
much better idea of what's going on. The problem is, sometimes you lose
track of who's speaking, but otherwise, it's a great way to write. (Preferably,
the optimum way to write.)
Example :
It is raining. Ranma is running
down the street without an umbrella. She is cursing her bad luck. "Why
does it have to rain now!?" she laments. Then she sneezes, and sniffles.
She keeps running towards the Tendou Dojo, thinking about nice, hot baths
and good food by Kasumi.
"Unless Akane is doing the cooking,
that is." she says, grinning despite the rainwater entering her mouth.
Script-only -
This isn't very recommended unless
you're a literature student, since it's all words and very little action.
Of course, if you're writing a script for a manga of your own (known as
Doujinshis), go ahead!
Example :
Ranma : "Why does it have to rain now? At least there's good food back home."
Pause
Ranma : "Unless Akane's cooking, that is."
2) Title, chapters, series', and the little things that matter. -
I'll go into titles first. You'll want to come up with something interesting, yet matches the story you wish to write. Is the story on Shampoo? Ryoga? Or is it a generalised story, using everyone and focusing on very few people at any one time? A good example would be something like what a contributor, Kyo Kusanagi, used.
"Jusenkyo's Curse"
Why use CURSE? you ask. Simple. If
you read the story, he wrote that one of the cursed springs carry a malignant
spirit bent on destroying the world or something, when it was released
by someone who jumped in. Would you say that Jusenkyo was cursed
to contain that spirit, actually a demon? Worse, it is cursed to let that
demon wreak havoc on the world?
A curse on the world, released by
Jusenkyo, itself cursed. Isn't it ironic? It also makes a good title, with
an inner meaning. Try thinking of something creative, yet meaningful for
yourstory title.
Chapters and series : (A little confusing)
People normally write stories in
multiple parts, calling them "chapters". These can mean many things. Chapters
can mean continuing from another story, by itself as another file, or it
could mean simply another break in the story itself within the same file.
An example... let's take,say.... Careful Destiny and my own stories, Is
blood thicker than Shampoo? and To the Light or Darkness.
Careful Destiny (Found in my links
page) writes the thing in section-chapters. Let's take the first four chapters.
While the story itself is named
Careful Destiny, it has been divided into "Ground Zero", "Appointment with
Destiny", "Regrets and Recriminations" and "Under Construction".
These are the chapters.
However, these chapters are then redivided into sections, "Ground Zero part 1", "Ground Zero part 2", etc, for a grand total of 4 sections to 1 chapter. 4 chapters would mean 16 sections. That's alot to read, considering the chapters have been divided into 4 files, each one containing a different section, but all continuing the chapter as a whole.
These chapters and sections correlate
to the main title itself, following the story all the way and therefore
need not go under other main titles. What do I mean?
Here's what.
I wrote Is blood thicker than Shampoo? as a single story, following a major storyline of Shampoo and her sister, but at the same time, following the overall storyline of a mysteriousshadow. It ends as soon as the emphasis on the relation between sisters is over, and I begin with To the Light or Darkness, which still follows the overall storyline using the shadow butwith an emphasis between Ranma and Akane now.
However, I do not place them under a single main title, but under a Series title, The Dark Chronicles, because they would not link up if I used a Main Title. Even so, within the stories themselves, I have now placed in sub-chapters, seperating and classifying the story into its components. That means within a single story and file itself, I have divided it into several segments.
Example : I will use the story......
Is blood thicker than Shampoo? (This is the first chapter and part of the second chapter of the story.)
{Something strange in the neighbourhood....}
It's a typical busy
day at the Neko Hanten, as hungry customers move in and out of the Cat
Cafe, chatting, betting,
thinking, but all
hungry. And as usual, Shampoo is busy serving custormers, and is currently
balancing a half
dozen bowls on her
arms and head, carrying bowls of ramen, beef noodle soup, and fried noodles
towards a table
full of boys just
out from a school day at Furinkan.
