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[flippedeclipse]

Lhino wrote...

Hey guys, I just dropped in to introduce myself. I am going to start up my own Mass Effect inspired fan-fiction and I was referred here by ElectricZ. I am still writing the first bit of the story. It will be based on events that occur after Mass Effect 3. So far I have about 3 pages typed out of the actual story and another full page for the synopsis (I have been planning it for a while, finally found some time to do it). Any of you veterans have a few tips for a new-comer? I will most likely be posting it on fanfition.net.

Hey there, good on ya for giving it your first try!

I'm nowhere near a veteran and not nearly as good as some of the amazing writers that frequent this thread, but the past few months have been an eyeopener for me when it comes to fanfiction and I've learned a lot. I write a lot of emotional stuff, so this might not be what you're looking for if you write a lot of action, but perhaps it'll be useful anyway. So here's my holy grail when it comes to writing!

• Don't force it. If you're not in the mood to write the current piece you're working on, write something else or don't write at all. For me, whatever I'm working on will end up like the last three missions in ME3 if I force it: tired, exasperated, and just thrown together, which makes for a bad read.
  
• Character voices can be really hard to find, especially if they're not OCs. Find some way to get inside a character's head. What I'll do is look up dialogue on Youtube or use the lovely Masqeurious' character soundboards on Deviantart to find their voices. Someone mentioned about 20 pages back that they use music to find and connect with the character, too.
  
• Draw out of personal experience sometimes. If you can relate to the topic, there'll be added depth to the story which adds that little something that makes for a good story. I'm not saying it's absolutely necessary, but if, for example, you're writing about a PTSD soldier, having experience in that realm adds a lot of realism to the story. It can be very difficult to write about a topic you have no knowledge in, so if you end up in that situation, do a lot of research. It'll pay off.
  
• Like mentioned before, grammar and spelling are very important. It's hard for readers to get past silly mistakes sometimes, so make sure you read it over a few times before posting it. And if you post your story in various places, make sure you do your edits on the main manuscript.
  
• Let things stew. Readers want chapters fast, but do things at your own pace. One thing I've been trying to get into the habit of is letting a finished chapter sit for a day or two, then read it over before postiing; writing is like drawing, you stare at something for so long that you don't see the mistakes or awkward parts until you take a break.
  
• If you're getting really caught up in your own story, that's a good thing. I've actually started dreaming about two fics I'm working on, and although it's weird having nightmares about Garrus and Tali, the emotions you feel will rub off in the story.
  
• Pacing is super important. As someone who likes to ramble on and on (this post is proof of that ) sometimes you need to take a step back and say, did I describe it enough or too little? Did I make sure everything I wanted to say came across clearly? I usually get my SO to read things over and tell me if it was coherent, so if you have a friend who can do a quick read-through for you, it's really helpful.
  
• Betas are great, but think carefully about taking one on. I currently have two betas who look through things for me, and one's great at catching my little grammar and spelling mistakes but doesn't critique the work itself too much, while the other gives me strong, well-thought-out, but harsh criticism on what I'm doing. If you're willing to let your manuscript be ripped apart and not be too hurt about it, then I strongly recommend getting the latter type of beta. If fanfiction is personal to you, stick with the first type.
  
• Outlines are great too, but don't box yourself in too much. I try to start with vague ideas when it comes to the emotional side of it, but set-in-stone ideas for the actual action and plot points happening. Characters sometimes write themselves and go in directions you don't expect, and DLC can throw a wrench in your plans, like the EC did for me, so leave yourself some wiggle room. I keep my chapter outlines to less than half a page written out on paper, and each chapter ends up being around 5000 words each.
  That's not to say you shouldn't organize your ideas, because that's a really good habit to get into and it'll help keep you motivated as you make your way through each chapter.
  
• And lastly, have fun with it. You might find yourself being bitten by a lot more plot bunnies once you get started, so enjoy the flow of creativity!

Alright, that's enough of my babbling. Hopefully you find some of that useful!

[Lhino]

flippedeclipse wrote...

Lhino wrote...

