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On Writing: "owning" your characters
I have quite a few prolific multi-fandom writers on my f-list, and this is something that has always intrigued me ~ the ability to jump from fandom to fandom, universe to universe, circumstances to circumstances, and write about so many different characters in so many different surroundings. AU, canon-verse, pairings of all ratings...I have always been somewhat in awe of people who have this ability.
Now that the Inuyasha canon has finished, more of the IY-centric writers on my f-list are starting to branch out. I'm also in this group; even though I dabbled a bit in Ouran HS Host Club, I never really threw myself entirely into it. MY IY stories always came first, and usually competed for my attention :P But now that I'm seriously writing for one other series - and seriously contemplating writing for even more - I'm starting to examine this ability to write actively for multiple fandoms. So...
My childhood BFF IRL has always been a writer. This is something we've always had in common. Due to various circumstances, we lost touch for awhile, only to rediscover each other on LJ. Imagine my shock when I discovered she was also writing fanfic, a habit I'd only recently picked up again to help cure myself of some writer's block. (Short version: the first things I ever wrote, around ages 8-10, were fanfic, then I started writing original fiction at around 12 and continued through high school, then I had some issues at college, blah blah breakdown, blah blah antidepressants blah blah blah. Importance: meds stabilized my mood, but also killed my creative drive.) ANYWAY, while I was over here, fairly deep into IY and writing my very first story, she had been around for awhile, established in Bleach fandom, but also had a shitton of projects on the side for a bunch of *other* fandoms. I remember asking her, "how can you do this? How can you feel you have a good enough understanding of the canon to write derivative fiction for five different fandoms?!"
It boggled my mind. Actually, it continues to boggle my mind, and I am in awe of those of you who can and do write steadily for multiple fandoms.
Some of it, of course, comes from drifting from one fandom to the other. Some of it is because the canon material isn't that wide in scope (writing fic for a movie, for example). But some of the series she enjoys and writes for don't really fall into these categories - Bleach, Transformers, Star Trek, TNMT. o.O In the case of a few, there are multiple canons to contend with, which I'd assume you'd need at least a passing familiarity with, at least in order to differentiate.
So how does she do it???? How can she write crossovers at the drop of a hat???
I still don't know, but I have at least now experienced active writing for more than one fandom, and discovered...maybe its not as difficult as I believe/expect/imagine.
Basically, I guess it comes down to how you approach it. For me, if I'm moved enough by something that I want to write fic for it, I have to feel like I know the canon material inside and out. I watch all the episodes or read all the books, look at official related stuff (art, contests, etc) and even peek into the fandom to see what's what. I 'researched' IY like this for a good six to nine months before jumping in and joining myself. I had a story just pressing on my head that needed to come out. It was weird enough to write fanfic after 15 years out of the game, but it really felt weird using characters I didn't create myself. I really didn't have much confidence in my ability to OWN the characters enough to write about them. I've always been obsessive about characterization, and very picky about what I read because of that - because, to me, the characters are the heart of it. If we didn't like these characters, why would we write other stories about them?
It took awhile, but eventually I became comfortable with - and even possessive of - my ability to handle certain IY characters. Some, like Miroku, I'll probably never totally understand. Some, like Sesshoumaru, I'll probably never be able to be objective about again. But either way, these characters and their archtypes became ingrained in me. It was easy to shape the ideas that I had around them, and figure out ways to make them work - and for the AUs, ways to make them 'canon-compliant'.
Then came March of this year, will all its attendant drama, and I ran back to the very first show I ever got into really, really heavily for comfort and escape. It was such a trip rediscovering it all, and then...I got bitten by the fanfic muse. And I wondered - would I have to start this process of "claiming" the characters all over again? Or would I magically just be able to carry over that confidence I'd built in the process using other characters and import it into this one?
For me, I had to start all over again from scratch. It was easier, since Kids Inc fandom is pretty much nonexistent, so there was no real 'fanon' to contend with. Even though this series hits the reward circuit of my brain like crack, and literally *no* amount of wankery could ever make me want to turn my back from it, I was still hesitant. Scared. Tentative. I wrote to get the plot out of my brain, figuring I could smooth the characterization as I went (and besides, it wasn't like anybody else cared except me :P). But still, I was skeptical. I wondered when that feeling of knowing what the hell I was doing instead of just flailing excitedly would come over me. I don't remember when it happened for IY, just that it did.
I had to take a break from fic writing in June, and I was afraid when I did I'd lose the momentum of my KI fic. I certainly didn't want to be stuck in perpetuity with 5 WIPs, now for multiple fandoms *facepalm* I wrote some IY fic instead, because it was easier to slip into those characters' minds and habits, and I'd missed them. But now I'm easing back into KI (well, as much as one can ease into an addiction) and it just feels downright weird. These are characters I've known and loved longer, but nothing feels quite...right yet. Its frustrating, but its not something I can force. All I can do is keep chipping away at it.