Shampoo : "Here you go. Ramen, beef noodle soup, fried noodles."
Shampoo throws the
bowls on her arms into the air, and as they come down, she catches them
one by one and
sets them down, but
misses one. It nearly lands on one of the boys, who tries to avoid the
bowl, but Shampoo
catches it..... barely.
She quickly sets the bowl down, and apologizing, backs off, turns around,
and bumps into
another customer.
She spins around and starts apologizing to him as well.
Shampoo : "Oh! Dui bu qi! Dui bu qi!" (Dui bu qi = Sorry!)
<....~Cut out uneeded reading~....>
{Double Trouble!}
"Ranma! Wait for me!"
<Shampoo? Oh, stupid
me! I forgot she's making a delivery to the Tendous'! I must be letting
my stomach get to
my brain!>
......................and so the story continues. As you can see, it's continuous, not divided into several individual files on the same story. This is important if you're writing several stories that have different main themes, but a similar overall theme. If you've followed me this far and you're still clear on this, you're going good!
Notes :
Notes are important to let the reader
know what you're thinking of when you're writing the story. They can be
at the top or at the bottom of the story, although it would be a spoiler
at the top. Remember to put in credits so the respective owners of the
Manga series you've based the fanfic on won't sue. :)
You can write what you were thinking
of when the story was underway, you can write what you hope the story will
instill in the reader. Notes are a useful way to have the reader understand
the writer's personality within the story.
Legends :
"What are those strange *s and <xxx>s
I'm seeing?" you ask. Well, it's not going to do the readers any good if
they have to puzzle out the little quibbles and quotes in your story, is
it?
A legend is simple. Just put down
the symbols you're going to use and write the meaning.
Here's one from my own.
Legend :
{xxxx} means a new chapter.
(xxxx) means an insignificant action on the character's part during speech.
*xxx* Are for certain sound effects & stressed words.
Italics are for past events that are shown "on screen", and for
emphasis on certain words.
Also for "read aloud" thoughts.
<xxx> are for thoughts within sentences.
(C) Besides names are for their cursed forms during speech.
So, now you understand what a legend
is? You should, or you've been missing out on years of school. (Yes, I
know most of us have whether it be sleeping in class, skipping them or
generally not paying attention, but let's just pretend that we did
attend school and pay full attention. ^_^)
Remember to put it AT THE TOP or
else your readers are going to curse you. (And I don't mean Jusenkyo!)
Plot Preview :
Always consider what you're writing
as you write. Sometimes you have a clear idea as to what your story is
going to evolve into, eventually, but keep in mind that most stories tend
to grow in their own little ways. And always, ALWAYS go back to the start
of your story and read it again every once in a while. Preferably, keep
to a general idea of what your story is going to be like.
Congratulations if you've made it
this far. 
Promote yourself to the next step.
This is a tough one to figure out.
Sure, you know the way they're supposed to speak in English and Japanese,
but why they speak it, well.... that's something else, isn't it?
To help you along the way, you should
really try reading the Interview with Rumiko Takahashi html file in The
Ranma 1/2 FAQ (also in my Links page). She speaks of the personalities
of some of the characters in the series. Experience in the field also helps.
Here's a general idea of the personalities I think these characters possess.
It's up to you to decide.
(Again, if you're from my Ah!
My Goddess page, you don't need to read about the characters.)
Ranma : Stubborn, Sore-loser, Confident,
Greedy (food), Thick-Headed, Loves Akane
secretly, martial arts smart, academic studies stupid, hides feelings.
Genma : Plain greedy, demands respect
from Ranma, wimp/coward, turns to cursed form for
answer.
Soun : Emotional, loves children,
wimp (a little), worst fear is being an unfit father, keeps
his honor.
Akane : Loves Ranma secretly, horrible
at domestic chores, hides feelings under violence,
confident, over eager to learn.
