9962 réponses à ce sujet

[MacNasty]

Sweawm wrote...

fainmaca wrote...

P.S. In a bit of trivia, apparently ITU has roughly the same word count now as all of the Harry Potter books (except Deathly Hallows) combined. So when do I become richer than the pope?

I've got my own question for the entire group. Has anyone here ever gone and tried their hand at writing their own works? 
I mean, I've tried myself for practice to write stories completely based on my own work. I'm great at creating plot lines and stories, but then there is the gruelling part of putting it altogether and writing it into something is complete. 
I think the greatest thing about Fan Fiction is the fact that you'll have readers readily avalible to read and you can publish it chapter by chapter, so that you can get regular feedback. When writing your own work, you just don't get that much encouragement. 

I actually have a whole universe I already made. The problem is decided what exactly to do in it. Plus, I started getting back into Halo and Mass Effect... And now I feel the need to write fanfics! Plus, I want to refine my writing style so when I write my own stories, it's much better than it is currently.

Also, does anyone know of a good plot outline/organizer, or at least what a good one could look like? I feel I might forget things if I don't organize it all.

And Dark, that's better, though I think it might do well to make it longer than the second time (I'm not sure if that's the whole thing, I doubt it, but thought I might as well mention it.) And for when I right action scenes in relation to guns, I'd just give a lot of detail... Kind of like everything else in the story! though I feel action scenes might need a bit less. Not sure why.

On a side note, what are your favorite books? Figured I would ask, I've run out of books, and I just keep re-reading my favorite series of books...

Modifié par MacNasty, 21 juillet 2012 - 02:48 .

[fainmaca]

Well, let's see how well that aforementioned scene goes down with the readers. Just published Chapter 5 of Resistance. I'd really appreciate any feedback that you guys could give me. Considering this chapter only weighs in at 3k (as opposed to Chapter 46 of ITU, which was nearer to 50k), its somewhat easier to get through than what I normally write.

(Lillitheris, this is a chance for you to see whether my just 'going for it' pays off. Double points if you figure out what scene I'm talking about and which movie I found out its in.)

[lillitheris]

^ I’m pretty terrible with pop-culture, but we’ll see!

[Sweawm]

I just put together an update of a little project of mine, which entirely replaces the now non-canon Deception novel. If you actually liked the ME Novels before Dietz ruined em, I recommend that you read this. I just published the third chapter which weighed in at a heavy 12'500 words.

http://www.fanfictio..._b_bDeception_b

My own best run at writing my own sequel to Retribution. If you have any ideas of just how I should go about this, feel free to tell.

[lillitheris]

lillitheris wrote...

Here’s an interesting dilemma. Originally, when I wrote scenes where Liara is simultaneously dealing with both Eevy and Hannah Shepard, I went for Eevy to differentiate the two. On second read, I think I might change those to mostly refer to Shepard, and ensure that Hannah is either referred to by name or as Admiral, or it’s otherwise unambiguous.

Hannah will refer to her daughter by her given name, of course, but Liara only does so (somewhat subconsciously) in certain mental states, or associations.

Fixed the chapter, finally, someone want to sanity-check it? I did a little other copyediting, too.

http://www.fanfictio...46/15/ME4_Unity

[Drussius]

Sweawm wrote...

I've got my own question for the entire group. Has anyone here ever gone and tried their hand at writing their own works? 

I mean, I've tried myself for practice to write stories completely based on my own work. I'm great at creating plot lines and stories, but then there is the gruelling part of putting it altogether and writing it into something is complete.

I think the greatest thing about Fan Fiction is the fact that you'll have readers readily avalible to read and you can publish it chapter by chapter, so that you can get regular feedback. When writing your own work, you just don't get that much encouragement. 

I have mentioned several times since joining the thread that my writing background is tabletop RPGs. I created three different complete fantasy settings, with a (roughly) 200 page Campaign Guide for each detailing the histories of the various races, the religions, the customs for each kingdom, etc. Over the years, I've written a ton of short stories (something in the neighborhood of 40), a handful of multi-chapter novellas, and 18 chapters of a novel set in my various game worlds. My writing has always been original work up until now. (Except for one unpublished fanfiction based on my favorite anime series of all time).