Not that that's stopped the muse. For the last few weeks it's been non-fucking-stop, and this universe is quickly exploding out of my control - but I love it all :) I'm still not sure when I'll ever feel like I 'own' the characters enough to write them well, but I'm having fun, and those few fellow fans who've come out of the woodwork seem to enjoy it as well. I guess I just wonder, sometimes, if others can read my words and see the lack of confidence like I can.
I never really felt comfortable writing Ouran characters, even though I liked them immensely. I guess I didn't want to try my hand at KI, only to find I'd ruin it for myself. Has anybody else felt this way?
If you write for one than one fandom, what is it like for you? Can you easily switch between the universes/characters/whatever, or does it feel like you're giving one up while you work in the other? Do you feel like you have to know your canon inside and out, or can you just take something interesting and run with it?
It's always amazed me at how fast people start writing fic for brand new fandoms. What does it take, an episode? Even less?
I suppose its hard for me to wrap my brain around it, because everything I've ever wanted to write fic for is pretty much done, canon-wise, so I don't understand/appreciate the speculative nature of fic for on-going series as much. I see the big picture of the universe I'm working in, the full story/character arcs for the characters, and I break it down from there.
Of course, I've also noticed I have a distinct pattern of the types of stories I write, even when I move on or back between fandoms, but that's a different post.
Sooo...yeah. This has been weighing on my mind, alongside the gigantic explosion of plot I'm antsy to work on with Stacy in Bloom. I can write an LJ post on my lunch break, though (fic? yeah...not so much :-/).
Thoughts & comments welcome. You know me - I love meta discussions! =)
Now that the Inuyasha canon has finished, more of the IY-centric writers on my f-list are starting to branch out. I'm also in this group; even though I dabbled a bit in Ouran HS Host Club, I never really threw myself entirely into it. MY IY stories always came first, and usually competed for my attention :P But now that I'm seriously writing for one other series - and seriously contemplating writing for even more - I'm starting to examine this ability to write actively for multiple fandoms. So...
My childhood BFF IRL has always been a writer. This is something we've always had in common. Due to various circumstances, we lost touch for awhile, only to rediscover each other on LJ. Imagine my shock when I discovered she was also writing fanfic, a habit I'd only recently picked up again to help cure myself of some writer's block. (Short version: the first things I ever wrote, around ages 8-10, were fanfic, then I started writing original fiction at around 12 and continued through high school, then I had some issues at college, blah blah breakdown, blah blah antidepressants blah blah blah. Importance: meds stabilized my mood, but also killed my creative drive.) ANYWAY, while I was over here, fairly deep into IY and writing my very first story, she had been around for awhile, established in Bleach fandom, but also had a shitton of projects on the side for a bunch of *other* fandoms. I remember asking her, "how can you do this? How can you feel you have a good enough understanding of the canon to write derivative fiction for five different fandoms?!"
It boggled my mind. Actually, it continues to boggle my mind, and I am in awe of those of you who can and do write steadily for multiple fandoms.
Some of it, of course, comes from drifting from one fandom to the other. Some of it is because the canon material isn't that wide in scope (writing fic for a movie, for example). But some of the series she enjoys and writes for don't really fall into these categories - Bleach, Transformers, Star Trek, TNMT. o.O In the case of a few, there are multiple canons to contend with, which I'd assume you'd need at least a passing familiarity with, at least in order to differentiate.
So how does she do it???? How can she write crossovers at the drop of a hat???
I still don't know, but I have at least now experienced active writing for more than one fandom, and discovered...maybe its not as difficult as I believe/expect/imagine.
Basically, I guess it comes down to how you approach it. For me, if I'm moved enough by something that I want to write fic for it, I have to feel like I know the canon material inside and out. I watch all the episodes or read all the books, look at official related stuff (art, contests, etc) and even peek into the fandom to see what's what. I 'researched' IY like this for a good six to nine months before jumping in and joining myself. I had a story just pressing on my head that needed to come out. It was weird enough to write fanfic after 15 years out of the game, but it really felt weird using characters I didn't create myself. I really didn't have much confidence in my ability to OWN the characters enough to write about them. I've always been obsessive about characterization, and very picky about what I read because of that - because, to me, the characters are the heart of it. If we didn't like these characters, why would we write other stories about them?
It took awhile, but eventually I became comfortable with - and even possessive of - my ability to handle certain IY characters. Some, like Miroku, I'll probably never totally understand. Some, like Sesshoumaru, I'll probably never be able to be objective about again. But either way, these characters and their archtypes became ingrained in me. It was easy to shape the ideas that I had around them, and figure out ways to make them work - and for the AUs, ways to make them 'canon-compliant'.