Hey guys, I just dropped in to introduce myself. I am going to start up my own Mass Effect inspired fan-fiction and I was referred here by ElectricZ. I am still writing the first bit of the story. It will be based on events that occur after Mass Effect 3. So far I have about 3 pages typed out of the actual story and another full page for the synopsis (I have been planning it for a while, finally found some time to do it). Any of you veterans have a few tips for a new-comer? I will most likely be posting it on fanfition.net.

Hey there, good on ya for giving it your first try!

I'm nowhere near a veteran and not nearly as good as some of the amazing writers that frequent this thread, but the past few months have been an eyeopener for me when it comes to fanfiction and I've learned a lot. I write a lot of emotional stuff, so this might not be what you're looking for if you write a lot of action, but perhaps it'll be useful anyway. So here's my holy grail when it comes to writing!

• Don't force it. If you're not in the mood to write the current piece you're working on, write something else or don't write at all. For me, whatever I'm working on will end up like the last three missions in ME3 if I force it: tired, exasperated, and just thrown together, which makes for a bad read.
  
• Character voices can be really hard to find, especially if they're not OCs. Find some way to get inside a character's head. What I'll do is look up dialogue on Youtube or use the lovely Masqeurious' character soundboards on Deviantart to find their voices. Someone mentioned about 20 pages back that they use music to find and connect with the character, too.
  
• Draw out of personal experience sometimes. If you can relate to the topic, there'll be added depth to the story which adds that little something that makes for a good story. I'm not saying it's absolutely necessary, but if, for example, you're writing about a PTSD soldier, having experience in that realm adds a lot of realism to the story. It can be very difficult to write about a topic you have no knowledge in, so if you end up in that situation, do a lot of research. It'll pay off.
  
• Like mentioned before, grammar and spelling are very important. It's hard for readers to get past silly mistakes sometimes, so make sure you read it over a few times before posting it. And if you post your story in various places, make sure you do your edits on the main manuscript.
  
• Let things stew. Readers want chapters fast, but do things at your own pace. One thing I've been trying to get into the habit of is letting a finished chapter sit for a day or two, then read it over before postiing; writing is like drawing, you stare at something for so long that you don't see the mistakes or awkward parts until you take a break.
  
• If you're getting really caught up in your own story, that's a good thing. I've actually started dreaming about two fics I'm working on, and although it's weird having nightmares about Garrus and Tali, the emotions you feel will rub off in the story.
  
• Pacing is super important. As someone who likes to ramble on and on (this post is proof of that ) sometimes you need to take a step back and say, did I describe it enough or too little? Did I make sure everything I wanted to say came across clearly? I usually get my SO to read things over and tell me if it was coherent, so if you have a friend who can do a quick read-through for you, it's really helpful.
  
• Betas are great, but think carefully about taking one on. I currently have two betas who look through things for me, and one's great at catching my little grammar and spelling mistakes but doesn't critique the work itself too much, while the other gives me strong, well-thought-out, but harsh criticism on what I'm doing. If you're willing to let your manuscript be ripped apart and not be too hurt about it, then I strongly recommend getting the latter type of beta. If fanfiction is personal to you, stick with the first type.
  
• Outlines are great too, but don't box yourself in too much. I try to start with vague ideas when it comes to the emotional side of it, but set-in-stone ideas for the actual action and plot points happening. Characters sometimes write themselves and go in directions you don't expect, and DLC can throw a wrench in your plans, like the EC did for me, so leave yourself some wiggle room. I keep my chapter outlines to less than half a page written out on paper, and each chapter ends up being around 5000 words each.
  That's not to say you shouldn't organize your ideas, because that's a really good habit to get into and it'll help keep you motivated as you make your way through each chapter.
  
• And lastly, have fun with it. You might find yourself being bitten by a lot more plot bunnies once you get started, so enjoy the flow of creativity!

Alright, that's enough of my babbling. Hopefully you find some of that useful!

This is very helpful! Thanks a lot, I will take it all into consideration. Hopefully I can get the first bit up on the net tomorrow sometime. I will continue to improve and write more while I wait for the 24-hour waiting period on fanfiction.net to expire. Luckily I have some friends similar to your betas, one will tell me which parts he really likes and give me critisism where needed, while the other will pratically tear me a new one for every plot hole and hiccup. 

