75 réponses à ce sujet

[Kazzar]

Hey there> I am new to the board but have been a great fan of the franchise since the first one came out. On to the main reason why I created the thread. I was thinking of writing some Mass Effect Fan-Fiction and I wanted some pointers as to how I should go about doing it? Help will be greatly appreciated

[FireEye]

Step 1: Open your word processing software of choice.

Step 2: Have at it.



What aspect of writing do you think you need help with?

[Big Blue Car]

Well....



1) Write something. If you keep writing, one day you may be able to copy Joss Whedon characters as well as Gaider and work for Bioware!



2) For a theme, I like stuff that ties into the universe without being ostentatious. Try writing pieces based on "A turian fail spectre school," or "A salarian scientist gets drunk,". Do something interesting and different.

[pacer90]

All good writing is re writing. Don't be afraid to scrap an idea no matter how much you think it's cool. It might come back in a different way.

[Skyline_Stanza]

pacer90 wrote...

All good writing is re writing. Don't be afraid to scrap an idea no matter how much you think it's cool. It might come back in a different way.

Pretty much this. Find new interesting spins on something that's been done before, because, let's be honest, it's all be done before. You just have to stand out and make your drabble/short-story/story shine. and make people think 'Hey, I've never thought of seeing it that way before!' 

Even if you don't get that one story or short up, archive it. You never know when you'll use something from it in a different fic.

 For example, you could write about your Shepard, as he/she is a character that you design and create and it's as unique to you as your own fingerprint.  

[GuardianAngel470]

You could also try for the (un)official story addition. That's what I've done so far, I write only things that could happen and are indeed likely to happen, giving them a sense of realism. If done right, it can feel like your story is a part of the canon, with links to game technologies, game side stories, and the like.



As for actually writing it, you can come up with an outline for what you want to tell, you can fly by the seat of your pants, or a combination of the two.

[Terror_K]

Yeah, I personally prefer writing (and reading) stories that are independent of the main story and don't interfere with it. I don't personally see the point in writing about my own Shepard and the other characters because I don't feel that would add that much, and I don't really care about other peoples' Shepards that much to get into a story about them so why would anybody really care about mine.

Beyond that, I'd say pay careful attention to the lore that's been set and try to remain true to it. Make your characters your own, and don't just copy another character you like from something else in there in another form. It's okay to take certain characteristics, but never just do something like "Krogan Jayne from Firefly" or anything like that. Give your characters depth and make sure they're more than just a stereotype. Very important is to make sure they have both strengths and weaknesses; don't just make them supermen who can do anything.

Make sure your story has a point too. Try and put some kind of message,  topic or psychological commentary/topic in there as a basis for example, or make sure that there is a strong common element throughout the story. You don't need to know all the elements and exactly how things are going to go, but before starting you should make sure you have a clear idea of the basic plot of the thing, all the way to the ending, but make sure that it's flexible enough to change if you need to as well. I find it's good to set some major milestones throughout and then it's a matter of getting to them. The overall point I'm making in this last paragraph is that a good story needs purpose and can't just be a bunch of stuff happening with no real direction because it can. Sure, it can be cool to think "I wonder what if would be like if this stuff happened?" but there still needs to be an answer to the simple questions of "why?": Why is this happening? Why are these characters doing what they are? Why, as a reader, should I care? etc.

Modifié par Terror_K, 04 novembre 2010 - 08:26 .

[Kazzar]

 

Big Blue Car wrote...


Well....



1) Write something. If you keep writing, one day you may be able to copy Joss
Whedon characters as well as Gaider and work for Bioware!



2) For a theme, I like stuff that ties into the universe without being ostentatious.
Try writing pieces based on "A turian fail spectre school," or
"A salarian scientist gets drunk,". Do something interesting and
different.

 Thnx for the words. My dream is to be a Game Designer and also to write Games. And I would also love to work at Bioware

Skyline_Stanza wrote...

pacer90 wrote...



All good writing is re writing. Don't be afraid to scrap an idea no matter how
much you think it's cool. It might come back in a different way.

