9 réponses à ce sujet

[jamesp81]

I'm writing a fanfic that centers around Velanna.  It'll probably be the longest fanfic I've written to date.  It's been difficult and troublesome at times, much like the character it follows, so I guess it's appropriate.

I'm getting near having a couple of the chapters ready to publish.  As a rule, is it better to publish chapters as they are ready, or is it better to wait until it's completely done and drop the whole thing at once?

As it stands, I'm guessing there will be six chapters (including epilogue) and roughly 12k words, just to give you an idea.

[Corker]

I've done it both ways.

Serial publishing can build up your audience and give you a sense of accomplishment as you go. You'll probably get more comments, which can be a good thing or a bad thing. You've chosen a contentious character to focus on (more power to you!) which might attract trolls.

Publishing the final product gives you the chance to edit the whole thing, if you decide in Chapter 10 that a certain scene would be so much more powerful if you tweaked something back in Chapter 3.

[Addai]

Publishing serially is risky, a hard balancing act since you have to anticipate things way ahead and work to get the timing right since you can't go back and change them. There's also the risk you won't have the motivation to finish and any readers you've hooked are left hanging. Aaaand there's the risk of the game writers moving on or changing something before you're done.

If I'd give any advice about serial, it would be to block the whole story out ahead of time. One book I read suggested using note cards to outline so you can add things and switch them around. Not everybody likes to write this way, especially when it's just for fun, but I think it makes a difference- if only for your peace of mind.

Modifié par Addai67, 04 octobre 2011 - 03:28 .

[Klidi]

I publish each chapter as it is ready. I wouldn't be motivated to keep writing otherwise. It's knowing that there are people who like my story and are waiting for the new chapters that inspires me when I don't feel like writing or when I have a writer's block.
Also, I know where I want to have it, I have the final chapters written already, but how will my characters get there I have no idea. I tried to use outlines, even downloaded software for it, but I found it irritating, limiting and taking too much time I would normally spent writing - and thus taking also the will to write as well. I guess I'm just too chaotic person for that.
So far, I didn't have any problems, neither in my 'serious' writing nor in fanfic. I get the idea, do some brainstorming, get acquinted to the character  I want to write, and let them tell their story as they wish, and only steering them in a way I want the story to go. Sometimes it can take surprising turns... my mutichapter fanfic was supposed to be oneshot, but Zevran insists on telling it properly. And I can't deny him anything.  On the other hand, I am strict in editing. I rewrite the chapter several times and in the end it's about 40% shorter than the first draft. I have to be satisfied with every word before I let anyone else see it.

I find it more rewarding and much more fun this way, but also quite demanding, because it's necessary to really get into the character's mind, to identify myself with him/her, and that's not always easy, especially if it's not my favourite character - in my fanfic, it would be Morrigan and Oghren, for example. But when I finish the story it almost feels as if I was saying goodbye to really good friends.

My advice would be, write as is natural for you. There is no "right" way to write. If you want to have it perfect, write it all, leave it for some time, re-read it, edit it, then ask an editor... I mean beta, or ideally two of them to read it, think carefully about their comments, edit it and then publish it. If you want it really perfect, go for the second round of beta-reading.

If you want to see what your readers think, publish each chapter when it's ready - and by being 'ready' I mean you put it through the same procedure writing - editing - beta-reading - editing - publishing. That way you will minimize the number of errors even if you write in chaotic style as I do.

[jamesp81]

Corker wrote...

I've done it both ways.

Serial publishing can build up your audience and give you a sense of accomplishment as you go. You'll probably get more comments, which can be a good thing or a bad thing. You've chosen a contentious character to focus on (more power to you!) which might attract trolls.

Publishing the final product gives you the chance to edit the whole thing, if you decide in Chapter 10 that a certain scene would be so much more powerful if you tweaked something back in Chapter 3.

Let the trolls come:devil:

I hated on Velanna at first, too.  There's plenty of reason to.  But the more I learned about her I just couldn't hate her anymore.  She carries around nothing but guilt and self-loathing.  She lives in a really bad place.

This fic is proving really difficult, however.  The way I write is I envision the pivotal points of the story, and I find myself just doing dry filler in between.  It's been a real challenge to fill in those spots.  It's almost discouraging, but I've been bitten by a bug to drive this one to completion for good or ill.

Modifié par jamesp81, 04 octobre 2011 - 07:56 .

[Shadow of Light Dragon]

jamesp81 wrote...

 As a rule, is it better to publish chapters as they are ready, or is it better to wait until it's completely done and drop the whole thing at once?

Well, there is no rule. It's more a case of what feels better for you, and there are pros and cons to either method.

IMO doing it as a (regularly updated) serial can help with getting your work noticed by more people, at least where FF.Net is concerned, because every update bumps you back to the front page of your story's category. However, you could easily finish your story and polish it up before posting it in installments rather than in one fell swoop; you need not post on the fly.

Some find it helps with motivation, especially if they get some good reviews. Conversely, if you don't get many reviews right away it can be discouraging (my advice there would be don't expect ten reviews from chapters one and two, if only because there are so many unfinished fanfic sagas that end early on I suspect a lot of readers don't want to invest in a story until they're convinced the author isn't going to lose momentum and vanish. Writing stories is a lot more time-eating work than a lot of would-be authors think ).

But yeah...no rule. Whatever works for you.

[Maria13]

I'm with Klidi... It's the only way I can write. Instant gratification is a specific need for me, but if you can resist it and still persevere... More power to you, my friend.

[jamesp81]

I decided to drop it all at once. Not sure if I should've, but water under the bridge now.

It's only been public for about 10 hours now, but I'm already worried. All my other short stories I just did for fun and published. This one's different. I put a lot more heart and soul into this one. I feel like the personal stakes are higher.

[Addai]

You might not get a huge number of hits for it just because the character is not popular. I'm just guessing, of course, never know, but don't be discouraged if the story doesn't get a lot of attention. DA also has a fairly small writing base compared to other fandoms (from what I've heard). The up side of that is that people who like the character will appreciate the effort more.

[jamesp81]

Addai67 wrote...

You might not get a huge number of hits for it just because the character is not popular. I'm just guessing, of course, never know, but don't be discouraged if the story doesn't get a lot of attention. DA also has a fairly small writing base compared to other fandoms (from what I've heard). The up side of that is that people who like the character will appreciate the effort more.

Probably both problems.  I've written six published fics so far, 5 of them being either DA or Mass Effect.  On those, I'm averaging two to five reviews.  I did one for Starcraft 2, one that I'm not overly fond of, BTW, that pulled in 18 reviews.