[lillitheris]

Drussius wrote...

lillitheris wrote...

^ It sounds like a reasonably good idea, although I think the time frame is important. As time progresses from the initial discovery, I would think that such manufacturing would be done off-planet. Consider that all the larger space ships would probably be manufactured in very low G, anyway, because they’re impractical/impossible to land on a larger planet.

Starships would definitely be manufactured in zero-G. I don't remember how it was worded exactly, but something in the codex mentioned that many larger ships like dreadnoughts and cruisers cannot land on planets. Might have been in the section on discharging the electrical buildup. But from someone that used to work in the auto industry, I don't think it unreasonable that some components might be manufactured in one location and then shipped elsewhere to be incorporated into the final product. Sort of like engines are manufactured in one plant and then shipped to another plant to be incorporated into the automobile's final assembly.

It’s possible, definitely. I’m only thinking that because there obviously is already factory capacity up there, it wouldn’t be particularly hard to do it off-planet. The earlier this is in the timeline, though, the more likely it is that there would be significant manufacturing of spaceship parts planetside.

I wonder if the relative cheapness of ME/ion drives have made it viable to shuttle stuff up and down, obviating the need for a space elevator?

[hot_heart]

Obviously, I don't know all the ins and outs, but in a business sense it may be more cost-effective to manufacture parts on a planet rather than house all your employees on an off-planet site.

[lillitheris]

hot_heart wrote...

Obviously, I don't know all the ins and outs, but in a business sense it may be more cost-effective to manufacture parts on a planet rather than house all your employees on an off-planet site.

Definitely possible — especially early on. So it would just be a matter of costs to orbit (and from orbit for raw materials), and possible environmental restrictions.

[dpMeggers]

Oh my God, Akuze suuuucks. I'm just writing the outline for it now and for the love of all that's holy, I'm killing off 50 people in the span of a few hours and putting characters I love through hell. Elysium did not hurt me this bad.

Question of the day: How emotional do you yourself get while writing emotional scenes in your fics (if you have them)? Because I might be slightly heartbroken right now and I'm still in the planning phase of these chapters.

[TheMarshal]

dpMeggers wrote...

Oh my God, Akuze suuuucks. I'm just writing the outline for it now and for the love of all that's holy, I'm killing off 50 people in the span of a few hours and putting characters I love through hell. Elysium did not hurt me this bad.

Question of the day: How emotional do you yourself get while writing emotional scenes in your fics (if you have them)? Because I might be slightly heartbroken right now and I'm still in the planning phase of these chapters.

I occasionally try to step inside my characters to get the emotions right during those scenes.  It helps keep me from going overboard and getting TOO emotional, but also helps guide the scene, since I have a better idea of what they're thinking and how they'd act/react.

[Icyflare]

lillitheris wrote...

It’s possible, definitely. I’m only thinking that because there obviously is already factory capacity up there, it wouldn’t be particularly hard to do it off-planet. The earlier this is in the timeline, though, the more likely it is that there would be significant manufacturing of spaceship parts planetside.

I wonder if the relative cheapness of ME/ion drives have made it viable to shuttle stuff up and down, obviating the need for a space elevator?

According to the timeline, humans have only discovered element zero about six years before Shepard was born, which is roughly when this story takes place.  I think the 2150s were when people were still experimenting with starships and the eezo cores, so there were probably still a lot planet-side manufacturing on. There's no point in creating an off-planet manufacturing site if you can't figure out how to make a ship properly.

Shuttle stuff up and down from factory to factory or...?

dpMeggers wrote...

Oh my God, Akuze suuuucks. I'm just writing the outline for it now and for the love of all that's holy, I'm killing off 50 people in the span of a few hours and putting characters I love through hell. Elysium did not hurt me this bad.

Question of the day: How emotional do you yourself get while writing emotional scenes in your fics (if you have them)? Because I might be slightly heartbroken right now and I'm still in the planning phase of these chapters.