Pretty much this. Find new interesting spins on something that's been done
before, because, let's be honest, it's all be done before. You just have to
stand out and make your drabble/short-story/story shine. and make people think
'Hey, I've never thought of seeing it that way
before!' 



Even if you don't get that one story or short up, archive it.
You never know when you'll use something from it in a different fic. 



 For example, you could write about your Shepard, as he/she is a character
that you design and create and it's as unique to you as your own fingerprint.
 

 One of my ideas was to actually write something from the perspective of My Shepard, maybe the basic plots of the first 2 games with my own twist on it

GuardianAngel470 wrote...



You could also try for the (un)official story addition. That's what I've done
so far, I write only things that could happen and are indeed likely to happen,
giving them a sense of realism. If done right, it can feel like your story is a
part of the canon, with links to game technologies, game side stories, and the
like.



As for actually writing it, you can come up with an outline for what you want
to tell, you can fly by the seat of your pants, or a combination of the
two.

 I do have a few ideas for that(not sure if any of them would be good though)

Terror_K wrote...



Yeah, I personally prefer writing (and reading) stories that are independent of
the main story and don't interfere with it. I don't personally see the point in
writing about my own Shepard and the other characters because I don't feel that
would add that much, and I don't really care about other peoples' Shepards that
much to get into a story about them so why would anybody really care about
mine.



Beyond that, I'd say pay careful attention to the lore that's been set and try
to remain true to it. Make your characters your own, and don't just copy
another character you like from something else in there in another form. It's
okay to take certain characteristics, but never just do something like
"Krogan Jayne from Firefly" or anything like that. Give your
characters depth and make sure they're more than just a stereotype. Very
important is to make sure they have both strengths and weaknesses; don't just
make them supermen who can do anything.



Make sure your story has a point too. Try and put some kind of message, 
topic or psychological commentary/topic in there as a basis for example, or
make sure that there is a strong common element throughout the story. You don't
need to know all the elements and exactly how things are going to go, but
before starting you should make sure you have a clear idea of the basic plot of
the thing, all the way to the ending, but make sure that it's flexible enough
to change if you need to as well. I find it's good to set some major milestones
throughout and then it's a matter of getting to them. The overall point I'm
making in this last paragraph is that a good story needs purpose and can't just
be a bunch of stuff happening with no real direction because it can. Sure, it
can be cool to think "I wonder what if would be like if this stuff
happened?" but there still needs to be an answer to the simple questions
of "why?": Why is this happening? Why are these characters doing what
they are? Why, as a reader, should I care? etc.

 
Thnx for the words. I would never want to just meld 2 franchises(like you mentioned), I want to take bits and pieces of inspiration from some franchises and add them to whatever I write

Modifié par Kazzar, 04 novembre 2010 - 10:55 .

[Kazzar]

Okay. So I have just finished my first playthrough of ME2(yh big whoop, I only got it on monday), and I was thinking I will write the plots of the two games from the perspective of my shepard. My Shepard survived the mission, but I lost Thane, Grunt, Jack and Legion

[Skyline_Stanza]

I'm doing the same thing, save for the fact that I'm focusing more on Shep, Miranda and Garrus' and thier interactions, points of view and as they grow throughout the plot of ME2. What you need to understand is that people want to see interesting twists on a retelling of the plot.



If it's exactly like the game, then people won't want to read it. To have to find something unique to bring to the table. Don't get discouraged, however. Brainstorming is a good thing!

[Dean_the_Young]

Have an ending in mind from the start. Nearly all stories which just have 'a really cool idea' and rely on inertia never get finished and are largely wastes of time.



That said, a really cool idea is also great. As in, try something not done before. There a millions of, say, Tali/Shepard paragon fantasy fics where Tali is some innocent damsel and Shepard her charming prince-captain.



Very, very few renegade romances. Fewer still in which Shepard isn't crazy.





Drabbles are often a good mean for exposing interesting, but limited, ideas.

