Fic Talk > General Discussion
Question of the day thread number 2!
RokofAges75:
--- Quote from: Carter-Orange on July 12, 2012, 12:10:07 PM ---When I do start researching, I end up getting carried away and spending a whole evening looking stuff up and then I've lost the will to write.
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LOL That happens to me too! I have a lot more focus with researching than writing, weirdly enough. Usually I enjoy it, though; it's kind of like a fun challenge.
If I followed the old "write what you know" rule, my fanfics would be so boring! Why stick to what you know when you can look up what you don't and still write it convincingly? Sure, it's just fiction, but since we're writing about real people, I like to use as many details from their real lives and the real world as possible to make my stories realistic.
That's not to say I never use details I am familiar with, but I tend to use those for my original characters if they fit. I'll make them from the midwest if it works just because that's the area of the country I know best, so it's one less location I have to spend time researching, and I've written a couple of characters who are teachers because that's a career I know well.
But in general, I usually have to stretch myself way outside my realm of firsthand experience to write the kind of stories I want to tell, and I'm not afraid to do that. It's fun!
Purpura Lipstick:
--- Quote from: Carter-Orange on July 12, 2012, 12:10:07 PM --- but my excuse for that is that I'm lazy, lol.
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I don't think it's necessary lazy if your facts are different. Writer's are known to take leeway with facts in order to produce a more exciting story.
I think, maybe, what Karah means with the overdoing it is when writer's stick so close to the actual facts that it's more like reading a biography than a fiction story. That is typically not the case when an author knows how to wind the facts into the plot of the story. Julie knows what to use and how to use it to make the story believable and interesting.
RokofAges75:
--- Quote from: Sakabelle on July 12, 2012, 12:14:34 PM ---Curtain Call, yes, that was good example of telling a totally fictional story with real life thrown in to make it conceivable.
But what I'm talking about is the stories that are set around fictionalizing a real life event. I love those types of stories because they're almost like watching a behind the scenes documentary. I feel like I'm learning more about the guys themselves and their personalities through reading those. Like you get an inside look at what one fan's interpretation is of what might have gone on in the boy's real lives. Those stories have always been so interesting to me because all of us perceive the boys a little differently, and yet they're still the same guys we know and love, so it's fun to read about what we think may have happened when the camera was shut off.
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Thanks Steph, and thank you Rose, too, for the CC mentions!
I also love the stories that are based on real events if they're done well, and that is where research is really SO important. You're doing an amazing job with Running Up That Hill, and so is Hannah with Borrowed Time. We've talked about the story Come Together on here a lot lately, and there's another example where it's clear the authors did a lot of research and filled in the gaps with the fictional stuff that make it a cute fanfic and not just a biography of the band. I really appreciate that attention to detail when I read.
Rose:
--- Quote from: Sakabelle on July 12, 2012, 12:14:34 PM ---Curtain Call, yes, that was good example of telling a totally fictional story with real life thrown in to make it conceivable.
But what I'm talking about is the stories that are set around fictionalizing a real life event. I love those types of stories because they're almost like watching a behind the scenes documentary. I feel like I'm learning more about the guys themselves and their personalities through reading those. Like you get an inside look at what one fan's interpretation is of what might have gone on in the boy's real lives. Those stories have always been so interesting to me because all of us perceive the boys a little differently, and yet they're still the same guys we know and love, so it's fun to read about what we think may have happened when the camera was shut off.
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I love those too! I mean you know I love Running Up That Hill, even though I need to catch up again. Probably after the reading challenge LOL. Your story is great example of that. Mare is another one who pulls that off SO freaking well and you just feel like you're a fly on the wall watching as these events happened. I'm trying it myself right now, and I find it just really fun to do, almost like a character study.
Rose:
--- Quote from: Purpura Lipstick on July 12, 2012, 12:17:54 PM ---I don't think it's necessary lazy if your facts are different. Writer's are known to take leeway with facts in order to produce a more exciting story.
I think, maybe, what Karah means with the overdoing it is when writer's stick so close to the actual facts that it's more like reading a biography than a fiction story. That is typically not the case when an author knows how to wind the facts into the plot of the story. Julie knows what to use and how to use it to make the story believable and interesting.
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I think that's why Saka-Steph asked Karah to clarify. Cause honestly, I've never seen a fanfic that read more like a biography on here cause it was that overdone LOL.
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