Nabiki : SMART, cunning, mercenary,
also caring about her family.
Kasumi : Partially ignorant to going
ons, innocent, hard to fool, empathic.
Cologne : Stubborn (Shampoo's marriage
to Ranma), sensitive to mention of age, helpful when
needed.
Happosai : Plain lecherous.
Ryoga : Expresses emotions easily,
hard to express feelings verbally (to Akane), easily
depressed, simple.
Mousse : Loves Shampoo, does anything
for her, listens to Cologne.
Kuno : Always believes Akane and
the Pig-Tailed Goddess loves him, no matter what they do,
believes Ranma has done something evil to them, thinks poetry is romantic,
stubborn.
Kodachi : Plain mad, especially
when it comes to Ranma. Loves to make other fiancees jealous
with her doctored photos.
Shampoo : Simple, loves Ranma, hates
other fiancees of Ranma, straightforwards,
determined.
Ukyo : Loves Ranma, helpful, constantly
scheming to rid other fiancees of Ranma, loves
Okinomiyaki business.
These are mostly what I generally
think of the main characters in the story. You can add some flavor to the
story with your own ideas expressed through the character's character,
and see the results.
A point to note is that, you have
to think of what the other party will say and how they will respond to
a certain person's sentence, and the inflection of that sentence. Not everyone
will have the same response to a single question. Shampoo might agree,
but Ukyo might say it's suicide, Akane might say only if someone doesn't
go, and Cologne might say that it won't work without Shampoo. What could
the question be, it could be a hundred different possibilities. The unpredictability
factor here plays an important role. Just remember to stick to your storyline
loosely.
Emotions :
The most important thing here is
emotions. You can't expect to say, for example, a man telling Shampoo that
Ranma's dead, and all she says is "Oh." without even the slightest trace
of remorse or sadness. Of course, you know that since the personalities
here dictate the emotions, things can really happen. Ranma can suddenly
become brave to admit his feelings for Akane, while Shampoo might suddenly
become as cunning as Nabiki, while the others try to react properly to
this change. Maybe Cologne might encourage Shampoo to try out new plan,
while Ukyo cries herself to death because Ranma has admitted his love for
Akane and now nobody can have him. Shampoo's determination here plays an
important role because she
just won't give up her love for
Ranma, and neither does Cologne give up on her great-granddaughter.
So far, I've touched on how to write the story, how you're going to seperate it, and how the characters in the story will react to different situations, now comes the story itself.
Working through the basics of what you're going to write, coming up with the title, and then working through the chapters you'll be writing, now comes the real thing.
Pointers -
Don't be afraid to change your story's
title, or the name of a chapter. It's better the title is sculpted around
the story more than the story around the title, unless you're dead serious
on the title.
Be brave, don't be afraid to add some unexpected things a character might do into the story. Just don't make them too numerous, or too radical to the point of changing the story unrecognizably.
As you write your story, always remember to check back from the top to make sure the whole thing connects. If it doesn't, tweak a little here and there. Sometimes you'll miss out on an entire segment/chapter that connects the whole thing together, and this'll leave the reader in the dark. Add the required chapter, think of what needs to be done to continue on with the story.
5) Additional bits of advice!
Be spontaenous - If you come up with an idea, anywhere, anytime, remember it. Repeat it to yourself, mentally, verbally, whatever works. If you have a pen and paper, write it down. If you think of it during your writing sessions, type it down. If you think of it before you sleep, keep a pen and paper by your side. It doesn't hurt to keep the idea in mind, wherever it may be in your fic.
Be on time - Find your own writing time, when you think and write best. If you write best in the mornings, do it then. If it's in the mornings and night, go ahead. Just keep writing until you find that your writing is becoming dull, or you think you're becoming dull. Then you can find out what time you write best and when you can't write. Of course, you can't always be constant, so don't punish yourself.