[Kazzar]

that is what I want to do. I don't want to make it exactly like the game, I wanna add my own flair to it, but I also want it to stay true to the games, like when I lost thane, as he was the love interest for my FemShep, she did not even flinch when she found out that he died, so I wanna add something to that

[Skyline_Stanza]

Kazzar wrote...

that is what I want to do. I don't want to make it exactly like the game, I wanna add my own flair to it, but I also want it to stay true to the games, like when I lost thane, as he was the love interest for my FemShep, she did not even flinch when she found out that he died, so I wanna add something to that

Ok, so a question you may want to ask is:

Why did she not react at all to Thane's death? Had she accepted the fact that they could die on the suicide mission? Or was it something they said to each other 'off camera?' Did they decide to quit while they were ahead in the romance? Did something come between them, some issue? Did Thane break it off? Did Shepard? (Sorry, rambling...)
 
There are a lot of 'off camera' moments you could expand upon, like what the remaining squadmates are doing when Shep's out on a mission that could help give your fic a different flair.

Have you given some thought to your FemShep's personality, drive, and even some quirks to her? It helps to have a detailed main character.

A good place to get feedback on your drafts for your story would be either here or Fanfiction.net.

If you're a FemShep fan, you could drop by the FemShep fan thread! Just sayin.  

[Blze001]

You could also throw together a quick "teaser" and put it in your blog, ask for some feedback. If you're worried about your abilities as far as mechanics of writing (punctuation, grammar, etc) you could ask someone to be a beta-reader that could catch the little errors that always work their way into any story, helps give the posted chapter a nice, polished look and gives you some feedback as to things to improve upon. (My writing has improved since I began posting my fan-fic, and I was always the easy-A English student)

EDIT: Holy run-on sentence bat-man O.o

Modifié par Blze001, 05 novembre 2010 - 03:12 .

[Kazzar]

@Skyline_Stanza and Blze001: once I get a teaser together(might be a couple of days coz I just started my second playthrough of ME2), will you 2 be my beta-reader/s to see if I have done anything wrong and what I can improve upon

[Skyline_Stanza]

If I have the time, sure! I'd be glad to help. Just send me a link or a PM when you've posted it.
 
I'm also in the process of a fanfic, and getting the structure down is starting to wear a little on me. I've yet to actually write anything. I'd like to get down how I want it to play out before I start dishing it all out.

A good place to get the squadmates personalities down would be thier fan forums. Ask around there for how the characters act, talk and would approach a situation. You might want to check out the Thane fans thread for some good info on your friendly neighborhood drell assassin. 

Dean's got a good point. Make sure you've an ending in mind! It's always good to know where it'll all sort of come to a close. How do you want Shep to feel after the Suicide Mission is over, etc.  

Modifié par Skyline_Stanza, 05 novembre 2010 - 03:45 .

[AdmiralCheez]

All these people gave you excellent pointers, but I have a few things to add:



Don't make it romance-centric. I suppose this is more of a personal request than actual advice, but it's a common pitfall of first-time fanfics. Also, if you're going down this "this-is-my-Shep" route, study the crap out of all the canon characters. Your squadmates are all very complex individuals (yes, even Jacob) and are difficult to nail down. Fail at this, and you will be flamed. Mercilessly.



Other than that, good luck!

[Skyline_Stanza]

I suppose it comes down to personal preference, but for those of you write fanfics, do any of you think about the tone of the chapter? For example, if one were to write a chapter on the Derelict Reaper mission, would you fill it with a sense of creepiness, mystery and forboding?

[Blze001]

Kazzar wrote...

@Skyline_Stanza and Blze001: once I get a teaser together(might be a couple of days coz I just started my second playthrough of ME2), will you 2 be my beta-reader/s to see if I have done anything wrong and what I can improve upon

Gladly.

And admiral has a good point about squadmates. I'd reccommend a playthrough where you try to initiate and listen through every conversation you possibly can to get a feel for the character. Alot of people have trouble capturing Mordin in particular. What I like to do is close my eyes and picture the character dilvering the line. Imagine body movements, facial expressions, tone of voice, etc. If it seems "natural" and you can picture it easily, then go for it. If you run it through your head and... it just doesn't mesh for whatever reason, then you should probably tweak the line/situation.

[Kazzar]

@AdmiralCheez: I do plan on having some romance in my story, but I never planned on making it romance-centric.



