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Unfortunetly I am not a writing goddess. If I were, I wouldn't need all these fun little features on my web site :) But I am an avid reader. And I am a Ronin Warriors fan, as well as a fan of many other things. ANYONE can be a critic. As long as you know something about what you are talking about. I have read so many fanfics....ahh geeze...lets not get into it. I have no life, leaving plenty of time to read. So my little hints come from a reader's point of view not a writer's. I cannot tell you how to write better. I can give you hints, turn you in the right path, and hope you get it right. Writing takes LOTS of practice, and a will on your part to spend a lot of time doing it. This is where me having no life is an advantage :) Well, anyway, the following is my opnions only, not anyone elses. My opinions may not be shared by Sayuri, or anyone else by that matter.
As a reader, one thing I LIVE for is detail. I love to know how the sun is hiting the leaf of the tree. I relish in knowing how what George said makes the hair on her neck rise, unlike it ever has before. Details can make your heart beat fast, they can slow it down. They build suspense and make your characters believable. BUT do not go over board. Some people do not like detail, and some people do (just not overly). Do not go into a ten page description of the house your characters live in. And use colorful words. Words that paint a vivid picture in the readers' mind.
Next, original ideas are awesome. They are signature ideas that can set an author apart from the rest. I do not like writing fanfics about over used ideas. I look at things from a different angle. I don't sit there and think for two hours "original idea...original idea..." They actually come to me when I am watching tv, cleaning my room, etc. For example, I am currently working on a fanfic called "Turning Point." A "Trailor" of sorts is currently in the fanfiction section. Anyway, how many fanfics do you read centered around how raw power takes over the soul? ops...I was talking like a writer there..sorry.....WELL the point is still the same. Original pieces of work are some of the best kind. But do not over LOOK the over USED ideas. Don't look at me like I am *insane* I have a point. Almost nothing is better than reading an over used idea, turned into a materpiece. If you read 200 fanfics about 5 new armors that suck, and you come across one that is well written--it blows your mind away. For example, I read a fanfic about best friends. This fanfic was a N'Sync fanfic. I am not as big a fan of them as I used to be (due to their atempt to look like rock stars) but this one author keeps me interested in them. SO many fanfics about N'Sync are about best friends being torn apart or falling in love once the guy becomes famous. But THIS fanfic was different. This author took her time to develop her characters and her ideas. And in the end came out with one of the best fanfics EVER. See, and over used idea (done well) is just as good as a new idea.
You knew this one was coming....::dun dun dun:: The ever present ::screams:: MARY-SUE!!! Ah...Mary-Sue..fanfics seem to go hand in hand with her. And not just Ronin Warriors fanfiction. I have read many kinds of fanfics, and she is all types. If an absolutely beautiful woman, with curves of a goddess, silky hair, and a sweet, innocent, humble outlook is found--Mary-Sue has been there. A Mary-Sue is a character that is not original. The author took little or *no* time creating her. She is powerful, beautiful, innocent, and gets paired up with a Ronin. She is perfect. And in reality--perfection does not exist. I no not care *THAT* much is a beautiful person is in the fanfic. She can even be nice and generous. Some people are like that in reality. They are rare, but exist. But if she has no flaws what so ever, that is different. All of that put on top of the fact that Sage falls in love with her in .00000000000000000000000000000001 seconds, and she falls in love just as fast, I get pissed. Now THAT does not happen. Beautiful people with nice personalities I can take...but THIS?! No way in hell. I get all worked up when I think about it. If you want realism....develop the love. Show some hesitancy on his/her part. Love is uncertain, it is raw and beautiful. And it takes TIME. Do not fear time, it is a great ally. If you are unsure about showing the process of falling in love, just take a step back, and think. With in the process, steps exist. The two meeting is, of course, the first step. Then the characters must spend time getting to become friends. Get to know each other's quirks and habits. If you love someone, you love everything about them. Their smile, the face they give when they are confused, the way their eyebrow twitches when they concentrate, EVERYTHING. The way they look when they yell or the way they are so open. How can you love someone when you do not know them. Step Three can be one of two things, I guess. One can be straight to love. The other can be dating. Getting to know someone on that level. Of course, the steps I believe in are based on my belief that you must KNOW someone before this happens, and spend time together. Some people have a more "Romeo and Juliet" Philosophy. Love at first sight, basically. The fact that they killed themselves, thinking the other was dead after knowing each other for like 4 days, points to either love, lust, or insanity. Sheakspeare was known for seeing well into how people work. But R+J IS a story, and I do not believe in love at first sight. Wow....I trailed off on that one. As a closing, Mary-Sue can ruin an other wise good fanfic, and so can hurried love.
-By Nasuko
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