First of all, Happy New Year to everyone!
Since we've moved into a new year, shall we have a sharing session as we reflect on the struggles and joys of writing we experienced in the past year? Then we can also share our wish for this fanfic board and writing in general. I had this idea as I was reading Hitobo, HashirePomeranian and Sieka's latest posts this morning. I believe this will help us better understand where each of us is coming from and help us see things from each other's perspective.
Of course, let's keep this sharing cordial and that means no flaming of any sort. We are here to exchange thoughts and hopefully, learn from one another. Now, let me start the ball rolling
I take pride in my writing and most of all, the effort I put into making each story a reality. Plot bunnies attack me left, right and center all the time and I often wish that I could just drop my job and other real-life responsibilities and escape to a secluded mountain where I could dedicate my time to writing fanfics. Sadly, life just doesn't work that way. (And where do I find electricity and internet access in the mountains?
) As a result, I have to push all these plot bunnies to the recesses of my mind and hold them there till the time is right to extract one and put it in writing. I admire writers who can effectively juggle multiple stories simultaneously. With that, I mean they are able to put out quality updates on a regular basis. I don't have the confidence to attempt a feat like that because I know my busy schedule just wouldn't allow it. Many times, I'm tempted to write and post pilot chapters of all the new story ideas I have but I don't do that because I feel a sense of responsibility towards my readers. As a reader myself, I understand the frustration of reading a promising start to a story and being all excited about how it will progress only to get my hopes shot down when I realise the writer has already abandoned the story. I don't like the disappointment so I don't want to subject my readers to the same thing. Hence, I limit myself to posting only one multi-chapter story at a time and the occasional one-shots. Yes, writing is supposed to be enjoyable and free for the writer but as I am posting my works in public, I can't help but feel responsible towards my readers and want to offer them the best I am capable of. There's the pressure which drives me to work harder with every update.
And that brings me to the joys I find in writing fanfictions for AKB48.
CharactersThere is just so much fun in imagining how our idols will act in different situations based on the impressions they have given me in both print and video. I'm a sucker for alternate universe stories and I love the process of making the characters my own, meaning to give them defining qualities and personality quirks that are within the believable range based on my observations of their real-life counterparts. And the next step would be to develop them from the initial skeleton I've given them while keeping them in character in that universe.
SatisfactionI enjoy writing in my comfort zone which consists of my OTP, writing in third person and inserting comedic moments in my stories. However, I like challenging myself every now and then too. A couple of months ago, I decided to write a serious and dark one-shot in first person POV. It was really hard and I found myself cringing at a lot of the things I had written initially but I persevered and eventually came up with something I thought was decent. The grammar, the vocabulary and the plot seemed fine but what about the delivery? Right before I clicked the 'Post' button, I was afraid. For the first time, I was not confident and wondered if the story will come across as a joke to readers. It was all because I was venturing out of my comfort zone. Thankfully, the story was rather well-received and I got some really constructive feedback. I felt as if I had conquered the highest mountain in the world. I had proved to others and most importantly to myself that I could write an enjoyable story in first person.
VocabularyI'm touching on vocabulary here because someone once wondered how I managed to write the way I do. This was my answer to the reader:
With regards to vocabulary, my best friends are dictionary.com and thesaurus.com when I write. My vocabulary is actually not very extensive so I have to put in extra effort to vary the words I use. As I write, I always re-read what I have written to make sure there are no words that have been used too frequently.
And I don't just pluck any word I find in the thesaurus. I always double-check its meaning in the dictionary to make sure it's suitable for the character and the situation. There are a lot of work and thought put into writing each update as mentioned by Sieka and HashirePomeranian. It's not just about throwing in beautiful words. The tougher and more time-consuming part comes when you put everything together to make the story and the characters come alive.
My New Year WishI love Jphip forum a lot and I've made very dear friends with some of the people here. I only wish for the best for this forum and especially for the AKB48 Fanfic Board because this is where I started. I wish to see the fanfic community develop as a whole even as we welcome new writers and readers. We continue to share our stories, yet at the same time, we don't forget to strive to improve our writing and make this forum the go-to place for AKB48 fanfics
I know my post is very long and I hope I haven't bored some of you to tears
If I did, I hereby apologise
Before I end off, I'd like to share just one last thing that I had posted sometime ago in my fanfic thread.
My motto when I write -
"I am my own reader and critic." I've mentioned to some before that I spazz over my own fics and characters. It's a little embarrassing to admit it but I use my own spazz level to do a quality check. If even I don't feel much for my stories and characters, it just goes to show that they haven't reached the desired quality level.
That's all. Thank you very much for your attention and I hope to hear from everyone else your own reflection and wish for the new year