Fanfiction has proven especially difficult for me on several fronts. I always did medieval fantasy stories, so I find myself struggling to put detail to a futuristic sci-fi setting. It just doesn't flow as easily as fantasy writing does for me. And second, I struggle because I am now working within the framework of someone else's imagination, and I don't have all the details at my fingertips (or feel free to make it up on the fly). It's been challenging to fit my style of narration to a setting that the readers would already know, and to keep it in the flavor of the ME universe we all love.

But I like the challenge. I'm unsure how many of the issues that others are pointing out are a result of my actual writing style and how many are a product of being out of my comfort zone, but I am enjoying the feedback immensely. Previously, my writing was shared only with close friends and occasionally my father.

[lillitheris]

fainmaca wrote...

Well, let's see how well that aforementioned scene goes down with the readers. Just published Chapter 5 of Resistance. I'd really appreciate any feedback that you guys could give me. Considering this chapter only weighs in at 3k (as opposed to Chapter 46 of ITU, which was nearer to 50k), its somewhat easier to get through than what I normally write.

(Lillitheris, this is a chance for you to see whether my just 'going for it' pays off. Double points if you figure out what scene I'm talking about and which movie I found out its in.)

Nope, didn’t get it. I’m admittedly not too keen on the Thrall/indoctrination thing you have going (but I don’t have details from ITU), but the sequence works pretty well. The pace is good with the slow intro—although you could have dragged it out just a little more—and the exit clips it well.

“Her movements were stiff, awkward, all too easily recognised as the movements of a being in shock.”—I think squarely falls into telling, not showing. You had a couple similar cases; if you expanded on these a little, it’d also extend the intro just a bit.

[hot_heart]

Sweawm wrote...
I've got my own question for the entire group. Has anyone here ever gone and tried their hand at writing their own works?

I've got a fair few scripts under my belt. And a few unfinished ones for comics because my illustrator friend was pursuing other things (I actually wish I knew a decent comic artist with whom I could collaborate).

I tend to veer towards comedy because I was told that was my strength, and via networking I got one of the BBC Comedy heads to read a couple of scripts and he really liked them. Ray Galton (creator of Stepoe & Son, that was adapted into Sanford & Son in the US) also read one of the scripts, really liked it and, like the guy at the BBC, said he couldn't really do anything with it. Breaking into TV is tough and I've really found my motivation sapped over the years, but I won't bore you with the details.

So I've got a few full episodes written, but only one that I think 'works'...and the BBC rejected that. If you were interesting in seeing something, I could share that.

I think the strength of writing like this is that you're not relying on someone else to realise the story. No one needs to draw it, no one needs to film it; you have complete control.

[fainmaca]

lillitheris wrote...
Nope, didn’t get it. I’m admittedly not too keen on the Thrall/indoctrination thing you have going (but I don’t have details from ITU), but the sequence works pretty well. The pace is good with the slow intro—although you could have dragged it out just a little more—and the exit clips it well.

“Her movements were stiff, awkward, all too easily recognised as the movements of a being in shock.”—I think squarely falls into telling, not showing. You had a couple similar cases; if you expanded on these a little, it’d also extend the intro just a bit.

Thanks! I really appreciate the feedback.

Well if you didn't pick up on the similarities, then maybe I'm just stressing about it too much. I was worried that the Ellie-creature had turned out a little too much like the lady Terminator (third film, I think?), especially after I checked up on her to make sure my scenes weren't too similar and saw a scene where she, too, loses her legs and keeps on going.

Just to be clear, what is it about the Thrall idea you aren't keen on? If there's anything about it that you find particularly offputting, maybe there's something I could do to rectify it.

As for that little snippet, I'd actually written that to deliberately mislead the reader. I wanted to avoid describing her in a way that would lead people to guess what she actually was. I guess I handled that a little clumsily. I'll have a look at it again, and see if there is any way that I can write a more subtle description that will lead the readers to the desired conclusion (that she is just a shell-shocked survivor).

Modifié par fainmaca, 21 juillet 2012 - 04:59 .

[JadeDragonMTR]

lillitheris wrote...

lillitheris wrote...

Here’s an interesting dilemma. Originally, when I wrote scenes where Liara is simultaneously dealing with both Eevy and Hannah Shepard, I went for Eevy to differentiate the two. On second read, I think I might change those to mostly refer to Shepard, and ensure that Hannah is either referred to by name or as Admiral, or it’s otherwise unambiguous.