Then came March of this year, will all its attendant drama, and I ran back to the very first show I ever got into really, really heavily for comfort and escape. It was such a trip rediscovering it all, and then...I got bitten by the fanfic muse. And I wondered - would I have to start this process of "claiming" the characters all over again? Or would I magically just be able to carry over that confidence I'd built in the process using other characters and import it into this one?
For me, I had to start all over again from scratch. It was easier, since Kids Inc fandom is pretty much nonexistent, so there was no real 'fanon' to contend with. Even though this series hits the reward circuit of my brain like crack, and literally *no* amount of wankery could ever make me want to turn my back from it, I was still hesitant. Scared. Tentative. I wrote to get the plot out of my brain, figuring I could smooth the characterization as I went (and besides, it wasn't like anybody else cared except me :P). But still, I was skeptical. I wondered when that feeling of knowing what the hell I was doing instead of just flailing excitedly would come over me. I don't remember when it happened for IY, just that it did.
I had to take a break from fic writing in June, and I was afraid when I did I'd lose the momentum of my KI fic. I certainly didn't want to be stuck in perpetuity with 5 WIPs, now for multiple fandoms *facepalm* I wrote some IY fic instead, because it was easier to slip into those characters' minds and habits, and I'd missed them. But now I'm easing back into KI (well, as much as one can ease into an addiction) and it just feels downright weird. These are characters I've known and loved longer, but nothing feels quite...right yet. Its frustrating, but its not something I can force. All I can do is keep chipping away at it.
Not that that's stopped the muse. For the last few weeks it's been non-fucking-stop, and this universe is quickly exploding out of my control - but I love it all :) I'm still not sure when I'll ever feel like I 'own' the characters enough to write them well, but I'm having fun, and those few fellow fans who've come out of the woodwork seem to enjoy it as well. I guess I just wonder, sometimes, if others can read my words and see the lack of confidence like I can.
I never really felt comfortable writing Ouran characters, even though I liked them immensely. I guess I didn't want to try my hand at KI, only to find I'd ruin it for myself. Has anybody else felt this way?
If you write for one than one fandom, what is it like for you? Can you easily switch between the universes/characters/whatever, or does it feel like you're giving one up while you work in the other? Do you feel like you have to know your canon inside and out, or can you just take something interesting and run with it?
It's always amazed me at how fast people start writing fic for brand new fandoms. What does it take, an episode? Even less?
I suppose its hard for me to wrap my brain around it, because everything I've ever wanted to write fic for is pretty much done, canon-wise, so I don't understand/appreciate the speculative nature of fic for on-going series as much. I see the big picture of the universe I'm working in, the full story/character arcs for the characters, and I break it down from there.
Of course, I've also noticed I have a distinct pattern of the types of stories I write, even when I move on or back between fandoms, but that's a different post.
Sooo...yeah. This has been weighing on my mind, alongside the gigantic explosion of plot I'm antsy to work on with Stacy in Bloom. I can write an LJ post on my lunch break, though (fic? yeah...not so much :-/).
Thoughts & comments welcome. You know me - I love meta discussions! =)
no subject
It's been kind of fun, and the interesting thing is how different the writing is, in say, my Greek pieces, and the Arthurian and the IY. I've been enjoying the heck out of the freedom to move from one universe to the other...but to be honest, my background in both the Greek myths and Arthuriana is deep and extensive, probably moreso than my InuYasha background, so it's an easy thing to do. Requires minimum research, just a few fact checks once in awhile, and I'm off to the races.
But I had started writing IY fanfic about two months into my fandom trip...I did obsess, read everything I could, watched the anime over and over, and the early tentative writing of mine gave me the exploration of the characterization I wanted. (I tend to see writing as exploration and learning about a character as much as presenting a finished product. I have learned recently this is the absolute best way for me to plow into the story universe I want to do, start writing drabbles and oneshots about the characters, and the decisions I need to make I make much better than if I try to do it in writer's notes. A case of whatever works, I suspect. But this for sure is what led me into my characterizations I use for my IY stories. I guess I have to make friends with them this way, so I can "own" my characterizations!)
no subject
I suppose it does come down to what you're comfortable with, as the writer. Some people are confident enough to share their characterization experiments with the world, while some of us feel like that's pulling teeth :P
I will say that I do feel I grow with each new piece and each new story I write. I still maintain Fragments wouldn't be as good as it is, if I hadn't started working on Fleeting first. Even though I was working with two very different sets of characters, some of the things I learned were able to be carried over, which is always a good thing =)
I guess I have to make friends with them this way, so I can "own" my characterizations!
*nods* Same. I tend to really play cautiously until I try something and it works, and then I kinda build on it from there. But I always carry this fear of writing something terribly OOC because I didn't take the time to do my due diligence with research. Even now, I rewatch and reread constantly, and really try to think/justify whatever I'm having my characters do. For me, its more important that *I* think my characters are behaving logically than if my readers do...if that makes any sense.