Re: Fan-Fiction

From: Dan Drazen <drazen_at_andrews.edu>
Date: Thu, 25 Apr 1996 09:13:08 -0400 (EDT)

It had to happen sooner or later: plot gridlock.

Part of it is in the nature of the players. If you're going to write
about Mecha-Sonic, there really isn't much you can do with him/it.
Mecha-Sonic can either:

A) continue to harrass the Freedom Fighters
B) join them but eventually be recalled by Robotnik
C) join them

Everything else is a variation on the above themes.

What permits this situation is the fact that Mecha-Sonic is still a
relative unknown. The character's character (if you follow me) is not
that well defined. So fanfic writers like us are left to fill in the
blanks. Do we make him sympathetic (a la Mr. Data) or a nemesis (c.f.
Packbell)?

That's why I almost prefer writing about Sally and the other Knothole
freedom fighters. There's not as much ambiguity about their characters.
You know what the boundaries are and how they'd react in a given
situation; you also know what would be totally out of character for the
character (which was actually my biggest objection to the portrayals in
the infamous "Tail" story -- the characters just weren't true to
themselves).

As for plot disclosure, it's a fine art. One should say enough to hook
the curious without saying too much. It's more a tease than a
summation. For instance, when discussing the plot of "Capture the Flag"
I let the main point be that the story takes place when most of the
freedom fighters were only ten years old, without going into any detail
as to what happens to them. I had to walk an even finer tightrope when
discussing "Bloodlines" lest I tip off the plot alltogether. And when I
go into serious detail, such as my mentioning a piece with the working
title "All She Wants To Do Is Dance" it's a sure sign that I've done all
I can with it and am abandoning work on it, if only for the moment.

Just a few things I learned along the way:

================================================================
|| ___------__ || Daniel J. Drazen
|| |\__-- /\ _- || drazen_at_andrews.edu
|| | / __ _ ||Sonic: "Whoa, you're not going to
|| //\ / \ /__ || use the L-word, are you?"
|| | o| 0|__ --_ ||Tails: "Well...."
|| \\____-- __ \ ___ - ||Sonic: "Then I will...I love you,
|| (_at_@ __/ / /_ || little bro."
|| -_____--- --_ ||AoStH: "Tails' New Home"
================================================================

Received on Thu Apr 25 1996 - 09:29:38 PDT