Hannah will refer to her daughter by her given name, of course, but Liara only does so (somewhat subconsciously) in certain mental states, or associations.

Fixed the chapter, finally, someone want to sanity-check it? I did a little other copyediting, too.

http://www.fanfictio...46/15/ME4_Unity

I had just passed that chapter and this way reads more fluidly. I will have a scene in my later chapter where Liara, Shepard and Hannah having lunch together on the Citadel still in ME1 time frame. Liara refers to the mother as Hannah, and since I still don't have a first name for Shepard, Liara refers her as Shepard. Hannah calls Shepard "honey", or "sweetheart" and such. I think In the game since Liara always calls Shepard "Shepard" or "Commander", you can get away with that in a story. And Hannah in my story will tell Liara to call her Hannah because it's confusing to everyone else, not just Liara, that there are two Commander Shepards in the family. With some Fanfics promoting Shepard to Admiral rank, I think Hannah is the universaly safest ID, generally speaking.

Still making through your story. Boy, your Glossary alone is longer than some oneshots! 

[JadeDragonMTR]

Seracen wrote...

LanceSolous13 wrote...

Does anyone have a video of the ME1 Missions that relate to the War Hero, Sole Survivor, and Ruthless Backgrounds? As in, What differs if Shepard has the apropreate background? I want to know as many details about each so things will flow appropreatly.

Yeah, I'm having a devil of a time with my Colonist War Hero.  Mindoir AND Elysium...Batarians and Shep REALLY don't get along.

Still, the wiki helped me make sense of a lot of the info.

For instance, I didn't know that Elanos Haliat was supposed to be Turian, but the game rendered him as human...so, depending on the race, it changes the WHOLE dynamic of race relations. 

Yeah, figuring out who's still around from his past is playing havoc on my backstory.  Moreover, my Shep romanced Jack, who can't have any love for Batarians either...

EDIT: ^ who knew that I could be  ninja'd by a fluffywalrus?  They be deceptively sneaky... (that's an awesome tag, btw!)

There is also a short video clip of Elanos Haliat on the Shadow Broker's ship.

Modifié par JadeDragonMTR, 21 juillet 2012 - 05:14 .

[lillitheris]

I actually just not quite watched T3 a couple weeks ago, so I don’t think it’s that bad. I actually briefly thought about T2, but that’s even less similar.

fainmaca wrote...

Just to be clear, what is it about the Thrall idea you aren't keen on? If there's anything about it that you find particularly offputting, maybe there's something I could do to rectify it.

Too powerful for the number that there seem to be, in short. The Reapers and husks are already extremely powerful. That said, I’m sure there’re subtleties that I’m missing.

I actually briefly thought that the conversion took place in that short period, but upon re-reading, that at least was not the case. That’s something your regular readers would of course know.

As for that little snippet, I'd actually written that to deliberately mislead the reader. I wanted to avoid describing her in a way that would lead people to guess what she actually was. I guess I handled that a little clumsily. I'll have a look at it again, and see if there is any way that I can write a more subtle description that will lead the readers to the desired conclusion (that she is just a shell-shocked survivor).

Aha—I think you’d need an explicit observer, in that case. The same for describing her loss…it feels like a personal recounting, which is inappropriate for the context.

[fainmaca]

lillitheris wrote...

I actually just not quite watched T3 a couple weeks ago, so I don’t think it’s that bad. I actually briefly thought about T2, but that’s even less similar.

fainmaca wrote...

Just to be clear, what is it about the Thrall idea you aren't keen on? If there's anything about it that you find particularly offputting, maybe there's something I could do to rectify it.

Too powerful for the number that there seem to be, in short. The Reapers and husks are already extremely powerful. That said, I’m sure there’re subtleties that I’m missing.

I actually briefly thought that the conversion took place in that short period, but upon re-reading, that at least was not the case. That’s something your regular readers would of course know.

As for that little snippet, I'd actually written that to deliberately mislead the reader. I wanted to avoid describing her in a way that would lead people to guess what she actually was. I guess I handled that a little clumsily. I'll have a look at it again, and see if there is any way that I can write a more subtle description that will lead the readers to the desired conclusion (that she is just a shell-shocked survivor).