@Skyline_Stanza: maybe when we are done with our respective fanfics we can work up some ideas and do a fanfic together, lol.



@Blze001: I do that sometimes as well. Plus Mordin gets on my nerves

[pacer90]

Hmmm... I'm worried that my new original character may end up as a Mary Sue. (No strong flaws) but I don't want to give the cheesy "drug addict" "sad backstory that leaves them emotionally weak for everyone to help them" or anything like that.



Anyone have tips on that?

[Ieldra]

pacer90 wrote...
Hmmm... I'm worried that my new original character may end up as a Mary Sue. (No strong flaws) but I don't want to give the cheesy "drug addict" "sad backstory that leaves them emotionally weak for everyone to help them" or anything like that.

Anyone have tips on that?

The term is too badly defined to give a set of rules to avoid it. But have a look at this list of common Mary Sue traits. Don't follow that list slavishly, there may be traits well justified by the character concept. Also, don't heap flaws on your character just because you desperately want to avoid this. There are no fixed rules - just think about it.

[Vanguard1219]

I might be able to help with that, considering that I like writing "damaged" characters.



The main thing I try to keep in mind is thus; a character doesn't have to have a drug addition or have a history of sexual abuse or even be missing 3/4ths of their limbs to have flaws. Hell, the guy with only one arm and a working eye that's confined to a wheelchair on the side of the road selling sunglasses from a tent might very well be perfectly content with his life and have no reason to complain when by all rights he should be wishing he was dead.



People are complicated. They have layers to their personality that ensure that they might not ever react in the way that you would think, on the surface, within, or otherwise. That's something you should always take to heart. Let's take your supposed Mary Sue, for example. Even if they seem composed and stoic in the face of every obstacle they might be consumed by their own self-doubt from within while trying to "put on a face" for those around them. Or those feelings might bubble to the surface. Maybe your character has no idea what they're getting into and, when the bullets start flying, he loses all composure. He might never have killed before, or vice-versa never seen someone die with his own eyes. Or maybe he's so far off in the opposite direction that he doesn't even feel anything anymore after strangling the life out of another living being.



A character's personality is what makes up the bulk of their characterization, and more often than not flaws in their character such as fear, doubt, self-loathing or even flat-out malice will always do a better job at painting a character in a tragic light than hints to their backstory that they might have had a drug problem (as an example). If you can get an idea of what your character's mindset is like, try to think about how he would react to whatever your story is throwing at him. Keep everything in mind, from the heroic reactions to the cowardly ones, until you've found a balance you're happy with that makes your character more human.



Sorry, I started rambling on there for a minute, but I hope that helps.

[The Naked Pen]

On a note other than characterisation, it's usually good to make sure you're writing something consistent with the universe. I tend to use the Mass Effect wiki quite a lot to reference various things as well as to get a general sense of the way the galaxy works, and you might also consider looking back through the archives of Cerberus Daily News if you don't follow it already. It's a massive, organic and incredibly rich universe, and the more you can capture that sense the better. After all, if you don't really feel that it's rooted in the Mass Effect universe then it's not really Mass Effect fanfiction. Read up on technology if you're going to have a scene in which it's prominently featured, try to create locations coherent with ones we've seen before if you're setting it on an established planet, etc. You might even consider reading the novels, which are great for filling in little backstory details if you care about that sort of thing.

[Aurora313]

I have an issue with my Mass Effect Fan fiction. I called it 'Project Genesis'. It's about a cloned solider from my Shepard's past during or before the events of Elysium. Without giving much away, its about my theory of the Protheans and Humans, what possible connects might exist between the two races and my theory of why Jonathan "John" Shepard (my Shepard) can use/interface with Prothean tech so easily. Story and everything else is fine, but I'm having issue with getting Shepard's Character down pat. He's a Spacer and War hero, but sometimes I seem to write him too care-free, joking, sarcastic, ect. with a far too easy familiarity with everyone and revealing an otherwise veiled past too quickly and too readily. In otherword, I feel like I'm turning him into a 'gary sue'.



Any assistance that anyone could provide would be wonderful.