Quote:
Originally Posted by citac
I don't necessarily agree with the statement that a popular, sucessful idea makes it easier. I believe it can actually make it harder, especially because the ir a large number of writers who come in to write an episode of show, and have no interest or knowledge of a character and a story arc that came before. They come in and write their one-off story, and the audience goes, No, [character] would NEVER do that/act that way! Hence what in fanfiction would be known as OOC - Out Of Character - behavior, going against what was established previously. It's been a long time since I've seen it last, but I think Star Trek Voyager had this a lot; I certainly remember facepalming while watching some episodes. I like consistency in a character, as my viewing habits are very character driven - all my favorite shows had a large number of characters interacting regularly, such as Homicide: Life on the Street and Firefly, to name just a couple. Plot is welcome, but is not why I watch something. Maybe it's my own bias showing, but it seems to me a lot of fanfiction writers feel the same.
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I don't think that what's going on there is what you think.
Series shows have writer's bibles to inform new writers about those elements, and they have permanent producers and a show-runner who has final say about what gets produced. Brannon Braga, in latter-day Star Trek's case particularly, has expressed utter contempt for in-universe continuity and consistency, and was, very often, The Man who esbalished the character in the first place, so you can be sure that all those "Out of Character" moments you face-palmed over would have occurred even if he was the one and only writer on the show.
Back on to the original off topic tangent, however: I stand by my statement. While there is a rare, truly brilliant piece of prose about absolutely nothing and out of all context, the first hurdle in most fiction is creating something that a reader cares about.
In the case of fan fiction, by definition, you are starting with something that has garnered fans. It's already captured imaginations, it's already proven to be a muse for people who want to create in that world.
That's a
huge head start no matter how you slice it.
There is no objective or generalized difference in difficultly between writing a good in-character scene for a character you established 10 chapters ago, or one someone else created 100 episodes ago. A fan would know either character equally well. In fact she probably knows the 100 episode character better. Because she probably hasn't thought up all the details of the new character yet, and thinking up new, lasting ideas is hard. That's why authors do drafts and rewrites.
For the 100 episode character, the fan author has already latched on to the established traits that resonate with her and are inspiring her to write about it.
So no, I see no argument for fan fiction being harder.
What's the advice given to writers having a hard time getting started? "Write about what you know."
Why? Because it's easier to plumb what's already in your head than to come up with something totally new from scratch.