Sometimes, very.. I've cried during the process in some scenes, and in others, I have actually put down my laptop and refused to continue. I always tell myself that the characters deserved to not to be simply forgotten because I'm too emotional to write it, and that usually pushes me through to completion. That's just my experience though. My friend told me reacently that, apparently, I am a very emotional person. Never really thought myself as one, but it certainly explains a lot of things  <_<

Modifié par Icyflare, 05 juillet 2012 - 08:40 .

[lillitheris]

Icyflare wrote...

lillitheris wrote...

It’s possible, definitely. I’m only thinking that because there obviously is already factory capacity up there, it wouldn’t be particularly hard to do it off-planet. The earlier this is in the timeline, though, the more likely it is that there would be significant manufacturing of spaceship parts planetside.

I wonder if the relative cheapness of ME/ion drives have made it viable to shuttle stuff up and down, obviating the need for a space elevator?

According to the timeline, humans have only discovered element zero about six years before Shepard was born, which is roughly when this story takes place.  I think the 2150s were when people were still experimenting with starships and the eezo cores, so there were probably still a lot planet-side manufacturing on. There's no point in creating an off-planet manufacturing site if you can't figure out how to make a ship properly.

Shuttle stuff up and down from factory to factory or...?

Well, wherever they get the eezo from; I don’t think there’s much on Earth, but I don’t recall if it was mentioned anywhere except that Mars had some.

I think at that time it’d be possible that the manufacturing was mostly handled planetside, and then the parts were shuttled up to orbit/wherever for assembly. Edit: if you wanted to be extra careful, you could casually mention that some manufacturing was moving offworld already

Modifié par lillitheris, 05 juillet 2012 - 09:01 .

[MrStoob]

dpMeggers wrote...

Oh my God, Akuze suuuucks. I'm just writing the outline for it now and for the love of all that's holy, I'm killing off 50 people in the span of a few hours and putting characters I love through hell. Elysium did not hurt me this bad.

Question of the day: How emotional do you yourself get while writing emotional scenes in your fics (if you have them)? Because I might be slightly heartbroken right now and I'm still in the planning phase of these chapters.

I've been pretty mean to my characters at times and it can be a little heartbreaking as you tear them apart.  I TRY to give emotional scenes some gravitas, by which I mean some realism and just cause.  Someone having a fit without good cause would be pretty jarring.

[TheMarshal]

lillitheris wrote...

Well, wherever they get the eezo from; I don’t think there’s much on Earth, but I don’t recall if it was mentioned anywhere except that Mars had some.

I think at that time it’d be possible that the manufacturing was mostly handled planetside, and then the parts were shuttled up to orbit/wherever for assembly. Edit: if you wanted to be extra careful, you could casually mention that some manufacturing was moving offworld already

If I remember correctly, Neptune was where they farmed eezo.  Or maybe it was He-3?

::checks the wiki::

Nope, it was He-3 on Uranus.  But He-3 is still the primary fuel for thrusters, so yeah...

[lillitheris]

^ The formation of eezo requires contact with a nova, so it seems unlikely that there would be significant deposits anywhere in Sol.

Wiki sayth “When humans discovered the Prothean ruins on Mars, they also discovered refined element zero that the Protheans had left behind. It enabled research into FTL ship drives before the Charon Relay was discovered. ”

So it seems that’s where all the early stuff came from. It implies that no more was found until after Charon was activated…

…But if you wanted to, you could perhaps retcon in some missions outside Sol in the near space (let’s say the early drives went even just 2-3 ly/d, there are systems well within reach of a trip of a few weeks/months). Or, of course, simply make it so that they’re using the cache they found.

[LanceSolous13]

dpMeggers wrote...

Question: doing some writing for Akuze and I'm wondering which tanks I should used. The M29 Grizzly was the standard infantry tank for thirty years according to the wiki, which would span up to about 2180. The M35 Mako was developed for rapid response, which I assume a colony going dark would necessitate, but I haven't found it's development date. So, question is, Mako or Grizzly, or both, or Grizzly and some sort of proto-Mako?

I would suggest the Mako. Players who missed James and Cortez talking about the Grizzly won't know what you're talking about while player who played Mass Effect 1 will know what you're talking about. Also, readers will be a bit more...connected to a scene in a Mako with a giant Threasher Maw appearing out of nowhere to kill everyone.