Aha—I think you’d need an explicit observer, in that case. The same for describing her loss…it feels like a personal recounting, which is inappropriate for the context.

Hmm. I think I see what you're saying. The Thralls are powerful, and eventually I hope to have them replace the Husks completely (as I progress in the story, I write less and less Husks into each battle and add more and more Thralls). I just really want to get rid of the Husks, as I personally believe that they are a little too Left 4 Dead for my liking. As it is, in the ITU-niverse the Reapers do not produce Husks: only their indoctrinated servants (Collectors, Saren's Geth) do. I'd originally intended for this to present a difficulty curve both for the Commander and for the allied armies: As they develop new tactics and technologies, the Reapers continue to upgrade their attack to new levels, keeping the War desperate.

As for the scene where I introduce Ellie, do you think that mentioning anything personal about her is where I'm going wrong? Maybe I should keep her identity-less, unknown, so that I can really shape my reader's perceptions without telling rather than showing?

[lillitheris]

fainmaca wrote...

As for the scene where I introduce Ellie, do you think that mentioning anything personal about her is where I'm going wrong? Maybe I should keep her identity-less, unknown, so that I can really shape my reader's perceptions without telling rather than showing?

Yes, given that she’s (for the purposes of this discussion) not a person, that stuff should be kept out…Or you introduce an external observer who can imprint these impressions onto her. A stray cat might have worked for the shock, as it would have seen others, but for anything more, you’d need a human.

[JadeDragonMTR]

Sweawm wrote...


I've got my own question for the entire group. Has anyone here ever gone and tried their hand at writing their own works? 

If any of you can read Chinese, I have some books published in Chinese. And I used to write Kung Fu novels.

English is my third language, and writing stories has been very helpful to improve my language skills.

Modifié par JadeDragonMTR, 21 juillet 2012 - 05:47 .

[JadeDragonMTR]

Spiritwolf1 wrote...

Other question, Does anyone else read some of the other fan fic then think there's no way you can even compete then like have a hard time continuing... I do this every now and then.

Imagine if Elizabeth Bishop had thought of that when reading Emily Dickinson, I'd be missing out on one of my favorite poets! 

Modifié par JadeDragonMTR, 22 juillet 2012 - 06:51 .

[lillitheris]

Have you discovered ‘new’ things about your own story, or maybe subtle things that play better than you thought?

I was copyediting chapters from probably over a month ago now, and was happy to find that among failures (said copyediting), there were some really nice sections, too. A certain swiveled datapad turned out really beautifully, especially in retrospect and with a little perspective, even if I say so myself.

Positive feels for a change!

[Spiritwolf1]

lillitheris wrote...

Have you discovered ‘new’ things about your own story, or maybe subtle things that play better than you thought?

I was copyediting chapters from probably over a month ago now, and was happy to find that among failures (said copyediting), there were some really nice sections, too. A certain swiveled datapad turned out really beautifully, especially in retrospect and with a little perspective, even if I say so myself.

Positive feels for a change!

I have done that on a few occasions, a couple times back to back with something I have thought was really bad.

[JadeDragonMTR]

I was telling my story to a friend of mine who has never played the game, and she's trying very hard to make me not to kill either Kaidan or Ashley in the story. How do you explain to someone who has never played the game that even in fiction, you have to kill one of them? Or do you?

[Lilivati]

JadeDragonMTR wrote...

I was telling my story to a friend of mine who has never played the game, and she's trying very hard to make me not to kill either Kaidan or Ashley in the story. How do you explain to someone who has never played the game that even in fiction, you have to kill one of them? Or do you?

If you want to let them both live, I think you're within your bounds to do so.  It's off-canon, but not as off-canon as, say, rewriting krogans and salarians to be friendly with each other.  It's kind of an intriguing AU idea, honestly.

However, it does take an enormous amount of power and impact away from that scene, and that's how I'd explain it to your friend.  A war where your protagonist(s) never experience loss isn't going to feel like much of a conflict.  Sometimes you have to do awful things to characters to make the story feel meaningful.

[lillitheris]

The really tricky part with Kaidan and Ash for me is that I’ve seen both in the game and fics (separately). It sometimes feels like they really both are alive.