Rush-me-not - If you're writing a fic that you've already posted chapters for and you promised another one soon, forget that. Nothing makes worse writing than posting chapters that are not ready up because you had a deadline. Compromise : Post it if you have to, but remember to add : "This chapter is still under consideration" or something. So if you ever have to change it, or find that you're dissatisfied with it, the readers can't complain.
No forced labour - Sometimes, you just can't think of anything even during your best writing hours. Don't force yourself to keep writing if you're really out of ideas, sometimes you might think of something, mostly you might not. If you feel that you can't write any more, just go and do something else. Go out, read a manga, eat something, maybe nap. When you come back an hour or two later, you might find that you've picked up your zest for writing again. You might even pick up inspiration then!
If you've written stories in school, you'll know how to write a good fanfiction. Go ahead and try it. Congratulations, you've just finished my tutorial.
Additional pointers :
Read, read and read again! - You must have your own set of standards for a story. You don't have to go back to the start of a chapter when you're done with it, but go back every few chapters and get the feel for the story thus far. You'll be surprised at how far off the track you can go sometimes. Always feel free to improvise your plot, but check back again to make sure it holds.
Write what you know - Nothing is more defeating that total ignorance at what you are writing about, and often as not, it happens. Of course, nobody is expected to know everything (which is why fantasy novels are easy and fun to write!) but even some basic dummy's knowledge helps. (And I, for one, am a dummy.) If you want to write about something you DO know nuts about, well, you're on the world's most extensive information network in the world absorbing information on how to write a fanfic (or any story, for that matter), so go and open another page and do some research. Short of the classified stuff only those in the business know about (and you're probably going to get arrested if you write about it anyway), you're probably going to find what you want... under the junk that is overinformation.
Plot types - Everyone knows these. Comedies, mysteries, gothics, tragedies,
drama, sometimes even complete juxtapositioning of the story's general
theme! You decide what you want to write, or it will decide itself as you
write. But keep in mind that some stories don't do well with certain plot
types (or you'd have to be damned good to do it) and keep to the writing
style.
A quick synopsis on some of them -
Gothic stories : Always very descriptively graphic, very dark atmospheres,
always mysterious with the factor of the unknown, tension, stress and definitely
using fear as the driving factor. Very hard to accomplish. (Just read Edgar
A. Poe, any of his works.)
Comedies : Light hearted stuff, fine for everyone. Bright and cheerful
descriptions work, as do the regular joke or humourous act. Not completely
serious where it counts, yet never macabre or mocking. Funny, in other
words. Pleasantly funny.
Tragedy : Hm... Julius Caesear comes to mind. Emotional stories, with
the story working to bond you to one particular character, making you feel
for that character, building up your love or sympathy or whatever positive
emotion, then killing that character off is the most common way to write.
Often focuses on the plight of one or another character as well, to justify
a particular action, perhaps the killing of a dear one in a fit of rage
or the sacrificing of one life for millions more. Often the theme throughout
the story will be that of emotional turmoil.
Drama : The most common, like soap operas where the settings are often
casual affairs. The common life of a person, or persons, things that happen
that affect the person's life, occasionally lulling back into a more humdrum
routine, but always revolving around a particular event or events. These
will provide for the excitement, be it an affair that sparks an argument,
a friend in dire trouble, or perhaps a personal tragedy.
Mystery : Whodunnit? Probably one of the most overdone and underachieved
plot types (on its own), it takes talent nowadays to make any of these
reasonably readable. But the general thing is that something strange happens,
many things that happen are obscure/unclear, it is designed to keep you
interested in what happens next because nothing is what it seems. It's
the kind that lets you know a tiny bit here, a tiny bit there, but you
never stop reading because you're hoping it eventually leads to the big
bit.
Probably the most popular, at any rate. Mostly found paired with the
gothic, tragic, political (always interesting in my book) or dramatic plot
types. (Read Tom Clancy's monster, Rainbow Six lately?)
You can go to my
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- Main Page
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pages.