[lillitheris]

LanceSolous13 wrote...

dpMeggers wrote...

Question: doing some writing for Akuze and I'm wondering which tanks I should used. The M29 Grizzly was the standard infantry tank for thirty years according to the wiki, which would span up to about 2180. The M35 Mako was developed for rapid response, which I assume a colony going dark would necessitate, but I haven't found it's development date. So, question is, Mako or Grizzly, or both, or Grizzly and some sort of proto-Mako?

I would suggest the Mako. Players who missed James and Cortez talking about the Grizzly won't know what you're talking about while player who played Mass Effect 1 will know what you're talking about. Also, readers will be a bit more...connected to a scene in a Mako with a giant Threasher Maw appearing out of nowhere to kill everyone.

Very good point.

Devil’s advocate: players also know that the Mako can take down a Maw. In that respect, an older — or maybe experimental? — model might work better.

…In fact, you might be able to introduce some extra tension if the squad was denied access to the new vehicles and had to make do with an outdated model.

Modifié par lillitheris, 05 juillet 2012 - 09:43 .

[LanceSolous13]

Wasn't Cerberus somehow involved with Akuze? I don't remember.

[fainmaca]

dpMeggers wrote...

Oh my God, Akuze suuuucks. I'm just writing the outline for it now and for the love of all that's holy, I'm killing off 50 people in the span of a few hours and putting characters I love through hell. Elysium did not hurt me this bad.

Question of the day: How emotional do you yourself get while writing emotional scenes in your fics (if you have them)? Because I might be slightly heartbroken right now and I'm still in the planning phase of these chapters.

Manly tears of manliness have been shed once or twice. I'm trying to keep myself from having the characters suffer too much at the moment, as the real gut-punches will come during the Final Battle Of Awesomeness (I already know that a couple of characters I like will meet their end during the battle, thanks to certain votes), but one moment in particular for me was what happened to Sha'ira and Septimus.

[LanceSolous13]

Hmmm...I think I'll work in three chapter story arcs for each of the background segments.

3 Chapters on Mindoir.
1 Chapter to bridge Shepard's Colonial Life to his joining the Alliance Military.
3 Chapters on Skylien Blitz.
3 Chapters on Akuze.
3 Chapters on Torfan.

Mindoir will be much more about surviving the massacre and kidnappings, also dealing with how Shepard first met Steven Hackett and David Anderson.

The Skylien Blitz will introduce Shepard's pre-Akuze crew and end with Shepard holding the line all by himself.

Akuze will introduce Cerberus and their Threasher Maw experiment there. Do you mind if I actually take up that idea of more powerful tanks being restricted? Shepard crew could be killed here and make yet another fight for survival.

Lastly, following up with Torfan, Shepard goes on a strike in reply to the Skylien Blitz event. Shepard is broken and angry with all the prior bull pulled by the Batarians for Mindoir and the Skylien Blitz takes his rage out during the raid.

After that, I can continue with Shepard's recovery. Yay for figuring this stuff out. Though, 13 chapters seems a bit much.

Modifié par LanceSolous13, 05 juillet 2012 - 09:57 .

[hot_heart]

LanceSolous13 wrote...
Wasn't Cerberus somehow involved with Akuze? I don't remember.

Indeed. They rigged the whole thing.

[fluffywalrus]

dpMeggers wrote...

Oh my God, Akuze suuuucks. I'm just writing the outline for it now and for the love of all that's holy, I'm killing off 50 people in the span of a few hours and putting characters I love through hell. Elysium did not hurt me this bad.

Question of the day: How emotional do you yourself get while writing emotional scenes in your fics (if you have them)? Because I might be slightly heartbroken right now and I'm still in the planning phase of these chapters.

I know that feel. I've written deaths of characters in campaigns, and tragic events, and I'm pretty sure my Shep will have to go through Akuze, and it hurts. I've cried writing it all down before. Hell, I've wept while writing outlines. It's hard to even think of that much hurt in Torfan or Akuze. I've had a couple scenes floating around in my head for my fic, from chapters I've fortunately already covered and gotten over with, all the way to events in the ME1 and ME2 timeline...and my heart breaks. I'm the first to admit I immerse myself in characters too much. I get antsy, and reluctant to write said scenes, and it can be a really painful process...and when it's over often need a big pick-me-up to help me focus and continue.