As the other Lil says, there’s definitely some narrative tension lost from that event—but at the same time, who’s to say that Shepard really cared too much about either at the point when they died? So the tension does not necessarily exist anyway!

If you do want to let both live—and why not, it’s not like Ash couldn’t hold her own against a few geth, pshaw, then do so! I would recommend that you consider adding some other compensatory tension…let’s say that, for example, in your AU Shepard at least thinks she would have had a good shot to take out Saren, but had to leave him to save both. This can be a huge source of mixed guilt later on.

[Icyflare]

MacNasty wrote...

On a side note, what are your favorite books? Figured I would ask, I've run out of books, and I just keep re-reading my favorite series of books...

I love Neil Gaiman's works (except for Stardust, even with the pretty pictures), so maybe stuff like American Gods or his short stories would be interesting to you. Terry Pratchett's books are also good. Both his and Gaiman's works are fantasy if you're into that. I also liked The Poisonwood Bible, As I Lay Dying, and Catch-22 if you're interested in books from the early to mid 20th century. The first two are largely family-drama based while the last one is a black comedy about a pilot trying to get out of military duty that immorally keeps him in.

If, by some chance, you've already read every single book I've recommended, then you could always go for comics. The Sandman series by Gaiman is an amazing read, even for people not into comics. If you like manga, I'd recommend Lone Wolf and Cub or Mermaid's Scar. The former is about a former executioner turned assassin seeking revenge against the Japanese Emperor's right hand man for bringing down his house and killing his wife while the latter is about a man journeying to find the cure for immortality after eating Mermaid's flesh. It runs a bit into horror.

I don't know what kind of books you like to read so I named everything I could think of off the top of my head. Hope you got some more books to read from this.

Modifié par Icyflare, 21 juillet 2012 - 10:31 .

[xIxDarkWolfxIx]

I've just released Chapter 5. I'm pretty proud of this one, however I still think I have a long way to go. Thank to fainmaca, for writing ITU. It was really useful for me. =)
Anyway here it is; 
Mass Effect: Refusal

Please review and give feeback. =)

(It was just added, may take a few minutes to show.) =P

Modifié par xIxDarkWolfxIx, 21 juillet 2012 - 09:22 .

[lillitheris]

Icyflare wrote...

MacNasty wrote...

On a side note, what are your favorite books? Figured I would ask, I've run out of books, and I just keep re-reading my favorite series of books...

I love Neil Gaiman's works (except for Stardust, even with the pretty pictures), so maybe stuff like American Gods or his short stories would be interesting to you. Terry Pratchett's books are also good. Both his and Gaiman's works are fantasy if you're into that.

Pratchett, yes, required reading (except for the Wee Free Men stuff, not a big fan). Gaiman I never really liked…I’ve even got the Sandman bound editions, but mainly for the art

You may not be surprised to know I like ASOIAF.

I have recently read, in no particular order except * for special recs:

*Dan Simmons: Drood, Terror (historical fiction) — and subsequently all of Dickens and Wilkie Collins
Richard K. Morgan: The Steel Remains, The Cold Commands (fantasy)
*Cherie Priest (steampunk)
Mira Grant (zombies)
Steven Erikson: Gardens of the Moon (fantasy)
*Patrick Rothfuss: The Name of the Wind, The Wise Man’s Fear (fantasy),
R. Scott Bakker: The White-Luck Warrior, The Warrior Prophet, The Thousandfold Thought, The Judging Eye, The Darkness that Comes Before (fantasy)
Joe Abercrombie: The Blade Itself, Before They Are Hanged, Last Argument of Kings (fantasy)
*Joe Haldeman: The Forever War (sci-fi)
Jeff Long: Deeper (sci-fi)
Carlos Ruiz Zafon: The Angel’s Game (historical fantasy)
Ernest Cline: Ready Player One (sci-fi/80's retro stuff)
China Mieville: The City & The City (if you really want to be depressed)

Modifié par lillitheris, 21 juillet 2012 - 09:34 .

[hot_heart]

Off the top of my head, books I like:
Catch-22 by Joseph Heller
A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole
The Red Dwarf books
Good News, Bad News by David Wolstencroft
Red Harvest by Dashiell Hammett
The Big Sleep by Raymond Chandler
Past Mortem by Ben Elton
The Dark Tower series up until about book 5