I think the next time I write a really tough scene or two, I'm going to do a quick one shot of a Blasto/Aethyta fic to cheer myself up.

LanceSolous13 wrote...

Wasn't Cerberus somehow involved with Akuze? I don't remember.

Yes Yes they were.

[fluffywalrus]

LanceSolous13 wrote...

Hmmm...I think I'll work in three chapter story arcs for each of the background segments.

3 Chapters on Mindoir.
1 Chapter to bridge Shepard's Colonial Life to his joining the Alliance Military.
3 Chapters on Skylien Blitz.
3 Chapters on Akuze.
3 Chapters on Torfan.

Mindoir will be much more about surviving the massacre and kidnappings, also dealing with how Shepard first met Steven Hackett and David Anderson.

The Skylien Blitz will introduce Shepard's pre-Akuze crew and end with Shepard holding the line all by himself.

Akuze will introduce Cerberus and their Threasher Maw experiment there. Do you mind if I actually take up that idea of more powerful tanks being restricted? Shepard crew could be killed here and make yet another fight for survival.

Lastly, following up with Torfan, Shepard goes on a strike in reply to the Skylien Blitz event. Shepard is broken and angry with all the prior bull pulled by the Batarians for Mindoir and the Skylien Blitz takes his rage out during the raid.

After that, I can continue with Shepard's recovery. Yay for figuring this stuff out. Though, 13 chapters seems a bit much.

I'm just going to point out that there's a lot of condensed hurt in those chapters. I personally don't mind reading such fics, but it's nice sometimes for there to be good happy moments, to remind the reader that despite all this terrible crap that's happened to Shep, his life has had some good times in it.  Sometimes people find it hard to sympathize with characters that basically get beaten up 24/7. Not that you're planning that, necessarily. I just figure, a few nice happy moments sprinkled here and there could really help people feel for your Shepard more when these terrible things happen.

[LanceSolous13]

Good Point.

The outline of the first part of Mindoir is rather positive, Shepard is introduced as a Casanova of a 16 year old on Mindoir.

My even vaguer outline of the Skylien Blitz is pretty cheerful, as thats meant to be more of a lead up to the deaths on Akuze...hmmmmmm...I'm slightly tempted to cut Torfan but than I lose my Moral Event Horizons.

[MrStoob]

Don't forget Toombs though!

[Icyflare]

When a soldier finishes his last tour of duty and is released from his mandatory period of duty to the military, does he usually stay an enlisted officer, or would he be promoted based on his performance?

Basically, what I would like to know is what is the usual rank of a soldier who finishes the minimal amount of military service required of him?

Modifié par Icyflare, 05 juillet 2012 - 10:30 .

[fluffywalrus]

Icyflare wrote...

When a soldier finishes his last tour of duty and is released from his mandatory period of duty to the military, does he usually stay an enlisted officer, or would he be promoted based on his performance?

Basically, what I would like to know is what is the usual rank of a soldier who finishes the minimal amount of military service required of him?

I think it depends on the performance more than just finishing the mandatory minimum. At least, that seems to be how it is here in Canada. Don't know about the states. My dad didn't get promoted when he finished his minimum, he kept on as enlisted. If he wanted officer training, he had to, IIRC, make it up the enlisted ranks enough to prove himself worthy of it.

[fainmaca]

Icyflare wrote...

When a soldier finishes his last tour of duty and is released from his mandatory period of duty to the military, does he usually stay an enlisted officer, or would he be promoted based on his performance?

Basically, what I would like to know is what is the usual rank of a soldier who finishes the minimal amount of military service required of him?

Well my father served in the Royal Navy for about 7 years and got to the rank of Chief Petty Officer (somewhat of an equivalent to a Sergeant). He had plans to progress to Lieutenant, but those unfortunately never came to pass. Maybe that'll give you some context as to what may be feasible?